96.	  First of all, I wish to express the satisfaction of the Cuban delegation at the election of Mr. Gaston Thorn to preside over the thirtieth session of the General Assembly. The decision of the General Assembly is an expression of respect for the peaceful conduct of Luxembourg and for his qualities as an experienced statesman. My delegation reiterates its readiness to co-operate with the President in the discharge of his lofty responsibilities.
97.	May I also extend a greeting to Mr. Abdelaziz Bouteflika, Foreign Minister of the Democratic People's Republic of Algeria and President of the twenty-ninth session of the General Assembly. His able and laudable action was a decisive factor in inscribing the last session in the annals of the Organization as one of the high moments in its necessary evolution in harmony with the positive changes that are taking place in international life.
98.	Cuba enthusiastically welcomes the new States Members of the United Nations. The Republic of Cape Verde, the People's Republic of Mozambique and the Democratic Republic of Sao Tome and Principe have joined our Organization after successfully completing their secular struggle against colonialism and have entered the stream of non-aligned revolutionary States. Their admission to the United Nations is a reminder to us all of the duty devolving on the international community to co-operate actively with the peoples of the former Portuguese colonies, thus helping them along the road to development. We await the speedy entry of an independent Angola, victorious over the intrigues of imperialism.
99.	In welcoming the new Member States, we condemn the unjust exclusion of the Democratic Republic of Viet Nam and the Republic of South Viet Nam. The attitude of the Government of the United States in this connexion shows the stubbornness of imperialism and the total isolation to which it condemns the North American authorities. Only the veto repeatedly used by Washington has prevented Vietnamese representatives from taking their rightful place in our midst.
The General Assembly spoke out unanimously in favor of their admission. World public opinion, including that of the people of the United States demands that they be allowed to occupy their rightful places.
100.	The North American veto on the diplomatic plane is the expression of their continued hostility to the people of the Viet Nam. The same warlike attitude which unleashed over Indo-China the cruelest of wars prompts the behavior of those who today decree the economic, political and diplomatic blockade against Viet Nam and deny their right of admission to the United Nations. It is the obligation of all to oppose this warmongering attitude and demand of the United States that it put an end to it once and for all.
101.	The General Assembly should consider the steps that it might take to counteract the obstructionist action of the United States. If Washington persists in its veto against Viet Nam it will be necessary to mobilize all the peace-loving States and forces of the world until Washington is made to feel the effects of the universal censure of its aggressive conduct, which is contrary to the course of history.
102.	The people of Viet Nam has made an invaluable contribution to the cause of those who struggle for freedom and independence. Its tenacious resistance to aggression, its indomitable fighting spirit and its glorious and complete victory have shown that today there is neither a weak or small people nor any imperialist might capable of deterring or containing the will for freedom of subjugated masses. Its example will always take pride of place in the struggle of the peoples of Africa, Asia, and Latin America, and will be a living lesson and a permanent encouragement to them all. The historic magnitude of its struggle and triumph make it all the more necessary to assist, impelled by generosity, in the reconstruction of Viet Nam, laid waste by a war that was sustained for the sake of the salvation of all nations on the three continents.
103.	The decision taken at the Conference of Ministers for Foreign Affairs of Non-Aligned Countries, held recently at Lima, to create a Solidarity Fund for the reconstruction of Viet Nam [see A/10217 and Corr.l, annex I, resolution XIII], which Cuba applauds and supports and which was in fact originally an initiative of Prime Minister Fidel Castro, must be accompanied by concerted action until such time as the international community as a whole and the United Nations in particular offer Viet Nam all the co-operation necessary to speed up the country's rehabilitation, and to demand of the Government of the United States that it fulfil the commitment under article 21 of the Paris Agreement to assist in healing the wounds of war in Viet Nam and Indo-China.
104.	The peoples of Kampuchea and Laos were protagonists in a heroic struggle waged parallel with that of Viet Nam. With admirable courage, they confronted the aggression of imperialism and its agents. Their triumph represents a significant contribution to the cause of emancipation of the third world. To achieve it the peoples of Kampuchea and Laos accepted sacrifices and bore chastisement that make them worthy of the broadest and staunchest solidarity. The international community is duty-bound to contribute to the reconstruction of Laos and Cambodia with all the necessary resources.
105.	The Assembly is meeting at an especially propitious time for peoples intent on their emancipation and on building a peaceful and prosperous future. The victories of the peoples of Viet Nam, Cambodia and Laos open a new phase in which it is possible to stay the hand of the aggressor. The collapse of fascism in Portugal and the liquidation of its former colonial empire point to the advent of a time in which there will be no nation groaning under a foreign yoke.
106.	The results of the Conference on Security and Co-operation in Europe show that it is possible to strengthen the process of detente. We live in an era in which the positions of socialism and being consolidated; in which the emancipation movements of the peoples of Africa, Asia and Latin America are growing, while the forces of reaction, imperialism and colonialism are forced to beat a retreat. And yet, despite the unquestionable achievements of recent times, the peoples of Africa, Asia and America are still confronted by many obstacles in their uphill march towards full freedom and development.
107.	It is quite obvious that the main centers of imperialism do not resign themselves to their fate and endeavor everywhere to return to their positions of domination and exploitation. That is clearly illustrated by the conspiracies against States exercising their sovereign rights, by the attempts to halt the decolonization process, by encouragement of racist and Fascist movements and the refusal to introduce indispensable changes in the old and unjust structure of international economy as well as the maintenance of hotbeds of tension and constant threats against the process of affirmation of peaceful coexistence,
108.	In Angola the conspiracy of imperialism, its allies and lackeys, has found concrete expression in the brazen interference designed to frustrate true decolonization while threatening its territorial integrity; snatching away from the Movimento Popular de Libertagao de Angola [MPLA1 the fruits of its dauntless struggle against colonialism, while condemning the future State to control by transnational corporations. Cuba renews the expression c>r its full solidarity with the MPLA yesterday heroic in its struggle against the European colonizer, today firm in its defense of true independence.
109.	In the face of the scandalous interference of imperialists, colonialists and racists, it is an elementary duty to offer its people the cETective assistance that may be required for that country to ensure its true independence and full sovereignty. In order to spur the decolonization process, a coherent strategy must be implemented with the participation of all progressive forces, This strategy is essential in order to face up to colonialist and racist machinations against the peoples of Namibia and Zimbabwe and must oppose colonialism in all its forms and manifestations in every corner of the earth,
110.	In this connexion we reiterate our support for the independence of Puerto Rico, Belize and other colonial Territories in the Caribbean, and once again support the right of Argentina to recover the Malvinas Islands.
111.	In the Middle East imperialism is maneuvering to restore its influence and exercise control over its oil resources through the so-tailed policy of partial solutions. That policy is designed, moreover, to isolate Syria, to perpetuate the occupation by Israel of the greater part of the Arab territories and to deny the rights of the Arab people of Palestine. We wish to state once again that there will be no lasting solution in the region unless it is on the basis of the complete withdrawal of Israeli troops from all the territories occupied in 1967 and of the full exercise by the people of Palestine of its inalienable right to self-determination, independence and sovereignly in its usurped homeland.
112.	The Korean peninsula, yesterday the stage for a cruel bloody war, is still a source of threat to peace as a result of the interfering policy of United States imperialism. If a just solution is to be found the General Assembly must pronounce unequivocally in favor of the immediate withdrawal of all foreign troops garrisoned in the southern part of the country, and in favor of the peaceful and independent reunification of that territory without foreign interference.
113.	United States designs of perpetuating their domination in Micronesia represent a challenge to the decolonization objectives of the United Nations and a threat to peace and security in the Pacific. Our Organization cannot disregard this fact and should adopt effective measures enabling the peoples of Micronesia freely to exercise their right to self-determination and independence.
114.	In the field of international economic relations, my country, as a member of the Group of 77. shares its just demands as put forward in countless forums and which were concreted essentially in the Declaration and the program of Action on the Establishment of a New International Economic Order [resolutions 3201 iS-Vt} and 3202 i.T-T/,] and in the Charter of Economic Rights and Duties of States (resolution 3281 (XXfX)], both documents having been approved despite the tenacious opposition of the United States delegation.
115.	At a lime when the capitalist economy is suffering the consequences of the acute recession it engendered, and when it seeks to unload its negative effects on the economies of the developing countries, it is of particular importance for the latter to change their traditionally unfavorable terms of trade and to obtain remunerative prices for their exports in the international capitalist market, to secure access to the necessary financing for their development on favorable terms, and to conduct their economic policies in the full exercise of permanent sovereignty over their natural resources, in particular, vis-a-vis the vast imperialist transnational corporations.
116.	In this context, requests such as those included in the integrated program of primary commodities  price indexation to protect the developing countries in the face of the sustained increase in the price of imports from the developed capitalist countries which generated the inflation, and the set of proposals relating to development aid represent, inter alia. some of the measures which, in spite of the obdurate resistance of the United States and a number of other countries, none the less represent rungs to be climbed on the ladder of the inevitable establishment of a new inter-national economic order.
117.	Despite the over-all improvement in the European situation, there still subsist in that continent conflicts and tensions which may well lead to the disruption of peace. Cyprus is still the victim of armed attacks which have amputated part of the national territory, although so far the United Nations has not been able to confront it in the only manner compatible with the obligations enshrined in the Charter. It is high time for us to adopt strong measures in solidarity with Cyprus, a loyal, faithful State Member of this Organization and a founding member of the Movement of Non-Aligned Countries. Our support goes unhesitatingly to the legal Government of that country, the only legitimate Government of Cyprus, presided over by Archbishop Makarios. The immediate and unconditional withdrawal of foreign troops, full respect for the sovereignty, independence, territorial integrity and non-alignment of Cyprus all are prerequisites for the Cypriot people to solve by itself, without foreign interference, its domestic problems while finding a harmonious and just solution to the question of relations between the two Cypriot communities.
118.	The Portuguese revolution, beset domestically and from outside by a whole set of hostile forces ranging from Fascists to pseudo-revolutionaries of every ilk, is still arousing concern and interest among all the workers of the world. Insistently they demand an end to imperialist interference in the affairs of Portugal and unrestricted respect for the right of its people to go ahead with the revolutionary changes it has begun.
119.	The consistent policy of the Soviet Union and other socialist countries in favor of peace and the elimination of international tension have resulted in important achievements that are above all reflected in the successful conclusion of the Conference on Security and Co-operation in Europe. Its persistence in such endeavors and the sustained struggle of the peoples of the world to tie the hands of the imperialist aggressors may well lead to a situation in which peace and detente acquire a universal and lasting character. The proposal for the conclusion of a treaty on the complete and general prohibition of nuclear weapon tests [A! 10241, annex] as well as the proposal for the prohibition of the development and manufacture of new types of weapons of mass destruction and new systems of such weapons [A/10243, annex], submitted to this Assembly by Comrade Andrei Gromyko, Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Soviet Union, confirm yet again the peaceful will of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics and its sincere and effective contribution to positive action by the United Nations. These proposals must be given due attention by the Assembly.
120.	The peoples of Latin America and the Caribbean are increasing their action designed to consolidate their national independence, to lead to the recovery of their natural resources and to help them play their rightful part in international life. The efforts of Peru, Mexico, Venezuela, Panama, Jamaica, Guyana, Trinidad and Tobago and other countries in this respect are well known. The Revolutionary Government of Cuba again expresses its support for such actions.
121.	The constitution of the Latin American economic system, the Multinational Caribbean Shipping Company and the joint protection of the price of coffee, sugar and bananas are expressions of a new regional awareness foretelling the advent of a not-too- distant era in which Latin America will unite to form the community conceived by Simon Bolivar and Jose Marti which the realities of the present-day world are turning into a necessary goal. The historic task of Latin America will not be easy. It boils down to conquering its second independence. Its attainment, as far as the immediate future is concerned, calls for the total liquidation of colonialism in all its forms and manifestations and the defeat of the aggressive purposes of reaction and fascism. That is why the nationalist action of Latin America and the Caribbean must place in the forefront solidarity with Panama in its struggle for full exercise of its sovereignty over the Canal and the Canal Zone, firm support for the independence of Puerto Rico and support for the antiFascist resistance of the Chilean people. Panama, Puerto Rico and Chile will serve as a measure of the degree of true solidarity of the world with the emancipating cause of our continent. Support for the Panamanian, Puerto Rican and Chilean peoples in their struggle for freedom is the key that will open the door to new progressive and liberating changes in that part of the world.
122.	Panama's entry into the non-aligned Movement and the support of the Latin American group for its aspiration to become a member of the Security Council are signs of growing international support for the just demands of its people and Government.
123.	The General Assembly must give highest priority to consideration of the situation in Chile. It is no longer merely a question of claiming human rights and alleviating the drama that torments the people of Chile. The institution of fascism in Chile, as we have said from the very beginning and as events bear out today, is part of an offensive by the most retrograde forces directed not only, against the peoples of Latin America but also against their brothers in Africa and Asia who are fighting against imperialism, colonialism and racism.
124.	Latin American fascism is the natural ally of racism and colonialism. It is in fact at their service. It seeks to act as a wedge that will break the necessary solidarity between the peoples of the three continents. The struggle against it, therefore, becomes of primary importance for all the peoples of Africa, Asia and Latin America. Were there no such colonial fascism, Mr. Vorster could not travel around South America; the South African Davis Cup team could not compete unconcernedly in Santiago, nor could the partisans and supporters of apartheid indulge in wild propaganda in favor of their hateful policy from a number of capitals in the southern tip of South America. Therefore the Foreign Ministers of the non- aligned countries, meeting at Lima last August, rightly declared:
"The Conference took note with concern of the recent visit of the head of the racist regime of South Africa to Uruguay and Paraguay, as well as of the increasing relations of other Governments of Latin America, particularly the Chilean Government, with the South African regime." [AI10217 and Corr.l, annex, para. 37.]
125.	The case of Chile is still the subject of unanimous concern. Engendered by the most repugnant treason and violence and conceived as a means of reversing the democratic and liberating process undertaken by the Government of President Allende, the Fascist regime makes a mockery of all humanitarian principles, continues its crimes and outrages against the Chilean people and challenges the voices of, protest that are raised in all sectors of democratic world opinion. Not a single international conference of note has been held in the past year that has failed to express its most categorical repudiation of the atrocities committed by the Pinochet junta or that has not called for the termination of his hateful policy of repression and the betrayal of national interests. To bear this out, we have the agreements of the International Labour Conference, the Dakar Conference of the developing countries, the World Conference of the International Women's Year, the Fifth Ministerial Conference of the Non-Aligned Countries, the recent meeting of the Governing Board of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization and many other gatherings of a governmental or non-governmental character.
126.	Last year the General Assembly gave its President and the Secretary-General a mandate in connexion with the protection of human rights in Chile [resolution 3219 (XXIX)). The efforts deployed by both which we appreciate have proved fruitless. The Commission on Human Rights set up an ad hoc working group to submit a report and visit Chile. Initially, the Fascist authorities supported the decision of the Commission and declared, like demagogues, that they would welcome the members of the Working Group. At the eleventh hour, when its members were about to board a plane for Santiago, they cancelled the authorization for the journey. By refusing the visit of the Working Group, the Fascist junta gave proof of what is was uselessly attempting to deny and it did so, moreover, with the shamefacedness and contempt for the international community which have become a rule of conduct of a regime which today represents, to a degree only matched by its South African allies and mentors, a stigma of our times.
127.	It is up to the General Assembly at its current session to give the insolence of the Pinochet regime the response it deserves. Solidarity with the antiFascist resistance of the Chilean people must be expanded and strengthened until we can put a stop to the activities of the clique which now oppresses them. We are convinced that the General Assembly will know how to do its duty.
128.	It is increasingly clear that the case of Puerto Rico is evidence of the attitude that is today being maintained with regard to colonialism. In spite of the great obstacles it has had to confront, despite imperialist plans to absorb it and annihilate it as a nation, Puerto Rico is an admirable example of national resistance. Its people, which for over three quarters of a century has resisted foreign occupation, is deserving of the firmest and clearest international solidarity. Such solidarity was given unequivocable expression at the recent international Conference of Solidarity with the Independence of Puerto Rico held at Havana barely a month ago,
129. By resorting to incorrect procedure the Government of the United States was able this year to postpone the debate on the question of Puerto Rico in the
Special Committee on the Situation with regard to the Implementation of the Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples. Those who are opposed to colonialism must considerably increase their solidarity with the independence of Puerto Rico. Cuba will continue to do so unrelentingly, in support of the revolutionary principles governing its international policy and because of its affectionate friendship with the people of Puerto Rico, which has been united with the people of Cuba by over a century of common struggle against the same enemies and under twin flags.
130.	Our solidarity with Puerto Rico is not a question of tactical expediency or a negotiable article. It is an unalterable expression of our policy of principle and is prompted by the same spirit instilled in our people by the farsightedness and generosity of Jose Marti. It is sustained by the blood shed by hundreds of Puerto Rican patriots who fought and died on Cuban soil for ou r common freedom. Some official spokesmen of the Government of the United States have declared that the North American authorities would make the raising of the illegal economic and trade blockade against Cuba conditional upon the attitude of Cuba towards the independence of Puerto Rico. The Prime Minister of the Revolutionary Government of Cuba, Commander Fidel Castro, in a speech on 28 September last, gave to such statements the response they deserved. With the unanimous support of our people, Comrade Fidel Castro affirmed the following:
"We must all know first, we ourselves and secondly, our adversaries that independently of Cuba's economic interests, independently of our foreign policy based on the principles of Marxism and Leninism and on the principles of peaceful co-existence with other States and on mutually beneficial relations with other States a policy which serves the interests of our State and our people- there can never be any improvement in relations with Cuba that is based on the renunciation of a single one of our fundamental principles.
"Our people, from the point of view of its economic development, needs the broadest trade and technological relations with all countries, without exception; but our country is even more interested in the purity of its principles and its international conduct. If this is not understood or accepted, we shall have all the patience needed. We shall wait and be blockaded with dignity as long as it is necessary to be blockaded. We shall move forward at a faster or slower pace and we shall make more or fewer sacrifices. But our clean banners, the dignity and principles of this country, can never be negotiated."
131.	The past year has been for the Cuban people a year of great and continued victories, in spite of the persistent imperialist blockade, and we have continued to build socialism. In the field of agriculture, education, construction and public health Cuba's successes are still an example to other countries of Latin America.
132.	Next year the Cuban people will put into effect the socialist constitution, which has been discussed broadly and in depth in thousands of assemblies throughout the country, and will establish the organs of people's power. The Cuban revolution will thus be entering a new stage resulting from its definitive consolidation and the guarantee of its irreversible historic continuity.
133.	Cuba's international position becomes stronger with each passing day; its ties of friendship and cooperation with the Soviet Union and other socialist countries are being strengthened. Its participation in the non-aligned movement is growing, as shown by the recent decision of the ministerial Conference held at Lima to recommend that the sixth Conference of Heads of State or Government of those countries be held in Havana. Its solid links with the peoples of Latin America, which the imperialist blockade has never destroyed, are being renewed and strengthened.
134.	At the end of this year our people will hold the most decisive and important meeting of this period  the first congress of the Cuban Communist Party. Our people are preparing for it enthusiastically and in all confidence. The Cuban Communist Party is the heir to and continues the age-old struggle of our people, the organized vanguard of our revolution. Born of the combative union of all Cuban revolutionaries under the supreme direction of comrade Fidel Castro, the Cuban Communist Party represents today the profound aspirations of our people to peace, independence and justice, which in the past century were grouped around the Cuban Revolutionary Party of Jose Marti.
135.	When they meet next December to assess the progress achieved and make plans for new tasks, Cuban communists will be able to do so with profound revolutionary satisfaction. The road they have traveled has been long and arduous. Victories and defeats were met along the way, which led to bloodshed and pain, but also hope for the uninterrupted march of our people towards its liberation. Many freedom fighters died before they could get a glimpse of the shining future for which they gave their lives. There were countless sacrifices, and exploits and daily anonymous agony, which ended in victory in January 1959 and led to the conquest of independence and the possibility of establishing socialism.
136.	The future, like the present, is not exempt from difficulties which will lead to new action by the Cuban people. To raise the socialist society at the entrance to the Caribbean Sea, under the conditions imposed by the blockade and imperialist hostility, in a developing country poor in natural resources and with an economy almost entirely dependent on agriculture, while firmly maintaining and upholding the high principles of internationalism and revolutionary solidarity, will always be the heroic goal of our historic dimension.
137.	Our people will do this. Its unalterable revolutionary will is entrenched in such deeds and sacrifices of several generations of Cubans who for more than a century suffered death with dignity rather than lower their glorious flag. It is inspired by the supreme ideal of creating a new society, for ever free from all forms of exploitation by human beings. It is inspired by the immortal example of Ernesto Guevara, who, on a day such as this, left in the heartland of America his unforgettable message, which calls on the peoples of the continent to resist and fight.
138.	Onward to victory!


33.	 Mr. President, it is with pleasure that I join the many representatives who have spoken before me in congratulating you most warmly on your election to the presidency of the thirtieth session of the General Assembly. You bring to this high office qualities of integrity, intellect and experience which have already carried you to the summit of political responsibility in your own country as well as on the wider European stage. The General Assembly is indeed fortunate that its leader for the coming 12 months will be a statesman deeply loyal to the purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations.
34.	The annual general debates at the General Assembly provide an occasion for a survey of the working of the international system during the preceding year, and for the public expression of the hopes and fears, the expectations and anxieties, of the Governments representing almost the totality of the population of the world. The present debate seems to me an appropriate opportunity to go a little further to look back at the 30 years of the life of the United Nations, and to try to appraise its achievements against the standards set by the founders of the Organization when they adopted the Charter in San Francisco on 26 June 1945.
35.	The United Nations was born amidst the ruin and devastation of the most terrible war experienced in the recorded history of mankind, a holocaust in' which tens of millions of men, women and children lost their lives, among them one third of the Jewish people. Its primary purposes, therefore, were to save succeeding generations from similar catastrophe and to build a better society in which fundamental human rights, equal justice before the law and economic and social advancement would be universally assured.
36 As is inevitable in human affairs, the record is uneven The most spectacular achievement of this period is unquestionably the virtual disappearance of the classic colonial system. More than half of the present Members of the United Nations, including Israel were colonial dependencies before 1945; four Cape Verde, Mozambique, Sao Tome and Principe, and Papua New Guinea achieved independence in 1975 and have been or are being admitted to membership at this session. On behalf of the people and the Government of Israel, I am happy to wish them well.
37.	The United Nations system, through the United Nations Development program and its forerunners and through the specialized agencies, has also registered noteworthy achievements in many branches of economic development, in agriculture, health, labor, transport and other practical fields. The new impetus in the development and codification of international law would hardly have been possible outside the United Nations framework; while the financial and economic organs of the United Nations family, among which one might include the recent seventh special session of the General Assembly which may well presage a new era of international economic co-operation, have become almost indispensable for the proper conduct of the world's business. Those are all positive contributions to the welfare of mankind, even though it is clear that there is still a long way to go.
38.	This is unfortunately not the case in other areas. The United Nations has manifestly not saved this generation from the scourge of war. The graves of the millions of victims of armed conflicts in Asia, in Africa, in the Middle East and even in Europe bear anguished testimony to this massive failure; while the lofty sentiments and exhortations of a multitude of conventions, declarations and resolutions have had little impact on the flagrant abuse of fundamental human rights and freedoms in vast areas of the globe.
39.	It is common form to claim that the fault does not lie in the United Nations system, but in its Members; that the world Organization merely reflects the frailties, the stupidities, the lethargy and the evils of the world itself. This is, of course, true, but it is equally true that a system that encourages contention rather than compromise, extremism rather than tolerance and confrontation rather than negotiation is hardly suited to a world as diverse in race, religion, tradition, geographical circumstances, and social and political practices as is ours.
40.	The experience of Israel is a valid example. We belong to no bloc and no alliance. We can count on little support in this Assembly, not because our cause is unjust, not because our views do not meet with sympathy, but because of considerations of unprincipled expediency. We are assaulted every year in language so venomous and vile as to defy all canons of civilized behavior. In Assembly session after Assembly session in recent years, in conference after conference, resolutions are adopted by automatic majorities, demanding that we submit to this abusive tyranny, that we, in effect, dismantle our State, and that we commit national suicide. No regard whatsoever is paid in these resolutions to truth or to reality.
41.	Israel is a democratic State, where, in accordance with our ancient tradition, all individuals and communities enjoy equality before the law and the plenitude of their human rights; yet a resolution of a United Nations body will assert the very opposite as an incontrovertible fact and condemn Israel on the basis of that falsehood.
42.	When a World Health Organization expert finds that the medical services provided for the population in the territories under Israeli administration since 1967 are as good as those of any other civilized country and that the people are healthy, a resolution of the General Conference of that specialized agency will declare that they are ridden with disease and bereft of medical attention. When a certified lunatic, not a Jew and a foreigner to boot, sets fire to part of a mosque in Jerusalem, a resolution of the Security Council condemns Israel for the deliberate desecration of that Holy Place. When highly qualified United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization experts establish that Israeli archaeological research in Jerusalem represents a notable contribution to the cultural heritage of mankind, including that of a glorious period of Islamic history, does not contravene the applicable international law and does not endanger other monuments and sites, resolutions adopted by that organization simply ignore those findings and for good measure add sanctions to the routine condemnation. And when Israel, rightly and inevitably, refuses to take notice of these fantasies, as any other Member State would do in its place, it is once again condemned for being awkward and recalcitrant and for flouting the will of the international community.
43.	Surely there is something seriously wrong with a United Nations system which is so easily subverted for political blackmail; which, instead of being a center for harmonizing the actions of nations in the attainment of the objectives of the Charter, has become a propaganda battlefield; and where abuse and not reason has become the language of debate. It is surely not beyond the wit of man to arrest this hypocritical and dangerous course before it is too late.
44.	In the course of my address to the General Assembly last year, I dwelt on the positive features of the separation of forces agreements which had been concluded earlier that year between Israel and Egypt and Israel and Syria in the wake of the Yom Kippur war of October 1973.1 I expressed the view that those two agreements represented the first steps, small and hesitant though they may have been, away from the triple negatives adopted by the Conference of Arab Heads of State or Government, held at Khartoum, on 1 September 1967: no peace with Israel, no recognition, no negotiations.
45.	Those who sincerely seek peace in the Middle East will surely find cause for satisfaction in the new agreement between Egypt and Israel which was negotiated through the good offices of the President and the Secretary of State of the United States and concluded in Geneva last week. That agreement marks an important step forward. It has much greater political significance than its predecessor.
46.	I should like to draw the attention of the Assembly to some of the major provisions of this agreement:
"The Government of the Arab Republic of Egypt and the Government of Israel have agreed that:
"The conflict between them and in the Middle East shall not be resolved by military force but by
peaceful means.
"The parties hereby undertake not to resort to the threat or use of force or military blockade against each other. 11
"This agreement is regarded by the parties as a significant step toward a just and lasting peace. It is not a final peace agreement.
"The parties shall continue their efforts to negotiate a final peace agreement within the framework of the Geneva Peace Conference in accordance with Security Council resolution 338 (1973).
"This agreement shall enter into force upon signature of the protocol and remain in force until superseded by a new agreement."
47.	The significance of the agreement does not lie only in the pledge of the parties to continue to observe the cease-fire and to refrain from all military or paramilitary action, or in their undertaking not to resort to the threat or use of force or military blockade, or in their recognition of the essential role of the United Nations Emergency Force and the necessity that it continue its functions, or in the provision concerning the passage of non-military cargoes to and from Israel through the Suez Canal, or even in the renunciation of war as a means to settle the differences between them; rather its significance lies in the belief that it opens a new chapter in the relations between the two countries. Israel for its part will do all it can to ensure that this new chapter will indeed be one of peace. And beyond that we hope that this agreement will pave the way to better relations and peace with all our neighbors.
48.	It is a proper opportunity to stress here that the agreement, in all its particulars, was concluded, in response to the free will of two sovereign States. If Egypt and Israel consider that the agreement is advantageous to them and, moreover, it is a step not directed against any other party nobody in this General Assembly has the right to censure it or to set himself up as an arbiter of the interests of the parties directly concerned.
49.	As I have already stated, both parties to the agreement have recognized the essential role played by the United Nations Emergency Force and I wish to take this opportunity to pay a tribute to the officers and men of the Force, who are performing a difficult and delicate task in an exemplary manner; to Lieutenant General Ensio Siilasvuo, who has been identified with the peace-keeping efforts of the United Nations in the Middle East for many years and who has gained the respect and regard of all parties; and to the Secretary-General, who is ultimately responsible for this successful United Nations enterprise. I wish to include in this tribute the commanders, officers and men of the United Nations Truce Supervision Organization and the United Nations Disengagement Observer Force, who also play an important role in the area, and to the Governments which have contributed their personnel to all three United Nations forces.
50.	As far as we are concerned, the new agreement is not an end, but the beginning of a process of peacemaking. We do not delude ourselves that this will be a simple undertaking, for the making of peace after
so many years of hostility and
suspicion will call for qualities of moral courage, understanding and tenacity far greater than those needed for the waging of war But the beginning must be made-for the sake of this generation and for the sake of the Israeli and Arab children who were surely born to live and create and not to die on the battlefield.
51.	Security Council resolution 338 (1973) calls for "negotiations . . . between the parties concerned aimed at establishing a just and durable peace in 'the Middle East". From this rostrum I declare that Israel is ready to enter into such negotiations with each and every one of the neighboring States. I note with regret repeated statements made by the leaders of Syria which reject the whole concept of a genuine peace treaty with Israel. Nevertheless, I should like to hope that this is not their last word. And for our part I solemnly reiterate that the Government of Israel is ready and willing to enter into peace negotiations with Syria without prior conditions, as called for by Security Council resolution 338 (1973), at any place and at any time.
52.	In this connexion I wish to emphasize that as far as Israel is concerned the Geneva Peace Conference can be reconvened whenever the parties are ready for it, following adequate preparation. Moreover, in principle, Israel is in favor of any mechanism which will advance the process of negotiation between the parties to the conflict. It will therefore give the idea put forward by the Secretary of State of the United States, Mr. Kissinger, for an informal multilateral consultation most earnest consideration.
53.	As I emphasized in my statement at the General Assembly last year, it is self-evident that genuine peace in the Middle East must include a just and constructive solution for the Palestine Arab problem, Israel is fully alive to this problem, probably more so than the majority of those who pronounce freely upon it, and we do not require persuasion of the need to solve it peacefully and honorably. Indeed we insist that this be done. For far too long now the Palestinian Arabs have been used as a pawn on the chess-board of inter-Arab politics; throughout the years they have been the victims of Arab extremism. The solution to their problem therefore demands a change of attitude in the Arab world. The Palestine Arab problem should and can be solved in the context of a peace agreement between Israel and Jordan, which constitutes the major part of the area of historic Palestine on both sides of the river as well as being the homeland of the great majority of the Palestine Arabs.
54.	Thus if the matter at issue is a fair and constructive solution for the problem of Palestine Arab identity. Israel's response is emphatically positive. But it is categorically negative about the absurd pretensions of the so-called Palestine Liberation Organization to speak in the name of the Palestine Arabs. This congeries of feuding terrorist gangs, whose principal victims are the Arabs of Palestine themselves and whose primary aim is the annihilation of the State of Israel and the genocide of its people, is neither a valid representative of the Palestine Arab community nor a valid interlocutor for Israel.
55.	It should cause no surprise that at the spearhead of the frenzied efforts of the extreme regimes in the Arab world to prevent a political settlement of
the Middle East dispute, and to disrupt the recent agreement between Egypt and Israel, is precisely the PLO.
56.	There is nothing more fraudulent than the scheme of this faction to establish, naturally on the ruins of Israel, a so-called democratic secular State in which Moslems, Christians and Jews would, as it were, live in amity and equality. This facile slogan, this transparent propaganda gimmick, has somehow found support among naive and well-meaning people. What is the pattern which the progenitors and supporters of this idea propose to follow? For lack of anything more promising they themselves have put forward the example of Lebanon: Lebanon, which since April of this year has been torn apart by a vicious, sectarian civil war between its Moslem and Christian communities. The latest published estimate of the casualties during these past six months is more than 5,000 killed and nearly 18,000 injured. The material damage is estimated at $2,500 million. The PLO knows what it means when it talks about the democratic and secular State of Palestine. So do we. We have only to look at the more than 800,000 Jews who have left, or have been driven out of, the Arab countries of the Middle East and North Africa since 1948, or at the tortured existence of the 4,500-odd Jewish hostages left in Syria today, to know what the fate of the Jews of Israel would be if the PLO nightmare were realized. But we know and they know that this will never be.
57.	It is one of the anomalies of our times that Israel, which is rigorously excluded from the Middle East region in all that concerns the civilian pursuits of the United Nations and its specialized agencies such as health, education, meteorology, trade and civil aviation is emphatically held to be a part of the Middle East region when the discussion turns to military matters, including the supply of arms. If one were cynical one might almost suspect that the reason, in both cases, is to weaken Israel in one case by boycott, and in the other by depriving it of the means of defense.
58.	Be that as it may, the problem of arms control in the Middle East is real and urgent. The area is being swamped by a flood of new and sophisticated military hardware, such as it has never known in all its long history. Each month that passes raises the level of technology, and the price. Tens of billions of dollars which might otherwise be spent on economic and social development and it must be realized that the population of large parts of the Middle East is among the poorest in the world are drained off to pay for these instruments of human destruction.
59.	Israel is forced to take part in this senseless competition because, given the circumstances in the area, if it did not it would invite immediate aggression. But Israel is ready at any time, even before peace is made, to consult with its neighbors on measures to limit the arms race, with all its dangerous consequences, without materially affecting the relative defensive capacity of any of the parties to the consultation.
60.	Israel supports the proposal for a nuclear-free zone in the Middle East and will be ready to enter into negotiations with all States concerned in order to attain that objective. By negotiations we mean a process of
intergovernmental consultation similar to that which preceded the adoption of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons in Latin America (Treaty of Tlatelolco) and other international instruments of like character. We do not think that so grave a matter can be settled by correspondence through the Secretary-General.
61.	Israel welcomes the signature of the Final Act of the Conference on Security and Co-operation in Europe, which gave formal expression to the spirit of detente. Only the future will tell if this instrument will serve as a guide for the conduct of the nations in the years to come, or whether it will remain a compilation of pious hopes, like so many international instruments which have been adopted since the end of the Second World War.
62.	In this connexion we have of course noted the following passage in the address of the Foreign Minister of the Soviet Union to this Assembly on 23 September: "Assessing highly the results of the Conference, the Soviet Union believes that the main task now is to translate the understandings reached into deeds . . .". [2357th meeting, para. 128.]
63.	As far as Israel is concerned, we have two criteria for judgment: one, that detente must apply to the Middle East no less than to Europe and to other areas of the world and so far we have seen no evidence of this; two, that the humanitarian provisions of the Final Act signed at Helsinki must be scrupulously applied. The United Kingdom Prime Minister, Mr. Harold Wilson, expressed this eloquently in his address to the Conference in these words:
"Our work here will be judged not only by the spirit of 'live and let live' which this Conference asserts. It will be judged by how that spirit is reflected in the lives of ordinary families, by such issues as the reunification of families ... I hope that what we have each today committed ourselves to within Europe can apply also to those within our countries who want to go to start a new life outside Europe, whether in the Middle East or elsewhere."
64.	None of the noble provisions of the Final Act have yet been applied to the Jewish national minority in the Soviet Union. For them the Helsinki agreement is still a piece of paper, and detente is still far over the horizon. I hope that the Soviet Union will live up to the spirit of this historic agreement and will enable the Jews who aspire to be reunited with their brethren in their ancient homeland to do so without hindrance. For us this is the touchstone.
65.	Finally, in addressing the General Assembly I cannot ignore a grave development which affects the Jewish people wherever they may be. This is the mounting of a despicable attack on Zionism by associating it with abhorrent political concepts.
66.	Let me state categorically that anti-Zionism is but a euphemism for anti-Semitism. Subscribing to a resolution condemning Zionism means an endorsement of anti-Semitism and the legitimization of aggression against Israel. Let me state with equal emphasis that, on this the thirtieth anniversary of the liberation of the survivors of the gas chambers and the concentration camps, the Jewish people will not tolerate a revival of the cancer of anti-Semitism. One cannot
here escape a tragic reflection how many of the 6 million victims of the Nazis would be alive today if it had been given to the Zionist movement to create the State of Israel before that catastrophe?
67.	It is painful to me to see a group of nations, many of which were recently liberated from colonial rule, deriding one of the most noble liberation movements in this century a movement which not only gave an example of encouragement and determination to the peoples struggling for independence but also actively aided many of them during their period of preparation for independence and immediately thereafter.
68.	What is the essence of Zionism? Zionism, in a nutshell, is the modern expression of the ancient Jewish heritage. Zionism is the national liberation movement of a people exiled from its historic homeland and dispersed among the nations of the world. Zionism is the redemption of an ancient nation from a tragic lot and the redemption of a land neglected for centuries. Zionism is the revival of an ancient language and culture, in which the vision of universal peace has been a central theme. Zionism is the embodiment of a unique pioneering spirit, of the dignity of labor and of enduring human values. Zionism means creating a society, however imperfect it may still be, which tries to implement the highest ideals of democracy political, social and cultural for all the inhabitants of Israel, irrespective of religious belief, race or sex. Zionism is, in sum, the constant and unrelenting effort to realize the national and universal vision of the prophets of Israel.


 It is a particular pleasure for me to begin my statement by extending to Mr. Thorn, on behalf of the Government of El Salvador and of my delegation, and on my own behalf, our warmest congratulations for having been unanimously elected to serve as President of the thirtieth session of the General Assembly. His broad intellectual capabilities and his brilliant political and diplomatic career are a guarantee that the duties entrusted to this important forum will be carried out successfully.
251.	It is also a pleasure for me to take this opportunity to express a well-earned acknowledgment to the Minister for Foreign Affairs of Algeria, Mr. Abdel-aziz Bouteflika, for the obvious achievements made in his difficult task of presiding over the General Assembly at its previous session, during which he demonstrated his outstanding talent for leadership and his undeniable devotion to peace and progress.
252.	It is a particular satisfaction for El Salvador to express its warmest greetings to the States of Cape Verde, Sao Tome and Principe, and Mozambique upon their admission to the United Nations, which will contribute to the strengthening of the Organization, for one of its aims is to become a forum of true universality.
253.	This session marks 30 years of work in the United Nations. This event is an excellent opportunity to analyze the results of the difficult tasks it has accomplished. The world has changed so much during these 30 years that it is fitting to adapt the Charter of the United Nations to new realities and to reorganize and perfect available instruments with a view to translating into fact the principles of coexistence and co-operation as they have developed over 30 years. On the other hand, the promising results of the sixth and seventh special sessions of the General Assembly, devoted to the establishment of a new international economic order, should be given priority in this stage of turning theory into practice and aims into action.
254.	This anniversary should promote the desire of Member countries to widen the search for formulas capable of solving the serious problems affecting the world community.
255.	In recent years the statements made by the delegation of El Salvador in the Assembly have been primarily devoted to expressing the country's position with regard to the major topics before the Assembly for discussion.
256.	This time, in view of the present political detente and the persistent world economic crisis, we should like to take a general approach and to appeal to the spirit of co-operation that must prevail in order for understanding among peoples and regions to be effective, and to make it possible to deal with today's problems.
257.	The present world political pattern is characterized by increased efforts to achieve peace and development. This can be seen in the degree of understanding among the great Powers, which has surely made it possible to achieve a rather high measure of harmony in international political life.
258.	This rapprochement among the great Powers is in the interest of all the peoples of the world, Therefore, we must all combine our efforts to ensure the maintenance of this understanding and respect and to remove from international relations those factors of conflict which can at any given time provoke a world conflagration. The continuation of the struggle against colonialism, neo-colonialism and the various forms of discrimination and exploitation which still persist as centers of international friction is therefore of singular importance. This struggle will persist as long as oppressive forms of domination continue to exist, because an essential part of man is his adherence to the ideals of liberty, justice and respect of his own dignity.
259.	We were pleased to see the action taken by the third world countries and, in particular, that of the group of non-aligned countries, to secure these values. Also, we should like to emphasize the important role that the United Nations has played with the same end in view.
260.	With regard to the socio-economic crisis, we should like to indicate that the increasing requests of the developing countries have finally been sympathetically received, as can be seen from the important statements made by the representatives of highly developed countries. We welcome with satisfaction the submission of new formulas for international co-operation, and in view of those new possibilities I will merely say that El Salvador is ready to participate in the proposed systems of co-operation, as long as they are based on equity, sovereign equality, inter-dependence and common interest.
261.	Understanding and co-operation founded on a fair basis will make possible higher standards of living in developing countries and a better life in the developed countries. They are therefore mutually beneficial.
262.	The real implementation of those new formulas might contribute to lessening the gap between the developed and the developing countries and to improving the inhuman living conditions now endured by millions of human beings. None the less, if words are not translated into deeds, the scourge of hunger, which now looms over so many countries, either frequently or continuously, may reach even the doors of those nations which at present consider themselves free of that threat.
263.	El Salvador is one of the countries most seriously affected by the present world economic crisis, It would be absurd to deny that. However, we are working to overcome our difficulties with the means
available to us, despite the fact that sometimes the resources available limit our efforts.
264.	El Salvador therefore believes that, without the support of international co-operation and a substantial improvement in the terms of trade, it will be impossible to achieve the proposed goals. That is why my Government views with satisfaction the acceptance by the highly developed countries of the idea of establishing a new system of international economic relations. The results of the seventh special session and the machinery for co-operation and dialog mentioned in its declarations give us good hope that the measures recommended will be implemented.
265.	This is a historic moment, when international detente, the economic crisis and political will expressed in formulas of co-operation must lead to the strengthening of peace and development. This moment must not be allowed to slip by. All are in duty bound to participate, in a spirit of solidarity, in this international co-operation in order to ensure for all the technological and capital resources that are lacking.
266.	That would make possible for both the industrialized countries and countries of the third world to continue along the path of economic and social development in accordance with the particular circumstances of each nation, following the road freely chosen in exercise of their own sovereignty.
267.	This international effort must accordingly be part of an integral long-term Program, since improvisation and the adoption of isolated short- term measures will lead to distortions, and to a senseless waste of efforts and goodwill. In this necessary long-range planning the United Nations must play a primary role, thereby achieving harmony between the universal approach and the domestic political guidelines of the various countries.
268.	Within the broad Program of co-operation appropriate attention should be given to the agricultural needs and to food for the planet, with special consideration for the serious problems of the developing countries. Accordingly, there should be still further change in the present structure of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations to encourage it to act as the co-ordinating agency for a more dynamic and genuine international co-operation in its own sphere of competence within the framework of the new international economic order.
269.	Another aspect to which we attach particular importance is the use of financial surpluses and, in broader terms, to the increasing world wealth.
270.	We believe that financial surpluses accumulated by a few States should be placed in credit Programs to make it possible for the majority of countries to overcome the obstacles which have impeded their economic growth.
271.	It is important that there should be a study on redistributing the world's wealth, because some countries have achieved levels of capital growth which they are unable to use in domestic development Programs.
272.	It would therefore be mutually advantageous to establish a system to redistribute world income by establishing fair terms of trade and making the financial surpluses available to the under-developed countries. The Program should include access to markets in industrialized countries. Here serious thought should be given to a rational, international division of labor and, therefore, complementarity between regions, so that each country may produce efficiently the items it is best equipped to produce.
273.	Another important proposal which we also support is for the establishment of a financial fund to help meet the need of the developing countries to maintain reserves to stabilize the prices of their major export products.
274.	A suitable formula for co-operation and the co-ordination of economic policies has been found in the establishment of regional bodies which carry out multinational Programs, designed to make possible the better utilization of the natural and technological resources of Member countries, and to plan machinery for integration and mutual development. Such bodies should, of course, take into account the specific characteristics of the relatively least economically developed countries, so that they may be given favorable treatment and can thus, by means of their participation in those bodies, improve their economic conditions. That is why El Salvador has given firm support to the initiative for the establishment of a Latin American Economic System in the spirit of the Declaration and the Program of Action on the Establishment of a New International Economic Order [resolutions 3201 (S-VI) and 3202 (S-VI)] and the Charter of Economic Rights and Duties of States [resolution 3281 (XXIX)].
275.	The establishment of a new juridical order for the seas is of vital importance to the future of mankind. Thus, it would surely be regarded as one of the greatest examples of international co-operation ever seen. The designation of the sea-bed and the ocean floor beyond the national jurisdiction of States as the common heritage of mankind, together with the establishment of a world authority to administer that zone for the benefit of all the peoples of the planet, would be one of the greatest legacies that this generation could leave to succeeding generations.
276.	Another advance which we wish to mention is the recognition by the great majority of States of an adjacent zone of the sea of 200 marine miles, as a zone over which the jurisdiction of the coastal State would extend, and over which it would exercise sovereign rights in the exploitation of renewable and non-renewable natural resources found there. We believe that the reaching of such an agreement, regardless of the name given to the zone, would facilitate agreement on the other points. The signing and successful implementation of the Convention on the Law of the Sea would be the most important juridical event of our era and its tremendous impact on peace and the well- being of mankind would be beyond imagination.
277.	Therefore all the countries involved in this difficult negotiation must bend their efforts for the common good and the general interest so that this great undertaking is brought to a successful conclusion.
278.	My Government would like to emphasize the fact that some regions are not sufficiently represented in the executive posts in the specialized agencies of the United Nations family. That is because the principle of equitable geographical distribution has not been sufficiently recognized or implemented. Respect for that principle is necessary to maintain a fair balance in the world Organization's structure. Disregard of that principle runs counter to the right held by the different regions of the world to participate, on an equal footing, in the high administrative posts of the specialized agencies and, therefore, restricts their impact and their participation in studying and solving the most important international problems. Therefore, we appeal to all Members of the United Nations to give full support to this principle which is so important for the maintenance of harmony and a fair balance within this Organization.
279.	The positions and views expressed by my country today are a reflection of our determination to participate dynamically and effectively in the world effort to achieve peace and progress. This is a crucial moment which may lead to an era of well-being if we give due support to international co-operation to complement the efforts of each nation to achieve its own development.


It is an honor for me to speak once again from this rostrum on behalf of the Revolutionary Government of the Armed Forces of Peru, as well as in fulfillment of the mandate of the ministerial meeting of the non-aligned countries, held in Lima at the end of August of this year.
44.	I wish to express, Mr. President, my country's deep satisfaction upon your election to guide our proceedings during the thirtieth session of the General Assembly. Luxembourg and Peru maintain cordial relations and I am confident that the eminent Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs will, with dignity and skill, guide our deliberations on the issues of transcendental importance which this Assembly has before it.
45.	I wish also to express my most sincere appreciation to the Foreign Minister of Algeria, Mr. Bouteflika, whose diligent performance as President of the last session has raised the historic cause of the third world to a stature of renewed international vigor and influence.
46.	I wish also to thank the Secretary-General for his visit to my country at the beginning of this year. On that occasion, he displayed for us a sample of the efforts which he devotes to the many international problems absorbing the attention of our Organization. I believe it appropriate on this occasion to wish him success m the delicate tasks before him in his office, a success we all hope for in the cause of the strengthening of peace and security.
47.	A few weeks ago, I had the singular honor of being the spokesman for the Foreign Ministers of non- aligned countries in presenting to the seventh special session of the General Assembly the results of the Conference of Ministers for Foreign Affairs of Non- Aligned Countries held at Lima from 25 to 30 August 1975. On that occasion, I analyzed the economic aspects contained in the Lima Program of Mutual Assistance and Solidarity A/10217 and Corr 1 annex]. Essentially, I pointed out how the results reached at Lima constitute a clearly-defined strategy directed towards strengthening the autonomy of the development processes, as well as areas for concrete action in mutual co-operation and solidarity, in face of the collapse of the unjust international economic order, thus transforming the non-aligned and developing countries as a whole into a dynamic element of greatest coherence in the structuring of the new order.
48. In the political field, the Lima Program spells out as it does in the economic field, systems for consultation and solidarity for a common protection
against pressures, overt or covert, against our territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence, as well as the machinery for mutual co-ordination designed to strengthen our negotiating capacity in international bodies. We defend today, as we always shall, the right of peoples to their political and economic independence, and to formulate their social and economic Programs in accordance with their own values. We defend, and shall give practical effect to, the right to convert the equality formally recognized in the Charter into specific rights with political content and weight. It is not through a wish for obstinacy or confrontation, but through the exercise of the weight of our voice and our vote that the discussions in this body will be marked, for in it we have a legitimate place and the full right to defend the interests of the peoples of the third world.
49.	The Lima Conference reviewed the international situation and considered its most salient aspects in the light of the lofty aims of our movement. This review enabled us to confirm that non-alignment has become one of the truly significant factors in the international scene, and that it appears as an effective historical option for peoples aspiring to independence, equality, full development and peace. Furthermore, in the present circumstances, marked by a hardening of imperialist policies and a serious economic crisis, concerted policy and the action of countries rejecting the power politics of the Powers is imperative for the vast majority of peoples which seek only the peaceful promotion of their just aspirations and rights.
50.	The non-aligned movement is basically an inter-national anti-imperialist and anti-colonialist position, committed to action directed towards overcoming situations of conflict, and especially an international order based on keeping the majority of mankind at a subsistence level. Our struggle is not related to the present situation; rather, it challenges a whole system the historical validity of which is decreasing day by day as the forces of liberation advance.
51.	I will not review the Lima agreements in detail. I shall simply underline the fact that our movement is determined to promote actively the implementation of those agreements, for they all conform with the letter and the spirit of the Charter of our Organization. Therefore, to those who would see in non-alignment a new bloc, we could answer that the things we are fighting are in fact power politics, hegemonic policies, the indefinite postponement of the aspirations of peoples which have contributed and still contribute to the well-being of others, the continuance of sources of tension, and the continuance of imperialist, colonialist and racist policies. These are the obstacles preventing men from living together as human beings and striving together to achieve everything that befits their higher nature.
52.	Peru has reaffirmed its unshakable commitment to the enlightened objectives of non-alignment. In this context I shall now turn to those matters which, as Foreign Minister of my country, I wish to put before this session of the Assembly.
53.	The results of the seventh special session take their place within the context of the multidimensional long-term efforts to which the third world countries are deeply committed. The results of the special session are not totally satisfactory to us. There still exists a wide gap between our just demands and the resolutions adopted in this hall some days ago. Therefore we must state that the third world will not abandon its just demands. The Declaration and the Program of Action on the Establishment of a New International Economic Order adopted at the sixth special session [resolutions 3201 (S-VI) and 3202 (S-VI)], the principles and action Program agreed by the non-aligned countries at Algiers and Lima, and the Charter of Economic Rights and Duties of States [resolution 3281 (XXIX)] maintain for us their full validity and importance. Those documents are an integral part of the process which is questioning the very basis of the present unjust economic system, rejecting the paternalistic approach which seems to consider aid as a substitute for a just distribution of world wealth, and proposing as an alternative for the development of the third world, principles and measures aimed at radically altering international economic relations.
54.	The thirtieth anniversary of the United Nations, which we are now observing, takes place at a moment in which the vitality and creative richness of our Organization is being tested. Far removed from the solemn attitude that usually accompanies institutional decay, the opposing forces of today provide the vigour and energy necessary to face the challenges facing the United Nations in a world undergoing a far-reaching structural crisis.
55.	The United Nations, which arose out of the Second World War, was obliged for many years to concern itself with security and with the ideological struggles of the great Powers; those were the circumstances in which the Organization was functioning. Those were the years of automatic majorities and the abuse of the veto. In those years the United Nations was nothing more than the most appropriate diplomatic instrument for gauging the desire for confrontation of those striving for global supremacy,
56.	It was only in the middle of the 1950s, when new States were admitted, that the United Nations began to assume a responsibility consistent with future trends, and successfully dealt with the first serious anti-colonial crisis of Suez in 1956. From then on, and throughout the 1960s, the United Nations devoted itself with varying degrees of emphasis to the decolonization of Africa and Asia. This process was accelerated and complemented in the ever more systematic concern with the under-development of the newly independent peoples. Thus the United Nations began to detect the causes of under-development in the very situation of dependence in which the metropolitan Powers had maintained the peoples of Asia, Africa and Latin America.
57.	The political decolonization sponsored and promoted by the United Nations is increasingly linked with the notion that a situation of dependence inhibits development.
58.	Thus the United Nations is initiating a process of democratization in international economic relations, first through the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, and more recently through the sixth and seventh special sessions of the General Assembly, on raw materials, development and cooperation, which set forth the overriding significance of the concern of the United Nations with institutional problems, as it marks its thirtieth anniversary.
59.	In this brief historical summary there is one constant theme: the gradual emergence of the developing world and the appearance of questions crucial to their internal and international interests, that is to say, the overriding and consistent pressure for the United Nations to confront, and not avoid, the problems facing the international community in the difficult relationship between countries which were until recently subjected, and the Powers which had exercised a dominating role which they still wish to perpetuate.
60.	The prelude to and the apparent cause of the increase in tension between the developed world and the peoples of Asia, Africa and Latin America is the global economic crisis which has already produced a pattern of multiple isolation. As the economies of certain industrial Powers contract, they seem to become increasingly short-sighted, and the precarious political and economic order of developing countries has been weakened with the collusion of transnational corporations, through the reactionary activity of oligarchical minorities and the promotion of militarism, aimed at weakening progressive Governments. This new anti-historical offensive on the part of economic neo-colonialism and regressive forces only heralds the final liquidation of those very systems of dependence.
61.	Thus we have seen, since the beginning of the year and since the last session of the General Assembly, the triumph of the peoples of Viet Nam, Kampuchea and Laos. The year 1975 therefore constitutes an historic landmark on the road to the general liberation for which the peoples of Latin America, Asia and Africa are striving.
62.	The last quarter of the century will witness the establishment of a process of economic and political liberation, a proliferation of victories in the anti- colonial struggle, which will embrace the full breadth of the Southern Hemisphere. Truly authentic regimes will be set up which are consonant with the real character of the peoples concerned, and which will lay aside those models which recent history has already proved inoperative in the modern world.
63.	It is therefore particularly heartening for the Government and people of my country, wedded as they are to the common revolutionary process, to share the same vision of the international situation as that held by more than 80 non-aligned countries.
64.	In another sphere, the Final Act of the Conference on Security and Co-operation in Europe signed at Helsinki confirms in traditional terms the consolidation of the process of detente between the great Powers, providing the old European continent with the peace and tranquility it has been denied for so long. It is significant that values such as non-intervention, guaranteed frontiers and free cultural exchange are reflected in this Agreement, which establishes the means for growing political understanding between East and West. Doubtless this will be followed by new steps in arms control and, it is to be hoped, will lead towards the as yet unattainable goal of general disarmament. However, the process of detente is progressing without embracing the third world. Our peoples are absorbing the major impact of the economic crisis since the industrial Powers are transferring the inflationary spiral to us; and, while in the world centers the areas of peace and security are being consolidated, the tensions generated by the interests of the superPowers are moving out into the less well-defined and more vulnerable zones in the developing countries.
65.	We have witnessed the continuation of a critical situation in the Middle East, in which the agreement between Egypt and Israel is a new element. The key to a future prompt solution obviously resides in the criteria recognized by this Organization for years in Security Council resolutions 242 (1967) and 338
(1973)	.	Those resolutions call for the total withdrawal of occupying forces from Arab territories to the 1967 borders and the legitimate recognition of the sovereign rights of the people of Palestine. These points are particularly urgent. Any mediation discounting these principles will only achieve precarious results. Therefore we will support any solution satisfying the interests of the parties directly concerned.
66.	We view with concern the crisis in a non-aligned country Cyprus, whose integrity and sovereignty must be preserved. General Assembly resolution 3212 (XXIX) and Security Council resolutions 365
(1974)	and 367 (1975) are instruments which govern the negotiations carried out by both communities under the auspices of the Secretary-General. My Government hopes that these negotiations will be successful. In this connexion my country is highly appreciative of the confidence placed in the Peruvian Ambassador, Mr. Javier Perez de Cuellar, who has been appointed the Secretary-General's Special Representative in Cyprus.
67.	In reiterating its full support to the struggle for freedom and against racism in Angola and all southern Africa, my Government warmly welcomes those peoples which have just achieved their independence in Cape Verde, Sao Tome and Principe, and Mozambique and welcomes them to this Organization. We also express our satisfaction that Papua New Guinea and the Comoro Islands have achieved independence.
68.	Peru deplores the resurgence of colonialist and racist practices in southern Africa. We have noted with concern that early independence for Angola may be thwarted and we expect concerted action in this Organization to facilitate self-determination of the Zimbabwean and Namibian peoples. We hope that the practice of apartheid in those Territories and in all of South Africa will soon be abolished.
69.	My Government points out this resurgence of colonialism with real concern, for in our own continent situations threatening independence also persist. We thus support with deep conviction the anti-colonial and nationalist causes of the people of Latin America and reaffirm our unconditional backing of our sister nation of Panama with regard to the enclave existing in its territory, while condemning the vestiges of colonialism in many parts of the continent. This support is not, nor has it ever been, a mere additional expression of views. The reform of the international system itself proposed by my country three years ago includes a direct challenge to colonialist attitudes, as well as systematic support for the currents of liberation in our country. The most tangible and influential aspects of this anti-colonial policy have been and continue to be the strengthening of sovereignty, the consolidation of practical machinery of control and the promotion of solidarity among our countries with regard to natural resources, which have traditionally been the object of colonial exploitation by transnational corporations and are now the source of Latin American hope for a new order once economic independence has been achieved. This is the perspective for the struggle and conviction that inspires our continent and it entails efforts for united action and will indicate new areas of co-operation among sister States.
70.	Despite the existence of a positive evolution in trends towards liberation, only today are we able to understand that, beyond the inefficient and rational administration of social factors, there exists a greater and more serious historical constant of systematic exploitation: women. The concern and civil backwardness which this exploitation implies has led to a growing awareness and resulted in the World Conference of the International Women's Year held this year at Mexico City. The principles and plan of action adopted there to promote true equality of women and their integration in the process of development cannot be isolated from the general evolution of contemporary political currents.
71.	On the contrary, those principles and goals, both politically and ethically, may generate trends towards liberation capable of breaking the standstill in the world situation. If the principles of equality and integration formally adopted by the women's Conference are truly implemented, mankind would be able to recover a new understanding of values which have been tenaciously repressed through violence and poverty. The quality of life that new generations will ask for will depend to a large extent upon the creativity, information and standards of behavior which doubtless involve liberated women, either individually or as a future factor of history.
72.	After the appearance of anti-hegemonic policies in various regimes of South-East Asia, and shortly after the victory of liberation movements in IndoChina, vast oceanic areas have become involved in movements and competition of a military nature. The reorganization of military bases as a consequence of changes in the strategic interests of the superPowers, undermines the Declaration of the Indian Ocean as a Zone of Peace [resolution 2832 (XXVI)] and also threatens the imminent creation of a zone of peace and co-operation in the South Pacific, as was agreed at the Conference of Ministers for Foreign Affairs of Non-Aligned Countries held in the capital of my country from 25 to 30 August 1975.
73.	The establishment of zones of peace has been until now the only option left to the third world in seeking to protect itself from the soaring nuclear escalation and the consequent military imbalance which continues to prevail without any possible or feasible means of control.
74.	Last May there was an opportunity to evaluate the first five years of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons [resolution 2373 (XXII), annex]. This was a treaty which, since its opening for signature, had been hailed as an undeniable symbol of the march of mankind toward that other great United Nations cause: disarmament.
75.	However, the collective renunciation of nuclear weapons made by the developing countries, and the simultaneous guarantee of a maintenance of a monopoly of atomic weapons on the part of the great Powers, was based on a clear and expressed counter-commitment, that is to say the implementation of a process of general disarmament which would guarantee security for all. The facts are not encouraging. Not only has there not been a single effective step toward general disarmament, and even less toward nuclear disarmament, but rather the growth of arsenals and the increasing sophistication of instruments of mass destruction have been accompanied with close co-ordination between the super-Powers by an audacious disarmament rhetoric which attempts to convince world opinion that control measures reached thus far have been substantive and not simply psychological.
76.	They would have us believe that measures as vague as the prohibition of biological and meteorological weapons, as well as the peaceful uses of the sea-bed and outer space, compensate For the continuation of nuclear weapons testing and the undeniable vertical proliferation of nuclear armaments. In the face of this fact, the moral obligation of non-nuclear countries deriving from the non-proliferation Treaty is seriously at stake.
77.	It is in view of the sinister disarmament situation described above that developing countries are seeking a way to break the state-mate of the nuclear status quo.
78.	Peru's presence in the Conference of the Committee on Disarmament is a recent event, and it demonstrates our deep and genuine desire to divert the resources devoted to the tools of war to the pressing requirements required to develop peoples; at the same time we must not forsake a complex evaluation of this question. We must seek new opportunities to obtain the implementation of the principles of general and complete disarmament, long ago expressed in this body. We therefore hope that it will be possible to convene a world disarmament conference soon and with universal participation, and that it will be able to work effectively, transforming the present loosely- knit semi-rhetorical exercise into a political negotiation, capable of committing all parties to a cause in which there can be no losers. In order to reach that desired goal of true negotiation, my Government, together with the non-aligned countries, would look favorably upon the early convening of a special session of the General Assembly on disarmament.
79.	This request of ours stems from the realistic conviction that the struggle against the arms race in Latin America does exist. Implementing an initiative of the Government of Peru on the limitation of the acquisition of weapons among States members of the Andean Group is a reality. It has left the stage of pure concepts and principles and is now moving towards a more difficult but more fruitful stage, in which problems and implementation are being spell out. With the meetings already held in Lima and in Santiago and those scheduled for the future, it will be possible to move away from the momentary influence of an artificial climate of warmongering and tension, in which these interests combine with profit-
seeking transnational corporations connected with the media and the weapons industry.
80.	Just as the results of the recent special session on development must lead to the establishment of a new and more just international economic order so will the disarmament meeting which we advocate contribute to the democratization of international political relations. Both trends would converge in the achievement of collective security at the world level, solidly based upon an equitable economic redistribution and mutual political tolerance, as required by the next phase of international construction.
81.	It is clear that, just as security is the essence of the concern of developed Powers and the key to their deepest political process, in the third world the priority goal of Governments is solidarity and reciprocal co-operation in order to guarantee economic independence. Importance has naturally been attached to the Helsinki Conference as it responds to the central interest of the developed world while, at the same time, the Conference of Ministers for Foreign Affairs of Non-Aligned Countries, held at Lima, is a clear demonstration of the historic trend towards unity and a common economic strategy shared by countries of the third world. These two Conferences, these two trends, would seem to diverge because the areas in which they coincide are still minimal and therefore the possibility for rapprochement between these two areas, which still define their own interests with their backs to one another, is also minimal.
82.	Until the circumstances or the institutions can be directed to seek, preferably, areas of convergence, these two trends may evolve, dangerously, in opposite directions. Future negotiations, therefore, must be focused upon the most pressing problems with regard to unity and the global perspective, that is to say, they must encompass development as well as disarmament, because world security and historical evolution of mankind is involved in both dimensions.
83.	Therefore, drawing from the spirit of the Helsinki and Lima Conferences we must strive to solve problems relating to security and to development so that they may be dealt with in two great world conferences, one on disarmament and one, which we propose, and we invite the Assembly to consider, would be devoted to the just restructuring of the economic and social order of relations among States.
84.	We firmly believe that we shall thus be taking fundamental steps to establish a new world coexistence on the basis of the link between three great problems affecting mankind: peace, security and development. The relationship between security and development is most obvious, since the greater expenditure on weapons, in the name of apparent security, the more the world becomes insecure. Fewer resources are devoted to the development of mankind and the satisfaction of the needs of peoples, and thus situations of poverty, oppression and injustice, generating insecurity for all, are maintained and even aggravated.
85.	The progress made at the last session of the Third United Nations Conference on the Law of the Sea, at Geneva earlier this year, has led to increased recognition of the sovereign rights of coastal States within zones of national jurisdiction not exceeding 200 miles with the exception of continental shelves extending beyond that distance, and without prejudice to the interests of all States in international communications. At the same time, the foundations have been laid for the establishment of an international authority charged with the administration of the area of the seabed beyond the limits of national jurisdiction, as the common heritage of mankind.
86.	My country, together with others of the region, has sustained in a firm and worthy manner for over a quarter of a century the thesis that the defence of sovereignty and jurisdiction over the sea, its soil and subsoil up to 200 miles is a substantive element of the new legal order and the recognition of a cause which is inexorably linked to the security, welfare and development of peoples.
87.	Nevertheless, we can see on the part of some Powers an effort to weaken the nature of national jurisdiction and the areas over which it would extend and at the same time to favor the unrestricted exploitation of the international area, in order to allow those selfsame Powers to maintain their economic, political and military hegemony.
88.	However, due to the action of the third world countries, a new international law of the sea is being formulated which will regulate the use and exploitation of the seas and contribute to the promotion of development and security of peoples as inseparable requirements and conditions for justice and peace among nations.
89.	It is not untimely now to point out how deeply our people shares this Organization's mission of peace. Peru has until very recently contributed troops to the United Nations Emergency Force in the Middle East, and has always lent its support to all United Nations efforts. May I take this occasion to pay a heartfelt tribute to those soldiers from my country who unselfishly spilled their blood upon the hot sands of the Sinai desert in the cause of maintaining peace in that region. My country today confirms its boundless commitment to the principles of the Charter, adopted at San Francisco, which are still at the heart of this already mature institution. In this perspective, it is fitting to consider the reforms of the organs of the United Nations which are appropriate to this new phase, including voting reforms, in order to ensure an effective democratization of political decision-making at the international level, particularly in the Security Council and with regard to the anachronistic institution of the veto.
90.	What we seek and to this the vast majority of countries which comprise the non-aligned movement are devoted is that the discussions which are central to mankind, in order to define the parameters of its immediate future, should genuinely take place in this body; that a scheme for total disarmament be negotiated at last; that practical stages and areas of agreement will be reached so that the integrated development of the third world can complement and vitalize the new international economic order; that the establishment of standards of behavior for transnational corporations be speed up; and that problems which impede the final liberation of women and the related problems of the future quality of life should be moved from the desks of academia and brought here before the United Nations.
91.	Within this context, the agreements reached at the meetings of the ministers of the non-aligned countries acquire special significance because they are designed to ensure that the legitimate aspirations and postulates of the third world reach world public opinion without being distorted. It is therefore imperative to reorganize the present mass media channels, which are the heritage of an antiquated colonial system, so that they will not be an obstacle to the free and truthful flow of information among the developing countries, and thus ensure that understanding and cooperation among the peoples of the world will not suffer.
92.	The concerns which I have summarized on the international situation indicate, as I am sure is apparent, a certain optimism which would seem difficult to reconcile with the overburdened agenda of this session.
93.	Our vision is optimistic because it is born of the intimate experience of a vast complex of problems at the national level. The Revolutionary Government of Peru is preparing to deepen and consolidate, in this great second phase, under the guidance of its President, General Francisco Morales Bermudez, the initial achievements of the early years of the Peruvian revolution.
94.	Peru is a country in which Government and people are united in an endless struggle against the structural situation of under-development. It is a country in revolution which has raised the banners of social justice and independent, self-sustained development. Our revolution, with the renewed urgency of its ideological postulates, is inscribed within a Latin American, third world and non-aligned context, which defines the meaning and direction of our foreign policy.
95.	I would reiterate what I confirmed two weeks ago in this very Hall: the Peruvian revolution of today is the same as that which began to make history in my country on 3 October 1968. It is the same because it holds the same titles to revolutionary legitimacy: a yearning for liberty and justice and for the structural changes which will bring about a new Peruvian society predicated on the principle of social democracy based on full participation, the bases of which are a political system of participation for the Peruvian people, a pluralistic economic system with a priority sector of social property; and a social system founded on moral conduct and values which underscore justice, liberty, solidarity, creativity and respect for the dignity of the human being.
96.	Just as the change in Peru's internal structure has been deep-rooted in order that its people may share in the process and benefits of change, the future international order must be structured in such a way that the interests of the third world can be promoted through its effective presence and participation in the decisions and implementation measures which will make it endure.