Sir, allow me first to express my satisfaction and that of the Government of Spain at seeing you preside over this session of the General Assembly. Your proven professional abilities and your outstanding personal qualities will contribute decisively towards ensuring that the work of the General Assembly will yield the benefits that we all await
I should also like to underline the skill and efficiency shown by your predecessor, Ambassador Jaime de Pinies, throughout the previous session, and to express my admiration for the quiet but indefatigable work of the
It was the wish of the Government of Spain that the titular bearer of the crown, in the exercise of his constitutional function of representing the State, should make heard within this forum the voice of his country; a country that proudly holds as its highest historical credentials its respect for the law of nations and its confirmed effort to make- international coexistence more secure, more pacific, and more solid. Spain is glad to address this universal forum, which stirs the hope that the ideals of peace, justice and solidarity may firmly prevail
Spain was one of the first communities to constitute itself as a nation State in renaissance Europe, thus taking, together with other communities, a decisive step in the process of rationalizing political coexistence. In that same period of history, several Spanish jurists and theologians, when examining the title for Spain's presence in America, were already arguing that there were limits to national power, in order for the exercise of this power to be legitimate, it must be inspired by an ethical conscience and must respect the rights and aspirations of other peoples. Or, to put it in the language of the period, the legitimate exercise of national power must strive to secure the "common weal of the earth".
We owe to Francisco de Vitoria, one of the founders of the jus gentium, international law, the following phrase:
"If in the fulfillment of a just cause some damage is done to the universe,
then the cause turns out to be an unjust one."
In the very roots of our Constitution as a State we therefore find the awareness of an international society whose common good limits the action of the State. Also present is a pledge of solidarity among all members of the human race. Both of these factors provide a basis for the legal structuring of the international community which we find today enshrined as an institution in the United Nations.
It is against the background of this old tradition that I am addressing the Assembly today. I do so also as the representative of a nation, young because of the age of its citizens and because it has recovered, along with its freedom and democracy, a vital attitude characteristic of youth - that is, the capacity to look to the future with boldness and hope.
When a people recovers its vital impulse, integrating its traditions into a design for the future, it cannot forget that this revitalization should be inspired equally by the ideals of its own society and by the requirement of harmonious, peaceful and just international coexistence
Today, for the first time, the world is one, yet at the same time it is culturally diverse.
In the past, the alleged superiority of a given culture or civilization was used to justify the domination of some nations over others. Cultural diversity was challenged by an impulse that thrived on seeking economic advantage or strategic predominance.
Today, the commonly accepted rule is that each culture should be understood and judged exclusively in relation to its own values and not by whether it can adapt itself, through mimesis or through foe , to some allegedly superior culture. It is from this conception of the universality and cultural diversity of mankind that the great impetus towards political decolonization derived.
The United Nations bears witness to this powerful reality, which opens a new phase in history. The United Nations has been the standard and the basic instrument of this step towards a true society of nations.
It is true that certain well known vestiges of colonial conditions still persist. And one of these anachronistic situations concerns my country. Spain maintains, vigorously and with the weight of the reason inherent in its cause, the will to find a rapid solution to the problem of Gibraltar, so that the Rock can be reintegrated into Spanish national territory. A new chapter has opened up since the Brussels Declaration of 27 November 1984 and since the Governments of the United Kingdom and of Spain decided, in February 1985 in Geneva, to resolve the problem in all its aspects, including that of sovereignty, through negotiation. This new phase is dominated by the hope of putting an end to an unjust situation without harming the interests of the local population.
We find ourselves not only before a politically and culturally diverse world but also before an economic order in which differences continue to exist and become wider. The past decade has been marked by economic crisis, the indebtedness of important developing areas and the reappearance of new protectionist tendencies. Not only justice and solidarity, but peace and security themselves, require the bridging of these differences and the correction of these tendencies.
A few months ago, when dealing with the critical economic situation in Africa, the Assembly was the forum where, on the one hand, the African nations were convinced of their need to carry out a great effort of self-appraisal, of adjustment and action; and where, on the other hand, the remaining nations became fully aware of the fact that it is impossible to accept passively the stagnation and deterioration of a part of the world which is essential to the whole. This expression of political far-sightedness and solidarity is a hopeful development. Spain, within the limits of its resources and possibilities, has pledged its co-operation and today reiterates that pledge.
The foreign indebtedness of certain nations, and among them some particularly close to Spain, is a serious problem that affects us all. There is no easy solution. No doubt many factors and paths of action have contributed to bringing about this situation. The responsibilities are manifold and have to be shared. Let historians pass a final judgment on them. What matters today is to encourage those policies of adjustment necessary to correct domestic situations, not only by applauding them but also through generosity and specific support. These policies have certain limits which, if exceeded, can put at risk domestic peace and solidarity, thus hindering delicate processes of political and social change.
In the process of political reconstruction that has been going on for the past decade, my country has set the framework of its international position.
Since the previous session of the General Assembly Spain has defined its position on two important options. In 1986 it became a member of the European Community and, after consulting the Spanish people, it defined the terms of its continued membership in the Atlantic Alliance.
By joining the organizations and institutions of Western European integration, Spain only confirms what history and culture have made of it since the beginning of modern times. Spain has always been an integral and essential part of Europe for geographical and historical reasons and by vocation. Through its participation in the decision-making processes of the Twelve, Spain can make its voice heard on European matters and can bring to the activities of communitarian Europe new dimensions which stem from its historical past. Europe certainly cannot give way to any temptation to be inward-looking. On the contrary, we strive to increase the contacts and exchanges of the European Community with other parts of the world, and especially with the countries of the American continent. Europe cannot confine itself to the cultivation of its own garden, nor can it content itself with the preservation of an enviable quality of life, when other regions of the world find themselves strangled by stagnation, by the diminution of international trade and by the negative interplay of commercial and financial factors.
Prom our position as Western allies, we contribute to common security and, as a fundamental part of this, we strive to help make the dialog between the super-Powers come to fruition and the negotiating forums intensify their work. We nourish the hope that the consolidation of a climate of dialog and of greater confidence in international relations will lead, in a relatively brief period, to drastic cuts, for the first time, in nuclear arsenals; to the halting of the arms race; to a world-wide ban on chemical weapons; and to significant advances in the field of conventional disarmament.
On a regional level, the Conference on Security and Co-operation in Europe, which was born in Helsinki and gained new impetus in Belgrade and Madrid, is being followed up in various forums. In Stockholm today an important consensus has been achieved which will certainly strengthen European security and harmony in international relations in a broad geographical framework. It is to be hoped that this success will have a positive impact on the new phase of the Conference, which will soon resume in Vienna.
This dual definition of Spain, as European and as Western, complements and enriches our relations with the countries and peoples of Latin America. We are bound to them through special cultural and historical ties, which give us a sense of solidarity with them in the search for just solutions to the political, economic and social problems they are facing today.
To the existing elements of concern, a new one of unsuspected scope has been added in recent years: terrorism, which preys on innocent lives, stimulates catastrophic visions and deprives citizens of their peace.
Terrorism, the supreme assault upon the most primary and, at the same time, most profound of human rights - the right to live in peace - has international dimensions. Support for, and even tolerance of, terrorism disqualifies any State as a member in good faith of the international community.
The Spanish Government has repeatedly declared itself in favor of intensifying international co-operation against this universal scourge. The unanimous and unequivocal condemnation of terrorism, in whatever form, by this Assembly last December doubtless constitutes a hopeful step which should be followed by concrete and effective measures of international co-operation.
Unfortunately, this Assembly must once aqain focus its attention on a series of conflictive situations in various regions of the world. Some are recent, others almost chronic, but all together produce the gravest rupture in the principles of the Charter of our Organization. Meanwhile we watch helplessly as some peoples, which should be forging their future in peace and harmony, are instead bleeding themselves amidst incredible destruction and suffering.
In the face of these painful conflicts, the reasons behind our well-known positions not only remain valid but in some cases have been reinforced. From this podium, I appeal for negotiation and dialog to overcome intolerance and intransigence once and for all, so that the forc« of reason and law may prevail over the reason of force.
Peace is tranquility and harmony within order. There can be no harmony if clearly unjust situations continue to exist in the world. Still less can it be present if the voices that denounce injustice are drowned out. Respect for human rights will be a yardstick by which our civilization and our specific conduct will be judged. Not only the conduct of those who violate human rights but also that of those who do not condemn violations or adopt towards them an attitude of passive resignation.
The total contempt for the human being that is entailed by racial discrimination and the policy of apartheid constitutes the most flagrant attack on the concept of the unity of the human race. Against it we must take all the necessary steps to secure its dismantlement and abolition. We must bring to their senses those who, blinded by their prejudices and fears, condemn the vast majority of their compatriots to intolerable domination and oppression and in so doing seal the future of their own country.
In recent years, international co-operation through multilateral channels has been progressively undermined. Nevertheless, it is certain that in our increasingly interdependent world, numerous problems make it imperative that we search for solutions in a multilateral framework. Serious institutional and financial problems were added last year to the difficulties that traditionally confront the United Nations.
The Secretary-General, whose activities deserve our recognition and support, has brought to completion courageous initiatives. For its part, the Assembly must examine and adopt the necessary measures to improve the efficiency and administration of the Organization. The United Nations is the best overall instrument for the maintenance of peace and security. It does invaluable co-operative work in many fields. It is the repository of the ideal of an international order ruled by law. The international community cannot allow its activities to be impaired and its prestige diminished because of an inadequate use of existing resources.
The session now beginning will undoubtedly be important in the search for solutions to the many problems inherent in the present international situation. That situation, while gravely disquieting in certain ways, also encompasses possibilities for progress towards the goals set out in the Charter.
I am sure that the Assembly will continue to advance along the road - however difficult that might sometimes be - towards peace, security and co-operation.


On behalf of the Nigerian delegation, I take this opportunity. Sir, to extend to you my congratulations on your unanimous and well-deserved election as President of the forty-first session of the General Assembly. My delegation shares fully the warm sentiments expressed by previous speakers on your personal outstanding merits. I am confident that under your wise guidance this session will achieve significant success.
It is therefore with great pleasure that I pledge the full support and co-operation of my delegation to you in the discharge of your difficult task, particularly at this tine, when, more than ever. Member States need to act in concert to attain an era of peace that will give a new direction to the course of human destiny. May I also extend my congratulations to His Excellency Mr. Jaise Pinies, your predecessor, for the able manner in which he handled the affairs of the fortieth session and thirteenth special session.
I should also like to salute our Secretary-General, Mr. Javier Perez de Cuellar, who, I am happy to see, has been restored to health. There can be no gainsaying that the best assurance of support we can give the Secretary-General is a revitalized United Nations.
The relevance of the United Nations to the solution of urgent global problems is certainly not in contention. The devotion of the Organization to the maintenance of international peace and security has been balanced by an appreciation of the need to promote the economic and social well-being of mankind.
In its 41-year history, the United Nations has gone beyond pious statements delivered with great solemnity in this Hall to the endorsement and implementation of action-oriented measures. Its achievements are legion. From successful peace-keeping operations in conflict areas around the world to the decolonization of Africa and Asia and the various activities and projects of its specialized agencies, the United Nations has become an effective instrument of international co-operation and development.
Yet this cherished Organization is currently undergoing the gravest crisis in its history. Some call it a crisis of multilateralism. Others define it as a financial crisis. Fundamentally, it is a political crisis inflicted on the United Nations by its membership. Disagreements about the management and control of the Organization's budget and the determination of its programs are mere symptoms of a deeper difference in perceptions of the role and capability of the United Nations.
Paradoxically, the present crisis is a welcome development to the extent that it provides us an opportunity to re-evaluate the activities and procedures of the United Nations. It is true that the gradual but significant expansion in the scope, range and volume of the work of the United Nations has been a function of changing international circumstances and new challenges that have confronted the Organization. Nevertheless, there can be no denying the fact that the United Nations could be more cost effective and efficient.
-The necessary processes of reform and change have already begun. The Group of High-Level Intergovernmental Experts set up to review the efficiency of the financial and administrative functioning of the United Nations has already submitted its report. Since that report will be presented to the Assembly later on, under the appropriate agenda item, I shall refrain from commenting on it now. Suffice it to say that the Nigerian delegation attaches the greatest importance to the recommendations contained in that report. We believe that they provide a basis for revitalizing the IT of Nations and creating an organization better able to respond creditably and effectively to the collective needs of Member States, at reasonable and affordable cost.
In any process of reform, difficult choices have to be made. New priorities will have to be set. Cost-saving measures must be instituted. Indeed, readjustments in assessed contributions may even become necessary. However, such measures should not be dictated or imposed by any Member State or group of States. Instead, they should derive from negotiated agreement among all Member States. To do this successfully, we will all have to be tolerant and to appreciate each other's legitimate interests and concerns. Let us move away from apportioning blame and accept that the United Nations can only function on the basis of a consensus that adequately respects the concerns of each and all.
Thus, as a sign of good faith, those countries that have resorted to financial withholding as a means of registering their disapproval of the United Nations budget and programs should proceed to honor their obligations. The point has been made that the Organization is in need of reform, and the first steps towards that process of reform have already been taken. Those reforms should not be taken under duress.
Surely, a United Nations that grinds to a halt as the result of financial constraints cannot even engage in reform. One thing we all agree upon is that the United Nations is worth preserving. If it were not, we would not all be present here. A testament to the continued validity of the United Nations lies in the fact that the very countries that have been most vocal in calling attention to its shortcomings continue to exploit the forum it offers to address the world community on major issues of concern to them. Clearly, it is better to talk at the United Nations than to fight on the battlefield.
In addition, it is the view of the Nigerian delegation that the necessary reforms should be carried out in full accordance with the provisions of the United Nations Charter. The principle of sovereign equality of all Member States should not be derogated directly or indirectly, and essential programs and activities of high priority should continue to attract the lion's share of available resources. In other words, we must ensure that we do not end up cutting the bone while we trim the fat.
The present international situation is characterized by growing tension in both the political and the economic spheres. Confrontation, conflict and instability plague many regions of the world, and the economies of many Member States continue to deteriorate, while the politics of domination and great-Power rivalries are on the increase. In that situation, the role of the Organization has more than ever before, become vital for the promotion of international peace, development and prosperity for all.
All too often, we tend to forget that the Charter of the United Nations devotes two Chapters to the question of international economic and social co-operation. Indeed, in Article 55, the United Nations pledges itself to the promotion of "higher standards of living, full employment" and "solutions of international economic, social, health, and related problems", "with a view to the creation of the conditions of stability and well-being necessary for peaceful and friendly relations among nations". Therefore, if the inequities in the world economic system have persisted for so long, the fault is not with the Charter. Rather, it derives from the lack of political will by Member States to discharge their obligations.
Within the framework of the current global economic crisis, the widening gap between developed and developing countries and the persistence of an unjust and inequitable international economic system constitute major impediments to the development process of most Member States, thus posing a serious threat to international peace and security.
For their part, the industrialized countries have refused to address the problems of structural imbalance and inequality that characterize the international economic and trading system. Those imbalances have continued to prolong the severe set-backs afflicting our economic goals and objectives.
It is clear that we must once again consider seriously the problem of structural imbalance and inequality with a view to formulating concrete and
effective solutions to the question of the huge external debt of developing countries, the problems of debt-servicing, high interest rates, inflation, declining commodity prices, stiff conditions set by the International Monetary Fund, and protectionist measures and unfair trade terms continually imposed by the developed countries.
Commodity trade is currently the primary source of foreign-exchange earnings for a majority of developing countries. It is regrettable that specific measures to control commodity trade to the advantage of the developed market-economy countries should be embarked upon without sympathy or consideration for the repercussions on the current balance-of-payments position of developing countries.
Commodity prices are currently fluctuating and are therefore unstable. There is a continuous decline in capital resource flows as the result of lower export earnings, and this is a great hindrance to reinvestment in commodities. Financing through the facilities of the Common Fund for commodities has not materialized owing to the refusal by some major countries to ratify the instrument. This state of affairs has created complex cash-flow problems, which have further aggravated the debt problem. The high hopes of the developing countries for a new international economic order have foundered owing to a deeply rooted reluctance on the part of the developed countries to engage in an honest and Meaningful North-South dialog. My delegation wishes to stress the need for a fundamental structural readjustment in the international economic system that would promote rapid and sustained world economic growth and development. In this context, we reaffirm our commitment to the continued validity and relevance of the Declaration and program of Action on the Establishment of a New International Economic Order.
while developed countries have emerged from recession, the economic outlook for the developing nations in general, and Africa in particular, remains bleak. Attempts were made to draw the world's attention to Africa's special situation during last May's special session of the General Assembly on the critical economic situation in Africa. That special session succeeded at least in deepening global awareness of the dimensions of the current economic crisis in Africa. Given good intentions and strong will, that endeavor could well provide a basis for concerted efforts by the international community to enhance and support the tremendous efforts of African States to surmount their devastating crisis.
My delegation therefore appeals to the international community and to financial institutions to make available without delay sufficient resources for the full and effective implementation of the United Nations program of Action for African Economic Recovery and Development, 1986-1990. We do not, of course, ignore or lose sight of the need for developing countries themselves to co-operate effectively in improving their economic conditions. To that end a greater degree of collaboration on economic projects has to be developed. We are happy to note the activities of the Group of 77, in particular at the last meeting of the Group's Intergovernmental Follow-up and Co-ordination Committee (IFCC), which took place at Cairo and which focused attention on vital areas of high priority in co-operation among developing countries that needed greater emphasis. Similarly, we are gratified that the eighth summit meeting of the Non-Aligned Movement, which took place earlier this month at Harare, devoted considerable attention to economic co-operation.
An important and appropriate backdrop to our debate at this session is the declaration of 1986 as the International Year of Peace. As demanded in the solemn declaration. Member States of the United Nations have been focusing attention throughout the year on the requirements for the promotion of international peace and security. We in Nigeria have organized, at both the governmental and the non-governmental levels, various programs aimed at sensitizing the Nigerian people to the elements of genuine peace and to the role of the individual, of the State, of non-governmental organizations and of the United Nations in the promotion of peace. On 16 September, International Peace Day, Nigeria joined several other countries, when President Ibrahim Babangida personally launched the first Earth Run, the global torch relay which originated on the steps of the Headquarters of our Organization.
Unfortunately, peace remains elusive in many parts of the world. The situation in southern Africa, for instance, continues to be a source of concern to this Organization. In the past two years the world has witnessed the most aggressive phase of Pretoria's policies of mindless oppression and intimidation of the blacks, who have been subjected to the persistent and systematic violation of their fundamental human rights. Apartheid has meant violence and terror for the struggling people of South Africa. The apartheid regime is still undeterred in its implementation of policies which are repressive and are offensive to the laws of natural justice. Indeed, apartheid is a crime against humanity and against the ignity and conscience of mankind, and it continues to pose a threat to international peace and security. There can be no peace and stability in southern Africa without the elimination of apartheid, which is the root cause of the grave crisis in the entire region.
Since, in the wake of the Sharpeville massacres, the world was rudely awakened to the brutality and horrors of apartheid, there has been unanimous and repeated condemnation of that evil system. The crushing weight of apartheid has grown to the point where it has forced all segments of the oppressed to rebel in a spontaneous manner. The Soweto uprising demonstrated the fact that despite all the brutal machinery sustaining apartheid the black people of South Africa have had enough and cannot suffer in silence any more. Thousands of blacks, including mourners, have been gunned down by trigger-happy racist police; many more have been wounded or have suffered untold hardship. The response of the racist clique in Pretoria has been to resort to panic measures and to the declaration of a state of emergency, with a total clamp-down on news reports.
This notwithstanding, workers have initiated strike actions, and an ever-growing number of school children, working independently, have periodically boycotted classes to show their revulsion at the political powerlessness, economic deprivation, inferior education and dehumanizing segregation laws imposed on them by the racist regime. The countdown to the collapse of apartheid has at last started. As the cycle of violence and brutal repression grows in scale and intensity, the blacks have now resolved to make the supreme sacrifice.
The racist regime, instead of moving towards open negotiations with black leaders and reconciling anxious whites to inescapable change, persists in pretending that South Africa's problems at home and its already painful economic losses abroad can be chased away with a night-stick. Clearly, the apartheid regime
has shown that it is no mood to seek in peace the establishment of a democratic society in South Africa built on the equality of all races.
The fight against apartheid and racism is one facet of the liberation struggle in Africa. Another facet is the struggle for the liberation of Namibia, where the situation is equally explosive. The racist Pretoria rSgime persists in its illegal occupation of the Territory by ruthlessly suppressing the legitimate aspiration of the Namibian people to self-determination and independence. In spite of United Nations resolutions, culminating in Security Council resolution 435 (1978), which established modalities by which the people of Namibia would determine their future through free and fair elections, the racist regime has continued its policies of dehumanizing and brutalizing the overwhelming majority of Namibians.
Contacts between the Secretary-General and the apartheid regime aimed at finding an honorable way for the withdrawal of the South African administration have been frustrated through devious machinations by the racist regime. In fact, the posture of the regime constitutes a total rebuff of any meaningful discussion. The sad position now is that the illegal regime has gone ahead with the implementation of its so-called homelands policy aimed at destroying the unity and territorial integrity of Namibia.
My delegation recognizes that peace cannot be achieved in southern Africa in an environment characterized by criminal acts of aggression, racial discrimination and the systematic violation of human rights. The apartheid regime in South Africa is still undeterred in its implementation of policies that are repressive and offensive to human dignity. The international community, if it is not to be accused of complicity or impotence, must assume a more decisive role in the liquidation of the abhorrent and totally despicable system of apartheid. We must without fail put an end to it. Indeed, if a bloodbath of unspeakable proportions is to be avoided the international community will have to exert such pressure as will make the apartheid regime abandon its criminal policy. Surely, comprehensive mandatory sanctions applied faithfully by all Member States offer the last hope for a peaceful solution.
Happily, there is now much international enthusiasm for the campaign against apartheid. A vast majority of States, such as the members of the Non-Aligned Movement, the socialist States, the members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, the Nordic States and a few Western countries, have taken steps to combat apartheid. The United States Congress too has joined in this great movement to guarantee to the South African black people, 23 million of them, the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.
Apartheid is not an internal affair of South Africa, but a universal affair. Witness the amount of time, energy and resources the international community devotes to it. Legitimately, therefore, this Assembly can and should miss no opportunity to advance the universal effort to achieve the peaceful dismantling of apartheid.
In that context, I propose that you, Mr. President, address on our behalf an urgent appeal, today, to the President of the United States to endorse the congressional action on sanctions against South Africa.
As for Nigeria, our commitment to the anti-apartheid struggle is total. We shall continue to give support to the liberation movements and assistance to the front-line States.
The question has often been raised in recent times whether we, either as Africans or as members of the international community, shall be prepared to offer the white community in South Africa an opportunity to be part of the process of change in South Africa. The answer is that we have always been prepared to accept the white community and its representatives as constituents in the process of change, provided change is the objective.
The Lusaka Declaration, first adopted by the Organization of African Unity and then by the United Nations, still represents our position. If the South African Government is prepared to talk about an effective program for the dismantlement of apartheid, we shall be prepared to facilitate the implementation of such a program.
The challenge, then, to South Africa and the opponents of mandatory economic sanctions is to get the South African regime to present a concise, detailed and specific program for the total eradication of apartheid.
The efforts of the international community for a peaceful settlement of the Middle East conflict have been frustrated by repeated acts of aggression and terrorism in that region. The solution to the Middle East question does not lie in the force of arms, which, rather than ameliorating the explosive situation, has further complicated the task of achieving peace. A comprehensive and just solution to the problems of the Middle East cannot be achieved unless there is a cessation of hostilities by all the parties concerned. Similarly, the present volatile situation cannot subside in the wake of territorial ambitions.
An issue that is central to the Middle East debacle is the problem of a homeland for the Palestinians. A realistic analysis of the reasons for the failures of past peace efforts reveal the non-acceptance of the Palestinian question as the principal problem for which there should be a genuine solution. No solution to the Middle East problem which does not take into account the plight of the Palestinians can be expected to guarantee durable peace in that region. The countries in the Middle East and the international community as a whole have to be sympathetic to the Palestinian cause, particularly the Palestinians' quest for a homeland. However, that is not to deny the right of Israel to existence as a State.
My delegation supports the holding of an international peace conference on the Middle East where all those involved would participate. There can be no justification for holding a conference with the primary responsibility of solving the problems of people who are not allowed to participate in it. The Palestinians should be involved in the peace process in the Middle East.
The resumption of bilateral arms negotiations by the two super-Powers early in 1985 gave the world some hope of improved political relations between the East and the West. That hope was further increased when on 1 January 1986 the leaders of the two world Powers exchanged new year messages. It is sad that what seemed to be
an improved political understanding between the East and the West has not been translated into action in the ongoing disarmament negotiations, while the world community was expecting genuine disarmament efforts, there was a resumption of nuclear tests, and this had negative implications for the moratorium on nuclear-weapon testing.
Nuclear weapons constitute a threat not only to peace and international security, but also to the survival of mankind. The elimination of nuclear weapons should be a vital disarmament objective of the world community, irrespective of ideological beliefs. The two super-Powers should give the lead in nuclear disarmament. A most desirable starting-point would be an agreement on a nuclear test ban, a measure which the international community has advocated for the past 25 years. We believe that no technical reason, such as the issue of verification, offers a genuine excuse for the delay in concluding a nuclear-test-ban treaty. What is lacking is the will on the part of nuclear-weapon States. In addition to the basic step of a nuclear test ban, we call for the commencement of real and decisive measures through bilateral and multilateral negotiations that will substantially reduce and ultimately eliminate the existing stockpile of nuclear weapons. Needless to say, the extension of the nuclear arms race to outer space is inconsistent with the fervent wish of the international community for nuclear disarmament. Disarmament is a global cause, in which all States have a vital stake. It cannot, and should not, be left to the vagaries of the relationship between the super-Powers.
Our Organization has an important role to play in keeping up the pressure to bring about a halt to the arms race, with the ultimate aim of achieving general and complete disarmament, under effective international control. In this regard my Government urges both the Soviet Union and the United States not to interrupt the
process of consultation and negotiation with the ultimate objective of eliminating nuclear weapons from the face of the earth.
There are other problems facing the international community that require our urgent attention. The Iran-Iraq war, the crisis in Central America and the issues of Afghanistan, Kampuchea, Cyprus and Korea all challenge our collective commitment to work for the promotion of the peaceful settlement of issues. I have highlighted only some of the major problems confronting us I believe we shall work together to solve these as well as the other problems.
The United Nations serves as a unique forum for the promotion of understanding and peace among all nations. It also provides a unique opportunity for Member States to engage in constructive dialog and co-operation in our common quest for a better world. We must, therefore, strive to work together to uphold the principles of the Charter in the interests of mankind.


 In conveying to Ambassador Choudhury our heartfelt congratulations on his unanimous election to the presidency of this session of the General Assembly, the delegation of Senegal wishes to reflect our feelings of respect and admiration for his great human qualities and pay a tribute to the abiding commitment of his country to the cause of peace and friendship among peoples. At a time when we are all discussing our Organization's future prospects, it is fortunate that he was chosen to guide the work of this important session. In assuring him of its complete goodwill and genuine co-operation, my delegation expresses the conviction that, given his characteristic patience and intelligent authority, he will guide the 1986 session to outstanding results.
His predecessor, Mr. Jaime de Pinies, commanded the admiration and gratitude of all members of the Assembly. During a particularly busy year he certainly lived up to his reputation as an outstanding diplomat and once again gave proof of his wide, profound knowledge of the problems of our time, as well as his perfect mastery of the rules and procedures of the United Nations.
I should also like to pay a tribute to the Secretary-General, Mr. Javier Perez de Cuellar, whose whole-hearted devotion to the promotion of peace and harmony among nations is known throughout the world. A man of conviction, courage and action, he deserves the international community's trust and support in the immense endeavor that he is directing and in the reforms he is proposing so that this Organization, which is so dear to our peoples and Governments, can be adapted to the greatest extent possible to the needs of today's world and remain the hope of humanity.
There are years in the history of the United Nations that cannot be passed over in silence. The 12 months that have just elapsed were one such period, so filled were they with events of great political significance.
The fortieth anniversary of the United Nations, which we commemorated here last year, provided an opportunity to reaffirm our faith in and devotion to the purposes and principles of the Charter and thus to renew the commitment of our peoples to greater co-operation in bringing about a better world.
Despite differences in our ideological preferences, social and political
systems, cultural traditions and levels of economic development, we are aware that
our civilizations are complementary and that there is a need for solidarity among
all mankind as we face the many challenges threatening mankind and its environment,
and the despair, pessimism and anguish aroused by the proliferation and persistence
of pockets of tension, the exacerbation of conflicts, intolerance and blind
violence, and the ever-increasing imbalance in political said economic relations among nations.
I am addressing this Assembly on behalf of His Excellency President Abdou Diouf, and I wish to speak of the spirit of international solidarity and co-operation, and of the ardent desire that the work of this forty-first session may make a meaningful contribution to the common effort of nations in the inspiring task of building a world of peace, justice, freedom and prosperity.
The crisis facing the community of nations is the result of the international order established some 40 years ago, after the Second World War. That international order, which continues today to govern relations among States, contains anomalies and contradictions that have been denounced in this Assembly many times. I wish to discuss some of these anomalies and contradictions, which include the persistence of colonialism and racism and of foreign intervention and occupation, increasing poverty in the third world, and attempts to upset the multilateral system.
In this framework, if there is an item on our agenda whose consideration requires of us more open-mindedness, boldness, collective discipline, honesty, generosity and dignity - all qualities common to our civilized values - it is without a doubt the developments in the situation in southern Africa, where time is running out. In fact, attempts to consolidate the policy of apartheid, whose brand of logic and whose effects are so well known, are a threat to peace and a serious attack cm the ideals of mankind peace, justice, freedom and equality.
Faced by the valiant resistance of the anti-apartheid militants to an odious, inhuman policy imposed in violation of all legal rules and ethical standards, the minority racist Pretoria regime has enacted a whole array of arbitrary laws, regulations and practices. Using these, and under the cower of a state of emergency, it is intensifying and refining its repression of the legitimate demands of the people of South Africa for equality and democracy.
The South African regime has given new proof of its arrogant position of systematic rejection of all offers for a negotiated solution by scorning the initiatives of the Commonwealth group of seven eminent persons and of the European Economic Community. It has increased its blind repression, which is marked by arrests and deliberate murders of members of the anti-apartheid forces, and by the muzzling of the national and international press.
Pretoria has adopted a deliberate policy of destabilization, aggression and invasion towards neighboring African States, trampling underfoot the principles of the United Nations Charter and of international laws sovereignty, the territorial integrity of States, non-intervention, and the non-use of force. But the march of history is irreversible.
At Paris, from 16 to 20 June this year, in response to an appeal from the Chairman of the Organization of African Unity (OAU), the international community
met at the World Conference on Sanctions against Racist South Africa, which coincided with the tenth anniversary of the So we to massacres. On that anniversary the suffering South African people determined to spare neither its blood nor its very life to pay a tribute to those who died at Soweto, sacrificed on the altar of freedom and human dignity.
The Paris Conference reflected the general, irreversible trend in favor of sanctions to make Pretoria end its anachronistic policy of a par the id, and the participants advocated the adoption of joint, comprehensive, mandatory and binding measures against South Africa. Realism and a genuine devotion to human rights require the Western Powers that are still reluctant to adopt sanctions against South Africa to join the rest of the international community in imposing such sanctions, which is the only peaceful way to root out apartheid, that blot on our era. That would enable the Security Council to shoulder the primary and historic responsibility entrusted to it by the United Nations Charter in the sphere of the maintenance of international peace and security, which would include action under Chapter VII of that basic instrument.
Reason tells us that the only way to ensure a viable future for southern Africa is to establish a regime of equality, democracy and brotherhood. All of us must demonstrate our genuine commitment to the ideals of the world Organization by ensuring the triumph of its universal principles, of re as cm and of wisdom. The United Nations must formulate a coherent program of assistance to the front-line countries and to the combatants of the African National Congress of South Africa (ANC), the Pan Africanism Congress of Azania (PAC) and the South West Africa People's Organization (SWAPO), in order to reflect in our actions the solidarity with those freedom fighters which is the duty of the international community.
Deeds reflecting that duty of solidarity are eagerly awaited in Namibia as well. South Africa has occupied that Territory illegally for 20 years now, ever since it was decided to terminate its Mandate over the Territory and make Namibia the direct responsibility of the United Nations.
Although, at the time, it stated its support for the settlement plan contained in resolution 435 (1978), adopted by the Security Council eight years ago, the South African Government - with its attitude of defiance and arrogance towards the United Nations - persists in its expansionist designs and is seeking to impose, through a so-called tripartite conference, an "interim government"; it tries to conceal its annexationist objective behind the introduction into the peaceful settlement of the Namibian problem of alien and unacceptable considerations, and it uses Namibian territory as a base for launching acts of aggression against the front-line countries.
Senegal reaffirms here that all the Members of the United Nations must show greater determination to ensure the total, and not the watered-down, implementation of resolution 435 (1978). That has been stressed by various international meetings and conferences held on Namibia, the most recent being the Vienna Conference and the last special session of the General Assembly, in that connection, it should not be forgotten that the Namibian question is, in actual fact, a problem of pure decolonization emanating from resolution 1514 (XV), the Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples.
Just as in southern Africa - where the hateful system of apartheid sows terror, violence and oppression - in the Middle East, for almost 20 years now Arab territories have been occupied and the Palestinian people have been reduced to the status of wanderers. Despite two wars and several settlement plans, the situation remains grim and is a constant threat to international peace and security. Lebanon remains beset by chaos, while in the Arab territories of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip the resistance by the people is being stifled by ferocious repression. In spite of everything, the Tel Aviv authorities persist in their policy of establishing settlements and annexing Palestinian and Arab territories - all offenses of the establishment of a Palestinian State and therefore of a comprehensive settlement of the Middle East problem.
But the Security Council, like the General Assembly, has long since taken a stand against the acquisition of territory by force and has been demanding Israel's withdrawal from the territories it occupies. Moreover, there are the numerous recommendations by the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People as well as the Geneva International Conference on Palestine, held three years ago, which advocated a peace conference on the Middle East as a framework for negotiations on a comprehensive j.sace. Those recommendations were approved by the overwhelming majority of States Members of this Organization. But Israel stubbornly ignores them and drags out the Palestinian tragedy through short-term ploys which cannot in any way change the fact that there will be no peace in the Middle East so long as the Palestinian people, represented by the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), does not effectively exercise its inalienable rights to self-determination and independence in the land of Palestine.
It is appropriate to stress once again the duty of all the Members of the Organization - and particularly those to which the Charter has given special responsibilities - to promote the creation of conditions that can assist the various parties to the conflict, including the Palestine Liberation Organization, to negotiate a just and lasting peace on an equal footing, within the framework of a genuine international conference.
It looks as though the question of Afghanistan and the situation in Kampuchea will be on the General Assembly's agenda for a long time to come. In both cases, foreign occupation continues, subjecting the peoples of the countries concerned.to an intolerable and unjust situation imposed by Powers that are full-fledged Members of this Organization. In both cases, under the relevant resolutions adopted by the
General Assembly, the appropriate conditions must be created to enable the peoples of Afghanistan and Kampuchea to exercise their right to decide their own future. In both cases, the constructive and responsible dialog that has been urged, on the one hand, by the Ad Hoc Committee cm Kampuchea, of which my country has the honor to be Chairman, and, on the other hand, in the United Nations resolutions on Afghanistan, represent both an organizational and a guiding framework of overriding importance.
He take the same approach to the conflict between Iran and Iraq and to the situation in Central America.
With regard to Central America, the political settlement of internal and external conflicts should go hand in hand with regional guarantees of security and non-interference and with absolute respect for the sovereignty of States, as advocated by the Contadora Group.
With regard to the situation in the Gulf, the international community has no choice but to persevere in its efforts to persuade the leaders of the two warring countries to use peaceful means to put an end to their dispute, in keeping with the wishes of the Organization of the Islamic Conference, the Movement of Non-Aligned Countries and the United Nations.
Finally, with regard to the Korean peninsula, we still hope for peaceful reunification of the two sides, within the framework of sincere and fraternal co-operation, duly reflecting the free will of the Korean people as a whole.
World peace cannot be restored and maintained merely by defusing pockets of tension and eliminating conflicts. Because of the increasing interdependence of States, resolute commitment and sustained effort by the community of nations are also required in the joint search for appropriate solutions to the serious economic challenges. This necessitates intelligence, knowledge and know-how throughout the world, more specifically in the developing countries.
Mich has been said and written about the crisis in the international economic system, particularly its manifestations and the measures likely to alleviate them. Hence, I need not go into that again here. But allow me to stress one particular aspect of this problem in which ray delegation is particularly interested, for reasons well known to everyone here. I have in mind the problems relating to the critical economic situation in Africa, which has mobilized so much energy and imagination throughout this year and particularly during the special session that the General Assembly devoted to the question from 27 to 31 May last.
Orice again, on behalf of President Abdou Diouf and all my African colleagues -whose spokesman I was during that special session on Africa - I pay a tribute to the Members of our Organization, which, in a spirit of genuine partnership, made an invaluable contribution to the battle for the development of the African continent, by giving unreserved support to the United Nations Program of Action for African Economic Recovery, 1986-1990. The adoption by consensus of that Programne of Action, the main points of which are familiar to everyone here, should not be an end in itself but, rather, the point of departure in a process marked by active solidarity, a process that should lead to the rehabilitation of African economies in a healthier world climate.
Senegal would like, through me, to state once again that it is determined to respect scrupulously its commitments towards the other African countries, such as those it has entered into, along with the rest of Africa, towards the international community concerning the implementation of that Program in the areas designated as priority areas for the period from 1986 to 1990. The international community cannot renege on its obligations either. It must, as it has freely promised, support and supplement the individual and collective efforts of the African States and take the additional measures needed in order to improve the international climate, particularly with regaled to the problems of debt, commodity prices and protectionism. In this regard, after the decision by Canada to suspend repayment of African debt for the five years' period of implementation of the United Nations plan for the recovery and economic development of Africa and that by Netherlands to cancel the debts of the least developed African States - measures that we welcomed at the time - we were pleased to hear the announcement by Mr. Andreotti, the Foreign Minister of Italy, that his country had decided to allow African States indebted to Italy to convert the debts to be repaid over a certain number of years into aid credits at reduced interest rates of not more than 1.5 per cent, with reimbursement periods of 20 years, with a 10-year period of grace.
Proper incrementation of the recovery Program will require a substantial increase in the financial resources of the international organizations concerned with the development of Africa, both by building up and increasing their capital and by supporting the African Programs of those international development financing organizations. The process that has thus been started must spark a true resurrection of North-South dialog and provide a privileged area for testing South-South co-operation. Africa's active participation in the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) conference at Punta del Este, the concerted
preparations it intends to make for the next session of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (CJNCTAD) and its positive contribution at the Conference on Economic Co-operation among Developing Countries, held in Cairo from 18 to 23 August 1986, and also at the eighth summit Conference of Heads of State or Government of Non-Aligned Countries, recently held in Harare, attest to our continent's loyalty to that commitment.
Concerted implementation of all the recommendations contained in the Program for the rehabilitation of the African economies would specifically reflect the awareness, which is now universal, of the interdependence of the economies of the North and the South and also the ability of mankind to meet the major challenges it faces.
My delegation has great pleasure in paying a well-deserved tribute to the Secretary-General, Mr. Perez de Cuellar, for the important steps he has taken to ensure that the decisions taken at the special session on the economic situation in Africa are acted upon. He has done so by setting up a high-level multidisciplinary team within the United Nations Secretariat and by arranging the forthcoming meeting in Africa of the secretariats of the Organization of African Unity and the Economic Commission for Africa on the one hand and, on the other, the various regional and subregional African organizations involved in the implementation of the five-year Program.
The international community is confronting serious difficulties which affect many intergovernmental organizations. These difficulties, which are commonly referred to as a "crisis of multilateralism", are clearly viewed as constituting one of the most serious threats of our time to international co-operation and solidarity.
At a time when the scope and complexity of the challenges confronting the international community call for greater unity of thought and action from States,
at a time when scientific and technical progress, which considerably increases not only scientific but also economic and political exchanges of all kinds among nations, offers mankind enormous possibilities of communication, mutual understanding and solidarity, the multilateral system that was established after the Second World War, the positive evolution of which made it universal and democratic, is being seriously challenged by the re-emergence of political chauvinism, economic protectionism, social selfishness and imperial faits accomplis.
The United Nations, whose fortieth anniversary last year gave all the Member States and opportunity to assess it positively, is now going through the most serious crisis of its existence. It is unnecessary to go once again into the administrative and financial aspects of this crisis, for the fortieth session of the General Assembly, which recently ended, debated that question sufficiently.
When the causes of the malaise are analysed, stress is often placed on the crisis of confidence of the third-world countries with regard to the effectiveness of the United Nations. It is a fact that the enthusiasm that the birth of the United Nations aroused in the peace-loving and justice-loving peoples has gradually diminished as the Organization encountered increasing difficulties in ensuring the maintenance of international peace and security and in helping young nations in their enormous tasks of national reconstruction and economic development. There has often been great frustration among the States of Africa, Latin America and Asia which, emerging from the long dark night of colonization, being poor and confronted with difficulties of all kinds, placed great hopes on the ideals of peace, solidarity, justice and equity enshrined in the San Francisco Charter. The slowness with which Organization reacted to certain emergency
situations, and also the structural obstacles to its actions, in southern Africa and the Middle East, to mention only two cases, led to certain doubts on the part of some small States. However, this crisis of confidence is really more like a lovers' quarrel than a rejection. It reflects the profound and sincere commitment of the countries of Africa, Latin America and Asia to the United Nations. The most serious threat comes from the larger States, which, unable to continue to control the decision-making process in the Organization, are trying to remove particularly important questions from its consideration, adopting a position of systematic obstruction in its agencies or trying to deprive it of any real meaning by systematically denigrating its procedures and continually violating its rules and principles.
An examination of the present situation of our Organization must make us think back to the situation faced by the League of Nations in the 1930s. The crisis that paralyzed the work of the League, faced as it was with the increased dangers of authoritarianism and its attendant attacks on justice and human dignity, was preceded by a depression that plunged the world, from 1929 onwards, into unprecedented economic and social chaos.
The present crisis is but a reflection of the divisions, tensions and injustices of today's world. Let us therefore be careful not to imperil the Organization's existence, as happened in the 1930s in the case of the League, at a time when its framework and principles are more necessary than ever to resolve those contradictions.
Because it believes in the ability of nations to face up to the challenges of history, my country remains confident in the Organization's future. It is convinced that the crisis may even have a healthy effect, if together we can learn the lessons it has to teach us.
The international community must avoid a repetition of the unhappy experience of the 1930s, when policies based on acute nationalism, massive and systematic violations of the most elementary human rights and a cult of force at the expense of law, led directly to fatal breaches of the peace. We must recall how indifference towards international co-operation and short-term political calculations threatened the framework of the League, contributed to the economic and social chaos and led the world to what was almost its self-destruction.
On the other hand, let us reread and remember the passionate speeches at the first session of our Assembly. The United Nations, founded after the most deadly war in mankind's history, was then seen as both a symbol and an indispensable tool. As a symbol, the United Nations embodied the profound aspiration of the international community for a more democratic, more egalitarian, more just and more stable world, in which all States, big and small, would feel a common responsibility for the well-being of mankind. As a tool, our Organization offered the best framework for promoting international co-operation in the service of peace and security, reconstruction and development.
That is why since their accession to independence the former colonies in Africa, Asia and Latin America have en mass become members of the Organization, thus confirming its universality and giving it the dynamism and diversity that have enabled it to write the finest pages in the history of multilateral co-operation. Just as the need for international co-operation to "save succeeding generations from the scourge of war" was clear in 1945, when the United Nations was founded, today it is still essential strongly to reaffirm and strictly to apply with the principles of our Charter.
Senegal solemnly reaffirms its unswerving devotion to the principles of the Charter and its unshakable faith in international co-operation as a way to promote peace, justice and equality and as a tool for understanding between nations in the service of the higher common goals of mankind at this threshold of the second millennium.


Ambassador Choudhury's election to preside over this Assembly is a fitting tribute to his vast experience and tested diplomatic skills. Indeed, it is also a tribute to the capacity of the Organization to live up to its ideals as a democratic concourse of nations. For his country, Bangladesh, like the overwhelming majority of states gathered here, brings to this world body neither the trappings of economic power nor military strength. What he brings is an active and unswerving commitment to peace and development and to the pursuit of those ends through consensus-building and international co-operation. We confidently anticipate a productive session under his guidance.
I wish to commend Ambassador Jaime de Pinies of Spain for the skillful and able manner in which he carried out his tasks during the fortieth anniversary session of
the General Assembly.
Each session of the Assembly provides a new opportunity for States to reflect on the course of recent events, to assess their import and to reach new levels of understanding about the problems the world community and its members face. The repetition and ritual which cloak the diplomatic behavior of States and which inevitably accompany participation in this general debate need not obscure the fact that, at the core, this is a profoundly rational and democratic approach to mediating and managing relations among States. In this regard, the United Nations embodies the ancient, often violated but eternally resilient ideals of discussion, compromise and consensus, which are indispensable to the concept of community. This is the Organization's underlying and manifest strength; it is the source of Jamaica's conviction that during its present crisis, and through others that will no doubt follow, the United Nations will not simply persist, but will prevail.
This Organization would do well not to succumb to a teleological view of the future. The fact is that, no matter how desirable its goals and lofty its ideals, there is no automatic reason why these will ultimately be met. What is necessary is the conscious, deliberate molding of the Organization to meet new challenges and the rigors of a changing environment. A firm anchor to the time-tested and enduring ideals of the Charter is not inconsistent with a dynamic, adaptive and innovative world body. The United Nations is not the ossified, anachronistic body its detractors purport to be, but there can be no doubt that it must use its accumulated experience more effectively in dealing with old problems. It must move less ponderously. We must now devise ways and means of dealing effectively with a new generation of perplexing international problems. This is the crucial challenge facing the Organization and its Member States.
Among these problems is the issue of international terrorism. The primary purpose of the United Nations is the maintenance of international peace and security; and international terrorism has emerged, full-blown, as a potent threat to international peace and to the security of individuals and States. This is a particularly pernicious kind of violence. Its random and indiscriminate nature, its rapid and shadowy spread across borders and, in many cases, the faceless character of its perpetrators create a climate of fear, apprehension and hostility. This is confined not solely to the immediate victims, for it is the nature of terror that its victims must be counted not only among those subject to physical ravages of violence, but among all those burdened with the fear of random attack.
My Government condemns international terrorism in the strongest terms. The international community must build upon the advances made at the fortieth session of the General Assembly in addressing this issue. We must also seek now to strengthen the international legal regime laid down earlier through the outlawing of specific acts, such as those covered in the Conventions relating to civil aviation and to the taking of hostages, and other related instruments. We believe that the co-operation of all States, the full exchange of information and ratification of and adherence to the existing international legal instruments are essential elements of a strengthened multilateral approach to this issue. The onited Nations should encourage and facilitate this process by all the means at its disposal. Indeed, it may be timely for consideration to be given to the preparation, within the framework of the Organization, of a convention on the suppression of international terrorism. At the same time, it must be made clear that we do not agree with what appears to be a deliberate attempt to confuse international terrorism with the fight for self-determination by national liberation movements. We recognize that there are still cases of colonial and racist domination where political expression has been stymied. It is, therefore, incumbent on this Organization, and on the members of the Security Council in particular, to work more assiduously to find and implement political solutions which diminish the potential for recourse to violence as an instrument of change.
I have spoken of a new generation of international problems. There is irony in this. The increase in communications, including greater ease and facility of travel, has contributed immensely to the evolution of a world community. But at the same time those same forces have had an unintended impact. They have served to intensify and make international, on an unprecedented scale, problems that previously were largely confined within national borders. It has been observed that the psychological effects of terrorist violence tend to be out of proportion to its purely physical impact - horrible as the latter might be. This is instructive, for such universal trauma is possible only where there is a collective psyche emerging and where the randomness and scope of violence threaten to victimize mankind itself.
That is also the nature of the illicit international traffic in drugs. That shadowy menace, stalking whole societies, is another example of the new kind of problem facing the international community. The interdependence of the modern world has created conditions in which the illicit traffic, production and consumption of harmful drugs flourish. The evidence now makes clear that this development is a problem of immense proportions. It is a threat not only to health and morals but, if left unchecked, an insidious force capable of undermining the social and political fabric of whole societies. For that reason this is hardly a domestic or bilateral issue, but a problem for the international community to address energetically and with the financial, technical and other resources at its disposal.
The countries of the developing world are themselves victims of that traffic. We fear that the preoccupation with dividing the world into sources of supply and markets, into producers and consumers, is an artificial attempt to assign culpability, is too often self-serving, and deliberately obscures the fact that it is the poor countries which are most vulnerable to the deleterious consequences of the illicit international traffic in drugs.
Those countries lack the resources to deal with the pernicious consequences of the abuse of drugs in their populations. In addition, the movement of massive funds from the drug trade into those communities has been known to undermine, or seek to undermine, the electoral processes. Hence, it attacks the very foundations of democratic societies.
Why do people trade in those destructive drugs? The answer is simple: they do it for profit. We must, therefore, find ways to take the profit out of illicit drugs.
My Government is currently examining proposals for legislation which will enable the authorities to trace, freeze, seize and confiscate the proceeds of trafficking in drugs.
Jamaica hopes that next year's world conference, in Vienna, on drug abuse and illicit trafficking will lead to an effective and supportive role by the United Nations in dealing with this problem, and will lay the foundation for more effective co-operation among Member States of the international community on this issue.This is the International Year of Peace. It is perhaps, an unhappy omen for our times to reflect that throughout history, wars have been declared with vigor, pomp and fanfare, but peace has often come tremulous, and uncertain. As the poet Milton reminded a famous military leader of his day, "Peace hath her victories - No less renowned than war". The primary objective of the United Nations requires, indeed, demands, that this Organization does not capitulate into defeatism where the preservation of peace is concerned. Jamaica has worked energetically, through two committees established at the national level - one of which I have the honor to be Chairman - to inculcate the ideals and promote activities related to the International Year of Peace. We affirm our support for this undertaking which serves to remind us that while new international problems may have arisen the old ones remain unsolved.
Unfortunately, there has not been any significant change in the international situation. Military confrontations continue. The atmosphere of conciliation and co-operation is undermined. Opportunities through the United Nations system for closer contact and collaboration are ignored. Clearly any hope for peace has to come out of greater understanding and co-operation. The preservation of mankind demands a greater resolve to bring about solutions through meaningful dialog.
We recognize the renewed efforts of the Soviet Union and the United states to hold discussions on arms control. There was a mood of optimism which followed the summit meeting in Geneva last November, and we welcome further attempts by the
leaders of those two countries to resume the process of dialog. The process of
dialog may be slow, but we are convinced that it is only through patient diplomacy that any real understanding can be achieved. That has been demonstrated at the successful conclusion of negotiations at the Conference on security in Europe held in Stockholm. Jamaica continues to support positive steps towards arms control and disarmament. The accident at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant earlier this year and its repercussions have once again impressed on us the threat posed to our existence by radiation. It is imperative that the process of nuclear disarmament be initiated, beginning with a comprehensive ban on nuclear-weapon tests. We must welcome the unilateral moratorium on nuclear tests proclaimed by one of the nuclear-weapon States, and it is our continued hope that its gesture will be matched by action on the part of other nuclear-weapon States, and lead to agreement on the cessation of those tests. The international effort to halt and reverse the arms race has the support of the overwhelming majority of mankind who are calling for peace and for the exercise of political will by Governments to bring an end to the wastage of resources on the accumulation of weapons.
The tragic and futile war between Iran and Iraq continues. We urge the Secretary-General to continue to use his good offices to prevail upon those States to seek a peaceful end to this long drawn-out and bitter conflict. One of the more sinister aspects of this war has been the deplorable use of chemical weapons. We again urge the parties to the conflict and the international community to proceed more vigorously in their efforts to ban the use of chemical weapons.
In the Middle East, the basic problem remains, but the need has become greater for a comprehensive and lasting settlement. We consider the question of Palestine as being central to the Middle East problem, and we do not envisage any lasting peace or stability in the region until the rights of the Palestinian people to self-determination and a homeland are realized. This, along with the termination of policies of occupation and annexation, would make it possible for all States in the region, including Israel, to exist in peace and security within internationally recognized boundaries.
Although other efforts in the pursuit of peace in the region cannot be totally rejected, our view is that a comprehensive approach would be far more effective. We therefore continue to support the convening of an international conference on the Middle East, under the auspices of the United Nations.
The crisis in Central America is yet another issue of serious concern to Jamaica. We have always firmly supported the diplomatic initiatives of the Contadora Group in the search for a peaceful solution to the problem, and we continue to do so.
In this regard we are pleased to hear of the recent announcement of the eight Latin American countries involved in the Contadora initiative that they will be meeting as soon as possible to develop a fresh strategy aimed at breaking the deadlock in the negotiations.
The attainment of social, economic and political justice in South Africa and the threat to peace and stability in the southern African region as a whole remains one of the greatest challenges of our time. Jamaica's full and total opposition to the brutal regime in Pretoria is well known; it was stated by the Prime Minister at the fortieth anniversary session, and more recently reiterated by the Deputy Prime Minister at the United Nations special session on Namibia held in this Kali a few weeks ago. We again call on the Security Council to impose comprehensive mandatory sanctions against South Africa as a means of bringing the system of apartheid to an end. Over the past year, there has been increasing acceptance of the use of sanctions in this struggle. It is a tribute to the sound instinct and conscience of people everywhere that it is public opinion, not governments, which has taken the offensive. The recent decisions by the Commonwealth to impose further measures against South Africa rests on the conviction that sanctions are effective. Contrary to the belief of some, the Pretoria regime is indeed concerned about the possibility of comprehensive sanctions being imposed.
Jamaica continues to be outraged and gravely concerned at the persistence of the appalling state of affairs in South Africa itself, and at Pretoria's unrelenting campaign of military aggression and destabilization attempts against the front-line States. Together with its latest attempts designed further to entrench its illegal presence in Namibia and forcibly to annex that Territory, Pretoria's policies and actions have had the inevitable effect of heightening the already alarming prospects of an open racial conflagration in that region, and constitutes a flagrant assault on the rule of international law, respect of human rights and civilized conduct among States.
In Afghanistan, Kampuchea, Cyprus, the Korean Peninsula, Western Sahara and other areas where aggression, occupation, open conflict, or high levels of tension persist, the ideals of the Charter and the hope embodied in the initiative for an International Year of Peace go unfulfilled. Jamaica urges the parties to these conflicts to renew the search for peaceful solutions, and respond positively to the initiatives of the Secretary-General.
Peace has many dimensions. Genuine and lasting peace will remain a chimera as long as the overwhelming majority of States and their peoples remain in a condition marked by poverty and lack of development.
The challenge of development, along with disarmament and the maintenance of peace, remain the pre-eminent tasks of our time. Indeed, the need for international co-operation and for a constructive and positive role by this Organization is as pressing in international economic affairs as in the case of major social and political problems, to which I have just drawn attention. It is a genuine tragedy that this interdependence is not as fully recognized by the world community as it should be, and this particularly by the major economic Powers.
The cost to developing countries in lost growth and retarded development is high. This has once again been demonstrated in no uncertain terms in 1985. Last year the recovery in industrial countries weakened. The United States in particular was unable to sustain its role as the locomotive of the world economy. Growth in that country fell from a robust 7.2 per cent in 1984 to 2.5 per cent in 1985. What were some of the consequences of this weakened recovery? Growth rates also fell sharply in the great majority of developing countries during 1985. Significantly, in light of the severe debt problem of many countries and the need to earn foreign exchange, growth in export volume in the developing world fell from 11 per cent in 1984 to a mere 2.3 per cent in 1985. Debt service ratios moved upwards as export volumes contracted. The terms of trade of developing countries declined during the year. Painfully for countries such as Jamaica, weakening demand in the industrial countries contributed to an 11 per cent fall in the price of non-oil primary commodity exports. Adverse developments also occurred in the case of manufactures exported from the developing countries. These rose only by 3.3 per cent in 1985 after having grown by a vigorous 16.6 per cent in 1984 when the recovery in the industrial countries was stronger.
The metaphor needed here to describe this is hardly that oE ripple effect. Clearly, shifts in levels of growth and of demand in the industrial economies set in motion powerful economic forces which literally reverberate throughout the world economy. Not only must the international community recognize this, but it must understand that this force can be harnessed for good or ill.
It is for this reason that the Jamaican Government is of the view that an historic opportunity now exists in the world economy. In the parlance of the day, a window of opportunity is present in North-South relations. We say this because economic developments during the 1980s, particularly severe recession of 1980-1982 and its worst manifestations, the debt crisis and the collapse of primary commodity prices, have also set in motion changes in the approaches to development and the economic management strategies of a growing number of developing countries.
Structural adjustment and export diversification are being pursued. Budgets and current account deficits have been reduced. Efforts have been made to reduce or eliminate distortions in goods and factor markets. More realistic exchange rates have emerged. It has been a period of austerity, of sacrifice, of change. Midway through the decade it remains clear that despite their own vigorous efforts, sustained and widespread growth cannot be achieved in the developing countries without more robust growth in demand and in levels of financial flows from the industrial countries of the North.

It is a matter of serious concern that precisely the opposite process is taking place. Recovery is slowing down in the industrial North. Data from the World Bank show that in 1985 net financial flows to developing countries declined from $55 billion to $42 billion. In addition, net private direct foreign investment from North to South has fallen by 28 per cent since 1981.
Jamaica believes that it is paradoxical that, precisely during the period when in many developing countries the conditions exist or are being created for optimal cost-effective use of capital and financial flows from the North, the quantum of those resources has declined. We would urge the developed countries and the multilateral financial institutions to increase at this critical time the provision of financial resources to the developing countries. We emphasize that it is imperative that policies be adopted by the major developed countries that ensure sustained and strengthened recovery in the industrial North.
In our view, this requires not only appropriate monetary and fiscal policies but the reduction of non-tariff trade barriers. More thought and attention should also be given by industrial countries to the redistribution and use of accumulated surpluses in a manner which serves to stimulate and promote development in the South. We are convinced that only under this scenario will developing countries be able to grow and service their debt.
Many of the problems of the world economy remain acute. The burden of debt weighs heavily on many countries and remains a potential threat to the international financial system. Issues of protectionism, trade, commodity prices, resource flows and monetary reform remain on the agenda of the international community and must be addressed with creativity and vigour.
In this context, we welcome the agreement recently reached at Punta del Este on the launching of a new General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) round of multilateral trade negotiations. Next year, also, the seventh session of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) will provide an opportunity for the international community to address the areas of money, finance,
a trade and development in a comprehensive and integrated manner. We encourage all States to co-operate in order to ensure that this important meeting will be a success. The economies of the developing countries must be placed on a sustained growth path if the hopes and aspirations of mankind embodied in the Charter, which guides the work of the Organization, are to be fulfilled.
These continuing, troublesome and often perplexing issues make it all the more necessary to have an efficient, responsive and viable United Nations. The effort at collective self-criticism has now resulted in the report of the Group of High-Level Intergovernmental Experts. That report is welcome. It is one step in the right direction. We fi/id the recommendations thoughtful and thought-provoking. But it would be over-ambitious to expect this session of the Assembly to adopt all of them. There are sufficient contradictions and inconsistencies in the recommendations to make any such package impossible. Nevertheless, the Assembly must examine the report thoroughly. In so doing, Member States must be ever careful not to distort or derogate from the goals and principles of the Organization in our necessary and well-intentioned efforts to satisfy immediate concerns about administrative efficiency and financial soundness.
Finally, Jamaica notes with satisfaction that progress is being made in the work of the Preparatory Commission in connection with the law of the sea. We are pleased that agreement has been reached on an understanding to overcome the problem of overlapping claims of the pioneer investors and we look forward to the registration of pioneer investors in the near future. This step will give increased credibility to the international regime for the sea-bed and will further
demonstrate the commitment of the international community to the Convention on the Law of the Sea.
The history of man's ability to adapt to changing circumstances and environments gives up hope that the United Nations will respond to the new needs and challenges. Everything depends on us, the Member States. It is we who, having taken cognizance of the needs, will so organize ourselves and this institution that its worth will be un-questioned and unassailable.
We look to the future of man, we look to the future of the United Nations, and we can only hope that the ability to adapt and the instinct for survival will prevail.