Mr. President, it is significant and encouraging that we have an outstanding African personality presiding over our debates, in well-deserved recognition of the honourable and consistent role that has been played on the international scene by his country, the United Republic of Tanzania.
3.	We recognize, too, the dedication the Secretary- General has shown, and the great effort he has made in carrying out the functions of his position against the backdrop of the controversial happenings of our times.
4.	I have said on another occasion that in this world of inequalities and contrasts, North-South and East-West tensions and pressures are crucifying a substantial portion of mankind.
5.	In 1973, the disorder of the world economy culminated dramatically in the conflicts marking the availability and real price of hydrocarbons, which in turn had a direct or indirect effect on that long-standing disorder by giving rise to generalized energy problems and thereby affecting the well-being, the development prospects, the standard of living and even the very survival of nations.
6.	For 7,000 years peoples have inhabited this earth, and throughout our existence our history has been marked by the search for a common denominator that would identify, bind and unite us all.
7.	Our present circumstances seem to indicate that that unifying element, in connexion with which all of us have a responsibility, may well be the lack of energy sources.
8.	The energy crisis exists; it is an actual fact. We are witnesses to an obligatory transition period in the world energy situation. We can be authors of that change, and channel it, or we can be simple spectators, and become its victims.
9.	Unless we make a timely effort to define our reality as the problem it is, the transition could become a conflagration, perhaps the most violent in all history.
10.	Beginning during the final third of this twentieth century, it is a transformation whose duration, scope and consequences have yet to make themselves known. As a result, the cost of adjusting our economy, science, techniques and political determination will be high.
11.	Let us be fully conscious of this in order to under-stand what is happening. Within a few decades, the age of petroleum as a major basic fuel will come to an end. We have reached a watershed between two different eras in the life of mankind.
12.	We are the protagonists in that mutation process, which involves both danger and opportunity. That is why we speak of crisis, and not yet of catastrophe.
13.	It may be the beginning of a new era. It may be the end of them all.
14.	If we are to set our course, find the rhythm of our stroke and move ahead, the truly important thing is to seek not culprits, but responsible men; not to accuse, but to explain; not to vanquish, but to convince.
15.	Let us develop a consciousness that is based on rational thought, the gift that is ours alone among all earth's species. Of them all, we are the only beings capable of programming and premeditating our actions. Let us use those abilities to overcome instincts, fear and mistrust, and turn them into determination and reason.
16.	Paradoxically, advances in knowledge and ways of doing things are sometimes dehumanizing and do not always contribute to civilization. Zones or groups appear in which simple realities become vital ones, and even the powerful countries run the risk of relapsing into under-development.
17.	Energy has now enabled us to travel at supersonic speeds and to receive communications at the speed of light.
18.	Thus, we have shortened distances and accelerated time; but also, where many people today are concerned, we have halted the course of historical time and broadened social gaps. There is a dramatic dualism between our conquering space and reaching other planets and the continued existence, on our own, of stone-age hunger and insecurity; on the one hand, we see what we can be and, on the other, what we really are. Overcoming that dualism is a basic imperative of justice, and will be feasible if we prove ourselves capable of making reasonable use of the opportunity offered us by the existence of a non-renewable resource while it still lasts.
19.	Let us base our relations on what we have in common, and use the differences among us to enrich our analysis. Let us make those relations lasting by basing them on mutual benefit and reciprocal respect. Let us shape our behaviour to the circumstances involved. We cannot extend equal treatment to those who are in unequal conditions. Let us treat others as we would be treated ourselves.
20.	No country on earth is entirely self-sufficient. We all have need of the others.
21.	The surplus earnings of wealthy, industrialized or petroleum-producing countries become the deficits of the weaker economies, and sooner and later have a backlash and a damaging effect on their own cause.
22.	We may distinguish five basic types of conditions as a means of grouping the different countries: those which are large-scale producers and at the same time exporters of petroleum, almost all of them developing nations; those which are producers and importers and have attained a high or medium level of economic development that provides them with the resources they must have to cover their remaining needs, in spite of price rises; those with a relatively low level of development which produce but must also import, and to do so confront the difficulties involved in acquiring foreign petroleum without cancelling economic and social projects of national benefit; those which are importers only, have attained high or medium levels of development and have been able to adjust their growth to their energy needs; and those which are not only exclusively importers but are also under-developed, and must therefore make enormous sacrifices, even where essential national projects are involved, to obtain the petroleum and petroleum derivatives they need.
23.	From another point of view, it should also be remembered that the industrialized, market-economy countries absorb 60 per cent of all the energy produced in the world. With less than one fifth of the world's population, they consume two out of every three barrels of petroleum produced.
24.	In that context, we might ask ourselves the following questions: How much longer will we be able to keep the world moving at its present rate with our available sources of energy? At what cost? To what end? And for whose benefit? How and when can we and must we find substitutes for our present sources of energy?
25.	I prefer not to mention the ideological or political aspects which would add to the complexity of approaches to the problem. I want to speak only of the facts, to say things that have been said before—things that, in one way or another, everyone thinks or knows. I trust I shall be saying nothing new. It would be grave indeed if at this point in the crisis there were still something new to be said.
26.	We must race against time to find new solutions before our present sources run out. Let us place a proper value on what we have, before we lose it.
27.	An extravagant and wasteful use of petroleum was made in the decades when its price was low; it was only when prices were raised in order to revalue this resource that efforts to develop alternate sources began For the most part, it has been used as a fuel. That period will be branded with the stigma of folly, for having burned petroleum that could have been turned into food-stuffs and petrochemical products of prodigious benefit to the whole of mankind.
28.	We have turned the petroleum industry into a gigantic mechanism for producing profits and tax revenue to meet urgent short-term needs.
29.	We had forgotten the importance of the future, which in recent years has become a drastic present! What is in short supply becomes expensive. What then, is the price of a commodity whose supply is running out? What is the price of that which no longer exists?
30.	The countries that produce petroleum—a non-renewable resource and one that for many countries represents the sole resource provided them by nature- want to invest in ways that will permanently ensure their future. Now organized, they are for the first time successfully defending and revaluing a raw material, They attribute the escalation of prices to monetary and trade disorders and to the ensuing devaluation of foreign exchange, and refuse to discuss oil prices alone, outside the context of a complete new international order.
31.	The industrialized countries feel they are being victimized by the petroleum-producing countries, which they accuse of being responsible for inflation and recession. Not yet fully organized themselves, and as consumers par excellence, they collectively follow a system of circumstantial and therefore fleeting rationalization; they draft unilateral policies designed to reduce their dependence and consumerism, and they insist on discussing the price of crude oil exclusively without considering other questions of vital importance to all.
32.	The poor countries—those without oil, dependent, coerced and sometimes distressed; those without the ability of the wealthy countries to transfer the impact of oil prices to their exports, since these consist solely of under-priced raw materials—are forced to import everything from energy to inflation and recession. They see with despair that, despite the noble and singular, albeit insufficient, efforts of the organized petroleum-producing countries, petrodollars continue to be recycled in the powerful economies.
33.	The developing world's joint strategy for enhancing the value of all its raw materials runs the risk of being divided since, to date, although oil has itself been revalued this has not served to trigger a proper revaluation of other raw materials. We must take care to preserve the unity that was achieved with such difficulty.
34.	Hydrocarbon prices cannot be considered a matter for bargaining and for a testing of strength between producers and consumers, particularly when their respective positions are made more extreme by the intervention of other, generally transnational structures, many of which no longer recognize any home country and consequently acknowledge neither social obligations nor political solidarity. Let us reconcile conscience and national values with the interests of fertile and harmonious internationalism.
35.	Conflicts of interests among countries must be resolved not through the annihilation but rather through the dialectical integration of such opposing interests.
36.	What is not foreseen becomes a problem. Problems that are not solved accumulate, and accumulated problems discourage evolution and foreclose possibilities of development.
37.	In order to avoid being overtaken by events, and as a means of facing the challenges that clearly loom before us, we must not wait until crisis compels us to take hasty, piecemeal decisions and then find ourselves bound to those that outweigh the rest by reason of the force, and not the right, they represent.
38.	Men are dying today. Let us not offer remedies for tomorrow. In the face of harsh reality, let us not propose idealized stoicism; in the face of true but difficult roads, artificial, dead-end labyrinths; in the face of concrete obstacles, would-be short cuts; in the face of hard-tip-overcome lethargy, ephemeral and selfish solutions; in the face of sound arguments, threats and lies; in the face of the power of intelligence, the brute force of arms; nor, in the face of problems shared by all, partial, bilateral or bloc solutions. We would make little progress if we allowed ourselves to be caught up in the illusory reflections of such a mirror game.
39.	It would be inexcusable if, in full knowledge of the trends and their implications, we were to fail to take decisions leading to appropriate solutions that will keep the threat of a bitter and conflict-ridden future from becoming an irreparable present.
40.	We cannot openly sustain high expectations while concealing evil intentions, for to- do so would be to offend justice with irrational acts that would abolish hope and dignity for many millions of human beings.
41.	On the basis of those premises, we fully identify with the countries that are struggling to revalue their raw materials. We share the interests of the petroleum- producing countries, but we also realize that it is essential to dismantle a bogged-down system that works to the detriment of all. We are irrevocably pledged to the principles of self-determination, non-intervention, the peaceful solution of controversies, the economic rights and duties of nations, and solidarity, which are the guidelines of our international conduct. That is why we want to cut this Gordian knot.
42.	We know that among individuals, as among nations, respect for the rights of others is peace, just as we also know that on occasion we must take on new responsibilities so that law, respect and active peace will again come to the fore. The time has come to make renewed progress in establishing the norms and regulations of international law, which must no longer be merely public law but must acquire an authentically social nature.
43.	My country, which long ago affirmed the nation's primary ownership of its land and subsoil, a principle that is embodied in our Constitution, was in 1938 the first country to nationalize its oil industry as part of its decolonization process. Today, an important potential producer of hydrocarbons, it desires solidarity with all the nations of the world, and particularly with those which are struggling for their freedom and are most needy and most deserving.
44.	We are prepared to back these words with deeds by assuming both normative and operative obligations in efforts to bring about the advent of a new, more equitable and better-balanced world order.
45.	With all due modesty as regards our situation and understanding, we would like to offer the following considerations.
46.	The first problem, in the presence of so many protagonists with opposing interests, undefined policies, unresolved claims, accumulated resentment and articulated reproaches, is how to pose the problem without giving rise to suspicions of partiality, manipulation or complicity.
47.	Defining the problem constitutes a substantial part of the solution. Nevertheless, what I am about to say is so simple that I confess it may appear, in view of the controversial situation in which we find ourselves, to be mere romantic ingenuousness.
48.	Energy sources are the shared responsibility of all mankind. Energy sources must not be the privilege of the powerful. All abundance is relative. Such sources have a limit, and will come to an end. Moreover, they must not be used as a disturbing element to offset the insecurity of those who have no other means of ensuring their legitimate survival and self-determination.
49.	We want to bridge the gap between extremes by making present-day petroleum supply, demand and price structures compatible with the alternatives we seek for the future.
50.	The order that must come about—and soon—can come either as the result of the participation of sovereign nations, of their convictions and their free will, or be violently imposed by the most powerful of those nations. And it is not impossible that it may come as the result of a senseless holocaust, which, in pointless emulation of the punishment of Sisyphus, who was doomed never to finish his task, would nullify what it seeks to gain, and, to our eternal shame, would again loose the horsemen of the apocalypse—this time, how-ever, riding the unleashed energy of millions of horsepower.
51.	That is the dilemma before us and the reason for the proposal I am making here today.
52.	The United Nations is the only rational and institutional means we have for combating political and economic hegemonies. Only here is it possible for sovereign nations to deal with one another on an equal legal and moral footing; only in this manner will we together be able to settle controversies and to banish abuses and excessive power, so as to develop within a framework of justice rules that, once approved by the majority, will be binding on all for the achievement of well-reasoned and effective solutions.
53.	But this forum is criticized as if it had sprung up by spontaneous generation. It is said that it is too bureaucratic, that it is a frustrating quagmire, or that it is excessively politicized, that it has become an instrument for the exercise of the veto of the big Powers, or for misuse by the majority made up by the weaker nations.
54.	Be that as it may, it is our own creation—the best we have been able to devise. If we do not agree on its usefulness, let us change it, but let us not invalidate it.
55.	We propose a formula of teamwork, aimed not at pretence or at intervention, but at harmonious participation that will integrate and amplify isolated efforts.
56.	The subject of energy has attracted and occupied the attention of this Organization for several years past. Hydrocarbons—as a catalysing element of the economic crisis—have been a recurring theme of the debates, which have revealed varying interests and opinions, good ideas and mistaken ones, and agreement and disagreement cutting across each other in all directions whenever the subject of energy comes up.
57.	To mention all the reports and resolutions that have been produced at different levels would take far too long. There are those who persist in thinking of energy matters in terms of the energy source involved; to split up the question in this way into separate parts is illogical and incompatible with the interdependent nature and magnitude of the problems we face today.
58.	On what objective criterion could the treatment of nuclear energy for peaceful purposes be based, if we failed to take the production of hydrocarbons into account? Would a conference whose purpose was the study of new and renewable energy sources make sense to us if it excluded consideration of older conventional sources? Would it not be more consistent to co-ordinate all energy matters within one over-all policy, while respecting the special characteristics of each energy source?
59.	Neither does it seem justified to allow the shortcomings and problems left over from the past, or the antagonisms of the present, to lead us to classify in separate, watertight compartments matters that are inseparably linked together.
60.	We want to make use of what is usable, capitalizing on experience and on what we learn from daily life, in order to draw up a common programme for the development and equitable distribution of energy resources, both existing and potential. Therefore, research should be directed towards optimizing energy production and productivity, so as not to base solutions on reserves, but rather on the available potential for generating resources that are indeed renewable and for the common good.
61.	We face what appear to be fundamental problems that are really questions of form and method—of a method for reconciling divergent interests and clarifying the political will of the international community, each one of whose members must claim its rights and agree on and carry out its mission.
62.	We are hampered in this endeavour, on the one hand, by the inability to put together in a coherent way the different approaches to the energy problem, the most vital of all for ensuring the continuity of progress; and, on the other hand, by the difficulty of linking them to a much vaster and more complex whole: a new world economic order.
63.	Resolving this contradiction means deciding not only what to do, but how to do it; it means dealing simultaneously with both aspects—the new international strategy for development and the means of implementing it.
64.	Were we to do otherwise, we would be dissociating what we want from what we do; we would be opposing principles to norms, norms to procedures, and procedures to creative action. We would be running the perilous risk of getting bogged down, of perpetuating the unjust contrasts between scarcity and extravagance, between humiliating backwardness and dazzling progress, between a sterile existence and a decent life.
65.	We already have economic norms and provisions that are generally accepted by States. By basing our efforts on these norms, and thereby giving them substance, it will be possible to design an all-encompassing and balanced joint development strategy that would be expressed in legal form and based on international law. As at Bretton Woods we were able to establish an orderly structure for handling monetary and reconstruction matters, so today we could, in this now fully instituted forum, establish a new and more orderly structure for handling energy and revitalization. Because of all this, I am in a position to assure you that a general debate on this subject is not only essential, but possible.
66.	I therefore propose the adoption of a world energy plan that covers all nations, both the haves and the have-nots, one that is binding on all and that has as its fundamental objective the assurance of an orderly, progressive, integrated and just transition from one age of man's history to the next.
67.	The plan must contain programmes designed to accomplish the following goals. It must guarantee the full and permanent sovereignty of each nation over its own natural resources. It must rationalize the exploration, production, distribution, consumption and conservation of present-day sources of energy, particularly hydrocarbons, by providing financial and technical assistance. It must ensure and increase the systematic exploitation of potential reserves of all types, both traditional and non-conventional, that have not yet been exploited owing to lack of financing or applied research, including the sun that heats our tropics and burns so many deserts ; the water that runs uselessly down so many mountainsides, eroding the soil along its path; the disregarded heat within our earth; the unused energy of the wind, and that of the sea, of the atom and of life itself. It must make it possible for all nations to draft energy plans that are compatible with world policy, so as to ensure the consistency and effectiveness of objectives, content and instruments. It must devise measures for the promotion in developing countries of the formation and integration of auxiliary industries in the energy field, and especially of capital goods in that field. It must establish a short-term system, to be put into effect immediately, for resolving the problems of developing countries that import petroleum, a system which would guarantee supply and the honouring of contracts, stop speculation, provide for compensation for price increases, and even ensure considerate treatment on the part of the exporting countries. It must set up financing and development funds, which could be made up of proportional and equitable contributions from the developed consumer countries and from producer and exporter countries, in order to meet both the long-term objectives and the urgent needs of the underdeveloped oil-importing countries. It must institute a system for disseminating and transferring technologies, together with their respective training programmes, that would include a world-wide registry of advances and follow- up in energy research and experimentation. It must support the establishment of an international energy institute. This proposal, which coincides completely with the ideas expressed here, has already been made by the Secretary-General of this Organization, whom I wish to thank for his guidance in this regard.
68.	To carry forward this world energy plan, I propose the establishment of a working group, composed of representatives of the petroleum-producing countries, of industrialized countries, both capitalist and socialist, and of developing petroleum-importing countries, which would prepare the documents and pertinent specific proposals.
69.	In only 21 years we shall have reached the horizon of the year 2000; by then the babies who are born today will be grown men and women. Then, the only substitute for petroleum will still be the petroleum that remains to be discovered; it will not be until the dawn of the twenty-first century that other energy sources will begin to be of real service to us. Hence the imperative need to rationalize the use of hydrocarbons and the purposes they serve.
70.	For all this to come about we shall have to apply our greatest efforts to the task, giving of our best in good faith and with intellectual honesty, imagination, constancy and determination.
71.	May the union of our diversity give rise to the conditions for universal peace. May it be a productive peace, bringing to all the opportunity to live and earn the right to lasting happiness for ourselves and for all our children.
72.	The challenge is for all of us, because we are all part of the problem, and therefore we are all part of the solution as well.
73.	That is Mexico's proposal.


Sir, it gives me great pleasure to congratulate you on your unanimous election to the high office of President of the thirty-fourth session of the General Assembly. Your election not only represents a well-deserved tribute to you personally, but also does honour to the United Republic of Tanzania and its enlightened leader, President Julius Nyerere, and, even more, to the African continent, which has found in you a worthy representative. Your long experience in international affairs and the prestige that your country and you enjoy in the world community will assist you in successfully conducting the deliberations and work of this very important session. I cannot but refer to the close ties between Tanzania and Cyprus and the friendship between our great leader, the late President Makarios—as well as myself—and President Nyerere.
3.	I should like to pay a tribute also to your predecessor, Mr. Lie'vano of Colombia, for the excellent manner in which he successfully conducted the work of the thirty-third session of our Assembly.
4.	It is also my pleasant duty to express my high regard and appreciation for the contribution of the Secretary-General, Mr. Kurt Waldheim, whose continued determination to make the United Nations an effective instrument for international co-operation and for the establishment of lasting peace and security has earned him the support and gratitude of all Members.
5.	I also wish to extend a warm welcome to Saint Lucia, a fellow Commonwealth country, which we had the pleasure of welcoming earlier this year the Meeting of Heads of Government of Commonwealth Countries at Lusaka.
6.	The agenda that is before the General Assembly at this session includes many issues of major concern to the international community.
7.	The present session opens against the grim back-ground of increasing political and economic tensions and deepening crises which could aggravate the frustrations and fears of mankind for its future. The most important and fundamental objectives—namely, the maintenance of international peace and security through this Organization, and the establishment of a new international economic order—remain far from being achieved.
8.	In this context, I deem it necessary to state that Cyprus reiterates its position that in reviewing global problems or international conflicts we should act within the framework of the United Nations and its Charter. It is in this light that we consider the report of the Secretary-General a most significant document. Its review of world developments and its assessment of situations should be given full consideration and attention as a basic premise for discussions in the general debate. In the face of a sharply deteriorating world situation, the Secretary-General has rightly pointed out that:
"Most of the symptoms and problems
are ones which the United Nations, if effectively utilized as the working structure of the world community of the future, could be of unique assistance in solving	This is not a matter of abstract idealism but of practical self-interest. It is also a matter of urgency."
9.	The third-world countries in particular have amply reaffirmed and supported this premise during the Sixth Conference of Heads of State or Government of Non- Aligned Countries, held early last month in Havana. To my mind, that Conference symbolizes the genuine efforts of the third-world countries to restructure the world's political and economic order through the United Nations. With the great Powers still in a posture of nuclear antagonism, the increasing manifestations of insecurity and anarchy at the international level threaten the very foundations of human society. In this regard, the genuine efforts of the non-aligned countries to arrest these ominous trends assume a more important dimension. As is pointed out in the Secretary- General's report, the non-aligned movement is "a good example of this positive trend" [ibid.].
10.	No doubt it will take many more concerted efforts before we see the realization of a new international society. But we have come a long way from the time when the voice of the third world was unheard, unnoticed and unheeded.
11.	Whatever the developments, one cardinal truth remains unchanged; that recourse to the system of legal order and security prescribed by the Charter is a compelling necessity. To that end, determined steps must be taken to bring into operation the provisions in Chapter VII of the Charter for the effective implementation of the resolutions of the Security Council, thereby restoring the authority of the United Nations.
12.	In reference to the non-implementation of the Security Council resolutions, this year's report pointedly notes:
' 'What has not so far been adequately developed is a general and consistent support of the aims and activities of the United Nations as a whole, as a working model for a genuine world community. This is particularly obvious in the response, or lack of it, to many of the decisions of the Security Council."
13.	It is thus clear that mere condemnation of the state of affairs whereby the adoption, often unanimously, of resolutions of the General Assembly and the Security Council without their implementation will in fact have the effect of discrediting the Organization and of encouraging the party in default to continue its attitude of contemptuous disregard of such resolutions. Therefore my proposal of last year for the holding of a special session of the General Assembly to deal with this so vital issue alone1 is more pertinent than ever before. If the holding of a special session on the question of the implementation of the United Nations resolutions is not feasible for the time being, then at the very least serious consideration should be given to placing this issue on next year's agenda as a priority item. Cyprus is ready to co-operate with any other Member States which would agree with the proposal for the inclusion of this item in the agenda of the next session of the General Assembly. It is an item which is very much of concern to us in Cyprus, but it is evident that it is of much concern to others as well, and to the United Nations as a whole.
14.	It is a fundamental truth that this is a challenge that we have to face in our determination to make the United Nations a more effective instrument for international peace and co-operation. If this could be translated into practical action—and it is for the States Members of the United Nations to do so individually and collectively—it would provide the solution to nearly all the problems facing the world today, whether they be problems of international peace and security, problems of economic relations between States, problems of human rights or problems of international law. It is only through the faithful application in practice of the letter and the spirit of the Charter that the world can be made safer, more just and more peaceful than it is today. In its absence, the United Nations is left without the means for establishing the system of international security and order envisaged in the Charter and so indispensable for peace and survival in an organized world society. Therein lies the prime requirement for the creation of an atmosphere of trust and the key to the solution of many crucial problems and more particularly that of disarmament.
15.	The question of disarmament has become a universal problem of the gravest concern to the world. The escalating arms race lies at the very core of the problem. Notwithstanding long and assiduous efforts for disarmament in various committees and other forums for over 30 years, very little has been achieved. Meanwhile the antagonistic piling up of armaments has been escalating by leaps and bounds. Thus the arms expenditure, which in 1974 stood at $225 billion, in 1979 is expected to reach the figure of $400 billion and it will continue on an upward course.
16.	What has made the spiralling arms race intractable so far is that the world continues to operate under a momentum from the past on the outmoded concept of balance of power which, in a polarized world, has become the balance of weapons. The very effort towards such balance inevitably generates the arms race. A recent significant event has been the conclusion of the Treaty resulting from the second round of Strategic Arms Limitation Talks  between the two superpowers, and it is hoped that this event will lead the way to a subsequent stage whereby the regulated arms race will give way to genuine disarmament. It would, on the other hand, be misleading to simplify matters and be over-optimistic in the light of the realities with which the world continues to be faced. Partial agreements on disarmament are positive. They should not remain without a follow-up because unless and until general and complete disarmament is achieved the arms race in one form or another is bound to continue, threatening international peace and security and even the very survival of life on our planet. The goal has been and continues to be general and complete disarmament under effective international control.
17.	I now turn to the important issue of peace-keeping by the United Nations and wish to express our gratitude for the excellent contribution made over the years to the cause of peace in Cyprus by UNFICYP under the most difficult conditions. More particularly, I wish to take this opportunity to express our deep appreciation to the countries that are contributing to the peacekeeping operation in Cyprus either by contingents or materially. I also wish to say how impressed I am with the exemplary manner in which the officers and men of the various contingents are discharging their delicate duties. Finally, I wish to express our deep gratitude to the Secretary-General, Mr. Waldheim, and his collaborators, both in New York and in Nicosia for their constructive role in relation to the functioning of UNFICYP and for their efforts towards finding a just and viable solution to the Cyprus problem.
18.	I should be remiss however, if I were not to point out that peace-keeping operations, no matter how successful they are in containing a potentially explosive situation, cannot advance a just solution of problems, unless they are coupled with a tenacious peace-making effort on the basis and in pursuance of the relevant United Nations resolutions. The lack of parallel determined action to implement those resolutions would make peace on the basis of justice impossible. It would only have as a result a mere perpetuation of an unjust status quo.
19.	For quite a number of years now, the issue of the establishment of the new international economic order has been included in our agenda. A very considerable amount of the time of our deliberations at various levels is devoted to this very important issue, and justifiably so. There is no doubt that it deserves our full attention and serious concern. For if we are to succeed in getting out of the vicious circle of poverty and underdevelopment, we must first promote the establishment of a more just and equitable international economic order. The present system of international economic relations does not respond to the needs and requirements of the developing countries. It not only maintains the existing inequalities, but further aggravates the disadvantageous position of the developing countries and widens the gap that separates them from the developed industrial nations.
20.	The recognition by the United Nations of the necessity of restructuring economic relations on a more just and equitable basis is an encouraging sign. The acceptance by all interested parties of the United Nations as the most appropriate forum for the discussion and advancement of this crucial issue is also a promising development. Yet, despite our efforts and willingness to negotiate with the developed countries, there is much to be desired concerning the establishment of the new international economic order. No real progress has been achieved thus far. This is evidenced by the negligible results of the fifth session of UNCTAD, held in Manila this year. Instead, we have encountered setbacks and the signs of deterioration are increasing year by year. This problem needs attention and concerted action by all the countries of the world, rich or poor, because if the situation is left to deteriorate further, the consequences of such neglect will be unpredictable. The result could easily be international disaster. The dialogue which began with the developed countries must continue and we appeal to those countries to reconsider and readjust their negotiating positions, so that concrete results may be achieved in the shortest possible time.
21.	During the recently concluded eighth session of the Third United Nations Conference on the Law of the Sea, a positive step was taken through the decision of the Conference to approve a programme of work  for the conclusion of a convention on the law of the sea in the course of next year. Cyprus has always advocated the speedy conclusion of a comprehensive and universally acceptable convention which should include just and adequate provisions regarding the delimitation of the maritime zones between States with opposite or adjacent coasts, coupled with an effective system for the peaceful settlement of disputes. Once that convention is concluded and put into effect it will mark a major achievement in global co-operation.
22.	In dealing with the question of the advancement of respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms, I wish to emphasize our total commitment to this noble objective. Cyprus was among the first countries to become a party to the International Covenants on Human Rights and the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination. Cyprus is also a signatory to the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms.  We have all along held the view that the obligation to observe human rights is universal and that no deviation is permitted from this course, no matter what reasons are advanced to justify such deviation. A mere glance at the world scene is sufficient to convince us of the existing unsatisfactory state of affairs, as far as the protection of fundamental human rights is concerned. What is more deplorable is the fact that numerous decisions of various competent organs, such as the United Nations Commission on Human Rights, the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination and others remain unimplemented and the agonizing plea for the cessation of such violations goes unheeded.
23.	This is true in particular of the situation in my country, where Turkey, for the fifth year running, continues to trample upon every norm of international law and flagrantly to violate practically every basic human right of the Cypriot people. I take it that the world is by now aware of the verdict of the European Commission on Human Rights, made public on 31 August 1979, which found Turkey guilty of countless crimes perpetrated by its troops of invasion and occupation against the people of Cyprus. The official text of the report will soon be circulated to all Members of the United Nations. In contrast to the violations of all human rights in Cyprus by Turkey, and in an earnest desire not only to convince the world of our dedication to human rights and fundamental freedoms but also to prove our goodwill, I wish to repeat what I said in my statement before this Assembly last year. We agree to the setting up of a United Nations body to supervise the application of the highest standards of human rights and fundamental freedoms to all citizens of Cyprus and to report as appropriate to the Security Council or any other competent body. This proposal could easily form part of a solution to the Cyprus problem.
24.	With regard to Western Sahara, we maintain that this problem of decolonization requires a political solution in accordance with which, in view of the effort made towards re-establishing peace in the region, the Saharan people should be granted the right of self- determination and independence. Cyprus considers that the creation of the special committee established by the Organization of African Unity [OAU] at the sixteenth ordinary session of its Assembly of Heads of State and Government at Monrovia this year recently should provide a guarantee for the Saharan people's right to self-determination. We also welcome the recent agreement between the Republic of Mauritania and the Frente POLISARIO and Mauritania's withdrawal of its forces from Western Sahara territory, a praiseworthy act which points in the right direction.
25.	We in Cyprus are very distressed at the turn of events connected with the just solution of the Middle East problem. We firmly believe in a comprehensive settlement which would ensure the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people. We do not believe in partial agreements in this respect. Inasmuch as the Palestinian people constitute the crux of the Middle East question, there can be no real solution—and let us face it realistic-ally, laying aside questions of principle—without the participation of all the parties to the problem, particularly the Palestine Liberation Organization [PLO], which is the sole and legitimate representative of the Palestinian people. Such a solution, which, I repeat, cannot be reached in the absence of the PLO, must be based on the relevant United Nations resolutions and include the full withdrawal of Israeli troops from all the occupied Arab territories, as well as the attainment of the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people, including the sovereign right to establish their own independent State.
26.	Our Arab neighbours know very well that we in Cyprus have always been on their side defending the just Arab cause long before the events of 1974 brought to Cyprus the same injustice as the one inflicted on them. The fact is that the Middle East and Cyprus, in addition to being situated in close geographical proximity, are facing problems with many points in common. In both cases there has been aggression and occupation; in both cases refugee problems have been created and human rights have been grossly violated; in both cases there have been systematic attempts to create artificial borders and to alter the demographic composition of the areas by the mass importation and settlement in them of an alien population after the expulsion by force of the indigenous inhabitants; in both cases there is an attempt to consolidate the faits accomplis created by the invasion and by the violation of human rights.
27.	Cyprus has been following with grave concern the developments in Lebanon and strongly condemns the declaration of a separate "State" under the name of ' 'free Lebanon'' in the southern part of the country, as well as all acts of aggression against southern Lebanon, acts which threaten Lebanese independence and territorial integrity and which grossly violate basic human rights. We call for more decisive action by the United Nations to help the government of Lebanon to restore its sovereignty over the whole of its territory and safeguard the unity of the country.
28.	In observing the International Anti-Apartheid Year, which ended a few months ago, Cyprus joined those who are endeavouring to wipe out the scourge of apartheid, a crime against humanity and an affront to the conscience and dignity of mankind. Furthermore, Cyprus has on many occasions expressed its opposition to the policy of' 'bantustanization'' because we believe that such a policy is aimed at the institutionalization of the abhorrent policy of apartheid and the continuation of settler colonialism which impairs the territorial integrity of a country and is a mockery of self- determination.
29.	The case of Namibia, where the racist Pretoria regime persists in its illegal occupation 12 years after the termination of South Africa's Mandate over the Territory, is one of the most characteristic examples of the failure by the Security Council to proceed with drastic measures in accordance with the provisions of Chapter VII of the Charter in order to bring about the long overdue implementation of its mandatory decisions on Namibia. Indicative of the intention of the racist regime never to withdraw from Namibia, unless it is forced to do so through effective measures by the Security Council, is the fact that it has so far managed through various tactics seriously to undermine and impair the implementation of the plan of action approved earlier by the Security Council.
30.	We in Cyprus fully understand the plight of the people of Namibia who are suffering from the same evils of racism and violations of human rights practised by the forces of occupation as a matter of State policy. Cyprus will continue its consistent support for the just struggle of the Namibian people under the leadership of their national liberation movement, the South West Africa People's Organization [SWAP0], until the total liberation and independence of Namibia as a whole is achieved. In this respect, I wish to reiterate our opposition to and condemnation of South Africa's efforts to annex Walvis Bay, an integral part of Namibia, in clear violation of international law, the Charter of the United Nations and, particularly, Security Council resolution 385(1976).
31.	The lame attempt to solve the question of Zimbabwe through a so-called internal settlement meets with our total opposition, as with that of many other countries. We stand firmly in solidarity with the leaders of the Patriotic Front and the front-line States in the struggle for genuine majority rule and true independence for Zimbabwe.
32.	The recent proposals and ideas which emerged from the Meeting of Heads of Government of Commonwealth Countries at Lusaka and led to the Rhodesia Constitutional Conference have strengthened our hopes that prospects for a negotiated solution of the problem have not yet been exhausted. In the meantime, Cyprus will continue to observe strictly the sanctions imposed by the Security Council against the Salisbury regime. In our view, any relaxation of the sanctions will seriously impair and undermine the efforts for a peace based on justice.
33.	It would not be an exaggeration if I were to state that the problems of Namibia and Zimbabwe would have been solved long ago had the United Nations, and in particular the Security Council, acted with more determination against the racist and oppressive regimes of southern Africa, We find no justification for the seeming reluctance of the Security Council to proceed without any further delay to the imposition of the comprehensive sanctions provided under the Charter, particularly mandatory economic sanctions, against those menacing regimes.
34.	Cyprus stands firmly by the friendly people of Panama for the effective functioning of the Panama Canal, in accordance with the Treaties signed in 1977, and in this respect fully supports the effective exercise by Panama of its sovereignty over its entire national territory.
35.	I turn now to the grave problem with which my own country is confronted and which has been holding the attention of the United Nations for more than five years. The relevant United Nations resolutions provide the basis and the framework for the just and lasting solution of this problem; yet, five years later, those resolutions still remain contemptuously disregarded by Turkey. The occupation of 40 per cent of the territory of Cyprus by the Turkish army is still continuing; none of the 200,000 Greek Cypriot refugees have been allowed back to their homes; the 2,000 missing persons have not been traced and human rights continue to be grossly violated in the occupied areas and denied to the whole population of Cyprus.
36.	Moreover, systematic measures are being taken through the massive implantation of colonizers from Turkey and other measures, such as the introduction of Turkish currency in the occupied areas, the cancellation of all valid Cyprus passports in the hands of Turkish Cypriots, the grant of illegal land titles to Turkish Cypriots and to settlers from Turkey in the occupied areas, and other ominous acts—all constituting evidence that Turkey's aim is the consolidation of partition and, perhaps, the eventual annexation of the occupied part of Cyprus.
37.	In its essence, the Cyprus problem is a dispute between Turkey and the Republic of Cyprus, and not, as falsely portrayed by some, a difference between the communities in Cyprus. It is a question of invasion and occupation. The internal aspects of the Cyprus problem could easily be solved if that task were left to the Cypriots themselves to discuss and resolve without foreign presence and interference. We want Cyprus to become a State free from foreign troops, fully independent, territorially integral, sovereign, united, demilitarized and non-aligned.
38.	We have accepted federation—although in the past such a solution was considered by many constitutional experts as completely unacceptable for a small island like Cyprus. But when we speak of "federation", we mean true federation, a federation that would function properly and within which the right to move freely, the right of settlement and the right of property would be safeguarded and where human rights would be fully and uniformly applied and respected.
39.	What the other side apparently wants is not a federation but the creation of two separate States with separate borders, separate armies, separate treaty- making capacity and permits and visas to move from one region of such so-called federation to the other. Such "federation" would be tantamount to complete partition.
40.	We would have been entitled to refuse to negotiate until the occupation forces had been withdrawn. But we did not follow that line, and we repeatedly tried to negotiate in good faith, despite the presence of the foreign troops of occupation during these past five years. Despite the fact that the negotiations could not be free, as stipulated in the relevant United Nations resolutions, because of the continued occupation of 40 per cent of the territory of Cyprus and the other circumstances created by the invasion, we did what we could through negotiations with the Turkish Cypriot "leadership" to find some common ground for progress. And when one speaks of the Turkish Cypriot "leadership" let us not make any mistake about it: in fact, it means Ankara. The Turkish Cypriot leadership, primarily by reason of the presence of the army of occupation, is totally dependent on Ankara and reflects the views of the Turkish Government and the Turkish army rather than the views of the Turkish Cypriots, whose majority live discontentedly in conditions of misery and injustice in the occupied areas, completely dissatisfied with the present state of affairs and longing for a better tomorrow. No wonder, therefore, that no progress has been achieved.
41.	Yet, despite the bitter experience and fruitless efforts of the past five years, I agreed to meet with the Turkish Cypriot leader Mr. Denktas in the presence of the Secretary-General, Mr. Waldheim, on 18 and 19 May 1979. During that meeting, we reached an agreement with Mr. Denktas consisting of 10 points, which provide a sound basis for the negotiation of a just solution to the Cyprus problem. I shall not here go into speculation about why Mr. Denktas accepted that agreement. However, any doubts were removed when only a few days later the Turkish Cypriot leadership, backed by Turkey, employed all possible methods to undermine the agreement and frustrate the new efforts. Although the talks formally began on 15 June, they lasted for a few days only and the Turkish Cypriot leadership started putting pre-conditions for the continuation of the talks. Those pre-conditions, if accepted, would have amounted to recognizing partition as a final solution to the Cyprus problem.
42.	We continue to stand by the agreement of 19 May 1979, but we cannot accept any pre-conditions, conditions or misinterpretations. As I said before, we repeatedly chose the path of negotiations, although we would have been entitled not to do so. But we do not want negotiations for the sake of negotiations. The other side may want that, for obvious reasons. It would not be fair—and in fact it would be counterproductive—to carry out a fruitless dialogue for the sake of dialogue and as a way of deceiving world public opinion into thinking that something was being achieved when in fact no progress whatsoever was being made.
43.	The stumbling-block to meaningful negotiations is the lack of political will on Turkey's part to abandon its partitionist and expansionist policy—and I believe that that is being widely realized by now by all objective observers of the Cyprus problem. All our attempts throughout the last five years to find a just and lasting solution through negotiations have met the stone wall of Turkish intransigence. But if the opportunity arises for meaningful and substantive negotiations we shall not hesitate to go to the negotiating table again.
44.	It is with regret that I report again to the General Assembly this year that no progress has been made towards finding a peaceful and just solution to the Cyprus problem through the implementation of United Nations resolutions. Nevertheless, it is a source of satisfaction for us that at the Commonwealth Meeting in Lusaka and at the Sixth Conference of Heads of State or Government of Non-Aligned Countries in Havana the just cause of Cyprus received overwhelming support. We do not reject the method of intercommunal negotiations, but when there has been a deadlock for five years what do you expect a suffering people to do? To sit idle and wait? How can a people suffering for more than five years the devastating effects of foreign occupation be expected to remain idle and forgo its right to present its case to international forums—especially the United Nations—seeking the assistance of world public opinion and a remedy to its plight? That is why it is absolutely essential for us to continue without interruption to seek justice from the international community. We urgently draw the attention of the international community to the situation in Cyprus in view of the fact that for five years now the occupation with all the other consequences and we are entitled, I believe, to demand from the international community more specific action with a view to implementing the resolutions of the United Nations, which contain all the necessary elements for a just and lasting solution. I believe that we have a right to demand justice like the people of Zimbabwe, like the people of Namibia, like the people of Palestine. We ask that the international community become fully conscious not only of the great injustice perpetrated against Cyprus and its people but also of the fact that the situation in Cyprus is fraught with many dangers, dangers for Cyprus and beyond Cyprus, unless a solution is found in conformity with the resolutions of the United Nations.
45.	We have come once again to the General Assembly to ask in unequivocal terms for the speedy and effective implementation of the United Nations resolutions. In this respect, we believe that the time has come for the General Assembly to recommend to the Security Council the imposition of sanctions under Chapter VII of the Charter, so as to compel Turkey to comply with its obligations under the Charter and the resolutions of the United Nations. Although we have no illusions about the difficulties, due to political expediency, of securing sanctions, we strongly feel that five years are more than enough for a State Member of the United Nations to ignore with impunity the verdict of this Organization. If concrete action is not taken by the United Nations, it is the United Nations which will fail, and the faith of humanity in the Organization will be seriously shaken at a time when we all want it to become an effective instrument for international peace and security.
46.	I strongly believe that the United Nations can do more. Some years ago, a representative international conference under the auspices of the United Nations was proposed by the Soviet Union to deal with the problem of Cyprus and assist in finding a solution in conformity with the United Nations resolutions. We reiterate our acceptance of this proposal because we believe that it has much merit and we hope that the General Assembly will take a decision for the holding of such a conference, which we believe can prove very constructive in tackling the problem of Cyprus.
47.	We also believe that the General Assembly or the Security Council should appoint a committee from among their members to co-operate with the Secretary- General towards the finding of a just and lasting solution to the Cyprus problem on the basis of the relevant United Nations resolutions. The composition and the terms of reference of such a committee should be decided by the General Assembly or the Security Council.
48.	Moreover, we are willing and ready to consider any other effective means which would make possible a just and lasting solution on the basis of the United Nations resolutions. As everyone knows it is Ankara which calls the tune for the Turkish Cypriot leadership. We have over and over again proved our goodwill. We fully accept the agreement of 19 May 1979. I have already mentioned what we are prepared to do in connexion with the safeguarding of the human rights of all citizens of Cyprus. And I repeat my proposal for the complete disarmament and demilitarization of the Republic of Cyprus with the presence only of an international police force for as long as necessary to strengthen, if it is necessary, the sense of security of all Cypriots. This proposal was endorsed by the non- aligned countries in the Declarations of Belgrade" and Havana.  The withdrawal from Cyprus of all troops and the total disarmament of all armed forces in the Republic will in itself pave the way towards a united country and a united people. Without the unity of the country, the unity of the people and the unity of the economy, Cyprus cannot survive as an independent State. Any kind of division is artificial and contrary to the interests of all Cypriots. That is why we on our part shall never accept any divisive arrangement, whatever its title or whatever its terminology. If the foreign intervention and interference cease, Cyprus can become a happy homeland for all its citizens—Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots alike. And when I say this before this body, I am absolutely certain that at this moment I am expressing the views, not only of the Greek Cypriots, but also of the vast majority of the Turkish Cypriots.
49.	I have given you today's position with regard to the Cyprus problem. What is before this Assembly is the cessation of occupation of a large part of Cyprus by the Turkish armed forces and the implementation of the United Nations resolutions in all their aspects. The United Nations must do its utmost to ensure for Cyprus the basic right to which every State, every Member of the United Nations, is entitled and first and foremost the cessation of foreign occupation. The Charter provides the way and it is our fervent appeal that all peace- loving countries in the world will help us to this end. We appeal to all States Members of this Organization to help Cyprus safeguard its sovereignty, independence, territorial integrity, unity and non-alignment. Today marks the nineteenth anniversary of the independence of Cyprus. But the very survival of Cyprus is at stake. We want to see a completely free and independent Cyprus. We want to create a safer future for our children. We want to create such conditions in Cyprus where Greek and Turkish Cypriots will be able to work and live and prosper together. We sincerely want to contribute most positively to the re-establishment of stability and peace in our sensitive and highly explosive area. Help us to bring happiness and hope to all the people of Cyprus. Help us to put an end to this untold tragedy which Cyprus and its people have been going through for the last five years. Help us restore the unity of the country and the unity of the people, for that is where happiness and prosperity for all Cypriots lie. Help us restore justice; help us restore freedom; help us to do away with the human agony and drama.
50.	How can anyone, at this particular moment, forget the agony of the families and dependants of the 2,000 missing persons, who for five years now have not been in a position to know what has happened to their beloved ones? I appeal to all to join in bringing influence to bear on Turkey and the Turkish Cypriot leadership to honour the agreement on missing persons of 19 May, an agreement that was concluded in the presence of the Secretary-General and announced by him. Is the aggressor really so inhuman as to refuse, five years after the crime, to co-operate on this purely humanitarian issue? Is it impossible for the United Nations to do more in this respect?
51.	I wish to stress that, regarding Cyprus as well as all other international problems on the Assembly's agenda, it is of the essence to co-ordinate our efforts so that, instead of being overwhelmed by frustration and inability to act, we may take concrete and effective steps so as to secure complete freedom, complete justice, and respect for human rights everywhere in the world. It is only upon this basis that lasting peace can be achieved, and that is the task and the mission of the United Nations.


Among the events which have shaken the world and especially the African continent in recent days, there is one of which we would like to make special mention: the sudden passing away of President Agostinho Neto, one of Africa's most striking personalities. President Neto, who died on 10 September, was a great patriot and statesman who above all stood for the dignity and independence not only of Angola but also of Africa. The last respects of the People's Republic of the Congo were paid to him by President Denis Sassou-Nguesso when he went to Luanda at the head of a large delegation to bow before the mortal remains of a man who, for the Congolese people, was not only a friend at all times, but also a companion in arms at the most difficult moments of the liberation of Africa.
173.	Two years after the death of President Marien Ngouabi, Central Africa, with the death of President Neto, is now deprived of two of its most authentic heroes. However the heritage bequeathed by both is such that both in the People's Republic of Angola and in the People's Republic of the Congo, all those who fight for the liberation of peoples will find additional inspiration to maintain their ardour in the struggle being waged daily against all enemies of African independence.
174.	Mr. President, the United Republic of Tanzania, your beautiful country, for us Africans as for all peoples who cherish peace, freedom and justice, represents an example of pride, a symbol of virtue and a safe line of defence for freedom fighters. My country, the People's Republic of the Congo, is pleased to be counted among Tanzania's friends. Therefore I have the greatest pleasure, Mr President, in congratulating you on your brilliant election as President of the thirty-fourth session of the General Assembly. You are indeed a devoted man, convinced both of the usefulness and of the action of our Organization, and whose experience and tact are a guarantee of the triumph of the ideals of peace, freedom, justice and co-operation among nations, which constitute the very framework of the Charter of our world Organization.
175.	Ours is an ailing world, plagued by its technical development, by the ambition of some and the selfishness of others and, finally, by its lack of ability to solve the burning and urgent problems which face it. The cry of anguish—the existential anguish of thousands and thousands of human beings, the cry for survival by millions of human beings whose dignity, human condition and very existence are threatened—is heard everywhere.
176.	This year again we are going to examine the political, social and economic situation of the world, and for more than three months we are going to ponder its future. We have no right to evade this responsibility. It is an undertaking which takes on a new dimension; we are compelled to it by imperatives of time. At the end of this century, at the dawn of mankind's third millennium, everywhere time points to taking stock; but should we just take stock of the United Nations? It seems to us that this would be too tiresome and we would need more than one regular session to do it. However we need to take stock; this need should accompany every attitude and every act in our exchanges with one another.
177.	An objective, honest and serious examination of conscience should enable us to put a certain number of questions leading to a better understanding of the out-moded practices which have characterized the United Nations since its creation and to a better awareness of the imperatives of the time. This awareness should not be translated and restricted to a mere recording of the facts; it should enable us to free ourselves from the hold of habits of thought, to be concerned about what is true and just—in one word, to raise ourselves to the point of shaping the world, instead of putting up with it, by following the contours marked out in the Charter of the United Nations.
178.	The Charter's aims and principles are clear and remain relevant. But instead of concentrating on their reinforcement and effective application in deeds and in tangible ways, we see a sort of challenge; in fact no day goes by without us seeing them violated, here and there, or emptied of their content through prejudice and hatred. U Thant was right, 12 years ago when he said:
"When prejudice and hatred dominate the relations of nations or groups of nations, the whole world takes a step backward towards the dark ages . . . When force and military competitiveness displace co-operation, negotiation, law and diplomacy . . . the nightmare of a third world war comes steadily nearer the world of reality."
This vision of this world in which we have the sad privilege of dwelling is very pertinent; it is a world which remains more than ever in a situation of conflict.
179.	Indeed, however praiseworthy some of the efforts which our Organization and other international bodies have made may have been, they have changed nothing—at least very little—in this situation. Mankind remains dramatically split into two parts: the rich and the poor, the affluent and the wretched, the exploiters and the exploited, the oppressors and the oppressed. A minority, consisting of highly developed countries, due to its dominating position, determines alone the distribution of world resources through its own hierarchy. The resulting division of labour means that while they become increasingly richer, other countries languish in poverty. This, alas, is the basis of the world economic situation which we put up with today.
180.	International relations are still dominated by force, in accordance with the age-old law of the "state of nature". The need to dominate or to expand still haunts nations; it is always a matter of dominating or neutralizing the adversary. To the spirit of conquest in the traditional sense of the term—i.e., the use of armed force—other far more subtle forms have been added: for example, to ensure the supply of raw materials through most skilful trade policies and very well-placed investments; to control the means of production, distribution channels, movements of capital and exchange of goods; to support subversive movements aimed at undermining certain economic policies and destabilizing certain awkward regimes and so on.
181.	We should no longer allow ourselves to be lulled by those who benefit from the imbalances and inequalities that increase the incidence of conflicts everywhere, create appetites for power and set up petty chiefs and tyrants in complete scorn for the will of peoples and human rights which, nevertheless, are proclaimed elsewhere. The game is well known; the manoeuvre is skilful: whether it is a matter of destabilizing regimes, encouraging plots or creating spheres of rivalry and hotbeds of war, the more or less avowed purpose is to promote an atmosphere of crisis, a climate of general insecurity, so as to divert free peoples from their essential concerns, by forcing them to be preoccupied with trivia.
182.	In these conditions, we feel ill at ease in speaking of peace and security in the world. Our consciousness of these very noble principles is in conflict with everyday reality. The reality is in fact confrontation, war, aggression, generalized violence and military expeditions. These conflicts find their origin in a lack of respect on the part of some among us for commitments entered into freely and in full awareness and in the non-application of principles which we have unanimously accepted and adopted. There are numerous examples; furthermore, they constitute the essential items on our agenda.
183.	Decolonization and the self-determination of peoples are among the key principles of our Organization. More than ever they should be made effective in South-East Asia, in Latin America, in the Middle East, in northern and southern Africa, wherever people are dominated, wherever they seek only to free from themselves the yoke of subjection, exploitation and shame and to recover their dignity. This is natural; this is in accordance with the most cherished aspirations of peoples; and yet we observe here and there reticence, opposition, vetoes. These are Machiavellian manifestations of a challenge to freedom, the negation of the development of peoples. Every year our conscience leads us to adopt resolutions on self-determination for the peoples of Namibia, Zimbabwe, southern Africa, Western Sahara and Palestine and for other peoples still under colonial domination in Latin America and Southeast Asia. Shortly thereafter doubt is cast on them or they are never referred to again. What happens is that we do not all feel that we are really concerned by the acts to which we refer, and some among us continually allow themselves to be manipulated by the strongest to the point of no longer being convinced of the urgency of the problem of the security of peoples and of the seriousness of the threats weighing upon certain countries of the third world and, more specifically, upon Africa.
184.	Africa is indeed the most vulnerable and the most exposed area. This continent, disoriented and in ferment, daily lives the tragedy of the flouting of the most elementary concepts of justice, freedom and sovereignty: Namibia, Zimbabwe, South Africa, Western Sahara, and certain parts of central Africa are the most striking proofs. In those regions entire peoples are daily deprived of their most elementary rights, to the point of becoming dehumanized, transformed with full impunity into vulgar herds of savage beasts.
185.	This defiance, this negation of liberty, is felt even in the independent countries themselves. The aggression perpetrated by minority regimes against the frontline States is a manifest example. Every year it brings with it a train of troubles. From this rostrum we denounce a practice which is contrary to the most elementary international law and borders on gangsterism: it is that of Powers outside Africa which intervene directly in the internal affairs of other States to bring to power puppets which are in their pay.
186.	It is obvious that such a policy has no other purpose but to preserve colonial interests and privileges.
187.	On apartheid and the genocide of peoples every-thing has been said, and very well said, at this rostrum. But it can never too often be repeated. It is imperative that the Namibian people, under the enlightened guidance of SWAPO, must accede to independence. And they will succeed inevitably; that is our firm conviction, the conviction of fighting and free Africa and of all those throughout the world who support their just struggle.
188.	Our consistent position in the affairs of Zimbabwe and Namibia has in no way been altered by the changes in events which have recently taken place.
189.	Consistency also characterizes our position on Western Sahara and the Middle East. What has been called the "peace process" in the spirit of the Camp David agreements can be described as the exaltation of the position of strength of Israel to the detriment of the Palestinian people. For our part, we believe that there cannot be a guaranteed peace in the region without the participation of the PLO in any process designed to deal with the fate of the Palestinian people. In this respect, the idea of an international conference, as put forward by the Secretary-General in his report seems to us to constitute at this time the most positive approach to the problem.
190.	The very simple idea which governs our thinking is that freedom cannot be bartered. Thus, the Saharan people can no longer be barred from the right to freedom, to self-determination, to existence itself.
191.	We are pleased by the efforts made by the OAU and, above all, by the wise decision taken at Monrovia, recognizing the self-determination of the Saharan people. This is to the honour of Africa; it is an important step in the search for a definite and lasting peace in that part of the continent. We are also pleased with the victory in Nicaragua of the Sandinist forces over the dictator Somoza. This is a ray of hope and a source of encouragement for the peoples of Latin America which are still subjugated and exploited.
192.	The world in obedience to its conscience should rise above the level of preparations for war. Throughout the world, peace requires correct solutions to the burning problems of decolonization and similar evils.
193.	We are thinking here of the painful tragedy of divided countries: Korea naturally provides an example. It is time that the international conscience should be freed from this burden by an effective promotion of the peaceful reunification of Korea. This is still a matter of justice.
194.	We must, of course, inevitably think of disarmament. Certain countries regard the arms race as an indispensable corollary to their industrial prosperity. Despite limited efforts such as those shown by the conclusion of the second SALT Treaty, general and complete disarmament, as advocated by the tenth special session, is still Utopian. Regrettably, we are bound to note that the arms race, the invention of increasingly sophisticated weapons and the perfection of atomic weapons have in some societies become daily practices, to the point where the threat of a thermonuclear conflagration remains suspended over our heads like the sword of Damocles.
195.	What vast resources the entire international community would be able to dispose of if the concerns of war could be recycled into activities of peace. Such an approach implies and demands the establishment of a new international economic order. A few weeks ago at Havana, the Sixth Conference of Heads of State or Government of Non-Aligned Countries once again proved that close to two thirds of the States Members of the United Nations were concerned with a fundamental change in the structures and mechanisms of the present system of injustice and frustration.
197.	The decisions of the non-aligned movement, which is the common denominator of countries with varied systems and degrees of development, constitute in our opinion the minimum basis for all proposals designed to bring about a better economic organization of the present system in accordance with the purposes and principles defined at the sixth and seventh special sessions, and contained in, inter alia, the Charter of Economic Duties and Rights of States.
198.	For a long time, Africa has been aware of its state of under-development. We are asking ourselves more and more questions; we are concerned about our future.
199.	A symposium organized by the OAU and ECA at Monrovia at the beginning of this year drew up a diagnosis which brings to light the fact that 20 years after the era of nominal political independence, the real situation in Africa today remains painfully disquieting. We have excessive underemployment and unemployment; the lowest per capita revenues in the world; the highest infant mortality rate, the shortest life- expectancy, illiteracy, malnutrition, famine, economic dependence, chronic indebtedness and so forth; in brief, the African continent remains the continent of under-development, destitution and abandonment. That is the painful reality.
200.	This situation of imbalance and great dependence is, first of all, the result of the will of the African States to integrate themselves into the international economic system, and into the dominant development structures linked thereto. It is also, unfortunately, the result of mimicry by the young economies which leads them to adopt inadequate development models, because they are centred on the needs of the African masses, and are not designed for endogenous development. The African economy remains, indeed, dependent on the industrialized world, its technology and its proficiency. Development theories are directed towards the export markets and the import of techniques, equipment, services and modern consumer products. The situation is still essentially what it was during the colonial era.
201.	This is also the consequence of counter- performances of world development strategies adopted so far. The African continent has never been able to succeed in attaining the development objectives provided for in the first two United Nations Development Decades. The recent session of UNCTAD was more or less a repetition of the previous ones: once again it enshrined the selfishness and stubbornness of the rich world, and confirmed the refusal of the industrialized countries to seek a really new equitable and just world economic order. The other development strategies drawn up within a regional framework met no better fate. Thus, the co-operation begun within the framework of the Lome' Convention  between the African, Caribbean and Pacific countries and the European Economic Community only brought about limited solutions to the redoubtable problem of under-development.
202.	Everything leads us to believe that the different economic, political and social instruments used in the various cases have only so far made it possible to strengthen and perpetuate the ties of dependence; in any event, they have brought to naught efforts designed to formulate new models of autonomous development.
203.	Nevertheless these are necessary if we want ideas of justice, development and co-operation to continue to have meaning within our Organization. This means we must surpass ourselves; it means also that there must exist a political will to break the resistance to change of those who benefit from present imbalances and inequalities; to break with certain concepts and certain habits of the past and abolish the barriers to mental and social change. Only in these circumstances will we be able to devise measures to transform internal structures and improve the production factors on which an autonomous and self-sustaining development depend.
204.	Then, future development strategies, either within the framework of the third United Nations decade or in the more general context of negotiations for the new international economic order, or the Tokyo round, or the law of the sea, and so forth, could be envisaged with some chance of success, as could all resolutions, declarations or programmes of action which we might be led to adopt. It is a problem of survival, not only for Africa but for all mankind; the human species cannot be saved or preserved from the dangers of war unless it directs all strategies towards a self-reliant and autonomous development which would ensure the .well-being and improve the quality of human life, and equity and justice among nations.
205.	These are the essential matters on which we should all mobilize now.
206.	When we look around us at all these eminent personalities who have come from the four-corners of the earth and are gathered here to speak the language of peace, justice, freedom and equality, it makes us rather optimistic and reinforces our faith in the future of man, and therefore the world. It strengthens our faith in this Organization and its principles, which remain fully valid because they are fundamental and universal.
207.	In concluding, I should like to reaffirm here the devotion of the people of the Congo, united in their party, the Congolese Workers' Party, and of its chief, the 'President, Colonel Denis Sassou-Nguesso, to the tenets of the United Nations. These tenets should be able to guide our steps in this world, which is unceasingly destroying us and destroying itself from day to day. For our part, we are so keenly aware of the danger of a world explosion that it seems to us imperative to reconsider our role in what we conceive, what we produce, and in what we exchange.