184.	"Peace, security, independence and sovereignty for all cannot be secured by dealing only with the problems of some. This also means that peace and security for anyone can only be the product of a universal effort in which everyone, small or big, participates on the basis .of equality and of equal sovereignty, and when the truly vital rights of every country, however small, are equally respected and its grievances equally attended to."
Mr. President, those are your words; you said that in 1973 in my country where you also represented a nation to which the cause of non-alignment owes so much. Those words express your progressive philosophy and your enthusiasm for the democratization of international relations, and they suffice to explain why Panama and all the countries of the third world are so deeply and sincerely happy at your election as President of the thirty-second session of the General Assembly.
185.	The unanimous admission of the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam to membership in the United Nations is, at once, an act of justice and a world-wide recognition of what can be achieved despite tremendous obstacles by the courage, determination and dignity of a country on the road to freedom and nationhood. We also rejoice because of the admission of the young Republic of Djibouti; we wish it uninterrupted prosperity and progress. These are auspicious signs for the work now being guided by you at this thirty-second session.
186.	Further, we wish, on behalf of the delegation of Panama, to applaud Mr. Hamilton Shirley Amerasinghe, who is so highly esteemed by all delegations, for his wise presidency of the previous session.
187.	I would wish to express, on behalf of our delegation, the pleasure we share with the Spanish-speaking world because of the Nobel Prize conferred last night on Vicente Aleixandre, a Spanish poet. This really is recognition of vital importance of the so-called "generation of 1927" in Spanish culture.
188.	On the American continent, it is only fair to say that events have occurred which no doubt will contribute to the establishment of an atmosphere of cordiality, friendship and understanding among the countries of the region, which will also be reflected in the enthusiastic contribution which the Latin American countries will make to the work of the General Assembly. I refer to the Panama Canal Treaty of 1977, and the Treaty concerning the Permanent Neutrality and Operation of the Panama Canal, signed in Washington on 7 September 19 /7 by the President of the United States of America, Jimmy Carter, and by the Head of the Government of the Republic of Panama, Omar Torrijos, as well as the Declaration of Washington of the same date signed by the States Members of the Organization of American States and the Prime Minister of Canada.
189.	As the culmination of a lengthy process of negotiation, the United States and Panama have arrived at a basic arrangement on the question of the Panama Canal, with the purpose of eliminating the causes of conflict which have cast a shadow over relations between the United States and Panama and Latin America over the past 75 years.
190.	The friendly agreement embodied in these treaties is due to the tenacious and constant campaign of the people of Panama, encouraged over the last years by the anti- colonialist attitude of General Omar Torrijos Herrera. Also, it is fair to recognize that it is also due to the democratic spirit and honest conscience of President Jimmy Carter, which finally rendered null and void the monstrous Hay-Bunau-Varilla Convention of 1903, that no Panamanian signed. That Convention, which was only voted later by people enchained by its arbitrary clauses, mortgaged forever the major natural resource of Panama.
191.	The Carter-Torrijos treaties constitute a pact on a fixed-term basis, which recognizes the effective sovereignty of Panama over the whole of its territory and ensures the recovery of its jurisdiction over the Canal Zone within a period of not more than three years, assures the United States, as well as all other countries of the world, access for their ships to an open and neutral canal "on terms of entire equality".
192.	In the same treaties, the Republic of Panama, as the sovereign territory, grants the United States a concession for the management, operation and maintenance of the Panama Canal for a period of 22 years.
193.	The new contractual relations agreed to between Panama and the United States on 7 September 1977 appear in two Treaties, 3 related agreements, 10 annexes, 3 "Agreed Acts", 52 descriptive maps, 2 navigation charts, 9 exchanges of notes and 1 multilateral declaration.
194.	Article IV of the Panama Canal Treaty provides, inter alia, that:
"The Republic of Panama and the United States of America commit themselves to protect and defend the Panama Canal. Each Party shall act, in accordance with its constitutional processes, to meet the danger resulting from an armed attack or other actions which threaten the security of the Panama Canal or of ships transiting it."
195.	But the vital fact, the irrevocable hope of successive generations of Panamanians, is that on 31 December 1999, the military presence of the United States on Panamanian territory will physically cease. The full historical significance of that fact is enshrined in the Treaties signed on 7 September last, because it is this military presence which in itself limits and undermines Panamanian nationality. It is not a matter of friendship or enmity between nations. What is at stake is the very essence of our national feeling, which has nothing to do with possible tactical or defensive alliances aimed at a specific objective and limited, therefore, by circumstances and other transitory factors.
196.	Status as a nation and, as a vital part of it, sovereignty which is its greatest attribute are essentially antagonistic to ? foreign military presence within the national territory, particularly when that presence is one of the mightiest Powers in the history of the world. Specifically because of its weight, such a presence weighs unfavourably, albeit in a friendly and non-aggressive manner, on the soul of the people where it exists, with all that that tacitly implies for the social, political and economic existence of that people. That military presence in the case of Panama, because of the total disproportion of the two parties, is a hegemonic influence to be fought against from day to day at every level of daily life, to prevent the people from the experience of becoming outcasts, so that the nation will not become some -hybrid, bastard country bearing no relation to its proper historical, ethnic and cultural traditions.
197.	As for the near future, Panama is aware of its responsibilities and is prepared to take over the tasks of operating, administering-and defending the inter-oceanic waterway. To do that, we have as a base of support the human capital represented by the Panamanians, who comprise 75 per cent of the labour force employed by the Panama Canal Company. Benefiting from the progress and the growing development of our educational system and professional resources offered by universities, my country has started to train the necessary technical staff. Furthermore, we are constantly increasing the number of scholarship students in the large technological training centres abroad. At the same time, as regards the defence of national sovereignty and territorial integrity, a major mission will be carried out by the new graduating class of our national military institute "Tomas Herrera", where, encouraged by the nationalistic spirit of the National Guard of Panama, thousands of young men are being trained in accordance with the new democratic concept which -will be the most distinguishing factor of the armed forces of the continent.
198.	I must now make special reference to the Treaty concerning the Permanent Neutrality and Operation of the Panama Canal.
199.	My country is conscious of the importance of the Panama Canal as an international waterway for world navigation and wishes to invite the attention of Member States of the United Nations to the following, most important provision in article II of that Treaty:
"The Republic of Panama declares the neutrality of the Canal in order that both in time of peace and in time of war it shall remain secure and open to peaceful transit by the vessels of all nations on terms of entire equality, so that there will be no discrimination against any nation, or its citizens or subjects, concerning the conditions or charges of transit, or for any other reason, and so that the Canal, and therefore the Isthmus of Panama, shall not be the target of reprisals in any armed conflict between other nations of the world."13
200.	In order to perfect the regime of permanent neutrality of the Panama Canal, the contracting parties, under article VII, undertake to open for signature by all the States of the world a protocol whereby the signatory States would make the neutral regime of the Panama Canal universal.
201.	The protocol of the Treaty concerning the Permanent Neutrality and Operation of the Panama Canal would be an invitation to all States of the world to give universal validity to the regime of neutrality to which both countries have agreed will govern the inter-oceanic waterway, so as to ensure permanent access to the Canal for the ships of every nation on the basis of complete equality.
202.	In compliance with that commitment, this protocol will be open to access by all States of the world from the date of its ratification and will for each State enters into force from the time it deposits its instrument of accession with the Secretary-General of the Organization of American States.
203.	The international instruments to which I have just referred are subject to the constitutional procedures of ratification by both parties: in the United States, with the assent of two thirds of the members of the Senate present at the time; in Panama by a majority vote expressed in a national plebiscite.
204.	What is of particular significance in this respect is the Washington Declaration signed by the highest officials of the States members of the Organization of American States and by the Prime Minister of Canada, concurred in by a large majority of Heads of States o* Government of the region, on the initiative of President Carter. That Declaration represents a new era in hemispheric relations and imprints a seal of continental solidarity on the new Panama Canal Treaties.
205.	The Washington Declaration not only paves the way towards establishing a new international economic order in the Latin American developing countries, but is also a positive contribution to peace, security and progress for mankind by recognizing the importance for all States of the world of arrangements to ensure the accessibility and the permanent neutrality of the Panama Canal.
206.	The lengthy process of negotiation which was carried out during the last 13 years has been justified before national and international public opinion as the peaceful means to set in motion the process of decolonization in Panama. The negotiations had to culminate in a formula of decolonization to put an end to the colonial enclave embedded in the heart of the territory of Panama.
207.	To arrive at that goal, the Government of Panama assigned in the vanguard of our diplomatic front a group of negotiators to serve as spokesman for our national conscience. The agreements reached must be understood in their entirety as a formula for decolonization which is viable and acceptable to both Governments, and which is now subject to the scrutiny, review and approval of both peoples in accordance with their constitutional procedures.
208.	It is an act of justice to recognize the patriotism, ability and devotion of the Panamanian negotiators who participated in the negotiations on the new Treaties. Also, equal devotion, ability and patriotism must be recognized as belonging to other citizens who had equally intense Panamanian feelings but who expressed disquiet, impatience or disagreement, or who disagreed wholly or in part with what is contained in the new Treaties.
209.	The right to assent or dissent, a basic pillar for harmonizing human relations around national interests in modern States, is recognized as the very essence of the plebiscite to be held in Panama. The alternative is clear. Those who consider that the new Treaties constitute a suitable formula for decolonization will approve them. Those who believe the contrary will reject them. The results, whose genuineness can be endorsed by the United Nations, we!' bear witness to the desire of the people of Panama for self-determination.
210.	Precisely in order that there should be no doubt of that right to dissent within the broad popular support of his administration, the Head of Government of Panama, General Omar Torrijos Herrera, has requested a United Nations presence during the plebiscite on the new Treaties. It is of the utmost significance for my country that the Secretary-General, Mr. Kurt Waldheim, has agreed to send a mission to Panama headed by a personal representative, to be present during the verification of the national plebiscite, which has been scheduled by la number 33 of 13 September 1977 to be held on 23 October 1977 compliance with the provision? of article 274 of our National Constitution.
211.	In this consultation with the people, Panamanian citizens will decide whether or not they approve the new Panama Canal Treaty, the treaty concerning the Permanent Neutrality and Operation of the Panama and the annexed documents, which were signed on 7 September in Washington.
212.	In addition to the Treaties on the Panama Canal are operative in regard to decolonization, "the settlement of the Panama Canal issue", as it is stated in the Washington Declarations "represents a major step toward strengthening of relations among the nations of the Western Hemisphere on a basis of common interest, equality and mutual respect for the sovereignty and independence of every state".
213.	The Ihmian Cam Convention of 1903, better known as the Hay-Bunau-Varilla Treaty, imposed in perpetuity on the Republic of Panama to ensure construction by the United States of the waterway, is the only instrument still in force of the three ominous treaties designed to mortgage the existence of Latin American States whose territories were considered to be cross-roads for the major world maritime routes.
214.	The "La Mesilla" Treaty concerning the border between the Republic of Mexico and the United States, signed at Mexico City on 30 December 18S3, which assured on an indefinite basis free transit for the army of the United States through the Tehuantepec Isthmus, was abrogated by the joint action of those two great statesmen, Lazaro Cardenas and Franklin Delano Roosevelt. The Bryan-Chamorro Treaty between Nicaragua and the United States granted the latter country in perpetuity the right to build an inter-oceanic canal by way of the San Juan River and the great lake of Nicaragua and was abrogated in 1971 by the Heads of Government of the two countries, Richard Nixon and Anastasio Somoza.
215.	The Government of Panama has gone beyond the mere holding of a plebiscite by inviting a United Nations presence. On 13 September, the Head of Government, General Omar Torrijos Herrera, addressed a telegram to Mr. Andres Aguilar, Chairman of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, staging that "the new Canal treaties are a symbol to the world of our desire to eliminate discrimination and injustice", and invited that Commission to visit Panama and report on the actual enjoyment of human rights there.
216.	The statement by Torrijos in that document emphasizes the will of the Government of Panama fully to implement the exercise of fundamental human rights among the inhabitants of the Republic in every part of the country. It also reflects the decision to promote; the effective functioning, within the jurisdiction of the Panamanian State, of the legal, regional and world mechanism established to make human rights effective.
217.	That is an isolated attitude. The immediate precedent the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which was adopted in 1948 by this Assembly, is to be found in the first draft on this question submitted to the General Assembly by the head of the delegation of Panama, Mr. Ricardo J. Alfaro. The ratification by Panama in 1976 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, as well as the Optional Protocol thereto, was decisive in having those human rights Covenants proclaimed by the United Nations enter into force during that same year 1976. It was therefore possible to establish the Human Rights Committee, which affords an unprecedented procedure for the consideration of communications from persons who denounce human rights violations committed by States parties to the Protocol.
218.	The Hay-Bunau-Varilla Treaty of 1903, considered by many jurists as a political mortgage, as an anachronism, as a social fossil, will be abrogated in Panama when there is an exchange of the ratification of the Panama Canal Treaties of 1977.
219.	Panama, deprived until now of both its ports of entry to the Canal, has not been able to comply fully with its Bolivarian destiny to assist the sister republics of Latin America to implement the major integration plans of the founders of the republics of our hemisphere. Thus it can be understood how the 1903 Treaty has so far been a barrier to the unity, integration and accelerated economic development of Panama and of Latin America.
220.	The origins and clauses of that Treaty have been so hateful that a distinguished historian from Argentina in his historical outline "From the Panama Congress to the Panama Canal" went so far as to say:
''The programme which Bolivar started in Panama in 1826 came to an end in 1903 also in Panama, which was
transformed from the cradle to the grave of the Bolivarian standard."
221.	But Panama is and will continue to be a pedestal and not a tomb for the ideals of the Liberator.
222.	Bolivar, who made of the isthmus of Panama the centre of his ideals and affection, thought of the city of Panama as a capital for the Great Latin American Fatherland. Referring to the Act of Independence of Panama from Spain in 1821, he exclaimed:
"I cannot find words to express my joy and admiration for learning that Panama, the centre of the universe, is by itself brought back to life and freed by its own endeavours. The Act of Independence of Panama is the most glorious monument that any American province can offer to history. Everything is contained therein: justice, generosity, national policy and interest."
223.	As host to the Amphictyonic Congress of 1826, the nation of Panama, despite every vicissitude, has never failed to be loyal to the programme of Bolivar for the unity and integration of Latin America. Its most recent achievements in this unifying and integrationist mission were enshrined by the constitution of the Latin American Economic System reached in 1975 by the "Panama Convention", and the establishment of the Latin American Export Bank. This last entity was formally established oil the initiative of Panama at the meeting of the Governors of the Central Banks of Latin America which was held this year in Guatemala City and which will start operating in Panama City with adequate financing from the region as an essential element for the sustained development of the Latin American countries.
224.	Parallel with the Latin American movements born in the universities and in the major Latin American revolutions, new generations of Panamanians with a legacy of the ideals of all those who victoriously planted the standard of the liberator on the summit of Condorcunca have, without let or pause, pursued their arduous and lengthy road to battle for national claims and to redeem the historic mortgage incorporated in the 1903 Treaty. Among them and in the front line are the heroic teen-agers—the "aguiluchos" of the National Institute, as they are called in Panama-who in 1964 placed a cluster of Panamanian flags in the alienated Panama Canal zone and made it fertile with their blood. Together with them, are the students, teachers, professors, intellectual?, artists, the workers in the cities and in the fields, men and women of every age who have at all times responded to the national call and who are ultimately the Panamanian best entitled to judge what is just and proper in the new Treaties and their annexes.
225.	Of course, from a pure, extreme and radical national perspective, some aspects of the new Treaties are not satisfactory. But, nationalities are not fully forged overnight, or by a single generation or group of individuals. Along the way towards the full attainment of a national Panamanian personality, there are obstacles and vicissitudes. To rise above them is the task of this generation and future generations, which must complete the work of the present one.
226.	Precisely because of this collective struggle, this joint effort made by people of diverse ages and tendencies called together in this higher level of every civic debate Is the element which, in itself, creates national unity for our national interest. Without national unity progress is made difficult. It is difficult to administer public affairs, and the supreme objective of a fully sovereign nation becomes distant in the perspective of time. It is obvious that among its positive advantages, the debate on the question of the new Panama Canal Treaties brings with it the promising possibility for national unity among the vast majority of the progressive forces of the country.
227.	In the light of this perspective we have to take into account international circumstances. The Secretary- General, as the eternal champion of good causes, already said so in his report on the work of the Organization. He said:
"I know, very well that a miraculous and sudden transformation to a new and better world order is inconceivable. I do, however, believe that we must try, in all our activities, to facilitate and accelerate the evolutionary process by which the relations of Governments in all important matters will be regulated -and harmonized with the long-term interests of the world community.
Thus, we are living at a time when there are military alliances, large power blocs from which few nations can be free, despite their own power. Fortunately, the spectre of a possible intercontinental conflict becomes ever more remote because of the paradoxical effect of the progress of the technology of war, the balance of terror, and so it may be assumed that the neutrality and operation of the Canal will not He threatened. A promising augury of this is that the Government of President Carter has signed Additional Protocol I of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons in Latin America (Treaty of Tlatelolco). But this is all for the future, for new groups of men and generations.
228.	The Torrijos-Carter Treaties, viewed not only as a formula of decolonization but also as a pilot plan for international co-operation between Panama and the United States with a view to improving hemispheric relations, could be a decisive factor in accelerating the integration and unity of Latin America.
229.	This new type of hemispheric relations can only prosper harmoniously, however, by complete compliance with the principles which are deeply rooted in the conscience of the peoples of this region and today enshrined in contemporary international law, such as respect for the territorial integrity and the independence of States, non-intervention by a State in the internal affairs of another State, self-determination of peoples, the peaceful settlement of disputes, the renunciation of the use or threat of force, the sovereign equality of States, and the application of fundamental human rights.
230.	I would not wish to end without referring to an opposition which an arrangement in the Panama Canal question arouses in some circles in the United States. As was rightly said by Mr. Shridath Ramphal, Secretary- General of the British Commonwealth of Nations:
.. to those in the councils of the United States... who urge that strategic interests should prevail over those principles of sovereignty and territorial integrity which are now part of the heritage of this hemisphere, let it be recalled that no way has ever yet been held-be it overland route or mountain pass or navigable straits-in defiance of the will of those who dwell around it."
231.	There are some who, with repeated obstinacy, seek to confuse the concept of the neutrality and the defence of the inter-oceanic way with that of intervention; but intervention has become a dirty word to the Latin American peoples who have suffered and have learned hard lessons from history. It may be said that the provision of international law which is most deeply rooted in the thoughts and feelings of the Latin American peoples is the principle of non-intervention. This has been the basis of relations between the United States and Latin America since in Montevideo in 1933 and Buenos Aires in 1936 the great North American Power renounced the principle of intervention by subscribing to the Declaration of the nations of the hemisphere, to the effect that direct or indirect intervention in internal or external affairs is inadmissible. The United States committed itself, in the event of violation of those principles, to joint consultations with the aim of arriving at a peaceful solution.
232.	The United States, as a State party to the Charter of the Organization of American States and to the Charter of the United Nations, is committed to enforcing this principle at the regional level and throughout the world.
233.	The Agreement in Implementation of Article IV of the Panama Canal Treaty strictly refers to defence against the danger of an armed attack or other action that might threaten the security of the Panama Canal or of the ships transiting it. This is not, nor can it be, a treaty to regulate the capacity for reciprocal aggression of the parties.
234.	Logically the Treaty refers to third States which might commit acts or threats of aggression against the Panama Canal and the freedom of navigation through it. To confuse this situation with the right to intervene in the internal or external affairs of Panama is to distort a specific clause, vitiating its semantic, political and legal value. This is totally unacceptable to the international community.
235.	Here, of course, we are entering the field of moral assumptions because no one in this Assembly is unaware that, if the great Powers were to succumb to the temptation to abandon respect for ethical and legal rules, there is no public treaty or provision of international law which could stop them.
236.	No country can proclaim itself the world champion of the rule of law and the freedom of the citizen claiming that it stands in the forefront of international democracy and is' the defender of the sovereignty of peoples and upholder of peace while, at the same time, suspending those principles in the case of small countries which, like mine, can only oppose force with the deep legal and moral conviction of a David defending his elementary rights.
241. The words I have the honour to address to this august Assembly on behalf of my Government and my delegation would be incomplete and lacking in an elementary sense of justice were I not to express the gratitude of the Government and people of Panama for the decisive support they have received from the world community, and particularly from the sister republics of Latin America and those nations which constitute the majestic group of the non-aligned. Their support for the Panamanian cause, that has been given unstintingly, has been repeatedly demonstrated within this Organization. When the history of this time is written, when the problems now being confronted by the United Nations are resolved, when the balance sheet has been drawn up showing its actions and influence on world events, it will then be seen that the cause of Panama was one of the decisive proofs of the importance and beneficial action of this ecumenical assembly of free nations.


156.	 Mr. President, I should like to take this opportunity to offer you my congratulations on your election to preside over this session of the General Assembly. Your election not only represents a tribute to you personally but also does honour to your country, Yugoslavia, with which Uruguay has maintained cordial relations for many years.
157.	On behalf of my delegation, I should also like to hail the accomplishments of the Secretary-General of the United Nations, Mr. Kurt Waldheim, and in that connexion to lay particular emphasis on his enduring concern for the political and economic problems of the developing countries.
158.	Thirty-two years ago, we, the peoples of the United Nations, resolved
 ... to save succeeding generations from the scourge of war ... to reaffirm faith in fundamental human rights ... in the equal rights of men and women and of nations large and small, to establish conditions under which justice and respect for ... treaties ... can be maintained, to promote social progress and better standards of life in larger freedom, and... to practise tolerance and live together in peace with one another as good neighbours ... .
Since that time, those high aspirations have represented the focal-point of our endeavours and the hope of our peoples. The balance-sheet of achievements to date would show important gains on the credit side, but on the debit side it would draw attention to much that remains to be done.
159.	Notwithstanding the lapse of time and the work accomplished, the world is at present living in the midst of crisis which is both moral and material; it is sick not only in spirit but also in the state of its economy. As was the case 32 years ago, the anxious eyes of the whole world are once again focused on those same high goals and objectives for national and international well-being and on the practical results flowing from our deliberations and our work-because there is no other reality or dream of which they can take hold.
160.	As on other occasions, the present session will permit us to measure the throb of the political realities faced by countries, as set forth by their heads of delegation. This shows clearly that this United Nations forum continues to be universally recognized as representing the best hope for the resolution of conflicts and antagonisms, for encouraging closer and more productive relations among nations, and for promoting mutually beneficial international co-operation in the economic and social fields. That was the hope of our predecessors when they signed the historic Charter of the United Nations in San Francisco.
161.	Therefore let us not be diverted from that hope or that struggle because we will vitiate what has been achieved to date and compromise everything that remains to be done. Let us rather dedicate ourselves anew to all that yet remains to be done. That is surely our first and heaviest present responsibility, and it can be neither diluted nor dodged. We are starting this new session in the belief that acute problems are looming which place in jeopardy the long and arduous work of our Organization for the achievement of peace and justice in the international community and that solutions to those problems must be found if the Organization's goals and objectives are to be attained.
162.	I should like to refer briefly to the most important of those problems which can be solved only through the participation of all in collective and concerted action.
163.	Until a more healthy and just economy can be guaranteed, it will not be possible for the world to achieve lasting stability and peace. It was therefore encouraging to learn from the declaration of the Heads of State of the principal developed countries at the Downing Street
Summit Conference in London last May that the world economy could only achieve sustained and even growth provided the less industrialized countries participated therein, in so far as the well-being of the developing and the developed is interlinked as world prosperity is a single and indivisible whole. Even a superficial analysis shows, however, that the practical progress achieved during the past year is not consistent with the proposals for reform implicit in those declarations.
164.	In reality, North-South relations continue to be of marginal interest to the advanced countries, except as regards the supply of certain important raw materials, such as petroleum. As Uruguay has pointed out in the past, substantial differences of approach remain, sad they prevent effective progress towards satisfactory solutions.
165.	In the opinion of Uruguay, the North-South dialogue cannot neglect the grave problems of the middle-income developing countries, whose efforts to achieve more satisfactory growth rates and living standards for their populations have been thwarted by recent changes in the world economy, by the reality of international trade bristling with useless barriers, and by the inexcusable lack of financial assistance.
166.	The developing countries—as much as or, indeed, more than any others—stand in need of a properly functioning international system organized on just foundations which will not prejudice their sustained economic growth but will assist them to exploit their own material and human resources.
167.	Uruguay has launched a vigorous effort to open up its economy with a view to overcoming the rigid limitations within the domestic market. It- has accordingly lowered substantially the protective barriers against imports and is at the same time trying to promote exports of manufactured and semi-manufactured products in which it enjoys a competitive advantage; it has achieved conspicuous success with a number of those product lines.
168.	Unfortunately, it is becoming increasingly evident that that effort is running into the strongest opposition, in the form of proliferating and constantly increasing protectionist measures in the principal world markets.
169.	There is much talk about the advantages of free trade. Such proclamations become a mockery when the structure of 'production and trade in a sector of such importance to humanity as agriculture-in which the natural advantages of the developing countries offer the possibility of optimum efficiency levels—is constantly distorted and shackled by the developed countries through a multiplicity of practices, which in effect negates free trade.
170.	Today more than ever the world food problem cannot be solved by stimulating expensive agricultural production in certain developed countries behind tariff and non-tariff barriers, subsidies and support prices, as the need will arise at a later stage to dispose of the agricultural surpluses thus encouraged, through the use of  dumping  prices and even, on occasion, by unilaterally labelling them as development assistance. Instead of alleviating the world food problem, such actions aggravate it by disorganizing markets and by interfering with the growth of the productive capacity of the developing countries in an area in which they have a clear comparative advantage.
171.	While the developing countries are faced with the daily threat of protectionist barriers, the dialectics unleashed within the framework of the North-South dialogue are of little relevance.
172.	The developing countries are seriously handicapped by the present lack of rules which would take proper account of their situation and which would be respected by the industrialized nations. The developed countries are protected by their economic weight against the protectionist designs of their trading partners. Their capacity for retaliation represents an effective deterrent. But this factor is of no help to the great majority of the developing countries which can do little or nothing to defend themselves but nevertheless risk becoming proving-grounds for the protectionist experiments of the developed countries.
173.	Uruguay supports the international organization of production and trade in raw materials in accordance with an integrated programme which would take account of development targets, and also the establishment of a common fund which would serve as a fundamental instrument for achieving those goals.
174.	The restructuring of the world financial system should also be designed to assist development and in particular should make it free from all political considerations, bearing in mind that by their very nature the latter should be kept separate from financial programmes.
175.	The events of recent years have had a serious impact on the developing countries, which have been damaged by the loss of stability in exchange rates and by the abandonment in practice of the prohibition on competitive devaluations, without gaining offsetting advantages from the creation of international liquidity.
176.	The creation of international reserves should correspond to the needs of real, potential and non-inflationary growth of production and world trade; but above all it should serve the overriding objective of stimulating development.
177.	At this point it is relevant to mention that one of the major defects of the North-South dialogue is rooted in the apparently intentional lack of co-operation shown by a substantial group of countries in this particular area.
178.	The problem of development concerns not only the Western world, and attempts to make it appear so must be firmly rejected. The economic structure of the socialist countries does not represent a real obstacle to their participation in efforts to assist development, in the same way as a state monopoly of trade cannot reasonably hinder support to such efforts.
179.	The international community should not accept with passive indifference that one group of nations should adhere to commercial practices in their dealings with the developing countries while, at the same time, justifying severe condemnation of the same practices when applied by market-economy countries.
180.	To the extent that their present commercial practices force the developing countries to remain suppliers of natural raw materials from whom no products containing any added value are purchased, the developed socialist countries are placing obstacles in the way of the development of the industrially less advanced countries and are hurting the living standards of their inhabitants.
181.	There is no question but that drastic action must be taken on such questions as the burden of debt of the developing countries, the maintenance of the purchasing power of their export earnings, as well as in matters of trade, industrialization, agriculture, food, the transfer of technology, the restructuring of raw material markets, the negotiation of the Integrated Programme and the common fund, development assistance and the fight against inflation.
182.	The list of economic questions to which I have just referred makes it imperative that efforts should be continued which will test the efficacy of the present economic system of the United Nations as the principal forum for negotiations in the North-South dialogue.
183.	International terrorism continues to present a grave threat. A few months ago Uruguay took part in the most recent meeting of the Ad Hoc Committee on International Terrorism, and it is a matter of regret that no common political will could be found to face up to this modern scourge of humanity.
184.	As the representative of a country which endured more than its share of terrorist violence and which saw the traditional values of an open, united and democratic society threatened by it, I believe that our Organization should express its collective and most energetic repudiation of such hate-inspired forms of aggression and should encourage universal respect for law and order.
185.	If all nations do not co-operate in the observance of those principles, then disintegration and chaos will rule society with all their terrible consequences, and the United Nations will suffer a severe blow to its prestige, already weakened by the vacillations of many Members, and even by the covert or open support given by others to those who commit terrorist acts.
186.	Even the most noble cause of the liberation of peoples is tainted when recourse is had to certain repugnant forms of violence which, in the main, strike down innocent people, and represent a flagrant violation of human rights and of those other goals and objectives of our Organization which I mentioned earlier.
187.	Uruguay has always been a strong supporter of human rights and, from the early days of the United Nations, has striven to find the most effective means of implementing the provisions of the Charter and of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Uruguay accordingly proposed the establishment of a truly international legal body which would advise on all cases of violations of human rights and would set up a consultative mechanism to prevent unlawful interference or intervention. That proposal, submitted more than 20 years ago, was later taken up by Costa Rica which, using the same principles as a basis, gave it the new form of United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights. Uruguay, together with Costa Rica-known for its clear humanist principles-has continued work on this idea which, although it could not be implemented, nevertheless remains alive, and we give it our renewed support.
188.	Notwithstanding this background, we have in recent years been the object of an international campaign of slander which sought to pervert the meaning of the crisis which beset our country in such a way as to give the impression that the framework of one of the exemplary societies in matters of social justice and respect for human rights had been fundamentally changed.
189.	On that point, I would like to state that Uruguay was forced to carry out a hard struggle against subversion and foreign intervention without the slightest support from even the traditional allies of the free world.
190.	Today the skies are clearing and our Republic is on the road back to full institutional normality following a period when overriding reasons of necessity and emergency forced us to take certain temporary measures as an unavoidable duty of national survival.
191.	We were, and continue to be, the only actors in a drama involving the defence of our national character in which we are not prepared to admit either foreign admonitions or ideas. In the field of human rights we have, with a great effort, maintained a normal dialogue in which we have always played the role of inspirer and active participant.
192.	In maintaining and increasing the degree of protection for human rights-which never lost their force in Uruguay—and in correcting unavoidable short-comings, the members of my Government have the moral support of their own consciences and their incorruptible sense of responsibility.
193.	At the same time Uruguay takes a firm stand of principle against the politicization of the issue of human rights and is opposed to any attempt-no matter from what quarter-to employ it as an excuse for interference in the internal affairs of States and, in particular, in their political process or as a form of aggression against their sovereignty, independence or integrity.
194.	Full respect for fundamental human rights and liberties must be completely independent of the internal procedures of States and of systems they may have found it necessary to adopt within the limits of their respective sovereignty.
195.	Protection for those rights and liberties represents an international obligation of binding character and therefore, under international law, it is the responsibility of every State, within the area of its exclusive authority, to adopt such measures as it may find appropriate to implement its international obligations in this as in any other matter.
196.	Uruguay also categorically confirms its traditional principles in so far as it does not accept discrimination- whether racial or otherwise—no matter what reasons are used in justification or in what regions they may be practised.
197.	The difficult situation in the Middle East is a matter of special concern to my Government as its excessive prolongation threatens peace and international security.
198.	My delegation has taken the opportunity of expressing Uruguay's views on this problem during other sessions of the General Assembly, and I would like to repeat these today.
199.	From a purely legal point of view, it is clear that military victory confers no rights and, still less, territorial rights. Accordingly, the community of nations accepts the principle that each has the right to live in peace, within secure and recognized borders, enjoying respect for its existence, sovereignty, integrity and independence.
200.	In any examination of the over-all problem of the Middle East, account must be taken, both on political and human grounds, of the fate of the Palestinian people, and formulas must be found within the framework of the peace negotiations which will secure their legitimate aspirations.
201.	We believe that those directly interested should, as soon as possible, negotiate appropriate and just understandings based on the principles of international law with a view to finding a comprehensive solution to this question, so that finally a fully adequate peace agreement can be achieved in this area.
202.	The agenda of the present session contains more than 20 items on disarmament, on which the General Assembly has in the past expressed its views.
203.	It seems to us that the peoples of the world are under the impression that disarmament is exclusively a subject for rhetoric which they support as a matter of course as a. worthy cause, whereas the reality is that, with the passage of time and contrary to what might be hoped, armaments of an increasingly sophisticated and deadly nature are escalating in all regions of the globe.
204.	For a variety of reasons, vast amounts of the incomes of States and -the resources of mankind are poured into the stockpiling of means of destruction, while millions of human beings are dying in the streets for lack of food and while others exist in subhuman conditions for lack of proper integral development.
205.	It is urgently necessary in this field as in others to achieve solid results which will not only serve to maintain international peace and security but will permit us to continue to speak with moral authority and to rely upon the confidence of our peoples on an item so perverted by reality.
206.	If within the framework of known strategic concepts the maintenance of international peace and security has hitherto depended on an equilibrium of force or power of an assumed permanence dictated by the technical and
scientific advances of our era, it is surely time to buttress this equilibrium with more solid support, while renouncing—in a sincere and tangible form—all designs aimed at domination, conquest and political expansion. Such a course of action would not only have favourable repercussions on the different items which together represent the field of disarmament but it would also free vast potential resources in every country of the world, for the creation of entire societies-more just and happier in character-to the benefit of peoples and the whole of humanity.
207.	Our Organization is at present making preparations for the special session of the General Assembly devoted to disarmament, to which we, as a small nation, give special importance.
208.	In this regard I wish to reaffirm the function of law as a fundamental factor in the agreements which are to be studied and adopted next year. I speak not only of law as an abstract; technical formula but also of its essential corollary: the implementation of international justice through its highest tribunal, the International Court of Justice.
209.	Uruguay has repeatedly confirmed its international role, which has always been based on those principles and, more than 50 years ago, it was the first country to accept without reservations the jurisdiction of the then Permanent Court of International Justice. Faithful to those principles,  my country will strive to ensure that the Court is given the primary function of resolving the problems which will flow from future agreements in the field of disarmament.
210.	I have already referred to many important matters which, in our opinion, still require to be faced or resolved if we are to achieve a just and peaceful international community, but I would be ignoring the realities of the international situation if I failed to mention the positive steps which have been taken by Member States in the pursuit of the known and well-defined purposes of our Organization in the field of the peaceful settlement of disputes and the revision of treaties sanctifying unjust situations. I am referring in particular to the Treaties on the Panama Canal, recently agreed upon between a brother country of Latin America and the United States of America.
211.	My Government takes particular pleasure in the agreement reached between the parties in so far as—with the blessing of the whole international community—it has brought to an end one of the historical disputes of this hemisphere, as was also the case with the Treaty on the River Plate between my country and the Argentine Republic. Faith in dialogue between States, in peaceful solutions and in justice has thus been reconfirmed.
212.	We hope that other pending questions will soon be resolved, such as the granting of access to the sea to Bolivia, the situation in the Malvinas and the question of Belize.
213.	My Government attaches special importance to the forthcoming seventh session of the Third United Nations Conference on the Law of the Sea and believes that it represents a decisive step in the process of building the new juridical order which will regulate the activities of States.
214.	My Government also attaches particular importance to the establishment of the exclusive economic zone and the new institution to be established under the law of the sea. This will not follow the classic pattern, as the area in question is neither territorial sea nor high sea and is therefore to be placed under a special legal system.
215.	I should like to emphasize that any text which hopes to be successful must be based on the sui generis nature of the exclusive economic zone. This special juridical character represents the fair balance between all the legitimate rights and interests involved.
216.	The coexistence of sovereign rights and exclusive jurisdiction, on the one hand, and of liberties and related rights, on the other, calls for a special system in which both groups of interest must be given clear guarantees, with a precise distribution of the related residuary rights; this system must completely clarify this new formulation of the sovereignty-liberty equation, always within the framework of basic institutions of the law of the sea.
217.	The integrated text for purposes of negotiation which was put together during the sixth session of the Conference, without prejudice to the reservations called for by certain of its provisions, represents an acceptable basis for continuing negotiations towards the conclusion of a draft convention.
218.	Having said that, I would like to repeat that it is the decision of my Government to encourage the building of peaceful order on the oceans.
219.	I hope that the concrete examples I have cited will serve as a stimulus and as a source of inspiration in the future as we face the serious problems menacing the international community. Some of them call for speedy clarification. I am referring in particular to such problems as international subversion and terrorism, racial discrimination, the international economic order and the situations which have developed in the Middle East and in southern Africa.
220.	If, as I believe, we continue to have sufficient will to maintain international peace and security, we must confront those problems immediately, in all sincerity and understanding, remembering that mankind, notwithstanding differences, is, in our era, increasingly reluctant to tolerate injustice in any form.
221.	Before leaving this rostrum, allow me to express the sentiments of the Uruguayan people by paraphrasing the words of our illustrious Rodo: I leave here my ardent prayer that the symbol of the United Nations will rise in ever more serene skies; that its splendour will illuminate ever purer glories, ever wiser laws, ever more abundant crops, more freedom and greater happiness; and that, shedding its light on the permanent harmony which flows from love and justice, it will maintain for current and future generations of humanity a better, more beautiful and a greater order than any that the world has hitherto seen form and dissolve as the centuries roll on.


75. Comrade President, it is with particular satisfaction that 1 wish to congratulate you on your election to the high office of President of the thirty-second session of the General Assembly. This election has been hailed in Yugoslavia for reasons that it would be superfluous to explain. The election to the presidency of the General Assembly of a representative of socialist and non-aligned Yugoslavia, at a significant moment in the development of international relations, is a mark of appreciation that we highly esteem. However, it is also an obligation to exert a maximum effort to contribute to the realization of the purposes and decisions of the United Nations.
76.	At the same time, 1 avail myself of this opportunity to pay full credit to the representative of friendly and non-aligned Sri Lanka, Hamilton Shirley Amerasinghe who, by his rich experience and fruitful activity, greatly contributed to the successful work of the thirty-first session of the General Assembly.
77.	May I welcome stress the extraordinary importance of the admission to membership in the United Nations of the friendly Socialist Republic of Viet Nam, whose people, by its heroic struggle and enormous sacrifices, has won the admiration of the whole world, and its own freedom and independence, and has proved its readiness to participate on equal terms, and to make its valuable contribution, in the solving of major problems of the present-day world. We are also pleased to welcome the admission of the Republic of Djibouti, whose independence means a contribution to the liquidation of colonialism and the stabilization of relations in Africa.
78.	The international community is faced with new challenges that we must look straight in the eye if we are to stimulate positive developments and arrest the dangerous slide toward new conflicts.
79.	It is a fact that equitable bilateral, and in some areas also multilateral, co-operation among States has been expanding in many spheres of international life. Accelerated national and social emancipation, the diversity of approaches to the democratic transformation of relations in the world and the spreading of the struggle for universe', application of the principles of active and peaceful coexistence have had the effect of uniting ever more the forces fighting for the democratization of international relations and of constantly shifting the relation of forces in the world in favour of peace and progress. The peoples of the world are resisting ever more energetically all forms of dependence, aggression, interference in internal affairs, domination and exploitation. The affirmation of one's own approach to social development and of the authentic values of social and national communities are becoming increasingly one of the essential characteristics of our epoch.
80.	All this has also been reflected during the recent visits of President Tito to the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea and the People's Republic of China. These visits have undoubtedly contributed considerably to the promotion of relations and the strengthening of co-operation and friendship between the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and the three aforementioned friendly countries, on the basis of respect for the well-known principles of independence, sovereignty, equal rights, territorial integrity, non-interference in internal affairs and independent choice of ways of internal social, economic and political development. One of the very important results of the visits has been yet another strong affirmation of these principles, which form the basis of active and peaceful coexistence. Strict respect for these principles by all the States Members of the United Nations is the most important element of the foundation of peace and security in the world and of the promotion of peaceful, all-round and equitable cooperation among countries and peoples whether with different or with the same or similar socio-economic and political systems. These principles constitute the foundation of the policy of non-alignment that Yugoslavia, which is successfully building its system of social self- management, has been pursuing consistently for many years.
80. The positive trends I have referred to are, however, uneven, and are meeting with growing resistance and, ever more, frequently, with the exertion of brutal pressure and the open use of force by the forces of imperialism, colonialism, neo-colonialism and foreign domination in general. Major international political and economic questions are not being solved at a rate and in a manner called for by their acute character; or recourse is made to partial solutions, often outside the United Nations, and regardless of the interests and without the participation of the parties directly concerned. What causes particular concern is the absence of substantive results in solving world economic problems, which results in a constant deterioration of the economic development of developing countries, especially of the least developed ones among them, and still further complicates international economic relations as a whole.
81.	The evident stagnation in the development of detente, and the ever more manifest tendencies to limit its scope, pose the question as to whether the world is on the threshold of the revival of certain aspects of cold-war policy. This question is raised by the intensified efforts to deepen the bloc division of the world, to step up the struggle for the extension of spheres of interest, particularly in the areas of non-aligned and other developing countries, and to intensify the arms race.
82.	The question arises whether this development has not reached the dangerous limit that should not be overstepped, as this could irreparably threaten peace and security in the world. And is it not high time to exert our utmost efforts so that we can begin to overcome negative tendencies and resistance to the process of relaxation of tensions, as well as to thwart attempts at making use of detente for achieving narrow objectives? We rejoice at every sign which shows that even the most powerful great Powers, whose policies essentially affect the development of the process of detente, are beginning to realize, like the other States Members of the United Nations, where this negative trend in the development of the process of relaxation of international tensions is leading. It remains to be seen whether they are prepared to make the necessary effort, in the same manner as all the other countries, to act decisively in opening prospects for a positive development of detente, which also means a positive development of international relations as a whole. On this occasion also, we wish to express our profound belief that the process of easing international tensions cannot prove to be a lasting one, even in its present limited form, without the participation of all countries in solving crucial international issues and the extension of' detente to all geographical regions and to all spheres of international relations.
83.	I wish to draw attention, at this session of the General Assembly also, to the exceptionally important decisions of the Fifth Conference of Heads of State or Government of Non-Aligned Countries, which was held in Colombo last year. The present international situation has confirmed the correctness of the clear and resolute stands adopted by that Conference and the significance of the all-round active involvement of the non-aligned movement as an independent and ever more influential world factor in solving key international problems. The constant efforts exerted by the non-aligned countries since the Fifth Conference in Colombo to implement its decisions gradually, particularly by promoting mutual co-operation and launching initiatives for strengthening broader international co-operation and solidarity, have produced palpable results and constitute a contribution to a positive development of international relations.
84.	The non-aligned countries are encountering major problems and obstacles along this road. The problems with which non-aligned countries are faced today are, to a great extent, a legacy of colonial times or a consequence of profound national and social transformations, and are the concern of the broader international community. Differences of views and interests which periodically assume the character of conflicts between some non-aligned countries—which are currently most pronounced in Africa—are not a characteristic feature of the movement as a whole. The non-aligned countries have always surmounted differences and conflicts successfully when their common interests and their activities aimed at solving crucial international issues were involved. We are convinced that the current disputes between some non-aligned countries can be solved peacefully, in accordance with the principles of non-alignment, the Charters of the United Nations and the Organization of African Unity. Any attempt by other countries to make use of these disputes or to exacerbate them not only renders their solution more difficult but also creates crises of wider proportions. For that reason my country has consistently advocated the peaceful solution of the disputes which have arisen, or may arise in the future, and is most resolutely opposed to any outside interference by any other State.
85.	We resolutely insist on the need to strengthen the solidarity and unity of non-aligned countries. We also believe that the strengthening of the solidarity of all developing countries belonging to the Group of 77 is of vital importance to all developing countries and also of decisive significance for the establishment of the new international economic order.
86.	The unity and the influential role of non-aligned countries in international developments is an essential element of stability in the world and one of the most important factors for eliminating the threat of war and strengthening world peace and security. This should be remembered by all those who hope to undermine and disrupt the unity of non-aligned countries, and are actively engaged in efforts to achieve that end.
87.	The struggle of non-aligned countries is today the most important factor for overcoming the division of the world into antagonistic military-political blocs, opposing the policy of division of the world into spheres of interest and influence, and strengthening the process of relaxation of international tensions as well as the transformation of this process into universal active and peaceful coexistence.
88.	In this respect we are convinced that the importance and the role of the non-aligned movement will constantly grow in the forthcoming period and that its contribution to solving international problems will be ever greater. All influential international entities should realize that their co-operation and dialogue with the non-aligned is the only acceptable relationship with this great international movement, whose historical significance is increasingly recognized in the world.
89.	My country actively is participating in the efforts of the non-aligned countries to implement a number of important tasks arising out of the decisions and the action programme adopted by the Fifth Conference, and in the preparations for the ministerial conference of the non- aligned countries which will be held in Belgrade in 1978. As host to that Conference, Yugoslavia will make a maximum effort to contribute to the success of that important gathering in the spirit of continuity of the policy of non-alignment and in the interests of peace and security .in the world and of the struggle to build new and more equitable international political relations and to establish the new international economic order.
90.	In this context, the United Nations has already played an important role. It has achieved tangible results in identifying international issues and in determining priorities, principles and ways for solving these problems. However, the greatest weakness of the United Nations resides in the fact that it has not succeeded in ensuring respect for and implementation of its decisions by all the States Members of the world Organization. it is indispensable to start an open dialogue about this problem here within the framework of the United Nations and to arrive at adequate decisions.
91.	The agenda of the thirty-second session of the General Assembly contains a large number of items. The number of outstanding international problems is constantly growing, but unfortunately very few questions have been solved successfully and removed from the agenda of the United Nations. I take great pleasure in reminding the Assembly that Yugoslavia, in conjunction with Italy and as a result of the Osimo agreements, has removed two questions from the agenda of the Security Council. This may serve as an example of how it is possible, with mutual efforts and goodwill, to solve a very complex question which had burdened relations between two neighbouring countries and had threatened stability, security and peace in Europe and, more broadly, in the world.
92.	Acute focal-points of crisis in several regions of the globe are at the centre of attention during the current session of the General Assembly.
93.	The situation in the Middle East is further complicated by the ever more aggressive policy of Israel. The most recent measures aimed at extending the scope of Israeli legislation to the territory of the West Bank of the River Jordan and the Gaza Strip and the establishment of new Israeli settlements in occupied Arab territories are part of a continued action by Israel aimed at annexing occupied territories and this poses a direct threat to peace and security in the region and beyond. Besides, Israel continues to deny the national rights of the Palestinian people, whose generally recognized legitimate representative is the Palestine Liberation Organization, in spite of the ever more widely accepted fact that the key to the solution of the Middle East crisis lies precisely in the realization of these legitimate rights, including the right of the Palestinian people to establish its own independent State.
94.	By its most recent acts of colonization Israel endeavours to perpetuate the occupation of the territories of Arab countries, thereby violating the generally endorsed principles embodied in the United Nations resolutions on withdrawal from territories occupied in 1967. The United Nations should do everything to have Israel comply with its decisions; this means Israel's withdrawal from all the Palestinian and other Arab territories it occupied in 1967 and the realization of the legitimate national rights of the Palestinian people. This alone can render possible a peaceful, lasting and just solution and guarantee the independence and security of all countries and peoples of the region, including those of Israel. For any such initiative, including the Geneva Peace Conference on the Middle East, to be successful, it is essential that the Palestine Liberation Organization participate, without any conditions, as an equal partner of all the other participants at that Conference. All attempts designed to prevent the full participation of the Palestine Liberation Organization at the Geneva Conference are fraught with danger. This illusion should be finally discarded by all those responsible for speedily finding a peaceful solution to the crisis in the Middle East.
95.	From' various quarters demands are being addressed to the Palestinians to recognize Security Council resolutions 242(1967) and 338(1973). Yugoslavia voted in favour of those resolutions and gave them its support, because it felt that they embodied some essential elements for the solution of the crisis in the Middle East, the withdrawal of Israel from Arab territories occupied in 1967 being the most important among them. However, I believe that the vast majority of countries represented in this hall will agree that those two resolutions are not sufficient, since the national entity of the Palestinian people and its right to establish an independent State are not recognized by them. Therefore we believe that the Security Council should adopt a new resolution embodying these two key elements. Then the Council would have defined all the elements relevant to a lasting solution of the Middle East crisis and the appropriate action to be taken by it.
96.	All those now involved in the search for a comprehensive solution of the Middle East crisis should take this into consideration and act accordingly if they really wish to speed up progress towards a peaceful and just solution of that crisis.
97.	The Cyprus crisis is in the same geographical region. We are very concerned over the absence of any progress in solving the crisis in Cyprus, where ever more frequent attempts are being made to legalize the division by force of the sovereign State of Cyprus. Yugoslavia continues to believe that negotiations between the Greek and Turkish Cypriot communities provide the only way conducive to a lasting solution-negotiations founded on full national equality and based on the generally adopted principles contained in the relevant resolutions of the General Assembly and the Security Council, which require the preservation of the territorial integrity, independence and non-alignment of the Republic of Cyprus. Our session should give a new impulse towards an accelerated search for a solution of this acute problem under the auspices of the United Nations.
98.	For many years we have been absorbed in the problem of apartheid and racism in southern Africa, which directly threatens the independence of neighbouring countries and constitutes an acute international issue affecting peace and security in general. South Africa is engaged in permanent aggression against the Namibian people. Condemning such a practice, the United Nations should take resolute action to implement the decision on the accession of Namibia to independence in 1978 under the leadership of the South West Africa People's Organization [SWAPOJ in its capacity as the only legitimate representative of the people of
Namibia.
The situation is also very disturbing owing to the unsolved problem of Southern Rhodesia. Ian Smith's racist regime continues to defy the demand of the international community that it hand over power to the majority of the people of Zimbabwe. It is intensifying its war effort in Southern Rhodesia find simultaneously, with the continuous help of South Africa, it is carrying out constant aggressive actions against Mozambique and other neighbouring countries.
99.	The United Nations should offer effective support and assistance to the liberation movements-to SWAPO in Namibia, and to the Patriotic Front in Zimbabwe-in their struggle for independence, as well as to the front-line countries in their fight against racism and apartheid. Any lasting solution must be based on full respect for the essential and legitimate interests of the peoples of Namibia and Zimbabwe. Only within this framework is Yugoslavia ready to support anyone's efforts to bring about a peaceful solution of these questions.
100.	The United Nations should also fully support the people of South Africa who are fighting against racist terror and for the liquidation of apartheid. The present situation in South Africa could be the source of a crisis of wider international dimensions.
101.	According priority to southern Africa, the United Nations should on this occasion again renew its categorical demand for the liquidation of colonialism in the still remaining colonial enclaves wherever they may be. There are no so-called small unresolved colonial questions. What is involved is the equal right of all peoples under colonial rule to self-determination and independence.
102.	A new crisis has recently flared up upon the Horn of Africa. The settlement of conflicts and outstanding problems in that region can in our opinion be achieved only by peaceful means on the basis of respect for the territorial integrity and independence of all the countries of the area and by ensuring their free social and economic development. Otherwise this latest conflict in Africa will benefit only those forces that are interested not in strengthening the independence of the African countries but in advancing their own interests and influence in Africa. My country believes that it is the duty of all the States Members of the United Nations to adhere most strictly to these principles. All those countries which act contrary to this are playing with fire which could set ablaze an armed conflict of wider proportions.
103.	Although the Korean question is not on the agenda of this session it merits our full attention, because the failure to solve it has broad negative consequences. Yugoslavia supports the politics of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea directed towards the peaceful and independent unification of the Korean people. Yugoslavia urges the withdrawal of foreign troops from South Korea, the elimination of foreign military bases and the conclusion of a peace treaty which would establish conditions for the Korean people to achieve its national aim of peaceful unification. We believe that the United Nations should more resolutely support these efforts and prevent the legalization of the division of Korea.
104.	The signing of the new Panama Canal treaties-which is the result of a persistent and long struggle by the people of Panama and of broad international solidarity, primarily of the Latin American and other non-aligned countries, as well as a result of the readiness of the Government of the United States of America to reach agreement—is an encouraging step towards achieving the effective sovereignty of Panama over the Canal Zone, which will also contribute to the struggle of the peoples of this continent for full political and economic emancipation. We have already congratulated the Governments of Panama and the United States of America on the successful conclusion of the negotiations and the agreement reached, whereby an important step has been made towards solving a long-lasting neuralgic issue.
105.	A particular problem for the peace and security of the world is posed by the practice of interference in the internal affairs of other countries and pressure by increasingly varied and subtle methods and forms with the aim of undermining the economic development, the social and political stability and the national unity of independent countries. This so-called indirect aggression, which belongs to the category of so-called special warfare, is directed mainly towards the destabilization of certain non-aligned and other developing countries for the purpose of imposing new aspects of neo-colonialism and hegemony or to overthrow some legal Governments. The non-aligned countries have always accorded exceptional importance to the question of non-interference, having in mind that some of them are in fact the most frequent victims of the form of the use of force. At the Fifth Conference of Non-Aligned Countries in Colombo this matter was given special attention and, on the initiative of the non-aligned countries, the thirty-first session of the General Assembly adopted a special resolution dealing comprehensively with this acute cause of international instability. For this reason we fully support the initiative of Guyana on the adoption of a declaration on non-interference, which would be an important contribution to the codification of the principles on which equitable co-operation and democratic and stable relations among States should be built.
106.	We have always believed disarmament to be one of the most important problems for which it is most urgent to find a solution. The decision to convene a special session of the General Assembly devoted to disarmament is an essential and timely action that expresses not only the readiness of the international community for the broadest involvement but also the need for concrete measures to halt the arms race and to begin a process conducive to general and complete disarmament under effective international control. At the same time, it is an expression of an awareness that international peace and security in the present-day world cannot be permanently maintained on the balance of forces, military might and division into blocs. The special session will be the broadest and most representative international gathering, and will not only consider this question in principle, but will also adopt an appropriate programme of measures and ensure a greater role and fuller involvement of the United Nations in the process of disarmament-rightly so, as the negotiations on disarmament held so far have not, despite certain results, made possible substantive progress in the field of disarmament itself. We expect all countries, especially the permanent members of the Security Council, to make the necessary effort to enable the special session to achieve tangible results. So far the preparations reflect the determination of many countries to approach the negotiations in a new and more specific manner, as regards both the definition of" principles and the adoption of specific disarmament measures.
107.	Yugoslavia is consistent in its support of the non- proliferation of nuclear weapons, although it has already had an opportunity to criticize strongly, in various international forums, the failure to abide by the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, especially by the most powerful nuclear Powers. Yugoslavia, however, rejects attempts by nuclear Powers to establish, under the pretext of halting the proliferation of nuclear armaments, a total monopoly on the transfer and use of nuclear technology and energy for peaceful purposes, which monopoly is a new threat to the sovereignty of all non-nuclear countries for which nuclear technology is indispensable for their economic and social development.
108.	I therefore wish especially to emphasize the particular importance of the peaceful uses of nuclear energy and technology and their introduction into the energy systems of the non-nuclear countries, primarily the developing countries. Instead of the fulfilment of existing obligations on the transfer of nuclear technology, a monopoly over the use of nuclear technology for peaceful purposes is being further strengthened, new obstacles are being created and attempts are being made to impose new obligations on the developing countries. There is therefore an urgent need to find international solutions for ensuring the free transfer of nuclear technology and its use in the interest of the accelerated development of the non-nuclear and, primarily, of the developing countries.
109.	Since the sixth and seventh special sessions of the General Assembly of the United Nations, when the foundations of the new international economic order were laid, intensive negotiations have taken place between the developing and the developed countries which, despite some progress in identifying the whole complexity of existing economic relations and the unequal position of the developing countries, have not produced the expected results.
110.	The existing situation causes us serious concern, and the developing countries cannot accept it. The unsatisfactory result - of the Paris Conference, which did not achieve the indispensable break-through in the sense of establishing the new international economic order, and the well-known outcome of the resumed thirty-first session of the General Assembly, make it imperative to adopt at the current session such decisions as will lead within the shortest possible time to the concrete solution of a certain number of priority international economic problems. This applies, first and foremost, to the forthcoming negotiations both at this session of the General Assembly and within the framework of the UNCTAD on an integral programme for raw materials and for the establishment of the common fund, as well as on the problem of the foreign debts of developing countries, especially the least developed and hardest hit among them, and on the remaining most important international economic problems.
111.	In this respect all the States Members of the United Nations should devote full attention to the declaration adopted by the Group of 77 developing countries at yesterday's meeting held at the level of ministers for foreign affairs. That declaration expresses the unanimous views and appraisals of developing countries concerning the present state of international economic relations.
112.	The General Assembly at its current session should direct and stimulate negotiations and, in that sense, give priority to the consideration of these problems.
113.	In a situation in which we are faced with uncertainty concerning the state of the world economy and the constant worsening of the position of the developing countries, it is high time that all the developed countries, regardless of their socio-economic systems or size, should show the necessary political will to become specifically involved and to contribute to the solution of the acute world economic problems, and thus to contribute by deeds to the establishment of the new international economic order. Yugoslavia believes that without such readiness on the part of all the developed countries it is impossible to achieve true co-operation between the developing and the developed countries, and all of us here in the United Nations consider that the only way to reach a speedy solution of crucial international economic problems.
114.	It is clear to all of us that the establishment of the new international economic order is a long-term process, but it is certain that it can and must be built by common efforts and through co-operation. In this regard a special responsibility rests on the developed countries. The developing countries see in the new international economic order a way to solve the most important problems of the world economy as a whole, for which the basic prerequisite is the more rapid development of developing countries and an equitable position for them in international economic relations. An orientation toward co-operation would include a determination to act resolutely with a view to implementing the programmes and decisions adopted so far.
115.	Of no less importance is the start of the negotiations to work out a new international strategy for development. For this action the political framework is already embodied in the resolutions on the establishment of the new international economic order. However, it is essential that, having learned from the negative experience of the First and Second United Nations Development Decades, we keep in mind the fact that a new strategy should reflect to the fullest extent the relations of interdependence of all
Members of the international community and define precisely their role, obligations and contribution.
116.	All these actions should be directed also towards the strengthening and development of the role of the United Nations, and especially of the General Assembly, as the most appropriate forum for the equitable participation of all countries in the solving of world economic problems. Unfortunately, the activity of the Ad Hoc Committee on the Restructuring of the Economic and Social Sectors of the United Nations System has not produced the expected results. We urge that this very important work be brought to a successful conclusion as soon as possible, so that the system of the United Nations may be able to conduct effective negotiations to solve the most acute and long-term international economic problems.
117.	In the social and humanitarian field, we attach particular importance to the successful outcome of the Decade for Action to Combat Racism and Racial Discrimination, which would be one of the greatest contributions to respect for, and the advancement of, human rights and freedoms as a component part of the struggle for peace, emancipation and social progress. The continuing mass and brutal violations of those rights by colonial and racist regimes and other reactionary forces are a subject of legitimate interest on the part of the international community.
118.	Human rights constitute a totality which, in addition to civil and political rights, include economic, social, national, cultural and other rights, and only their integral application ensures their full enjoyment. The realization of these rights is a long and complex historical process conditioned by many historical, social and developmental circumstances. Therefore, it goes without saying that today, too, we must conduct an open and constructive dialogue on the problem of human rights. It is clear that we must all exert great efforts over a long period in order to achieve the exercise of human rights in all their aspects, bearing in mind that this problem is an important element of peace and security in the world.
119.	However, singling out some aspects of human rights and attaching absolute significance to them, using them for purposes of political pressure and to infringe the sovereignty of independent States, of bloc rivalries, and imposing one's own social model on others are not activities that will conduce to the actual promotion of those rights. Effective action for the advancement of human rights must be conducted primarily from the position of generally adopted international treaties and the necessity of the accession of the greatest possible number of States to numerous international documents and also their full implementation.
120.	The question of ensuring the protection and advancement of the rights of minorities is one the international regulation of which would significantly contribute to the further promotion of human rights. Existing international instruments cover only partially the question of the position of minorities within the framework of the general regulation of human rights and the principle of non-discrimination.
121.	Therefore, at the last session of the General Assembly my delegation called upon the United Nations to pay appropriate attention to this problem for the purpose of working out in more detail the obligations of States and adopting an international document devoted to the protection of the rights and the improvement of the position of minorities. In the meanwhile, the Sub-Commission on Prevention of Discrimination and Protection of Minorities has recommended to the Commission on Human Rights the elaboration of a draft declaration on minorities, which is a positive first step. A broad approach to this problem, which would ensure the protection both of minority groups and minority individuals, is all the more necessary in view of the constant confirmation of the fact that the regulation of this important question is of great importance to the promotion of co-operation and rapprochement among peoples and States, or, rather, that failure to respect those rights threatens peace and security in many regions of the world.
122.	As host to the follow-up meeting of the Conference on Security and Co-operation in Europe, which was provided for in the Final Act of the Helsinki Conference of 1975, Yugoslavia will act in favour of having the meeting adopt measures for the integral implementation of the Final Act, with the aim of strengthening co-operation and security in Europe and the Mediterranean.
123.	I should like to call your attention to the global international importance of the problems of European security and co-operation. The majority of the countries of Europe, as well as the United States of America and Canada, belong to military-political blocs; by far the greatest quantity of armaments and armed forces is in that part of the world; the greatest economic, financial and technological power is concentrated in the hands of those countries. Merely these few obvious facts confirm the broad international importance of European security and cooperation, and thus also the importance of the follow-up meeting to the Conference on Security and Co-operation in Europe.
124.	The Final Act of Helsinki provides a platform not only for detente but also for overcoming division into military-political blocs, and for the expanded implementation of the principles of peaceful coexistence, the strengthening of security, the consolidation of peace and the promotion of equitable international co-operation in Europe and in all the world.
125.	The countries participating in the follow-up meeting at Belgrade face the task of reaching a constructive agreement on the further strengthening of security and co-operation in Europe and elsewhere. At the same time, Yugoslavia has been exerting efforts towards making the European processes a component part of trends in the world that lead towards the strengthening of peace and security, bearing in mind the fact that Europe could make a much greater contribution to the solution of global questions, especially in the economic field. It is obvious that Europe cannot be an oasis of peace and prosperity, independent from developments in other parts of the world.
126.	I believe it is essential, at this session also, to draw attention to the problem of the Mediterranean and the increasingly imperative need to undertake the consideration of the situation in the Mediterranean, which is becoming more and more unfavourable, and to take steps—in the spirit of the decisions of the Fifth Conference of Heads of State or Government of Non-Aligned Countries in Colombo, and of the position expressed in the resolution of the thirty-first session of the General Assembly on international security [resolution 31/92J— towards adopting appropriate decisions in the United Nations on the transformation of the Mediterranean into a zone of peace and security. I should also like to inform the General Assembly that attention will be devoted to the problem of the situation in the Mediterranean at the Belgrade meeting of the Conference on Security and Co-operation in Europe, with the participation, we hope, of non-European Mediterranean countries, with a view to adopting measures for applying the provisions of the Helsinki Final Act to the Mediterranean region as well.
127.	There is no doubt that international relations have worsened in some important areas and that dangerous new situations of crisis have been created. We cannot reconcile ourselves to this state of affairs. The international community has the power to prevent negative developments; this is an expression not just of subjective desires but also of actual possibilities and needs. There has never been a greater number of countries engaged in the building of equitable international co-operation in the world, and, at the same time, there has never been greater awareness of the power of the international community. The priority questions of this session are concerned with the solution of crises and the elimination of focal-points of crisis, primarily in Africa and the Middle East, together with progress towards the adoption of genuine measures of disarmament and the solution of problems of prime importance to the establishment of the new international economic order. It is illusory to think that without progress along these main lines of international relations it is possible to ensure a relaxation of tensions and lasting peace and stability.
128.	Therefore it is essential to strengthen the role of the United Nations, which is the most suitable framework for the international community's efforts to solve international problems, and essential to prevent attempts to circumvent the world Organization or to push it into the background. We are, therefore, faced with the constant task of making the world Organization, with the participation of all its Members, more effective and ensuring the implementation of its decisions.