Half a world away from this place of peace, the firing, the killing, the bloodshed in two merciless conflicts have for the first time in recent memory diminished. After terrible new names, names such as Halabja, Maidan Shahr and Spin Buldak, have been added to the toll-call of human horror, there is today hope of peace in the Persian Gulf and Afghanistan.
So too, in the highlands and coastal cities of southern Africa, places of civil war, places of occupation by foreign troops, talk of peace is heard, peace for the tortured nation of Angola. Sixty-five hundred miles east, in the South-East Asian country of Cambodia, there is hope now of a settlement and the removal of Viet Nam's occupying forces. Finally, in this hemisphere, where only 12 years ago one third of the people of Latin America lived under democratic rule, some 90 per cent do so today. And especially in Central America, nations such as El Salvador, once threatened by the anarchy of the death squad and the spectre of totalitarian rule, now know the hope of self-government and the prospect of economic growth.
Another change, a change that if it endures may go down as one of the signal accomplishments of our history, a change that is cause for shaking the head in wonder, is also upon us; a change going to the source of post-war tensions and to the once seemingly impossible dream of ending the twin threats of our time - totalitarianism and thermonuclear world war.
For the first time, the differences between East and West - fundamental differences over important moral questions dealing with the worth of the individual and whether Governments shall control people or people control Governments - for the first time these differences have shown signs of easing, easing to the point where there are not just troop withdrawals from places such as Afghanistan, but also talk in the East of reform and greater freedom of the press, of assembly and of religion. Yes, fundamental differences remain, but should talk of reform become more than that, should it become reality, there is the prospect of not only a new era in Soviet-United States relations but a new age of world peace; for such reform can bring peace. History teaches, and my country has always believed that, where the rights of the individual and the people are enshrined, war is a distant prospect. For it is not people who make war; only Governments do that.
I stand at this rostrum, then, at a moment of hope; hope not just for the peoples of the United States and the Soviet Union, but for all the peoples of the world, and hope too for the dream of peace among nations, the dream that began the United Nations. Precisely because of these changes, today the United Nations has the opportunity to live and breathe and work as never before.
Already, Mr. Secretary-General, you, through your persistence, patience and unyielding will, have shown in working towards peace in Afghanistan and the Persian Gulf how valuable the United Nations can be. We salute you for these accomplishments. In Geneva at this very hour there are numerous negotiations under way: multilateral negotiations at the Conference on Disarmament, as well as bilateral negotiations on a range of issues between the Soviets and ourselves. These negotiations, some of them under United Nations auspices, involve a broad arms-control agenda: strategic offensive weapons, strategic defence and space, nuclear testing, and chemical warfare - whose urgency we have witnessed anew in recent days.
And the negotiators ate busy. Over the last few years they h iv/e been engaged in more than an academic exercise. There is movement; the log-jam is broken. Only recently, when the United States and the Soviet Union signed the intermediate-range nuclear forces (INF) agreement, an entire class of United States and Soviet nuclear missiles was eliminated for the first time in history. Progress continues on negotiations to reduce strategic weapons in massive number, with effective verification, and talks will begin soon on conventional reductions in Europe.
Much of the reason for all this goes back, I believe, to Geneva, to the small chateau beside the lake where I and the Soviet General Secretary had the first of several fireside chats - exchanges characterized by frankness, but friendliness too. I said at the first meeting in Geneva that this was a unique encounter between two people who had the power to start a third world war or to begin a new age of peace among nations. I also said that peace conferences, arms negotiations and proposals for treaties could make sense only if they were part of a wider context, a context in which we sought to explore and resolve the deeper underlying differences between us. I said to Mr. Gorbachev then, as I have said to the Assembly before, that nations do not mistrust each other because they are armed; they are armed because they mistrust each other.

In that place, by that peaceful lake in neutral Switzerland, Mr. Gorbachev and I did begin a new relationship based not just on engagement over the single issue of arras control but on a broader agenda about our deeper differences, an agenda of human rights, regional conflicts and bilateral exchanges between our peoples. Even on the arms-control issue itself we agreed to go beyond the past, to seek not just treaties that permitted building weapons to higher levels, but revolutionary agreements that actually reduced and even eliminated a whole class of nuclear weapons.
What was begun that morning in Geneva has shown results: in the INF Treaty? in my recent visit to Moscow; in my opportunity to meet there with Soviet citizens and dissidents and speak of human rights; and to speak too, in the Lenin Hills of Moscow, to the young people of the Soviet Union about the wonder and splendour of human freedom. The results of that morning in Geneva are seen in peace conferences now under way around the world on regional conflicts and in the work of the United Nations here in New York as well as in Geneva.
But history teaches caution. Indeed, that very building in Geneva, where important negotiations have taken place - those on the Geneva Accords on Afghanistan, and the Iran-Iraq negotiations, for example - we see today as stone-like testimony to a failed dream of peace in another time. The Palais des Nations was the headquarters of the League of Nations, an institution that was to symbolize an end to all war. Yet that institution and its noble purpose ended with the Second World War; ended because the chance of peace was not seized in the 1930s by the nations of the world, ended because humanity did not find the courage to isolate the aggressors, to reject schemes of government that served the State, not the people. We are here today determined that no such fate shall befall the United Nations. We are determined that the United Nations shall succeed and serve the cause of peace for humankind.
So we realize that, even in this time of hope, the chance of failure is teal, but this knowledge does not discourage us: it spurs us on. For the stakes are high; do we falter and fail now, and bring down upon ourselves the just anger of future generations? Or do we continue the work of the founders of this institution, and see to it that, at last, freedom is enshrined and humanity knows war no longer, and that this place, this floor, shall be truly "the world's last battlefield"?
We are determined that it shall be so. So we turn now to the agenda of peace. Let us begin by addressing a concern that was much on my mind when I met with Mr. Gorbachev in the Kremlin as well as on the minds of Soviet citizens I met in Moscow. It is also an issue that I know is of immediate importance to the members of this Assembly who, this fall, commemorate the fortieth anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
That Declaration says plainly what those who seek peace can forget only at the greatest peril that peace rests on one foundation; observance of the "inalienable rights of all members of the human family". In a century where human rights have been denied by totalitarian governments on a scale never before seen in history, with so many millions deliberately starved or eliminated as a matter of State policy - a history, it has been said, of blood, stupidity and barbed wire - few can wonder why peace has proved so elusive.
Well, let us understand. If we would have peace, we must acknowledge the elementary rights of our fellow human beings, in our own land and in other lands. If we would have peace, the trampling of the human spirit must cease. Human rights is not for some, some of the time. Human rights, as the Universal Declaration adopted by this Assembly in 1948 proclaims, is "for all peoples and all nations". And for all time.
This regard for human rights as the foundation of peace is at the heart of the United Nations. Those who starve in Ethiopia, those who die among the Kurds, those who face racial injustice in South Africa, those who still cannot write or speak freely in the Soviet Union, those who cannot worship in the Ukraine, those who struggle for life and freedom on boats in the South China Sea, those who cannot publish or assemble in Managua - all of these are more than just an item on your agenda. It must be a first concern, an issue above others. For when human rights concerns are not paramount at the United Nations - when the Universal Declaration of Human Rights is not honoured in these halls and meeting rooms - then the very credibility of this Organization is at stake, the very purpose of its existence in question.
That is why, when progress is made in human rights, the United Nations grows stronger and the United States is glad of it. For example, following a two-year ¡ effort led by the United States, the United Nations Commission on Human Rights took a major step towards ending the double standards and cynicism that had characterized too much of its past. For years, Cuba, a blatant violator of its citizens' human rights, has escaped United Nations censure or even scrutiny. This year, Cuba has responded to pressure generated by the Commission on Human Rights by accepting an investigation into its human rights abuses. Fidel Castro has already begun to free some political prisoners, improve prison conditions, and tolerate the existence of a small, independent national human rights group.
More must be done. The United Nations must be relentless and unyielding in seeking change, in Cuba and elsewhere. And we must also see to it that the Universal Declaration itself is not debased with episodes like the resolution "Zionism is racism". Respect for human rights is the first and fundamental mission of this body, the most elementary obligation of its members. Indeed, wherever one turns in the world today, there is a new awareness, a growing passion for human rights. The people of the world become united: new groups, new coalitions form, coalitions that commit: government, that work against discrimination, that fight religious or political repression, unlawful imprisonment, torture or execution. As those I spoke to at Spaso House said to me last June: Such movements make a difference.
Turning now to regional conflicts, we feel again the uplift of hope. In the Gulf War between Iran and Iraq - one of the bloodiest conflicts since the Second World War - we have a cease-fire. The resolution and the firmness of the allied nations in keeping the Persian Gulf open to international shipping not only upheld the rule of law, it helped prevent further spread of the conflict and laid the basis for peace. So, too, the Security Council's decisive resolution in July a year ago has become the blueprint for a peaceful Gulf. Let this war - a war in which there has been no victor or vanquished, only victims - let this war end now. Let both Iran and Iraq co-operate with the Secretary-General and the Security Council in implementing resolution 598 (1978). Let peace come.
Moving on to a second region, I would recall that when I first addressed the United Nations General Assembly in 1983, world attention was focused on the brutal invasion and illegal occupation of Afghanistan. After nearly nine long years of war, the courage and determination of the Afghan people and the Afghan freedom fighters have held sway - and today, an end to the occupation is in sight. On April 14, the USSR signed the Geneva Accords, which were negotiated under United Nations auspices by Pakistan and the Kabul regime. We encourage the Soviet Union to complete its troop withdrawal at the earliest possible date, so that the Afghan people can freely determine their future without further outside interference.
In southern Africa, too, years of patient diplomacy and support for those in Angola who seek self-determination are having their effect. We look forward to an accord between the Governments of Angola, Cuba, and South Africa that will bring about a complete withdrawal of all foreign troops - primarily Cuban - from Angola. We look forward as well to full implementation of United Nations Security Council resolution 435 (1978) and our longstanding goal of independence for Namibia. We continue to support a growing consensus among African leaders who also believe there can be no end to conflict in the region until there is national reconciliation within Angola.
There are new hopes for Cambodia, a nation whose freedom and independence we seek just as avidly as we sought the freedom and independence of Afghanistan. We urge the rapid removal of all Vietnamese troops and a settlement that will prevent the return of the Khmer Rouge to power, permitting instead the establishment of a genuinely representative government - a government that will, at last, respect fully the rights of the people of Cambodia and end the hideous suffering they have so bravely and needlessly borne.
In other critical areas, we applaud the Secretary-General's efforts to structure a referendum on the Western Sahara. In the Mediterranean, direct talks between Greek and Turkish Cypriot common ties hold much promise for accord in that divided island nation. Finally, we look to a peaceful solution to the Arab-Israeli conflict. So, too, the unnatural division of Europe remains a critical obstacle to Soviet-American relations.
In most of these areas, then, we see progress and, again, we are glad of it. Only a few years ago, all of these and other conflicts were burning dangerously out of control. Indeed, the invasion of Afghanistan and the apparent failure of will among democratic and peace-loving nations to deter such events seemed to cause a climate where aggression by nations large and small was epidemic, a climate the world had not seen since the 1930s. Only this time, larger war was avoided - avoided because the free and peaceful nations of the world recovered their strength of purpose and will. And now the United Nations is providing valuable assistance in helping this epidemic to recede.
And because we are resolved to keep it so, I would be remiss in my duty if I did not now take note here of the one exception to progress in regional conflicts. I refer here to the continuing deterioration of human rights in Nicaragua and the refusal of the tiny elite now ruling that nation to honour promises of democracy made to their own people and to the international community. This elite - in calling itself revolutionary - seeks no real revolution; the use of the term is subterfuge, deception for hiding the oldest, most corrupt vice of alls man's age-old will to power, his lust to control the lives and steal the freedom of others.
That is why, as President, I will continue to urge the Congress and the American public to stand behind those who resist this attempt to impose a totalitarian regime on the people of Nicaragua; that the United States will continue to stand with those who are threatened by this regime's aggression against its neighbours in Central America.
Today, I also call on the Soviet Union to show in Central America the same spirit of constructive realism it has shown in other regional conflicts; to assist in bringing conflict in Central America to a close by halting the flow of billions of dollars worth of arms and ammunition to the Sandinista regime; a regime whose goals of regional domination, while ultimately doomed, can continue to cause great suffering to the people of that area and risk to Soviet-American relations unless action is taken now.
With regard to the arms reduction agenda, I have already mentioned the importance of the INF Treaty and the momentum developed in the strategic arms reduction talks (START). The draft START treaty is a lengthy process filled with bracketed language designating sections of disagreement between the two sides. But through this summer in Geneva, those brackets have diminished; there is every reason to believe this process can continue. I can tell this Assembly that it is highly doubtful such a treaty can be accomplished in a few months, but I can tell you that a year from now is a possibility - more than a possibility. But we have no deadline. No agreement is better than a bad agreement. The United States remains hopeful, and we acknowledge the spirit of co-operation shown by the Soviet Union in these negotiations. We also look for that spirit to be applied to our concerns about compliance with existing agreements.
So, too, our discussions on nuclear testing and defence and space have been useful. But let me here stress to the General Assembly that much of the momentum in nuclear-arms-control negotiations is due to technological progress itself, especially in the potential for space-based defensive systems. I believe that the determination of the United States to research and develop and, when ready, deploy such defensive systems - systems targeted to destroy missiles, not people - accounts for a large share of the progress made in recent years in Geneva. With such systems, for the first time, in case of accidental launch or the act of a madman somewhere, major Powers will not be faced with the single option of massive retaliation, but will instead have the chance of a saner choice: to shield against an attack instead of avenging it. So, too, as defensive systems grow in effectiveness, they reduce the threat and the value of greater and greater offensive arsenals. Only recently, briefings I have received in the Oval Office indicate that progress toward such systems may be even more rapid and less costly than we had at first thought. Today, the United States reaffirms its commitment to its strategic defence initiative and our offer to share the benefits of strategic defences with others.
And yet, even as diplomatic and technological progress holds out the hope of at last diminishing the awful cloud of nuclear terror we have lived under in the post-war era, even at this moment another ominous terror is loose once again in the world, a terror we thought the world had put behind, a terror that looms at us now from the long-buried past, from ghostly, scarring trenches and the haunting, wan faces of millions dead in one of the most inhumane conflicts of all time.
Poison gas; chemical warfare: the terror of it; the horror of it! We condemn it. The use of chemical weapons in the Iran-Iraq war, beyond its tragic human toll, jeopardizes the moral and legal strictures that have held those weapons in check since the First World War. Let this tragedy spark reaffirmation of the Geneva Protocol outlawing the use of chemical weapons. I call upon the signatories to that Protocol, as well as other concerned States, to convene a conference to consider actions that we can take together to reverse the serious erosion of this treaty. We urge all nations to co-operate in negotiating a verifiable, truly global ban on chemical weapons at the Conference on Disarmament in Geneva.
It is incumbent upon all civilized nations to ban, once and for all - and on a verifiable and global basis - the use of chemical and gas warfare.
Finally, we must redouble our efforts to stop further proliferation of nuclear weapons in the world. Likewise, proliferation in other high-technology weapons such as ballistic missiles, is reaching global proportions, exacerbating regional rivalries in ways that can have global implications. The number of potential suppliers is growing at an alarming rate, and more must be done to halt the spread of these weapons. This was a matter of discussion last week between Secretary Shultz and Foreign Minister Shevardnadze. Talks between American and Soviet experts begin on this today; and we hope to see a multilateral effort to avoid having areas of tension like the Middle East becoming even more deadly battlegrounds than they already are.
Rut in most of these areas we see not only progress but also the potential for an increasingly vital role for multilateral efforts and institutions like the United Nations. That is why now more than ever the United Nations must continue to increase its effectiveness through budget and programme reform. The United Nations already is enacting sweeping measures affecting personnel reductions, budgeting by consensus, and the establishment of programme priorities. These actions are extremely important. The progress on reforms has allowed me to release funds withheld under congressional restrictions. I expect that the reform programme will continue and that further funds will be released in our new fiscal year.
Let me say here that we congratulate the United Nations on the work it has done in three areas of special concern. First, our struggle against the scourge of terrorism and State-sponsored terrorism must continue; and we must also end the scourge of hostage-taking. Second, the work of the World Health Organization in co-ordinating and advancing research on AIDS is vital. All international efforts in this area must be redoubled. The AIDS crisis is a grave one; we must move as one to meet it.
So, too, is the drug crisis. We are moving now toward a new anti-drug-trafficking convention. This important treaty will be completed in December. I am confident that other strong United Nations drug-control programmes will also follow. The American people are profoundly concerned and deeply angered. We will not tolerate the drug traffickers. We mean to make war on them - and we believe this is one war the United Nations can endorse and participate in. Yes, the United Nations is a better place than it was eight years ago - and so, too, is the world. But the real issue of reform in the United Nations is not limited to fiscal and administrative improvements; it includes also a higher sort of reform, an intellectual and philosophical reform, a reform of old views about the relationship between the individual and the State.
Few developments, for example, have been more encouraging to the United States than the special session on Africa that this body held two and a half years ago - a session at which the Members of the United Nations joined in calling as one for free-market incentives and a lessening of State controls to spur economic development.
At one of the first international assemblies of my presidency, in Cancun, Mexico, I said that history demonstrates that, time and again, in place after place, economic growth and human progress make their greatest strides in countries that encourage economic freedom; that individual farmers, labourers, owners, traders and managers are the heart and soul of development. Trust them, because where they are allowed to create and build, where they are given a personal stake in deciding economic policies and benefiting from their success, societies become more dynamic, prosperous, progressive and free. We believe in freedom; we know that it works.
This is the immutable lesson of the post-war era: that freedom works; that, even more, freedom and peace work together. Every year that passes, everywhere in the world, this lesson is taking hold - from the People's Republic of China to Cameroon, from Bolivia to Botswana, and, yes, in the citadel of Marxism-Leninism itself. No, my country did not invent this synergy of peace and freedom, but, believe me, we impose no restrictions on the free export of our more than two centuries of experience with it. Free people, blessed by economic opportunity and protected by laws that respect the dignity of the individual, are not driven towards war or the domination of others. Here, then, is the way to world peace. But we Americans champion freedom not only because it is practical and beneficial but because it is also just, morally right.
Here I should like to note that I have addressed this assemblage more often than any of my predecessors and that this is the last occasion on which I shall do so. Therefore I hope that I may be permitted some closing reflections.
The world is currently witnessing another celebration of international co-operation. At the Olympics we see nations joining together in the competition of sports, and we see young people, who know precious little of the resentments of their elders, coming together as one.
One of our young athletes, from a home of modest means, said that she drew the strength for her achievement from another source of wealth. "We were rich as a family" she said about the love she was given and the values she was taught. I dare to hope that in the sentiment of that young athlete we see a sign of the rediscovery of old and tested values; values such as family - the first and most important unit of society, where all values and learning begin, an institution to be cherished and protected·, values, too, such as work, community, freedom and faith, for it is here we find the deeper rationale for the cause of human rights and world peace.
Our own experience on this continent, the American experience, though brief, has had one unmistakable encounter, an insistence on the preservation of one sacred truth: it is a truth that our first President, our founding father, passed on in the first farewell address made to the American people; it is a truth that I hope you will permit me to mention in these remarks of farewell, a truth embodied in our Declaration of Independence: that the case for inalienable rights, the idea of human dignity, the notion of conscience above compulsion, can be made only in the context of higher law, only in the context of what one of the founders of this Organization, Secretary-General Dag Hammarskjöld, called "devotion to something which is greater and higher than we are ourselves."
This is the endless cycle, the final truth to which humankind seems always to return - that religion and morality, faith in something higher, are prerequisites for freedom, and that justice and peace within ourselves is the first step toward justice and peace in the world and for the ages.
Yes, this is a place of great debate and grave discussion. Yet I cannot help but note here that one of our founding fathers - the most worldly of men, an internationalist, Benjamin Franklin - interrupted the proceedings of our own constitutional convention to make much the same point.
I cannot help but think this morning of other beginnings - of where and when I first read those words "and they shall beat their swords into ploughshares" and "your young men shall see visions and your old men shall dream dreams". This morning, my thoughts go to her who gave me many things in life but whose most important gift was the knowledge of the happiness and solace to be gained in prayer. It is the greatest help I have had in my presidency, and I recall here Lincoln's words when he said
"Only the most foolish of men would think he could confront the duties of the office I now hold without turning to someone stronger, a power above all others. "
I think, then, of her and others like her in that small town in Illinois, gentle people who possessed something that those who hold positions of power sometimes forget to prize. No one of them could ever have imagined that the boy from the banks of the Rock River would come to this moment and have this opportunity. But, had they been told that it would happen, I think they would have been a bit disappointed if I had not spoken here for what they knew so wells that when we grow weary of the world and its troubles, when our faith in humanity falters, it is then that we must seek contort and refreshment of spirit in a deeper source of wisdom, one greater than ourselves.
So, if future generations do say of us that in our time peace came closer, that we did bring about new seasons of truth and justice, it will be cause for pride. But it will be a cause of greater pride still if it is also said that we were wise enough to know that the deliberations of great leaders and great bodies are but an overture, that the truly majestic music, the music of freedom, justice and peace, is the music made in forgetting self and seeking in silence the will of Him who made us.
Thank you for your hospitality over the years. I bid you now farewell, and God bless you.


It gives me great pleasure to extend to you. Sir, our warn congratulations on your election as President of the current session of the General Assembly, which reflects the confidence of the international community in your skill, long experience and well-known wisdom, and is also an expression of appreciation of your friendly country, We are confident that you will lead the work of the session- to achievement of the positive results we all hope for,
I would also express my delegation's deep appreciation of the skill and competence with which your predecessor served as President of the last session of the General Assembly.
It gives me great pleasure to congratulate the Secretary-General on his valuable report on the work of the Organization and efforts in support of international peace and security.
This year the world has witnessed important events and developments which have great significance for the efforts aimed at strengthening international peace and security. It has also witnessed serious natural disasters that have inflicted grave damage on the infrastructures of a number of countries and impeded their efforts to achieve development and progress.
In this context, I would like to recall the Treaty between the United States of America and the Soviet Union on the elimination of their Intermediate-Range and Shorter-Range Missiles, as well as other agreements reached by the two countries at the Washington and Moscow summit meetings of 1987 and 1983, respectively. These developments came as an expression of the peaceful approach adopted by the two super-Powers, the policy of détente, and the improvement of the international climate, and also as an indication of the beginning of the movement towards disarmament and the reduction of risk of a nuclear war. While welcoming these steps towards peace, we call on both countries to continue to move in that direction, and we hope to see this policy of reconciliation applied in solving regional and world problems, eradicating racial discrimination and promoting respect for peoples’ rights to independence and sovereignty.
Among the most outstanding issues that should be given more attention by the super-Powers and the United Nations are the question of Palestine and the situation in the Middle East, which increasingly endanger international peace and security because of Israel's defiance of the resolutions adopted by the United Nations and of the unanimous will of the international community, resulting in its savage acts of terrorism against the defenceless Palestinian people.
Peace can never be achieved in the Middle East region unless it is based on the principle of absolute justice. The question of Palestine is the origin and crux of the conflict in the region. Therefore Israel must unconditionally withdraw from the occupied Arab territories, including the Holy City of Jerusalem. In this respect, we reiterate the importance of holding the International Peace Conference on the Middle East, under the auspices of the United Nations and with the participation of the Palestine Liberation Organization, the sole and legitimate representative of the Palestinian people.
The uprising of the Palestinian people in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip has continued, for almost a year, to cause the loss of life of many martyrs, who have fallen under the fire of Israeli, terrorises and occupation. The militant Palestinian people has proven once more that its resolve will not be weakened and that its determination will increase even more, even at the cost of the greatest sacrifices, due to Israeli terrorism. My delegation wishes therefore, from this rostrum, to commend the struggle and brave resolution of the "stone children. They have brought an ingenious innovation to the struggle of the Palestinian people and, with unique courage and unwavering determination have exposed the machinery and power of the systematic terrorism pursued by the Tel Aviv government. This people will inevitably triumph, however great the sacrifices may be.
We view with deep appreciation the efforts made by the Secretary-General of the United Nations to restore peace and to end the war between Iraq and Iran, efforts which culminated in the recent cease-fire. We sincerely hope that the negotiations currently under way will succeed and pave the way to a permanent, comprehensive, peaceful settlement of the conflict between the two countries.
The situation in southern Africa is another source of grave concern. The people in that area are still suffering under the yoke of domination and the abhorrent apartheid regime, which is the most rapacious, fascist and racist colonial system. Despite international condemnations, the apartheid regime still persists in its crimes against world conscience and humanity, we salute the people of South Africa for their relentless struggle to attain their legitimate rights and achieve their just demands under the leadership of their legitimate representatives, the African National Congress (ANC) and the Pan Africanist Congress (PAC).
The apartheid regime is an affront to humanity. We call upon the international community to help eradicate it by increasing its isolation and by carrying out comprehensive economic sanctions. We also call for support for the efforts that are being made to achieve Namibia's independence and to strengthen the means of implementing the United Nations resolutions aimed at putting an end to Namibia's illegal occupation by South Africa and at supporting the struggle of its people for liberation and sovereignty under the South West Africa People's Organization (SWAPO), their legitimate and sole representative.
We hope that the continuing efforts that are being made in the current negotiations to achieve a practical solution that would benefit the Namibian people, on the basis of Security Council resolution 435 (1987), will succeed, so that an end may be put to Namibia's illegal occupation by Pretoria, that Namibia may be granted its independence and that favourable conditions may be created for the achievement of this objective.
The Geneva Agreements on Afghanistan signed last April are outstanding achievements on the road to establishing peace and reaching a comprehensive settlement of the problem of Afghanistan. We hope that the national reconciliation endeavours currently under way will bear fruit, so that Afghanistan and its people may enjoy security and stability.
The success of the United Nations endeavours inspires the hope that peace and security may be attained in other regions of the world. Cambodia still awaits a comprehensive, just and peaceful solution, one that would involve the withdrawal of all foreign forces from its territories and would help create a favourable climate that would enable the Cambodian people to exercise their right to independence and sovereignty.
We hope to see the Korean people attain their aspirations and reunite their homeland in peace and without foreign interference.
We also hope that political economic and social stability will be achieved by the peoples of Central America.
Mr. President, we support what you said in your statement concerning the increasing effectiveness of the United Nations in arriving at a new pattern of international relations based on the belief that the force of arms, however strong, will not solve the problems of the world.
The developments the world has witnessed this year have proved the effectiveness of the United Nations and its ability to contribute to the strengthening of peace and stability. We would like in this context to commend the Secretary-General for his wise leadership and efforts to achieve the goals of the United Nations. We congratulate the United Nations on being awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for its peace-keeping operations. We call upon Member States to respect the Charter and the resolutions of the United Nations.
My country is following with deep concern the exacerbation of the acute crisis in the present international economic order and the negative impact on developing countries, especially the least developed among them. No one can deny the fact that the roots of the crisis lie in the continuation of structural imbalances in the international economic order. This is evident in the decline of the terms of international trade, the decrease in the prices of raw materials exported by developing countries, and the exacerbation of the foreign debt crisis to such an extent that it is now threatening the future of all economic and social developments. It also has political and social repercussions arising from the stagnation of the rates of growth and the decrease in the flow of development assistance. We would like in this context to mention in particular the tardiness of developed countries in fulfilling their obligations to implement resolutions on the International Development Strategy for the second and third development decades, which call upon those countries to allocate .07 per cent of their national income as official assistance for the financing of development in developing countries. The situation is also aggravated by the failure of developed countries to adhere to the decisions contained in the Substantial New Programme of Action for the 1980s for the Least Developed Countries, despite the international consensus reached at the Paris Conference in 1980, which resulted in a serious set-back to economic development in the States of this group.
The foreign debt crisis in developing countries has begun to assume serious dimensions, posing a major obstacle to the economic and social development of developing countries in general, and of the least developed countries in particular. We are convinced that the crisis is caused mainly by the structural imbalances in the present international economic order. The debt-servicing burden is worsening daily and giving rise to grave dangers as a result of the wrong policies being imposed by some international financial institutions, the stagnation of official development assistance, protectionism, the closure of markets to the exports of developing countries, and the instability of financial markets. This deterioration endangers not only the stability and security of developing countries, but also international stability and security. Therefore, my country would like to appeal from this rostrum for urgent international action to deal with the foreign debt crisis on a general, comprehensive and systematic basis, taking into account the importance of recognizing the principle of the common responsibility of both developing and developed countries, and the necessity of dealing with the debt crisis within a comprehensive international strategy.
In this context, my delegation wishes to mention some positive signs at the international level, in particular the increasing awareness of the necessity of finding urgent and just solutions to the debt problem. In this vein, my delegation commends and welcomes the decisions taken at the industrial nations' summit ' meeting, held in Toronto, Canada, last June. Those decisions contained the first clear and explicit consensus among the major industrial nations on the importance of taking practical and concrete steps towards alleviating the debt burden of the poorest countries, especially those of Africa. In particular we would recall the recommendation calling for the writing off of the debts of poor African countries, which we believe would constitute an extremely important step towards containing this serious crisis.
The critical economic situation in Africa also causes deep concern. The already grave economic crisis in Africa that has resulted from several external and internal factors has been exacerbated by natural disasters such as drought, desertification and floods.
In this context my delegation expresses total support for implementation of the decisions contained in the United Nations Programme of Action for African Economic Recovery and Development 1986-1990, which was unanimously endorsed by the General Assembly at its thirteenth special session in May 1986. We observe with regret that several developed countries have failed to fulfil their obligations concerning the implementation of decisions contained in the Programme of Action, especially in the area of providing financial resources to finance development, as clearly shown in the medium-term evaluation of the African Programme of Action at the meetings of the Committee of the Whole held last month in this Hall. My delegation expresses its full support for the recommendations of the Committee of the Whole on the medium-term evaluation of the African Programme of Action and appeals to the developed countries to fulfil their obligations in order to secure the success of common efforts before 1990.
My delegation stresses its firm belief in the principle of interdependence and organic integrity of the international economic order for the benefit of all, which can only be achieved through the devising of full and comprehensive solutions based on the principles of equality, justice and equitable opportunities. Accordingly, the activation of constructive dialogue between developing and developed countries constitutes an urgent and vital demand at this critical juncture, at which the international community faces major dangers and challenges which require wisdom, courage, clarity of vision and political will. We believe that the gravity of the present international economic crisis requires the intensification of efforts to devise a complete strategy, to reopen the channels of North-South dialogue in order to restructure the present international economic order, and to establish a new international economic order with a view to accelerating economic and social development in developing countries within the framework of interdependence and common benefit. The people of the Sudan have confirmed their determination to uphold the democratic option by establishing a national-accord Government which is a clear manifestation of the unanimous will of the people. That Government is supported by 90 per cent of the members of the Constituent Assembly. Its support is also rooted in a wide popular base, and is based on the rule of law, judiciary independence, freedom of expression and association, and respect for human and fundamental rights.
The Sudan is not content with absolute-majority democracy; it transcends that, aspiring to reach the goal of total national unity through integral conciliation by accommodating the minority. Thus, the Sudan called for a constitutional conference attended by all political forces to discuss questions and problems in order to reach solutions by peaceful means. Accordingly, the Sudan adopted a consistent position vis-à-vis the rebellion movement in the south, based on inviting it to enter into a dialogue instead of fighting.
The Government 's peaceful initiatives coincided with efforts to improve relations with neighbouring countries on the basis of the Sudan's foreign policy principles - that is, commitment to international and regional covenants, respect for sovereignty, non-interference in the internal affairs of States and pursuing a policy of maintaining good relations with its neighbours.
On the basis of those firm principles of our foreign policy, we moved to conduct more serious dialogue with our friendly neighbour Ethiopia in order to solve problems between our two countries and promote prospects for co-operation, with a view to establishing more stability in the region. We even aspire to making the whole region of the Red Sea and the Horn of Africa a secure and peaceful place far from the rivalries and conflicts of the great Powers.
My country is now faced with extremely difficult economic conditions. It is earnestly trying to cope with them through a four-year programme for salvation, rehabilitation and development and the formulation of strict substantive policies to restore balance and enable the economy to advance in a negative international economic climate. The Assembly is well aware of the adverse effects of that climate on the economies of the developing countries, especially the least developed countries.
Moreover, we have been faced with great challenges and successive natural disasters. Our country, as the Assembly is aware, is host to more than 1 million refugees, due to my Government's commitment to international and regional covenants which regulate refuge. However, the burden of hosting refugees, given our country's complicated economic circumstances, which I have indicated, has surpassed our absorptive capacity and adversely affected our economic and developmental environment and efforts. The Assembly made reference to this in its resolution 42/129 by emphasizing the heavy burden on the people and Government of the Sudan and the serious social and economic impact caused by the presence of large numbers of refugees and its effect on development and infrastructure.
In this context, I should like to renew our thanks and appreciation for the generous appeal made by the General Assembly to the international community last Match to render immediate assistance to my country in order to enable it to cope with the increasing consequences of hosting increasing numbers of refugees. We also thank the Secretary-General for the joint missions we sent to the Sudan. It gives me pleasure to express our appreciation for the reports and recommendations which these missions have presented to the General Assembly.
We hope that at this session the General Assembly will be able to study the important proposal included in the Secretary-General's report (A/41/264) which calls for the establishment of a new group constituted of the States called "refugee affected countries", and that those States can obtain preferential treatment as regards international developmental aid.
Apart from the refugee crisis, my country has been exposed to a wide migratory ' movement from the south to the north as a result of the rebellion movement, which is increasingly supported from outside the country. My Government strives to provide those migrants with shelter, food, education and medical treatment. The United Nations and the international community have been helping us deal with this formidable disaster, which involved the migration of more than 1 million persons to the north and a consequent burden in terms of refugees. Even as that help was being tendered my country fell victim last August to a serious disaster caused by torrential rain and flooding, resulting in huge losses and the destruction of roads, railways, farms, houses, public facilities, communications systems and power networks. More than 2 million individuals lost their houses in Khartoum and the northern province.
Before these torrential rains and flooding ended, wide areas of the Sudan were invaded by locusts, posing a genuine threat to agriculture and the environment not only in the Sudan but in all the States of the region.
We extend our sincere thanks and appreciation to our sister States and Governments and to non-governmental organizations for their help in providing relief for the victims. At the same time, we hope that support will continue beyond the time of emergency to consolidate our efforts to rebuild infrastructure, public facilities and various projects concerned with production. In that connection, we consider it necessary to conduct studies of the increase in natural disasters, to which a number of speakers have referred. Studies have shown that in the 1960s disasters claimed 5 million victims, they claimed 15 million in the 1970s, and that figure has doubled before the end of the 1980s. I hope that phenomenon will prompt the United Nations and the entire international community to study the question seriously, to reconsider the performance of existing machinery, and to devise the best practical means and efficient methods and machinery to handle such disasters.
We hope also that the resolution adopted by the General Assembly at its last session, which declared the 1990s as the international decade for natural disaster reduction, with a view to enhancing international co-operation in this field, will help consolidate ongoing efforts to confront these increasing disasters more effectively.
Finally, I should like to reiterate our confidence in the United Nations and its leadership and in its capability to make an active contribution to strengthening international peace and security. Its achievements have confirmed its credibility and effectives as an invincible fortress of peace, prosperity and progress for the human race in line with the purposes and the spirit of the Charter.


It is with great pleasure and satisfaction that I have the honour of congratulating Mr. Dante Caputo on his election to the presidency of this session. His vast experience in international relations and diplomacy gives legitimacy to our expectations that our deliberations will be successful. I should like to assure him of my delegation's determination to work closely with him as he discharges the responsibilities unanimously entrusted to him. I take this opportunity to recall the recent visit President Chissano made to his beautiful country, Argentina, during which we had an opportunity to explore ways for strengthening further the friendly bilateral relations of our countries.
Similarly, I should like to salute the outgoing President, His Excellency Mr. Peter Florin, Vice-Minister of Foreign Affairs of the German Democratic Republic, for the efficient and commendable way in which he presided over the deliberations of the forty-second session and the special session devoted to disarmament.
I take this opportunity also to congratulate the Secretary-General, Mr, Javier Perez de Cuellar, on his commitment and devotion to the search for solutions to international problems as well as the promotion of better understanding and co-operation among nations. We have learned with great satisfaction tills morning of the decision to award the Nobel Peace Prize to the United Nations peace-keeping forces. That fact represents a singular recognition of the outstanding, indeed unique, role played by the United Nations in promoting peace.
The situation in Mozambique continues to be characterized, on the one hand, by war imposed on us from outside and, on the other, by our firm determination to defend our independence and promote peace and progress.
When addressing the last session of the General Assembly, in this Hall, His Excellency President Joaquim Alberto Chissano of the People's Republic of Mozambique referred to the massacres, the widespread destruction of social and economic infrastructures and the extremely large number of displaced Mozambicans, both inside and outside the country. In general terms, that situation still prevails today. The criminal acts of the armed terrorists continue to spread sorrow, pain, famine, insecurity and homelessness to many Mozambicans.
But that is just one side of the coin. The other gives rise to increased optimism in our people as a result of the victories we have scored on the military, economic and diplomatic fronts. On the military front, our armed forces have been able to restore peace and tranquillity to various parts of our country previously affected by the criminal acts of the armed terrorists. In this endeavour, the support and participation of the front-line States, notably Zimbabwe and Tanzania, continue to be important and greatly appreciated. Equally worth mentioning is the contribution of the Malawian forces in the protection of the Nacala railway.
The Mozambican Government is aware that these efforts intended to eliminate terrorism must be complemented by the adoption of other measures designed to integrate into Mozambican society the terrorists who have repented. As a result, our People's Assembly approved in December 1987 an important law - the law of amnesty. This law forgives those who have committed crimes, massacres and other abominable acts perpetrated against our people and the State. As a result of the application of this law, many terrorists have been granted amnesty and have returned to normal life.
The birth of the law of amnesty translates the deep-rooted nature of the humanitarian policy of clemency adopted by FRELIMO since the times of the armed liberation struggle for our motherland.
At the proclamation of our independence in 1975 a situation arose in which some Mozambicans were found to have committed, at the invitation of colonialism, heinous crimes against their own people or to have been collaborators with the colonial repression system. All these individuals were integrated into our society, and today they are working as valid citizens with other Mozambicans in national reconstruction.
The law of amnesty constitutes an integral part of our efforts to bring about reconciliation, unity and the rehabilitation of those Mozambicans who were brutalized through crime and terrorism and were turned into tools of our enemy. We are ready to welcome them in to our midst and to help them regain their dignity, rights and duties as citizens of a free, independent, sovereign, non-aligned and democratic State.
This process is taking place at a time when the Mozambican people are engaged in the preparations for the Fifth Congress of the PRELIMO Party and ace involved in the revision of the Constitution. These two processes constitute an example of the exercise of democracy in our country. They will strengthen democracy there and reinforce the fundamental freedoms of our citizens.
We are aware that our project and our dream of building a peaceful and happy society are shared by all peoples of the world and that they enjoy the sympathy of the international community at large.
One manifestation of such feeling is the visit of His Holiness Pope John Paul II to Mozambique. He was welcomed enthusiastically by the whole people, regardless of their religious belief, in a massive demonstration of national unity. We hope that his message of solidarity with, and wishes of peace to, the Mozambican people will find an echo in every corner of our globe.
Those efforts go hand in hand with the economic and social recovery measures we have embarked upon. As we have repeatedly stated in the past, the war of aggression against Mozambique by armed terrorists is responsible for the overall retrogression of our development, not only because it entails the diversion of efforts and means away from other endeavours to the defence of our motherland, but also because economic sabotage and the destruction of socio-economic infrastructures were the most favoured policy of our enemy in such a war.
Those who conceived the strategy of destroying our country first set out to destroy our economic base. During the last few years they have embarked upon wanton massacres, which have received widespread international condemnation. As a result of such a strategy, education and health care, which experienced considerable advances during the first seven years of our independence, are now confronted with serious and numerous difficulties, as can be seen from the following figures: 2,269 primary schools destroyed, affecting half a million pupils and 700 teachers; 400 teachers murdered, kidnapped or mutilated; 22 secondary schools destroyed, affecting 80,000 students; and 36 boarding schools and 4 teacher training centres destroyed.
As I pointed out earlier, terrorism does not affect only the economy, education and health. It also affects the Mozambican man and woman, the Mozambican child, the Mozambican youth and the Mozambican family, as the following figures illustrate: 1.1 million people have been displaced from their usual places of work and residences, and 800,000 of them are in neighbouring countries; 3.3 million citizens are seriously affected; 5.9 million citizens are in a difficult situation, affected by severe shortages, in both rural and urban areas; and 200,000 children are in a difficult situation - fundamentally they are orphans, abandoned children and children who had been utilized by the terrorists to carry out their criminal acts. In addition, there are a large number of mutilated citizens and citizens with physical disabilities.
It was in this dismal scenario of socio-economic conditions that we introduced the economic recovery programme and the emergency programme. As a result of the implementation of the former, it was possible to reverse the downward trend of the economy which had been taking place in the last few years.
To illustrate this, the data available for the first six months of 1988 suggest overall economic growth of 5 per cent. This percentage is higher than that registered in 1987, when the gross domestic product experienced a 4 per cent growth. This growth is primarily due to the positive evolution in the agricultural sector.
Despite this positive trend, our country's economic and financial situation remains difficult. Foreign debt still constitutes an enormous burden to our economy, negatively conditioning its growth. Although there has been some significant progress in the debt-rescheduling process, there has been no generalised application of the more favourable conditions we have been seeking.
This situation leads to a net outflow of resources and thus prevents the allocation of finances required for the development of the productive sectors of the economy. Therefore, we hope that the consensus reached at the Toronto summit meeting regarding the provision of debt relief measures for low-income African countries will be vigorously and expeditiously implemented by all creditors. We call upon our development partners for renewed efforts aimed at an effective reduction of the stock of debt and debt-servicing obligations. In turn, in spite of its difficulties, our country will continue to do its utmost to honour its foreign debt obligations.
It is with high expectations that we look forward to the forthcoming second meeting of donor countries in support of our economic recovery programme, to be held in Paris next November. It is our hope that this meeting will mobilize adequate resources that will enable us to move to the second phase of our programme for economic recovery, which contemplates the rehabilitation of infrastructures.
In order to cope with the emergency situation, our Government has had to mobilize both internal and external resources. In April this year the Second International Conference on Humanitarian Assistance to Mozambique was held in Maputo, with satisfactory results.
We were particularly encouraged by the fact that the international community has recognized that it is imperative to supply the affected people with the means of production and building materials and other means required for the recovery of the infrastructures destroyed or damaged by the criminal acts of the armed terrorists, so as to enable the affected people to resume their normal way of life and production and become self-sustaining. I would like to seize the opportunity to express our gratitude once again to the Secretary-General, Mr. Javier Perez de Cuellar, to-donor Governments, to organizations and agencies of the United Nations system, to governmental and non-governmental organizations, and to humanitarian and religious institutions, for the support they have been rendering to our people.
Let me turn my attention to the situation in southern Africa. Only a few weeks ago the President of the People's Republic of Mozambique, His Excellency Mr. Joaquim Chissano, described the situation in the region as follows;
"Southern Africa is experiencing contradictory processes. One such process is the conflict which is rooted in the colonial past, in the persistence of the ambitions of domination, in the survival of apartheid, a political system based on inequalities of man and on racial discrimination. The other is that of solidarity amongst the peoples and States that pool their efforts together and combine their resources to promote social and economic development." The state of affairs in southern Africa could not be better characterized. Indeed, the front-line States realized at a very early stage that their fate is intertwined by roots which can be traced back to a common history of domination, colonialism and exploitation. Thus, they have found that pooling together their resources and potentials is a definite way out of servitude to alien interests.
The moral, political, diplomatic, material and military support that the front-line States are rendering to the People's Republic of Mozambique is a manifestation of this solidarity. When the blood of soldiers from the brotherly countries of Zimbabwe and Tanzania mixes with that of our SOLDIERS to safeguard sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity, this solidarity acquires an historic dimension.
Mozambique, in its turn, made its modest contribution to the liberation struggle of other countries and peoples. Although Angola is experiencing difficult conditions, it has offered its territory as a rear base in the struggle for Namibia's independence, as did Tanzania, Zambia and others.
The Southern African Development Co-ordination Conference (SADCC) constitutes one manifestation of this common objective, as well as the affirmation of the unanimous will of the countries in our region to free themselves from oppression and economic domination through the integration of their economic potential on the basis of solidarity and co-operation. This solidarity is an important factor in the establishment and preservation of peace, stability and security in the region. The People's Republic of Mozambique is proud to be part of such solidarity. Southern Africa will owe its future of peace and prosperity to this unity, cohesion and solidarity.
In such an endeavour, however, we come across negative and destructive factors, which must be urgently eliminated. More specifically, we are referring to the persistence of values that are both as anachronistic and as abominable as only apartheid can be. In South Africa these factors manifest themselves through the institutionalisation of inequality, racial discrimination, injustice, division, depersonalisation, repression, oppression and refusal to recognize the fundamental rights of the majority of the people.
In Namibia, colonialism still persists and represents a source of violence and conflict. In other words, colonialism constitutes a serious obstacle to peace and development.
Peace initiatives aimed at bringing about a negotiated solution to these problems are now taking place. The quadripartite negotiations involving Angola, Cuba, South Africa and the United States of America are developments in line with the wishes of the region and of the world. It is our duty to encourage the parties concerned to proceed, with seriousness and responsibility, in the negotiation process so as to ensure success and implementation. We also commend the efforts undertaken by the Secretary-General in order to implement Security Council resolution 435 (1978).
In the framework of the peace initiatives in the region, a summit meeting between the People's Republic of Mozambique and South Africa was held in Songo. Its objective is to ensure the implementation, in letter and in spirit, of commitments entered into at Nkomati. These developments cannot, and must not, in any way be used as a pretext for certain members of the international community not to fulfil their duties and responsibilities to contribute to the eradication of the apartheid system.
We are aware that these efforts can bring about peace and stability only if South Africa honours its obligations., for this reason, the international community is called upon to intensify its pressure on South Africa to abolish its policy of apartheid and engage in the process of negotiations leading to the establishment of a democratic society in South Africa.
A just and lasting peace in South Africa demands that an end be put to the state of emergency, repression and violence, as well as to other measures adopted by the South African regime with a view to silencing the voice of justice and reason. It also demands the release of Nelson Mandela and other political prisoners, with whom the regime must entertain a dialogue in order to find a just and equitable solution to South Africa's problems. Refusal to have dialogue with the legitimate and genuine representatives of South Africa's majority people can only delay further the solution of the problem and will certainly result in a greater heightening of tension in South Africa and in the region as a whole.
The People's Republic of Mozambique reiterates its support for the African National Congress (ANC) and the South West Africa People's Organization (SWAPO) - the authentic representatives of the peoples of South Africa and of Namibia respectively.
The People's Republic of Mozambique further reiterates its readiness to contribute to the process of negotiations currently under way in southern Africa.
As we review the international situation we cannot help but express our satisfaction at the positive trend we have witnessed in the last few years. The climate of dialogue between the two major nuclear Powers undoubtedly brings renewed hope for the future of international relations. We are increasingly witnessing recourse to the provisions envisaged in our Charter in the search for solutions to conflicts. They are peaceful alternatives based on the most elementary norms governing relations between nations.
In this context, we can cite such delicate conflicts as the Iran-Iraq war and those in Western Sahara and in south-west Asia as examples of the important role that the United Nations, given the opportunity, can play in the maintenance and the preservation of peace. We hope that the commitment undertaken by the parties concerned will be honoured and that peace, stability and security will prevail in those regions.
In South-East Asia, there is a willingness to embark on dialogue. We hope that such willingness will materialize so that, sooner rather than later, it can bear fruits that will contribute to the reduction of tensions in the region. Chad and Libya have given an example of political maturity as they choose to try peaceful means to solve the conflict between them.
Central America also aspires to peace and stability - objectives that can be realized only when there is respect for the principle of non-interference in the internal affairs of the countries in the region. The dialogue now taking place must be encouraged. We would like to reiterate our appreciation of the efforts being undertaken by the Nicaraguan Government in order to find a peaceful solution to the problems of the region.
As I salute this positive trend in international relations, I cannot help but point out that other challenges still await us.
The Palestinian question, which is the core of the Middle East problem, must find a rapid and immediate solution so that the Palestinian nation can be established in peace, freedom and independence in its own territory. We consider that an international conference on peace in the Middle East would contribute to the solution of those problems. Therefore, we want to stress that such a conference should be convened with urgency. Similarly, an urgent solution must be found to the conflict in East Timor, where foreign forces have invaded and occupied that territory. We sincerely hope that the Secretary-General will be able to reactivate the process leading to self-determination and independence for the people of East Timor in accordance with the relevant resolutions of the Security Council and the General Assembly.
The reunification of the Korean nation has not yet taken place despite various initiatives and repeated efforts in that direction, which we support. We hope that the day will come when a unified Korea will be admitted to our family of nations.
We expect that the consensus reached at the Ad Hoc Committee on the Indian Ocean establishing 1990 as the date for the convening of the Colombo Conference will be respected. We must therefore start acting now with vigour so as to ensure its success.
The sacrifices our people have made in order to defend our freedom and independence are truly enormous. Despite the generalized campaigns of terror and the crimes committed against our people, despite the destruction of social and economic infrastructures, the Mozambican people remain undeterred in the defence of their motherland and in the building of a future of peace, progress and happiness. It is in the search for attaining such goals, which ate much cherished not only by our people but also by the whole world, that we have been treading on such a hard and difficult path for about a quarter of a century.
We want peace. It is only with peace that we can rebuild out fatherland, use all available resources in our country, extend education and health care to everyone, eradicate famine, remedy the lack of clothing and overcome misery and underdevelopment.
We should like to reiterate our appeal to the international community to continue providing its multifarious assistance and support to our people so that they can as soon as possible ease their suffering and attain a lasting peace.
The struggle continues.


Let me join the speakers who have preceded me and extend Botswana's heartfelt congratulations to you, Sir, on your election to the presidency of the General Assembly at its forty-third session. Your country and my own enjoy the happiest of relations, and it is with great pleasure that I assure you of my delegation's unstinting support and good wishes as you pilot the deliberations of this session.
Your predecessor, the eminently respected Deputy Foreign Minister of the German Democratic Republic, Mr. Peter Florin, deserves the fullest measure of our gratitude for the very able manner in which he guided the work of the forty-second session. We will miss his unshakeable composure in the face of even the most trying circumstances.
Before I turn to the issues before us, let me reiterate on behalf of my country and my delegation our sincere condolences to the peoples of Jamaica and Bangladesh, who have recently fallen victim to natural disasters due to cyclones and monsoons. Precious human and animal lives have been lost, and untold damage to property has been registered. We hope the international community will be generous in its response to those two Member States' appeal for assistance. ,
This year, 1988, has been a watershed year for the United Nations despite the intractable financial and other problems the Organization has continued to face. With patience, perseverance and a complete understanding of the workings of world politics and diplomacy, our Secretary-General has demonstrated to us all that the United Nations is alive and well and capable of responding decisively to the crises of our troubled world, given the active support of its Members. Never before have we witnessed such prevalent and pervasive rumblings of peace occurring, as they have, in such a torrent, thanks to our Secretary-General's unyielding tenacity of purpose. We salute him and his team of men and women here at Headquarters and abroad, who have given the best of themselves and even risked their very lives in the service of world peace.
In this regard, I wish to congratulate the Secretary-General and the United Nations peace-keeping forces on the forces having been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for 1988.
Yet we cannot pretend that all is well in our Organization. We are all aware of the serious financial crisis the Organization is facing even as it is called upon to undertake a multiplicity of missions all over the world. How ironical: Even as the United Nations is daily demonstrating its capacity to fulfil its mission as the instrument of peace in the world, given the necessary wherewithal, we are told it must reform itself in order to earn the right to have, or to receive, the financial resources which are due to it in accordance with its Charter. The result is that the Organization has no resources to perform the most central and sacred of its duties: the maintenance of international peace and security.
The efficient deployment of resources by the United Nations is not the unilateral concern and preoccupation of one Member or a few Members; it is the common concern and preoccupation of all of us. That is why we all supported the work of the Group of 18 and its report, and continue to do so. The report of the Group of 18 vas, in our view, never intended to transform the United Nations into a plaything of the big contributors. Its purpose was to improve the functioning of the administrative and budgetary management of the United Nations, and not to  introduce weighted voting by stealth. It is in the interest of all of us to live up to our obligations under the Charter by the payment of our financial contributions to the Organization.
There has been a marked improvement in the international situation since the last session. There is a flowering spirit and atmosphere of rapprochement between the super-Powers, so happily evidenced by the signing of the Treaty on the Elimination of Intermediate-Range and Shorter-Range Missiles - INF Treaty - the first of its kind in this cold-war era, and by the current negotiations on the reduction of strategic nuclear arsenals by 50 per cent, h welcome sense of realism about the dangerous folly of the philosophy of peace through nuclear terror seems to have taken root in both the East and the West. We have not seen the end - or the beginnings of the end - of the cold war not yet. But there are encouraging signs that at least the Powers that hold the destiny of our world in their hands are prepared to coexist peacefully across the chasm of their mutual suspicions and animosities.
The recent rapprochement of the super-Powers should augur well for international peace and co-operation. Co-operation of the super-Powers in the adoption and implementation of Security Council resolution 598 (1987), on the Iran-Iraq war, for instance, would have been wishful thinking only a year ago, not to mention the pleasant novelty that is Moscow's and Washington's apparent convergence of purpose and interest in the ending of violence and strife in south-western Africa. This is a development we must welcome with genuine enthusiasm, because the efficacy of the United Nations in general and of the Security Council in particular rests on the willingness and readiness of the super-Powers, in the first instance, to co-operate in carrying out the vital decisions of this world body. Their urge to wage their ideological war through reckless resort to their veto power in the Security Council will recede as they begin to reap the benefits of co-operation and as they realize that the United Nations is in fact the best vehicle for the promotion of their own interests.
Though the stability of our world remains precarious, we have every reason to breathe a sigh of relief that some of the roost painful regional conflicts that have often threatened ignition of a global conflagration seem to be ready for resolution. As we meet here, the withdrawal of foreign forces is in progress in Afghanistan, a non-aligned South-West Asian nation that has endured a painful war since the turn of the 1980s. Thanks to the mediation of the United Nations and the unswerving determination of so many of us in this Assembly to stand by the people of Afghanistan in their time of trial and tribulation, a new era has begun in that war-weary country, an era which we pray and hope will be crowned with peace and stability.
Even painfully hapless Kampuchea has become the subject of a growing series of consultative encounters among the countries of the region. The Jakarta consultations of 25 to 28 July 1988 are among those encounters, which we hope represent the beginning, however tentative, of the end of the terrible carnage that has been the lot of that tormented country for so long. For our pact, here at the United Nations, and at this session, the message must remain clear, unequivocal and uncompromising. Kampuchea belongs to its own people and in no circumstances should the United Nations, by silence or indifference, give comfort to the presence of foreign troops in that country of South-Eastern Asia. The people of Kampuchea, like those of Afghanistan, must be left alone to regain their inalienable right to self-determination after many decades of suffering.
We are somewhat encouraged by the visible signs of contact between the two Koreas, Our great hope is for this development to assume a more meaningful dimension leading to the peaceful reunification of Korea and this, to our understanding, can be fostered only through dialogue among the Korean people themselves; without external interference.
The Middle East remains a hotbed of strife and conflict. Although Iran and Iraq are currently seized of the arduous task of laying the foundations for a durable peace, the rest of that part of the world continues to endure turmoil. The tragedy of Lebanon remains unmitigated. Its territorial integrity continues to be flouted and violated with reckless abandon. We insist that Lebanon be left alone to seek its own path to Its own salvation. Keeping that tortured country in a permanent state of internecine strife does no service to the cause of peace in the Middle East.
The heartrending scenes that flash almost daily on television screens, depicting what passes for life in the West Bank and Gaza, are horrid indeed. For us from Southern Africa such scenes are a painful reminder of the horrors of apartheid. No day passes without an innocent and defenceless Palestinian demonstrator being maimed or shot dead for wanting to be free in the land of his or her ancestors. And we honestly wonder by what logic the senseless carnage on the West Bank and in Gaza and other occupied Arab lands is supposed to enhance the security and survival of the State of Israel, or of any other nation in the area.
We remain convinced that for Israel, as for the rest of the Arab world, including Palestine, there is only one sensible and realistic path to salvation and survival - the path of mutual accommodation and acceptance. We commend to all countries of the region the resolving of their differences through negotiation rather than by the use of force or confrontation.
In the South Pacific the people of New Caledonia continue to invest their hopes in the traditional anЂ mandatory responsiveness of this our United Nations as a vital and crucial complement to their own efforts to achieve self-determination. We take the view that New Caledonia is a legitimate candidate for self-determination under General Assembly resolution 1514 (XV) of 1960 and Chapter XI, Article 73, of the Charter.
In Central America peace and stability still remain a distant dream. The peace agreement signed by the five Presidents of Central America in Guatemala on 7 August 1987 has not served the lofty purpose for which it was intended. The agreement has not been found to be in any way so flawed as to be un-implementable rather it has become a bone of contention in the debate on how peace and democracy can be achieved in Central America. There are those in the region who hold the view that more aid to keep the flame of the contra revolution in Nicaragua will do the trick, that anything else can only prolong the agony of the people of Central America, and Nicaraguans in particular. We beg to differ. We continue to support the Central American peace agreement and urge that it be implemented without delay.
In South America, the Falklands/Malvinas Islands dispute remains a source of concern and anxiety to us all. There does not seem to be any meaningful effort on the part of the parties concerned to work towards the resolution of the dispute. The bitterness of the 1982 conflict over the islands has lingered on and is clearly serving as an impediment to the resumption of the pre-1982 negotiations on the future of the Islands. Our view is that neither Argentina nor the United Kingdom can escape the fact that the only way for the Falklands/Malvinas dispute to end is for them to negotiate. We therefore appeal to the two countries to proceed to the conference table without delay.
Allow me now to focus attention on my own region of southern Africa. No changes of major consequence have come about in the political fortunes of the region since the last session, even though there has been a lot of talk going on since May this year. This Assembly has already been fully briefed on the talks, the quadripartite meetings involving Angola, Cuba, South Africa and the United States, with a view to finding peace for what is called south-western Africa, namely, Angola and Namibia.
To the extent that the talks have so far produced some results that we can live with, inasmuch as they have not prejudiced any principles we hold dear in southern Africa, we certainly welcome them. For us the bottom line, the irreducible minimum demand, is independence for Namibia through the implementation of Security Council resolution 435 (1978) and respect for the inviolability of the territorial integrity and sovereignty of the People's Republic of Angola. Nothing less is acceptable.
In South Africa itself nothing less than the total abolition of apartheid is acceptable. Even if the quadripartite talks succeed in bringing about peace in Angola and the implementation of Security Council resolution 435 (1978) in Namibia, the root cause of the problems of southern Africa as a whole will still remain unresolved. Apartheid in South Africa will continue to pose a threat to all the people of the region as it seethes with fury, waiting to erupt like a volcano, unless it is eradicated without further delay.
Botswana would like to believe that the South African authorities have realized that the use of military force, such as the invasion and occupation of parts of southern Angola, was a dangerous venture which served no useful purpose as regards South Africa itself or the region as a whole. For our part, we would like to reaffirm our faith in the principle of peaceful resolution of disputes, which we commend to the authorities in Pretoria. But we are concerned that time is fast running out.
In order to create a climate productive to negotiations, the state of emergency must be lifted and all political prisoners and detainees released. Nelson Mandela and Zephania Mathopeng must be released, not only because of their age or illness but also because their continued incarceration deprives South Africa of what may be its only hope for salvation. Nelson Mandela, in particular, is the embodiment of the aspirations of the oppressed majority people in South Africa and there can be no meaningful negotiations while he remains incarcerated.
The violence of apartheid is the issue in South Africa, not the reaction of the African National Congress to it. That is what is to be negotiated; the end of the violence of apartheid and the democratization of South Africa, so that all its people, black and white, may at long last live in peace in a just society. Apartheid is the source of destabilisation and destruction in southern Africa. The front-line and other neighbouring States, some more than others, have all suffered as a direct consequence of apartheid. My own country has had continuously to run the gauntlet of South Africa's State terrorism, bomb explosions and murder and maiming of its citizens and South African refugees under its care, all for no other reason than the simple fact that we have become one of Pretoria's most readily available scapegoats as the anti-apartheid strife intensifies inside South Africa itself.
Look at the destabilization the destruction, that has been wreaked upon Angela and Mozambique over the years by South Africa and its proxy armies of bandits, all in an attempt by Pretoria to preserve apartheid, For thE People's Republic of Mozambique, in particular, the United States State Department report issued earlier this year says it all. Nothing could be more horrifying, more heart-rending, than the revelations of that report, which we hope will awaken the conscience of those who support the objectives of the RENAMO bandits.
Of late South Africa has launched a diplomatic offensive to conduct dialogue with African countries and thus break out of the prevailing state of diplomatic isolation it has brought upon Itself. This offensive will not help solve South Africa's internal problem. The solution roust be found inside South Africa by conducting meaningful dialogue with genuine leaders of the whole spectrum in that country.
Elsewhere in our continent we continue to be troubled by lack of progress in the search for a lasting solution to the question of Western Sahara. We continue to uphold the principle that the people of Western Sahara, like all other colonial peoples, are entitled to exercise their right to self-determination. In this regard, we commend the United Nations and the Organization of African Unity (OAU) for their tireless efforts to find a lasting solution to the question.

The question of the Camorian island of Mayotte will never cease to exercise our minds so long as it remains unresolved. We therefore urge the French Republic and the Islamic Federal Republic of the Comoros to negotiate a peaceful settlement of the dispute.
Cyprus remains a nagging issue here at the United Nations and in the Non-Aligned Movement and the Commonwealth. We are adamant in our conviction that the solution to the problems of this divided island lies in the cultivation of mutual confidence between the Greek and Turkish communities. The current bi-communal talks must therefore be encouraged so that they may succeed. We continue to call for the withdrawal of foreign troops, as that would contribute towards a peaceful resolution of the dispute. We urge all concerned to co-operate with the Secretary-General in his untiring efforts to reach some accommodation.
The international economic system continues to be a cause of concern. Economic growth decelerated in the Western industrialized countries from 2.9 per cent in 1986 to 2.3 per cent in 1987. Because of their fear of high rates of inflation such as were experienced in the early 1980s, those countries refrained from providing the stimulus to their economies that would have maintained, or even accelerated, their rates of economic growth.
The impact of this economic sluggishness in the Western industrialized nations was felt in the developing countries, where the rate of economic growth slowed from 4 per cent in 1986 to 3.3 per cent in 1987 with the rate of population growth in many of the developing countries still in excess of 3 per cent per annum, this implies stagnation in the standards of living of the people. And even here it should be noted that most of the growth in the developing countries was recorded in the newly industrializing countries of Asia. Growth in African countries as a group either stagnated or was negative.
For the developing countries the prices of primary exports rose slightly, for others the prices of exports remained depressed. The rapid increases in the prices of manufactured imports led to a serious deterioration in the terms of trade for the developing countries and aggravated inflationary pressures within their economies. They experienced considerable strain on their foreign exchange reserves because of the inadequate purchasing power of their export earnings. The debt-service burden, in conjunction with the inadequate levels of export earnings greatly constrained the resources available for development and resulted in less than satisfactory economic performance.
The issue of indebtedness has attracted considerable attention recently, both at the international level and within the African region. Some donor countries and financial institutions have undertaken to convert some loans to grants, extend some grace periods and maturities on outstanding debt and reschedule debt payments. These concessions are expected to provide much-needed relief. The programme co-ordinated by the World Bank is designed to provide concessional assistance, on terms of the International Development Association (IDA) type, to heavily indebted IDA-eligible countries in Africa which are implementing structural adjustment programmes. It is hoped that the benefits accruing from these developments will not be offset by a further deterioration in the terms of trade or a reduction in current levels of resource transfers.
As 1988 draws to a close, despite the many favourable outcomes that have been recorded on the African and world economic fronts, there are various disturbing signs of accelerating inflation, rising interest rates, weakening commodity market prices and growing protectionism in the industrialized world that threaten to disrupt the modest gains that have been achieved.
Last, but not least, my delegation welcomed at the outset the historic signing of the Treaty on the Elimination of Intermediate-Range and Shorter-Range Missiles - INF Treaty - and the ongoing negotiations on the reduction of strategic arsenals. That is concrete progress at the bilateral level. We hope that the momentum will be maintained so as to yield fruitful results in the general question of disarmament.
ht the multilateral level, real progress towards disarmament remains elusive. This past May and June a special session of our Assembly, which had been expected to push a little further along the road to disarmament, ended without achieving the desired results. The failure of the special session to produce the desired results was discouraging, but it cannot and must not In any way signal the end of the disarmament effort. We must continuous to encourage the spirit of multilateralism.
The scourge of terrorism is still with us - terrorism perpetrated against innocents by individuals, groups of individuals and some States. It is a scourge that no explanation can justify, and it must be condemned unequivocally, regardless of its author. The typical imprint of what terrorism perpetrated by a State can do is there for all to see in the front-line States of southern Africa, the Middle East, Latin America and elsewhere where whole villages have been reduced to rubble and hundreds upon hundreds of graves of innocent victims of midnight commando raids and aerial bombardments dot the ravaged landscape like bales of hay. This is terrorism in every conceivable sense, and it must be condemned without equivocation.
I end my statement as I started it, by paying homage once more to this, our United Nations, for what it stands for to our Secretary-General for his inspiring and productive leadership·, and to his staff for their selfless devotion to their international duty. Our faith in this vital world institution remains strong and unstilted. It is our determination to preserve it, to strengthen it, to infuse it with a new sense of purpose and mission.