The Republic of Haiti takes particular satisfaction in extending its warm congratulations to Mr. Trepczynski on his election to the presidency of the twenty-seventh session of the United Nations General Assembly.
127.	We were happy to contribute to his election, recalling the significant gesture of the Polish battalion which, arriving in the colony of Santo Domingo with a Napoleonic expedition under the orders of General Leclerc, refused to bear arms against the Negroes of Haiti, who were fighting fiercely for their freedom and independence. To applaud this lofty sense of respect for the fundamental rights of the human person, Jean-Jacques Dessalines, the Founder of the world's' First Black Republic, forthwith conferred Haitian nationality on the Polish soldiers, who subsequently were among the most ardent defenders of their adopted fatherland.
128.	This historic memory, dear to the heart of all Haitians, sufficiently expresses the pride the Haitian delegation takes in offering the President its most loyal cooperation for the success of his mandate.
129.	I should also like to hail the President of the twenty-sixth session of the General Assembly who, despite numerous difficulties, managed with competence and tact to carry out his delicate mission to the satisfaction of the Members of the Organization.
130.	I am speaking on behalf of His Excellency Mr. Jean- Claude Duvalier, President-for-life of the Republic, and of his Government, when I address my most earnest thanks to the members of the General Assembly for the support they offered the Haitian candidate for one of the vice- presidencies of the General Assembly. We see this gesture as a token of appreciation of the ceaseless efforts of the Government of the Republic to improve the living conditions of our people while contributing to the maintenance of a climate of peace, harmony and understanding in the Caribbean.
131.	As we begin the work of the twenty-seventh session of the General Assembly under the aegis of the great principles which, immediately following the last war, brought together men and nations in a single surge of brotherhood, the world is darkened by the Viet-Nam war, which continues in blood, horror and destruction; the armed conflict between Uganda and the United Republic of Tanzania, which has inflamed a large part of Africa and is threatening the equilibrium of the continent; the Middle East, where the atmosphere remains explosive while a wave of terrorism is spreading over the world: kidnapping, assassinations, hijackings of aircraft, attacks against persons and property, sequestrations, blackmail with hostages. Terrorism itself leads to counter-terrorism and murderous acts provoke reprisals of the same kind in other words, terror is met with terror. There is an uninterrupted chain of victims which stretches from Lod Airport to the Olympic Games in Munich, to the villages burned in Lebanon and practically to all continents.
132.	If these acts have a more immediate impact on the conscience of mankind and underscore the responsibility of each State of the international community, they must not be allowed to obscure the drama of the large majority of the world's population, which is deeply marked by poverty, undernourishment, unemployment, ignorance and sickness.
133.	The problem of development, which is closely bound up with the independence of Latin America, has assumed new dimensions with the emancipation of the colonial peoples and has become a demand of the poor countries. The initial phase of piecemeal struggle against the major economic Powers has given way to a sense of solidarity, of common destiny, among the disinherited peoples; to an awareness of the identity of the problems and a more realistic grasp of under-development; an awareness of the need to present a united front in the defense of essential interests, thus emphasizing the weight of the third world in the destiny of our earth. How many distinguished voices have been raised in the defense of this cause! "The price of primary commodities, above all that of coffee, copper, cocoa and sisal, continues to decline on the international market, whereas at the same time the cost of manufactured products constantly rises", wrote Dr. Francois Duvalier in 1969. The assistance granted by international organizations is proving to be parsimonious and insufficient in the face of the agonizing problems of development confronting Governments and peoples. These disenchanted considerations of a statesman were echoed three years later at the session of UNCTAD held in Santiago, Chile.
134.	The inadequacy of action undertaken in the field of trade and aid policy derives from the attitude of the developed countries, which are preoccupied by the complexity of their own problems: spiraling inflation, pollution, arms policy tied to the will-to-power. And it must be recognized that the rate of transfer of know-how and capital necessary for the third world's economic and social development is proving clearly insufficient.
135.	In fact, the third world's economic and technological dependence on the great Powers is becoming more and more marked in the twentieth century.
136.	The international community is still confronted with the task of giving practical expression to new trade and aid policies, of finding reasonable solutions to the growing indebtedness of the under-developed countries, of offsetting the burden of debt servicing and its impact on development efforts. No agreement has been forthcoming to date on the vital question for the countries of the third world of preferential access to the markets of the industrialized countries, or on the diversification of agricultural production tied to an increasing volume of assistance. Nevertheless, there are certain things on the plus side: the recognition of the developing countries' right to participate in any reform of the international monetary system, the recognition of the necessity for a transfer of technology to the nations of the third world, and the drafting of a charter of the economic rights and duties of States.
137.	In Latin America, in Africa and in Asia the voices of many millions of men are being upraised to claim the right to education, health and happiness. They look to the Second United Nations Development Decade to improve their living conditions.
138.	Those who bear the responsibility for the world's destiny must surely be aware that the urgent problems of economic development and disequilibrium between nations and between different social groups within nations are a source of chronic tension and one of the greater threats to peace. With the ever-widening gap between the industrialized and the under-developed countries, a feeling of frustration and despair is overtaking the disinherited of the earth. The moral argument, as well as the clearly understood interest of peoples that are guided by a sense of the future, point to the need to adapt economic and political structures to the new requirements of contemporary thinking while remaining true to the principles of law and solidarity of the United Nations Charter.
139.	It is with bitter disappointment that the Republic of Haiti notes that 1971, proclaimed by the General Assembly of the United Nations as "The International Year for Action to Combat Racism and Racial Discrimination" [resolution 2544 (XXIV)], has passed without any effective measure being taken to eliminate these brazen practices in South Africa and Rhodesia.
140.	The United Nations Charter proclaims the fundamental rights of man, the dignity and worth of the human being, the equality of rights of men and women as well as of nations great and small. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights goes further, recalling that all human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights.
141.	Yet, since 1946 the General Assembly has had before it the case of South Africa, where the majority of the people are oppressed by a minority oh the ground of supposed racial superiority. Yet racism persists with its inevitable genocidal component and threatens to become, as former Secretary-General U Thant wrote, a hideous monster ready to devour everything beneficial mankind has thus far succeeded in achieving and of reducing men to a bestial level of hatred and intolerance.
142.	To extirpate this virus of racial discrimination, which is tirelessly eroding the international community, means harnessing the progress of science and technology, which are irresistibly drawing humanity towards a universal civilization that will destroy backward and outdated particularisms. It means accepting and respecting the diversity of men in the complexity of their cultural and social- political evolution. It means struggling for social, economic and political justice, for equality of opportunity and for a brotherhood which will guarantee the dignity of man and the effective exercise of his rights.
143.	For, when all is said and done, we must realize that racial discrimination does not result primarily from mistaken notions, but is rather an ideological mask for more real conflicts based on the will to enslave and on relations of force. In other words, racism is one of the most abhorrent and degrading vestiges of colonialism, which, unfortunately, mankind has not yet extirpated, despite the profound changes which have taken place since the Second World War.
144.	The Republic of Haiti reaffirms the urgency of measures both national and international to implement the instruments of the United Nations aimed at eliminating racial discrimination in order to foster harmonious relations among all races.
145.	The General Assembly, and the Security Council in its resolution 310 (1972), have already condemned this year the refusal of South Africa to withdraw from Namibia. It is urgent that the Secretary-General, in conformity with Council resolution 309 (1972) should be authorized to contact the interested parties so that the Namibian people may freely exercise its right to self-determination and independence.
146.	The ethnic and cultural ties that bind the Republic of Haiti to Africa make us still more sympathetic to the desperate lot of those peoples. The delegation of Haiti appeals to the conscience of all Members of the Organization to demand respect for the resolutions and the fundamental principles of the Charter.
147.	Upon the inauguration of the proceedings of this twenty-seventh session of the General Assembly, your spontaneous choice of the Republic of Haiti to occupy one of the vice-presidencies of the Organization, testifying to delegations' appreciation, and sympathy vis-a-vis the Government of our President-for-life, Jean-Claude Duvalier, stimulates our efforts, strengthens our faith in the glorious destiny of our fatherland and encourages us to do still more to assist the United Nations to discharge its delicate and important mission.
148.	Almost 18 months ago President Duvalier inaugurated a new international policy based on peace and international co-operation, in respect for the principles of non-intervention, self-determination and the inalienable right of peoples freely to decide their destiny.
149.	The particular and close ties that history and geography have forged over the centuries between our country and the Dominican Republic explain wV' we should have looked first to that country. The converse ions which took place both in port-au-Prince and Santo Domingo have created a climate of confidence and harmony which took practical form in agreements on cultural exchange, while new economic and trade conventions are now being negotiated by experts of the two countries. Their signature will reaffirm the bonds already existing between the two States and at the same time help to strengthen their political stability. The Republic of Haiti invites all the peoples of the Caribbean ardently struggling to better themselves at this crossroads of races and civilizations to join in this co-operation for the full flowering of our rich potentials.
150.	In March of this year a Haitian good-will mission left for Washington, where it set forth the main lines of the policy of social justice of its Government, of progressive harmonization of interests of different sectors. At the State Department, at the Pentagon, the Haitian plenipotentiaries were received with warmth, and with their American counterparts laid the basis for a new era of co-operation between these two oldest independent republics of our hemisphere. In return, representatives of the Agency for International Development and an American military mission came to Port-au-Prince to discuss practical conditions for collaboration between the two Governments in the fields of the economy, arms, and technical assistance.
151.	At the same time the deep linguistic and cultural affinities between Haiti and France, which go back more than three centuries and which found such happy expression in the brilliant intellectual qualities of Dr. Francis Duvalier, encouraged a rapprochement between France and Haiti at a time when the policies of the late General de Gaulle, seeking to restore to France its place in the world, were bearing fruit. There was an important exchange of letters between Presidents Jean-Claude Duvalier and Georges Pompidou. At the invitation of the French Government a sizable Haitian mission went to Paris for talks on economic and financial matters and signed a specific agreement for the development in Haiti of French cultural and technical co-operation services. In the Federal Republic of Germany, Italy, Israel and Lebanon, this same delegation continued its cordial talks that promise much for the future of our relations with these friendly countries.
152.	Vis-a-vis Latin America, President Duvalier has adopted a policy of openness and understanding inspired by our highest pan-American traditions. The misunderstandings and misinterpretations perpetuated by factions blinded by their own interests, wealth and privileges and, insensible to the physical and moral sufferings of the great majority of the people, were thus dispelled. The humanitarian nature of the Duvalierist revolution, the strength of its ideology which has aroused in the nation psychological stimuli capable of engendering the hope, energy and enthusiasm that are essential to the effort for a new start-this Christian revolution, as was attested by the happy negotiations with the Holy See-was presented in its true light. The nobility of its purpose in seeking to improve the human lot in Haiti was properly understood.
153.	In December 1971, the Republic of Haiti resumed diplomatic and consular relations with Costa Rica; in April 1972 with Ecuador; and on 8 June of that same year with Venezuela, to which we are bound by fraternal relations which go back to the time when Bolivar was struggling for the independence of Latin America.
154.	Thus, less than two years after his inauguration, President Jean-Claude Duvalier has given, in the concern for the honor and dignity of his country, a dynamic impetus to the pan-Americanism of which Haiti was the cradle.
155.	Since the object of all international co-operation, as of all development policies, remains the human being and the satisfaction of his needs, both physical and moral, the Government of the Republic of Haiti has resolutely pursued the establishment of a national infrastructure, the construction of roads, schools, dispensaries and hospitals; with the Francois Duvalier hydro-electric plant at Peligre the production of electric power has been doubled. New channels of co-operation have been opened with the international finance agencies: the Inter-American Development Bank, the International Monetary Fund, and the World Bank. To illustrate these new relations, I shall simply mention the latest loan of $10 million granted by the World Bank to help improve our drinking water supply.
156.	Thanks to this political stability that only the confidence and the dedication of the people can maintain, a favorable climate has been created for private investment, tourist complexes, hotels, the development of beaches, factories, and sugar plants. All the parameters of the Haitian economy confirm this improvement, this renaissance, the fruit and the result of our revolution of social justice.
157.	The policy of openness, reconciliation and entente that President Duvalier inaugurated, holding out the hand of friendship to erstwhile adversaries and enemies, is reflected in the return home of former diplomats, parliamentarians, politicians and soldiers, where they are freely going about their business under the protection of the law and administrative authority.
158.	The explosive nature in the situation in the Middle East is now evident to us all. From the war in Sinai, to the Six-Day War, from the bloody days of Munich, which stripped the Olympic Games of their symbolism of peace, to the reprisals against towns in Syria and Lebanon, the conflict is going beyond the Middle East and a bewildered world is now asking itself where this chain of passions and violence will stop.
159.	For five years now Ambassador Gunnar Jarring has been working with zeal and dedication in the quest for a practical solution within the framework of Security Council resolution 242 (1967). Faced with this situation, which is developing so dangerously and in which certain great Powers dream of satisfying their ancient dream of hegemony, in the face of this crisis where alliances, misunderstandings and ruptures succeed one another, it is necessary to appeal to the wisdom and comprehension of the parties concerned, and thus to spare the civil populations and war prisoners further suffering. Is there no other way but war, between the resolve of the Arab countries to force the Israelis to abandon the occupied territories and Israel's determination to seek safety within secure frontiers? In any event, it is certain that the escalation of violence leads nowhere.
160.	A resolute champion of peace, the Haitian Government, as President Jean-Claude Duvalier has said, supports the theory of secure frontiers for all States including Israel. If they did not feel for ever hostages to a past marked by struggle, hatred and confrontation, the two parties could undertake, under the aegis of our Organization, a constructive dialog which could lead to peaceful coexistence and which would meet the wishes of all men of goodwill.
161.	Would it not be a good thing-and this is the wish of the Republic of Haiti -at this time, when the unhappy peoples of the Middle East are chafing at the fate that condemns them to a state of war, exhausts economic resources and prevents the flourishing of any social life, for the United Nations to intervene and revive the Jarring mission so as to advance the cause of peace and encourage the parties to re-examine the problem with a view to reaching a satisfactory solution of the conflict?
162.	It was in this same spirit of dialog and in the conviction of the desirability of bilateral conversations that our delegation noted the new relations between South and North Korea. At this stage of the negotiations, which hold out hope for a happy outcome, the Government of Haiti considers that public debates based on ideological opposition would risk closing the way to the necessary reciprocal concessions and provoke a hardening of positions. Therefore, my delegation is in favor of the proposal that the two parties should be left free to carry on their bilateral conversations in a spirit of mutual understanding derived from their common origin. In the light of these considerations, the Republic of Haiti is absolutely in agreement that the question of Korea should be postponed to the next session of the General Assembly.
163.	The Government of Haiti has also followed with keen interest the new Ostpolitik of the Federal Republic of Germany and the initiation of new East-West contacts in Europe with a view to restoring the peace, reconciliation and fraternity of sports of which Chancellor Willy Brandt had hoped to make Munich the symbol. The Moscow Treaty, the recognition of the Oder-Neisse frontier between the Federal Republic of Germany and Poland, the Quadripartite Agreement on Berlin and the complementary arrangements are all positive steps in this policy, at the same time as the continuance of conversations between the two Germanys for the normalization of their relations.
164.	The United Nations can achieve its universal vocation only with the representation of all nations that make up the international community. Ideological conflicts bound up with political rivalries have thus far kept outside it human entities which have displayed their vitality in the building of modern civilization. This seems to be the case with the two German States, whose admission to this Organization the Assembly may be led to consider at this session. The admission of one to the detriment of the other would, we believe, be no solution to the problem. On the contrary, it would tend to widen still further the gap between these two States and would impede progress towards a satisfactory solution of the German problem. What the United Nations needs is less a broad range of State delegations than a continuous determination, constantly renewed, on the part of its Members, to COP tribute to the welfare of agonized humanity. The delegation of the Republic of Haiti believes that it would be a good idea to postpone consideration of the admission to the United Nations of the Federal Republic of Germany and the German Democratic Republic until such time as the parties directly concerned have found adequate solutions to the problems that have arisen from the division of Germany.
165.	In the struggle of the peoples of the third world for better living conditions, the sea and the immense riches it contains have aroused new hopes. In this regard one may rightly recall the importance of the decision taken within the strict framework of their sovereignty by most countries of Latin America, which have fixed the limit of their territorial waters at 200 nautical miles.
166.	At the initiative of Venezuela, almost all the countries of Central America and the Caribbean, including the Republic of Haiti, met at Caracas in order in the spirit of Bolivar -that is to say, of pride, independence and pan- American solidarity- to consider the problems of the law of the sea, scientific investigations into the natural resources of the sea and the sea-bed and technological co-operation in that zone, taking into account the geographical characteristics of the region. The idea was to review the possibilities of exploiting the biological and mineral resources of the Caribbean sea, of deep drilling and also of guaranteeing the common and specific interests of the coastal countries.
167.	In June 1972 the Specialized Conference of the Caribbean Countries on the Problems of the Sea met at Santo Domingo. The participants, while underlining the urgent economic needs of the peoples of the region, stressed the fact that the renewable and non-renewable resources of the sea help to raise the living standards of the developing countries and to stimulate and accelerate their progress. They also pointed out that the maritime resources are not inexhaustible, because even living species can decline or disappear as a result of irrational exploitation or contamination. The essential points of the conclusions of that Conference, called upon to play a certain role in the development of the Caribbean countries and in their mutual relations, specified that all States had a right to fix their territorial waters at the limit of 12 nautical miles measured from the base line. Furthermore, the coastal States should exercise the rights of sovereignty over the natural resources, renewable or non-renewable, located both within the patrimonial sea and on the continental shelf, that is to say, the sea-bed and the subsoil of the submarine zones adjacent to the shore, or to a total distance of 200 nautical miles from the shore line. These conclusions, to which the Republic of Haiti fully adheres, respect the maritime interests of the international community and the regime of the high seas and the sea-bed, which are part of the common heritage of mankind. Thus, the countries of the Caribbean are demonstrating that economic and technological co-operation are possible and essential between under-developed peoples. They offer this example to the brother countries of the third world and emphasize the immense unexploited riches which are to be found in their local seas and which could powerfully contribute to their economic development and the strengthening of their independence.
168.	It must be recognized that among the problems of concern to mankind that of disarmament is one of the most important and most agonizing. Despite the reiterated appeals of the General Assembly, the arms race, which threatens the world with the specter of a nuclear war that could destroy all life on the planet, is continuing. We note with concern that the nuclear Powers are continuing indefinitely to strengthen their military arsenals, while others are engaging in nuclear and thermonuclear tests, in the atmosphere and underground, the better to enhance the destructive power of the atom.
169.	The United Nations should intervene decisively to put an end to this insane competition, which is a serious threat to world peace and which is swallowing up considerable resources in order to maintain what is known as the "balance of terror". The Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons [resolution 2373 (XXII), annex] the Moscow Agreement limiting anti-ballistic missile systems and strategic offensive weapons, signed in May, and the Tlatelolco Treaty for the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons in Latin America are among the initiatives which are to be encouraged and supported.
170.	It is clear that all the money which is futilely spent on armaments could be used to attack the fundamental problem of our time, that of under-development.
171.	Bilateral and multilateral co-operation would make it possible to restore a fairer balance in expenditures, which would certainly have a positive effect on terrorism and would help to strengthen peace, the peace which His Holiness Pope Paul VI thought would be possible only through "generalized development".
172.	Terrorism, which has now become an international issue, is a matter of growing concern everywhere. Violence, which used to be limited in character, thanks to modern communications, has now spread to almost all continents, and the situation is aggravated by the use of modern arms and technology. Going beyond mere individuals, terrorist groups are now setting up full-blown organizations. They have their agents and representatives in various cities; they have their budgets and their sources of arms supply. They know the addresses and habits of their victims; they know the times of arrival and departure of aircraft, and they are present at international meetings.
173.	The political aspect of terrorism is complicated when it is associated with national, racial and ideological claims or with the struggle of guerrilla forces, or when it is the alleged last resort of those who are beset by poverty and have lost all hopes in national and international institutions.
174.	Terrorism in its full scope is part of the moral erosion of mankind, characterized by unlimited competition, by the unleashing of egoisms, and it is a threat to the permanent values of the modern world. Are these signs of the imminent downfall of our civilization, as seen by Paul Valery when he judiciously recalled that civilizations, too, are mortal?
175.	Our age, which has seen the curious coexistence of science and illiteracy, is growing exhausted, as once did ancient Rome, on the one hand foundering in wealth and luxury, and on the other in poverty and physical and moral destitution. Recently a voice of great authority noted that we are now entering upon a phase similar to that which preceded the fall of Rome.
176.	Following the Munich tragedy, President Duvalier condemned terrorism in general and acts of barbarism which arouse the reprobation of the international conscience and imperil the peace, comprehension, solidarity and fraternity which should characterize relations between peoples and races.
177.	The Republic of Haiti considers that collective measures, supported by all Governments no matter what their ideology, could put an end to these kidnappings, seizures, assassinations and aerial hijackings, which are infringing the rights of individuals and nations. We therefore offer our undeserved support to the resolutions to that end which will be submitted at this twenty-seventh session.
178.	The panorama which we have just sketched would leave little room for hope did we not believe in man's capacity to see obstacles as a challenge to fetch up, from the roots of his humanity, the conscience and energy necessary to transcend particularism and feed the hopes of universal fraternity and solidarity in the reconciliation of man with himself, of man with nature, and of man with his neighbor.
179.	If the specter of under-development and its painful aftermath continues to hunt four fifths of the world's population, intermittent violence punctuates international relations and creates a general atmosphere of insecurity, there are still some glimmers of hope to light the path of mankind. First of all there is the fact that we are gathered together in this hall to discuss questions of common interest. It is true that for 27 years now we have been coming from all over the world to take part in this exchange of views and even though the results rarely meet our expectations, each year we take up the task again as if to signify our determination to keep alive the United Nations, which, when all is said and done, represents the supreme body for the maintenance of peace and security.
180.	We must not overlook the importance of the East-West detente, which seems to be relegating to history what used to be known as the cold war.
181.	The Tlatelolco Treaty, which definitively established the denuclearization of Latin America, represents an encouraging precedent for all peoples that love fertile and constructive peace. Against the same background we should also consider the Strategic Arms Limitation Talks, which represent a milestone in the efforts to safeguard the values of our civilization.
182.	The present efforts are not confined to the mere preservation of the status quo. They are also directed towards the improvement of the quality of life. The impassioned debates on ecology and the environment mark a growing awareness of the problems posed by the consumer society and may usher in a new era of civilization in which man will rediscover his sense of proportion and natural equilibrium.
183.	It is no less important to emphasize the formation of large economic groupings as a factor for peace and progress. The European Economic Community has become a power to be reckoned with in the great debate for the survival of mankind. Its existence is changing the balance of force which once made the future of the world dependent on an extreme ideological polarization. It has shaken up the rules of the game, introducing an element of equilibrium which broadens horizons and multiplies possibilities for the peoples of the third world wishing to safeguard their national identity and their cultures and wishing themselves to determine the conditions for the exploitation of their natural riches. Of course the European Common Market has not yet reached its full power, but its weight can decisively influence major international decisions.
184.	The countries of the third world are following the example of Europe. Groupings and sub-groupings have been, or are being, formed in various parts of the world. In Latin America, the concepts of economic integration and of a free exchange area are finding practical expression and giving pan-Americanism a new dimension. In Africa similar associations reflect the determination of the African States to surmount their deferences and consolidate their independence.
185.	The outlines of a new world are taking shape before our eyes. In addition to the great economic groupings formed by States whose territories constitute natural geographic regions, other broader ensembles are aborning. We should like to mention here the association of all the peoples that are bound together by the French language and culture, without distinction as to race or ideology. Quickened by the breath of France, this association is based on the common desire of the member countries to exploit the wealth of their cultural experience in a spirit of solidarity and fraternity.
186.	All these manifestations of goodwill reflect our concern to harness the aspirations and anxieties of youth in order to build a world commensurate with twentieth- century man. But the Republic of Haiti, whose entire history constitutes an illustration of the maxim that nothing great can be achieved without sacrifice, cannot take refuge in exaggerated optimism. It has resolutely taken the road of national effort. In accordance with the Charter of Algiers,  according to which it is for the developing countries themselves to assume responsibility for their development, our revolution of social justice is changing the economic and social structures, mobilizing the capacities, energies and resources and guaranteeing the participation of all in the benefits of the collective effort.
187.	If we have emphasized the steps being undertaken to preserve mankind from decline and catastrophe, mentioning the signs for hope, it is to exhort us all to go on opening new paths and to mount a vigilant guard around the United Nations. In spite of its limitations, its inadequacies, and even its failures, the United Nations represents the highest political conscience of mankind. I also take this opportunity to reaffirm the unshakable dedication of the people and Government of Haiti to the ideals of peace and development inscribed in the Charter.
188.	That is why the delegation of Haiti wishes to convey to this Assembly the fraternal greetings and the fervent hopes of His Excellency Mr. Jean-Claude Duvalier, President-for-life of the Republic of Haiti, for the full success of the twenty-seventh session.


197.  It gives me great pleasure to extend to the President my warm congratulations on his election to the high office of President of the twenty-seventh session of the United Nations General Assembly. I hope that this session of the General Assembly over which he presides will be able, with more vigor and tenacity, to achieve the noble principles proclaimed by the Charter.
198.	I have pleasure also, in my capacity as the first Foreign Minister of the State of Qatar, to address the representatives of the world community for the first time since the independence of my country, which has enabled us to adopt a policy of domestic reform and to establish foreign relations in the hope that Qatar would take its rightful place in the world community in order to pursue constructive social progress, economic advancement and fruitful co-operation with other nations for the mutual benefit and welfare of all mankind.
199.	Before my country joined this Organization last year, it was associated to it by its belief in the purposes and principles of the Charter and by the practical contribution it was making to its field of work. My country follows with great interest the activities of the United Nations in all fields, particularly those fields of work of concern to the specialized agencies related to it.
200.	Our belief in the purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations was forcefully expressed by H.R.H. Sheikh Khalifa Bin Hamad Al-Thani, Emir of the State of Qatar, on the eve of our independence, when he said:
"The State accepts the obligations contained in the Charter of the United Nations, and believes in the purposes and principles of the Charter, which advocates the right of peoples to self-determination, international co-operation for the welfare of mankind, the prevalence of peace and security all over the world, and the obligation of nations to solve their differences by peaceful means and to establish relations between themselves on the principles of justice and equality according to the principles of international law."
201.	The State of Qatar joined the United Nations in the hope that the United Nations would concert its efforts in order to fulfill the purposes and principles of its Charter. But a number of this Organization's resolutions have never been implemented. There was an armed aggression against Arab countries, Members of this Organization, launched by Israel in 1967, during which Israel occupied by sheer force Arab lands. Despite the several United Nations resolutions condemning Israel, Israel still refuses to implement those resolutions and refuses to withdraw from the occupied Arab territories. Israel also frustrated the mission of Mr. Gunnar Jarring, the Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary-General; but in spite of all that, the United Nations did not take any action in fulfillment of the Articles of the Charter to repel the aggression.
202.	That is not all. The hand of Israel reached to the Holy Places for the purpose of destroying and altering holy Jerusalem. Then occurred the burning of the Al Aqsa Mosque, which led the Security Council in its resolution 271 (1969) to condemn Israel strongly for the measures it was adopting to change the status of Jerusalem.
203.	We all know that the United Nations has recognized the established and legitimate rights of the Palestinian people and proclaimed that full respect of these rights was essential for the establishment and prevalence of a permanent and just peace in the area. But Israel, which was responsible for the displacement of the Palestinian people from their homes, is still pursuing its expansionist policy and uses all methods to oppress the people of Palestine. The resolutions of the United Nations regarding the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people are disregarded and blocked, a matter which, to our regret, creates doubts about the effectiveness of this Organization as an instrument for maintaining peace.
204.	We therefore strongly advocate and insist that the United Nations see to it that its resolutions are implemented according to the Charter; hence it should force Israel to withdraw from aL the Arab territories which it occupied in 1967 and restore all the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people so that the United Nations can work with dignity as an effective instrument for the preservation of peace.
205.	My country admires the great tasks which the United Nations is performing in the economic, social, health and educational fields, and we believe that an expansion of work in these fields and the securing of the necessary funds for them would be the best and most constructive means for the creation of a better international community in which all people can live prosperously and in peace and security.
206.	The Charter of the United Nations is a grand Charter. It contains all the principles cherished by man for a free, peaceful and secure life. But that goal cannot be achieved unless the spirit of justice encompasses all nations and unless all nations abide by the principles of the Charter and implement the resolutions based on it. Then and only then can freedom, equality and international peace and security prevail.


Mr. President, I am glad to have the opportunity today of extending to you, on behalf of the South African delegation, my congratulations on your election to the high office of President of the General Assembly. At the same time, I should like to pay a tribute to your predecessor, Mr. Malik of Indonesia, who so successfully guided our deliberations during the twenty- sixth session of the Assembly.
2.	May I also pay my respects to our new Secretary-General and wish him every success in the discharge of his heavy responsibilities?
3.	Change is inevitable, and nowhere is this more true than in the field of international relations. We contemplate today a world different from the world that existed at the time of the last session of the General Assembly, for the past year has witnessed changes of more than ordinary significance, including the evolution of what may be termed a new relationship among the major Powers. It is true that the legacy of the Second World War, the polarization of the nations of the world into different power blocs, is still with us today more than a quarter of a century later. But recently, important developments have begun to ease at least some of the tensions of the past.
4.	These developments have followed a series of initiatives on the part of several of the major Powers, leading, it would seem, to a degree of reconciliation and a lessening of animosity between some of them. We find ourselves in a new situation, and axiomatically a new situation brings with it the prospect of new opportunities. There is, in particular, the promise of better understanding and theft- fore of a more peaceful world.
5.	We in South Africa hope that this promise will be realized. We welcome any development which tends to lessen international tension and which leans in the direction of defusing, rather than accentuating, international confrontation-confrontation which in this day and age could lead to catastrophe for the world. We welcome the approach of the major Powers which, after all these years, are moving increasingly, albeit cautiously, from a posture of mutual recrimination towards one of negotiation. We are glad that the negotiations which have already taken place provide support for the concept of the peaceful settlement of disputes between nations, large and small.
6.	What conclusions are to be drawn by an onlooker from these developments? In the first place, it is striking that, although the internal political and social systems of the major Powers are often widely divergent, this has not deterred them from reaching an accommodation with one another on the issues which have hitherto divided them. None has found it necessary to change its own system or to try to impose such an adjustment on others. It has, in fact, been specifically stated in communiques and conference documentation that essential differences in ideology, social systems and even foreign policies should be no bar to the conduct of relations between States, based on such universal principles as respect for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all States, non-aggression against States, non-interference in the internal affairs of States, equality and mutual benefit, and peaceful coexistence. It was also recognized that international disputes should be settled without resort to the threat or use of force.
7.	In the second place we should note that, despite the significance of the recent developments to which I have referred, the progress so far made is unfortunately only marginal in comparison with the awesome magnitude and complexity of the problems that still remain. These problems, which vitally affect not only the larger nations but every nation in the world, include such issues as economic development, the preservation of our global environment, famine and over-population, disarmament, and so on. Any advance in these spheres is encouraging and it is indeed gratifying to acknowledge in passing that a measure of progress has this year been recorded in some of them. It is regrettable, however, that even on such cardinal matters as the environment and economic development, political considerations, for reasons frequently not even remotely relevant to the central issue, are allowed to intrude into the proceedings.
A/PV.2046
8.	How are the smaller nations affected by the new fluidity in international relations? It is clear that the developments in the past year or two involving the major Powers have acted as a catalyst for the reassessment of many existing political situations. No country can wisely disregard them altogether. It seems to me, furthermore, that the smaller Powers now have an incentive to show that
they, too, can relax tension among themselves. The lesson is that consultation and negotiation are more rewarding for all the parties concerned than confrontation leading to possible conflict, destruction and suffering; the lesson is that differences in internal social systems are no deterrent to accommodation between the parties; the lesson, furthermore, is that an essential prerequisite to a climate of mutual trust and confidence, leading to the settlement of differences, is acceptance and implementation of the principles of non-aggression, non-interference in the internal affairs of other States and peaceful coexistence. It is my hope that the smaller States will heed this lesson, strive for cooperation and thus lay the basis for the progress and advancement of their peoples.
9.	In the face of the great problems with which the world as a whole is confronted, and with particular reference to me immense task of development which faces the smaller developing countries, none of us can afford the luxury of international bickering and dispute, which distract our attention from the fundamental problems and detract from our ability to solve them.
10.	Let us in this regard briefly consider the record of the year which has just gone by. We find that progress has in fact been erratic. In some areas improvement has been registered; in others, however, an atmosphere of armed hostility survives in the aftermath of a regional war; elsewhere we have witnessed military coups d'etat, assassination attempts, massive loss of life in communal conflicts, hijacking and terrorism in its different manifestations. Only some of these activities have received the attention of this Organization. This is the darker side of the picture, but I mention it because these are activities which gravely undermine international order and progress, and history will harshly judge the international community and this Organization if they continue unchecked. In the economic and social fields progress has also been uneven and the world has had to live through a further period of financial crisis and instability. It is clear that progress will not come easily.
11.	Against this background of shifting international attitudes and uneven accomplishment, may I sketch some of the principles governing South Africa's approach to international intercourse. As a starting-point, let me reiterate that we fully subscribe to the principle of respect for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of States. We shall continue to apply this principle in the conduct of our relations with our neighbors in southern Africa, where the principle has most relevance for us. We have given solemn undertakings in this regard. Our aim is to exist peacefully with each of them to out mutual advantage. We have no aggressive intentions or expansionist ambitions.
12.	We believe also in the peaceful settlement of disputes, which is the fundamental message of the Charter, and we reject the use of violence and force as a means to an end. Instead we favor dialog and negotiation, contact and communication. We can point in this regard to our contacts with the Secretary-General on the future of South West Africa. We remain ready to enter into dialog with anyone who reciprocates our genuine interest therein. Let me make it clear once again today that we are prepared to discuss even South Africa's internal policies in the course of such a dialog. My country practices and lives dialog and sees in it a positive approach to world problems and an effective way of promoting peaceful coexistence and world harmony.
13.	Accordingly we have on several occasions shown our readiness to seek solutions to current problems within this framework. I am convinced that the development of dialog between South Africa and African nations can lead only to improved relations to the benefit of all. There is already evidence that this is so. I may mention in this regard, for example, the historic state visit of the President- for-life of Malawi to South Africa during 1971, which was followed by an equally successful return visit by the South African State President earlier this year. We believe that reciprocal visits of this nature, conducted at all levels, are important from the point of view of breaking down prejudices and increasing understanding.
14.	Then there is the question of internal dialog. It has been asserted in some quarters that South Africa should conduct a dialog with its own people before attempting to engage in a dialog with independent States, particularly those of Africa. This assertion appears to be based, as in the case of so many attitudes towards South Africa, on a fundamental misconception of the situation. There is, in fact, a continuing dialog with the various peoples in South Africa, which has been and is being conducted at all levels, from the lowest to the highest. The self-governing nations emerging in South Africa are producing leaders and representatives who are empowered by their own people to conduct a dialog at the highest level with the South African Government and this they have been doing. Ministers and officials of my Government are in constant touch with ministers and their officials in the homelands, all of which enjoy some form of self-government. Last year the South African Prime Minister himself conferred with leaders of all the different peoples of the Republic, some of which, namely the Xhosas and the Zulus, total as many as 4 million each, and these meetings have continued this year. Moreover, these leaders travel overseas extensively and exchange views and ideas with a wide cross-section of world opinion. What is all this, if it is not dialogue in the truest sense of the word?
15.	It is a strange phenomenon that dialogue in any form should be discouraged in this Organization. The Organization, whose raison d'etre is the maintenance of peace in the world, is the largest and most universal forum of the community of nations for the exchange of points of view. Implicit in the concept of the United Nations is that disputes are better settled by words than by force. It is therefore inexplicable and unforgiveable that the membership should actively or even obliquely support in any way programmes of force, violence and terror, while at the same time disavowing dialogue. We hope that all Members will adopt a positive approach to dialogue and that dialogue itself will not become a source of discord among the nations of the world. It would be tragic if it were to be used by some for divisive purposes to split us into opposing groups or blocs.
16.	The repudiation of dialogue leads to reliance upon uglier means of settling differences, none more ugly and abhorrent than terrorism. Recent incidents of terrorism have horrified the world. But terrorism is not new. It has existed for years. During the past decade or more, indiscriminate terrorism has spread to virtually every corner of the globe, bringing in its wake suffering, destruction and death. The terrorist outrages committed at Munich and elsewhere have been widely condemned, here and elsewhere. This is very proper, but it is not enough. Terrorism is a universal evil which must be stamped out everywhere. There can be no differentiation between types of terrorism. In all its forms it is a disease which respects no frontier. None that ignores it abroad is immune to it at home.
17.	This Organization in particular must be consistent. It cannot shirk its duty and discard its Charter in regard to terrorism. We must speak with one voice on this scourge, without equivocation, because terrorism, no matter where it may erupt or what its current guise, cannot shed its essential characteristics: it is beyond the pale of order, of law, of decency, of society and of humanity. We cannot for selfish or regional reasons move to stamp it out in one form or in one region, while encouraging it in another. It is obvious that this merely guarantees its survival and its spread. And yet, the records of this Assembly abound in expressions serving as encouragement to those committed to violence as a means of achieving their political objectives. Furthermore, at the very time of the Munich outrage, plans were openly being laid for stepping up terrorism in Africa. Terrorism will survive so long as this and other Organizations continue not only to condone the use of force and violence as a means to an end but, in certain circumstances, to support and even to subsidize it.
18.	We deplore this attitude. South Africa cannot and will not compromise on the issue of terrorism. We have not hesitated to take drastic action against it in the past, and we shall fight it with all means at our disposal in the future. I much regret, I might add, that even while the Secretary-General and the South African Government are engaged in discussions on the future of South West Africa, with progress already registered, some individuals and organizations, and even some Governments represented here, should still openly advocate the use of force and violence in that Territory.
19.	So far as the contacts between the Secretary-General and my Government are concerned, this is obviously not the opportune moment for me to speak on them at any length. There is no denying that the gap to be bridged is wide and deep, and it cannot be expected that a solution will be found overnight. Time, perseverance and patience will clearly be required. Nevertheless, we sincerely hope that goodwill, mutual trust and understanding will prevail on all sides and that in this atmosphere progress will be possible. I want again to reaffirm that, so far as South West Africa is concerned, the South African Government is firmly committed to the principle of self-determination and independence with all that this implies, and we shall continue to co-operate fully with the Secretary-General in the search for a solution.
20.	In the meantime, South Africa is continuing to assist in the development of the Territory and the advancement of its peoples in all spheres so that they may achieve the declared goal of self-determination and independence as rapidly as possible. During the last two generations we have made a considerable contribution to the Territory's development. I may also mention that, by virtue of South African legislation, all revenue collected in South West Africa, including taxation on foreign investments, is applied there exclusively for the benefit of all the inhabitants. In addition, South Africa itself annually contributes directly and indirectly a substantial amount to the Territory's development. In 1972 this additional contribution by the south African Government, on current account alone, is estimated at $80 million, an amount which very nearly equals South West Africa's own estimated revenue receipts. We shall be more than prepared to continue to assist the peoples of the Territory after independence, if that is what they desire; and we are in a good position to do so, because of our close association with South West Africa over many years, our geographic proximity and our links in numerous fields; but it will be clear that our assistance then cannot be on the same scale as it is today. Even now the growing needs of the indigenous peoples can hardly be met from local and South African resources combined.
21.	After independence, therefore, as in the case of most newly independent States, they will inevitably continue to look beyond their borders for assistance.
22.	In all the circumstances, we simply cannot understand the motives of those who discourage new foreign investment or call for the cessation of existing foreign investment in South West Africa. It cannot be in the interest of the peoples of the Territory to deprive them of the contribution to their welfare which overseas investors make in the context of their business operations there, for it is the inhabitants themselves who gain from such investments. And it must surely be clear that, the closer we move in the direction of self-determination and independence, the more important foreign investment becomes in developing the essential economic launching-pad which new States need in order to get off to a sound start. An attempt to retard the economic growth of the Territory simply means a prolongation of its economic dependence upon others. I would ask those discouraging, or advocating a withdrawal of, investments in South West Africa at least to take account of the wishes of the inhabitants of the Territory, and to cease arrogating to themselves exclusively the privilege of deciding what is in their best interests.
23.	From what I have said today, it should be clear that South Africa has adopted an approach to its problems and its relations with other countries which is not out of tune with the current trend of negotiation and detente now influencing international relations. This applies both to the conduct of South Africa's internal affairs and to the wider international sphere.
24.	I have in mind, in this regard, relations, with our neighbors as well as with the United Nations. We subscribe to this policy because we are convinced that, provided our efforts are not undermined by external influences, it will promote peace in our part of the world.
25.	It should not be necessary to commend a similar approach to Members of this Organization, since that approach is implicit in the Charter. But a return to the Charter in this respect might lead the Organization to higher levels of achievement in the pursuit of its principal objective: international peace


On behalf of my Government, and on my own behalf, I wish to express to you, Mr. President, our sincere and cordial congratulations on your election. Under your distinguished guidance our task of fulfilling the purposes and principles of the United Nations promises this year to be most fruitful.
2.	Guatemala is attending this twenty-seventh session of the General Assembly moved as always by a desire to take part in the work of this lofty world Organization and with a faith that has been confirmed in the noble principles which uphold it. We are fully convinced that, despite the great difficulties encountered since its birth, the United Nations has increasingly asserted itself in the maintenance of peace, the preservation of future generations from the scourge of war, and the protection of all mankind in the social, economic and human rights fields.
3.	No one can be unaware that in the first area, notwithstanding the persistence of the Viet-Nam conflict and the delicate situation in the Near East, the United Nations has remained active in its efforts to maintain peace, which is the fundamental requirement for the development of all forms of international co-operation which ensure solidarity among men and nations.
4.	We must not fail to realize that part of this general and constructive activity has been the resolutions on general and complete disarmament, the Treaties relating to the nuclear test-ban and the non-proliferation of nuclear weapons, which inspired the recently concluded agreements among the great Powers. Consideration has also been given to the elimination of chemical and bacteriological weapons and to the peaceful use of the sea-bed and outer space, and to policies to halt the arms race, the economic and social consequences of which have been delaying the integral development of the largest portions of the world's population. Of great significance for peace too are the efforts and achievements of the United Nations in the liberation of peoples under the colonial yoke. In Korea its efforts, together with those of the Korean people, have done much to reunify that great nation. In the human rights field, we here reaffirm our faith in the work of the United Nations and in the principles of its Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and we condemn all policies of racial discrimination which denigrate the human person.
5.	Guatemala, therefore, reiterates both its support for the purposes which inspired the establishment of the United Nations as an Organization of the entire international community and its full respect for the legal principles incorporated in the Charter; we also support compliance with all the obligations which that legal instrument imposes on the Members of this Organization. Specifically, we reaffirm the competence of the United Nations in maintaining international peace and security, and we believe there is a need to strengthen the Organization so that it may attain this common objective of mankind.
6.	As for the growing effort to develop universal co-operation under United Nations sponsorship in an effort to preserve and improve the human environment, I wish to say that Guatemala participated with great interest in the United Nations Conference on the Human Environment, held in Stockholm in June of this year, at which my delegation was honored to represent the fraternal Governments of Costa Rica and El Salvador.
7.	In the light of the results of the Stockholm Conference, Guatemala expresses its intention to co-operate internationally in implementing the standards and principles incorporated by world consensus in the historic Declaration of the Conference.  At the same time, the Government of my country intends, at the national level, to take all measures it deems appropriate to improve the quality of the environment and to preserve the ecological balance as part of its programs for economic and social development, the ultimate purpose of which is the continuous improvement of the Guatemalan standard of living.
8.	Consistent with its traditional position, my Government will support in this Assembly any action to permit the participation of the developing countries in the machinery and programmes of the United Nations related to the human environment, and will promote all international
efforts in this field, as long as they equitably respond to the aspirations and needs of the developing countries.
9.	My Government has also endorsed General Assembly resolution 2750 C (XXV), in which the Assembly decided to convene a conference on the law of the sea in 1973, recognizing "the need for early and progressive development of the law of the sea". The peoples of America are fully aware that we depend on natural resources for our subsistence and regionally we have proclaimed the right to protect, preserve and develop those resources and to ensure their use and exploitation, including primarily those of the sea, the legal regime for which in the Americas was consolidated in 1956, by the Principles of Mexico on the Juridical Regime of the Sea, which are recognized:
"... as the expression of the juridical conscience of the Continent, and as applicable between the American States";
and more recently by the following:
"That the economic and social development of all the peoples and the assurance of equal opportunities for all human beings are essential conditions for peace;
"That the renewable and non-renewable resources of the sea contribute to improve the standard of living of the developing countries and to stimulate and accelerate their progress;
"That such resources are not inexhaustible since even the living species may be depleted or extinguished as a consequence of irrational exploitation or pollution;
"That the law of the sea should harmonize the needs and interests of States and those of the International Community". [A/8721, pp. 70-71.]
The American States, meeting last June, laid down in the Declaration of Santo Domingo [ibid., pp. 70-73] the legal standards for the territorial sea, the patrimonial sea, the continental shelf, the international sea-bed, the high seas, pollution of the sea and regional co-operation, which are to prevail as a protection and safeguard of the rights and interests of our peoples.
10.	The present Government of Guatemala is the result of an election held in accordance with the constitutional and legal procedures of our country and in keeping with the purest democratic processes and the free interplay of political parties. The people of Guatemala exercised their right to self-determination and elected the government of their choice. And yet my Government has had to face the problem, now widespread throughout the world, of subversion and terrorism by extremist and clandestine minority groups. My Government, with the resources available to it under its Constitution and laws, has proceeded to bring to the country peace, which is indispensable to continuing the irreversible task of improving the social, cultural and economic life of the nation in order to attain the development level necessary in the world during the times we live in. The constant action of terrorism, which weakens peoples, together with defects in the factors for development, led the President of the Republic, on celebrating our independence, to declare:
"The sum of many weaknesses produces only inferior countries, and if we have no strength or resolution to improve the quality of our life in our national community, independence will merely be a symbol, but not a reality."
11.	Our Government has viewed with concern the intensification of terrorist activities in various parts of the world characterized by kidnapping and coercion with a continuous threat to the lives and property, of our own citizens and of foreigners; this in some cases has led to the criminal and unspeakable assassination of the victims. This is a breach of the most sacred human right, the right to life, and is particularly reprehensible because of its cruelty and cowardness and because it shows total scorn for the legal institutions which have been created to bring about harmony and the common good of society. We consider that a state of law cannot accept such crimes and extortions by attributing to them apparently political motives when by their commission what is intended is to create a general atmosphere of insecurity and collective fear, and a lack of confidence that public order will officially be ensured, thus provoking a crisis in the rule of law and bringing about political and social chaos.
12.	Given that situation, my Government reiterates its complete support for resolution 4 (I-E/70), which was adopted on 30 June 1970 by the General Assembly of the Organization of American States, at its first special session, in which acts of terrorism, and especially the kidnapping of persons and extortion connected with that crime, were condemned as crimes against humanity. That resolution also establishes that those acts constitute grave common crimes and recommends that Member States adopt such measures as they may deem suitable, in the exercise of their sovereignty, to prevent and when appropriate to punish crimes of this kind, and to facilitate the exchange of information that will help in the prevention and punishment of crimes of this kind.
13.	My Government considers that kidnapping and other attempts upon the life, physical integrity or freedom of persons constitute common crimes, whatever the motives for which they are committed and that acts of terrorism, including the kidnapping of persons for purposes of blackmail, do not constitute either political crimes or their related common crimes.
14.	My delegation will support any draft resolution submitted to this General Assembly the purpose of which is to develop international co-operation in order to preserve the community of nations from terrorism which threatens the stability, democracy and the security of our institutions and the well-being of our peoples.
15.	On another subject but in connexion with the internal and regional action of my Government, I wish to declare that in our desire for economic improvement we are continuing to implement the five-year integral development plan, land reform and institutional and fiscal reforms intended to raise the standard of living of the nation. Regionally, Guatemala continues to participate actively in the Central-American Common Market, which, despite the various crises which have arisen in the past years, continues its forward march. The' process of industrialization is continuing, but in order to bring about the economic well-being which we aspire to for the people of Guatemala, we need the co-operation of the international community, and particularly that of the highly industrialized countries.
16.	At the important third session of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development [UNCTAD], held at Santiago, Chile, in April and May 1972, we pointed out that there was a lack of understanding for the problems which affect countries such as ours, which are at a relatively low stage of development. We' observed this lack of understanding not only among the industrialized countries but also in some of the more advanced developing countries.
17.	Exports of farm and agricultural products are and will continue to be very important in earning foreign exchange in Central America. Guatemala is convinced of the need to strengthen the international agreements on commodities, such as coffee or sugar, but we believe that for the least developed countries different criteria should be applied from those that are applied to the other developing countries which have reached a more advanced level of economic progress. In determining quotas, the index of industrial development must be taken into account, as well as dependence on the product in question, the nature and availability of natural resources and, in general, the degree of socio-economic development of the country.
18.	One of the major obstacles we are confronting in the path towards development is the unjust, arbitrary and artificial payment of our labor in the international markets. To be able to move ahead it is necessary that there be established some machinery whereby we shall be able to obtain an equitable price for our commodities.
19.	It is also imperative to proceed to greater liberalization of the tariff barriers of all the industrialized countries so as to permit the growing participation of the goods of the developing countries in their markets.
20.	The establishment of a new international monetary order, in which the developing countries will participate fully, is indispensable for economic development. Small countries should not have to suffer the consequences of economic imbalances for which they are not in the least responsible.
21.	We reiterate our complete support for regional economic integration, being convinced that it is only through it that we can achieve full development. This integration, however, must be carried out taking very much into consideration the socio-economic disparities in various countries. Central America is made up of five least developed countries, a category which has been accepted in the Central American subregion as well as at the Latin American level. Worldwide, the additional criteria should be adopted to identify least developed subregions, which could be considered as a unit, so that special measures could be applied to them to promote their economic development and integration.
22.	As regards peace in the region of Central America, my country has carried out intense diplomatic activity intended to make it easier for two brother countries, which have in the past had tragic moments of armed conflict, to return to cordial relations by a settlement of their differences on the basis of the standards of international law, living together in peace, co-operation and solidarity, with full respect for the sovereignty and independence of States in their quest to carry out their legitimate interests.
23.	Lastly, I wish to affirm that the Republic of Guatemala has had with the United Kingdom a dispute of more than 100 years over our territory of Belize, which is occupied by that Power. Years ago Guatemala agreed to submit this dispute to the peaceful means for the settlement of disputes established in international law and prescribed in the Charter of the United Nations as mandatory for States Members of the Organization. Good Offices, mediation and direct negotiations have occupied our special attention in seeking a just and equitable solution which will make it possible to restore the territory of Belize to the territorial integrity of the Republic of Guatemala while not ignoring the interests of the population living there. My Government reiterates that it will oppose any change in the legal and political status of Belize without a prior and complete settlement of the problem of the rights of Guatemala over that territory.


Mr. President, at the outset I wish to congratulate you on your assumption of the stewardship of this session of the Assembly, a responsibility upon which you have embarked with tact and dynamism. Our congratulations also go to the Secretary-General, Mr. Waldheim, who is approaching the close of his first full year with us. To you we pledge unfailing co-operation, to him unflinching support.
74.	There have been two recurring themes in the general debate this year, terrorism and detente two seemingly irreconcilable phenomena. In this statement I wish essentially to address myself to those two questions.
75.	Since the Second World War, which gave man the impetus to organize along international lines in the hope of controlling dangers to peace and security at various structural levels, the world has witnessed radical changes which have revolutionized concepts of time and space and therefore given new dimensions to the global interdependency of man. What happens in another country, even in a village of peasants, is no longer the isolated concern of those immediately involved but is the concern of all.
76.	The world has also witnessed the awakening of man to Ms birth-rights and the realization by nations that no people is good enough to be another people's master.
77.	But in spite of this awakening and interdependency, violence is still rending the world. This violence in the world only constitutes a small part of a much more pervasive problem of disorder resulting from human indignities and tragedies that now afflict the larger portions of mankind across the globe but which rarely find adequate representation in media that are often motivated by self-seeking ends exclusively. Indeed, only when remote problems leave a sign on our door-steps do we seem to realize that we are not on an isolated island of peace and security, that we are in the midst of a sea of human indignity, suffering and tragedy.
78.	The world is plagued by terror -terror within and terror without the bounds of our countries; terror by individuals as well as terror by groups of individuals and States. Within, it is often a reaction against inequities of birth or inequalities of worth or repulsion against the moral asphyxia of a decaying civilization. Without, it is a revolt against colonial servitude, territorial aggression or national humiliation. In all those cases, terror is motivated neither by an innate disposition to violence nor by a propensity for spite. Instead it is a response to inner torments born out of inequity and frustration. In all those cases nothing is wanton. Wanton terror by individuals or groups of individuals stands condemned. At the national level it is a grievous affliction; at the international level, an unmitigated disaster. No Government that believes in a better world order and the well-being of man can wink at the former or license the latter.
79.	If we are genuinely seeking to deliver mankind from violence in all its forms, we had better address ourselves not only to its consequences but also to its genesis. The failure to realize fully the interdependency of the local, national and regional interests of the world community has generally resulted in the inability of the world Organization to appreciate the root-causes of problems often grounded on the lower and intermediate levels of the world structure.
80.	If we have opposed, therefore, the inclusion of this item [item 92] in the agenda of this Assembly, we have not done so because we are challenging either the initiative of the Secretary-General to deal with a universal adverse phenomenon or the duty of this Organization to handle willful actions that threaten the very fabric of civilized society. What we have wished to guard against is the exploitation of the item and the occasion by those whose convictions are suspect and whose virtue is questionable. The way in which this debate has unfolded has borne us out.
81.	It is revealing that of all those that have spoken on terror the three countries that have chosen to make the subject a major theme of their statements are those that have flouted every single resolution relating to them passed by the competent organs of this Organization, including the supreme peace-making organ, the Security Council, in their efforts to establish peace and order. Need I say that the unholy trinity I am referring to is South Africa, Portugal and Israel?
82.	South Africa devoted one-quarter of its statement [2046th meeting] to telling the world that terrorism derives from the rejection of dialog and must be condemned whatever the motivations leading to it. Portugal, with one-third of its statement [2048th meeting] on the subject, chose to preach to the world that no desire for justice or reform and no eagerness for liberation could justify the use of force. Israel, with over half of its statement [2045th meeting] on terrorism, tried to talk this Assembly into believing that the most rampant terror in the world today is that which has its roots in Arab hostility to Israel and that in the rest of the world all is milk and honey. It is declarations such as those that explain the position of many of us who advised caution; and it is declarations such as those that make us ask whether words really mean what they say. The term "terrorism" becomes overloaded. In fact it is so overloaded that it has become vacuous. Perhaps it is here that we should start: by defining the meaning of "terrorism", Wisdom, in the words of Socrates, begins with the definition of terms. Oratorical virtuosity, consummate fabrications and insolent demagogy cannot lead us very far.
83.	Yes, let us deal with terrorism. Let us deal with it as we see it: in the pestilence of colonialism that pollutes our continent; in racialism, that defiles our societies; in the tragedies suffered by the innocent peoples of Asia, where bombardment is incessant and armies, despite all the peace overtures, are still marching on with drum and fife; in the willful attacks from the air and land on the peaceful hamlets and innocent women and children of Lebanon. The speakers who have decided to try to keep this Organization during this session in a spasm of anxiety cannot tell us that individual deaths are tragedies and mass murders are only statistics.
84.	It is colonialism, racialism, territorial aggrandizement and the wanton use of force by States that are the mortal enemies of peace and the conduct of civilized human intercourse among peoples and nations.
85.	In Africa, for example, if the United Nations were to be judged only on its record in questions of decolonization and racial discrimination there would be little reason for gratification over its achievements. It is now exactly 26 years since the Organization became involved with African problems, when India in 1946 raised the question of racial discrimination in South Africa.  Since then the General Assembly and the Security Council have between them passed about 130 resolutions, while the International Court of Justice has delivered not less than half a dozen opinions, all on questions of decolonization and racial discrimination in Africa. Many of those resolutions and opinions have disappeared into the morass of good ideas that "might have been". For all its involvement in those questions, spread over a quarter of a century, the United Nations has not been able to improve the lot of Africans and thereby halt the now accelerating drift towards a major conflict and the escalation to more violence; and the extent of this spiral is any body's guess.
86.	In Rhodesia a rebellious white supremacist clique representing only 4.9 per cent of the population is growing in arrogance and reveling in repression. Its racialism is too deeply implanted to abdicate its place to charity and reason,
87.	In the Portuguese Territories about one half of the still dependent 30 million people of the world live. Portugal has yet to learn that the invariable purpose of the Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples [resolution 1514 (XV)] was the hastening of independence.
88.	All these are not isolated incidents and the United Nations has not failed to relate them to world peace and order. The Security Council and the General Assembly have since 1961 resolved that apartheid would endanger international peace and security and requested all States to consider such steps, singly or collectively, as were open to them to get South Africa to abandon its policies.
89.	The United Nations has also committed itself, since 1968, to economic sanctions under Articles 42 and 43 of the Charter, having determined that the situation created by the Rhodesian rebellion "constitutes a threat to peace". If Africa resorts to force, as indeed it has, and with the blessing of its heads and elders who decided at the Assembly of Heads of State and Government of the Organization of African Unity [OA U] at Rabat to double their support of the liberation movements, it is doing so only to rid the world of an affliction which is insidiously undermining civilized society and to lance a festering sore that is about to pollute its whole body.
90.	In the Middle East, where territories of three Member States have been under foreign occupation for over five years, where a whole people has for nearly three decades been suffering the indignation of forced refuge, and where ceaseless bombardments are carried out on the innocent, violence also is rampant.
91.	The Foreign Minister of Israel, by the prevarication of established historical facts acknowledged by this Organization and reaffirmed repeatedly by different organs, wanted to relate this violence to what he considers the villain of the play. He asked:
". .. is it true that there is a distinct people" meaning the Palestinian people-"deprived of self-determination, languishing in poverty, squalor and humiliation, dependent on organized violence as its sole prospect of redemption? " [2045th meeting, para. 109.]
And without taking a breath Mr. Eban replied, unabashedly, to his own question: "Nothing could be further from the truth." [Ibid.] Here again we have an example of the futility of this debate on terror, where words mean different things to different people.
92.	But we do not have to quibble with words to establish the right of the Palestinian people to self-determination, their existence being a reality denied only by Mr. Eban. Mr. Eban is the last person to be unaware of the reason why the General Assembly resolution of November 1947 [resolution 181 (IIj] -to which Israel owes its very existence- was called "the partition resolution". Partition of what? And partition between whom?
93.	This very Assembly resolved, by its resolution 194 (III), that the Palestinians had a right to return to their homes or to be compensated if they chose not to do so. That resolution has recurred at every ensuing session. But neither repatriation nor compensation has taken place, because of Israeli intransigence, which Mr. Eban crowned last week with his negation of the very existence of the Palestinian people. Such an outlook is not conducive enough to a rational consideration of the question at issue.
94.	The crowning irony comes when Israel requests this Organization to engage in a process of law-making banning international terrorism. And the irony is doubled when this request is made in the very statement telling us, in dealing with the Arab-Israeli question, that the United Nations atmosphere-and I quote Mr. Eban is hot "congenial to the craftsmanship of peace" [2045th meeting, para. 68]. That statement is the supreme contribution of Israel to the demise of the United Nations peace-keeping effort in the Middle East.
95.	It was therefore no surprise to anybody that the Israeli statement, in addition to its disdain for all United Nations resolutions relating to the rights of the Palestinian people, was devoid of any reference to Security Council resolution 242 (1967), which the Foreign Minister of Israel himself described last year as the only basis of United Nations jurisprudence in the matter [2015th meeting]. For the rest of us, Mr. Maurice Schumann spoke lucidly and aptly when he said
"... does any people or country of the Middle East not understand that for its independence to be definitively ensured it must be sheltered from the interplay of outside scheming or rivalries? To this fundamental question there can only be a definitive and sure answer here, not elsewhere" [2041st meeting, para. 80.]
96.	It takes a lot of courage for a plaintiff to come to equity while engaged in unconscionable practice, one basic maxim of the law of equity being; he who comes to equity must come with clean hands. And it takes a lot of arrogance to seek justice while showing contempt for the bench and ridiculing the jury.
97.	On the same theme, the United States has come to this Assembly with a draft resolution[A/C.6/L.851]. The basic defect in that draft resolution is that it ends where it should have begun. The main point should be to urge Member States to address themselves to the sources of tension. As long as there is subjugation and inequity people will always resort to violence to reach goals that are unreachable otherwise.
98.	Revolutions have never been concomitant with the sanctity of human life. This mode of social behavior is neither African nor Asian. It was the United States itself that won its independence through violence, years before Robespierre delivered to the world his dictum that in revolution "terror is justice, prompt, secure and inflexible" and that revolution should "conduct people by reason and enemies of the people by terror". And unless flagrant injustices are removed, unless gross inequities are eradicated, unless bitterness is basically extirpated from the hearts of men, the concept of people and enemies of the people will remain to be determined by subjective measuring rods depending on whom and what you relate to. And unless a better and more civilized system of world order is established, in which states breaking the law of nations are brought to account, incidents of wanton terror can neither be isolated nor adequately controlled.
99.	A world organization that does not address itself to those objective realities of multiple yet interdependent and interactive dimensions is likely to be fragmented and preoccupied with the visible manifestations of problems on the international level, while leaving their root-causes embedded in the deceptively remote and even isolated national or regional corners of foreign lands. Such an organization will be not only ineffective, but indeed shaken by the undercurrents of frustrations and discontent in those remote corners.
100.	the phenomena of violence as a mode of expressing a grievance or rebelling against an injustice, and that of detente as an outcome of new alignments among States, are not necessarily paradoxical. The dynamics of human endeavor are now revealing new trends of realignment in search of alternative methods of tackling problems. We are witnessing a narrowing gulf between the big Powers in their attempt to solve their problems and promote their mutual national or regional interests, thus averting violence on their soil while continuing it, by proxy, on foreign soil. In other words, violence is being exported to us.
101.	Detente and the composition of differences are welcome as long as they do not reflect a preoccupation with problems of immediate national interest, to the exclusion of international problems, or degenerate into a conspiracy of silence. The absence of a single reference to Africa in the Moscow Declaration that mapped out all the problem areas of the world is an example of the former. The irrational position of some western Powers on the issue of Rhodesia in the Security Council is an example of the latter.
102.	On the other hand, new alignments among the small Powers are taking place; old ones are being reinforced. The Rabat meeting of the African Heads of State and Government and the Georgetown Conference of Foreign Ministers of Non-Aligned Countries, and their outcome, are reflections of this trend. In so far as those meetings are focusing on regional or selected international problems, where the minds are at one, the trend is positive and promising. But in so far as the trend is founded on the failure of the international Organization to solve problems, it is disconcerting.
103.	The new alignments and international syndicalism are duly leading to what the Foreign Minister of Brazil has aptly described, in his open statement here as the "diplomatic marginalization of the United Nations" [2038th meeting, para. 33]. Some of us might be deluded into thinking that our salvation is in clubbism and interdependency of interests.
104.	But interdependency of interests implies more than building policies on competitive interaction and interdependence. It requires positive co-operation towards the achievement of the common goal of human dignity in all aspects of life. It requires the global sharing of power, of material wealth, of spiritual well-being and of scientific and technological advantages. And all this requires a change in the fundamental chemistry of international relations.
105.	But in all this where does the United Nations come in? The Georgetown Conference, whose final Act is now in the hands of the Secretary-General, precisely addressed itself to this question. We have all reaffirmed our faith in the Charter of the United Nations, but the Charter is not a fetish. And we have all pledged our support to the Organization, but the Organization will have to change with time. We have all called for the democratization as well as the increased universalization of the United Nations. China is now in our midst and we are the richer by its presence.
106.	Institutions, like men, grow and become obsolescent. Change is imperative if there is to be a new international order based on justice and fair play; it is only the dead who do not change. To achieve this goal, some modification of the Charter and review of the role of various organs are indispensable.
107.	The process is not unknown to the United Nations. Amendments have been introduced to the Charter. Less dramatic, but equally important, is the evolution of the Charter provisions through the various liberal and creative interpretations given to them. The Charter, like all living constitutions, was meant to be adaptive and self-regulating.
108.	Such an endeavor must be undertaken with both imagination and realism. And realism might lead us to accept, but not become resigned to, certain facts of life. Article 2, paragraph 7 and Article 27 of the Charter, lead together, teach us that there is a two-tier concept of equality. What is to be challenged, therefore, is not the weighted power of some States, inherent in the Charter, as much as the wanton exercise of such power. Power is to be disciplined and its exercise civilized, for, when power is unguided by enlightened principle and high purpose, it can only spell disaster in the end.
109.	I have alluded to regional realignments and endeavors which are motivated by the desire of nations and regional organizations to tackle their immediate problems, thus enabling them to come to grips with their own urgent needs. Such alignments may frustrate international cooperation in the tackling of political, economic, social and cultural problems.
110.	Fortunately this is not invariably the case. We in the Sudan do not boast of any achievements in this field but we have an experience which, though local, is a microcosm of many problems now faced in many parts of the world. The co-operation we have received from various friendly Governments, the United Nations and its specialized agencies, as well as from voluntary organizations, also testifies to the significance of our example as a microcosm of world problems and the potentialities of co-operation in their solution at all levels.
111.	The case in point is our solution to a national problem which has afflicted our country with civil strife 17 years old-which cost us many lives, frustrated our development and fostered resentment and bitterness instead of solidarity and patriotism among brothers and sisters. The so-called Arab North and African South of our country are one people with a lot more in common than the world has heard, but the legacy of colonial isolationist and divisive policies left deep gulf that erupted into hostilities which the successive Governments tried-some genuinely and some half-heartedly-to end, without avail.
112.	Our Government realized that the common good of the nation was interdependent with the interests of all its citizens as reflected in their sharing in political power and in the advantages of the economic, social and cultural development of their region. By formulating and implementing a system of regional autonomy, the Government met the political aspirations of the people of the South and has now embarked on an extensive program of immediate relief, resettlement, and rehabilitation of refugees and returnees.
113.	The refugee example is noteworthy because it is unprecedented. For over half a century, since Fridtjof Nansen embarked on the first international refugee program, problems of refugees were solved through either their assimilation in host countries or their return to their homes following military victory. This is the first time in the history of international refugee efforts when refugees, hundreds of thousands of them, are returning to their homes both peaceably and voluntarily, out of their own accord and volition.
114.	The international dimension of the Sudanese experience is evident not only in our accommodation of multiplicity and diversity within unity and community of interest, but also in the co-operation and assistance we have received from the outside world-co-operation and assistance from sister countries, joined to us by bonds of brotherhood, and a world family that saw in our experience a fresh breath of sanity.
115.	And now, with peace restored, we cannot fail to address ourselves to the other phase of peace-making: social and economic development. Peace and security cannot be fragmented into political, economic, social or cultural components in the vain hope of solving the one without tackling the other. Development is a precondition for stability and expansion and a fundamental prerequisite for international peace and security. As such, the development of the proletarian nations of the world is an international responsibility as well as a national one. The very philosophy underlying the provisions of the International Development Strategy for the Second United Nations Development Decade [resolution 2626 (XXV)] stems from the awareness that the international community has a global responsibility for the solution of social and economic problems.
116.	Our economic and social development is keeping pace neither with our own needs nor with the growth of world trade and development. The results are wide-spread poverty, endemic malnutrition and inadequate education.
117.	The present international economic order may not be capable of accommodating the needs and expectations of the developing world, whether because of the wasteful distortion of priorities, the widening gap between the national interests of the affluent and those of the have-nots, or the absence of generally accepted norms. To those questions and others we shall devote our efforts in the appropriate Committee of this Assembly.
118.	For many of us this year is the year of the environment. It is the year of man's unity with nature. However, there is an irony in this situation which did not escape the attention of my learned friend the Foreign Minister of Guyana. He said:
"... it would be futile to develop a planetary strategy based on the unity of man with other life forms while ignoring those factors of inequality that frustrate and destroy the unity of mankind, and those realities of tension and conflict that impair the quality and threaten the existence of human life itself..." [2038th meeting, para. 110.]
119.	The irony is supreme. But, despite all the alarms on violence and terror as well as all the frustrations and desperations of the afflicted, we cannot but continue our pilgrim's progress. The United Nations will have no choice but to devote all its efforts to those human tragedies that are still awaiting their catharsis.
120.	To that end the Sudan pledges its support to the Organization, which remains, despite all its failings, the abiding corner-stone of world peace and stability as well as of the well-being of man.