Five years hence a century will have elapsed since Africa stood defenceless before the Powers at Berlin. The very nations that had then long plundered Africa's treasures and snatched its children into slavery were declaring that even in his African homeland the African would not be free. Injustice and indignity would be visited upon the African within Africa, the only place on earth which is his home. At that very time, there had stood undaunted, though defied, for 37 years, the symbol of Africa's invincible soul, the torch of Africa's vindication, the flame of Africa's resurgency, the Republic of Liberia, materially weak but spiritually strong.
3.	Alas, the years have fleetingly gone by, and today, on behalf of 49 African sovereignties, comprising nearly one third of this Assembly, a Liberian President appears here endeavouring, humbly yet with pride, to speak not of vengeance but of victory, not of power but of justice, not of confrontation but of reconciliation, not of conflict but of accommodation, not of self-centred action and protectionism but of genuine co-operation for global advancement. We have come to speak not of domination but of development, not of divisiveness but of unity, not of hoarding but of sharing, not of hate but of love, not of human exploitation but of human rights, not of war but of peace.
4.	What better evidence could be adduced that Africa is fast gaining its rightful place in the forefront of human affairs? In the span of less than a century since 1884—to which I have referred—Africa has made substantive advances from the throes of servitude to frontiers of significance; from the depths of exploitation into the councils of human uplift. This new emergence, however, is seen by Africans not so much as the attainment of an inheritance long denied but as a relished opportunity and challenge for a great continent, the cradle of human civilization and of human life itself, to rise from slumber and swiftly make its uniquely African contribution to international relations in a troubled world.
5.	Our sense of the historic significance of Africa's role in world affairs in these limes is further heightened, Sir, by your election to the high office of President of the thirty-fourth regular session of the General Assembly of the United Nations. You are, Sir, one of Africa's most outstanding and proven sons of ability. Hailing from the gallant and freedom-loving sister State of the United Republic of Tanzania, both you and your country stand in the forefront of the as yet unfinished task of African liberation, unity and development. On the battlefields of southern Africa where the war for liberation goes on, Tanzania's well-known and constructive efforts place it at the front lines of global freedom and justice. In the halls of international diplomacy and debate, no less than in the realm of constructive ideas and pragmatic action, Tanzania's statesmanship and diplomacy have championed the African cause. All of these reasons, coupled with your personal attributes of experience and knowledge, energy and affability, make us confident that you will guide the work of this session of the Assembly to fruitful and significant conclusions.
6.	We should also like to express appreciation to Mr. Lievano of the Republic of Colombia for the successful manner in which he presided over the thirty-third session of the General Assembly.
7.	We welcome the State of Saint Lucia as the one hundred and fifty-second Member of the United Nations. In admitting Saint Lucia to membership, the United Nations has thus moved one step further towards the achievement of its goal of universality.
8.	Since the close of the thirty-third session, the African continent has been buffeted by muffled winds of mourning, in the home-going of two of its stalwart sons: Houari Boumediene, the President of the People's Republic of Algeria, and Antonio Agostinho Neto, the President of the People's Republic of Angola. President Neto was a heroic freedom fighter upon the last frontier of African independence, while President Boumediene stood valiantly among the pioneers of African and third- world emancipation, both political and economic. Their voices will be sorely missed in the honoured councils of our time, but we trust that their souls will rest within the hallowed cloisters of eternal bliss.
9.	Liberia had the honour this past July of being host to the sixteenth ordinary session of the Assembly of Heads of State and Government of the OAU in our capital city of Monrovia. As is now their annual custom, the leaders of Africa, motivated by a prevailing sense of unity and solidarity, were able to meet as brothers in a congenial atmosphere to tackle the momentous problems of Africa. The many far-reaching "decisions taken in Monrovia are fresh illustrations of Africa's firm commitment to improving the lives of its peoples and of the sincere efforts being made by Africa to explore all reasonable and viable paths to inter-African co-operation, world security and peace.
10.	Africa is resolved at this time, more than ever before, to accelerate the gains already made by African countries in the social and economic development fields. Many of the issues which are to be discussed during this session of the General Assembly bear directly on matters before the OAU. Unfortunately, too many of those issues before this Assembly for many years have remained unresolved. For example, nearly two decades after the General Assembly's resolution on the granting of independence to colonial countries and peoples, the question of decolonization, especially in southern Africa, remains unsettled.
11.	In the field of disarmament, the arms race between the super-Powers goes on unchecked. Moreover, and most regrettably, an increasingly high level of expenditure on arms continues to be made by almost all countries, including poor countries, whose meagre resources should be used productively to improve the living standards of their people. This trade in the merchandise of death is being pursued most vigorously by countries which, even as they derive great profits particularly in the most volatile and explosive regions of the world, continue to preach peace, whose champion they acclaim themselves to be.
12.	A third example is the area of economic development where, in spite of two development decades declared by this great Organization, the development aid programmes of rich countries, numerous studies, and strategies for development, the rich countries are getting; richer while more and more of the poor ones are perishing.
13.	Against this gloomy background the annual convening of the General Assembly presents the opportunity for all Members of this Organization—which now embraces most nations of the world—to meet peacefully, and through calm and consistent debate, and through reasonable proposals, endeavour to evolve a better world for all mankind.
14.	While the vast majority of the world's population lives in ignorance, disease and poverty, the endless output of flowery speeches and wordy resolutions at the United Nations and other international forums have brought but little relief to afflicted humanity. Can the voices of so many go unheard for so long by the ears of so few?
15.	Africa has the largest number of the world's poor countries, and many millions of our peoples live in abject poverty at a level of human subsistence which is an affront to the dignity of man. In Africa and other parts of our one world can the needs of so many remain unmet for so long?
16.	Numerous programmes already being implemented by the United Nations deserve the fullest praise; but the many unresolved items on its agenda for development must remain priority action issues. Concurrently, the OAU believes that through unified and concerted effort within our own regional organization, and through productive alliances with other regions of the third world we who are, let it be said—"the wretched of the earth"—can achieve true economic and social progress.
17.	The establishment of the New International Economic Order is essential if the have-nots of this world are to have their just share of the immense endowments that a bounteous God has intended for distribution throughout the earth. Accordingly, the OAU will work even more vigorously in concert with the non-aligned group and other regional organizations, towards the implementation of the programme of action for the establishment of a more just and equitable world society.
18.	Justly and equitably, the wealth of South Africa, Namibia and Zimbabwe belongs to the peoples of those States. Yet Africans who make up the vast majority of the populations there cannot enjoy their own land with dignity, nor can they even enjoy fair recompense for the fruits of their labour. Racism rules supreme, and the abhorrent policy of apartheid continues unabated.
19.	The daily violation of the rights of human beings in southern Africa on account of race is a direct slap in the face of the nations of Africa, in particular, and a demeaning affront to this lofty Organization, whose moral and legal obligations to defend oppressed peoples everywhere cry out for discharge.
20.	How long will the conscience of decent, civilized mankind allow racism and apartheid to remain a blot on our age? The arrogant racist regime in South Africa falsely believes that dissensions among African States, some of which South Africa itself stirs up, and the problems faced by our nations in the area of economic development will prevent Africa from liberating all Africans throughout the continent. Let the racists live with their misbeliefs, but Africa will not renege on its promise and its duty to the peoples of southern Africa. While the racists persist in their mischief, Africa will not rest until all of Africa stands tall in the sunlight of freedom.
21.	The patience of Africa has worn thin, but Africa shall win. Good will triumph over evil! Right will conquer wrong! Victory is certain!
22.	Africa is grateful for the stand taken and the support given by many nations of the world in the struggle against apartheid and racism. We anxiously await the day when all who articulate their disagreement with South Africa by pronouncements will courageously match their words with consistent deeds.
23.	Motivated thus, we would urge the international community duly to recognize the need for increased assistance to the brave front-line States, which have
greatly suffered and continue to bear heavy sacrifices in the struggle to free southern Africa from colonialism and racism. The front-line States, like other developing countries, must use their meagre resources not only to shoulder the inescapable responsibility of their own economic development, but to support the noble liberation struggle. Because of the hardships which they bear from the fury and onslaught of rapist assaults, these brave and heroic States should be given as much moral and material aid as the world community can provide.
24.	We realize that no State—least of all a non- African State—is compelled to aid the front-line States. At the same time, Africa feels that the acts of no country should give evidence of collusion with the racist regime of Pretoria. It is our fervent hope that all States Members of the United Nations should consider it morally wrong to co-operate in any way with South Africa, thus aiding in the perpetuation of the horrors of apartheid. None, indeed, preaching democracy and the right of the individual to liberty and the pursuit of happiness as a way of life should give support in any form to the evils as are endemic in the diabolical apartheid system.
25.	But even if Africa must fight alone—and may God grant that this will not be the case!—we will not relent until, in His appointed time and with our combined strength, we shall demolish the vile structure of apartheid.
26.	At the OAU Assembly of Heads of State and Government in Monrovia, Africa called once again for a complete oil and arms embargo and for other economic sanctions to be imposed on South Africa. The nuclear collaboration between South Africa and some Western Powers was deplored, and a strong demand was made that such collaboration should cease forthwith. The making of nuclear weapons available to desperate bands of racists is a most serious threat to world peace and security, and deserves the most urgent attention of this Organization.
27.	In brazen defiance of the resolutions passed by the General Assembly and the Security Council, Pretoria continues its delaying tactics in the implementation of the United Nations plan for the independence of the international Territory of Namibia with the aim of establishing there a puppet regime. Such continued defiance, in our view, has left the Security Council with no alternative but to force an end to the illegal occupation of Namibia, by invoking enforcement measures against South Africa as provided for under Chapter VII of the United Nations Charter. We therefore call upon the Security Council to convene as soon as possible for this purpose.
28.	That the South West Africa People's Organization [SWATO] is the sole and authentic representative of the Namibian people is well established in resolutions of this body. It is therefore necessary that we continue to give increased material support to S WAPO in the struggle which it fearlessly spearheads by armed struggle and by negotiation for Namibia's freedom. The economic and moral support already given by the international community and the significant support given by the United Nations to the people of Namibia are greatly appreciated by all members of the OAU. Such support will continue to be required until every inch of Namibia, including Walvis Bay, is free.
29.	If the new initiatives reportedly being undertaken by the five Western Powers hasten Namibia's peaceful transition to genuine independence, their efforts will merit our immense gratitude.
30.	The events which have transpired in Zimbabwe, particularly the installation of a Government there headed by Bishop Muzorewa, have not deluded the OAU, nor should any other nation in good faith believe that the Muzorewa regime was freely and fairly elected by a majority of the populace.
31.	The OAU unreservedly condemns the puppet Muzorewa regime and its view remains unchanged that Rhodesia is still a colony of the United Kingdom, in rebellion against the Crown. The OAU has called upon all of its member States to refrain from recognizing the Muzorewa regime, and any attempt at recognition of the illegal minority regime of Rhodesia by any member of the international community would be considered an act of hostility against Africa.
32.	Meanwhile, the economic sanctions levied by the United Nations against Rhodesia must be maintained, for the lifting of those sanctions by any nation would be tantamount to recognition of the puppet regime.
33.	In recognizing the Patriotic Front as the sole legitimate and authentic representative of the people of Zimbabwe, the OAU reaffirmed the legitimacy of the armed struggle waged by the Patriotic Front, called for its intensification and resolved to increase political, material and financial assistance to the Patriotic Front. This was the united stand of Africa taken at Monrovia.
34.	Notwithstanding this, Africa has never closed the doors to a peaceful resolution of the Zimbabwean problem. That is why the nine-point plan on Zimbabwe adopted by the Meeting of Heads of Government of Commonwealth Countries, held at Lusaka from 1 to 7 August, offered some encouragement to Africa. We are following with consuming interest the constitutional talks now under way in London, which have brought to the conference table the principal parties to the Zimbabwean problem. It is our fervent hope that a constitution and the appropriate modalities acceptable to all the parties concerned will emerge from the talks, so that Zimbabwe may accede to genuine independence with majority rule.
35.	Regarding the grave danger to international peace and security inherent in the Middle East crisis, Africa reaffirmed in Monrovia its unrelenting support and un-swerving commitment to the struggle of the Palestinian people for the full realization and exercise of all of their national rights.
36.	In pledging its full support and determination to continue to work for a lasting and just peace in the Middle East, Africa, speaking in Monrovia, condemned all partial agreements and treaties which violate the recognized rights of the Palestinian people and contradict the principles of just and comprehensive solutions to the Middle East problem.
37.	If current peace initiatives in the Middle East are to lead to a comprehensive, just and durable settlement, it would seem imperative, in our view, that the framework of negotiation be expanded to include the Palestinian people, represented by the Palestine Liberation Organization [PLO]. For the Palestinian people alone are entitled to speak for themselves, and their participation is indispensable to the success of any peace initiative in the Middle East.
38.	The right of the State of Israel to exist must be respected by all, including the Palestinian people. At the same time, we must equally insist on full recognition and respect for the national rights of the Palestinian people by the State of Israel, especially their right to self-determination and a State of their own. Israel must withdraw from all occupied Arab territories. In this connexion, the establishment of settlements on Arab lands and the continued bombing of southern Lebanon by Israel, so destructive of innocent human lives, can only destroy the atmosphere required for a much desired peace and aggravate an already explosive situation.
39.	In this, our one world, each human being has an inalienable right of return to a land he can call his home. That being true, each nation must remain safe and secure within its internationally recognized borders, from threats and terror, from intimidations and territorial violations.
40.	In furtherance of reconciliation and accommodation in the Middle East, it is our earnest hope that fears will yield to confidence, misgivings to goodwill and conflict to peaceful coexistence.
41.	In this spirit, Liberia appeals to all nations of the world to join in enhancing the process of peace in the Middle East, to the end that a comprehensive settlement of the existing conflict can be achieved.
42.	As we insist that self-determination be applied to all peoples, we are challenged by the dangerous contentions in Western Sahara. Following mediation in this matter, and on the basis of the report of the Ad Hoc Committee of Heads of State on Western Sahara, the so-called committee of five wise men, the 0 AU decided in Monrovia that a proper atmosphere for peace should be created in the area through a general and immediate cease-fire, and that the right to self-determination be given the people of the Western Sahara in a general and free referendum which would enable them to choose either total independence or the maintenance of the status quo.
43.	Having fully assumed its responsibility in this matter, Africa, through the committee of wise men, is continuing its initiatives towards securing the peaceful implementation of that decision. In this process, the sovereignty, territorial integrity and the internationally recognized borders of Mauritania must be respected.
44.	Protracted disputes regarding self-determination, to which the people of the Western Sahara are entitled, only unnecessarily postpone more urgent problems of development, which the people of that area must tackle.
45.	Violent political turbulence and foreign interferences in South-East Asia and other parts of the world have for too long prevented the upward thrust for progress and development. They have also led to the mass exodus of people from their countries. The flagrant and blatant abuse of the dignity and rights of men, women and children across the globe is clearly an abominable evil because it dislocates and destroys the most important resource of our planet.
46.	For us in Africa, where there are now more than 4 million refugees, this problem has reached crisis pro-portions. We therefore address an urgent appeal to the international community for increased assistance to meet this alarming need of our 4 million refugees.
47.	Full respect for human rights should be an absolute imperative in our times. An essential rationale of the United Nations is that its activities should lead to the enjoyment by all peoples of their human rights- civic, political, economic, social and cultural.
48.	Africa subscribes to the principles contained in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. It was in this spirit that the sixteenth session of the OAU Assembly authorized the preparation of a preliminary draft of an African charter on human rights which would provide for the establishment of bodies to promote and protect human rights in Africa.
49.	Our commitment to human rights is further evidenced by the fact that, upon the invitation of the Government of Liberia, and in accordance with a request of this Assembly, the Secretary-General of the United Nations organized at Monrovia, from 10 to 21 September, the United Nations Seminar on the Establishment of Regional Commissions on Human Rights with Special Reference to Africa. That seminar adopted a proposal for the establishment of an African commission on human rights. That Commission will conduct studies and research on African issues in the field of human rights; it will examine and assess the occurrence of alleged violations; and it will make reports and will propose for consideration legislation related to the enjoyment of human rights and fundamental freedom. We shall give the closest attention to these important and constructive proposals, which, in our judgment, will bring us much nearer to our goal of a commission on human rights for Africa, established by Africans and consisting of Africans.
50.	Africa desires peace; and we shall never hesitate to do all that is within our power to bring all African disputes to a peaceful settlement in the spirit of conciliation and accommodation. Peace and tranquillity must be established in Africa so that the mighty energies of a vibrant and resourceful people may be focused upon their social and economic development. The OAU is committed to a more important role in the process of human progress in Africa. This course is the more imperative because a large number of African and third- world countries continue to experience a decline in their balance of trade and export earnings, while their indebtedness and the cost of imports, especially energy, dramatically rise. These conditions greatly obstruct development goals and objectives.
51.	During the past few years, intense negotiations have been held to establish a more equitable international order. Sadly, some nations of great power, wealth and influence do not seem desirous of ushering in such a new economic order.
52.	Consequently, their actions have frustrated developing countries in the North-South dialogue, at the fifth session of UNCTAD, and at other world conferences, including the long-drawn-out Third United Nations Conference on the Law of the Sea.
53.	Comprising nearly three quarters of our planet, the oceans are our last great frontier of untapped resources for an expanding human family. It is most unfortunate to note again that negotiations since 1958 to bring order and equity to their exploration and exploitation have still not ended. We therefore urge all nations to show every degree of accommodation and bring that historic Conference, now nearing completion, to a successful conclusion.
54.	This year, once again, the issues involving the realization of the New International Economic Order are an important part of the Assembly's agenda. Several resolutions of acknowledgment have been adopted, but mere acknowledgment by developed countries is of only limited relevance to the immensity of problems with which developing nations are faced. The implementation of resolutions already adopted and the adoption and implementation of additional and more meaningful resolutions this year are essential to the economic survival of most nations of the third world.
55.	The scope of these resolutions must range from commodities to currency stability, from indebtedness to energy. With rich nations staggering under the pressures of escalating energy costs and poor nations being crushed under the increasing weight of declining demand and spiralling product prices, the world community must come to grips with the growing energy crisis. We must work speedily towards the convening of a world energy conference to energize in newer ways our globally strangulated economies.
56.	At the same time, we of the third world must translate our interdependence into productive actions, into regional and interregional projects, to the end that we may become self-reliant. The OAU, therefore, once again has fully committed itself to the resolutions of the sixth and seventh special sessions of the General Assembly calling for the advent of a New International Economic Order relevant to our very existence.
57.	At the OAU Assembly in Monrovia, Africa resolved upon a co-operative course of coexistence, and adopted the Monrovia Declaration of Commitment for collective self-reliance and interdependent socio-economic development. An extraordinary Assembly of Heads of State and Government is scheduled to convene in Lagos, Nigeria, to tackle the subject of African economic development, highlighting regional and sub-regional development projects.
58.	Also emerging from the OAU Assembly in Monrovia was the adoption of a Strategy for Economic Development in Africa, affirming the establishment of an African Economic Community and other recommendations contained in the report of the ECA-OAU Colloquium on Perspectives of Development and Economic Growth in Africa up to the Year 2000, which was held in Monrovia earlier this year. The sixteenth session of the OAU Assembly recommended that the General Assembly of the United Nations consider this strategy as an integral part of the international strategy for the third United Nations development decade.
59.	Africa is counting on the continuing support of the United Nations and its specialized agencies for the implementation of this strategy.
60.	May I here pay a most deserved tribute to the Secretary-General of the United Nations, Mr. Kurt Waldheim, for his continuing dedication to international peace and justice, for his conscientious efforts to make the institutional machinery of the United Nations more responsive to the needs of a growing international community and for his productive attention to the aspirations of the African peoples. His unswerving commitment to the objectives of the United Nations and his concern about the welfare of peoples everywhere were again demonstrated by his presence at the recent Monrovia OAU Assembly, as well as in other parts of Africa, and his visits to South-East Asia, Europe, the Caribbean and other regions of our one world during the course of the year. We extend to him our heartfelt commendation and pledge our fullest support and co-operation as he untiringly endeavours to bring to fruition the lofty goals of this world body.
61.	Five years hence, as the centenary of the Conference on Berlin arrives, all in Africa will be confronting yet more dramatically together the challenge of a new age of African development. That challenge will not be met on the drawing-boards of any single nation, or by the perimeters of ideological influence; it will not be met through oppression or through subversion.
62.	Neither armaments nor animosities will serve; nor will complexes, selfishness or prejudice. Rather, mankind must measure its varied resources and merge its vibrant energies through unity and solidarity among nations; through accommodation and reconciliation; through co-operation and alliances for progress; through the practice of love and the pursuit of peace and prosperity, for the building of a more wholesome functioning world society.
63.	May Almighty God—the merciful Allah—prosper the works of the United Nations and bring unity and peace to our one world.


Sir, may I be permitted, first of all, to offer you the warmest fraternal congratulations of the delegation of Cameroon upon your unanimous election to the high office of President of the thirty-fourth session of the United Nations General Assembly. We are particularly pleased, because we know you well and appreciate your outstanding personal and diplomatic qualities, as well as your commitment and contribution to the struggle being waged
by Africa with the rest of the third world for its dignity. Your activities at the head 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, and elsewhere, are a prime example. Moreover, over and above you personally, your election does honour to Africa and is a just source of pride to your country, the sister United Republic of Tanzania, which, above and beyond the cultural ties of our common African heritage woven by geography, history and common aspirations, has relations of fruitful co-operation with Cameroon in the OAU and in our great family of the non-aligned.
122.	We are pleased to take this occasion to thank your predecessor in this post, Mr. Indalecio Lievano of Colombia, for the distinguished way in which he discharged his responsibilities.
123.	Finally, we wish to pay a very special tribute and to express our profound gratitude to our Secretary- General Mr. Kurt Waldheim. My Government is grateful to him for his tireless, ever selfless and discreet efforts, in exercise of his difficult functions, to find solutions to the numerous problems besetting our times.
124.	May we also welcome among us the delegation of Saint Lucia. With its admission as the Organization's one hundred and fifty-second Member, the universal nature of the United Nations has been strengthened.
125.	It is with great sadness that we learned, at the beginning of last month, of the untimely passing of Mr. Agostinho Neto, the President of the People's Republic of Angola. His place in Africa and in the world is well known, as is attested to by the numerous expressions of sympathy and grief addressed to his family and to the Government and people of Angola—condolences with which I associate my delegation and myself personally.
126.	This thirty-fourth session of the General Assembly is being held in a particularly uneasy international climate, marked as it is by tension and conflict and the suffering and misery they entail, as well as by economic disorders, the principal victims of which has been the third world—Africa in particular.
127.	The victories over domination and slavery during this past decade had aroused hopes that Africa, upon emerging from a long colonial period of darkness, might finally come to know peace and set out on the path of economic, social and cultural development in solidarity with the rest of mankind.
128.	But that noble design is still thwarted by the blind persistence in southern Africa of a racist minority with the complicity of powerful foreign interest groups. This intolerable situation for human dignity endangers not only the peoples of Africa but international peace and security as well.
129.	There can be no doubt that no African country can really feel that it is the complete master of its own destiny, free to chart a future of happiness and prosperity, as long as the policy of apartheid and oppression prevailing in that part of our continent persists.
130.	The fate of millions of human beings held in bondage in their own country deserves the constant vigilance of our Organization, founded as it is on respect for the principle of the inalienable dignity of all human beings, the equality of rights of peoples, and their right to self-determination.
131.	We believe that the General Assembly is the appropriate framework within which to arouse and sustain the active solidarity that the liberation movements are entitled to expect of the international community. We are gratified that the intensification of the struggle they are waging in southern Africa has already induced the Pretoria regime to take actions the absurdity of which is obvious to all. This struggle must constantly, reinforced with firm international pressures upon that regime. In this respect we wish to refer to the new and unanimous condemnation of South Africa by the Security Council in its resolution in connexion with the establishment of a new Bantustan.
132.	All are aware that the masquerade of according autonomy to artificial geo-political entities or to ethnic groups is designed merely to create a security belt around the apartheid bastion.
133.	My country, which is applying and will continue strictly to apply the decisions of the United Nations and the OAU, has decided to have no relations with either South Africa or those puppet States that have no national base and are doomed to be dominated by South African racists.
134.	It is this policy of subjugation that Pretoria intends to perpetuate in the international Territory of Namibia.
135.	Last year, during the same period, there was some hope that there might be an early settlement of this question on the basis of Security Council resolutions 385 (1976) and 435 (1978). Need we recall that the principal thrust of these resolutions was to make it possible for the Namibian people to exercise their right to self-determination and independence by free and democratic elections under the control and supervision of the United Nations?
136.	And yet, since publication of the report of the Secretary-General on practical methods for implementing the United Nations plan, South Africa, which had solemnly accepted that settlement, nevertheless has not hesitated, with its customary bad faith, to reopen the issue.
137.	It is clear that in so doing South Africa is once again striving to gain time, substantially to alter the facts of the situation, and to distort the application of an international settlement plan in order, in the final analysis, to achieve the goals of its own domestic settlement plan.
138.	In May last, at the resumed thirty-third session of the General Assembly, there was adopted by an over-whelming majority a resolution calling upon the Security Council to meet urgently in order to impose against South Africa the enforcement measures provided for in Chapter VII of the Charter [resolution 33/206], but so far it has not been possible for us to emerge from the impasse.
139.	We must deplore the fact that, despite the arrogant attitude of Pretoria, which is constantly undermining the credibility of our Organization, certain Powers, in particular those which have decisive means of applying pressure upon South Africa, do not appear to be at all disposed to use them.
140.	We must again denounce all the South African machinations aimed at excluding SWAPO, which is the authentic representative of the Namibian people, at rendering virtually inapplicable the international settlement plan, and at justifying an internal solution in the Rhodesian manner, the limits of which are finally becoming evident.
141.	Cameroon, which is a member of the United Nations Council for Namibia, reaffirms its total support for the struggle of the Namibian people under the direction of SWAPO. We reaffirm that people's right to self-determination and independence within the framework of a united Namibia, including Walvis Bay. We feel that if South Africa continues to obstruct the application of the international settlement plan as the Secretary-General interpreted it, and as it was subsequently confirmed by the Security Council, in its resolution 435 (1978), the latter has no option but to decree the sanctions provided for in Chapter VII of the Charter in order to compel South Africa to co-operate with the United Nations.
142.	The laxity that has been shown so far by certain Powers in respect of South Africa is, as we have already said, one of the causes of the weakening of our Organization. It is with good reason that in his report on the work of the Organization the Secretary-General notes and deplores the lack of confidence from which the United Nations is suffering as a result of non-compliance with numerous Security Council resolutions.
143.	The Rhodesian question is particularly enlightening in this respect. It is now virtually 15 years since a group of racist soldiers of fortune took power in the British colony, thereby depriving 6 million blacks of their most elementary rights. While the sanctions decreed by the Security Council handicapped the development of the Rhodesian economy, they did not succeed in bringing low the illegal regime installed in Salisbury, which owes its survival to the assistance openly supplied by South Africa and the support it receives from several multinational firms.
144.	Moreover, we believe the Security Council must decide at the proper time whether or not the sanctions imposed upon the rebel regime should be lifted.
145.	My country is pleased with the new approach defined at the last Meeting of Heads of Government of Commonwealth Countries, in Lusaka. As we have always said, there is no doubt that the only solution acceptable in Zimbabwe is negotiation with the liberation movements with a view to the effective transfer of sovereignty to the majority on the basis of free and democratic elections under international control.
146.	We hope that the negotiations now under way in
London will make it possible for the United Kingdom to commence the process leading to the effective independence of Zimbabwe. In our opinion, any recognition of the Salisbury regime presupposes a fundamental constitutional re-adaptation that would ensure the predominance of democratic rule by the majority. Let there be no mistake about this. The interdependence of peoples and nations is, as has been demonstrated by the re-percussions of present crises, far from being a myth. It will be illusory to speak of peace as long as Africa is suffering from discrimination and does not benefit fully from respect for the principles of the Charter.
147.	For the progress of the whole international community, it is essential that the process of the emancipation of peoples, which was started three decades ago, in particular in Africa and in Asia, be completed through the liberation of the last ghettos of oppression. For the security of States, it is equally crucial that their territorial integrity, their independence and their sovereignty be respected.
148.	This key principle of the United Nations Charter is also one of the comer-stones of the doctrine of non- alignment, which provides the basis for the external policy of my country.
149.	May I be permitted once again to recall here our concept of non-alignment as it was defined by the President of the United Republic of Cameroon, Mr. Ahmadou Ahidjo?
"Non-alignment, for us, means first of all non-interference in the domestic affairs of others.
"Non-alignment, for us, means also refraining from the use or threat of force for the settlement of international conflicts.
"Non-alignment, for us, means also a state of permanent vigilance in the face of all organized powers, present or future, without any a priori prejudice against any other country, while we keep a hand outstretched in loyal co-operation as long as no vital interest is to be sacrificed thereby.
"Non-alignment, for us, means finally tolerance and peaceful, indeed even dynamic, coexistence between States which have different political, social and economic regimes but which are working together for the promotion of a world of equal peoples, reed from domination and fear and practising mutual respect.
"In other terms, non-alignment is, for us, not an antonym of but a complement to international cooperation."
That philosophy governs our approach to conflicts with which our time has to contend.
150.	First of all, in the Middle East, a region which in three decades has known three of the bloodiest wars, the situation remains unstable and explosive.
151.	My delegation has constantly reaffirmed that the Palestinian question is at the heart of the Israeli-Arab conflict and that any solution that neglects that major element will be neither just nor lasting.
152.	It is therefore essential for the Palestinian people to exercise all their essential rights, including that of having a country of their own. The search for an equitable solution implies their effective participation in any peace process and any negotiating machinery, through the intermediary of their authentic representative, the PLO.
153.	Israel, which has the right to live in peace within recognized borders, must abandon its expansionist designs and must withdraw from all occupied Arab territories, in conformity with Security Council resolutions 242 (1967) and 338 (1973), so as to make possible the advent of an era of peace and mutually advantageous co-operation in that part of the world.
154.	This is the time and place to refer to the tragedy of Lebanon, which is threatening that State in its very substance. Cameroon supports all efforts aimed at safeguarding the independence and territorial integrity of that friendly country.
155.	Next there is Cyprus, where the two communities could find common ground to preserve both their respective interests and also the independence, integrity and unity of that non-aligned country, if the external Powers were to refrain once and for all from interfering in their domestic affairs.
156.	Finally, in South-East Asia, where the Cambodian people have been threatened for the past 10 years, the existing situation is at the very heart of the major preoccupations of the international community. The dangerous tensions, the instability, the confrontations that are developing there, the antagonisms, the large- scale violations of human rights, the loss of innumerable human lives, destruction in all its forms and the resultant suffering for the Cambodian people are such that everything must be done quickly to enable the peoples of that region to define their political options and settle their problems without foreign interference, and with respect for their territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence.
157.	The coming of peace to those troubled regions would strengthen the process of generalized detente throughout the world and contribute to ameliorating one of the most disquieting elements of our time. I refer, of course, to the arms race.
158.	This year again, colossal sums of the order of $480 billion have been devoted to military expenditures, according to the most authoritative estimates, or approximately $ 1 million per minute.
159.	In these estimates the share ascribed to the principal military alliances is established at more than 70 per cent.
160.	Let us return once again to the principles of non-alignment and denounce the false peace that is based on the precarious balance of terror.
161.	It can never be said enough that peace, international co-operation and economic development of the nations which stand in solidarity presuppose general and complete disarmament under effective international control.
162.	My delegation appreciates the efforts made by the United States of America and the USSR which have led to the signing of their second agreement on the limitation of strategic arms. We hope that that agreement will be ratified soon. Of course, it is a partial, measure because it is set within a framework of exclusive bilateral negotiations and is intended to bring about a subtle nuclear balance between those two great Powers.
163.	The ratification of the SALT treaty after the second round of SALT should open the way to the conclusion of another agreement at the end of the third round and give new impetus to international negotiations aimed at reversing the arms race.
164.	Disarmament, decolonization and the reduction of tensions and conflicts throughout the world cannot of themselves guarantee international peace and security. Indeed, they imply also justice and equality in the economic field. And yet the present session is being held during a period of uncertainty, disappointment and profound disturbance in international economic relations.
165.	Indeed, the industrialized countries experienced a rapid growth right after the Second World War thanks to the abundance and availability of raw materials coming from developing countries and with the support of technical and financial institutions which were set up to serve chiefly their interests. That system, because of its perverse effects, has finally revealed what its limits are. There followed a constant falling-off in production and growth and an aggravation of inflation, monetary instability and, in short, a generalized recession.
166.	This situation, which has a special effect upon the nascent economies of the countries of the third world, has demonstrated the need for setting up the new international economic order.
167.	It is from that standpoint that numerous initiatives were adopted during the last 20 years, from the institutionalization of UNCTAD to the establishment of the Committee of the Whole Established under General Assembly Resolution 32/174 and including two special sessions of the General Assembly, the sixth and the seventh.
168.	Unfortunately, the results obtained have fallen much below the goals aimed at.
169.	The recent fifth session of UNCTAD at Manila, of which so much was expected because of the priority to be accorded to a thorough examination of the problems of structural change in the world economy as well as a study, in terms of their global and correlated actions, of trade, monetary, financial and technical questions, has resulted in the mediocre conclusions known to us all.
170.	As for the GATT agreements, our Secretary- General reveals in his report on the work of the Organization that although they ' 'provide a framework for the fight against future protectionism" they "give little immediate relief for countries most affected by present protectionist measures", Similarly, the Secretary-General adds, despite the progress achieved:
"Much more needs to be done to establish the common fund and to implement the other components of the Integrated Programme for Commodities".
171.	The Committee of the Whole Established under General Assembly Resolution 32/174 at its recent sessions decided on certain proposals which by and large are minor, concerning the transfer of resources relating to agriculture and food questions. These results, obtained thanks to the new impetus which was imparted to the Committee by the Assembly last year, are still far from living up to our expectations, but they clearly demonstrate that the action of the Committee would be further strengthened if it were based upon sufficient political will.
172.	The same can be said of the Preparatory Committee for the New International Development Strategy which is now bogged down on the elaboration of a preamble.
173.	The negotiations aimed at the establishment of a new convention on the law of the sea, which have been going on for six years, could soon come to a successful conclusion if only governments display firm political will. For this it is necessary to adhere to the time-table adopted at the eighth session for the signing of the convention in 1980. My Government, as in the past, will actively participate in this last phase of the Third United Nations Conference on the Law of the Sea. We are convinced that the new concept of the common heritage of mankind, which has given rise to these long negotiations, will be safeguarded and that the essential interests of the land-locked and geographically disadvantaged countries will be protected.
174.	The Second United Nations Development Decade is coming to an end. Although it has been marked by intensive negotiations, in the final analysis its only result has been the recognition of the existence of the crisis—of the imbalance, instability and general uncertainty of the situation that we face, as well as of the urgent need to make changes if we wish to ensure our own survival.
175.	We are commencing the cycle of another decade. We must prepare for it and embark upon it in a new spirit. For this purpose, the non-aligned countries, at their recent Sixth Conference in Havana indicated quite appropriately that the
. .establishment of the New International Economic Order calls for bold initiatives, demands new concrete and global solutions and cannot be brought about by piecemeal reforms and improvisations intended to resolve the present economic difficulties".
176.	Together with the new order for which we yearn there must be a corresponding new morality—a morality involving a profound sense of justice, equity and solidarity between peoples. It must be a morality, as we said from this rostrum last year, that betokens a real will to go beyond national self-interest for the benefit of the strengthening of the common good, which is supranational and of which peace, collective security and the welfare of all peoples are the governing elements. It is a morality that must call for an increased transformation into reality of decisions which have been or soon will be adopted at various international gatherings. It requires a revision and updating of our plans and our frames of reference, and implies, moreover, an increase of responsibilities and possibilities of action for the United Nations at the same time as a streamlining of its structures and working methods. Therefore, we support the highly constructive initiatives advocated in this respect by our Secretary-General.
177.	It is agreed today that States cannot resolve the major problems of our time either individually or even in small groups. They must now operate on a worldwide scale, despite disparities and other divisive factors which continue to militate against the coming about of a better organized and more equitable world.


cToday it is a great honour and privilege for me to deliver my country's address to the United Nations on behalf of the People's Revolutionary Government and the people of Grenada. It is particularly pleasing to be able to deliver this address in 1979, a year that will undoubtedly be recorded as the year of the fall of the dictators, including from my region Somoza of Nicaragua and Gairy of Grenada.
3.	At this thirty-fourth session of the General Assembly, I should like to welcome you, Mr. Salim, and to congratulate you on your election as President of the General Assembly. The People's Revolutionary Government and the people of Grenada have the closest ties with the Government and people of the United Republic of Tanzania and we thus hold you and your President, Mr. Julius Nyerere, in the highest regard and we are fully confident that your presidential term will be successful.
4.	We also place on record our warmest appreciation for the excellent manner in which your predecessor, Mr. Indalecio Lievano, presided over the work of the last session. I wish also to join with those preceding me to this rostrum in conveying through you, Mr, President, our gratitude for the dedicated and untiring efforts of our distinguished Secretary-General and his staff. History will certainly record the tremendous contribution of Mr. Kurt Waldheim in particular to the cause of world peace.
5.	At the same time, I wish on behalf of the People's Revolutionary Government and the people of Grenada to congratulate and warmly welcome the newly independent State of Saint Lucia to membership of the United Nations. This is a particular pleasure for us because Saint Lucia is not only our neighbour in the Caribbean, but is also a fraternal friend.
6.	As I speak before this body today, I do so as the representative of a small country which intends to speak with a resolute and principled voice on the issues of substantive concern to the world today.
7.	The advent of our revolution has signalled the be-ginning of the end of the most dangerous and vicious stage of the colonial experience, that which we recognize as neo-colonialism. This stage had seen us exposed to various constitutional manipulations, all of which had failed to hide the reality of economic bondage under imperialism. Moreover, this neo-colonial stage has also exposed our nation to the vicious, ruthless neo-Fascist dictatorship of Eric Gairy. To you here at this renowned body this petty dictator was known as "Mr. UFO", but to us in Grenada this amusingly descriptive title did not hide the reality of a dictator whose closest links were with imperialism and international criminal elements and openly Fascist and dictatorial regimes.
8.	Apart from his criminal record, Gairy left Grenada in an economic wilderness. Indeed, due to his neo- fascist regime we have a legacy of total dependence on imperialism, a reality which has meant extreme poverty characterized by wholesale repression of the working people and their organizations, massive unemployment, with more than half of the work force out of work; high levels of illiteracy, malnutrition, superstition, "Mongoose Gang'' brutality and the murder of our people, poor housing and health conditions; all combined with overall economic stagnation and massive migration.
9.	Such a legacy was the motive force behind our revolution on 13 March of this year. Our revolution had its roots with the formation of our party in March 1973. From that date till March of this year, our party was subjected to various forms of the grossest and most openly hostile brutality at the hands of Gairy and his Fascist allies. I am proud to announce to this body today that such abuses of human rights ceased as of 13 March this year and that since that time the democratic rights and freedoms of the people have been restored and expanded.
10.	Indeed, our revolution in Grenada is a peopled revolution and thus one of the fundamental principles of our revolution is the establishment of the people's rights. Among these rights we include the right to equal pay for men and women, the right to social and economic justice, the right to work and the right to democratic participation in the affairs of our nation, At the same time we also have a firm commitment to the establishment of people's rights in the international community and we thus firmly oppose imperialism, colonialism, neo-colonialism, apartheid, racism (including zionism) and fascism. More than this, we strongly condemn any attempt by any country to maintain any of these hostile and repugnant systems and for this reason we particularly join in the chorus of support for the application demanding mandatory sanctions against the racist State of South Africa, as is provided for in Chapter VII of the Charter of the United Nations.
11.	I wish at this time clearly to assert our nation's commitment to this body's Universal Declaration of Human Rights, with a clear understanding that one of the fundamental rights of all peoples is the achievement of economic well-being, a reality that is hindered by imperialism. I emphasize also our nation's unyielding support for the granting of independence to colonial countries and peoples, and in particular I wish to record our firm commitment to General Assembly resolutions 1514 (XV) of December 1960 and 2621 (XXV) of October 1970, both asserting the need for an end to colonialism.
12.	Grenada has recently joined the non-aligned movement and attended the Sixth Conference of Heads of State or Government of Non-Aligned Countries, to which the fraternal revolutionary Government of Cuba played host in Havana from 3 to 9 September 1979. That historic gathering was attended by 91 out of 94 full member States and national liberation movements, several observer countries and guests drawn from all parts of the world. We were greatly honoured at our first non-aligned Conference by being elected to the Coordinating Bureau of the movement.
13.	We like to feel that this honour is indicative of our firm adherence to the fundamental principles of non- alignment. We joined this great movement not out of considerations of convenience or selfish gain but because, following the assumption of power of our Government in Grenada, we undertook, as a matter of the highest priority, to elevate our country's foreign policy to the plane of principle and purposefulness.
14.	Non-alignment does not imply for us that we must be neutral in the sterile and negative sense, nor does it imply that our country must regard itself as a political eunuch in the conduct of our international affairs. Our non-aligned policy will certainly not lead us to surrender our independence of judgement in world affairs, or to retreat from our right and duty to participate fully in international forums and discussions concerned with issues vital to our interests, concerns and principles. To the contrary, non-alignment for us is a positive concept characterizing a vigorous and principled approach to international issues. It is an affirmation of that fundamental aspiration of all peoples and States to sovereignty, independence and the right freely to determine their own domestic and foreign policies.
15.	It is perhaps true to say that during the early years of the history of the movement the major concern of non-alignment was the achievement of independence for colonial countries, and the second was the struggle to maintain and enhance their sovereignty, with all that implies, including, first and foremost, the fight against imperialism.
16.	It is undoubtedly true to say that today the anti- colonial aspect of the struggle of the non-aligned movement has become much less important than it was 18 years ago. And this is so for the obvious reason that the vast majority of countries which were colonies in 1961 are now independent. Not unnaturally, in this new situation more and more countries in the non-aligned movement, in common with more and more countries in the third world as a whole, have been focusing their attention on the struggle against imperialism. Our concern increasingly has been concentrated on the fight to regain control over our natural and national resources from the grip of the rapacious multinational corporations backed by their powerful Governments.
17.	This has led more and more third-world countries to recognize that imperialism is the greatest enemy of mankind and that the perpetrators of this rape of our resources are to be found in the imperialist world. Nor does the matter end here. We have witnessed, for example, the cold-blooded support of the imperialist countries for the murderous apartheid regimes of southern Africa, as opposed to the moral and material support given the freedom fighters by the socialist com-munity. This, more than anything else, exposes the true character of imperialism today. Obviously, not only the socialist community supports this struggle against racism and apartheid: the front-line States, which are third world and non-aligned, have also provided crucial and meaningful support. So too has the non-aligned movement.
18.	A further important indicator of the character of imperialism is that the high cost of manufactured products and machinery, the refusal to enter into reasonable and just commodity agreements, the stonewalling of attempts to agree on a new international economic order, the refusal to accept that an international regime should be created to exploit the resources of the deep sea for the benefit of all of mankind and not just for a few multinational corporations can all be placed at the doorstep of the imperialist world. It is clear, therefore, that there is an affinity of principle and policy among the non-aligned and the socialist world.
19.	Consistent with our opposition to colonialism, imperialism, and racism, we affirm today before this great Assembly our firm support for the struggles being waged by the peoples of Zimbabwe, Namibia and South Africa under the leadership of the Patriotic Front, the South West Africa People's Organization [SWAPO] and the African National Congress of South Africa for their liberation and against apartheid and racism. We recognize and applaud the principled and consistent support being given to those struggles by the front-line States.
20.	We express our firmest support for and solidarity with the struggles of the people of Palestine, led by their sole and legitimate representatives, the Palestine Liberation Organization [PLO]. On this basis, we reject the Camp David agreements,' which do not have the support of the Palestinian people, the PLO, the Arab world or the entire democratic, progressive and socialist world.
21.	We reaffirm our support for the people of Western Sahara, under the leadership of the Frente POLISARIO,  in their struggle for independence and self-determination. We call upon the people of Korea to continue the just struggle for the reunification of their homeland. We express our firm support for the Heng Samrin Government and the heroic people of Kampuchea—a government which we recognized on 20 August last. We support the struggle of the Government and people of Belize for independence with full territorial integrity. We also wish to express our strongest solidarity with the people of Puerto Rico in their struggle for independence. We fully support the ongoing and determined struggle of the Government and people of Cuba in their fight to gain control over Guantanamo Bay. Our profound solidarity also goes to the Government and people of Panama in their just struggle to recover the Panama Canal. We support fully the struggles of all the people of the Caribbean who are today still fighting for an end to colonialism.
22.	The peace of the world is a matter that concerns not only the rich and powerful nations, some of which produce, purchase and deploy sophisticated weapons of mass destruction but, more profoundly, the poor, weak and small nations, which are the victims of the squander and waste that are characteristic of militarism. The expenditure on arms and weapons of war is truly colossal and stupendous. As has been expressed elsewhere, more than $300 billion a year is spent on arms and other military equipment and installations throughout the world. This astronomical sum could, if spent on health, build and equip 30,000 hospitals with 18 million beds. It could construct 20,000 factories with jobs for more than 20 million workers. In fact, $300 billion represents the budget of my country for 14,000 years at current rates of exchange and taking into consideration a very generous rate of inflation, 17 percent a year. This says a lot for the small size of my country's budget, which is less than a fraction of the budget of most multinational corporations. But it also says a great deal about the enormous waste of financial resources expended on armaments by nations some of which already have the capacity to wipe out the whole of mankind several times over.
23.	Members can well understand the deep concern we harbour for peace. It is for this reason that we strongly support the efforts of the World Peace Council and any and all moves towards detente, peaceful coexistence and disarmament. The people of Grenada are gratified, therefore, that the Helsinki Final Act  and now the Treaty reached at the conclusion of the second round of Strategic Arms Limitation Talks [SALT] have been signed by both the United States and the USSR. We are, however, disturbed to note that reactionary elements that definitely have a vested interest in the prolongation of the arms race have been making feverish efforts to prevent the ratification of the SALT Treaty in the United States Senate.
24.	These same reactionary elements have been pushing the United States Government to re-introduce "cold war" principles and create new, or strengthen old, military pacts, alliances, arrangements or manoeuvres aimed at serving the interests of expansionism and imperialism and/or trampling upon the struggles of the people against Fascist methods and the suppression of democratic rights. These reactionaries have succeeded in their aim in the Caribbean and Latin American region with the recent statement by President Carter.
25.	We view with very grave concern the "cold war" and militaristic steps proclaimed by the President in his national address to the people of America on Monday, 1 October,  in which he announced the establishment of a permanent full-time Caribbean military task force with headquarters in Key West, Florida. Such a force will be made up of men from all the military services and will conduct military manoeuvres in the region. These manoeuvres have in fact already begun with the deployment of some 16 naval vessels in the Caribbean Sea, along with other manoeuvres in Guantanamo Bay, on Cuban soil. And mention of Guantanamo must surely remind us of the absurdity of a country that has bases in Cuba and Panama, against the will of the peoples of those countries, denouncing another country maintaining troops in Cuba with the consent of the Cuban people. We note that, of the seven proposals announced by the President, six are of a military character.
26.	We believe that this is a reaction to the recent progressive changes and developments within the Latin American and Caribbean region. A wind of change is blowing through the Caribbean bringing with it a new regional balance of forces as a result of the changes towards progress effected by the peoples of Nicaragua, Grenada, Saint Lucia and Dominica—a situation that has led the United States Secretary of State to define the eastern Caribbean as one of the world's four "trouble spots".
27.	It is our view that the new regional balance of forces has serious implications for the profits being made by the multinational corporations and also for geo-political considerations in the region, and this is what is making reactionary elements in the United States desperate.
28.	The international community must take this new threat to the region seriously, because the United States Government has an established pattern of using gunboat diplomacy, blockades, destabilization tactics and other "cold war" measures against the peoples of Latin America and the Caribbean. It is an attempt to revive the Monroe Doctrine, under which the United States claims the unilateral right to intervene militarily in the domestic affairs of any country in the region. And it is a matter of historical record that such interventions have taken place in, among other places, the Dominican Republic, Haiti, Guatemala, Colombia, Mexico, Nicaragua and the very Cuba towards which they are today expressing so much hostility.
29.	For our part, we uphold the democratic right of the people of the Caribbean to choose their own Government or political system. The Caribbean belongs to the peoples of the Caribbean. We reject the United States plan to set up a Caribbean task force, and we call upon the international community to join with us in demanding an immediate withdrawal of this proposal. We join also with our sister Caribbean nations in re- emphasizing our deep determination to preserve the Caribbean as a zone of peace, free from military intimidation. We demand the right to build our own processes in our own way, Free from outside interference, free from bullying and free from the use or threat of force.
30.	We desire normal and friendly relations with the Government of the United States. Many of our citizens reside and work in this country and many United States citizens are frequent visitors to our country. But it must be manifestly clear that our relations must be based on the fundamental principles of mutual respect for sovereignty, equality and non-interference in each other's internal affairs—a position which in fact applies to all other States.
31.	I wish to raise briefly the issue of small States in the international community. Notwithstanding our basic position that all States are equal, sovereign, independent entities, we cannot lose sight of the fact that there are significant physical, demographic and economic differences among us. The issues of small size and small scale are not incidental to the levels of development of small countries or to their significance in the conduct of international relations. Small size must be explicitly recognized as a dimension of international relations. Poverty and dependence can of course apply to both small and large States but there are some special disabilities experienced by small countries that weigh heavily in explaining their economic and social problems.
32.	The Caribbean is characterized by several small island-States. Many have populations of about 100,000 people and an area of between 100 and 100 square miles. Most lack significant material resources, being dependent throughout all their history on agricultural production and more recently on tourism and light manufacturing. Additionally, such economies lack adequate capital and skilled manpower resources, while infra- structural and technological under-development abound. and there is great dependence on the export of one or two basic raw materials for foreign-exchange earnings.
33.	We also face political disabilities, in many ways. As island communities, separated by stretches of water and linguistic barriers, we have experienced the consequences of imperialist domination and cultural fragmentation. Consistent with our struggle to overcome these problems, the new Governments of Dominica, Saint Lucia and Grenada jointly issued the St. George's Declaration which pledged as follows:
"The Governments affirm that the Caribbean area is one entity, regardless of language differences, economic differences, separation by sea or other such considerations. His Governments therefore emphasize the need for developing the closest possible relations between the islands and countries in the Caribbean, regardless of whether they are English, Dutch, Spanish or French speaking."
34.	Notwithstanding the fact that as long ago as 1970. the General Assembly unanimously adopted the landmark Declaration of Principles Governing the Sea-Bed and the Ocean Floor, and the Subsoil Thereof, beyond the Limits of National Jurisdiction which stated that the sea-bed, ocean floor and the subsoil thereof, beyond the limits of national jurisdiction. as well as their resources, constituted "the common heritage of mankind", we are still today without a global oceans regime. And while the people of Grenada welcome the progress that has been made on the law of the sea, we remain anxious about the absence of a definite treaty because a satisfactory treaty has fundamental implications for our economic well-being and the establishment of a new international economic order.
35.	Winning the economic war against imperialism and its concomitants—poverty, high unemployment, poor health, and the alienation of the people from the fruits of their labour—requires us to conduct struggles on both the domestic and international planes. As sovereign Governments we are separately responsible for our own programmes of economic transformation, but our international solidarity and co-operation are critical for meeting our goals.
36.	The present distribution of world economic power, wealth and living standards is manifestly unjust. It derives from the long history of imperialist expansion and control of the third world. We seek to change this order and to substitute for it a new international economic order, but we must be clear about our conception of it.
37.	By the new international economic order, we mean the assertion of national sovereignly over the ownership and control of our economic resources. We mean the establishment of the freedom to determine the disposition and use of our resources in whatever ways our peoples wish, in furtherance of their own aspirations for economic development. We mean the creation of an equitable system of international trade based on just prices for our exports. We mean the opening up of markets internationally, particularly in the wealthy countries, to facilitate growth in the exports of the third world. We also mean the establishment of an international agreement on the exploitation of the resources of the sea which would -secure a just share of those resources and the wealth generated therefrom for the under-developed countries. The importance of this aspect of our concept of the new international economic order cannot be overestimated as the sea is the last frontier, and the oil. fish, manganese, nickel and minerals in the deep sea must be exploited by an international regime for the benefit of all mankind, and not just for the benefit of a handful of multinational corporations and their Governments.
38.	We desire a new system of international interdependence, based on mutual respect for sovereignty and a collective will to put an end to imperialist machinations designed to disrupt our unity and purpose.
39.	Broadly, the whole thrust of any new international economic order could only lead towards the elimination of the severe economic problems besetting our peoples—inadequate diet, poor medical care, insufficient clothing and other basic amenities. All or any of our grand schemes of economic reorganization and transformation must be designed to fulfil these basic goals.
40.	Before closing I would like, on behalf of the Government and the people of Grenada, to express our deepest sympathy to and solidarity with the Government and people of Angola in particular, and the peoples of Africa in general, on the loss of President Agostinho Neto, a truly great revolutionary and patriotic son of Africa.
41.	I wish also formally to support earlier calls for urgent assistance to the hurricane-stricken and devastated countries of Dominica and the Dominican Republic. We certainly hope that the response of countries in the United Nations and of international organs and agencies will match the great extent of their needs,
42.	The People's Revolutionary Government and people of Grenada salute the outstanding work and achievements of the United Nations over the past three decades. For our part, we confirm our commitment to the noble aims, ideals and objectives of this great body and pledge our contribution to building a new world in which the poor of the world will at last obtain social, economic and political justice.


Allow me, Mr. President, first to join the representatives who have spoken before me, in warmly congratulating you on your election to the presidency of this Assembly. This year's session will be marked by momentous decisions, which the Assembly will be called upon to take on matters of importance both to the Organization as such and, in-deed, to the future development of its Members. Needless to say, you are aware, through the experience you have acquired during your term of office at Turtle Bay, of the extent to which patience and impartiality are required in the high office which you have assumed. I am quite certain that no better person could have been chosen to guide the Assembly in its deliberations at such a crucial time. For my part, I should like to assure you, Sir, of my delegation's fullest co-operation.
155.	Secondly, let me take this opportunity to pay a tribute to your predecessor, Mr. Indalecio Lievano, for the able manner in which he presided over the last session when, as we all know, the Assembly had no less difficult a task to perform. Mr. Lievano was not found lacking in the qualities that are required of a person in that position.
156.	Last but not least, I should be failing in my duty if I did not say a word of commendation for the enormous dedication with which the Secretary General, Mr. Kurt Waldheim, has always carried out his onerous duties. His total commitment to the cause of the United Nations has gone beyond the call of duty. Thus, we are beguiled by the enchanting thought that, through his personal initiative, some of the problems that beset the world community will continue to be tackled peacefully during the coming year, with prospects of fruitful results. We wish Mr. Waldheim success.
157.	A good deal of effort has been exerted during the past 12 months in an endeavour to bring about peace and security among nations, as well as to improve their social and economic status. Similar efforts have been made towards the achievement of self-determination for those of our brothers and sisters still under political domination. Some measure of progress has been made in some areas but, unfortunately, not in others.
158.	None the less, my delegation is encouraged by recent developments that may lead to a Lessening of tension in international relations. In that regard, we congratulate the Governments of the United States and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics on the conclusion of a second SALT Treaty, which was signed between them early this year. We applaud the spirit of co-operation and the willingness to compromise that characterized the long and difficult negotiations which resulted in the signing of the Treaty. We believe that the Treaty represents not only a significant development in the bilateral relations between the two big Powers but also an important contribution towards ensuring the safety of the rest of mankind. As the African adage goes,' 'It is the grass that suffers when elephants fight''. That is to say, tension and conflict among the big Powers have a direct bearing on international relations, even among small nations.
159.	That is not to imply that the responsibility for ensuring international peace devolves on the big Powers alone; the smaller nations, too, have similar responsibilities in that respect. I should like, therefore, to recommend to the smaller nations that they keep peace with one another. I know only too well, of course, that in some cases the conflicts and disagreements among us smaller nations are not always entirely of our own making; they are at times instigated by outside forces. To repel the influence of such forces, we, the smaller nations, must stick to the principles of non-interference in each other's affairs and maintain good-neighbourliness.
160.	I should like to take this opportunity to restate my Government's commitment to the principles of non-interference and good neighbourliness. We strongly hold that international peace can best be assured by such an approach.
161.	It is very pleasing to note that a further step forward has been achieved in the process of decolonization by the emergence of Solomon Islands, Saint Lucia and Kiribati as independent, sovereign States. I should like to take this opportunity to extend to them my Government's sincere congratulations and to welcome them to the club of sovereign States.
162.	While on the subject, may I be allowed to express the hope that it will not be long before we welcome Belize and East Timor to this Assembly,
163.	This Assembly has been seized of the question of Western Sahara for the past few years. My delegation welcomes recent developments which indicate that a solution is now possible. My Government maintains that any solution of the issue of Western Sahara must take into account the wishes of the people of Western Sahara. In this connexion, I wish to record Malawi's support for the recommendation of the OAU Ad Hoc Committee of Heads of State on Western Sahara, the so-called committee of wise men, which was adopted in Monrovia, Liberia, in July this year, calling for a referendum in order to determine the real wishes of the people of the Territory, It is my delegation's sincere hope that this Assembly will lend its support to this realistic proposal. It is also our hope that all parties involved in the Western Sahara problem will co-operate in facilitating the implementation of the proposal. In this connexion my delegation also welcomes the recent decision by the Government of Mauritania to renounce any claims to the Territory of Western Sahara and to respect the aspirations of the Saharan people. This courageous step will go a long way towards facilitating the resolution of the matter.
164.	When we assembled here about a year ago, there were high hopes that the Namibia question might at last be resolved, following the South African Government's acceptance of the proposals presented to it and to SWAPO by the five Western members of the Security Council  on a formula for resolving the problem under United Nations auspices. Alas, those hopes now seem to be diminishing. It is a matter for regret that, because of the failure of the two sides to agree on certain key provisions of the Western formula and also as a result of subsequent South African attempts to institute some form of "unilateral internal settlement", no progress has been made on the Namibia question.
165.	When the Western initiative on Namibia was launched two years ago, my Government welcomed it, and subsequently endorsed the formula which the contact group proposed. That was because my Government believed that that formula offered the most peaceful way of achieving a genuine transfer of power to Namibians through the participation of all the political groups in the Territory, including SWAPO.
166.	My Government is convinced that this is still the way that offers the most hope of leading to a just and internationally acceptable solution to the Namibia question. It is therefore encouraging to note that efforts are under way to pursue the Western initiative, and I would appeal for good faith among all the parties concerned so as not to lose again an opportunity to bring this problem to a successful conclusion.
167.	As with Namibia, the problem of Rhodesia has been the cause of much anxiety and concern. Hope has, however, been revived by the developments of the past few weeks, and a peaceful settlement of the constitutional deadlock in that country now looks possible once again.
168.	My Government has stated before that to choose the leadership and Government of Rhodesia is the prerogative of the people of Rhodesia themselves; we do not believe that any solution which seeks to impose a certain leader or type of government can bring about a meaningful settlement of the constitutional dispute in that country. At the same time, however, my Government has also stated that any settlement of the problem must ensure a peaceful and genuine transfer of power to the majority. I should like to reiterate that position and declare the Malawi Government's readiness to support any efforts aimed at achieving a peaceful settlement of the issue of Rhodesia.
169.	My delegation, therefore, welcomes the Commonwealth plan adopted at the Meeting of Heads of Government of Commonwealth Countries, held at Lusaka in August, for the settlement of the problem of Rhodesia. We are convinced that the plan offers an opportunity for the people of Rhodesia to participate fully in the choice of their own Government, just as it guarantees the genuine transfer of power to the majority. My delegation is encouraged by the positive response of all the parties concerned to the invitation by the Government of the United Kingdom to participate in the constitutional conference which opened in London recently as the first stage in the implementation of that plan. We are also encouraged by the progress which has been achieved so far at the conference, and it is our sincere hope that nothing will be allowed to hamper further progress.
170.	The Commonwealth plan was born out of consultation and good faith among those who worked it out. We believe that the same qualities, as well as trust and willingness to compromise among the parties at the constitutional conference, should ensure its successful implementation. My delegation wishes the conference success and looks forward to welcoming the new State of Zimbabwe as a Member of our Organization in the near future.
171. The signs of possible change in the political situation in South Africa are less perceptible than they are in the cases of Namibia and Rhodesia. There are, however, clear indications of an awakening, both within Government circles and outside them, to the need for change in the racial policies that the Government pursues. There is evidence of an open debate going on in that country, which represents a self-examination of conscience on the part of the people. We believe that change in South Africa is inevitable and that the open debate to which I have just referred points to its advent.
172 . My Government remains resolutely averse to the policies of apartheid and the methods used to enforce it, including the establishment of "homelands". This is a stance that is well known to the Government of the day in South Africa. But my Government remains equally convinced that the best way to induce the white people to the south of us to change is by contact and example, by engaging in a dialogue with them. That is why my Government does not support boycotts and ostracism; neither does it support confrontation. Consequently, my delegation urges the international community to create the necessary condition that will induce change in South Africa sooner.
173.	My Government has followed closely the developments in the Middle East which culminated in the Camp David agreements of September 1978 and the Treaty of Peace concluded between Egypt and Israel in March this year. My Government regards these developments as a step in the right direction in the continuing search for a just settlement of the Middle East problem. I have already given my Government's view on "confrontation" as a means of resolving differences among nations. I can only add that, while war may sometimes bring quick results, it animates hatred to such an extent that in the end it destroys both the victor and the vanquished. I dare say the history of the Middle East problem bears out this contention.
174.	I must, however, emphasize that in supporting the Camp David agreements and the Egypt-Israel Treaty, we are not implying that the ultimate objective has been achieved. We are simply acknowledging that the first step towards the desired goal has been taken. I am saying this because there are, as everyone knows, a number of crucial issues still outstanding which call for further attention. And the sooner they receive it the better. Thank goodness that this is being actively pursued by the parties to the Egypt-Israel Treaty, The problem of the Middle East is not between Israel and Egypt alone. We therefore believe that a meaningful and lasting solution can be achieved only through the full participation of all parties in the search for it.
175.	Another problem which has been before the Assembly for some time and to which no solution has yet been found is that of Cyprus. My delegation still believes that a solution can be achieved only through direct negotiations between the Greek and Turkish communities of Cyprus. It is our conviction that only in this way can a settlement be reached which guarantees lasting peace and security for all Cypriots.
176.	We note and support the efforts of the United Nations in search of a formula to facilitate the resumption of intercommunal dialogue on this problem. I should like to express my Government's hope that the Secretary-General will continue these efforts.
177.	My delegation has also noted the proposal made by the President of Cyprus to the General Assembly in October last year that the island should be demilitarized and the security of the island should be ensured by a combined Greek and Turkish Cypriot police force under the guidance of a United Nations force.  It is my delegation's view that the withdrawal of all foreign troops, except those of the United Nations, would contribute to a greater sense of security among the Cypriot communities and thus create an atmosphere conducive to maximum co-operation and compromise between the two sides in reaching a settlement. We therefore consider the President's proposal to be worthy of serious consideration and hope that this Assembly will examine it in greater detail.
178.	Another issue which is a source of equally grave concern is that of disarmament. My Government is concerned not only about the threat that the escalation of the arms race poses to international peace and security but also about its drain on economic resources which would be better used in promoting the social and economic development of the peoples of Member States. In this respect, my delegation has noted with disappointment the failure of the recent meetings of the Committee on Disarmament in Geneva to produce any positive results. It is our hope, however, that the Assembly will address itself to this important matter and consider ways of resolving it.
179.	Permit me to express the hope also that, following the conclusion of the SALT Treaty between the United States and the Soviet Union, the bigger Powers will consider utilizing the experience gained in the negotiations for that Treaty in the efforts aimed at achieving general disarmament in the world.
180.	My delegation considers it a matter of deep regret that narrow sectional interests continue to hamper progress towards the establishment of a new international economic order. We had hoped that current developments in the economic field would have amply demonstrated the interdependence of the developed and the developing countries and the need for closer co-operation. We have noted with appreciation, though, the moves made by the developed donor countries to reduce the indebtedness of developing recipient States by converting loans into grants. This will greatly improve the solvency of the developing countries.
181.	My delegation has also noted with satisfaction that, following the fifth session of UNCTAD, held in Manila in May, substantial contributions to the recently established Common Fund have begun. This is important, because the economic stability and growth of developing countries can be ensured only to the extent that the necessary conditions are established to enable them to improve their capacity to produce more and to sell at profitable prices.
182.	Having said that, I would point out, however, that the stabilization of commodity prices alone is not the answer to the economic problems of developing countries. The producer States must also be assured of an adequate market for their commodities. My Government was therefore disappointed at the failure of the UNCTAD meetings in Manila to reach a satisfactory agreement on this and many other important questions. Particularly disturbing was the failure of the developed countries to accede to even the modest request that they consider granting freer access for goods from developing countries to their markets.
183.	It is a matter for regret that, despite all the high hopes which preceded the last session of the Third United Nations Conference on the Law of the Sea, lack of compromise has once again blocked the successful completion of the task of establishing a new international maritime regime. Nevertheless, we are convinced that, given goodwill on all sides, the obstacles which remain can be overcome. My Government believes that the equitable share of marine resources is relevant to, and has an important role to play in, the creation of the new international economic order. It is therefore my delegation's hope that the spirit of consideration and compromise will prevail when the Conference is resumed in order that the long awaited agreement can be concluded.
184.	My delegation wishes to express its appreciation for the work carried out directly by the United Nations through its various agencies in the promotion of the welfare of its Member States. Of equal importance is the awareness which this Assembly has brought, through the observance of the special International Years, to the various ills and problems that afflict the different sections of our world community.
185.	We are drawing to the close of the International Year of the Child. My country has participated fully in the programmes marking this special year, as my Government believes strongly in the security and welfare of the young. They are, after all, the future citizens of our world. My Government is therefore convinced that programmes such as those which have been observed in the course of 1979 are a most beneficial contribution to the future well-being of mankind.
186.	While appreciating the usefulness of these special international years, my delegation is compelled to point out that having too many of them at once could easily destroy their value. Thus, the Secretary-General's initiative in requesting this Assembly to consider ways of rationalizing them is appreciated. It is our sincere hope that the Assembly will consider this matter carefully and come up with objective recommendations.
187.	My delegation has had occasion in the past to express the Malawi Government's concern at the unwieldy proliferation of the organs of the United Nations. We note with pleasure, therefore, that the Secretary-General has requested this body to consider ways of reducing the costs of running the Organization. It is our hope that, in addressing themselves to this issue, representatives will consider also ways of streamlining the size of the Organization.
188.	Last, although certainly not least, my delegation wishes to avail itself of this opportunity to express, once again, Malawi's appreciation and gratitude for the assistance which it continues to receive from the United Nations. This assistance is an invaluable contribution to our Government's endeavour to promote the economic and social welfare and development of our nation.
189.	It gives me great pleasure to convey to this Assembly best wishes from my President, the Government and the people of Malawi for success in its deliberations.