Mr. President, permit me to express to you on behalf of the delegation of the Yemen Arab Republic, and on my own behalf, our whole-hearted satisfaction at your election to the presidency of the twenty-seventh session of the General Assembly. We are certain that your election to that high office reflects the confidence of the General Assembly in your personal qualities and the high esteem in which it holds the Polish People's Republic, which is bound to my country by friendly relations.
2.	I wish, Mr. President, to express my delegation's appreciation to your distinguished predecessor, Adam Malik, the Foreign Minister of Indonesia, for the brilliant role he played in presiding over the twenty-sixth session of the General Assembly.
3.	I wish also, with great satisfaction and pleasure, to convey on behalf of my Government and delegation-sincere congratulations to Mr. Kurt Waldheim on his election to the high office of Secretary-General and to wish him success in the arduous tasks of that distinguished post.
4.	The restoration to the People's Republic of China of its lawful rights in the United Nations is in our view an important event and a turning-point in the history of this Organization in its march towards a brighter future. My delegation wishes to express its satisfaction at this important step taken at the last session of the General Assembly. My country considers the restoration of the lawful rights of the People's Republic of China in the United Nations a victory for the third world and for the United Nations itself.
5.	The twenty-seventh session of the General Assembly is being held in circumstances which require our closest attention and consideration. It is witnessing a series of events which demand our thorough study and require deeper understanding of their dimensions.
6.	On the one hand, we are witnessing in the third world an overwhelming revolution against exploitation, injustice and official terrorism. We see that the peoples of the countries of the third world have chosen the road of violent struggle in order to regain their legitimate rights because of the inability of the United Nations to bring them justice and because of the failure of international law-which seems to have been made to safeguard the status quo to protect them and their legitimate" rights.
7.	On the other hand, we are witnessing a rapprochement between East and West, and we note that the tension which dominated Europe is being dissipated and replaced by a new phenomenon characterized by detente and common interests. Although my Government and my country welcome that phenomenon, which undoubtedly encourages us to be optimistic about the future of peace, in Europe in particular, and about relations between the two traditional camps in general, it should be viewed in a much wider context, because peace is one and indivisible. Consequently, any rapprochement or detente between East and West will not be fruitful unless it is extended to the other parts of the world.
8.	Furthermore, peace cannot be real and effective so long as the industrialized countries and the developing countries are separated by a wide gap, which is becoming even wider every year. The United Nations will not achieve success in its march towards peace and progress unless the industrialized countries adopt a policy of sincere co-operation with the United Nations in its efforts to put an end to exploitation afflicting the developing countries.
9.	We cannot but view with concern the Second United Nations Development Decade declared by the General Assembly at its twenty-fifth session in 1970 [resolution 2626 (XXV)], for the experiences and unsatisfactory results of the first Development Decade are still fresh in our minds. In our opinion, the proper organs of the United Nations should locate those areas of weakness that led to the failure of the first Development Decade. At the same time, we reaffirm our demand for co-operation by the industrialized countries with United Nations efforts to achieve the objectives of the Second Development Decade.
10.	We recognize that the responsibility for development rests primarily with the developing countries. The industrialized countries, however, should in our view assume a
part of that responsibility. They are duty-bound to provide technical advice and assistance and to participate with all seriousness, sincerity and objectivity in United Nations programs in the developing countries.
11.	The Yemen Arab Republic, which is one of 25 countries identified by the United Nations Committee for Development Planning as the "hard core" among the developing countries, is now determined to mobilize all its human and material resources and potential to face the challenge represented by the responsibility of economic development. We believe that through co-operation with the United Nations and its specialized agencies, as well as through bilateral agreements, we shall be able to overcome the problems of development in particular, poverty and unemployment.
12.	General Assembly resolution 2768 (XXVI) was the outcome of many studies and reports. We think that the proper organs-in particular, the Office of the UnderSecretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs and the United Nations Development Program should direct their efforts to translate into action the existing proposals and suggested solutions. Moreover, we think that the United Nations should carefully adopt a development program for the developing countries based on the guidelines suggested by previous reports and studies regarding the under-developed countries, as is the case of the United Nations Volunteers program, which in its initial stage has proved effective and successful. The industrialized countries should also be called upon to give their financial assistance and technical know-how to make that pro-gramme more useful and effective.
13.	The third session of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, held in Santiago, Chile, early this year, was important to the developing countries, especially in view of the international monetary crisis facing the world, and its implications. The session highlighted the need for the developing countries to take collective action in order to protect their interests. Some industrialized Powers have attempted to solve the monetary problem by placing restrictions on their trade with the developing countries in order to maintain their exploitation and domination, and have tried to shift the burden of the problem to the small countries.
14.	The United Nations Conference on the Human Environment, held in Stockholm in June of this year, was an attempt to overcome the problem of pollution. If nothing else, that Conference was an expression of the increasing awareness of the danger of pollution and has put responsibility for this problem at the doorstep of the industrialized countries.
15.	The delegation of the Yemen Arab Republic supports the resolutions adopted by the two aforementioned conferences in Santiago and Stockholm and calls on all countries to co-operate with the United Nations in the implementation of those resolutions and recommendations. We also request the United Nations, together with the industrialized countries, to respond to the appeals made by the Conference of the Foreign Ministers of Non-Aligned Countries held in Georgetown, Guyana in August, regarding the right of developing countries to full sovereignty over their natural resources in order to consolidate their economic and political independence.
16.	If the Yemen Arab Republic attaches great importance to the United Nations in the field of development, it attaches even greater importance to the role of this Organization as an instrument of peace, justice and progress. We consider the Charter to be a program of clear principles and objectives. Hence, Yemen's.support for the United Nations and the principles enshrined in the Charter is a result of the Yemeni people's belief in those principles and objectives and their deep conviction that the United Nations will remain the only way to spare the world and succeeding generations from the scourge of war. Therefore, our people believes that it is a sacred duty of all Members of this Organization to uphold and strengthen the United Nations and to respect its Charter.
17.	If and when a very few States, in violation of their obligations under the Charter, persist in defying and ignoring United Nations principles, the entire membership of the Organization is called upon to raise its voice and declare its condemnation.
18.	There are many problems requiring speedy and decisive action by the United Nations. They are the problems of colonialism, neo-colonialism, apartheid, racial discrimination in Africa, and the continuing wars of aggression in the Middle East and VietNam. The delegation of Yemen wishes to present its views regarding these problems, which threaten international peace and security and are of great concern to world public opinion. As we discuss these problems, we deem it necessary to reiterate our total support for the resolutions of the United Nations in fulfillment of our obligations under the Charter and in expression of our concern to uphold the United Nations and the principles it represents.
19.	It is our sacred duty to affirm again the need to restore to the Palestinian people their legitimate rights in conformity with international law and the principles enshrined in the Charter. The people of Palestine have been expelled from their homeland and have been deprived of their possessions and property. The people of Palestine are now dispersed throughout the world, or are living in tents on the charitable contributions provided through the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East. The expulsion and murder of the Palestinian people at the hands of the neo-Nazis in Palestine are unparalleled in human history. Indeed, they dwarf the crimes perpetrated by the German Nazis in the first half of this century.
20.	Events and developments now taking place in the Middle East confirm beyond any doubt that world Zionism, represented by the ruling clique of Tel Aviv, rejects any peace based on right and justice and refuses to respond to repeated appeals of the United Nations concerning the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people to self-determination and repatriation. World Zionism also refuses to withdraw from the territories of Egypt, Syria and Jordan it has occupied by force and war following the treacherous aggression against those Arab countries in June 1967.
21.	We believe in peace, but we also believe that the only way to achieve it is to remove all conditions of injustice to which the Palestinian people have been subjected. Therefore we maintain that any solution of this problem will not be successful unless it expressly provides for the complete recognition of the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people in accordance with the provisions of the Charter, the principles of international law and the practice of civilized societies. The Yemen delegation warns against any minimization of the rights of the Palestinian people, for this would only result in the escalation of the state of tension and chaos in the region, which would inevitably lead to a large-scale confrontation.
22.	If the Zionists believe that the policy of violence and terror they practice against the Palestinian people in particular and the Arab nation in general is the only way of coexistence, then they should be made to realize that they are gambling with their own existence and exposing the world to unnecessary war.
23.	As long as the Zionists continue to ignore the United Nations resolutions, the Charter and principles of human rights, as long as they continue their aggression against the Arab countries, as long as they continue to deny the Palestinian people their legitimate rights to their homes and self-determination, peace will never come to the Middle East.
24.	My delegation maintains and even warns this Assembly that Israel alone is responsible for the deterioration of the situation because of its continued aggression against Arab countries, its repeated attacks against Lebanese and Syrian territories and its continued acts of terrorism and murder.
25.	Another problem disturbing the human conscience and threatening peace and security is the war of aggression in Viet-Nam and all IndoChina. Our delegation declares its total support for the struggle carried out by the heroic VietNamese people to free their country from foreign forces and calls upon the United Nations to take a firm stand with regard to this problem. The Government of Yemen is convinced that the only way to reach a just and reasonable solution of this thorny problem is the unconditional withdrawal of foreign forces from Viet-Nam, thus allowing the Vietnamese to exercise their right to self-determination in full freedom and in a manner of their own choice, without any outside interference or external pres-sure. Therefore our delegation demands the unconditional withdrawal of foreign troops from South Viet-Nam and calls upon the States concerned to respect the fight of the Vietnamese people to self-determination.
26.	My delegation and my Government express their satisfaction with the recent developments in the Korean peninsula. We welcome the dialog which has been conducted between the leaders of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea and the Government of South Korea. We also welcome the steps taken by the Red Cross societies in the two parts of Korea.
27.	It is our conviction that the General Assembly should have taken up the Korean problem at this session and discussed it in the light of these new developments in the peninsula. In our opinion, the least the General Assembly should have done at this juncture was to adopt a resolution endorsing the positive steps taken thus far, calling for more efforts and declaring the removal of the United Nations flag, which is still at this moment flying over the helmets of the foreign occupying forces in South Korea.
28.	We wish to reiterate here that the reunification of Korea is the responsibility solely of the Korean people, who must be given the freedom to decide their own destiny. This, we believe, cannot be accomplished unless the foreign occupation forces in South Korea are withdrawn. The existence of those troops constitutes the main obstacle to the peaceful reunification of the country and the prevalence of brotherhood and understanding between the two countries.
29.	The position of the Government of the Yemen Arab Republic with regard to the issue of colonialism is well known. We wish to confirm again our support of the National Liberation Movements in Angola, Mozambique and Guinea (Bissau) under the leadership of FRELIMO. We call upon the United Nations to take a firm stand vis-a-vis the Government of Lisbon with regard to its continued flouting of United .Nations resolutions and its defiance of world opinion represented by this Organization. We realize that Portugal alone could not continue its colonial war against the nationalists in Angola, Mozambique and Guinea (Bissau). It is with the material and military assistance offered by some States members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization that Portugal has been able to defy the United Nations and continue its criminal war against the African nationalists in those areas.
30.	When we discuss colonialism and its crimes we are forced to discuss racial discrimination and apartheid practiced by the Government of the white minority of South Africa against the people of Namibia. Our Organization has already adopted several resolutions regarding the colonial situation in Namibia, the most important being the resolution, adopted by the General Assembly at its twenty-first session in 1966, which terminated South Africa's mandate over Namibia [resolution 2145 (XXI)]. The racist Government in Pretoria does not recognize the competence of the United Nations and therefore refuses to implement the resolutions regarding Namibia. We cannot accept that attitude. Our loyalty to the principles of the United Nations and its Charter and our strong desire to strengthen the position of this Organization compel us to demand the imposition of sanctions against South Africa in accordance with Articles 6,41 and 42 of the Charter.
31.	The list is still incomplete, for there is still the problem of the people of Zimbabwe, who live under the racial terror and the rule of the white minority in Southern Rhodesia. In November 1965, that transplanted racist minority declared unilateral independence. But what is the significance of that independence to the African nationals, who represent the majority of the population of Rhodesia? It means the continuation of colonialism and the loathsome exploitation of the material and human resources of that country for the benefit of a foreign racist group.
32.	What is happening in Southern Rhodesia resembles and parallels what is taking place in occupied Palestine.
British colonialism is alone responsible for the crimes being perpetrated now in both Palestine and Rhodesia. Britain withdrew from Palestine, which was under its Mandate, and left it prey to a foreign racist clique. The same barbaric operation has been repeated in Rhodesia, where Britain has refused since 1947 to submit information on that Territory to the United Nations, insisting that Rhodesia does not fall within the scope of Chapter XI of the Charter. Moreover, it has given the white racist minority in that area the freedom to control and exploit the resources of the Zimbabwe people and to repress their right to independence and freedom. The mutilation and violation of the most elementary principles and laws that is being witnessed by humanity are but one aspect of colonialism, whose crimes would make the devil appear to be a saint.
33.	We demand the overthrow of the illegal and racist regime of Ian Smith and we support the struggle of the Zimbabwe people for freedom and independence. We support all liberation movements which aim at establishing a national rule supported by the majority of the people.
34.	Yemen, a small country whose people have struggled throughout history and have made innumerable sacrifices in order to preserve their freedom and independence and their right to self-determination, well knows the meaning of struggle and the high price it exacts. Therefore it has deep compassion for those who are still deprived of their basic human rights. We call on the United Nations and all freedom and peace-loving nations to come to the assistance of these struggling peoples and to extend to them all possible aid, for humanity will never be free as long as there is one single human being enslaved, and there will be no peace on earth as long as there is one single people, however small or weak, deprived of its right to self-determination in its homeland.
35.	The voices of condemnation which we began to hear against the freedom fighters, some of which were pronounced from this rostrum in an attempt to equate struggle with terrorism, were neither new nor strange to the history of struggle. The same charges were leveled against the comrades of Cromwell and Washington, against the comrades of the Paris communes, against the comrades of Simon Bolivar and Garibaldi, against the heroes of the French resistance, against the comrades of Lenin and Mao Tse-tung, against the freedom fighters in Algeria and all Africa, and against the many, many others in the long list of heroes throughout the history of human struggle for freedom. That did not discourage the freedom fighters nor dissuade them from their march along the arduous path to freedom. As we go through the last third of this century, it is our duty to stand beside those fighters and help them regain their legitimate rights. It is the duty of the United Nations to play an essential role in this respect.
36.	Terrorists are those who blow up houses over the heads of their inhabitants as the Zionist State does in occupied Palestine. Terrorists are those who suppress the freedom of man in Namibia, Mozambique, Angola, Guinea (Bissau) and Rhodesia.
37.	Some States have officially practiced and continue to practice terrorism and violence against innocent people. The indiscriminate bombing in IndoChina, the crimes committed by the authorities of Salisbury, Pretoria and Lisbon against the African nationals represent the worst of terrorism and enrage the human conscience. The Zionist State in Palestine was established by terrorism and continues to live by terrorism. The crimes perpetrated by the Zionists against the Palestinian and neighboring Arabs, day after day and year after year, make the Zionists the indisputable masters of terrorism.
38.	If the United Nations is to take upon itself the responsibility for addressing itself to the problem of terrorism, it must start by identifying and eliminating the sources of terrorism: the practices of imperialists, colonialists and the transplanted racist minorities directed against the peoples of the third world in Africa, Asia and Latin America.
39.	The responsibility of the United Nations is enormous and the Organization should assert its moral and political authority. Believing, as we do, in the United Nations, we implore that it keep in tune with the hopes and aspirations of the peoples of the world for freedom, justice and progress. We believe that the Member States, and especially the big Powers, are responsible for protecting peace and upholding the authority of the United Nations as an instrument of freedom, peace, justice and progress. Unless Member States co-operate in fulfillment of their obligations under the Charter, the future of this Organization is in danger.
40.	We believe in the United Nations and its principles. We believe that it is the only instrument able to promote peace, freedom and progress in this world. We believe that it is the true expression of peoples' hopes and aspirations everywhere. Yemen, as a developing nation and as part of the third world, has a vested interest in a strong and effective United Nations. We will continue to uphold the principles of the Charter and give all our support to its endeavor to translate these principles into living realities.


Mr. President, it is for me a pleasant duty to congratulate you on your election as President of this session of the General Assembly. Your long experience in the service of your country, as well as your sterling qualities as a statesman and a diplomat, eminently qualify you to discharge effectively the duties attendant upon your high office. The record of your service since the opening of this session has already justified the confidence reposed in you by the Members of our Organization.
99.	I want also to place on record the Nigerian delegation's appreciation of the services rendered as President of the Assembly during the last year by Adam Malik, the Foreign Minister of Indonesia, whose occupancy of the presidential chair not only did great credit to his own country but also enhanced Afro-Asian co-operation in tackling very explosive world crises and delicate situations in the General Assembly.
100.	Permit me further to take this opportunity to extend my congratulations to the Secretary-General of our Organization, Mr. Kurt Waldheim, on the energetic and efficient manner in which he has started to grapple with the heavy burden of his office.
101.	Since the twenty-sixth session of the General Assembly there have been some positive trends towards an improvement in the world situation. The era of detente, which was ushered in by increased contact between the super-Powers, is gradually lessening international tensions; the balance of terror which had formed the basis of the uneasy peace between these super-Powers and their allies is gradually giving place to a reconciliation of interests. The People's Republic of China, following the historic decision taken by the General Assembly last year [resolution 2758(XXVI)], has assumed its legitimate place in the community of nations and its representative had the opportunity, only last month, of presiding over the most important organ of the United Nations, the Security Council. These developments, by reducing the dangers of global war, have made significant contributions to the maintenance of world peace and security, and the realization of the purposes and principles of the Organization.
102.	However, we cannot pretend to be unaware of some of the problems which detente may create if we do not consciously guard against them. There will increasingly arise the tendency on the part of a few to see themselves as the sole arbiters of international peace and security and to seek solutions outside the United Nations to world problems which affect us all, great and small alike.
103.	While the recent Moscow agreements, for instance, have been hailed as a positive step towards disarmament, there is no denying that their significance would have been even greater had they been worked out within the United Nations Conference of the Committee on Disarmament. We realize, of course, that even within that Committee the necessity for "political realism", to quote a common phrase, is increasingly being invoked as a justification for special privileges for some members, thus restricting the role of others.
104.	The small, the medium-sized and the developing countries as a whole must seek active participation in the development of a world order in which all countries will be secure, and the interests of all peoples safeguarded. For us in Africa, the improvement in the world situation will be more meaningful if and when it brings the wind of change to the colonial and racial situation in Southern Africa. As far back as 1960, this Organization, by its resolution 1514 (XV), committed itself to the total liberation of colonial Territories and the granting of self-determination to their peoples. Twelve years after this lofty commitment, and in spite of improvements in other areas of international concern, it is most regrettable that the situation in southern Africa has not changed.
105.	The colonialist and minority regimes, firmly backed by some NATO powers and international capitalism, continue to suppress African freedom movements savagely, to ignore United Nations resolutions, and to promote subversion against countries which support the freedom movements.
106.	The question of colonialism affects Africa more than any other part of the world, and the continued existence of colonialism in Africa is an infraction of our dignity as Africans and a threat to our national security and sovereignty. That is why we in Africa have had to take a lead in concerting international efforts against colonialism where-ever it exists and in giving substantial material and moral assistance to freedom movements.
107.	To us, therefore, it is a matter of great disappointment that the dedication to the implementation of resolution 1514 (XV) shown by the OAU has not been matched by whole-hearted support of it by some Members of the United Nations, because of their mistaken belief that their national interests would be adversely affected by the total implementation of that resolution. For example, only a few days ago, on Friday, 29 September 1972, we witnessed a deplorable use of the veto by the United Kingdom to thwart the rightful aspirations of the peoples of Zimbabwe to independence and self-determination and to promote the selfish interests of the racist minority regime in that country.
108.	If we are all committed to the liberation of peoples everywhere from the indignity implicit in colonialism and racism, we ought to be prepared to back our verbal commitments with material assistance. In this respect I must express Nigeria's sincere appreciation of the commitment of the foreign ministers of the non-aligned States to increase their material assistance to the liberation movements.
109.	I should also draw attention with great appreciation to the decision of the Foreign Ministers of the Nordic countries to provide material assistance to those liberation movements. These offers of assistance, which positively demonstrate the support for human dignity given by the
Nordic peoples, as well as the non-aligned States, strengthen the determination of the freedom fighters. A tribute must also be paid to the socialist countries for the assistance they have continuously given to the cause of liberation in Africa.
110.	What is required is that assistance be given on such a massive scale as to remove without further delay the forces of oppression and racism from the Territories of Angola, Mozambique, Guinea (Bissau), Zimbabwe and Namibia. For so long as the situation in those Territories remains as it is today so long as the peoples of those Territories are denied the opportunity to exercise their rights to independence and self-determination-there will remain an indelible blot on the record of the United Nations.
111.	Just as disheartening as the lack of progress in decolonization is the continuation of the deplorable policy of apartheid in the Republic of South Africa. In spite of the innumerable resolutions of this Organization, the South African Government has not relented in its pursuit of its racist policy. On the contrary, it has extended that policy more harshly to every aspect of national life in that country. Only recently the Prime Minister of South Africa embarked upon a program designed to cause confusion among black African countries and other mixed societies by advocating dialog with independent black African countries and by increasing facilities for black artists, sportsmen and other personalities to visit South Africa from the United States and similar countries. Even that feeble and insincere concession to world opinion has received a severe set-back through the increasing opposition of the ultra- racist, Fascist wing of his party. The continued failure of the moderate and liberal-minded section of the South African community to secure influential positions in the public life of that country is an indication that no amount of dialog or fraternization will deflect the obscurantist and inflexible advocates of apartheid from their course aimed at the total dehumanization of black people in that country and beyond. For we notice that the South African Government is now exporting apartheid to Zimbabwe, Namibia and the African Territories of Angola and Mozambique, which are still under Portuguese colonial domination.
112.	Afraid that independent African countries north of the Zambezi river might become stable, developed and powerful, and thereby disprove the racist white-superiority concept which underpins the policy of apartheid, and concerned that such countries total abhorrence of the policy of apartheid would increasingly contribute to the overturn of the status quo in South Africa, the South African Government has now mounted a program of action designed to create and promote conspiracies, subversion and sabotage in several independent African countries.
113.	During this session of the General Assembly the United Nations must look closely into areas in which new initiatives can be taken in the efforts to combat apartheid. It is no longer enough to condemn apartheid as being a crime against humanity. It is imperative that we organize more effectively and efficiently our resources to combat this curse to humanity. A start should be made in the more effective and efficient co-ordination of our multifarious activities against apartheid.
114.	I wish to emphasize, as I have on other occasions, the point that Nigeria's policy towards the regimes in southern Africa is not based on racial considerations. It is motivated principally by our firm conviction that all men have the right to freedom and to economic and social justice. Apartheid is to us an abominable and repugnant State policy. If it were imposed on any other race in the world we should condemn it in equally strong terms. Above all our attitude is determined by our awareness that the entrenchment of racialist minority Governments in southern Africa is not only morally wrong but, more importantly, a threat to the sovereignty and security of independent African States and a primary source of international conflict.
115.	The hope for bridging the economic gap between the developed and the developing countries which inspired the International Development Strategy for the Second United Nations Development Decade [resolution 2626 (XXV)], has not been borne out. It will be recalled that one of the basic assumptions of the Strategy is the existence in the developed countries of the political will necessary for the implementation of the measures expected of them in the Strategy.
116.	The third session of UNCTAD, held in Santiago, Chile, earlier this year, provided the first opportunity to put to the test the existence or otherwise of this political will on the part of the developed countries. No one who attended that session had any doubt that the bottom had been knocked out of the Strategy. The reluctance of the developed countries to meet even the minimum requirements of the developing countries, as set out in the Declaration adopted at the Second Ministerial Meeting of the Group of 77 developing countries at Lima on 7 November 1971,  was clearly shown on almost every problem discussed at the session. In the face of this apathy on the part of the advanced countries towards taking the basic step in the implementation of a Strategy which was carefully and elaborately worked out, can we in the third world continue to entrust our economic fortunes to others? It is the view of Nigeria that this situation calls for closer co-operation and deeper consultations among the developing countries to determine what their economic and trade relations with the developed countries should be. To append ourselves to economic units created basically for the development of Europe, for instance, cannot serve the long-term interest of countries on other continents struggling to find their feet. This is why Nigeria is committed to the promotion of regional economic units in Africa which would provide the much-needed co-operation for the rapid development of the continent. The All-Africa Trade Fair held in Nairobi, Kenya, early this year demonstrated the vast potentialities of intra-African trade. But let me hasten to add that Nigeria hopes that the development of regional economic groups will promote, rather than restrict, a free flow of goods and services among all countries.
117.	The issues relating to the law of the sea are bound to assume great proportions during this session of the General Assembly in view of our decision at the twenty-fifth session to convene a conference on the law of the sea in 1973 [resolution 2750 C (XXV)]. Naturally, as a coastal State and as a developing country, Nigeria has a special interest in the proposed conference for two reasons: first is the question of our security; second is the link between the exploitation of the resources of the sea and of the sea-bed and our economic development. Not having participated in the First and Second Conferences on the Law of the Sea, held at Geneva in 1958 and 1960 respectively, Nigeria will want to take this opportunity to ensure that its vital interests are protected even while helping to facilitate international commerce and scientific research for the peaceful exploitation of the sea-bed. It is, therefore, my view that the time spent by the Committee on the Peaceful Uses of the Sea-bed and the Ocean Floor beyond the Limits of National Jurisdiction in preparing an exhaustive list of subjects for discussion at the forthcoming conference on the law of the sea has not been wasted. It is a matter for discussion whether in fact sufficient preparatory work will have been done by the end of this year to enable us to convene the conference as scheduled, if we are to avoid the fiasco of the 1960 Conference. Patience and careful planning are indispensable to achieving our aim of elaborating generally acceptable regimes for the sea.
118.	Just as the Charter of the United Nations is in principle based on the sovereign equality of all its Members, so also must membership in the Security Council and other committees of the United Nations be based on principles which recognize and accommodate ever-changing world attitudes. As the membership of the Organization has increased more than twofold since its inception, it is necessary, in the view of my Government, to readjust the composition of the principal organ concerned with peace and security; for there is no denying the fact that the effectiveness of the Security Council in fulfilling its role cannot be disassociated from its representative character. It is arguable whether or not it is wise in present-day circumstances to continue to maintain a privileged position for those countries which in accordance with Article 23, paragraph 1, of the Charter have permanent seats on the Council and exercise a veto power over its decisions. Basically, the conditions prevalent at the time of the designation of those permanent members no longer apply today, and democratization of our Organization should ideally apply to the Security Council as well. Bearing in mind, however, the present climate of opinion among those permanent members, whose concurrence is necessary for withdrawing their privileges, it may be more realistic to think in terms of the expansion of the system of permanent membership to include representatives from those regions in the world which are at present excluded from permanent membership: for instance, Asia, Africa and Latin America. In any case, Nigeria believes that the need exists for some modest increase in the over-all membership of the Security Council to provide fairer representation of the various geographical regions in our Organization.
119.	The situation in the Middle East continues to be ominous and confused. Various attempts and encouraging movements towards a peaceful solution, or negotiations and contacts with a view to seeking areas of possible accommodation in the interest of peace, continue to be frustrated by the intransigence of some of the parties to the dispute, and their encouragement, for narrow selfish reasons, by some of the big Powers supporting various interests and nations in the area. For us in Nigeria, Security Council resolution 242(1967) still represents the best basis for movement towards settlement and a lasting and just peace in the area.
120.	The initiative taken last year by the OAU, in which my Head of State participated, was to assist in the attainment of this objective. The OAU's inability to record complete success was due, in my opinion, to the legalistic interpretation by the parties of the wording of Security Council resolution 242(1967). May we on this occasion appeal to the parties to take another conciliatory look at that resolution, for it takes full account of the interests of all the parties to this tragic dispute? It is essential that all parties in the area commit themselves to a peaceful settlement.
121.	The issue of terrorism, which has loomed so large during the current session, should be seen in its proper perspective. The unfortunate impression has been created, particularly by the Western press, that Arab and African States are opposed to a discussion of the issue, which, we are told by the supporters of the item [item 92], has created panic in the minds of a section of the international community. Yet, it is now clear, after the preliminary exchange of views, both in the General Committee and in plenary meetings, that the hesitation expressed on the need for a clear definition of the term "terrorism" in the context in which it is to be discussed is wholly justified. For, if not put in its proper context, the discussion can easily degenerate into a total condemnation of the means of implementing principles which are enshrined in the Charter and have been reiterated in innumerable decisions and resolutions of this Organization.
122.	No responsible Government or person would condone acts perpetrated by individuals against innocent persons for their own personal gain or for emotional satisfaction. However, we are painfully aware that, in pursuance of ideals enshrined in our Charter, it has become necessary for some persons and organizations to adopt violent methods where all avenues of peaceful settlement have been barred. The exercise of self-determination and independence has been recognized by the United Nations as the inalienable right of all peoples. Yet we see these rights being denied to millions of people in southern Africa by the reign of terror imposed on them by colonialist and racialist regimes. If such peoples resort to armed force, Nigeria cannot be party to a discussion that will seek to equate their activities with those of common criminals who hijack planes and kidnap diplomats and other important people to extort financial benefits for themselves. Certainly, we in Africa, who have endured the most vicious forms of terrorism, have no inhibition in exposing to the world what some of our brothers still suffer. What we cannot condone is to give those who organize the worst forms of terror an opportunity to condemn as terrorists the victims of their inhumanity. It must be made clear that peoples struggling to liberate themselves from oppression and exploitation have the right to use all methods at their disposal, including force. This fact has been recognized by our Organization. We should therefore not leave the door wide open for reactionary regimes to erode the glorious struggles of these peoples. In this regard we hope that the Sixth Committee, to which the item has now been referred, will give a clear definition that will be generally acceptable to Members of this Organization.
123.	I wish to conclude this statement by affirming our abiding faith in the ability of the United Nations to contribute to the consolidation of peace among all nations, to the enhancement of justice in all lands and to the promotion of the economic and social progress of all the peoples of the world. We, in Nigeria, shall continue to do all that we can to contribute to the improvement of the methods of the United Nations, in the hope that the Organization will decide to proceed with greater vigor to tackle its unfinished business: to assert the dignity of the human being and his right to self-determination and the enjoyment of freedom, to press forward the elimination of apartheid, to bring about the elimination of force as an instrument for settling disputes, and to concert international co-operation for the furtherance of the economic and social progress of peoples everywhere. This, we believe, will enhance the possibilities of the United Nations to flourish for the good of mankind.


Mr. President, I am particularly pleased to have the opportunity today to associate myself with the speakers who have preceded me in offering to you the warmest congratulations of my delegation and expressing to you our deep satisfaction at seeing an eminent representative of Eastern Europe, ardent defender, moreover, of the cause of oppressed peoples, presiding over the destinies of the twenty-seventh session of the General Assembly.
129.	I also wish, in accordance with the traditions of equity of this august Assembly, to pay a tribute to Mr. Adam Malik for the tact and competence that he displayed during the work-which is now history-of the last session of the General Assembly, work to which he brought so much intelligence and nobility of spirit.
130.	To our Secretary-General I wish to express the gratification of my delegation for his excellent introduction to the work of the present session. Since his election to his responsible post he has continued to show the measure of his authority and his competence in the face of the important affairs of a world in a constant state of flux.
131.	Today we are gathered in a climate which is propitious for fundamental changes, harbingers of a new era in international relations. The most striking illustration of this radical transformation in international order is surely to be found in the following significant events: the Sino-American rapprochement, which took the form of an official trip by President Nixon to China; the determination proclaimed by the Governments of Pyongyang and Seoul to promote the peaceful and independent reunification of Korea; the equally evident will of the two German States to modify their fundamental relationships; the prospect for detente in Indo-Pakistani relations as a result of the Simla Agreement of 3 July 1972 and subsequent talks; and the determination of Japan and China to normalize their relations.
132.	It is nevertheless essential in this ever-changing world whose transformations are frequently beyond our understanding that we not let ourselves be carried away by the illusion of apparent security.
133.	It is evident that the most cynical person would be unable to deliver a speech on the state of the world, which we are invited to do at the annual session of the General Assembly, without expressing a feeling of profound misgiving at the growing gap between the noble ideals set for itself by the international community and the melancholy reality. To ensure peace among States, to induce respect for the sovereignty of the weak against the strong through respect for international law, which is the guarantor of freedom for peoples and men: is that not a grandiose task in defense of which all countries should be mobilized?
134.	And yet what do we see from continent to continent? Everywhere conflicts are breaking out. Numerous bombings with their aftermath of iron, fire and blood still ravage various points on our planet. Millions of innocent victims are dressing their wounds when they are not weeping for their dead. Others continue to live in dreadful poverty, condemned, most frequently, to the darkness of colonial servitude.
135.	These atrocities and I am not saying anything that is not already well known affect by some irony of fate the countries of the third world, those very countries which are trying to achieve stability and peace in order to ensure their material and moral development. Were we to stop to meditate on this depressing situation we would become bitterly aware of the nefarious role played in the world by selfishness and the Wish for power of one or the other of the great Powers even though they claim to belong to different ideologies.
136.	That is why it is already high time to address an urgent appeal to all peoples and men of goodwill to join their energies and bend all their will towards the achievement of justice and peace in the world.
137.	In formulating that wish I must turn my eyes towards the ancient continent of Asia, from which so many messages of peace emanated, but which today offers the distressing spectacle of one of the most horrible human tragedies: I refer to the War in IndoChina.
138.	The VietNamese people, tragically torn asunder by a horrible fratricidal war of 20 years duration, have undeniably shown to South-East Asia a spirit of determination and sacrifice, until now unsuspected. Because their thirst for freedom and their refusal to capitulate has surely converted the VietNamese conflict into the martyrdom of an entire people, it appears to us that there, as elsewhere, negotiation remains the Only course towards a constructive peace, since it would be freely consented to. Without further delay the United Nations must echo the words of President Senghor, who stated recently:
"It is time for weapons to be silent in VietNam as well as in the Middle East so that a just and durable peace may come, based upon the self-determination of peoples, without foreign intervention."
This is the prior condition whose realization would make it possible for the Paris conference to embark resolutely upon a decisive course with increased chances of success.
139.	It is also the moment for our Organization in this respect following the clearly expressed will of the George-town Conference of Foreign Ministers of Non-Aligned Countries to re-establish as a full pledged Member of the United Nations the regime of Prince Norodom Sihanouk of Cambodia, which not often is recognized by the majority of members of the international community but, above all, controls more than 85 per cent of the national territory, which to this day harbors more than 11 members of the Government.
140.	I do not doubt, in the light of events which have taken place recently, that we may at last be on the eve of seeing, if not an era of peace, at least a certain era of calm in South-East Asia, a region that has long been sorely tried.
141.	May the hope for the Far East extend also to the Middle East. As President Senghor has indicated, the painful Israel-Arab struggle amounts to a fratricidal struggle between two branches of the great Semitic family, which has given to the world irreplaceable messages. Suddenly, the unprecedented actions of the "10 wise men" of the Organization of African Unity [OAU], with a view to Ambassador Jarring resuming negotiations, take on a special significance.
142.	Unfortunately, the policies of certain great Powers, which seem to accommodate themselves to the proposition of "no peace, no war" in the Middle East, seem, in all likelihood, to spell ultimate ruin for the efforts of the OAU. However, far from despairing of peace in the Middle East, the countries of the third world and also, and especially, the great Powers of the European Economic Community are duty-bound to redouble their efforts towards a prompt settlement of the conflict, a settlement which would be in accord with their interests, especially since the two belligerent Powers are associate members of the Common Market.
143.	Just as my Government has maintained and still maintains that there are truths and realities imposed by reason, and the existence of Israel is just such a reality, it is also convinced that the security of the Jewish State will not be ensured in the long run except through dialog and agreement with its Arab neighbors the latter having to realize that peace is more than ever necessary to their unity and development. It is therefore pertinent that the advent of peace to the area depends exclusively on a dialog between Moslems, Jews, Arabs and Bedouins.
144.	Accordingly, it is now for the United Nations to require that Israel establish the conditions necessary for such a dialog through strict compliance with and full application of the pertinent provisions of Security Council resolution 242(1967), and that it publicly declare at the same time its intention not to annex occupied Arab territories. That would be a decisive step for Israel that would lead to the negotiating table, Egypt no longer being able, at the risk of losing its territorial integrity and identity, to make any further concessions.
145.	In referring to this gloomy picture of the Middle East we have to recall, in the case of international terrorism, which everybody agrees must be denounced as a threat to peace, that it is a constant truth that to be radical the eradication of any evil necessarily requires a thorough knowledge of its profound causes.
146.	To my delegation it is important first of all to define clearly what is meant by the word "terrorism" and to study all its aspects, including the underlying motivations which engender terror throughout the world, before seeking to determine subsequently forceful measures that might eliminate it as a means of action in conflicts between States. I emphasize, moreover, that my country will oppose in the most categorical fashion any Initiative to put the slightest impediment in the way of the noble and just liberation movements that are operating on the African continent.
147.	There is a problem of as much concern as that of the Middle East. I am referring to the problem of colonialism, which imperils peace and security throughout the world. Decolonization in other words, the implementation of the right of peoples to self-determination constitutes, as we know, the most sacred foundation of the United Nations family. This is a fundamental rule an embodiment of the chief safeguard of human rights which, for every government worthy of the name, must guarantee the certainty of peace.
148.	How, therefore, can we endure Africa's continuing to pay a heavy tribute to this phenomenon of decolonization? How can we endure that Portugal, South Africa and the illegal and racist regime in Southern Rhodesia continue with impunity to keep millions of human beings in the fetters of colonial oppression and thereby violate in the most flagrant way fundamental human rights?
149.	In Angola, Mozambique and Guinea (Bissau), Portugal, for the past 10 years, has been pursuing an archaic war of colonial reconquest. Although condemned many times by the Security Council following repeated complaints from African States bordering the Territories under Portuguese administration, the Lisbon authorities have nevertheless shown their determination to be sucked into the quicksand of armed aggression and provocation. In spite of everything my Government, which has welcomed 80,000 refugees from Guinea (Bissau) to its territory, would be prepared to believe that Portugal is not racist, but the logical conclusion of such an absence of prejudice would be, indeed, respect for and strict application of the Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples, contained in resolution 1514 (XV).
150.	In Southern Rhodesia the minority, illegal and racist regime is still in power seven years after the unilateral and illegal declaration of independence and two years after the proclamation of the no less illegal "republic". That rebel regime grows stronger every day in spite of the mandatory economic sanctions dictated by the United Nations, particularly by the Security Council. It is true that, contrary to expectations, those sanctions have not had a decisive effect on the economic situation in Southern Rhodesia and therefore do not seem capable of producing the expected political changes, bearing in mind the assistance that South Africa is giving to the rebel colony.
151.	Only a few days ago, under the shallow pretext of the effect it was having on "Olympic peace", the blacks of all continents were unjustly made the object of vituperation worse, they were denied some of their victories in the competitions by a fierce coalition of whites of all convictions unable to accept the unanimous will of Africa to oppose Rhodesian participation in the Olympic Games. We must proclaim to all those who, under the cloak of political disinterestedness, continue to deny the valiant people of Zimbabwe its right to human dignity that it is precisely their unshakable readiness to recognize a white minority domination of millions of blacks that indubitably constitutes the most monstrous political act, since it is dictated solely by racist concerns.
152.	Everyone knows that what we are witnessing on the part of the illegal Ian Smith regime at present is a total and systematic rejection of all preexisting values and hence the acme of mental aberration demonstrated by its unrestrained and uncontrolled use of the one form of total non-existence available to man violent death.
153.	That is why, following the recent resounding rejection by the people of the "test of acceptability" submitted by the Pearce Commission, it is essential, in order to put a final end to the Salisbury rebellion, to resort immediately to the sort of prompt and energetic action which so serious a situation demands, in conformity with Chapter VII of the Charter. It goes without saying that Great Britain, in view of its responsibility for that Territory, must give active support to such action by displaying henceforth greater authority and determination in the exercise of its prerogatives as administering Power.
154.	In South Africa and this is obvious the measures prescribed by the United Nations have not been successful either in ending the fierce repression of the innocent population or in wiping out or eliminating apartheid, which is nothing but a complete ideology of rules and constraints erected by a white minority in order to dominate and exploit the Africans. It seems to me unnecessary to refer to the case of Namibia, whose Territory has been illegally occupied by the Government of South Africa for the past six years in defiance of the relevant resolutions of the General Assembly and the Security Council, as well as the opinion of the International Court of Justice.
155.	But there is something even more serious. For several years we have seen the strengthening of the Lisbon- Salisbury-Pretoria axis. The most salient features of the strengthening of that unholy alliance undoubtedly find their most sinister expression in the political, military and financial support which that trio of colonial oppressors is getting from certain members of NATO.
156.	Nevertheless, the international crises of the moment should not cause us to overlook the agonizing question of economic under-development, which is the principal characteristic of three quarters of mankind. As President Senghor mentioned in his famous speech at the fifty-sixth session of the general conference of the International Labor Organization, "a just and enduring world peace cannot be built on social injustice any more than on disregard of the ideals of the essential solidarity which must unite mankind".
157.	For the Chief of State of Senegal, among the problems which confront the third world, problems which are dialectically connected, there is one of capital importance and that is the problem of the deterioration of the terms of trade-of the more equitable distribution of the world's wealth, three quarters of which are unjustly confiscated by the rich nations for their own benefit.
158.	"The imperialism of ideology", to use the words of the most authoritative voice in Senegal, is precisely this economy of concerted domination practiced by the great Powers to the detriment of the developing countries.
159.	That is why the year which has elapsed, far from revealing any favorable prospects, has on the contrary been a disappointment for the poor countries and thereby for the whole world. The clearest and most recent proof of this dramatic situation is undoubtedly the failure of the third session of UNCTAD held in Santiago, Chile.
160.	My delegation has the deep-rooted belief that the failure in Santiago had only one cause-the total absence of political will among the wealthy countries. It is no longer a secret to anyone that, as was stated at the end of the work of the second session of UNCTAD by the eminent economist Raoul Prebisch: the developed countries, with a few exceptions, continue to consider the problem of development to be a secondary problem which can be solved here and there by means of a few inadequate measures and not by bold and resolute action.
161.	The verdict on Santiago will have the rare merit of highlighting what, after all, has now become obvious to all. I am speaking of the refusal of the developed countries, be they capitalist or socialist, to accept precise commitments toward the third world.
162.	Indeed, no specific agreement can be achieved on improving the terms of development financing, extrication from over-indebtedness and the rules to be established to reduce the harm suffered by the developing countries as a result of the international monetary crisis. The major preoccupation of the Group of 77 developing countries with finding a solution to the tragic commodity crisis through the regulation of production and the stabilization of prices has hardly fared any better.
163.	As regards the legitimate claims of the third world for partial disarmament to help development or even the establishment of an automatic link between special drawing rights and assistance to the third world, there again we are bound to record the negative-balance balance-sheet of the work of the third session of UNCTAD.
164.	Here we must refer to the appeal for human solidarity launched from this rostrum by the Prime Minister of Senegal on the occasion of the twenty-fifth anniversary of the United Nations. He said:
"... in the present state of disharmony in the world, what better activity could the rich countries undertake than to promote the development of the poor countries? " [1872nd meeting, para. 156.]
165.	And President Senghor reiterated forcefully:
"It is the duty and in the interests of the rich nations, in order to spare an anguished world a world war in which the proletarian countries, pushed to despair, will have nothing further to lose and nothing to hope for, to put into practice without delay a new strategy for the creation of a new system of trade which will be truly international-that is to say, more ecumenical-more human because more just. That strategy must be adequate for the planet and the universal civilization which we are building."
166.	Does that mean that, faced with the distressing spectacle of impoverishment in the midst of abundance, we.
the have-not countries, are irremediably doomed to suffer the fate of Tantalus? Must we therefore give way to despair and seek refuge in total resignation? Of course not.
167.	My delegation considers that the feelings of frustration born of the third session of UNCTAD must give way, for the rich and poor alike, to an attempt at objective thought and analysis in order to bring about genuine peace, genuine because it would be the fruit of freedom, harmonization and solidarity among all men in all continents.
168.	I can assure members that, to the reasons for discouragement systematically maintained by the rich countries, the poorer countries will respond with courage, an awareness that they must stick together in order to integrate their economies rationally within regional and subregional structures, such as the recent inception of the future economic community of West Africa, to the formation of which my country is proud to have made its modest contribution.
169.	Senegal remains confident in the great possibilities of the international community, which, properly combined, would contribute, sooner or later, to the establishment of a better world whose common denominator would be a fair and healthy distribution of wealth. We are all the more convinced of the truth of this, as it is not mere lip-service to tradition which makes us survey the gloomy panorama of the international situation in order to find in it some brighter spots which might notwithstanding provide, if not grounds for satisfaction, at least reasons for hope.
170.	In the political and strategic field, the slight but nevertheless reassuring detente in international relations appears already as an encouraging sign. Suffice it for me simply to refer to the policy of contacts and negotiations practiced in Europe and concretely illustrated by the Moscow and Warsaw Treaties and the Quadripartite Agreement on Berlin. Moreover, my Government has not failed to interpret the resumption of Sino-American dialog and the Moscow agreement on the limitation of strategic weapons between the United States and the Soviet Union as the prelude to an era of peaceful coexistence between the three giants of this world.
171.	With regard to decolonization, while little progress has been achieved, the meetings of the Security Council in Addis Ababa have nevertheless made it possible for our young countries to refer again, but on African soil, to the bulky file on colonialism, racial discrimination and apartheid. Senegal is particularly gratified since, during the Rabat meeting the Heads of State and Government of the OAU resolved to increase considerably the budget of the Committee of Liberation, and to give priority to aid and effective support for the liberation movements.
172.	In the economic and social fields my delegation takes note of the few positive decisions taken by UNCTAD at its third session: those concerning the idea of having developing countries participate in the reform of the monetary system and the special program of action to be launched for the benefit of the nucleus of the 25 least developed countries.
173.	I would add that it is first and foremost for the industrialized countries, which are those deriving the
principal-I might say "the exclusive" benefit from the iniquitous rules governing the international economy, to shape the priority requirements of development to fit a world-wide context. In so doing they would respond to the appeal of the Prime Minister of Senegal, who said:
"No man should feel happy as long as a single man elsewhere is dying of hunger. No nation can consider that development problems are solved, when other nations are exposed to poverty and misery." [1872nd meeting, para. 145.]
174.	Therefore, we should, in listing the possible sources of development capital, mention the need to re-channel the $200,000 million annually tossed into the unproductive and bottomless pit of the arms race.
175.	Might we recall that some 20 years ago it was proclaimed necessary to establish a link, for the first time, between development and disarmament? Will the time come when our Organization will be able to address to the military Powers a more urgent and more convincing message than our customary resolutions?
176.	This ideal of disarmament is undoubtedly beginning to find expression in the reduction of certain military budgets and, as a minimum, in "non-armament". Nevertheless, we have not yet seen international economic co-operation being enriched by the redeployment of the resources thus liberated. Is this not a symptom of a real weakness in the tissue of international relations that an obligation that is so frequently reaffirmed nevertheless finds no place in the list of priorities?
177.	Moreover, we can see in the distance new tasks which can only be fulfilled if even profounder transformations take place in international life, in legal rules and in new international machinery.
178.	These new requirements postulate the protection of the environment, the organization of atmospheric space and the ocean depths, the internationalization of science and the control of technological evolution, all new problems and phenomena recently brought to light at the United Nations Conference on the Human Environment, held at Stockholm.
179.	These various transformations do not demand that nations forfeit one jot of their sovereignty; they simply suggest a slight modification of the international division of labor.
180.	We remain convinced that a harmonious combination of all these facts will definitely make it possible, in the course of the present decade, to use the full potential of the beneficial influence which the United Nations system can have on promoting human dignity. Will the world then be closer to achieving the rightful aspirations of peoples to freedom, justice and peace?
181.	May our work express better than at previous sessions of the General Assembly this truth that the way towards justice and peace passes nolens volens through the harmonious and conflict-free development of nations and, therefore, through the total development of man.


Mr. President, I should like at the outset to express my delegation's sincere felicitations on your election as the President of the twenty-seventh session of the General Assembly. Your election to this high post is indeed a tribute to your eminent qualities as a diplomat and statesman, as well as to your country, which has made valuable contributions to the cause of the United Nations. As I have had the honor to represent my country in Poland, I stand reminded of the depth and richness of your country's culture, and believe that you will ably personify the courage of its people. I have no doubt that you will perform your duties here with the same distinction that has characterized your past public services.
27.	I wish also to pay a high tribute to the outgoing President of the Assembly, Mr. Adam Malik, the Foreign Minister of Indonesia, for his valuable contributions to our Organization.
28.	Allow me, moreover, to extend once again my delegation's warmest congratulations-to our new Secretary- General, Mr. Kurt Waldheim, on his appointment to this most important office.
29.	It is indeed a source of gratification to continue to have at the helm of this Organization a man of great public distinction and international stature. In the course of the past year he has demonstrated his acute awareness of world problems and in the interest of international peace and security he has taken constructive measures to deal with problems before they reach a critical stage. We are confident he will continue to discharge faithfully, and with devotion and foresight, the awesome responsibilities that have been entrusted to him. My delegation pledges to him its unequivocal support and co-operation.
30.	In this context it is fitting to recall once more the valuable contributions rendered by our former Secretary-General, UThant, whose tireless efforts in the cause of world peace and security will long be remembered.
31.	Since the last session of the General Assembly the world has undergone significant changes in both the political and the economic fields. Hie rigid bipolarity of the past is making way for a more diversified and multilateral world power structure.
32.	In the light of these circumstances my delegation views with some optimism the recent unfolding panorama of political events on the world scene.
33.	In this context, the latest developments in Asia deserve our special attention. The People's Republic of China has joined the community of nations. Pragmatic and sustained efforts towards the normalization of relations between the People's Republic of China and the United States has smoothed the way for a policy of coexistence between those two Powers. This new understanding is indeed a milestone in the development of a better political climate in Asia and in the world.
34.	The recent contacts between South and North Korea are fraught with hopeful signs for the eventual reunification of the two parts of Korea and can be considered the first step towards defusing existing frictions in that area.
35.	The latest sequel of political events on the Indian subcontinent also offers encouraging prospects for the restoration of peace. Both Pakistan and India are reviewing their relations and seeking in earnest to find mutually acceptable solutions to their existing problems. The initiative taken by President Bhutto of Pakistan in paving the way for a meeting between the leaders of those two countries in the month of June of this year and the ensuing Simla Agreement are a constructive starting-point and could result in the opening of a new phase in relations between Pakistan and India. It is our fervent hope that the question of disputed territories will be resolved and that the Pakistani prisoners of war will be released in accordance with the relevant Geneva Conventions, thus creating an atmosphere conducive to the establishment of normal relations between the two nations. In this respect, the United Nations should assist in bringing about a just settlement of outstanding disputes as promptly as possible.
36.	The ratification of the friendship and frontier treaties with the Federal Republic of Germany by the Soviet Union and by Poland and the conclusion of the Quadripartite Agreement on West Berlin are also symbolic of the significant strides made towards creating a detente in Europe. These agreements will no doubt facilitate the road to future negotiations between the countries members of NATO and the countries signatories of the Warsaw Pact with the ultimate aim of convening a conference on European security.
37.	This year's session of the General Assembly is marked by an atmosphere of political realism* The historic summit meetings held in Peking between the leaders of the United States and China and in Moscow between the leaders of the Soviet Union and the United States have accorded a sharp impetus to forces actively engaged in strengthening the pillars of international security.
38.	Indeed, the three global Powers have made landmark progress towards defining their positions and diminishing the causes of misunderstanding in an attempt to relax world tensions and to provide the peoples of the world with a more secure environment in which to live.
39.	The Declaration of Basic Principles of Relations between the United States and the USSR, adopted at Moscow on 29 May 1972, constitutes a strong reaffirmation of the basic principles enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations.
40.	The strategic arms limitation agreements, adopted at Moscow on 26 May 1972, are yet another significant outcome of the conference between the leaders of the United States and the Soviet Union. This and further agreements in areas of mutual interest such as space, science and technology, medical research and trade, are bound to serve peaceful and humanitarian aims and will no doubt reduce international frictions and enhance mutual trust and amity among nations.
41.	All these new developments have left a deep imprint on the standing and composition of our Organization.
42.	The United Nations has consequently expanded its membership and is now approaching its goal of universality.
Last year, we applauded the restoration of the lawful rights in the United Nations of the People's Republic of China and the admission of five new Members. We hope this trend will continue until the United Nations brings under its roof all countries which remain outside the Organization.
43.	However, in spite of these favourable trends, the picture of the world scene remains rather dark.
44.	The situation in the Middle East has taken a turn for the worse, especially during recent weeks. The latest armed interventions against Syria and Lebanon have further endangered peace and security in the area. A precarious situation continues to loom large, causing further frustrations and aggravations. The Arab- Republic of Egypt, motivated by a sense of realism and compromise, has made successive peace overtures to Israel with a view to an equitable settlement of all its outstanding disputes. These efforts have, however, met with no positive response and have failed to persuade Israel to withdraw from the occupied territories.
45.	Other peaceful initiatives have also yielded no results. Ambassador Jarring's mission has not received the cooperation necessary for its successful accomplishment. All indications are, therefore, that nothing concrete has been achieved to resolve the Middle East crisis since the last session of the General Assembly.
46.	In spite of the inability of the Arab States and Israel to reach an agreement, my delegation continues to believe that Security Council resolution 242 (1967) constitutes the most workable basis for u political settlement of existing disputes. In our considered view it is time that more intensified and collective efforts be made within the context of that resolution to eliminate the sources of contention and to guarantee the territorial integrity and independence of all States in the region.
47.	South-East Asia is another area of the world beset by strife, chronic war and economic dislocation. During the past year, the war in Viet-Nam has expanded with alarming speed and devastating impact. It is our fervent hope, however, that normality and peace will be restored to Viet-Nam within the framework of the Geneva Conventions and on the basis of strict respect for the right of the people to self-determination, to independent development and to the inviolability of their territorial integrity.
48.	More than a decade after the adoption of the Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples [resolution 1514 (XV)], colonialism persists in dominating certain parts of Africa. In fact, a figure in excess of one tenth of the population of the African continent continues to be oppressed by the colonial yoke and racial discrimination. In Namibia, Angola, Mozambique, Guinea (Bissau), and Zimbabwe, millions of people are being denied their rights to political, social and economic self-expression, to human dignity and to self- determination. Neither the efforts of the United Nations nor the concerted pressure exerted by mankind has succeeded in eliminating the deprivation of human rights and fundamental freedoms inflicted by the colonial Powers.
49.	In this connexion we welcomed the meetings of the Security Council held in Addis Ababa. Those meetings, which brought the members of the Security Council in closer touch with the problems and aspirations of the peoples of Africa, may, hopefully, open the way for the Security Council to take more effective measures in this regard. They have also helped reinforce the determination of the African countries to utilize the instruments of this Organization to combat colonialism, racial discrimination and, in particular, apartheid. It is indeed gratifying that in this realm the Council adopted positive resolutions on some major problems.
50.	It is the earnest hope of my delegation that Members of the United Nations will, in concert, pool their energies to eradicate the last relics of colonialism and racism in all its forms and manifestations.
51.	Progress in the field of disarmament since our last session has been encouraging. First and foremost is the adoption and signing of the Convention on the banning of biological weapons.  This Convention holds open the possibility of an agreement on the prohibition of chemical weapons and contains an explicit pledge by all parties to reach an early accord in this regard. Combined with past achievements in arms control and disarmament, it is testimony to the progress made by the United Nations in the limitation of armaments. However, it would be purblind optimism to deny that a great deal remains to be done.
52.	Despite an agreement reached in principle by the major Powers a decade ago, a substantive programme of general and complete disarmament has yet to be launched. We believe, as we stated last year, that marginal agreements providing for the limitation of armaments in regional or functional areas are not goals in themselves and cannot supplant general and complete disarmament as an ultimate objective [1940th meeting, para 116].
53.	In this connexion it is indeed a source of dismay that little progress has been achieved in the vital area of a comprehensive test ban. The partial test-ban Treaty  has been at the most a qualified success and, due to its restricted sphere of control, has left the door open to the increasing use of underground testing. The question of inspection stands as the main obstacle to a comprehensive test-ban Treaty, but has not precluded progress in other areas of disarmament.
54.	To cite the most recent example, the strategic arms limitation agreements, concluded in May of this year, are based on an "open skies" inspection system. Therefore, it is a matter for regret that the faith and the trust demonstrated in this case and in the case of other important agreements have not served as a yardstick for an agreement on a comprehensive test ban.
55.	We consider the agreements concluded in Moscow in May of this year to be of seminal importance. The agreements between the United States and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics designed to impose quantitative limits on their strategic weapons and to expand their relations in the field of trade, medicine and space, provide ample evidence of the desire of both countries to advance from mere detente and coexistence to active co-operation.
56.	We hope the momentum gained will continue to increase in the future and result in a wider and more comprehensive agreement covering the entire European continent. We also hope that these practical achievements will have an encouraging and beneficial effect on the whole spectrum of issues relating to conventional and nuclear disarmament. In fact, we anxiously look forward to the day when man's inventive genius in creating weapons of total destruction will be employed with equal effectiveness and skill in achieving total disarmament.
57.	The preservation of our environment has also assumed a new dimension and importance for all the States and peoples of the world. It is a subject which directly impinges on their survival, well-being, and socio-economic development. Nations can no longer afford to be heedless about the vulnerability of their ecology and natural resources to misuse and contamination.
58.	During the past five years, the findings of science have made us aware of the environmental consequences of material progress either in hiospheric or psycho-social terms. They have awakened the consciousness of mankind to its natural heritage and instilled in us a sense of responsibility to future generations.
59.	The rising world-wide concern focused on this problem led the United Nations to convene the first major international conference on the human environment in Stockholm. The historic Declaration of the Conference has established a set of guidelines which could, if implemented in good faith, arrest and perhaps even reverse the increasing deterioration of the quality of life on our planet.
60.	With this conviction, the Iranian Government has, in recent years, engaged in a series of conservational reform laws including the nationalization of its forests, rangeland and water resources.
61.	The International Conference on the Conservation of Wetlands and Waterfowl, held at Ramsar in Iran, which received unanimous support by ail the participating countries, was an apt illustration of Iran's deep interest in all aspects of conservation. It was on this occasion that the foundation for the establishment in southern Iran of an ecological research station of global scope, ie. joint trust with an appropriate international agency at the Arjan International Environmental Reserve, was laid to underline the pressing needs of contemporary society. Moreover, Iran has decided to offer an annual international award in the amount of $20,000 for the most outstanding contribution made in the field of human environment. Iran has also taken steps to establish an urgently needed monitoring
3 See Report of the United Nations Conference on the Human Environment, Stockholm, 5-16 June 1972 (United Nations publications, Sales No. E.73.II.A.14), chap. I.
system to control pollution in the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman. We have also signed a protocol with the Government of the Soviet Union laying down conditions for the prevention of pollution of the Caspian Sea; it is hoped this protocol will result in a bilateral convention. In addition, our two Governments have been in contact with a view to concluding, within the framework of the Ramsar Agreement, accords of a similar nature regarding our common wildlife resources.
62.	Another area of rising importance is the peaceful uses of the sea. The ocean has opened a new horizon to man's needs and expectations. This issue involves not only the exploration and exploitation of the virgin resources of the sea but also the formation of new regimes for law, politics and socio-economics.
63.	It is generally agreed that the sea-bed provides a fertile field for the devising of new laws of the sea. This consensus is clearly reflected in the Declaration of Principles, approved by the twenty-fifth session of the General Assembly,  which delineated modalities for progress in this field. We are of the belief that, on the issue of the law of the sea, any successful multilateral initiative must represent and adequately accommodate various interests in socioeconomic terms and aiso take into consideration geographical and geological problems.
64.	In the area of economics and trade, we are still living under archaic and radically unjust economic precepts governing relations among States. Under present conditions, the division of material prosperity which separates the developing and the developed countries will become sharper, and the widening gap of economic imbalance among nations will prove even more difficult to bridge.
65.	In this regard the hopes pinned on the third session of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) had discouraging results. The deliberations of the Conference were marked by the intransigence of economically advanced countries, which did not wish to accommodate their interests to the rising needs of the economically less advanced nations and by the refusal of the former to use trade and monetary policies to redress the existing imbalance.
66.	My August Sovereign clearly described this problem at the fifty-seventh session of the International Labour Conference held in Geneva in June this year:
"There is no doubt that the elimination of commercial rivalries, the removal of the barriers which now exist in this domain and international monetary stabilization are of vital importance for the developing countries. .. .prices of exports from industrialist countries are constantly rising.... In other words, when the industrialized countries export their products, they also export inflation...
"The inflationary methods practiced by the industrialized countries have caused an increase in interest rates and, consequently, foreign loans to the developing countries have become more expensive."
67.	It is therefore essential that provision be made to guarantee a stable and just price for the raw materials and primary products of the less developed countries, in order to cushion recurring price fluctuations. In any policy adopted by the economically advanced nations and designed to reorganize the structure of the international monetary system for the purpose of ensuring greater world, financial stability, the interests of less advanced countries, as well as those of the entire community of nations, should be adequately reflected. These remedies, in addition to the implementation of UNCTAD's recommendation that the economically advanced countries should allocate 1 per cent of their gross national product for assistance to the less advanced nations, could serve as an effective means of coping with some of the problems which beset the international community.
68.	Before concluding, I wish to turn to a question which deserves particular attention. The rise in terrorism and violence in recent times has aroused concern and indignation throughout the world. We deplore and condemn such acts, which endanger or take innocent lives. The rule of law is of paramount importance to all of us. If we allow lawlessness to continue unchecked, the United Nations will be totally undermined.
69.	The Secretary-General should be commended for having taken the initiative to invite the attention of the United Nations [A/8791 and Add.l] to a matter which threatens to throw the whole fabric of the international order into disarray. We believe that the problem should be dealt with most urgently in all its aspects, including its underlying causes. It is high time the United Nations took necessary and effective measures to curb and eradicate terrorism in all its forms.
70.	Every year, as we enter this majestic hall to pay a tribute to the founders of the United Nations for the contribution they have made to the pursuit of a lasting peace for humanity, our hearts yearn with the hope of accomplishment. It is once again the deep-seated wish of my Government and delegation to voice this hope.
71.	As developments last year have shown, we are confident that, given a spirit of compromise and reconciliation, greater progress could be made in reducing threats to peace and security throughout the world. We therefore look to the future with optimism. In the final analysis, it is our earnest hope that concrete steps will be taken to strengthen the effectiveness of the United Nations as a universal peace machinery, with the aim of converting theaters of conflict and areas of discord into fields ripe for co-operation and progress.