Mr. President, at a time when the question of the speed with which this Organization can proceed with the decolonization of the remaining non-independent Territories in Africa is still perhaps the most pressing issue before this Assembly, it is particularly significant that you should have been chosen to preside over our deliberations. Your outstanding chairmanship of the Special Committee on the Situation with regard to the Implementation of the Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples has amply qualified you for this post. For Barbados, it is doubly pleasurable to offer congratulations to you, Mr. President, especially because of the high regard in which you are held as your country's non-resident High Commissioner to Barbados, and also because of the close historical and cultural links which exist between the United Republic of Tanzania and Barbados.
2.	The admission to membership in this Organization of our sister Caribbean State, Saint Lucia, is a source of great pride and satisfaction to Barbados and the Caribbean. It contributes to our optimism about the effectiveness of the United Nations in pursuing the principle of universality of its membership as well as of parity among all Member States, regardless of their size or wealth.
3.	Since the landmark resolution 1514 (XV) of 1960, many countries, including Barbados, have broken the bonds of colonialism and joined the ranks of the free. The inexorable process continues, although not without hitches. It is to be hoped that, at the thirty-fifth session, this Assembly will welcome at least three other Caribbean States as full Members, namely, St. Vincent, St. Kitts-Nevis-Anguilla and Antigua.
4.	But if our efforts in the cause of decolonization are not redoubled and our voices not constantly raised, we will see a continuance of the delay in the attainment of full independence by another Caribbean sister country, Belize. Barbados continues to deplore the persistent and intransigent claim of the Guatemalan Government to the Territory of Belize in defiance of world opinion and United Nations resolutions. There can be no doubt that the yielding of any part of the territory of Belize, no matter how small, will result in instability and threats to the peace and security of the entire region. Despite the overwhelming international support for Belize's right' to self-determination as demonstrated in this forum, this Organization has come no closer to the resolution of the problems which impede Belize's progress to independence. We call upon those countries which persist in abstaining in their votes on this issue to respect principle and recognize the importance for the Latin American and Caribbean region of having the question of Belize resolved in accordance with the legitimate wishes of the Government and people of Belize.
5.	There can be no compromise on the principle of self-determination and the issue of decolonization. At its thirty-third session the General Assembly expressed its commitment to the right of the people of East Timor to self-determination and reaffirmed an earlier resolution calling for Indonesian withdrawal from the Territory of East Timor, Indonesia's invasion and annexation of that small country continues to be of the utmost concern to Barbados. Barbados will continue to give its unqualified support to the people of East Timor in their just struggle against foreign occupation.
6.	In the case of the Western Sahara, Barbados also lends its principled support to the Saharan people, through their legitimate representative, the Frente POLISARIO, in their efforts to resist colonialism. Barbados commends Mauritania for its initiative in relinquishing its claim to part of the Sahara Territory.
7.	The high hopes which many of us held almost a year ago for an early solution to the problems of Namibia on the basis of the plan of action approved by the Security Council have all been dashed by the wilful obstruction by South Africa of the establishment of a United Nations presence in Namibia to supervise and control elections. While Barbados agrees that the full cooperation of all concerned is essential to the implementation of the Security Council's plan of action, we are of the view that the Western Powers have a special responsibility in this regard.
8.	Barbados is fully aware of the importance of South Africa as a major source of supply of mineral resources for some of the Western industrial nations. This reliance, based as it is purely on economic considerations and naked self-interest, should not be a smoke-screen for the abandonment of principle and for delaying the true independence of Namibia and the final liberation of the black peoples of southern Africa. Barbados renews its oft-repeated call for the imposition of total economic and military sanctions against South Africa in order to compel that country to end its recalcitrance with respect to Namibia and to abandon its iniquitous and oppressive regime of apartheid.
9.	The recent proposal on the Rhodesian conflict agreed upon only a few months ago at the Meeting of Heads of Government of Commonwealth Countries in Lusaka represents in our view a promising step towards an ultimate solution to the Rhodesian problem. We fully support the Commonwealth agreement and hope that the talks now taking place between all the parties to the conflict will shortly lead to a negotiated settlement satisfactory to all parties.
10.	But even in areas where the process of decolonization has ostensibly been completed new forms of colonialism reappear or self-determination is not being fully realized. The Middle East is one such area. The attainment of true self-determination for the Palestinian people, as the Secretary-General has reminded us, "is central to the political, economic and military stability of the world". For there to be peace with stability, negotiations must take place among all the parties. The efforts made at Camp David are only tentative steps along the road to a comprehensive settlement. A comprehensive peace can, in our view, be achieved only when it is recognized that the Palestinian people have a right to full self-determination and a homeland of their own and that Israel has an equal right to exist within secure borders. Such a peace will never be achieved in a condition of spasmodic raids and continual expansion of new settlements.
11.	Over the years we have heard many a speaker rhapsodize about the virtues of detente. We were told that the cold war had come to an end and that a new era of peaceful coexistence had dawned on the erstwhile cold warriors.
12.	During the last year, however, it became obvious to the people of the Caribbean that this belief is a dangerous illusion, as contending super-Powers opened up a new front within the region. On the one hand, one super-Power continues to pursue its Messianic, hegemonic and ideological vision of a world where all countries will adopt its economic, social and political system. On the other hand, the other superpower exhumed the obsolete concepts contained in the Monroe Doctrine and the philosophy of "manifest destiny" , dusted them off and paraded them to the world as new solutions to contemporary problems.
13.	Not since the days of the slave trade has the Caribbean experienced such a web of international confrontation and intrigue. In the confusion occasioned by the introduction and intensification of the cold war in the Caribbean, Barbados wants to make its position clear. In 1966, Barbados did not win its independence to give it up again by becoming a vassal State of any superpower. We stand uncompromisingly opposed to any kind of imperialism or colonialism. It follows, then, that Barbados rejects the pernicious imperialist doctrines of "balance of power", "correlation of forces" and "spheres of influence", and, as a corollary, subscribes to the principle of non-interference in the internal affairs of other countries, a principle which this Assembly has upheld on many occasions. The people of sovereign countries must be left in peace to practise self-determination and to solve their national problems as they see fit. The cold war in the Caribbean region has created a situation where marauders, pirates and mercenaries threaten populations with destruction. This has in turn increased militarization in the area, as many States, menaced by international gangsters, find it necessary to devote scarce resources to the purchase of arms in order to protect themselves.
14.	Barbados has been constant in its view that the acquisition of arms uses up scarce human and material resources, which would be better employed in the development of our countries and in the fulfilment of the basic human needs of our people. We firmly hold the view that disarmament should be general and complete. Unfortunately, only very limited progress has been achieved in disarmament over the past decade. As an earnest of our dedication to the goals of total disarmament we will, within a few days, ratify the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons.
15.	Nations cannot fulfil the aspirations of their peoples in an atmosphere of violence. Barbados has in the past year experienced threats from mercenaries. It is for this reason that we will continue resolutely to support action to eliminate terrorism and the use of mercenaries. These growing evils must be deplored as unwarranted interference in the internal affairs of other countries, calculated to create world tension and instability. At this session my country will seek the support of all States for a strong resolution against the recruitment, training or harbouring of mercenaries and will work towards agreement on an international convention to eradicate this evil.
16.	On numerous occasions, in this and other forums, the Government of Barbados has spoken out in defence of human rights. We shall continue to support initiatives which will eliminate violations of human rights wherever they occur. We follow developments in several countries with growing dismay, as we see grave violations of the most elementary human rights in both the political and the social sphere.
17.	Because of our deep concern, we will continue to support any action to improve the international machinery for the promotion and protection of human rights. We will also relentlessly speak out against abuses wherever they occur, even if our candour calls down on us the temporary wrath of our friends. That is why we abhor the growing denial of human rights which has appeared within the Caribbean, particularly the denial of the right to dissent and to support or establish political parties of one's own choosing. In our view, there can be no true democracy where people are held without being charged with an offence known to law, are imprisoned for their political beliefs or are denied the right to a free and fair trial.
18.	A particular human rights problem of global concern is the major exodus of refugees from their home countries all over the world. This problem has reached alarming proportions in Indo-China and poses a threat to world peace and stability. We are witnessing a callous disregard for humanitarian principles. Barbados whole-heartedly supports the creation of a special fund for refugees and upholds all efforts of the United Nations to alleviate such suffering. We must not allow political pacts and ideological alliances to prevent us from condemning the repressive policies of those countries which disregard and violate human rights. My delegation is therefore prepared to support any measure that would compel all violators to readjust their policies to curb the excessive outflow of their citizens.
19.	This Organization must also pursue relentlessly the economic aspects of human rights. For the majority of the world's peoples continue to suffer from malnutrition and a lack of proper health care and adequate shelter, as the world economy fails into deeper and deeper recession.
20.	The impact of the myriad economic problems with which we are faced today is being felt by all nations. However, the outlook is bleaker in the case of developing countries, whose economies are weaker and more vulnerable to external influences. These countries are prey, among other things, to severe balance-of- payments problems, unfavourable terms of trade, growing protectionist measures, inflation, unemployment, unstable exchange rates, the erosion of their already meagre savings, a lack of access to capital markets to finance reasonable rates of development and the all-pervasive problem of energy shortages and rising prices.
21.	The failure to achieve any meaningful breakthrough on these problems has been due to the lack of genuine political will on the part of Governments to commit themselves to the actions needed to grapple with these problems. Too many of us—developed and developing alike—continue to think in terms of narrow national self-interest.
22.	It was precisely this kind of self-interest and mistrust that prevented the fifth session of UNCTAD from achieving any progress on the structural issues of North-South relations. It is precisely this suspicion that has led to failure in the Committee of the Whole Established under General Assembly Resolution 32/174 and in the Preparatory Committee for the New International Development Strategy. It was precisely this lack of commitment that produced the limited results witnessed at the United Nations Conference on Science and Technology for Development, held at Vienna from 20 to 31 August.
23.	Barbados believes that the only way to rescue the world economy from the morass into which it has sunk is to initiate immediately a full, constructive and genuine dialogue on the real issues of structural change, trade, energy and monetary reform. The first requirement for such a dialogue is the political will born of recognition of the interdependence of States. This interdependence must provide for the full recognition and acceptance on the part of all countries of the need for continuing structural adjustment.
24.	As we enter the decade of the 1980s a new international development strategy will offer us the occasion to break the stalemate and start anew, building on our successes and learning from our mistakes. The international development strategy for the third decade ought to be the major instrument for the promotion of global economic development. That strategy should set a clear framework of realistically attainable objectives and targets. It should involve the entire international community, with obligations and commitments to be borne by both developed and developing countries. It should be a major feature of our efforts towards a transformation of the world economic order.
25.	We of the third world must ourselves also recognize the need to renew our commitment to work patiently and systematically towards the new order. Collective self-reliance and economic co-operation among developing countries are important bases on which to build such an order.
26.	Central to the issues of economic growth and development are the world's energy resources. The continual increases in the price of oil pose serious financial problems for oil-importing developing countries like Barbados. The most recent price-hike will have a debilitating effect on our economy.
27.	There is need for a systematic, coherent and co-ordinated attempt to devise a long-term strategy that will ease the burden of oil-importing developing countries. Simultaneously, the search for alternative sources of energy should be intensified. Many countries have already embarked on this course of action. Without decrying these individual initiatives, Barbados believes that concerted efforts on the part of the international community are needed to deal with this problem. Barbados therefore welcomes the forthcoming 1981 United Nations Conference on New and Renewable Sources of Energy, and looks forward to participating fully and effectively in the work of this Conference.
28.	Barbados has, in other forums and on other occasions, enunciated specific proposals for both the short- term and the long-term solution of the energy problem. We need not repeat them here; but we should say that some of them are reflected in the address of the President of Mexico, Mr. Lopez Portillo, delivered before this Assembly on 27 September 1979. His constructive proposals should be given the fullest and most serious consideration by all countries. For our part we wish only to reiterate at this time the need for members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries [OPEC] to recycle their surplus oil funds to assist in the much-needed development of third-world countries.
29.	Another vitally important area in which international co-operation is urgently needed is that of the law of the sea. We have taken note of the fact that, at the end of its eighth session, the Third United Nations Conference on the Law of the Sea approved a programme of work providing for the adoption of a convention of the law of the sea next year.
30.	While we consider such an action to be of major importance, we have the strong conviction that the successful adoption of a convention on the law of the sea will elude our grasp if we fail to exhibit the required will and determination to understand each other's concern and difficulties and make the necessary accommodation to produce a treaty which will be of fundamental importance for the future.
31.	Barbados, like any small island developing country, continues to place the greatest emphasis on the importance of the sea to the future of its economic well-being, the resources of the sea constitute some of our most vital resources. That is why the Government of Barbados, despite the heavy financial burden and its limited human resources, has continued to participate in the sessions on the law of the sea.
32.	The protection of our beaches and of the sea around us is also a matter of grave concern to us. The possible threat to our beaches by oil pollution, traceable to the unregulated and, in many cases, irresponsible behaviour of oil tankers in mid-Atlantic routes, has been increasing. Barbados believes that the international community and the oil companies have an obligation to small island countries on the path of the international oil carriers to protect them from ecological and environmental damage.
33.	Island developing countries account for more than 10 per cent of the membership of this Organization. If the over-all goal of justice, peace and prosperity is to be achieved, special attention will have to be paid to their particular problems. It is of the gravest concern that these problems have received scant attention from this forum. These countries exhibit unique characteristics of small population, limited land area, geographical isolation, scarce resources or limited economic opportunities, which make it difficult for them to take full advantage of international efforts to improve the economic prospects of developing countries. For some of these island countries current trade and aid relationships may even be having a negative effect on their development prospects.
34.	As an island developing economy, Barbados continues to be critical of the present unreliable techniques being used in the allocation of aid. The gross national product per capita income criterion results in a totally unrealistic and inaccurate evaluation of a country's wealth.
35.	Countries such as Barbados, styled "middle in-come" countries, have real and serious developmental and structural problems despite their apparent high per capita income. What has been termed by one expert in the field the "myopic myth of middle-income countries" militates against the achievement of relative self-sufficiency or progress, since the moment these countries attain a certain threshold of development, vital assistance is withdrawn or drastically reduced.
36.	It is hoped that a new look will be taken at other criteria such as the size of a country, its potential for development in terms of its real resources and the finite nature of problems confronting island developing States, in order to arrive at a new philosophical basis on which development assistance is granted.
37.	Barbados therefore calls on this Organization to place a high priority on the early implementation of special measures—including those set out in UNCTAD resolution 111 (V) —designed to assist the small island developing economies.
38.	The sister Caribbean countries of St. Vincent, Jamaica, the Commonwealth of Dominica and the Dominican Republic, in addition to suffering from the vulnerability and fragility peculiar to island developing economies, have recently been exposed to further adversity in the form of natural disasters, namely, a volcanic eruption in St. Vincent, floods in Jamaica and a hurricane in Dominica and the Dominican Republic. Dominica and the Dominican Republic, in particular, were almost totally ravaged, and now face a difficult period of reconstruction and rehabilitation. Barbados calls on the international community to respond speedily to the urgent needs of these countries, by mobilizing the appropriate resources required for their rehabilitation.
39.	I referred earlier to the optimism inspired by the giant steps made in the process of decolonization. Our optimism must, however, be tempered when we review the past decade, as it is traditional to do on the threshold of a new era. The world agenda before this Organization has broadened considerably since its creation in 1945; the world is in the midst of a period of change and we go from crisis to crisis with hardly any time to deal with one before another confronts us.
40.	New concepts of national interests are emerging and there is increasing interdependence of States. We have witnessed a shift in the pattern of relationships among the major Powers. The international economic system is under strain. The ever present issues of human rights, apartheid, disarmament, terrorism, mercenaries, racism, the plight of refugees, all clamour for our attention. It is with this complex, ever-changing and troubled world that the United Nations has to contend.
41.	My Government acknowledges the unsurpassed benefits which the presence of the United Nations has brought to the peoples of our troubled world. The Organization's role in preventing another global conflict within the past 35 years is to be applauded. Its specialized agencies have rendered inestimable services which have not attracted the same attention and publicity as some of the topical issues with which the United Nations has been seized. In sum, if the United Nations did not exist, we would have to invent it.
42.	As we look towards the 1980s, let us commit ourselves to finding common ground for the attainment of justice, peace and prosperity.


 I should like first of all to extend my warmest congratulations to you, Sir, on your election to the presidency of the thirty-fourth session of the General Assembly. Your election is a tribute paid to you personally and to your friendly, struggling country. In all your efforts exerted at the United Nations you have always embodied the spirit of the United Republic of Tanzania, which is struggling, under the wise, experienced and determined leadership of its friendly President, Julius Nyerere, for the benefit of Africa and the whole world. The assumption of the leadership of this Assembly by Africa today has very deep meaning of which no one is ignorant. Africa has recently begun with determination, awareness and courage to put its efforts, experience and hopes at the service of mankind for its benefit.
3.	I thank your predecessor, a true son of Latin America, who led the General Assembly last year with competence and dedication. Latin America has contributed with enthusiasm and wisdom to the work and successes of the United Nations from its inception; and it will continue to do so, increasing day by day the role of Latin America in our new contemporary world.
4.	I could not fail to praise the efforts of the Secretary- General of the United Nations, Mr. Kurt Waldheim, who bears his great responsibilities with patience, courage and impartiality while working for international peace and co-operation and for the solution of humanitarian causes.
5.	The last time I spoke from this rostrum the world situation and the situation in my own country were very different from what they are now. It was on 26 June 1967, when the Arab nation was tending its wounds and attempting to absorb the shock of the Israeli expansionist campaign which had thrust Israel's armed forces across the borders in every direction. The Israeli forces had just occupied the Syrian Golan Heights and the Egyptian Sinai, as well as Palestinian Gaza and the West Bank—the heart of Palestine and the secure and stable habitat of the largest concentration of Palestinians. They had occupied Arab Jerusalem, so dear to the hearts and minds of hundreds of millions of Moslems and believers around the world. In one fell swoop, they had shattered the city's security, violated its sanctity and annexed its people, its land and, indeed, its history, to the body politic of Israel.
6.	At that time I carried to this international body— which, after all, is the world's conscience—a message from a brave people that had borne the brunt of the pain and shock in the wake of the aggression and occupation carried out so blatantly against them. I told you then that this same people, which had stood in the face of aggression on behalf of the Arab nation and in defence of its rights and principles, was a valiant and steadfast breed which would cope with suffering but would not compromise its principles. I said then that we would stand fast until the entire world community came around to comprehending our just cause, at which time it would stand by us and enforce a just and honourable peace based on the principles of the Charter of the United Nations and rooted in the requirements of international justice.
7.	The United Nations, then, was still groping for maturity, independence and comprehensive membership. There was then a sector of world opinion which still believed that Israel sought security, not hegemony or expansion. The then independent nations of the third world, the opponents of racism and colonialism in all their forms, had not yet achieved their present cohesion. Nor had the ideas, aspirations and new values of the third world emerged with the insistent voice within this world body that they have today.
8.	The world had not yet experienced Israel's intransigence, its determination to block all avenues to a just peace, or its increasingly open declarations of its ambitions to annex occupied Arab lands. The world's conscience had not yet been aroused to the reality that Israel's Zionist racism was of the same coin as the racism of the minorities of southern Africa. Nor had it come to realize that it belonged to the same stuff which made the colonial wars in Angola, Mozambique and Guinea-Bissau and lies behind the present strife in Zimbabwe and Namibia.
9.	We in Jordan, together with our Palestinian brethren and the rest of the Arab nation, have suffered for many years from a lack of understanding or appreciation by the world community of our just cause. But we now take solace in the fact that the world of today is not the world of 1967. There have been dramatic changes during the last decade. Angola, Mozambique and Guinea-Bissau are now liberated. The colonial institution—a vestige of the nineteenth century—has collapsed in Africa and elsewhere. United Nations membership has been extended to include almost every country around the globe, affording a proper representation of the interests and principles of the majority of the nations of the world.
10.	The non-aligned countries, together with the rest of the third world, have succeeded in placing the United Nations in an adversary relationship to colonialism, racism and foreign domination of whatever kind. The values governing international relations have thus shifted in favour of the overwhelming majority of nations and have moved towards greater international equality.
11.	There is a growing international conviction, even among the industrially and technologically advanced nations, that the world must rectify existing economic relationships and seek a new pattern of international economic interaction based on equity, co-operation and equal opportunity. Concepts of the new international economic order are gaining acceptance on the part of the majority of nations and are viewed with respect even by the minority which still approaches them with varying degrees of reservation.
12.	This is indeed a different world from that of 1967, when Israel could perpetrate its tragic occupation of surrounding Arab lands and impose on the Palestinian people yet another round of pain and suffering.
13.	Jordan, together with the entire Arab nation, welcomes these far-reaching developments in international life. We in Jordan have always supported the movements towards positive change which inevitably leads the world towards broader horizons of liberty, prosperity and self-realization.
14.	Every day, the world moves closer towards the new values. My country's active participation in this movement is prompted by several factors. As part of the third world, as an Arab country and as one of the non-aligned countries, Jordan seeks renewal and progress, be it economic, social, cultural or political. As an Arab country it has an unquestioned obligation to Arab history, to Arab unity, to the ultimate triumph of the Arab struggle for liberty and progress and to the Arab future. Jordan has also been inextricably linked to the sufferings and aspirations of the Palestinian Arabs, whose recent history is a living symbol of the just struggle of all nations against colonialism, racism and oppressive foreign rule and whose aspirations are a true reflection of the desire of the entire Arab nation for stability, security, a just peace and continued progress.
15.	Jordan is for world peace, without which the world cannot hope for stability, prosperity or a better standard of living for all nations. For this reason, we stand against international tension and the cold-war mentality, not to say the cold war. We are for complete and comprehensive disarmament based on reciprocal guarantees. We are for an honest and a fruitful dialogue between the South and the North, between the industrialized world and the less fortunate countries which are seeking to achieve comparable progress. We are for the new international economic order in all its manifestations: equitable interaction among all nations; anew basis for international trade; the transfer of resources from developed to developing countries; the implantation of technology in the developing countries where it is most needed; the effective supply of food to the poorer countries and the wherewithal to produce more of their own food; the dissemination of knowledge and education; the effective solution of the problem of housing and clothing; the provision of medical care; and the promotion of individual dignity. We are for viewing the entire world as an indivisible unit with regard to resources, aspirations, peace and the solution of problems. We are for placing the resources of humanity at the service of progress and enlightenment for all of mankind.
16. The forces of positive change which have altered the world of today from what it was a decade ago have also had their effect on our Middle East region. The cause of justice in the Middle East, which is closely intertwined with the rights of the Palestinian people, has been making continued progress. Transcending old barriers, the new, free and vibrant Africa has declared its firm and clear support for the just Arab cause and for the Palestinian people. Western Europe is overcoming the effects of Zionist control both in the mass media and in national parliaments. The European mind has been opened to the realities of the situation in the Middle East and to the aspirations and sufferings of the Palestinian people. Western Europe has started a constructive dialogue with the Arab countries, with a view to building bridges of understanding, broadening the base of mutual interests and directing joint efforts towards the achievement of a just peace in the region.
1.7. The whole climate in the world today is one that rejects occupation and racism wherever they are exercised . It is thus conducive to an emergent recognition of Palestinian rights.
18.	Unfortunately, however, the Israeli occupation of Arab territories and the concomitant sufferings of the Palestinian people have prevented a break-through in our own region. The cause of justice and liberty for the Palestinian people continues to face increasing Israeli intransigence.
19.	Everyone knows that Israel has since 1967 been occupying vast Arab territories and that the entire Palestinian homeland is under occupation. The Assembly will recall that at first the Israeli leadership made the claim that Israel was ready to withdraw within the framework of a comprehensive settlement that guaranteed peace and security. However, it is evident today that the Israeli leadership has no intention of withdrawing from the occupied territories or of returning to the Palestinian people its occupied homeland, where it can exercise its right to self-determination and the establishment of a free national entity.
20.	Israel has literally planted, and is still planting, the occupied territories with settlements. It has tied the economy of these territories to its own. It has introduced deep radical changes into their physical, human and cultural characteristics. And it has done this before the eyes of the inhabitants of the occupied territories and the whole world. In successive announcements the Israeli leaders have emphasized that they consider any self-rule for the Palestinians—however mutilated—to apply to the inhabitants but not to the land. The same leaders have dug out—from myth and legend—claims for perpetual ownership of the occupied land.
21.	As for Jerusalem, which is the heart of Palestine and the occupied territories, and the sanctum of Arabs and Moslems everywhere, it was forcibly annexed by Israel in the early days of the 1967 occupation by a government that had claimed more concern for peace than the present one—although every Arab knows from bitter experience that the thinking and actions of successive Israeli governments have remained alarmingly constant.
22.	Jerusalem, so dear to us all, is suffering from the ravages of daily mutilation. Its long-suffering people are faced with sustained psychological and economic pressures as well as outright repression intended to Force them to leave or else surrender their national and historical identity. Arab Jerusalem, which is so closely linked to our history, religion and culture throughout the ages, is undergoing systematic erosion and a painful loss of identity as an annexed body. It is as if the Israeli authorities wish to eradicate from the world's memory centuries of history and tradition and of spiritual, moral and cultural ideals.
23.	How, under such conditions, can a just peace and genuine coexistence come about in the Middle East? How can peace be achieved between an occupying Power that refuses to engage in an equitable dialogue and the people it has sought to vanquish and suppress? How can Israel convince the world that it wants peace and stability while refusing to change its outlook and its methods of dealing with the environment around it?
24.	Students of Zionist and Israeli political thought have realized for some time that Israel treats the Arabs around it not as part of a human environment with which it aspires to coexist but as a human barrier which it must seek to demolish. This is evident in Israel's daily attacks on southern Lebanon—a beautiful and peaceful country, a small country—carried out under a variety of pretexts. Again, it is as if Israel intends this cruel approach as a substitute for facing up to its responsibility for the catastrophe that has beset the Palestinians and the ravages that have plagued hitherto peaceful Lebanon. It is also evident in the failure of the Israeli leadership, over the long years, to come up with a genuine peace proposal which neighbouring Arab countries can look at with any degree of objectivity.
25.	The official Israeli political line has never once provided a glimpse of possible recognition of the Palestinians as a people with a right to a free and secure existence based on self-determination. Rather, it has insistently smeared the Arab image and projected the Palestinians squarely on Arab shoulders. Such claims, however, are meant for external consumption and are part of Israel's war against the Arabs, not Israel's battle for peace.
26.	It is for these considerations that we were deeply hurt to see the leadership of Egypt—a country which we love and cherish and appreciate—fall into the Israeli trap aimed at fragmenting the united Arab front. The Egyptian leadership has walked, or has been led, into the trap, but honourable and genuine peace, which can be accepted and lived with, has become more elusive than before. If Israel really wanted peace and was eager to seize the opportunity for peace, it would surely have preferred to deal with the Arabs as a group, and would have presented a positive position, respecting their historic rights, and opening for the Palestinians an opportunity for regaining the exercise of their national and human rights as well as recreating their unity within a truly national entity.
27.	Until this very moment, no statement has been made by the Israeli Government to the effect that Israel accepts the right of self-determination for the Palestinian people—even within a framework of reciprocal peace and security. Until this very moment, no statement has been made by the Israeli Government that Israel commits itself to withdrawal from the occupied territories in the context of a comprehensive settlement leading to peace and mutual guarantees.
28.	Since 1967, the Arab parties have been ready for a comprehensive and just settlement. They have been ready for the establishment of a just peace, where all can live within secure borders after a complete Israeli withdrawal from the occupied territories and the exercise by the Palestinian people of their right to self- determination and sovereignty in their national homeland. But in spite of this declared Arab position, all international efforts to achieve a complete and just solution have met with failure. This is so because, while the Arab parties accepted peace and its guarantees, Israel has chosen a claim to Arab territories over and above peace. In place of security and coexistence, Israel has insisted that the Palestinian people should suffer continued dislocation outside their homeland or submit to a life of captivity under occupation.
29.	Even after the unfortunate Egyptian withdrawal from the joint Arab front, the entire Arab world re- emphasized at the Ninth Arab Summit Conference, held in Baghdad in November 1978, its commitment to a just and honourable peace based on respect for recognized Arab rights.
30.	Jordan, which I am honoured to represent here today, has a thorough understanding of what is and what is not possible in the context of war and peace in our region. Jordan has always advocated reason, moderation and a search for the just and durable, both by virtue of its proximity to danger and its close involvement in the tragedy from the very beginning. The Jordanian people have always shared the sufferings and aspirations of the Palestinian people. Jordan earned the major burden of the human tragedy that befell the Palestinians, and absorbed the human, economic, social and political results of this tragedy.
31	In 1950, Jordan entered into a voluntary union with the Palestinian West Bank in order to protect the people and the land as well as out of a conviction that Jordan shared with the West Bank a common destiny and a brotherly obligation.
32	On 24 April 1950, the joint Jordanian Parliament, in taking its historic decision on unity, did not neglect to record Jordan's unwavering stand concerning the historic rights of the Palestinians and the support of Arab Palestinian rights in any future settlement in accordance with national aspirations and international justice. Thus when we speak today of the right of self- determination for the Palestinian people, we do so because it is something we have always believed in and have always attempted to bring about within the framework of a just and comprehensive settlement.
33.	Israeli officials have constantly reiterated that Jordan must solve the Palestinian problem by absorbing the Palestinians itself. But the answer to this argument is a very simple one. When we speak of Palestinian rights we speak of a clearly defined territory and an equally clearly defined people who with their ancestors have inhabited that territory, situated west of the River Jordan in Palestine for countless centuries. The subject is thus not a matter of terminology or semantics. In 1948, Israel managed to uproot distinct people from their homeland. It then took another major step and placed 1.5 million Palestinian Arabs under its control. The case of this nation—half in exile and half under occupation—is the case of the Palestinian people.
34.	Playing with words will not solve the problem. Israel must withdraw from the territories it occupied in June 1967, must respect the right of the displaced Palestinians to return to their homeland and must stop its denial of the Palestinians' right to self-determination, including their right to establish an independent state if they so wished. We in Jordan, together with the other Arab countries, stand behind the Palestinians in demanding this right. We support them in the exercise of their free choice and will respect the choice they make.
35.	Let me now return to the question of what is possible and what is not possible.
36.	We in Jordan support any sincere international efforts to achieve a just and comprehensive settlement. We have co-operated with such efforts, within our announced principles, from the very beginning. We cooperated with Mr. Gunnar Jarring and with the Security Council when it attempted to tackle the Middle East problem through the efforts of its permanent members. We co-operated with initiatives made by the United States during the Johnson, Nixon, Ford and Carter presidencies. We accepted the proposal of President Carter in September 1977 to reactivate the Geneva Peace Conference on the Middle East under the United Nations and under the co-chairmanship of the Soviet Union and the United States with participation by all parties, including the Palestinian people, in a unified delegation on the basis of Security Council resolutions 242 (1967) and 338 (1973) and the other principles of the United Nations Charter. Even after Israel, consistent with its record, aborted this latest United States initiative, we remained open-minded and positive in our reaction to international efforts. But the tripartite agreement between Egypt, Israel and the United States—the Camp David agreements —resulted in what we perceive as contrary to our national interest, to the interests of the Palestinian people and to the interests of the Arab world. I do not wish to engage in a lengthy critical appraisal of the Camp David agreements. I merely want to emphasize two basic points.
37.	First, the occupied territories are indivisible. They are all subject to the principle of the inadmissibility of the acquisition of other peoples' territories through the use of force. The West Bank and Gaza are no different from the Sinai or the Golan Heights. They are occupied territories and the occupation must end.
38.	The West Bank and Gaza are the heart of Palestine and the homeland of the Palestinians. The West Bank is not subject to bargaining. There can be no meaning to any international settlement if it leaves the future of the West Bank and Gaza vague or applies to it a status at variance from that which applies to the other occupied territories.
39.	It goes without saying that the Israeli theory of autonomy for the people but not the land is unacceptable. The only true equation for a just settlement is one of complete Israeli withdrawal from all the occupied territories in accordance with a clear time-table, coupled with Palestinian self-determination, against a commitment to mutual peace and security, and all this should be in accordance with the resolutions of the United Nations.
40.	Secondly, Jordan does not accept the role of assisting the Israeli occupation authorities in the West Bank while Israel makes daily claims to ownership of the land and refuses even the possibility of the alleged "autonomy" eventually evolving towards sovereignty and independence for the people of the occupied territories within their own homeland. Jordan stands behind the Palestinian people in supporting their freedom and the establishment of their free political entity. It stands ready to help them in all fields. It is not prepared to accept from the occupying authorities any vague international formulas designed to gain time while planting the land with settlements and postponing the difficult basic decisions through recourse to tactics aimed at preventing world public opinion from exercising moral and political pressure to end the occupation.
41.	I should like to emphasize here that the destiny and the future of the area cannot be decided in the absence of the parties concerned, foremost among them the Palestinian people, or in the absence of the rest of the international community. Developments have led us to believe that the United States by itself cannot exert a constructive influence in achieving a just settlement and the establishment of a durable peace as long as its policy is committed to supporting Israel by alt political and material means and by supplying armaments, while Israel persists in refusing total withdrawal and the recognition of the legitimate national rights of the Palestinian people on their national soil, as well as respecting the rights of all States in the region to live in peace and security.
42.	I have emphasized these points in order to place before you the realities of our region and make clear where we stand with regard to what is possible and what is not possible. At the same time, I would like to reiterate that we in Jordan, together with the rest of the Arab world, continue to stand for a just, honourable, viable and durable peace.
43.	The objectives of the peace efforts are clear and simple. Once the world community agrees on them, they are easily achievable. The form is not important. What is important is the substance.
44.	The world community must realize that comprehensive peace will not be achieved until the armed forces of Israel withdraw completely from the Arab lands they occupied in 1967. If the Israeli forces withdraw completely, then the world community can arrange a smooth and lawful transfer of authority and responsibility to the people of the occupied territories—those living there now as well as those who belong there—through internationally recognized and voluntary means. The right of self-determination is as sacred to the Palestinian people as it is to any other of the world's peoples. It is the only way by which they can establish a free national entity and regulate their relations with their neighbours, in full freedom.
45.	A third point is the right of the displaced Palestinians to repatriation or compensation in accordance with successive United Nations resolutions since 1948. This can be achieved within a legitimate framework of peace and in the light of their wishes as expressed by their free choice under neutral international supervision.
46.	If the world community accepts these basic principles, which are indispensable for a just peace—and the world community has in fact fundamentally accepted them for a number of years—then the way will be open for their implementation in a reasonable and appropriate manner. I need not point out that there are various methods, forms and formulas of reasonable implementation.
47.	For example, we, the Arab parties, have in the past accepted the idea of an international conference in which the Arab parties would be represented by a unified delegation under United Nations auspices. During the past months, I have personally called for the problem to be taken back to the Security Council with the purpose of agreeing on a formula for implementing these accepted principles which should underlie a settlement.
48.	We are also ready to consider suggestions from any quarter with regard to the implementation of a just settlement, so long as they abide by the principle of withdrawal and an equitable solution of the Palestinian question.
49.	We believe that the United Nations, with its Charter, its flag and its successive resolutions, provides the natural framework for the achievement of the comprehensive settlement we all seek.
50.	The Arab countries today have sufficient confidence in themselves to consider all suggestions and ideas leading to a just peace. They are fully capable of consultation and co-operation among themselves, as well as with the rest of the world for the achievement of peace. The Palestine Liberation Organization, through its international activities and announced positions in recent months, has proved that it wants to participate, in the name of the Palestinian people which it represents, in steps leading to a just peace which will ensure the liberation of the Palestinian people from occupation and the pursuit of a free and independent existence within their national homeland.
51.	We in Jordan are co-operating in good faith with the leadership of the Palestine Liberation Organization and with the rest of the Arab countries for the good of the brotherly Palestinian people and the Arab world at large.
52.	The opportunities for a just peace are better now than at any other time in the past. It is important that they should not be frittered away either because of inaction in the international quarters, wherein lies the responsibility of preserving peace and international justice, or on account of intransigence on the part of those who harbour grandiose dreams of expansion and domination and thus close their eyes to the real possibilities of peace and security.
53.	If I have spoken at length about the problems of our region, it is because they are fateful problems affecting the life and future of my nation and touch in a very direct manner on the peace of the world.
54.	In seeking peace for our region and justice for our nation, we seek peace for the whole world and justice for all nations.
55.	Our cause is inseparable from the cause of a just and equitable world order.
56.	Our cause is inseparable from the cause of international detente, co-operation and mutual trust.
57.	Our cause is inseparable from the struggle of nations—and that of the United Nations itself—against racism, colonialism and foreign domination.
58.	Our cause is inseparable from the aspirations of the nations of the world for economic progress, national stability and a better life for mankind.
59.	Our Arab nation stands with all other nations in the battle for freedom, peace, progress and international co-operation.
60.	May God help all our nations and guide the United Nations.


Mr. President, it is indeed an honour and a privilege to greet you on your unanimous election, because you bring to this high office not only your outstanding skills and rich experience, but also something of the idealism and high sense of morality that characterizes your country's role in international affairs.
25.	It is also no mere formality when I express our great appreciation for the leadership provided by Mr. Lievano of Colombia as President of the thirty-third session of the General Assembly. The zeal and ability he displayed in discharging his responsibilities has enhanced his reputation, as well as his country's prestige.
26.	In the exemplary dedication to duty and the practical wisdom of our Secretary-General, Mr. Kurt Waldheim, we have an assurance that the challenging tasks ahead will be met with faith and fortitude, vision and constructive statesmanship.
27.	Our family of nations has grown as Saint Lucia, our youngest and newest Member, has joined us. We wish the people of Saint Lucia prosperity and assure them of our goodwill and co-operation in the responsibilities awaiting them.
28.	India comes to this Assembly with the strength of a tradition which is more than 4,000 years old, dating from when our Vedic ancestors had the insight to declare; "the soil is my mother; I am the son of the earth". This was the germ of the concept of "one world", the unity of which was to be ensured by peace. This is why "peace, peace and peace" has been my country's constant invocation.
29.	I stand here today conscious of this rich heritage and of its reflection in the continuing national consensus which prevails in the pursuit of international objectives. Independent India's policies and attitudes to international problems show a continuity and consistency of which we are proud.
30.	Since the time, 31 years ago, when India's first Foreign Minister and Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, declared in this Assembly that "India adhered completely to the principles and purposes of the Charter'’, there has been in our expressions of support of the United Nations and its Charter every year a repetitive rhythm which should not be mistaken for ritual or formality. The United Nations unmistakably symbolizes the best balance between the right to independence and the compulsion to work together. It rep-resents a warning that we can survive only in good- neighbourliness. If international, problems have been aggravated at times during the 34-year career of this Organization, this is due to the fact that in our national perspectives we have overlooked the fact that we form one world and not 152 worlds of various sizes. Despite all the lessons of history, we are still bogged down in short-term problems and are still overlooking the fact that our long-term destinies are intertwined and must be safeguarded.
31.	If we look back over the decade of the 1970s, which are now drawing to a close, we find repeated confirmation of the Tact that the world's political problems arise from the short-term perspectives of many of the powerful-nation States which virtually distort the long-term imperatives. If we still see recalcitrant imperialism, malevolent or defiant racism, persistent habits of intervention, manipulation, domination and even aggression, this is because there are forces trying to stem the tide of history. So many world-wide and regional problems are the result of the obdurate refusal to accept the logic of coexistence and co-operation.
32.	This Assembly is meeting again after one more year and it can be seen that the world has been changing fast. The past year has not been more tranquil or less dangerous. The world continues to hang precariously between war and peace, development and stagnation, domination and justice. Many of the old myths have died,-but not the belief in them. The time when the world order could be maintained through the strength of military establishments is over. While many still see military power as supreme, its political consequences often mean that it cannot be used. No doubt there is a fleeting intellectual realization that things have changed, but this has not kept pace with the formulation of foreign policy by important countries.
33.	The days of an imperial role are gone; neither is there any scope for imperial management. Even the management of crises can no longer be left to a few great Powers, although they have an important responsibility. Countries may differ in power, wealth and beliefs, but the world community cannot be managed now without the voluntary participation and equitable involvement of the largest possible number of countries.
34.	It is also clear that the leverage of the weaker countries is a factor to be reckoned with in the emerging international order. Military power may have remained concentrated in a few hands, but popular power, if one may use that term, has become more widely dispersed. Recent events have again shown that, given will power and determination, even a small Power can hold a big Power at bay. The strength of the non-aligned movement is really the collective leverage exerted by the weaker countries on the global scene. This collective leverage, reflected in the demand for a new international economic order, is in essence a call for the democratization of world power.
35.	We are indeed in an era of increasing plurality. Just as the managerial revolution has replaced family management, the transformation of the world situation has brought about a diffusion of the power to shape and influence events. This requires a new awareness, a new approach and a new adjustment which would facilitate the evolution of a more just and equitable world order.
36.	May I underline in this context the growing revolutionary significance of a factor that has been emerging over the last two decades in the United Nations. The fact that well over 90 Members of the United Nations have joined the non-aligned movement has affected a quiet revolution in the functioning of the international organization. This constitutes a guarantee against the misuse of the United Nations or for that matter, of any intergovernmental organization.
37.	The fundamental problems of May arise from not accepting the natural and the inevitable. We have seen resistance and delay in the process of decolonization and the fulfilment of the will of all peoples for freedom and national emancipation. Even today, this important historical process is not complete. The war in VietNam arose from attempts to frustrate the national aspirations of the Vietnamese. We failed to recognize, and perhaps we still often deny in action if not in affirmation, the fact that each nation has the right to choose its own pattern or political system for social and economic fulfilment. Today, we see the vindication of the notion implicit in the first principles of the United Nations Charter: that differing ideological and socio-economic systems have to coexist. As an Indian, I cannot but recall that the principles of coexistence were first enunciated in the middle of the 1950s and enshrined ill the Declaration adopted by the African-Asian Conference, held at Bandung in 1955.
38.	Detente was enthusiastically acclaimed by some, much wished for by many. But in its realization we find that the effects of the cold-war years have been effaced neither in the functioning of this Organization nor in the various regions of the world. There is even a danger of detente’s becoming a facade behind which the role of the Organization stands reduced in the priorities of the great Powers and, paradoxically, regional wars and conflicts also flourish.
39.	Surely, if detente means the mere normalization of bilateral relations among the great Powers, then the vast majority of members of the international community will have little interest in it. Though normalization among great Powers is essential, an honest detente has to be global and universal and this indeed is our goal.
40.	It would also be wrong to assume that the process of even this limited detente is irreversible. The stalemate in the ratification of the treaty resulting from the second round of SALT negotiations, the deepening crisis in West Asia, the hardening of attitudes in relation to southern Africa, the polarized postures in Southeast Asia and the disturbing trend towards the formation of destabilizing political combinations are ominous portents.
41.	Consequently, reinforcing the fabric of peace must remain the primary concern in our discussions. Progress on disarmament in all its various aspects has to be seen as the touchstone of our commitment to peace. Lasting world peace can stand only on the foundation of effective disarmament.
42.	We must remind ourselves that the United Nations was established to save "succeeding generations from the scourge of war." For as long as nuclear stockpiles exist in the world, there is a definite threat of a nuclear holocaust. Nuclear war is possible through accident, miscalculation, misperception and impulsive or irrational behaviour under tension. The most urgent task facing humanity today is to delegitimize nuclear weapons, to dismantle the hierarchical international order that supports the present military system and to replace it by an alternative security system based on peaceful coexistence and the acceptance in practice of the equal sovereignty of all nations and of die right of each nation to choose its national and international policies.
43.	The tenth special session of the United Nations General Assembly, devoted to disarmament, laid down a programme of action for nuclear disarmament. That programme consisted of steps for freezing the present nuclear arms race and for initiating reductions leading to the eventual elimination of all existing stockpiles of such weapons. It is a matter of deep regret that, despite the consensus behind that programme, there has been no progress towards its implementation. We are particularly concerned to note that the draft of the comprehensive test-ban treaty is not yet ready and the negotiations continue at a glacial pace. We strongly urge that the draft of the treaty be finalized without further delay.
44.	We welcome second SALT treaty. But it is only a beginning—though an important beginning, which must be formalized and implemented so that the world may move further towards real nuclear disarmament. At the same time we cannot but note with regret that that treaty does not incorporate any measure for the reduction of nuclear arsenals and that the growing and deadly sophistication of nuclear weaponry presents an ever greater danger to mankind.
45.	Much is being said, and rightly, about the problem of the proliferation of nuclear weapons. 1 think it would be pertinent to remember that it was India that brought this issue to the attention of the United Nations when, in 1964, it specifically asked for the inclusion in the agenda of an item entitled "Non-proliferation of nuclear weapons".  Our approach was based on the premise, born of bitter historical experience, that both horizontal and vertical proliferation was integral parts of the problem which needed to be dealt with as a whole. The General Assembly accepted this concept and resolution 2028 (XX) stated that:
' 'The treaty should embody an acceptable balance of mutual responsibilities and obligations of the nuclear and non-nuclear Powers".
46.	Unfortunately the Treaty on the Non- Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons concluded in 1968 deliberately sought to alter this concept. It addressed itself only to the aspect of horizontal proliferation, and if the Treaty has become an unworkable document, it is only because of this narrow and illogical approach. The protagonists have been trying to buttress their position by cartel- type arrangements and further discriminatory measures, such as the establishment of the so-called "London Club" of nuclear suppliers and the attempted imposition of full-scope safeguards, on the peaceful nuclear activities of non-nuclear-weapon States, something that the nuclear-weapon States are themselves not prepared to accept.
47.	In a world where we now grapple with the task of evolving the methodology of a new international economic and political order based on justice and equity, it would be nothing short of anachronism for some Powers to play the role of barons and overlords in a system of nuclear feudalism. Such an attitude tends to make nonsense of national independence, equality of nations and the very concept of peaceful coexistence that is at the heart of the United Nations.
48.	It may be recalled that during the special session on disarmament held last year, India took two significant initiatives—one seeking the non-use of nuclear weapons under any circumstances,  and the other calling for a suspension of nuclear-weapons testing pending a complete ban.8 We are gratified at the endorsement that the Assembly at its thirty-third session gave to those initiatives. We would urge the nuclear-weapon States on whom the primary responsibility lies to take meaningful steps in this direction.
49.	One further initiative I have in mind is the dissemination of public knowledge and through it the creation of enhanced awareness and popular will against the use of nuclear weapons. Efforts to build world public opinion would assist the Governments concerned to turn away from the path of nuclear competition in the direction of practical measures for avoiding nuclear war. The United Nations has achieved significant success in the past in helping to rouse the conscience of mankind on a number of humanitarian issues, through a variety of special observances. Would it not be appropriate that this vital question, on which depends the future and fate of man himself, should receive similar attention? It is only fitting that the second Disarmament Decade should begin next year with measures aimed at mobilizing world opinion for international co-operative action to consolidate world peace. The year 1980 could be the commencement year for laying the foundations for eliminating for ever the danger of nuclear war.
50.	If I have spoken at length on nuclear disarmament, it is because of the overwhelming fact that nuclear weapons, with their mind-boggling destructive capacity and their increasing degree of "overkill", constitute the greatest danger to mankind.
51.	The relationship between disarmament and development has been stressed by many earlier speakers, and I need not dwell upon it at any great length. The point has often been made that the total annual world military expenditure, now exceeding $400 billion, is equivalent to half the combined gross domestic product of all the third-world countries. It exceeds the global government expenditure on education and is more than twice the expenditure on public health services. In a world seriously afflicted by an energy crisis, by inflation, unemployment, mass poverty and so forth, it is surely criminal that our dwindling resources should be expended in this extravagant fashion for military purposes. In this, the International Year of the Child, is it not revolting that one Trident submarine costs as much as would be needed for the schooling of 16 million children in developing countries? What is the legacy we shall be leaving for our children if we continue in the present insane manner in the name of safeguarding security?
52.	Another problem that threatens civilized existence is the criminal combination of racist policies and colonial ambition that adds up to apartheid. A minority regime continues to violate openly and flagrantly the resolutions, decisions and sanctions of the United Nations and to subject the majority of the South African people to extreme forms of degradation, repression and torture. This situation is a reflection of the barrenness of our ritualistic reiteration of opposition to apartheid without our being able to ensure effective and comprehensive action against it. We have to mobilize the entire world community, without exception, if the opposition to this outrage is to be credible and effective. We should like to reaffirm our continued support for the measures to implement mandatory economic sanctions against South Africa. We also reiterate strongly our opposition to the economic and military collaboration—including nuclear collaboration—between certain Western countries and other States with South Africa.
53.	In Namibia, the action of the General Assembly and the Security Council over the last decade and beyond constitutes a history of lost opportunities. This continuing inefficacy casts serious doubts on the prospects for success of the United Nations plan for Namibia.  SWAPO, for its part, has displayed a consistent willingness to accept United Nations-supervised elections for the transition to majority rule and independence in Namibia. As long as South Africa continues its illegal presence inside Namibia, a just and peaceful change-over would be well-nigh impossible. My delegation fully supports the adoption by the Security Council of concrete measures to compel South Africa to end its illegal occupation of Namibia.
54.	In Zimbabwe, the liberation struggle continues at great cost in human suffering and ominous portents of escalation. The Rhodesia Constitutional Conference currently considering the problem of the transfer of power to the majority oscillates between hope and des-pair. We had welcomed the Lusaka agreement and had cautioned that its implementation should be a matter of time- bound urgency. We hope that a constitution acceptable to the Patriotic Front will be evolved in the Conference.
55.	In West Asia, developments in relations between certain States should not obscure consideration of the deteriorating situation in the occupied Arab territories in southern Lebanon.
56.	India believes that nothing but a comprehensive solution of the problem will bring about peace in the area. Central to this settlement is the exercise by the Palestinian people of their inalienable rights, including the right to establish an independent State in their own homeland; the total and unconditional Israeli withdrawal from all the occupied Arab territories, including the Holy City of Jerusalem; and, finally, the right of all States in the region, including Arab Palestine, to live within secure borders. Full and equal participation of the PLO in any peace negotiations is a sine qua non for a final settlement. The growing threat to international peace and security resulting from Israeli policies and partial solutions can no longer be ignored, The continued Israeli acts of aggression in Lebanon also bear testimony to the Israelis' belligerent intentions.
57.	It is also painful to note that Cyprus continues to suffer foreign occupation of a sizeable part of its territory. We welcome the 10-point agreement reached in May 1979 and we urge the parties concerned to recognize each other's legitimate rights and interests and to display a spirit of mutual accommodation. Let us hope that the talks will lead to a just and peaceful resolution of the problems between the two communities, within the framework of the unity, sovereignty, territorial integrity, political independence and non-alignment of Cyprus.
58.	The South Asian region, earlier plagued by war and dissension, is now freer from tensions. We have been able to respond to each other's interests and concerns in a spirit of accommodation. My country feels a sense of satisfaction at the resolution of some intractable problems. The improved environment provides scope for greater contacts and co-operation which will benefit the countries of the region. We rejoice that at last the entire subcontinent is now committed to the principles and policies of non-alignment and of peaceful coexistence. All this should augur well for peace and stability in the region. If, however, I advert to Jammu and Kashmir, which is an integral part of India, it is because there was reference to it by the foreign affairs adviser to the President of Pakistan in his statement to this Assembly on 1 October. We have repeatedly made it clear that United Nations resolutions have ceased to be relevant and the Simla Agreement holds the field. So the issue has to be bilaterally settled in accordance with the Simla Agreement.
59.	We are happy that in the region of South-East Asia, economic co-operation and efforts to establish a zone of peace, freedom and neutrality on the initiative of the Association of South-East Asian Nations have been making progress in spite of the many pressures operating in the area.
60.	We had thought that the retreat of foreign troops from Viet Nam over four years ago would usher in a new era of peace and co-operation in Indo-China and in the whole region of South-East Asia. That expectation was, unfortunately, short-lived. Foreign intervention and foreign involvement in Indo-China continued in new forms distorting the entire situation in that strategic area. Distrust and suspicion are rife in the region, as is the apprehension that great Powers may become involved. In consequence, the countries of Indo-China have not been allowed to settle down in peace to the reconstruction and development of their economies.
61.	The Sino-Viet Nam border remains tense, and there is no peace in Kampuchea as yet. We ardently hope that the tension between China and Viet Nam will not be allowed to escalate, and we believe that boundary questions and other problems between two great neighbouring Asian countries can and ought to be resolved through peaceful and friendly negotiations.
62. 	The brave people of Kampuchea, with whom we in India have age-old cultural ties, have been subjected to untold misery and deprivation. The present situation demands statesmanship from all parties, so that peace, stability, mutual confidence and co-operation may be restored, and so that respect for the personality and independence of every State can be strictly observed.
63.	There have been some indications that at least the humanitarian problems could be mitigated through goodwill and a constructive approach. We should like to congratulate the Secretary-General for the success of the United Nations-sponsored Geneva conference on the Indo-China refugees.  It is gratifying to note that since that conference the exodus of refugees has dropped to a trickle.
64.	The spectre of famine, however, looms large over Kampuchea. We welcome the recent understanding for extending international emergency relief and assistance. India would be ready to make its modest contribution in this regard.
65.	India is firmly committed to the creation of a zone of peace in the Indian Ocean, as envisaged in the Declaration of the General Assembly. The increase, over the years, in great-Power military presence in the Indian Ocean and the further strengthening of military bases, such as Diego Garcia, are a matter of serious concern. On the most important issues pertaining to the implementation of the Declaration, the majority of the littoral and hinterland States were able to adopt a common position at the meeting held in New York in July this year.
66.	We invite the participation of all permanent members of the Security Council and the major maritime users of the Indian Ocean in the work of the Ad Hoc Committee on the Indian Ocean with a view to convening a conference on the Indian Ocean.
67.	It was a disappointment for us when the negotiations between the Soviet Union and the United States for the reduction of their military presence in the Indian Ocean were abruptly suspended in March 1978. We welcome the agreement reached at the Vienna summit to resume the dialogue and urge early and meaningful negotiations.
68.	In the field of human rights, it is immensely important to realize that, in the ultimate analysis, individual human rights must rest on the foundation of collective human rights. National liberation creates the framework for the latter, and only after achieving it can one think of ensuring human rights for individuals. The stability of newly gained freedom is essential for ensuring socio-economic change and for the widening and deepening of the ambit of human rights. These need to be properly institutionalized, for only thus will there be a safeguard against their possible abuse, suppression or total eclipse.
69.	The present world economic order continues to follow the rule that to him who hath even more shall be given. The two United Nations Development Decades, one of the 1960s and the other of the 1970s, and a series of protracted negotiations, have proved sterile exercises, belying the hopes that had been raised that inequity between nations need not be an inexorable law and that, for reasons as much economic as ethical, the rich should assist the poor.
70.	We are now on the threshold of the third United Nations Development Decade, covering the 1980s, and of the special session of the United Nations which will be held next year. Despite the bleakness of past experience, we must not miss this opportunity to impart a momentum to the negotiations for establishing a new economic order. Among the vital requirements of such an order, is an international trading system that would be more responsive to the needs of developing countries. Multilateral trade negotiations portend nothing more than disappointment for the developing countries. Protectionism by advanced countries grows unabated and has assumed new forms. The fifth session of UNCTAD concluded in Manila without coming to grips with the issues that relate to the structure of the present economic order. The special session must therefore address itself squarely to the task of dealing with basic structural issues if it is to have any meaning. The current imbalance; the dependence and external vulnerability of the developing countries; the urgent need to make a perceptible dent in the worst aspects of mass poverty—these are a few of the issues that the developed countries need to look at from a fresh perspective. Without giving up existing commitments, they will have to conceive new forms of resource transfers, which can ensure that responsibility is shared and which are capable of leading us to greater common prosperity. Even though the main thrust towards development should come from the developing countries themselves, the developed world in its own enlightened self-interest must realize that its prosperity is best ensured if the world at large can meet its basic minimum requirements, thus forming a large and growing market for developed countries.
71.	The disparity in the dissemination of scientific knowledge and technological know-how in the world is one of the basic causes for the widening gap between the developed and developing nations. The United Nations Conference on Science and Technology for Development, recently concluded at Vienna, was successful in focusing attention on this question and in evolving an agreed plan of action at the international level.  We hope that the new Intergovernmental Committee on Science and Technology for Development will be able to promote agreement on adequate and sustained measures for the transfer of technology to the developing countries.
72.	The developing countries expect to, and indeed must, participate fully in the world decision-making processes. Having abandoned, with the earlier decades, the framework that was formulated for appraising performance and ensuring joint responsibility of both the North and the South, we have yet to agree on a draft of the preamble of a new international development strategy. We run the risk of going to the special session marking the commencement of the third development decade without an agreed strategy, jeopardizing the outcome of the Decade itself.
73.	Similar mechanisms to promote international accountability are required in specific areas of multilateral economic functioning particularly within UNCTAD and UNIDO. One of the principal tasks at the forthcoming Third General Conference of UNIDO to be held in New Delhi in 1980 will be to equip the agency with an effective mechanism to examine and monitor the implications of the Lima target of 25 per cent of the world's manufacturing output as the share of developing countries.
74.	Finally , the developing countries must not forget the imperatives of collective self-reliance as a major component of the new international development strategy. In fact, it could well provide the special session in 1980 its principal theme. When meshed together, the unutilized complementarities and the surplus resources of developing countries give the developing countries enhanced bargaining power with the developed world,
75.	India has, at the recent Sixth Conference of Heads of State or Government of Non-Aligned Countries, which met in Havana, taken a number of initiatives in fostering collective self-reliance. We have, with Bangladesh, proposed the establishment of a food security system for developing countries. Though a developing country which has had to feed an immense population, we in India today are in a position to make a modest contribution to any agreed international system of food security that may be evolved. It is time that the world, and especially the advanced nations, realized that food security is even more important than military security in maintaining peace and stability in the world.
76.	Similarly, the Havana Conference approved the proposal to study the possibility of establishing a project development facility. We hope that the facility would become operational by the end of 1980. India, with extensive experience in technology relevant to developing countries, is willing to collaborate with others in setting up facilities for research and training in priority areas, geared specially to their needs. We would be glad to share our experience and welcome their participation.
77.	The policy guidelines on reinforcing mutual solidarity recently adopted in Havana are a welcome expression of the political will of the non-aligned and other developing countries to co-operate among themselves to meet their minimum needs and emergency requirements. The guidelines, which are not confined to oil, have wide implications of a long-term nature, since they cover all primary commodities and raw materials. It is our sincere hope that these policy guidelines will be expeditiously translated into concrete commitments.
78.	Another problem which has bedevilled the evolution of a just and equitable world economic order has been the energy problem. Half of India's total import bill, for instance, is now accounted for by oil imports and the latest round of price increases has further raised the burden by a crushing $1.4 billion per year. Even more critical has been the problem of securing minimum requirements of petroleum from the world market, where we have to compete with the affluent nations.
79.	I need hardly emphasize the enormous significance of energy in the context of developing economies, characterized as they are by limited substitution possibilities for priority uses such as transport, by the high capital intensity of alternative energy resources and by the problems inherent in reducing a level of consumption which is already at the bare and essential minimum. Clearly these countries are particularly vulnerable to the world oil situation. Is it not unconscionable that out of the total world consumption of 60 million barrels a day the United States, Europe, Japan and Canada should together consume 45 million? Or that in the year 2000 the per capita daily consumption of oil will be 62 barrels in North America, 32 for each European, 10 for those living in the oil-producing countries and only some 4 barrels for the rest.
80.	All the developing countries should have a right, indeed a special right, to secure a fair share in the world consumption of energy and other raw materials.
81.	In the ultimate analysis, the question involves the principle of equity. The core of the present resource crisis is the attempt by developed countries to pre-empt the bulk of the world's natural resources in order to maintain their current pattern of consumption and continue their existing life-styles. The disaster that profligate consumption is leading to calls for a change in fife-styles in developed countries. Such a change is also necessitated by the imbalance between material and spiritual growth that has prompted many in the West to turn to the philosophy of the Orient in their quest for inner peace and harmony. Echoing the present predicament of the mature industrial or post-industrial societies, T. S. Eliot spoke of " . . .the torment of desire unsatisfied and the greater torment of desire satisfied".
82.	The political, economic and social order in our world has to be refashioned not only with reference to ourselves but for the sake of the future of our children. Appropriately, the observance of the International Women's Year and the International Year of the Child has coincided with the efforts at promoting a new inter-national economic order. With the mother and the child at the core of our thoughts we obviously cannot concentrate on a political order based on power and exploitation and a development process which is myopic and inequitable. In fact, if the process is to begin with the child in the mother's womb, as it ought to, we have to work for the creation of a total environment which would ensure equality at birth to every child and provide for his development throughout the formative period. The symbolic significance of observing a particular year as dedicated to a particular cause can only find real meaning if the problem is considered in a larger perspective. Standing on the threshold of the 1980s, we shall have to begin the desired development process now.
83.	Is it not a pity that we assemble here year after year to do little more than patch up our petty quarrels and pay lip service to some lofty ideas and principles? It is time we ceased to concern ourselves merely with the past and the present and began to look to the future with the spirit of collective creativity which must be the hallmark of the United Nations system. The United Nations has to be not merely the engineer of truce but rather the architect of a new era—an era that could see the rise of the new man of the twenty-first century. To do this, we need to help the United Nations to extend the frontiers of its perception. The time to do so is now.