1.	Mr. President, it is a pleasure for me to greet you as the representative of a continent with which we find that we have, through its Latin roots, long-standing affinities that are still very much alive. I also want to pay a tribute to you as an historian, economist and statesman whose training and experience will surely be invaluable to the pursuit of our work. I wish you, as indeed I wish us all, complete success in it and I assure you that you can count on our total co-operation.
2.	By recalling the eminent qualities of our Secretary-General and paying a tribute to his tireless dedication, I am not simply conforming to some kind of ritual. It is only natural that the outstanding debt the international community owes him should be acknowledged publicly and that we should tell him once again how grateful we are to him for serving the goals of our Organization with such wisdom, enthusiasm, energy and competence.
3.	One year ago from this very rostrum1 I observed that the world situation was neither good nor reassuring. Alas, the events that have occurred in the past 12 months are scarcely reason to alter that view. The main points of tension persist; new ones have emerged; still others have reappeared. Economic imbalances and inequalities remain and at times have even widened. While the guiding principles of our Charter are not contested, one has to admit that their application is still inadequate. Finally, human rights are still subject to many violations.

4.	That observation may seem severe but it is not intended to be pessimistic. The United Nations today is represents ? e of almost the entire world community. It has been enlarged again by the admission of Solomon Islands, which we are pleased to welcome. Mindful of the countless ties it has long had with the Pacific region, France hopes to enjoy the best of relations with that new State.
5.	As our Organization draws still closer to being universal it is acquiring growing influence in world affairs. As a founding Member of the United Nations, and having fully integrated its goals and principles into our own political philosophy, France welcomes this course of events. As we have shown just this year, we are prepared to associate ourselves directly with the efforts of our Organization on behalf of peace. Indeed, now more than ever France is convinced of the value of collective action and the need for genuine international co-operation, without which our quest for peace and prosperity would be but an illusion.
6.	France pursues that policy first and foremost in its natural environment, Europe. With its eight partners, France is continuing the work begun more than 20 years ago to build a prosperous and peaceful community able to make its own contribution to international life. The current President of the European Community has described to the Assembly our views on the main questions it is to debate this session [see 8th meeting, paras. 135-200]. He expressed our shared determination to steer the development of our peoples on a course that is more rational and more generously open to the world. The many countries of every continent that are associated with the Community, as well as those nearby that are preparing to join, are aware of the determination behind this endeavour. They know the price and appreciate the difficulties in the present economic situation.
7.	Beyond the context of the nine countries members of the Community, France applies in Europe the principles of detente which it helped define and to which it remains deeply committed. Whatever the vicissitudes or stumbling-blocks, that policy is still the only reasonable one; therefore it must be pursued and developed to the full dimensions given to it by the Final Act of Helsinki.2 It must also be extended elsewhere in the world, for clearly areas outside Europe must not become the object or stakes of a confrontation between the major Powers, or the very process of detente will be imperilled.
8.	Long ago we established without reservation ties with European nations having social systems different from our own, and my country reaffirms its commitment to co-

operation with the Soviet Union and the countries of Eastern Europe. In the same way, it welcomes the development of its relations with the People's Republic of China. It intends to make those relations commensurate with the physical, human and political dimensions of that great country.
9.	"To maintain international peace and security": that is the principal goal the Charter assigns to our States. Now, even more than last year, persistent tensions or current conflicts are jeopardizing international peace. We are all aware of them. They are located primarily in the Middle East, in Africa and in the Indo-Chinese peninsula. The draft text on peace-keeping, which my colleague from the Federal Republic of Germany presented on behalf of the European Community [A/SPC/33/L.19J, deserves the full attention of the Assembly, because it invites us at a very opportune moment to lend the Organization our assistance in this essential matter of collective security. Occasions for doing so, I am sorry to say, are not lacking.
10.	In view of the crisis provoked by the Israeli intervention in southern Lebanon, my Government decided last March to participate in UNIFIL. Its decision to make a contingent available to the Organization was a concrete expression of its often stated commitment to the sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity of that friendly country and of its support for President Sarkis's efforts to Strengthen the authority of the State and reconcile the communities within Lebanon. Who can fail to see that a free and united Lebanon is an indispensable element for the equilibrium of the entire region? But who can fail to see also that its tradition of freedom and openness exposes it more than any other State to the impact of the tensions and crises that surround and penetrate it?
11.	It was therefore justifiable for the international community to give the people of Lebanon, who had already been so severely tried, direct evidence of support following the occupation of southern Lebanon by Israeli armed forces. The operation undertaken by the United Nations has unfortunately not achieved all the objectives set for it. Although the withdrawal of Israeli troops was achieved, they are still overtly supporting rebellious elements along the border which refuse to submit to legitimate Lebanese authority and keep tension alive by dangerous acts of harassment. Security has not yet been restored to the entire area, mainly because it has been impossible for the units of UNIFIL to deploy along the border.
12.	With regard to restoring the authority of the Government of Beirut, the obstacles to this are not ones that UNIFIL has the mission or the means to overcome. The Force cannot take the place of the Government in the exercise of its sovereignty. While the Force—and we should pay tribute to it since the difficulties of the task are unprecedented for an operation conducted by our Organization—may draw on all the resources available to it in the framework of its mandate, it is not its job to maintain law or to impose a settlement the implementation of which would require also the co-operation of forces outside its sphere of action.
13.	UNIFIL would be diverted from its real goal if the protection it provides permitted the status quo to continue
and the parties to become immured in their intransigence, deaf to the suffering of the people and blind to the dangers of allowing the wound to fester. This was the meaning of the Security Council's resolution 434(1978) of 18 September to renew the mandate of the Force for four months. The stability of the region requires measures to be taken without delay to restore the authority and sovereignty of Lebanon, and everyone who understands this will find encouragement in this extension of the Force's mandate. But the time-limit imposed on the mandate should serve as a warning to those who entertain the illusion that the presence of the Force will from now on be a permanent factor in the situation.
14.	I do not want to leave the subject of Lebanon without stressing my Government's concern at the persistence of tensions in other parts of that country, particularly in Beirut. I should like to remind you once again of our constant position: that there can be no solution to the crisis in Lebanon unless it is founded on respect for the unity, territorial integrity and sovereignty of that country. Any undertaking that did not recognize this requirement would be doomed to failure and would risk destroying, along with itself, the very cause it claimed to serve.
15.	The situation in Lebanon cannot be dissociated from the Middle East situation, which has greater repercussions on that country than on any other in the region. After the historic initiative taken by the President of Egypt, Mr. El-Sadat in going to Jerusalem last fall, a new situation emerged Both those who approved and those who disapproved recognized it. Everyone realized that what was at stake was no longer Israel's existence but the terms of its coexistence with the Arab countries.
16.	This breach in the wall of distrust that had separated Israel and its neighbours for 30 years was not turned to as much advantage as had been hoped; the process begun last winter stalled too quickly. The President of the United States, Mr. Carter, tried to inject new life into it, and I want to pay a tribute to his courage and tenacity in his personal involvement in the Camp David undertaking. This meeting, unprecedented in style, has ushered in a new phase. Clearly, there is still great uncertainty in it. But we would like to hope that under the. shadow of ambiguities, precaution and silence, the complex texts adopted by two of the parties directly concerned can be used to further progress towards the necessary settlement.
17.	We believe that, for this phase to be decisive and to lead to peace, it must pave the way to an over-all settlement, in accordance with Security Council resolutions 242 (1967) and 338 (1973), with which all the interested parties would be associated, including the representatives of the Palestinian people. This settlement, may I repeat, must be based on withdrawal from the territories occupied in 1967, on recognition of the right of the Palestinians to a homeland, on consideration for the legitimate concern for security of all the States in the region, naturally including Israel, as well as on the mutual recognition of boundaries and on the gradual establishment of peaceful relations among the States concerned. Only respect for these principles can bring about the just and lasting peace to which all the peoples of the region aspire.
18.	We deplore the fact that in Cyprus the renewed efforts of our Secretary-General have had little success in breaking the stalemate. In order to strengthen the independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Republic of Cyprus and to restore trust between the communities, these communities must resume their talks and must be prepared to conduct them on a reasonable basis. The de facto state of affairs must not become law; pre-conditions cannot lead to negotiation. My country is too closely linked with that part of the Mediterranean not to know how deep and firmly rooted the concerns of each party are, but our own historical experience has shown us how much can be overcome by the determination of leaders and peoples. It is this impetus that we urge the parties to find, and we are
always ready to encourage them to do so.
19.	Africa has suffered new ordeals this year, without a settlement being found for certain problems too long discussed by our Organization. That continent, one of the cradles of humanity, has begun a new chapter in its history. Many recently independent States, which have not yet firmly established internal equilibrium, today find themselves involved in rivalries which are not their own and which thus hurt their chances in the only struggle that is worth while, the struggle for development.
20.	In Rhodesia the recent turn of events has increased the dangers. The illegal regime in Salisbury continues to defy the international community. The agreement reached last March between Ian Smith and certain nationalist leaders with the aim of promoting a so-called "internal solution" only deepened divisions and heightened tensions. The application of the Anglo-American plan drawn up last year at this time would doubtless have paved the way for Zimbabwe's independence to be accepted, but we see today that violence is on the rise. Only direct negotiations among all the interested parties under the aegis of the administering Power could make it possible for Zimbabwe to accede peacefully to independence. But time is passing, intransigent positions are becoming more entrenched, and a storm is brewing. It is high time to listen to reason.
21.	In rejecting the implementation of the plan to settle the question of Namibia-a plan it had accepted four months previously—South Africa has created a crisis that could have grave consequences if the Government in Pretoria does not reconsider the position it has taken in defiance of international opinion.
22.	France again asserts that there is no essential difference between Mr. Waldheim's proposals and the settlement plan of the five Powers. In finding fault with some adjustments that alter neither the spirit nor the basic terms, the Republic of South Africa seems to be looking for pretexts to back out. In agreement with its Western partners, France has asked that the Security Council meet as soon as possible in order to adopt the Secretary-General's proposals.
23.	Confident as it is of the support of the African countries and, above, all of those the front-line countries,
and mindful as it is of the suffering of the Namibian people, who have waited too long for the right to self-determination to be accorded them, and assured as it is, along with its four partners, of the support of the international community, France again most solemnly calls upon South Africa to refrain from setting out on a dead-end road which can lead it only to suicidal isolation. Let me add that Namibia's independence will be effective only if prepared in co-operation with the international community.
24.	In the Horn of Africa, where violent clashes occurred last year, the situation is still disturbing. It is high time that the disputes that are setting Africans against each other were left to the Africans alone, so that they may seek the paths of a settlement through procedures of their own. Accordingly, it falls to the Organization of African Unity [OAU] to continue its efforts at rapprochement, without which tension and resentment will persist.
25.	Three other situations especially hold our attention: they involve Chad, Western Sahara and Zaire. I will discuss these at somewhat greater length because France's position has not always been understood, nor has there always been a desire to understand it. Because France has on three occasions been led to give direct assistance to the countries concerned, it has been claimed in some quarters that France sought to play some kind of role as "gendarme of Africa". I want once again to refute these accusations, which show little understanding of the reasons for our policy, which is based on two principles that I have already explained on several occasions but that I should like to reiterate.
26.	First, it is for African countries themselves to settle their disputes. This means that their independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity must be free from all interference that would make Africa the arena for rivalries from outside the continent; it means that they must remain free to decide their political options for themselves.
27.	Secondly, it is with strict respect for the sovereignty of States that France shows its solidarity with Africa. "Africa for the Africans" does not mean rejecting this solidarity or erasing friendships.
28.	Though France did intervene on the African continent, it was always at the express request of the recognized Government of the country in question, and the extent and duration of French assistance were limited according to the necessities of the situation. In each case France was responding to an appeal from States which were victims of aggression originating from or supported from the outside; these States were trying to defend themselves within their borders and did not yet have the military means to ensure their own security.
29.	Accordingly, my country remains true to the policy of non-interference and of co-operation that it has always followed; no one can accuse France of straying from it and following supposed neo-colonialist or other designs.
30.	These supportive actions do not of course imply that we have taken any position on the substance of the issues or made any attempt to impose a solution. To our mind, the settlement of disputes is the exclusive domain of the parties concerned.
31.	In Chad, unmistakable aggression developed this past spring in violation of the Sebha and Benghazi cease-fire agreements; this aggression was clearly backed from the outside and led the Government of Chad to request our support. The sole objective of our action was to make it possible to restore the security necessary to the quest by the people of Chad—and by them alone-for national reconciliation. Today this endeavour is well under way, as everyone can see.
32.	In the different situation that prevails in the western reaches of the Sahara, France similarly answered an appeal from Mauritania, a country without substantial material resources or military forces which was the victim of aggression supported from the outside on uncontested national territory. In this matter France, which has longstanding ties with all the States involved in the conflict, has but one wish, and that is to see these States re-establish friendly and fruitful co-operation with each other. Accordingly, we note with interest the recent turn of events that is more favourable to restoring calm. We hope this trend grows. Since we had no part in the Madrid agreements, we would not be party to the dialogue that might begin. But we are prepared to encourage such a dialogue so that a peaceful solution might at last be found, with the help, if need be, of international organizations. As for us, it is in the forum of the United Nations that we have stated our commitment to the self-determination of peoples.
33.	For the second consecutive year, Zaire has had to endure bloody incursions in Shaba province by elements from the outside. To all indications, the toll of this attack in human lives, and material terms would have been even heavier without rapid international support. Since our soldiers have long since returned to their bases on our territory, who today can question the strictly humanitarian concerns that motivated us?
34.	France's action in Africa has never been aimed at jeopardizing the sovereignty or security of any country on that continent. Our sole ambition is to contribute, when the desire for this is expressed and when we are asked, to the development and well-being of the peoples of Africa, who have as much right as anyone else to stability and security.
35.	As for the Comoros, I emphasized last year that France had a feeling of solidarity with countries to which it was especially bound by history, and that we were ready to demonstrate this feeling toward the new State. I am therefore pleased that diplomatic relations have now been established between the Comoros and France and that the door is thus open for co-operation. Our co-operation can only facilitate better understanding between the Comorians and their neighbours in Mayotte, who have freely chosen a different path but who, I repeat, will have another opportunity to express their wishes regarding their future.
36.	Therefore, was it necessary to enter the question of Mayotte on our agenda again? Allow me to express some
doubt about the usefulness of such a debate if in fact the aim is, as everyone must hope and work for it to be, the restoration of an atmosphere of trust between the peoples in question.
37.	In South-East Asia, France can only deplore the fighting that has resumed on the Indo-Chinese peninsula, so long afflicted by war. This fighting is between two peoples with which we have historically had very close relations and for which we still feel deep friendship today. We hope that all the States of the region can devote themselves to the priority tasks of development and establish true cooperation between themselves, with respect for the independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity of each of them, free of all undue interference from Powers outside the area.
38.	One of the most painful consequences of the situations of confrontation that we deplore is the exodus of part of the population. France, traditionally a land of asylum, could not remain unmoved, especially when this ordeal involves peoples that were once linked to it. This is why we took in 150,000 refugees, nearly one third of whom came from the Indo-Chinese peninsula; and we are keeping our doors open to other refugees, from this area to a limit of 1,OCO a month. Since this is an eminently humanitarian endeavour, we hope the burden can be shared to a large extent by the members of the international community.
39.	With the fate and protection of the human being at stake, how could we fail to mention the pledge made by our States when they adhered to the Charter, namely, to respect human rights?
40.	We mast be exacting in this, but also humble. Human rights are too sacred to be used for partisan ends; and they are precious enough for respect to be demanded for them everywhere.
41.	France has not forgotten that it was in Paris on 10 December 1948 that the Universal Declaration of Human Rights was adopted; we are celebrating its thirtieth anniversary this year. But who would venture to claim that this is also the anniversary of its application?
42.	In view of the continued violations of these rights, we are forced to admit that there is still a wide gap between the most solemn statements and actual behaviour.
43.	Political persecution, racial discrimination, torture and arbitrary sentences are still a painful reality today. The news offers too many examples of something that is all too common. There should be no hierarchy of arbitrary priorities in human rights, whether individual or collective. To tolerate selection would be to legalize all violations in advance.
44.	Unless there is respect for the supremacy of the individual, no progress can be made toward human equality and dignity; both would bet flouted, here in the name of economic imperatives, there in the name of security requirements. Neither the cause of peace nor the cause of development can justify the persecution of individuals or groups who ask only that international texts endorsing their basic rights be respected.
45.	In this connexion I should like to recall our staunch condemnation of the policy of apartheid. We denounce it not only as the manifestation of indescribable disdain for human beings but also as a potential detonator of dangerous conflicts. France has associated itself with the sanctions taken last November against a regime whose blindness makes a constant policy of such disdain. We therefore strictly apply the embargo on arms sales to Pretoria.
46.	Granting individuals and peoples every civil and political freedom and the means to enjoy it in peace was already the goal of our States a few decades ago. Today we all agree that it is important for them to have the economic means to exercise those freedoms. Furthermore, development, which should remedy the most blatant economic inequalities, is itself a factor for peace. Has it not been said at this very rostrum that development is the new name for peace?
47.	Nevertheless, when we speak of development, let us beware of taxing the peoples' patience. We are nearing the end of the Second United Nations Development Decade. What contribution has it made to the most impoverished among us? What has been its real impact on world hunger? Have we at least established the conditions that could, on the basis of national economic take-off, generate a process of self-development? Alas, that hardly seems to be the case.
48.	If public opinion in the developed countries and in countries benefiting from co-operation for development is not to become discouraged, the third development decade will have to respond in a more concrete manner to the needs of peoples and will have to be expressed more consistently in practical ambitions that mobilize support. It is important that the next decade attest to the commitment of the international community to deal realistically—that is, in the concrete terms in which they are presented—with the acute problems that confront a number of Governments daily and affect the lives of hundreds of millions of individuals. Therefore this decade must usher in, if not another type of development, at least a more pragmatic and diversified approach, and it must reject fruitless discussions on the nature of basic needs.
49.	In this regard we welcome the agreement reached recently at the United Nations Conference on Technical Co-operation among Developing Countries in Buenos Aires; it opens up new prospects for international technical co-operation to further development.
50.	New elements may also be expected from the fifth session of UNCTAD, which is to be held in Manila next year, from the United Nations Conference on Science and Technology for Development and the Third General Conference of UNIDO. Those elements should be integrated into a comprehensive whole and should be guided by master plans that serve to enlighten the mind and mobilize the spirit of determination.
51.	Instead of waiting passively for guidelines from the 1980 special session of the General Assembly, it is our duty to start thinking now, individually and collectively, about an outline for the third decade. While the objectives of the present Decade, which were defined globally [resolution
2626 (XXV)], will undoubtedly establish the general frame of action for the 1980s, changes in the world economic situation and the lessons learned from experience should none the less make certain priorities clearer.
52.	By the same token, the fight against the most dire effects of poverty is certainly a task in keeping with the possibilities of our Organization, and one that would enable it to respond to the hopes people place in it.
53.	The basis for such a project exists. It is the programme of action, adopted unanimously in 1976 by the tripartite world employment conference.7 But the programme should be expressed in terms of strategy by an effort of planning and by wide-ranging consultation, in particular with a view to eliminating any misunderstanding. The way was opened, inter alia, by the Conference of non-aligned countries which met last July in Belgrade. That Conference pointed out [see AI33/206] that the policy defined in Geneva - and I agree with this view—is based on the need to promote a new international economic order; it noted that such a policy did not dispense with the need for a global strategy designed to accelerate the economic growth of the developing countries; and, lastly, it stressed that those countries themselves were responsible in the first place for their own development and particularly for satisfying the basic needs of their peoples.
54.	I might add that that policy, rightly attentive to rural development and to the problems of unorganised urban concentrations, must not be used as an excuse for neglecting the indispensable geographical redistribution of industry.
55.	I have mentioned the necessary industrialization of the developing countries. I hope they will know how to control it and will avoid the mistakes we made in our own industrialization.
56.	Moreover, we, like the developing countries, are opposed to any international division of labour, old or new, that would imprison certain peoples in certain tasks. Faced with competition in some sectors from young industries in the third world, we decided, at the price of imposing real sacrifices on our companies and workers, to reject the facile solution of protectionist measures. We have allowed adaptations and reconversions to take place in the context of free trade and realistic pricing. We believe that by so doing -we have served honestly the interests of all.
57.	The third development decade, as 1 have said, needs some master plans. It also needs a sense of method and instruments for its implementation. With respect to this, the current restructuring of our Organization's machinery
in the economic and social domains, which has included the creation of a high office in the Secretariat, entrusted to Mr. Kenneth Dadzie, increases our confidence in the capacities of the system. The implementation of the General Assembly resolution [resolution 32/197] should be continued, especially with regard to strengthening the role and increasing the effectiveness of the Economic and Social Council.
58.	I should, however, like to point out one serious and paradoxical short-coming in our complex system, and that is the lack of any framework for genuine discussion on the fundamental issue of energy. By that I mean not the "energy crisis" that made headlines in the press but the crisis facing us, the one that must compel us all to adopt an active policy to conserve energy, which my country has embarked on with determination and success; the crisis that forces us to make a difficult, yes, but inevitable choice between various sources of energy with due regard for the balanced development of the entire planet, for the protection of our natural and man-made environment and for nuclear energy by guaranteeing that it will be used for peaceful purposes. To this end, while France has banned the export of sensitive equipment that could facilitate access to nuclear weapons, it is also anxious not to deprive any country of the benefits of the peaceful uses of nuclear energy or the advantages of the most promising technologies. For this reason we have agreed, pending the results of consultations under way in the framework of the international nuclear fuel-cycle evaluation programme, to provide our eventual partners with every service in the fuel cycle.
59.	The problem of energy, therefore, needs to be approached globally, without any spirit of confrontation, in order to take into consideration the interests of the international community as a whole. I thus welcome as a positive element resolution 1978/61 passed by the Economic and Social Council which retains the principle of an international conference on new and renewable sources of energy. The French Government will take an active part in preparing that conference.
60.	With regard to the 1980 special session of the General Assembly, we regret that the work of the Committee Established under General Assembly Resolution 32/174, known as the Committee of the Whole, is to be suspended, this being an irreplaceable forum for pursuing the North-South dialogue to which France is committed. Certainly starting such a dialogue on economic and development problems at the world level is an ambitious and arduous undertaking whose difficulties I underestimate less than anyone. Some divergences have become apparent on the interpretation of certain aspects of the mandate of the Committee. Nevertheless, the formula that found acceptance at the start of the month with a large majority of delegations is still entirely valid, in our view, and should enable the Committee, with the active collaboration of one and all, to tackle the main problems at last.
61.	Without the security to which our nations are rightfully entitled, no development is in effect possible. Yet security should not command an excessive share of our resources. In other words, the disarmament undertaking is an obvious necessity and one that should concern us all.
62.	The tenth special session of the General Assembly, by malting it quite clear that disarmament should be the affair of the entire international community and not of just a few State, has at last placed the debate in its real perspective.
This is not the only thing to its credit; it also provided us with the means to pursue the undertaking.
63.	In this matter, no one should entertain doubts about France's determination. The participation of the President of the Republic in person in the work of the special session attests to this. The presence of France in the place reserved for it in the new Committee on Disarmament, a presence that I now officially announce from this rostrum, confirms that this momentum will be maintained.
64.	The recognition of the central role that should fall to the United Nations and the concomitant reform of the machinery for negotiation and deliberation, with greater participation, better regional equilibrium and more democratic functioning through the dismantling of the co-presidency in Geneva, guarantee, in our view, that a new phase can now be entered. It has, therefore, become possible for France to join the Committee. It has become necessary for us to assume the role dictated by the importance of the stakes, for all our States.
65.	I should like to pay a special tribute at this point to the President of the special session, who was also the President of the thirty-second session of the General Assembly, Mr. Lazar Mojsov, whose political understanding, dedication and great competence were invaluable to him in successfully carrying out the mission entrusted to him by the Assembly.
66.	With the help of revised machinery, the work envisaged last June could now begin. A set of principles and a time-table have already provided useful reference points, although we believe that in certain areas, notably in the nuclear domain, a different wording would have been better suited to the realities of the situation. This document, which is an attempt to cover a set of particularly complex and sensitive problems, nevertheless bears witness to a remarkable consensus within the community of nations on several key points.
67.	Let me mention: the right of all States to security; the special responsibility that must be shouldered by the great Powers in the area of disarmament, since they themselves recognize that they have arsenals far in excess of the requirements of strategic balance; the importance not only of nuclear but also of conventional disarmament, in view of the fact that the build-up of conventional weapons, particularly in Europe, constitutes an increasingly serious threat to peace; the need for effective monitoring of disarmament measures; and, finally, the allocation of funds thus freed for economic and social development.
68.	France has, moreover, presented concrete suggestions on some of these points which should be studied right here or in specialized bodies. I am referring to proposals for a satellite monitoring agency and a disarmament fund for development, as well as the establishment of an institute for disarmament studies, all initiatives whose usefulness has been widely recognized.

69.	The realistic approach to disarmament that should be encouraged leads us to recommend that measures of a regional nature be studied. It is within this framework that balanced solutions can be found which take into account the role deterrence plays in the security of part of the planet. We have therefore proposed to the countries interested in the security of the European continent that a conference on disarmament be convened.
70.	A regional consultation could also bolster efforts to limit the transfer of conventional arms. The geographical entity that a region constitutes is most often an arena for threats just as it is for co-operation. So it is at this level that the exigencies of each State's right to security and those of non-discrimination among partners must be assessed. Real progress cannot be made from the outside, by some cartel of producers or through unilateral actions. It can be based only on the common will of the interested States and their common understanding of the purpose and scope of a verifiable regional agreement. In this context the initiative recently taken by a group of Latin American countries sets an example and should be commended.
71.	I am addressing this Assembly as the representative of a country that is mindful of its independence and intent on preserving it. But mine is also a country convinced of the growing solidarity which links together all the countries of our planet. In the face of the crises, upheavals and threats of all kinds to which our peoples are exposed, none of us—whether a small, medium-sized or even very large Power-can expect to act alone and emerge unscathed. Co-operation is no longer a choice; it is a necessity that we must accept. Let us give it the means to grow stronger here.
72.	We must of course be realistic. Disunity too often pervades this privileged gathering place. Resistance to change is tenacious. And much imagination and political determination will be needed, it is true, to ensure that man, wherever he lives and whatever his race, religion or national origin, will enjoy personal dignity, a fair share of the world's resources and a part of the responsibility for decisions that concern him.
73.	"As the strange dawn of the third millennium draws closer", as the President of the Republic said in this very forum last May,12 the undertaking offers enormous scope for our intelligence and efforts. France for its part is determined to take part in it.


	Mr. President, the Pakistan delegation congratulates you most warmly on your election to preside over this session of the General Assembly. We are confident that your mature understanding of the role of the United Nations in the contemporary age will enable you to steer the proceedings of this thirty-third session to a successful conclusion.

2. We also congratulate Mr. Lazar Mojsov, who handled
with great skill and ability the deliberations of the
thirty-second session and the three special sessions, including
the tenth special session devoted to disarmament.

3. Solomon Islands is the first among the new Member States to be admitted to the world Organization this year. We warmly welcome it in our midst and pledge our goodwill, friendship and co-operation to the new State.
 	4. In his report on the work of the Organization for 1978 IA/33/11 the Secretary-General, Mr. Waldheim, has summed up the activities of the United Nations since the thirty-second session. His deep insights into the political, economic and moral imperatives confronting the international community have enriched our understanding of their nature and magnitude. I take this opportunity of reaffirming the full confidence of my Government in his leadership of the world Organization.

5.	Since last year the world has become a more troubled place: new areas of global tension have emerged as a result of the exacerbation of relations between the two; leading military Powers; disputes among States and internal conflicts are being resolved through [external intervention and recourse to the use of force; the arms race continues unabated and now encompasses most, of the regions of the world; the world economy remains in the grip of an endemic crisis; the rich Nations are in the midst of a protracted recession; most of the poor are on the brink of economic disaster; international co-operation is at an ebb; and pressing global problems have not moved any closer to solution. These are the daunting challenges which overshadow the current Assembly session.

6.	Let me dwell for a moment on Pakistan's endeavours in the past year to promote peace and co-operation.
7.	The process of normalization of relations with our neighbour, India, has been maintained. We shall continue our endeavours to promote good neighbourly relations by addressing ourselves to the underlying causes which in the past have impaired bilateral relations. We look forward to a just and honourable solution of the Jammu and Kashmir dispute in the spirit of the Simla Agreement of 2 July 1972  on the basis of the relevant resolutions of the United Nations. Such a solution would open new vistas of co-operation between Pakistan and India and make an immense contribution to the strengthening of peace and stability in Asia and the world.
8.	Sincere efforts have been made to promote friendly relations with Afghanistan on the basis of the five principles of peaceful coexistence. The President of Pakistan, Mr. Zia-ul-Haq, was the first Head of State to visit Kabul after the new Afghan Government assumed power.
9.	Co-operation with fraternal countries, namely, Iran, Turkey, Saudi Arabia and other Arab States, and Bangladesh, in the political, economic and other areas has been further developed.
10.	Bonds of enduring friendship with China have been reinforced with the opening of new routes of trade and access.
11.	Relations with the United States have been pursued in the spirit of traditional friendship and co-operation.
12.	Economic co-operation with the Soviet Union has been enlarged and State relations continue to be developed on the basis of the principles of peaceful coexistence.
13.	Association with the non-aligned movement last July has added a further dimension to our consistent solidarity with the collective endeavours of the non-aligned countries for peace, justice and progress in the world.
389
14.	The conflict in the Middle East continues to be a cause for deep anxiety to the international community. We have closely followed the personal involvement of the President
.

of the United States, Mr. Carter, in the peace-making efforts culminating in the Camp David summit meetings. The full impact of the framework accords'' will become clear with time. However, a peace formula that is acceptable to all the parties in the Middle East question remains to be devised.
15.	For some years now, there has been a consensus in this Organization, based on Security Council resolutions 242(1967) and 338(1973) as well as resolution 3236 (XXIX) of the General Assembly, that the prerequisites for a just and lasting peace in the Middle East remain: first, Israeli withdrawal from all the occupied Arab territories, including the Holy City of Jerusalem; and secondly, the fulfilment of the national and legitimate rights of the Palestinian people including their right to establish an independent State in Palestine. No comprehensive settlement can ignore these imperatives.
16.	The restoration of the Holy City of Jerusalem to Arab sovereignty must form an integral part of any comprehensive settlement. It will be recalled that following the initiative of Pakistan, the Security Council adopted resolution 267(1969), under which the principle of inadmissibility of the acquisition of territory by military conquest was made applicable to the Holy City of Jerusalem. We note that the United States continues to recognize Arab Jerusalem as occupied territory, as stated by Mr. Yost in the Security Council on 1 July 1969.  The General Assembly in resolutions 2253 (ES-V) of 4 July 1.967 and 2254 (ES-V) of 14 July 1967 declared as null and void the measures taken by Israel to annex the Holy City of Jerusalem.
17.	What is the kind of peace that the international community envisages for Palestine? As far back as the First World War the call went out from a great Power for a peace without annexations and indemnities, a peace based on the principle of the self-determination of peoples. What followed however was a sort of Carthaginian peace, which sowed the dragon's teeth.
18.	During the Second World War a great war leader proclaimed the following principle: "In war—resolution: in defeat—defiance; in victory—magnanimity; in peace- goodwill". We would appeal to the peace-makers to eschew a punitive peace of annexation and occupation and opt for a settlement in a spirit of magnanimity and goodwill.
19.	Immediate steps need to be taken to maintain the momentum for the achievement of a just and comprehensive settlement on the basis of the relevant United Nations resolutions and the participation of all the parties concerned, including the Palestine Liberation Organization, which has been recognized by the international community as the sole legitimate representative of the Palestinian people. Since the Second Islamic Conference of Kings and Heads of State and Government, held at Lahore in 1974, the Palestine Liberation Organization stands on an equal footing with other national liberation movements recognized as such by the international community, for example, the South West Africa People's Organization SWAPO and the Patriotic Front of Zimbabwe. The United Nations has an inescapable responsibility to redeem its solemn pledges to the Palestinian people.
20.	We therefore support the convening of a special session of the Assembly to resolve the Palestine question, which is the core of the Middle East conflict. And in regard to the claims of the Palestine Liberation Organization to be legitimate representative of the Palestinian people, let us also recall what was said at a historic moment of peacekeeping by an eminent statesman. At the Conference for the Conclusion and Signature of the Peace Treaty with Japan in 1951 he said: "Fellowship is not the mood of peoples who are denied fellowship."  Regard for justice rarely animates those who have been made to suffer such cruel wrongs that their suffering has a bearing on the present peace.
21.	The restoration of normality in Lebanon and the preservation of Lebanon's territorial integrity are inextricably linked with a comprehensive solution of the Middle East conflict. We view with deep anguish the continuing tragedy of that country, whose body lies bleeding and is being torn apart by fratricidal strife. We extend our full support to UNIFIL.
22.	Cyprus continues to be another source of concern for international peace. We note with regret that there has been no resumption of the talks between the two communities, despite the commitment by the leadership of the Turkish community to a spirit of conciliation and flexibility in the negotiations. We believe that the resolution of this problem should be possible through negotiations between the two communities on a basis of equality and within the guidelines  agreed upon between late Archbishop Makarios and Mr. Denktas, with the participation of the Secretary- General, Mr. Kurt Waldheim, and within the framework of an independent, sovereign, non-aligned, bicommunal and bizonal federation of Cyprus. The statement of the Turkish Foreign Minister in the General Assembly the other day [19th meeting] has further convinced us that the present opportunity for peace-making should not be lost.
23.	Peace is also imperilled in southern Africa. We appreciate the sustained mediatory efforts of the five Western Powers in evolving the agreement on Namibia's transition to independence under the-control and supervision of the United Nations. We also commend the flexibility and statesmanship demonstrated by the President of SWAPO, Mr. Sam Nujoma, in accepting the five-Power plan.
24.	Pakistan strongly condemns South Africa's repudiation of its earlier agreement to abide by the provisions of
Security Council resolutions, and welcomes the Security Council's determination to proceed with the arrangements, in accordance with resolutions 431 (1978) and 432 (1978), to ensure the early independence of Namibia through free and fair elections under the supervision and control of the United Nations, with the objective of securing the withdrawal of South Africa's illegal administration in Namibia. Should South Africa not respond to the Security Council's latest call, the only alternative left would be to adopt drastic measures, including economic sanctions against South Africa.
25.	It is deplorable that even 30 years after the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights the international community has not succeeded in eliminating the abhorrent practice of apartheid in South Africa. Pretoria remains adamant in refusing to dismantle the structure of racism. The- economic collaboration of certain States encourages South Africa in its obduracy. The threat to peace posed by South Africa's policies would assume a graver dimension if it were to realize its ambition of acquiring nuclear weapons capability. It is time the Security Council enforced the demand in its resolution 418 (1977) that all States sever economic, military and other links with South Africa and adopt effective measures to prevent the racist regime from acquiring nuclear weapons.
26.	In Zimbabwe the so-called "internal settlement" stands exposed as a device to prolong white minority rule. The Smith regime, after some prevarication, has reverted to brutal repression of the people of Zimbabwe and has resumed armed attacks on the freedom fighters and neighbouring States. These desperate acts cannot sustain the white minority in power, The path of wisdom lies in a peaceful and immediate transfer of power to the majority of the people of Zimbabwe, led by the Patriotic Front. What is to be gained by delaying the inevitable by a few months, at the cost of a bloody racial conflict in Zimbabwe, which would destroy all hopes of a multiracial society?
27.	Disarmament is central to the quest for international peace and security. Only a few months ago the tenth special session of the General Assembly devoted to disarmament adopted by consensus a detailed plan of work for comprehensive disarmament and established new negotiating machinery, which promises to ensure the participation of all the nuclear-weapon Powers in the disarmament negotiations and deliberations. The Final Document of the tenth special session [resolution S-10/2] accords the highest priority to nuclear disarmament, together with certain  measures of reduction of armed forces and conventional armaments. Altogether it constitutes a considerable achievement, which would have been greater if there had been a higher degree of involvement of the leading military Powers, particularly in regard to the immediate measures that can be taken in conventional disarmament and in strengthening the non-proliferation regime.
28.	In the special session we proposed that the most immediate consideration be given to the conclusion of an agreement at the current second series of Strategic Arms Limitation Talks and to the comprehensive test-ban treaty by the three nuclear Powers presently engaged in negotiations to halt underground nuclear weapons tests. We also
urged, in parallel with these two processes, mutual and balanced reductions of armed forces and armaments in Europe, followed by the prohibition of the first use of nuclear weapons by the nuclear-weapon Powers—as, for example, on the lines pledged unilaterally by the People's Republic of China.
29.	These suggestions are fully in accord with the Declaration and Programme of Action contained in the Final Document [ibid., sects. II and III]. I hope that at the current session the General Assembly will find it possible to reach consensus on these priority measures and to commend them to the two major nuclear Powers, which bear special responsibility for nuclear disarmament by reason of having accumulated the largest nuclear stockpiles, and that it will also commend them to the members of the two opposing military blocs.
30.	Suggestions have been made for an immediate ban on the deployment of other types of nuclear weapons, such as the neutron bomb and the SS-20 limited-range mobile missile. We see no reason why these measures, as well as the proposal to prohibit the flight tests of new strategic delivery vehicles, should not also be given the highest priority in the negotiations on nuclear disarmament.
31.	The two super-Powers are pledged to conclude an agreement at the third series of Strategic Arms Limitation Talks immediately following the conclusion of one at the second series in order to effect further major reductions of their nuclear weapons and delivery systems. We consider that the prohibition of the use, or threat of the use, of nuclear weapons should also be concluded as soon as possible after the third series.
32.	The strengthening of the non-proliferation regime is a matter of great urgency. We believe that the twin objectives of nuclear non-proliferation and the development of the peaceful uses of nuclear technology can and should be reconciled. The inalienable right of all States to develop and acquire nuclear technology for peaceful purposes, without discrimination, was upheld by the previous session of the General Assembly [resolution 32/87 F] and the special session devoted to disarmament. However, we regret that the restrictive and discriminatory policies adopted by some supplier States have remained unchanged. We very much hope that international co-operation in the peaceful uses of nuclear energy will be promoted. This would be an important contribution towards evolving the consensus to be jointly developed by the nuclear-weapon and non- nuclear-weapon States on ways and means of preventing the proliferation of nuclear weapons.
33.	We firmly believe that if the non-proliferation regime is to be fully developed and truly strengthened it must be complemented and reinforced by security guarantees of both a negative and a positive character to non-nuclear States, thus striking a more equitable balance in the rights and obligations of nuclear and non-nuclear-weapon States.
34.	For several years Pakistan has called for agreement among the nuclear-weapon Powers on negative security assurances to non-nuclear-weapon States. A few years ago we submitted a formula on the subject which was adopted by the General Assembly. At the tenth special session the nuclear-weapon Powers responded in some measure by unilateral declarations concerning the non-use of nuclear weapons against non-nuclear-weapon States; - it, except by the People's Republic of China, those Powers made their statements so qualified and hedged by reservations that they fell far short of constituting credible or meaningful undertakings.
35.	Pakistan has consistently maintained that security guarantees to non-nuclear States should be given multilateral form, and should not be put forward as bilateral transactions. Therefore' we note with special interest the proposal of the Soviet Union on the conclusion of an international convention on the strengthening of guarantees of the security of non-nuclear States [see A/33/241J. Although the Soviet proposal, in content, remains highly qualified and would need to be appropriately amended in order to elicit the support of the other nuclear-weapon Powers and the acceptance of the non-nuclear-weapon States, it constitutes an important response to the concerns and preoccupations of the latter group of States. Hence we hope that the new item [item 128] will receive serious consideration at this session and be remitted to the new Committee on Disarmament for negotiation. At the same time, I would recall the formula adopted by the General Assembly on Pakistan's initiative in resolution 31/189 C, which would extend negative security guarantees to all non-nuclear-weapon States which are not parties to the nuclear security arrangements of certain nuclear-weapon Powers.
36.	I also put forward at the tenth special session the idea of positive security guarantees  in order to strengthen the credibility of the positive, though highly qualified and conditional, security assurances extended to non-nuclear- weapon States by the three nuclear-weapon Powers in Security Council resolution 255 (1968). Those assurances by the three nuclear-weapon Powers are embodied in their unilateral declarations of intention to come to the assistance of a non-nuclear State victim of nuclear aggression.
37.	Non-nuclear States rightly fear that unilateral and bilateral positive security assurances would turn them into protectorates of the guarantor nuclear Power or Powers; but multilateral positive guarantees within the framework of Article 51 of the Charter of the United Nations, which recognizes the right of States to individual and collective self-defence, would in no way constitute an infringement of their sovereignty and independence, inasmuch as the nuclear umbrella provided would be integral to the universal collective security system expressly envisaged by the Charter.
38.	The establishment of nuclear-weapon-free zones constitutes a most effective measure of disarmament and also of non-proliferation. Pakistan's proposal for such a zone in south Asia  will ensure against the spreading of nuclear arms in the region and promote the security of the regional
States. As a first step, the pledges of the south Asian States to refrain from the acquisition of nuclear weapons might be transformed into a joint and binding undertaking.
39.	In a broader regional context, peace and security would be promoted through the creation of zones of peace, such as the Indian Ocean, South-East Asia, the Mediterranean and other regions. Such zones would, of course, need to take into account the interrelated aspects of eliminating the military presence of, and threat from, external Powers and the maintenance of security among the regional States. In this context, we welcome the meeting of the littoral and hinterland States of the Indian Ocean, to be held in July next year, as a first step towards the conference to be convened to establish the zone of peace in the Indian Ocean.
40.	The roots of the disparity between the developed and the developing countries lie in the present economic system, which serves the interests of the industrialized nations. The hopes and expectations aroused by the call for the New International Economic Order are nowhere near fulfilment.
41.	The developed countries have been able to adjust to the impact of the increase in the price of oil. The brunt of these adjustment measures-that is, growing trade restrictions, slackening demand, persistent inflation and exchange fluctuations—has been borne by the developing countries. Their balance-of-payments deficits have tripled; their external debts have doubled; and they have been forced to reduce economic growth.
42.	Trade and the transfer of resources are the twin pillars on which development co-operation is based. The present volume of the transfer of resources to the developing countries is neither adequate nor certain and has been declining during the last three years. The level of official development assistance flows has stagnated at less than half the target of 0.7 per cent of the gross national product and has declined in 1977 to a new low of 0.31 per cent. Only three developed countries have achieved or exceeded this target, and the major donors are lagging the furthest behind. Official development assistance should be doubled during the next two years to achieve the 0.7 per cent target, as decided, by 1980. Secondly, agreement should be reached on the 'proposal for a massive transfer of resources to the developing countries to stimulate the world economy.
43. Debt-servicing liabilities are a major drain on the
resources of many developing countries. The UNCTAD
agreement in March this year [see A/33/15, part two,
annex I], for retroactive readjustment of the terms of past
official loans to the poorest countries is the least that could
have been done in this regard. We thank Sweden, the
Netherlands and the United Kingdom for granting general
relief to several poorer countries, including my own. It is a
matter of concern, however, that the major creditor
countries have not implemented this agreement even in the
case of Pakistan, whose debt burden is one of the heaviest
among the developing countries.

44. The existing international monetary system is
obviously weighted against the developing countries. For
example, during the five years from 1969 to 1974 the
developed countries received 97 per cent of total reserves
created, while the developing countries received only 3 per
cent. If the pattern of world production and trade is to be
made more equitable, it is imperative that reserve creation
should be under international control and that its distribution
should be more equitable and linked with development
needs rather than economic power. Reform of the
monetary system may be the key to world economic revival
and should be brought to the centre of the North-South
dialogue once again.

45. The external trade of the developing countries, instead
of sustaining their development, has so far contributed to
the deterioration in their economic conditions. Their terms
of trade have registered a steady decline. The share of the
developing countries in world trade, despite the increase in
oil prices, has declined from 25 per cent in 1950 to 17 per
cent in 1975.

46. The developing countries are important markets for
the industrialized countries. They absorb 25 per cent of the
total exports of the advanced countries and 40 per cent of
the exports of the European Economic Community. The
United States sells more to the developing countries than to
the community, 1apan and the socialist countries put
together. It is ironic that, despite this evident interdependence,
as the GATT report for 19771 0 indicates, the
exports of the developing countries have been a special
target of protectionist measures in the advanced countries.
In 1977 alone protectionism led to a contraction in world
trade by $30 billion to $50 billion.

47. In the multilateral trade negotiations, contrary to the
principles of the Tokyo Declaration, the developing
countries have been virtually excluded from the main
bargaining in the final phase. For the developing countries
the balance-sheet of these negotiations might well be
negative. The current multilateral trade negotiations should
be concluded as scheduled by the end of the year. But this
should not result Insetting aside the trade problems of the
developing countries indefinitely. The Tokyo round of
multilateral trade negotiations should be immediately followed
by another third round-a "third-world round"-of
negotiations devoted primarily to the problems of trade
between the developed and the developing countries.

48. We hope that agreement will soon be reached for the
establishment of an effective common fund for commodities
including a substantial "second window". Concurrently,
it is necessary to examine the idea of a global trade
.compensation scheme to meet the shortfalls in the exports
of developing countries due to deterioration in trade terms.

49. It is ultimately through industrialization that the
developing countries can attain a satisfactory measure of
self-reliance and economic prosperity. We support the
proposal for a specific programme for industrial development for the third United Nations development decade and
would suggest that UNIDO and UNCTAD may be authorized to prepare a study on this subject. The system of
consultations in UNIDO should be specifically designed, as agreed at the Second General Conference of UNIOO, to
 initiate the process of redeployment of world industrial
 capacity.

50. We hope that the United Nations Conference on
Science and Technology for Development, to be held in
Vienna next year, will result in an increase in the level of
support to science and technology in the developing
countries and an appropriate augmentation of research in
the industrial world relating to the problems of the
developing nations.

51. It is in the interest of the developed and developing
countries to take concerted action to restructure world
economic relations on a more equitable basis. Yet, the
record of the development dialogue thus far has been very
disappointing. The dialogue is now in a state of impasse.

52. Pakistan sponsored the creation of the Committee
Established under General Assembly Resolution 32/174, of
the Committee of the Whole, in the wake of the inconclusive
Paris Conference on International Economic Cooperation,
to facilitate agreement on outstanding issues
relating to the New International Economic Order. However,
it has become apparent that the developed countries
are not prepared to negotiate in the Committee on the
concrete issues of transfer of resources, industrialization,
food production and so forth. The Committee was obliged
to suspend its work last month, in the wake of the failure
to reach agreement on its mandate, despite the persevering
efforts of its Chairman. It is not in the interests of either
the developed or developing countries to allow the impasse
to continue. In this context we have noted the statement
made here by the Secretary of State of the United States
Mr. Vance, on 29 September and his view that "sufficient
procedural agreement now exists to resume. substantive
work" in the Committee [14th, meeting para. 127]. My
delegation considers that there is general agreement that the
Committee will negotiate with a view to its adopting
guidelines on central policy issues, as well as achieving
agreement on the resolution of fundamental or crucial
issues underlying problems relating to international economic
co-operation, as far as possible on the basis of
consensus, without prejudice, however, to the rules of
procedure of the General Assembly. Obviously, there is no
procedural device by which the Committee cm be prevented
from considering any issue related to its mandate. At the same time, it would be the part of wisdom not to
insist on consideration by the Committee of those issues on
which there is an absence of broad agreement. This is the
course we wish to follow. We know that consultations are
contemplated on this issue. Without prejudice to their
c outcome, I would venture to suggest that the work of the
Committee might be resumed on the basis of an understanding
along these lines.

53. In any case, we attach more importance to the
substance of the dialogue than to the mechanisms through
 which it is pursued. During the forthcoming months, both
 sides will have ample opportunities to address the fundamental
issues -- for example, during the current Assembly, at
the fifth session of UNISTAD, in the preparations for the next development strategy and at the 1980 special session
of the General Assembly.

54.	Preparations should be initiated for a comprehensive operational and time-bound development strategy for the next decade aimed at giving practical shape to all the major elements of the New International Economic Order. This strategy should indicate the specific ways and means of achieving the goals of development co-operation and define the role and contribution of all countries to attaining the common objectives.
55.	Pakistan hopes that by next year the third United Nations Conference on the Law of the Sea will find it possible to resolve the major outstanding issues and to adopt a convention. We are most concerned at the unilateral legislation being contemplated by some advanced countries for the exploitation of the sea-bed beyond national jurisdiction. This will jeopardize the negotiations on the law of the sea and create a chaotic situation with far-reaching political and economic consequences of a most negative character.
56.	In concluding, I should like to make a few brief observations on the reflections of the Secretary-General in the introduction to his annual report on the work of the Organization on the imperative need to struggle for the establishment of a world order based on the central principles of the Charter of the United Nations [see A/33/1, sect. U]—for example, the non-use of force, the peaceful settlement of disputes on the basis of justice and international law, and equal rights of nations large and small—in the place of great Power rivalry, the struggle for hegemony and power politics. I fully endorse the Secretary-General's plea for the replacement of systems of political and economic domination by a more democratic international order based on the recognition of interdependence and equal partnership.
57.	The appeal is neither Utopian nor visionary. The international system of peace and security and of economic relations envisaged by the United Nations Charter was" the product, nor of the imagination of poets, philosophers and dreamers, but of the minds of great war leaders and statesmen of the most powerful nations of the world who, with their unrivalled experience of war and peace, had twice in their lifetime seen the suffering and disaster brought about by the untrammelled pursuit of power politics and rivalry for spheres of influence. It is these men who decided to opt for a more civilized international order under the aegis of the United Nations.
58.	The time has come for all of us to seize the opportunity now presented to us to make a small beginning towards the establishment of a universal collective security system in the nuclear era through guarantees for the security of non-nuclear States and for the realization of the great promise of the New International Economic Order.


129.

130.	First of all, may I express the emotion felt by my delegation and by me on learning this morning of the sudden death of His Holiness Pope John Paul 1.1 should like to associate myself on behalf of my delegation with the feelings of sadness of the whole Christian community.
131.	Next, Mr. President, I wish to thank and congratulate your predecessor, Mr. Lazar Mojsov, who so competently conducted the thirty-second regular session of the General Assembly and the eighth, ninth and tenth special sessions. It was a performance unique in the annals of our Organization, which nevertheless is now entering its thirty- third year. Mr. Lazar Mojsov brought honour to his native Yugoslavia, a country with which my country, Mali, has very friendly relations which have been most fruitful since our attainment of international sovereignty.
132.	A member of the Special Committee on the Situation with regard to the Implementation of the Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples since its inception, my country cannot but welcome the accession to independence of Solomon Islands. We salute the struggle of that valiant people. The admission of that country to our Organization brings the United Nations closer to its ultimate objective of universality. My delegation welcomes the sister delegation of Solomon Islands, and through me, wishes to assure it of our loyal and brotherly co-operation.
133.	Turning now to this, the thirty-third, regular session of the General Assembly, which has brought us together here, I should like, on behalf of the people and authorities of Mali, to convey my warmest congratulations to the great people of Colombia on the signal tribute which the international community has paid to it by electing to the presidency of the General Assembly of. our Organization one of its best sons in the person of Mr. Lievano, the Colombian Minister for Foreign Affairs. Your great personal attributes, Mr. President, your broad experience of international affairs, based on your long and brilliant career and the quality of the officers of the thirty-third session of the General Assembly, together with the competence of the Secretary-General and his devoted colleagues, ensure the sound and efficient guidance of our work.
134.	Our Assembly will have need of such trump cards in order to deal with the many delicate questions of concern to the populations of the 150 States represented in this Assembly.
135.	These concerns are, on the one hand, international peace and security and, on the other hand, something without which that international peace and security can never be guaranteed—I refer to the world economic and social situation.
136.	Indeed, we are among those who believe that it is just as important for the international community to deal with economic and social questions as with the dangerous situations that exist in some countries and regions of the world.
137.	With regard to these explosive situations, we are unfortunately bound to admit that this last year again saw serious tensions in international relations.
138.	Outside the African continent, conflicts drag on eternally, particularly in the Middle East and in Asia.
139.	The situation prevailing in the Middle East receives particular attention from my delegation, which reaffirms through me the unswerving position of my country.
140.	We note with bitterness that the settlement of problems in this region has made very little progress. Quite the contrary, there is a worsening of the situation because of the arrogance of Israel, whose rigidity is in fact blocking every attempt at a peaceful settlement.
141.	A priori, the Government of Mali, for its part, is not opposed to any initiative designed to bring peace back to the Middle East.
142.	However, my delegation wishes to reaffirm that any just and lasting settlement of the Middle East crisis must of necessity take into account the following considerations: first, the exercise by the Palestinian people of their national rights, including the right to self-determination; secondly, the immediate withdrawal of Israel from all the Arab territories occupied by force, including the Holy City of Jerusalem; thirdly, the guarantee of the sovereignty, territorial integrity, and political independence of all States in the region, which have all an equal right to live in peace within legitimate borders.

143.	Of course, it goes without saying that only a comprehensive settlement associating in the peace process all of the interested parties, and particularly the Palestine Liberation Organization, the sole authentic representative of the Palestinian people, can resolve the crisis.
144.	In this context, our country feels that the Lebanese question cannot be isolated from the Middle East situation in general, because of the struggle between the various factions at odds and because of the support they are receiving from abroad. Thus, detente in Lebanon has to come through an improvement in the Middle East situation as a whole.
145.	Asia continues to be unsettled. In western Asia there is still a persistent arena of tension in Cyprus, where the situation is still of concern because there it has reached an impasse.
146.	My country feels that any solution of the crisis in Cyprus must be based on the safeguarding of the sovereignty, independence, territorial integrity and non-alignment policy of that State.
147.	To achieve this, intercommunal talks are the best means of getting out of the impasse. Hence an appeal should be addressed to both communities to restart those talks, with the assistance and under the auspices of the Secretary-General of the United Nations.
148.	The Asian subcontinent can have only a precarious peace as long as Korea has not been properly reunified.
149.	The Korean question, which has for too long been on the agenda of the various sessions of our Assembly, must be finally settled in accordance with the resolution 3390 B (XXX) of the United Nations General Assembly, which, it should be remembered, has from the beginning been the guarantor of the integrity of Korea. My country continues to think that, as that resolution sets forth, the real solution is based on strict respect for the following imperatives: first, the withdrawal of all foreign troops stationed in South Korea under the fallacious cover of the United Nations; secondly, the dissolution of the so-called "United Nations Command".
150.	Respect for these requirements would make possible the peaceful reunification of the country on the basis of three principles of reunification stipulated in the North- South joint communiqué of July 1972.
151.	There can be no doubt that as the result of such a measure we should see seated in our world Organization the true representatives of a people whose experience would surely be valuable.
152.	In this world of torment and anguish the African continent remains, unfortunately the most afflicted, a victim of violence and of attempts at destabilization, with areas of outdated tensions and internal conflicts.
153.	In its southern part, Africa is still suffering from colonialism and is still struggling against a system which is repugnant to human conscience—I mean the hideous system of apartheid.
154.	For many years our Organization has been devoting an important part of its time to the search for proper solutions to the explosive situations that persist in that part of cur continent, where people are still suffering from colonial domination in these final years of the twentieth century.
155.	Concerning Namibia, our Assembly held its ninth special session this year. This session had to deal with recent developments in the situation.
156.	After the successive victories of the nationalist forces, which have forced the South African enemy to come to the negotiating table, the heroic people of Namibia, under the clear-sighted direction and guidance of the South West Africa People's Organization [SWAPOJ, its sole authentic representative, has agreed to the proposal for a peaceful settlement of the Namibian question, put forward by the five Western Powers members of the Security Council,  which, in its resolution 431(1978), took the first steps towards the full implementation of the proposals of this settlement plan.
157.	The sending to Namibia of the Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary-General "and the publication of the report on his mission  concerning the best way of carrying out the mandate entrusted to him by the Security Council brought a glimmer of hope, which has unfortunately just been snuffed out with the unilateral decision- of the proponents of apartheid to carry out so-called elections, which would, lead the Namibian people to only nominal independence, whereas the Western plan provided for democratic elections under the auspices of the United Nations, the democratic outcome of which, of course, must worry the illegal regime of Pretoria.
158.	This reaction, this turnabout, came as no surprise to my country in so far as we were and have been long aware that the racist regime of Pretoria would do everything possible to bring to naught any attempt to make Namibia a really free and sovereign State. Indeed, to survive, the racist minority South African regime needs to surround itself with a buffer zone of puppet States. Hence any solution which would not make of Namibia another bantustan could never be acceptable to the South African racists.
159.	For the Namibian people, with SWAPO at its head, and for the African peoples, this masquerade shows that there is only one choice: armed struggle.
160.	My delegation dares to believe that the time devoted to the Western plan will not have been spent in vain.
161.	Africa dares to hope that those who believed in the sincerity and serious-minded approach of the racist regime of South Africa will have heeded all the lessons to be learned from their sharp setback and will admit that it is high time for the international community to assume its responsibilities by making every effort totally to isolate a regime which has voluntarily put itself in the dock. In this respect my delegation associates itself with any measure of total and complete embargo against South Africa and harbours the hope that that decision will be vigorously observed by all Member States, including the five Western Powers that sponsored the plan rejected by Pretoria.
162.	In Zimbabwe the situation is no different. Here it is another racist minority regime, the illegal regime of Ian Smith, which is opposed to any solution likely to lead to the application of simple democratic rule of the majority in that Territory.
163.	We now see clearly that the so-called "internal settlement" has settled absolutely nothing at all, since it took no account of the real representatives of the sons of Zimbabwe in the Patriotic Front, which is and remains the only valid spokesman for any process of settlement of the Rhodesian question.
164.	To these peaceful solutions put forward by the valiant freedom fighters Smith and his puppets reply by increasingly ferocious repression and give themselves over in their arrogance to criminal acts of open aggression against the independent neighbour States of Botswana, Mozambique and Zambia.
165.	These military expeditions without a doubt are serious offences against the sovereignty of those States and dangerously jeopardize international peace and security in the region.
166.	In South Africa the dignity and freedom of 20 million blacks continue to be flouted by the unacceptable system of apartheid. Our Organization has repeatedly denounced and condemned this odious policy which has been declared a crime against humanity. In spite of everything, far from improving the situation continues to worsen. Thousands of South African patriots in the ANC and PAC  are still huddled in the white racist prisons. The exploitation and repression have attained unimaginable proportions.
167.	Faced with this tragedy the international community has reacted by taking measures designed to remove this scourge.
168.	The conclusions of the recent World Conference to Combat Racism and Racial Discrimination, held in Geneva in August last (see A/33/262], amply showed the need to step up the struggle to eliminate racism, racial discrimination and apartheid.
169.	It is in this same perspective that the peace-loving and justice-loving world celebrated the International Anti- Apartheid Year in accordance with General Assembly resolution 32/105 B.
170.	In. application of this resolution, throughout the length and breadth of my country democratic people's organization and organizations of young people, women and workers organized large-scale demonstrations designed to make public opinion as fully aware as possible of the realities of apartheid and to show their solidarity with their oppressed brothers in South Africa and so to contribute in their own way to isolating the racist regime even more.
171.	Whether it is a matter of Namibia, Zimbabwe or South Africa it is quite clear that these racist white minority regimes could not have stayed in power—let alone arrogantly pursued their policy of oppression, exploitation and racial segregation—had they not benefited from the complacence, the support and the complicity of certain Member States of our Organization which, none the less, seek the friendship and the co-operation of the African peoples.
172.	Recently serious revelations had been made on the violations by European transnational corporations of the economic sanctions instituted by our Organization against the rebel regime of Salisbury. These facts, which are established, show the international responsibility of certain States, and not those among the least, for the persistence of the crises in southern Africa.
173.	From this podium, we appeal earnestly to those States to show greater understanding because our peoples cannot stand these serious attacks on their dignity very much longer. Furthermore, it is the duty of every one to abide by the purposes and principles of the Charter and the noble ideals enshrined therein. Human rights here, as elsewhere, must receive the same solicitude.
174.	The rest of Africa also has been very rudely put to the test as a result of the colonial phenomenon. Africa has been shaken by attempts at recolonization and destabilization.
175.	Thus the Comoros have seen unrest with the intervention of mercenaries, those sworn enemies of the
continent, the worst of whom have even been put at the head of that afflicted brother State. We invite the United Nations to espouse and respect the concerns of the Organization of African Unity [OAUJ, which hopes that the administering Power may complete its undertaking of decolonization, observing the cardinal principles of the OAU Charter, which are: territorial integrity, respect for the frontiers left by the colonialism and non-interference in the affairs of the Comorians.
176.	In the north-west of the continent the conflict of Western Sahara is of concern on more than one count to the people and Government of Mali. Not only is that conflict being waged on our frontiers but it also sets at odds fraternal neighbour States with which Mali has the best of relations.
177.	That is why my country will spare no effort and will support any action—provided it is African action-to promote a proper solution to that conflict between brothers that would take into account the legitimate aspirations of the Saharan people and the no less legitimate stability of the States of the region.
178.	Concerning other inter-African conflicts, people have sought to make us believe that they could be resolved by setting up a so-called inter-African force. Vigilance permitted us immediately to realize that such a force, if not established by the OAU within the framework of the liberation of Africa, might become a convenient instrument
for enslavement.
179.	That is why on that very important question, President Moussa Traore, the Head of State of Mali, was at pains to clarify Mali's position at the fifteenth ordinary session of the Assembly of Heads of State and Government of the OAU, held at Khartoum in July, by saying, among other things:
"If tomorrow it were a matter of setting up a continental force to intensify our struggles for economic and political independence, Mali would be among the first in line in Africa. But that force could only be African, conceived by Africans to guarantee the freedom and security of Africans. An inter-African force would be an impregnable buttress against any foreign aggressor deemed to be such by the Africans. Its vocation would not be to entrench internal unrest or to serve as a protective umbrella for the maintenance of colonial privileges."
180.	That is how the people and Government of Mali conceive the possible creation and function of an inter- African force.
181.	The peace and security to which mankind aspires are more than ever conditional upon the happiness and prosperity of all.
182.	It is becoming clearer each day to everyone that the world cannot find real peace, and that even the richest countries or the richest strata of the so-called developed societies cannot find a secure future, as long as the huge imbalances between nations have not been overcome.
183.	At the end of this year 1978 the two-thirds of mankind living in anguish are still wondering what the new year holds for them. Quite clearly, they are not really expecting an improvement in their already tragic situation. Indeed, as the Second United Nations Development Decade is coming to a close, the precariousness of their economic and social circumstances and the problem of their survival are acute.
184.	While 2,500 people are dying every day-I repeat "every day"-the resources made available to the developing countries by the 17 richest countries in the world have gone from $59 billion in 1976 to $65 billion only in 1977—an insignificant increase—less than the rise in the cost of living.
185.	Moreover, to be comprehensive, it should be stated that, according to the sources of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, whose Development Assistance Committee has just published its annual report, the total of $65 billion for 1977 includes only $21 billion for public assistance, of which an alarmingly increasing place is occupied by financing at very heavy interest out of a concern, as we know for sheer profit and a regression in the percentage of the gross national product which has not only not reached the target of 0.7, but has dropped from 0.33 per cent in 1976 to 0.31 per cent in 1977.
186.	What is more, four-fifths of those credits for so-called public assistance contribute to the operation of the economic machinery of the donors in the form of wages and salaries of the famous cohorts of experts and technical assistants of all kinds and the orders to the enterprises of the industrialized countries.
187.	The second terrifying aspect of the general economic situation lies in the devastating effects of the present crisis on the world economy, which is so severely affecting the economies of the developing countries.
188.	The slowing down-of general economic activity has meant a curbing of international trade and has intensified protectionism against developing countries. Those who have recourse to such restrictions imposed on the developing countries even forget that they may go against the aim they have in mind because they jeopardize a much higher rate of exports.
189.	Furthermore, those protectionist .practices that are being observed in the economic policies of some industrialized countries give a disquieting dimension to the deterioration in the terms of trade and further stress the iniquity of the rules of international commerce.
190.	In that general context, the African countries are becoming increasingly a sounding-board for those evils which affect the world economy. The 20 African countries which are among the least advanced of the world recorded in the 1970s an annual average growth of only 0.6 per capita of their gross internal product, while the annual average for all the developing countries was 2.7 per cent.
191.	Along the same line of thought, the aims defined by the World Food Conference, held in Rome in 1974 and the 1977 Programme of Action to Eradicate Hunger and Malnutrition contained in the Manila Communiqué of the World Food Councili9 have remained pious hopes. Food production, despite the praiseworthy efforts of the African countries, scarcely attained the annual rate of population growth. It has been established, unfortunately, that that trend will be difficult to reverse as long as the transfer of resources to the agriculture of those countries continues to decline.
192.	Worse, throughout the world food has become a source of profit, an instrument for economic and political control, and a means of assuring effective domination of some over the rest of the world, particularly over the "damned of the earth". So the "green revolution" has aggravated the inequalities between the rich exploiters and the enslaved poor.
193.	In order to meet the imperative needs of development, African countries are more and more becoming indebted to the privileged countries.
194.	So that is "how the other half of the world is dying". That is the disturbing picture we have of the world economic and social situation.
195.	In that situation, the reactions of the industrialized countries are disquieting. Their profound guiding philosophy remains that the world economic order should be based on a system at the centre of which is a minority of opulent countries and on the periphery is the majority of dependent countries providing raw materials. However, the serious crisis which has been troubling the world economy in the 1970s has shown how vain that doctrine is. The many attempts at various levels to neutralize this crisis have proved in vain.
196.	Should we be pessimistic? It seems that we can discern some changes in attitudes, in sensitivity and even in the positions adopted.
197.	Recently, in June, the Ministers of the countries members of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development acknowledged for the first time the need for interdependence and the importance of the concept of the mutual interests of the industrialized and the developing countries.
198.	It is a fact that this implacable law of interdependence, which today characterizes the international community, commits us to make a more appropriate reply to the legitimate aspirations of our world, which is facing one of the greatest challenges of mankind. That is what n at stake here—the very survival of two-thirds of the human race.
199.	It is within our ability to act in such a way that a profound and thorough change can be made in international economic relations without delay. The dualism of the world is not only a new scandal but also a serious threat because of the crisis of the North, which is growing weaker in the face of a considerable increase in the power of the South.

200.	In terms of the drafting of the new international order, a year ago we established a world institutional framework to promote dialogue on the development of this order and to promote its establishment.
201.	Unfortunately, that last-chance dialogue is at a standstill today. The responsibility falls particularly on the so-called developed countries, which persistently reject a proper interpretation of the mandate of the so-called Committee of the Whole, or the Committee Established under General Assembly Resolution 32/174, or which threatened to block the Third United Nations Conference on the Law of the Sea by unilaterally enacting national legislation concerning the exploitation of the sea-bed in the international zone. Such attitudes, inspired by national selfishness, are contrary to the letter and spirit of General Assembly resolutions 2574 (XXIV) and 2749 (XXV).
202.	As to the substantive rules of the new international order ..o be established, they must be based essentially on justice and equity because what is unacceptable is the law of the strongest; what is unacceptable is the excessive advantages that some States still have while others stagnate in disadvantageous situations.
203.	It is unacceptable that, in order to live in opulence and waste, some countries take advantage of the poverty and growing indebtedness of the majority of peoples. It is unacceptable that the poor should not receive their proper share of the fruits of growth. It is unacceptable that, as the World Bank has just said so courageously in the conclusion of its annual report on development throughout the world "about 800 million people... still live in absolute poverty"20 and that this fact will for decades to come remain a gigantic problem.
204.	Moreover there is no lack of means. Colossal sums are swallowed up daily in developing, manufacturing, perfecting and stocking more and more sophisticated and more and more murderous weapons because of the will to dominate and exploit which, unfortunately, has overcome the noble ideals of peace and justice in our common Charter.
205.	The absurdity and danger of this disgusting waste increasingly shock the public conscience.
206.	That is why, reflecting the anguished voices raised, the non-aligned countries took the initiative in the convening this year of. the tenth special session of the Assembly, which considered this worrying problem of the mad arms race.
207.	The first results obtained were very modest, but they must not be underestimated, and our Organization should pursue untiringly its efforts to achieve new progress oh the road to general and complete disarmament in order to save mankind from the spectre of war and preserve it from general destruction.
208.	In so doing our Assembly will be fulfilling the hopes of the peoples of the United Nations who, after the Second World War, undertook the commitment through the United
Nations Charter.  "... to save succeeding generations front the scourge of war, which twice in out lifetime has brought untold sorrow to mankind..
209.	This noble objective must remain our aim and to achieve it there is still time to build in the place of this "great disorder" the new order of peace, which must of necessity be based on two pillars: an order of security and an order of justice.
Let us proceed carefully, Gentlemen, although we are in a hurry.