Pressure of work forced Mr. Ismail Fahmy, head of the Egyptian delegation and Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs, to stay in Cairo, and he has asked me to deliver this statement on his behalf.
2.	I have the pleasure to address this Assembly at its thirty-first session under the presidency of Mr. Amerasinghe. His unanimous election as President of this session signifies international regard for the great Asian continent and for Sri Lanka, a country with which we have close friendship. It is also an expression of the recognition and esteem in which he is held. The close ties of friendship and co-operation between our two countries and the pioneering role played by Mrs. Bandaranaike in leading her country and in contributing to efforts to render the non-aligned movement successful make it an added pleasure to congratulate him.
3.	I should like also to express our esteem to Mr. Gaston Thorn, the Prime Minister of Luxembourg, who presided over the thirtieth session of the General Assembly.
4.	I should like, too, to take this opportunity to pay a tribute to Mr. Kurt Waldheim, the Secretary-General of the United Nations, for his continuous and commendable efforts in carrying out the many and important responsibilities placed on his shoulders. Mr. Waldheim's record of activity and achievement, as well as the statements delivered by him in numerous forums, the latest of which were the African summit conference  and the non-aligned
Conference, reflect clearly the dynamism of the Secretary- General and his full commitment to our Organization's aims and its endeavors to build a new world -a world of justice, prosperity and peace. In commending his efforts, Egypt supports his re-election to a second term of office.
5.	In the name of Egypt, I congratulate and welcome the Republic of Seychelles. We are confident that independent Seychelles will be a new asset, serving the cause of peace and justice in the world. While the admission of Seychelles to the United Nations may be said to mark a new step towards the universality of the Organization, we earnestly hope that this universality will be completed very soon by the admission of Angola, unified Viet Nam, Namibia, the free State of Palestine and Zimbabwe.
6.	Before proceeding with the rest of my statement, I should like, on behalf of the People and Government of Egypt, to pay a tribute to the memory of Chairman Mao Tsetung, a great leader. The people and Government of Egypt have shared whole-heartedly the grief of the great Chinese people over the regrettable loss of Chairman Mao, who left his mark on the history of his country as he led it to progress. His constructive action for a better future for humanity and the establishment of a just peace in the world will always be remembered.
7.	The world today is one of constant movement and change. The phenomenon of international detente symbolizes the change which has taken place in relations between the super-Powers, but the third-world countries and all peace-loving peoples are still striving resolutely to build a new world -a world which rejects all forms of domination, coercion, exploitation and discrimination.
8.	The kind of world they hope to build is one in which a new international economic order can be realized, bringing about economic well-being for all, social justice for all and a just peace for all a world, as the Secretary-General explained in the introduction to his report to this session on the work of the Organization [A/31/l/Add.1], which respects the resolutions of the United Nations and international law -in short, a world that is governed by the principles and objectives of the Charter of the United Nations.
9.	The countries of the third world have defined their attitude towards the phenomenon of detente on more than one occasion, most recently at the Fifth Conference of Heads of State or Government of Non-Aligned Countries. The Non-Aligned States welcomed the progress so far achieved in the relaxation of tension between the great Powers, but they emphasized that detente was still limited both in scope and geographical extent.
10.	When President Mohamed Anwar El-Sadat addressed the thirtieth session of the General Assembly on 29 October 1975, he had this to say:
"We in Egypt are for detente and welcome it, if it takes into account the interests of small States, their national destinies and the aspirations of their peoples. Detente cannot be what it means unless it is an interaction, from the bottom to the top."
11.	The third-world countries have demonstrated their clear understanding of the importance of international detente between the two super-Powers and the developed countries have to demonstrate an understanding of the aspirations of the third world to see a new international community. The" two super-Powers and the developed countries have to put their weight behind the causes of right and justice in the world, politically, economically and socially.
12.	We live on one planet, sharing one and the same destiny-either peace for all or destruction for all. This is the real meaning which the peoples of the United Nations had in mind when they established our international Organization. This is the significance of our meeting here each year: to emphasize and reaffirm cur commitment to the principles and goals of the Charter of the United Nations and to review the positive and negative aspects of our activities for the purpose of adopting stands and resolutions that would ensure solutions to problems faced by our international community.
13.	We have to bear in mind our great responsibility toward millions of people throughout the world, and maintain their confidence in our Organization's ability to realize their aspirations to live in conditions of just and durable peace. The extent to which we discharge this responsibility will determine the extent of change and movement in our international community a change that will take place either through peaceful and balanced means, or through violence.
14.	Many of the international problems which confront us are pressing and complicated. While some of these problems can wait, there are others which are more explosive and urgent. Procrastination in solving such problems would be tantamount to inviting a powder-keg to explode, thus threatening the peace and security of the world and the very existence of the United Nations, particularly as such problems affect the very principles and foundations on which the United Nations was established.
15.	We cannot ask peoples in the last quarter of the twentieth century to be patient while their sovereignty is violated, while their territory is occupied, or while they are prevented from exercising their right to self-determination. We cannot ask peoples to accept the humiliation of apartheid and racial discrimination in all its forms, particularly since these peoples have given the international community several opportunities to redress the injustices inflicted upon them without avail. Serious action has to be undertaken by us now before it is too late.
16.	I have in mind the struggle of the Arab peoples and of the peoples of our African continent as an example of the struggle and sacrifices of many peoples in other parts of the world. The events in El-Khalil and Jerusalem in our Arab soil and the events in Soweto, South Africa, confirm anew the danger of thinking that our duty here ends with the adoption of resolutions supporting right and justice, without using all the means at the disposal of the United Nations and the international community for this purpose.
17.	We all have the responsibility for consolidating by action the resolutions adopted by the United Nations and of taking steps to implement them, otherwise the law of the jungle and the rule of force would supersede the rule of the Charter and the rule of law.
18.	It is our responsibility to continue the pressure on the forces that do not comply with the will of the international community until they do so.
19.	The suppressed peoples of the world call on the United Nations to act for the peaceful solution of their problems before they are compelled to resort to other means approved by the Charter and resolutions of the United Nations.
20.	At the twenty-ninth and thirtieth sessions, the General Assembly adopted a number of historical resolutions emphasizing the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people and the necessity of enabling them to exercise these rights. Thus we find resolution 3236 (XXIX) stipulating that these rights include the right to self-determination without external interference and the right to national independence and sovereignty.
21.	In its resolution 3376 (XXX) the General Assembly established the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People to recommend a program of implementation designed to enable the Palestinian people to exercise the rights recognized in paragraphs 1 and 2 of Assembly resolution 3236 (XXIX). I should like to commend the members of the Committee and its Chairman, Mr. Fall of Senegal, who have shouldered their responsibility with integrity and courage within the mandate given by our august Assembly.
22.	In fact the General Assembly by virtue of its various stands, the latest of which was the adoption of the two aforementioned resolutions, has confirmed the words which you heard here from President El-Sadat when he declared before the thirtieth session of the General Assembly:
We consider the cause of the Palestinian people to be the cause of every free people seeking peace, calling for justice and accepting the rule of law as arbiter between good and evil, right and wrong."
23.	The participation of the Palestinian people, represented by the Palestine Liberation Organization [PLO], in the work of the United Nations and the acknowledgment of the principle of its participation in all efforts designed to achieve a just peace in the Middle East, has enabled this great people to continue its efforts, within the framework of international legitimacy, to secure and exercise the rights of which they have been illegally and unjustly deprived for more than 30 years. The Palestinian people, represented by the PLO, has demonstrated a sense of full responsibility in shouldering its share of the quest for a just peace based on respect for its legitimate rights and its right to establish an independent State on the West Bank and in Gaza.
24.	As Mr. Fahmy stated before your Assembly at its twenty-ninth session:
"By virtue of their long history of dealing with situations and facing reality objectively without evasiveness, the Palestinian people are qualified to assume this task."
He also said in the same statement that the Palestinian people
"realize that the glorious War of 6 October, has opened up new horizons for the Arabs and has for the first time afforded an opportunity to reach a just and permanent peace in the area that would make it possible for its people to devote their attention to development and to the task of economic and social transformation which is needed to make their future secure".5
25.	Hence Egypt's firm position has been, and continues to be, one of support for and consolidation of the PLO as the only legitimate representative of the Palestinian people. Egypt calls upon the international community to take effective steps to support the Organization and enable the Palestinian people to recover its rights.
26.	The report of the Committee [A/31/35] is before you. It is a matter of regret that the Security Council has been unable to adopt the Committee's recommendations on account of the use of the veto by a permanent member. It is our duty to shoulder our responsibility in accordance with the Charter and to do so with the utmost courage.
27.	The recommendations put forward in the Committee's report reflect not only a clear and precise adherence to the General Assembly's resolution which established the Committee, but also a.realistic and moderate attitude with a view to enabling the Palestinian people to exercise its right self-determination within the framework of the United Nations resolutions.
28.	My country's delegation supports the recommendations contained in the report of the Committee, taking into account the statement of the representative of the PLO -before the said Committee on 9 March 1976.
29.	We urge you to adopt an effective and positive stand in support of the Palestinian people's struggle to exercise its right to self-determination.
30.	Egypt re-emphasizes its confidence in the ability of the Palestinian people to carry on their struggle under the leadership of the PLO. We again stress the necessity of the participation of the PLO on an equal footing with the other parties concerned in any efforts aimed at achieving a just and durable peace in the Middle East, including the Geneva Peace Conference on the Middle East.
31.	Israel must be made to understand that there will be no peace in the Middle East unless the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people are recognized and unless the occupied Arab territories are returned. Israel is deluding itself if it believes that time is in its favor and that it can convince some people that the Palestinians do not exist or that it is capable of containing or eliminating them. The events in El-Khalil and the West Bank, the innocent Palestinians' blood shed at the hands of the Israeli occupation forces, affirm to the people of the world the unflinching stand of the Palestinian people and their determination to return to their homeland, to enjoy independence and national sovereignty in Palestine. Recognition of the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people is one of the principal touchstones to test Israel's seriousness when it claims that it desires to exist in peace among its neighbors.
32.	Egypt has been quite receptive to all serious attempts to seek a just and durable peace in the Middle East, for peace to us, as President El-Sadat declared before you at the thirtieth session of the General Assembly, is "a strategic objective" and "a genuine commitment."
33.	From this rostrum President El-Sadat called for the reconvening of the Geneva Conference, with the participation of the parties concerned, to deal with the Middle East problem in all its aspects and with the purpose of arriving at a just and durable peace in the Middle East.
34.	In his reply to the Secretary-General's initiative of 1 April 1976, Mr. Fahmy referred to Egypt's positive attitude towards this initiative. The reply was communicated by the Secretary-General to all the parties concerned, including the representatives of the PLO. Allow me, Mr. President, to read out to the General Assembly some paragraphs from this reply:
"I take note of your intention to pursue the matter of resuming actively the negotiating process in the coming week. I concur with your view that this should be done at this stage through your contacts with the representatives of the parties at United Nations Headquarters.
"In this connexion, I note with appreciation your sending of the aforementioned note to the representative of the PLO, the representative of the Palestinian people. This constitutes a constructive step towards the implementation of General Assembly resolution 3375 (XXX), which provides for the participation of the PLO in all efforts and deliberations on the Middle East as well as for the undertaking of steps to secure the invitation of the PLO to participate in the work of the United Nations Peace Conference on the Middle East."
This is in accordance with the initiative taken by President El-Sadat in his statement of 29 October 1975 before the General Assembly.
35.	Mr. Fahmy also added in his reply to the Secretary- General the following:
"Our position, in so far as the negotiating process is concerned, remains the same as reiterated by me to Mr. Guyer in the talks we had during his visit to Cairo on 1 March 1976, namely, that the reconvening of the United Nations Peace Conference on the Middle East is the only valid course of action which would guarantee the continuation and the preservation of the United Nations role to which we are strongly attached.
"I therefore appreciate the early resumption of consultations on the specific question of reconvening the United Nations Peace Conference on the Middle East with the participation of all parties concerned, namely, Egypt, Syria, Jordan, the PLO, Israel, as well as the Soviet Union and the United States.
"The ultimate goal of such contacts as well as the enduing process would be the achievement of a comprehensive settlement in the Middle East which would lead to a just and durable peace based an the principles of sovereignty, territorial integrity, political independence and self-determination. This necessitates the full implementation of the relevant United Nations resolutions that provide for the total withdrawal of the Israeli forces from the Arab territories occupied since June 1967, and the restoration of the national rights of the Palestinian people."
This is Egypt's stand, as communicated by Mr. Fahmy to the Secretary-General in April 1976.
36.	Contrary to this stand, Israel has proved through its actions that it does not desire peace, that it is incapable of assuming the responsibilities it entails, that it remains Israel the aggressor fo quest of expansion at the expense of the neighbouring Arab States and the Palestinian people. How can we otherwise interpret its persistence in establishing settlement? in occupied Arab territories, including "Sinai- more than 60 of them? How can we interpret its insistence on the annexation and judaization of Jerusalem? AM these actions are in violation of the resolutions unanimously adopted by the Security Council and the General Assembly, and even Israel's friends consider them obstacles to peace, as demonstrated during the recent Security Council deliberations. But Israel does not even heed friends. It insists on creating a new fait accompli even without legitimate grounds to justify itself before the international community. Israel is determined to change the features of the occupied territories demographically and materially and to plunder their heritage and wealth, blatantly ignoring United Nations resolutions, values and all international conventions, foremost among which is the fourth Geneva Convention relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War.
37.	From this rostrum we cleanly and resolutely declare that Israel is held responsible for whatever changes it introduces in the occupied territories and that Egypt will demand just compensation for all the changes and acts of exploitation Israel has carried out therein. Egypt calls on all States not to participate in or be a party in any form whatsoever to Israel's attempts to exploit the natural wealth and resources of the occupied territories.
38.	The continuation of the present situation in the area constitutes a danger to world peace, for the Arab peoples and States do not accept the continued Israeli occupation and the denial of the national rights of the Palestinian people. The world is at a race with time: either a just peace or total war of liberation to recover the rights provided for in the Charter and supported by the majority in the General Assembly.
39.	Israel commits the biggest folly in thinking that its maneuvers and evasiveness will give it time to impose on the Arab world and on the international community an expansionist fait accompli. It would be better for it, in the interest of peace in the world, to face the realities in the aftermath of the glorious war of 6 October.
40.	The international community realizes the seriousness of the explosive situation in the Middle East and its impact on world peace and security. It realizes that we are seeking peace, provided that it is just. We have given the international community opportunities to participate in the quest for peace and its realization. We welcomed and continue to welcome the role of the two super-Powers at the Geneva Conference; we welcomed the participation of Europe and the non-aligned States in the quest for a just peace. While this has been our attitude, Israel remains intransigent, resisting all efforts designed to ensure the return of all the Arab territories occupied since 1967 and the restoration of the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people. This intransigence has led all peace-loving peoples to condemn the Israeli stand; the resolutions of the United Nations are a testimony to this. And so are those of other international forums, the latest of which was the Fifth Conference of non-aligned Countries, which condemned the continued Israeli aggression against Arab territories and the violation of the Palestinian people's rights.
41.	Prior to this, the- African summit conference convened in Mauritius had declared its full solidarity with the Arab peoples and the Palestinian people in their struggle to regain the occupied Arab territory and to enable the Palestinian people to exercise its right to self-determination. In the light of this, you will perhaps agree with me that it has become imperative that the international community should get things moving immediately and that Member States of the world Organization have an obligation to press for a just solution and to foil, with all firmness, any procrastinating maneuvers.
42.	I want to reiterate here clearly Egypt's firm stand that there can be no peace in the Middle East without Israel's full withdrawal from all the occupied Arab territories and without the Palestinian people's recovery of its legitimate rights, including its right to establish an independent Palestinian State.
43.	Our Arab nation is bleeding in Lebanon and President El-Sadat was the first to warn against the dangers of the continuation of this state of affairs. Before the situation deteriorated, he advised all parties to adopt a "hands off Lebanon" approach. I should like here to state Egypt's position on this question, which may be summarized in the following four points: first, the necessity of enforcing a cease-fire and of safeguarding Lebanon's sovereignty, independence, unity and Arabism; secondly, the necessity of the withdrawal of all foreign forces from Lebanon, at the same time the encouragement of all sincere and constructive initiatives conducive to putting an end to the bloodshed; thirdly, the imperative need maintained in the context of the general Arab commitment to the Palestinian people, their cause and the PLO; fourthly, support for the specific steps taken by the League of Arab States to deal with the Lebanese crisis, including its dispatch of Arab security forces to Lebanon and its continuing endeavors at conciliation envisaging a speedy settlement to the crisis.
44.	From this rostrum, Egypt conveys its admiration to all the struggling peoples of the world and reaffirms its solidarity with those peoples, foremost among whom are the peoples of South Africa, Zimbabwe, Namibia and Palestine and our Arab people everywhere.
45.	Men, women and children in Soweto and throughout South Africa valorously faced the guns and brutality of the apartheid regime, rejecting vigorously the continuation of the criminal policy pursued by the racist minority Government, which denies them their rights as human beings, as owners of the land and as masters of their own destiny. Where it should have grasped the significance of the independence of Angola and Mozambique and the expulsion of its own delegation from the twenty-ninth session of the United Nations General Assembly, the racist minority Government of South Africa persisted in its apartheid practices and in terrorizing unarmed civilians. However, the bloody events in Soweto last August herald the inevitable defeat of the arrogant white ruling minority in Pretoria which will not last. This same white minority Government of South Africa, refusing to recognize and to implement the numerous resolutions adopted by the General Assembly and the Security Council on Namibia, has continued to occupy Namibia illegally since 1966. It has gone even further by using Namibia as a bridge-head for continued aggression against the neighboring peaceful State of Zambia and other front-line States in southern Africa.
46.	History has proved this: ultimate victory belongs to the people. Thus, the people of South Africa will triumph, the people of Namibia represented by the national movement, the South West Africa People's Organization [SWAPO], will triumph, and the people of Zimbabwe will triumph.
47.	Our role here is to bring this inevitable victory nearer for the sake of world peace. Our role here is to assure the peoples of southern Africa that we stand by them in word and deed. Our role is to reinforce the front-line States in southern Africa: Zambia, Angola, Mozambique, Botswana, Lesotho and Swaziland. Our role is to frustrate the theatrical maneuvers of the white minority Government of South Africa designed to perpetuate its occupation of Namibia through dealing with elements that do not represent the people of Namibia. Our role is to ensure that the United Nations and the parties concerned, particularly the Government of the United Kingdom, will discharge their full responsibilities so that the people of Zimbabwe will be able to exercise their right to self-determination. We should also tighten the international isolation of the South African regime and of the white racist minority regime in Zimbabwe until they comply with United Nations resolutions and the will of the international community.
48.	Peace and security in the Middle East and the Mediterranean region call for a just and speedy settlement of the Cyprus issue too, a settlement that would preserve for the non-aligned State of Cyprus its territorial integrity and independence, a settlement that would put an end to the suffering and the sacrifices of tens of thousands of Cypriots rendered homeless as a result of a war that imposed limitless tragedies on the fraternal people of Cyprus. We believe in the ability of the two communities, the Greek and the Turkish, to arrive at a formula that would ensure for Cyprus its independence and sovereignty. We do hope that the United Nations and you personally, Mr. President, will continue to work for the realization of a speedy, just and durable settlement of the situation in Cyprus without foreign intervention.
49.	Our Arab nation, in the great awakening after the October war, continues its international action on the basis of the principles and objectives of the United Nations Charter in unison and in co-operation with all peace-loving peoples, with the non-aligned peoples and States, with the peoples of Africa, with the peoples of Asia, with the peoples and States of the Islamic Conference, and with those friendly peoples and Governments of Europe who have demonstrated an increased understanding of Arab rights and a desire to co-operate with them within the framework of the principles of the United Nations Charter.
50.	Egypt took pride in participating in the Fifth Conference of non-aligned countries held in Colombo. We are convinced that the continued activity of the non-aligned States, a broadened membership of States adopting this policy and the success of the non-aligned movement's mission would consolidate the efforts of the United Nations to build a better international community.
51.	Egypt was one of the pioneer States in the non-aligned movement and it still refuses to be a sphere of influence for anyone. We in Egypt support the causes of right and justice and national liberation causes everywhere. To cite an example, I refer to our continuous endeavors in backing the independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity of States, our support of the great Vietnamese people and our support of the just demands of the Korean people for unification and self-determination without foreign intervention, together with the necessity of the withdrawal of foreign forces from its territory.
52.	Egypt, which believes in the United Nations Charter, calls on all States to co-operate closely to ensure complete respect for our international Organization and strict compliance with its resolutions. It will continue to undertake with full commitment its pioneering and responsible role in the non-aligned movement, within the framework of the Organization of African Unity [OAU], the League of
Arab States, the Islamic Conference and the United Nations, co-operating with all peace-loving peoples of the world.
53.	I should like to pay a tribute here to the great Chinese people and its friendly Government for their backing and co-operation, particularly during those times when that was essential and vital.
54.	In this same spirit we welcome all friendly European States which desire to co-operate with us on the basis of equality and mutual co-operation, hoping the Arab- European dialog would realize its goals.
55.	It does not stand to reason that the world should still be beset with problems of poverty, hunger and disease in an age when man has ventured into space, reached the moon and landed craft on Mars on voyages that have cost the advanced countries billions of dollars. While science and technology have forged ahead beyond imagination, it has become clear that the vicious circle of backwardness is related to the present inequitable structure of the economic relations between the developed and developing countries and that the continued existence of the economic international status quo can only mean a further widening of the gap between the industrialized and the third-world countries. These are facts brought to focus by the midterm review and appraisal of the Second United Nations Development Decade. Hence the concern of the non-aligned States and the developing States in calling for the establishment of the new international economic order. They believe that their backwardness or their progress affects not only themselves, but also, in the same measure and in the same direction, the industrially advanced countries; this is a reflection of the reality of international interdependence in our world today. The consequences and results of this are also related to the stability and prosperity of the world in its entirety.
56.	The resolutions and the measures adopted by the Conference on Economic Co-operation among Developing Countries the resolutions and the measures it has adopted towards the implementation of the program of economic co-operation among them perhaps reflects clearly the determination of the third world to affirm the principle of collective self-reliance and to translate it into reality. It is this principle that the Colombo Conference has defined as supplementing, and not supplanting, international interdependence. Its objective is a more comprehensive and extensive co-operation to achieve the common goal of establishing the new international economic order that would ensure an appropriate standard of prosperity and human dignity for all mankind.
57.	There is no doubt that the developing countries and peoples facing special situations which hamper their active engagement in the development process-such as being subjected to foreign aggression or to foreign occupation, racial oppression or discrimination,' or colonial domination, whether in the Middle East or Africa or elsewhere-merit special assistance from the United Nations and the international community. This is besides their right to full compensation tor the damages inflicted on them-a right that was reaffirmed anew by the Fifth Conference of non-aligned countries in Colombo and the recent conference of developing countries in Mexico. In this connexion, I wish to commend the role of the United Nations Development Program and other institutions, as well as that of friendly States, in contributing to the reconstruction programs in the Suez Canal region.
58.	I should also like to underline the decisions of the two Conferences regarding the necessity of increasing assistance to the national liberation movements, to the newly independent countries and to those heroic African States whose economies have been adversely affected as a result of the joint struggle waged against the racial, regimes in Zimbabwe, Namibia and Azania.
59.	Furthermore, it is necessary to implement the resolutions of the Colombo Conference [A/31/197, annex IV], the ministerial conference of the developing countries at Manila,  and their recent conference at Mexico City regarding the adoption of effective measures by developed countries for the provision of debt relief to developing countries, including debt cancellation in specific cases as defined by these resolutions.
60.	The resolutions of the sixth special session of the General Assembly concerning the establishment of the new international economic order [resolutions 3201 (S-VI) and 3202 (S-VI)J, and of the other specialized international conferences convened in this context to deal with problems relating to population, food, industrial development and human settlement have not resulted in any tangible progress in the implementation of this order. We became optimistic as we witnessed the serious dialog initiated in the seventh special session and expected this dialog to proceed to the phase of actual and constructive implementation when resumed at the Conference of International Economic Co-operation in Paris and at the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development [UNCTAD], as well as at other international meetings. It is therefore with deep regret and bitterness that we find that those expectations have not materialized, despite the aggravation and urgency of the problems of the developing nations and despite the increasingly universal acceptance of the principles and objectives of the new international economic order.
61.	I should like to draw attention to the attempt at nuclear blackmail in the Middle East region and the danger which this entails. I refer here to reports emanating from Israel, and carried by some sections of the mass media in various parts of the world, about Israel's possession of nuclear weapons. What is uppermost in our minds is to prevent the introduction of nuclear weapons into the area and their proliferation in order to ward off the danger of nuclear war. It was with this end in view that Egypt joined Iran in an initiative at the twenty-ninth session of the General Assembly  resulting in a resolution calling for the establishment of a nuclear-weapon-free zone in the Middle East as an effective measure to prevent the proliferation of nuclear weapons in the area. That initiative met with unanimous and universal support.
62.	It is pertinent here to ask, Why does Israel continuously and persistently refuse to accede to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons [resolution 2373 (XXII) annex] and to accept an international safeguard system? This refusal is one more proof of Israel's lack of seriousness when it speaks of peace. Undoubtedly the establishment of a nuclear-weapon-free zone in the Middle East signifies support of efforts aiming at the establishment of nuclear-weapon-free zones, leading eventually to general and complete disarmament. It also implies a concern for world peace and security, considering the explosive situation in the area as a result of the Middle East question.
63.	Egypt has signed the non-proliferation Treaty and maintains its declared stand of ratifying it once Israel accedes to it.
64.	We in Egypt have contributed positively and effectively to the efforts undertaken by our international Organization in the field of disarmament. We are aware, too, that co-operation of the nuclear Powers with the United Nations is essential for the success and fruition of United Nations efforts in this field. We call on the nuclear Powers to be responsive to the United Nations efforts and to co-operate fully with it, particularly in the following matters: the strengthening of the role of the United Nations in the field of disarmament; the promotion of the establishment of nuclear-weapon-free zones and the prohibition of the production and use of incendiary weapons and weapons of mass destruction; nuclear disarmament and the achievement of general and complete disarmament.
65.	In this connexion I would like to express Egypt's support of Sri Lanka's position concerning the importance and the implementation of the Declaration of the Indian Ocean as a zone of peace [resolution 2832 (XXVI)].
66.	Egypt will continue to support every international effort intended to achieve tangible progress in the field of disarmament on the basis of universal participation. Hence Egypt, as a non-aligned State, attaches great importance to the convening of a special session on disarmament. It will exert every effort to render this a fruitful session-one that would ensure the continuation and intensification of universal efforts towards a world of general and complete disarmament.
67.	Co-operation in solving international problems should cover the right of States to exercise their sovereignty over their natural resources. Egypt has played a constructive role in the negotiations on an international treaty regulating the exploration and exploitation of sea-bed resources and the setting up of a legal order that would ensure that all States would share on an equitable basis in this wealth that belongs to mankind as a whole, thus avoiding international competition. It is our earnest belief that this would be the right path to consolidating global peace and security.
68.	Egypt has actively worked with the Arab and African groups, and in full solidarity with the developing States of the Group of 77, to ensure the establishment of a legal order that would ensure a just distribution of these riches, and that would safeguard the sovereignty of the coastal States over their territorial waters, their jurisdiction over their exclusive economic zones, and their interests in the continental shelf. Recognition of such rights does not necessarily mean any curtailment of scientific research or interference with the better utilization of the deep sea-bed.
69.	Egypt has undertaken initiatives within the Arab group during the fifth session of the Third United Nations Conference on the Law of the Sea towards arriving at a formula reconciling various views and realizing all goals.
70.	Egypt emphasizes that it is essential that all representatives of national liberation movements recognized by the United Nations should participate as observers in the General Assembly of the international authority that would be entrusted with regulating the exploitation of water resources and that the peoples not as yet independent should share in the revenues from this exploitation.
71.	The peoples of the world aspire to a life founded on human compassion, with ethical values and the rule of law as its mainstay. Consequently we have to continue working persistently towards building the world of the Charter, for the United Nations was established to stay, and both Governments and peoples need it.
72.	Allow me to recall the words with which President El-Sadat concluded his address before you at the thirtieth session:
"The world expects a lot from you at this historic, important juncture. The peoples have rising expectations of peace and prosperity at a time when the most severe challenges are multiplying and when problems are growing in complexity in an unprecedented manner. I am confident that, with our sincere and unswerving belief in a better future for humanity and our determination to work together for the attainment of our common goals, together we shall pass the test of peace and progress, thus paving the way towards a brighter era where future generations can enjoy comfort, security and hope."


Mr. President, it is my great pleasure to congratulate you on your election as President of this Assembly session. This has been a great year for you. You have already demonstrated your presidential capacity in five sessions of the Third United Nations Conference on the Law of the Sea, and at two of them this year. At the same time your country has been the host for a summit meeting of the non-aligned countries in Colombo.1 Your election as President not only ensures that this session will run with unusual punctuality and efficiency, but also reflects honor on Sri Lanka and on the Asian countries which showed their wisdom in selecting you for this high post.
31.	I offer my warm felicitations to our Secretary-General and his staff on their untiring efforts in the interests of all mankind.
32.	New Zealand, as a fellow member of the Common-wealth, gives a special welcome to Seychelles as the newest Member of the United Nations. In accordance with the principle of universality, New Zealand will support the admission of the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam when it comes before this Assembly.
33.	The General Assembly is the great key forum for the discussion of world issues, and the attendance of so many distinguished political figures at this session proves this.
34.	Some might think that New Zealand is not well placed to be much more than an onlooker in such a discussion. We are tucked away at the south end of the world. We are small; we are isolated; we are rather out of the way. But I assure you that any such assumption would be wrong. In spite of our geographical position, we are very much a part of the world. We depend for our livelihood, as much as any other country in the world, on our overseas trade.
35.	When things go wrong with other parts of the world, particularly in the economic sphere, we feel the effects and we feel them heavily and badly. As a result of the recent international recession our economic fortunes have suffered a significant downturn. We are still struggling to put things right, and I am not being pessimistic when I say that we still have a long way to go. Times are difficult for New Zealand. Unemployment has increased, and belts have had to be tightened. All this has inevitably placed strains on our society.
36.	But although we are going through a lean time I have no apprehension about our future. This is because our society is fundamentally strong, and it is strong because it is fundamentally just.
37.	We are multiracial society. We are British, we are Maori, we are Polynesian, we are Chinese, we are Danish, Yugoslav, Indian, Dutch and of many other nationalities. Some might see this cultural diversity as a liability or as a source of friction. We do not. It is a strength. We believe that our society is more mature, more accommodating and richer because we have learned and are still learning to get along together. I will not pretend that stresses do not occasionally arise. The movement in recent years of large numbers of our Maori people to the cities and the immigration of other Polynesians from the Pacific Islands have created problems of adjustment that did not formerly exist. The change from a traditional community life in comparatively isolated rural or island areas to a somewhat frustrating and perplexing one in what may seem to many to be an uncaring city is never easy.
38.	I would claim, however, that the change is perhaps easier to make in New Zealand than in many other places throughout the world, and I believe that is because we have a stronger egalitarian tradition and because we believe that human rights are not the preserve of any one group. Divisions of class, status or cultural background are of less significance than they are perhaps anywhere else in the world. I know that is a bold statement to make, but I believe it to be true. To put it into our colloquial terms, we believe in giving the other chap & "fair go", and it does not matter whether the other chap is a Maori, a Samoan, an Indian, a European, or whatever. We all share the same rights and the same responsibilities.
39.	And this approach is well reflected throughout our history. Representatives might be interested to know that our indigenous people, the Maori, were granted the democratic right of universal suffrage -the "one man, one vote" that we hear so much of today-in 1867: over a hundred years ago. At that time the rest of the New Zealand community still had to have property qualifications in order to vote. The most reliable test of racial harmony is often claimed to lie in the rate of intermarriage between different groups. In New Zealand the rate of intermarriage is so high that it has been estimated that within a generation or two every New Zealander of British or European stock will have at least one close relative of Maori or Polynesian extraction.
40.	As New Zealanders, we have thus come to see clearly that our separate destiny as a nation lies in building upon the heritage of our two main cultures-that of the Polynesian and that of what we call the Pakeha, or European. What we are striving to do is to leave to our children and their children the inheritance of the best of what is to be found in the traditional values of our different cultures.
41.	This has necessarily meant coming to terms with New Zealand's geographical position. As I mentioned earlier, we are located in the far South Pacific, and so New Zealanders of all races have developed a sense of belonging to the Pacific. It is not for us an area that we look on from a long distance and with detachment, as it will be looked on by most people of the world. It is our region.
42.	Our acceptance of this identify has been accelerated by the emergence of new island nations in our neighborhood, and when I talk of "neighborhood" it is pretty vast: I am talking of an area of 2,000 to 4,000 miles wide. It has been fostered, too, by the experience we have had in administering our former Territories, the Cook Islands and Niue. The United Nations was closely associated with the process by which those Territories came to self-government, and New Zealand assisted and welcomed that association.
43.	We were pleased, earlier this year, that a Visiting Mission from the Special Committee on the Situation with regard to the Implementation of the Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples was able to go to our remaining island Territory, which used to be called the Tokelau Islands, but is from now on to be known simply as Tokelau, to discuss its future. The Mission has since submitted its report [A/31/ 23/Rev.l, chap. XVII, annex]. We in New Zealand are giving most serious consideration to what the report has to say and, of course, particularly to its recommendations. Tokelau comprises an isolated, tiny and thinly settled group of islands. My Government will cp-operate fully with the United Nations in finding ways to meet the expressed wishes of the Tokelau people regarding their future.
44.	The process of political change is at work, not only in New Zealand's corner of the Pacific, but in other parts as well. The South Pacific has sometimes been called a quiet backwater. I doubt that that has ever really been true, and certainly in my long experience the South Pacific has always been a busy place; there is always something going on and some changes taking place.
45.	Yet I also believe it is true that the South Pacific is indeed entering upon a new era: new forms of political co-operation are evolving, notably the South Pacific Forum, in which the heads of government of the independent nations of the South Pacific meet at least once each year, with committees in between times. I had the very great privilege of presiding over the first Forum, which was held in New Zealand in 1971. There is a growing sense of collective interest evident in the work of that Forum. Perhaps the best example of this is the concerted approach its members have adopted towards those aspects of the negotiations on the law of the sea which have very great implications for all those who live in our region.
46.	New leaders have emerged and are emerging. They have new ideas and they are determined to give expression to the expectations of their people. This is a good thing, something to be encouraged. Because of the kinship link New Zealand has with the Pacific people, we are that much more aware of their aspirations for advancement and their aspirations for higher living standards. We are also aware- keenly aware-of the expectations that New Zealand and Australia inspire because we are of the relatively more affluent members of the Pacific family.
47.	My Government is committed to assisting the island countries of the Pacific, and this year a greater share than ever before of New Zealand's aid program is going into the South Pacific countries. A special effort is being made to promote employment opportunities in those countries. We will, however, continue to leave it to those countries themselves to decide their own priorities and the direction in which they wish to go in building towards self- sufficiency.
48.	We are doing all that we can to help. We look also to the United Nations and the specialized agencies to continue their good work in our region. The United Nations Development Program [UNDP], we know, faces a grave resources problem. It has, however, made a valuable contribution to the South Pacific in recent years, and this is an opportunity for me to reinforce the previous representations that the New Zealand Government has made, that the UNDP should maintain its support for the important key projects it has been involved in in the region.
49.	There has recently been a quickening of outside interest in this region. To the extent that it reflects a genuine concern to promote the well-being of the developing countries of the South Pacific, it will be welcome.
50.	Having a special interest in the South Pacific does not mean that we take a parochial view of world economic problems. The same egalitarian tradition which I mentioned earlier, the same concern for the basic human rights, leads us to attach great urgency to early progress in restructuring the world's economic and trading system along more equitable lines. We share Secretary-General Waldheim's own blunt assessment when he said: "A world economically divided could not and would not be politically stable."
51.	As a country heavily dependent on the export of a narrow range of agricultural commodities, New Zealand knows at first hand the difficulties and uncertainties faced by developing countries whose economic progress is dependent upon a stable and remunerative trade in commodities, mainly primary commodities. I have mentioned our own problems arising from the international recession. But we realize fully that many developing countries were hit even harder than we were, and that for them export earnings have shrunk to a level at which their development efforts have been crippled. We believe that improved commodity training arrangements are an essential ingredient of any new international economic order worthy of that name.
52.	Again, as a net importer of investment capital and technology, New Zealand has a special appreciation of the requirement for better and more equitable international arrangements in those two areas. My Government also believes that the daunting debt-servicing problems currently faced by the poorer developing countries demand immediate attention, and in the future the question of the terms of development assistance generally must receive continuing international consideration in a multilateral context.
53.	There has been some progress since the encouraging conclusion of last year's seventh special session of the General Assembly. The Conference on International Economic Co-operation in Paris and other important meetings, both within and outside the United Nations system, have provided an important element of continuity in the global consultations. The number and the intensity of these meetings reflects a growing recognition of the interrelated nature of our problems and the urgency with which we must tackle them.
54.	The fourth session of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development [UNCTAD] succeeded in establishing a framework and a time seals for consideration of the key question of the international commodity trade. It cleared the way, at least, for a more detailed analysis of the specific issues involved. These are welcome developments, although less progress was made in other key areas. But in the new climate, consideration of these issues will not be allowed to lapse; the debate is, fortunately, now a continuing one.
55.	International efforts are focused on many different problems-food production, human settlements, the commodities trade, the transfer of science and technology, the flow of development assistance and investment capital, and the restructuring of the United Nations system itself to make it more responsive to the current needs of the world community. In all these efforts New Zealand is committed to full and constructive participation.
56.	One of this Organization's real achievements in its 30-year history has been in the elaboration of standards for basic human rights. We know, however, that despite those standards and despite all the efforts made by men of good will, people in many parts of the world are still being denied their basic human rights. We know, too, that nowhere is the denial as blatant as it is in the countries of southern Africa. The refusal of those who rule South Africa, Namibia and Rhodesia to accept the principle of human equality has caused acute tensions and has brought the situation in the area to a critical stage. Watching the developments of the last few months, we in New Zealand, like people I know in other countries, have had the feeling that we may be seeing the beginning of a maelstrom of violence.
57.	For Rhodesia, time is rapidly running out. Until recently the Smith regime seemed determined to make no concessions to the demand for early majority rule. It has seemed more and more likely that that objective would be achieved only by armed force, with much bloodshed. My Government is, therefore, very encouraged by the decision of Mr. Ian Smith and his colleagues, belated though it may be, to accept majority rule within two years. So the way is now open for negotiations on the detailed arrangements for the transfer of power, and we in New Zealand earnestly hope that, through British good offices, these can soon begin and that they will be successful.
58.	When the Security Council imposed mandatory sanctions on Rhodesia in 1968,  the Government of which I was then head immediately put them into effect in New Zealand. Since then, successive Governments have applied the sanctions consistently and rigorously. After Mozambique had announce d its decision to apply sanctions, and in view of the consequent loss to it, my Government agreed to contribute to the programs of assistance to that country launched by the Commonwealth Secretary-General and the Secretary-General of the United Nations. Although New Zealand is not directly involved, we are prepared to play our part in any international effort to end the bloodshed and to help die people of Rhodesia to achieve a just multiracial society.
59.	Namibia, too, seems dangerously close to the brink of conflict. We in New Zealand believe that South Africa was wrong to go on occupying Namibia after its Mandate was withdrawn, and we have said so consistently. South Africa was even more wrong to try to impose its own policy of apartheid on the people of Namibia. We welcome South Africa's recent acceptance of the goal of independence for Namibia. But independence is meaningless unless it is genuinely based on self-determination. And the refusal of the South African Government to deal with the South West Africa People's Organization [SWAPO] has created a justifiable and reasonable doubt in the minds of African and other countries whether the act of self-determination envisaged by that Government will be fully genuine.
60.	As Namibia was once a League of Nations Mandate, this Organization has a special responsibility towards it: its responsibility is to see that all the people of Namibia are given the opportunity to decide freely for themselves what the future of their country should be. It is essential, therefore, that the United Nations should be given the opportunity and the means to supervise free elections in Namibia and to approve any new constitution for that country.
61.	Much is at stake in Rhodesia and in Namibia, but in the longer term the greatest potential for disaster is in South Africa itself. I think this is obvious to all men. South Africa is not in any means the only country in the world where human rights are consistently violated, and we all know this. But it is the only country where racial discrimination is the basis of the whole social, economic and political system. Our own experience in New Zealand has taught us that racial harmony is essential to the well-being of a multiracial society. The Prime Minister of New Zealand, Mr: MuldOon, said in a speech about a month ago:
"The New Zealand Government's attitude to apartheid is very clear: we believe it is wrong and we want to see it ended. It should now be plain even to South Africans that apartheid will not work. Based as it is on racial discrimination, it is an unjust and inhuman system. It can be maintained only by the ruthless use of force, and it cannot be maintained that way indefinitely."
62.	The rioting that has been going on around South African cities for over three months now began as a spontaneous explosion of black anger. By ruthless repression, the South African authorities have managed to confine it largely to the black townships. They have not been able to stop it. The outside .world can see that they are in a blind alley. Only a fundamental change of direction can prevent an inevitable escalation of the hatred, violence and bloodshed.
63.	Setting up what are called "homelands", or "bantustans", for. the African people of South Africa will not solve the problem. The black and colored people of South Africa cannot accept being deprived of citizenship in their own country-the country of their birth and the country they have helped to develop. They must be accepted as citizens of South Africa, entitled to a fair share in South Africa's resources. We note that many countries including in particular Britain and the other members of the European Community, have made it clear that they are unable to extend recognition to the Transkei and other homelands as sovereign, independent States:
64.	New Zealand's position is the same. Indeed, I recall that in 1971 New Zealand voted for the resolution adopted by the Assembly condemning the establishment of the bantustans [resolution 2775 E (XXVI)]. Then, as now, a National Party Government was in office in New Zealand. In 1975 New Zealand also supported the Assembly resolution calling upon Governments not to recognize any of the bantustans [resolution 3411D (XXX)]. That action was taken by a Labor Government, but it was in accordance with the policy that the previous Government had initiated. There is a consistent line of policy in New Zealand on this question.
65.	We note with regret that, 31 years after the United Nations Charter was signed, threats to the peace continue to exist in many parts of the world: notably in the Korean peninsula and in the Middle East. Good sense has prevailed here, and we are not going to have another sterile confrontation over Korea at this session, but the fact remains that the border between North and South Korea remains in a state of continuous tension and that talks between the two Governments have reached an apparent stalemate. As a result, Korea remains divided and outside the United Nations.
66.	We feel deeply for the people of Lebanon in the tragic situation in which they find themselves, a situation not of their own choice or of their own making. We are equally concerned at the lack of progress towards a solution of the Cyprus problem, despite the tireless efforts of the Secretary-General and others. Again, it is the people of Cyprus who are the innocent victims. We can only join with others in saying that what is needed is simply the implementation of previous Assembly resolutions: the withdrawal of foreign troops, the repatriation of refugees and the resumption of negotiations between the two sides. New Zealand strongly supports this line of action.
67.	This has been an active year in the field of international law-making, although it has not been as productive as most of us would have wished.
68.	New Zealand attaches the greatest importance to the achievement of a new convention on the law of the sea. When you think of that vast area of ocean around us and around the Polynesian islands with which we are so closely associated, you will realize how keenly we are interested in this question. We have, therefore, shared the widespread sense of frustration at the lack of progress during the last session of the Conference on the Law of the Sea on the main issues which are delaying general agreement. We remain committed to the goal of a universally supported treaty on this vital subject. We believe that rapid progress towards this goal is now absolutely essential if the
Conference is not to lose the great chance it has to secure an equitable and stable regime for the world's oceans. In the absence of such progress, New Zealand, like many other States, will inevitably shorten its focus and concentrate on consultations and arrangements within its own region.
69.	I shall turn now to one aspect only of a subject which perhaps overrides all others in its global implications: the question of disarmament.
70.	The aspect that has especially worried New Zealanders is the question of nuclear weapons testing and proliferation. We know that to put an end to the testing of nuclear weapons is not, in itself, a disarmament measure, but we believe that it is an important confidence-building step, an essential preliminary to nuclear disarmament.
71.	It is a great relief to us in New Zealand that the testing of nuclear weapons in the atmosphere in our part of the world has stopped during the past 12 months. We regret that it continues elsewhere. As recently as yesterday, we have had news of substantial radioactive fall-out right here on our doorstep from a nuclear explosion many thousands of miles away. What the safety level for such fall-out is no one can be sure, but it is obviously desirable that any increase in existing levels should be avoided.
72.	However, that in itself is not enough. Only a comprehensive test-ban treaty, ending weapons testing in all environments and not only in the atmosphere, can be counted as a genuine first step on the road towards nuclear disarmament. One of the main stumbling-blocks to the conclusion of such a treaty has been the question of on-site inspection. We think it is very encouraging that, in a document recently circulated [see A/311232], the Soviet Union has now indicated willingness to consider a com-promise on this issue. The language of the Soviet note is, however, not altogether clear. It is important, we feel, that on-site inspection should not depend entirely on the consent of the State in question.
73.	Another stumbling-block in the way of a comprehensive test-ban agreement has been the unwillingness of certain nuclear Powers to take part in the negotiations. It is our hope that they will take heed cf the increasing concern of world public opinion about the ever increasing growth and proliferation of nuclear weapons and that they will adopt a more co-operative approach.
74.	In this connexion, I stress the need for the utmost control over the exportation of sensitive nuclear facilities and I am thinking particularly of processing plants. Things are bad and dangerous enough now, but they could get very much worse, and even over the short period. The suppliers of nuclear fuel and material have a responsibility not only to themselves but also to the rest of the world to ensure that their commercial activities do not facilitate nuclear weapons proliferation. Profits will be of little value in a nuclear holocaust.
75.	I have touched on several aspects of what I might call a general human rights theme: I have discussed human rights in New Zealand, economic rights in the South Pacific and the developing world generally; I have discussed human rights in southern Africa, and, in relation to disarmament, what I might call the human right to survive. I should like to conclude by referring to one further aspect of the human rights theme, and that concerns the question of international terrorism. I agree absolutely with the comment of the Secretary-General in the introduction to his annual report to the Assembly on the work of the Organization that the time has come for a new and determined approach by the international community to this growing and worrying problem [see A/31/l/Add. l, sect. V]. No one can deny that the increasing frequency and scope of acts of terrorism pose a serious threat to the integrity of the whole human society as we know it. My Government therefore welcomes the initiative taken by the Government of the Federal Republic of Germany on the elaboration of a convention on the taking of hostages and we hope that the Assembly will be prepared to examine it in a positive spirit [A/31/242].
76.	Surely it is not too much to hope that, when this Assembly ends, its work may be marked down as a positive contribution towards strengthening economic, social and political rights, especially of all poor and oppressed peoples everywhere, and to the freeing of all mankind from the fear of nuclear destruction.


Mr. President, may I first of all take this opportunity to convey to you and, through you, to all delegations assembled here, greetings from His Excellency Alhajji Field Marshal Mr. Idi Amin Dada, VC, BSD, MC, Life President of the Republic of Uganda, the Government and the entire people of Uganda and their best wishes for fruitful deliberations. Uganda attaches great importance to this Organization in the sincere conviction that it is here to serve the interests of mankind.
2.	Also on behalf of my delegation I would congratulate Mr. Hamilton Shirley Amerasinghe on his unanimous election to preside over this session. His high reputation and the impressive list of his diplomatic and administrative achievements are undoubtedly the best guarantee that he will carry out this assignment with competence and to the satisfaction of all Member States and especially to the pride of the non-aligned movement, of which his country is a member. My delegation assures him of its full support in the discharge of his duties.
3.	I should also like to pay a tribute to his predecessor, His Excellency Prime Minister Gaston Thorn, for the efficient manner in which he conducted the deliberations of the last session.
4.	On this occasion too I should like to express our deep appreciation and gratitude to our Secretary-General, Mr. Kurt Waldheim, and his staff for their good work. Uganda greatly appreciates the work of Mr. Waldheim in promoting peace, justice and equality, particularly in the third world. His dedicated service to our Organization will remain on permanent record in the annals of the United Nations. We are particularly grateful for his services in the field of decolonization and in handling the problems of the racist minority regimes in southern Africa.
5.	It is also my delegation's pleasure to congratulate the people of the new Republic of Seychelles on their attainment of independence. Uganda welcomes this newest State from Africa among the ranks of this world body. This demonstrates Africa's determination to cast off the last chains of colonialism and to establish a free and peaceful human society. It is now the duty of the United Nations to help this new State to preserve its political and economic independence and its territorial integrity.
6.	While welcoming the Republic of Seychelles, Uganda expresses the hope that during this session the People's Republic of Angola and the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam will take their rightful places in this Organization.
7.	May I at this juncture record our sorrow at the passing away of Chairman Mao Tsetung and, through you, Mr. President, convey to the Government and people of China our condolences at the loss of their great and beloved leader.
8.	The world community is still experiencing hot-beds of political tension. The United Nations has all along been preoccupied with finding long-term solutions to these problems with a view to achieving lasting world peace, justice and equality among all the nations of this globe.
9.	At this very moment, as I speak to you, the grave situation prevailing in southern Africa has become more than ever before a threat to international peace and security.
10.	This august Assembly has for many years both in its debates and in its resolutions condemned the illegal and racist minority regime in Rhodesia. The sanctions against rebel Ian Smith's regime have failed miserably because of the support of the Vorster regime and some Member States represented here in this Assembly.
11.	Recent developments in Zimbabwe and observations made in the present debate highlight the need for an immediate solution to the deadlock in Zimbabwe. Various proposals have been made in recent weeks ostensibly to solve the Rhodesian problem by peaceful means. Why, may we ask, should the people of Zimbabwe wait for another two or so years to have power transferred to them, when they have been fighting rebel Smith's illegal regime since 1965? The people of Zimbabwe have shed their blood for many years, particularly in the last 11 years, fighting for their independence. Uganda has given, and continues to
give, material and moral support to the liberation movements in Zimbabwe. Now that total liberation is within teach, any attempt to call on the liberation movements to lay down their arms should be strongly resisted. Accordingly, President Amin, speaking as one with the entire people of Uganda, has appealed to the liberation movements not to give up the armed struggle. The armed struggle must be intensified until racist Smith and Vorster are brought to their knees and total liberation is achieved.
12.	Despite numerous resolutions of the United Nations, under whose mandate Namibia falls, Fascist South Africa continues to occupy Namibia illegally. Besides occupying Namibia illegally, South Africa has extended its inhuman policy of apartheid to that Territory. South Africa is in the process of fragmenting Namibia and establishing pocket regimes under the policy of "bantustanization". The bogus constitutional conference held recently in Namibia has been denounced by the South West Africa People's Organization fSWAPOJ, the authentic representatives of the people of Namibia, and we support them. South Africa has further militarized Namibia and turned it into a police State from which the racist regime stages attacks on other independent African States. We cannot condone these barbaric acts.
13.	The people of Namibia, under the leadership of SWAPO, are waging a gallant struggle against the racist regime in South Africa. We appeal to all peace-loving nations to support their just cause until final victory is achieved. We in Uganda will continue to render every assistance to those heroic people.
14.	This Assembly is fully aware that the principles underlying the system of apartheid are in sharp contradiction to the very principles of the United Nations Charter and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Yet the racist regime of South Africa has committed, and still continues to commit, crimes against humanity, and there is no doubt that this regime remains a threat to international peace and security. When it is stripped of all propaganda and sentiments, we all know that the tyranny in South Africa, unequaled anywhere in the world, is maintained by deliberate racist legislation and carried out by a ruthless administration, secret service and police force.
15.	The situation in South Africa is, more than ever before, a test which will enable us to assess the real practical value of this Organization. For our part, we have not hidden our hostility to the apartheid system and we make no apology for the fact that we want that racist regime and its policies dismantled.
16.	For a long time we have heard some Members of this Organization speaking loudly against the policies of apartheid, and yet they arm South Africa and are even supplying nuclear reactors to that country to enable it to entrench its policies. These countries have attempted to enhance the credibility of Vorster, who now poses as a mediator and a co-sponsor of the so-called African solution to an African problem. The time has come for those who claim to be the friends of independent Africa to stand up and be counted. We believe that those who continue to arm South Africa with sophisticated and dangerous weapons cannot at the same time genuinely claim to be on our side. Current events in South Africa have shown that apartheid is collapsing, and the oppressed majority in South Africa are prepared to lay down their lives for the total liberation of their country. We join all peace-loving peoples in mourning the death of the hundreds of innocent men, women and children who lost their lives at the hands of a gang of racist terrorists. Let those who back Vorster be informed that the ship is sinking and it is time for them to make their choice.
17.	Since the establishment of the Zionist State of Israel, the Middle East situation has been a threat to international peace and security. Those who support Zionist Israel forget that the Palestinians have been made to suffer for the last 30 years. The Palestinians have now been driven into the desert, surviving on hand-outs and living in tents. In all this the Zionists and their allies have treated the Palestinians as if they were surplus human beings to be removed and dumped anywhere in the harshness of the desert.
18.	It is true that had it not been aided militarily by powerful imperialist forces, Israel's ambitions would have been crushed by now. This Assembly should not be intimidated by those imperialist forces in condemning the Zionist atrocities committed in the Middle East and elsewhere in the world. No solution in the Middle East will be lasting unless Israel withdraws from the occupied Arab territory, and the rights of the Palestinian people are fully recognized.
19.	As regards the situation in Lebanon, we hope that the people of that troubled country will be able to find a quick, peaceful and lasting solution to existing conflicts in that country, so that the Arab people can focus their attention on their major objective in the Middle East.
20.	My delegation is alarmed at the lack of progress in disarmament and the upward trend in the production, stockpiling and proliferation of armaments, particularly nuclear armaments. The vast resources which the world is devoting to the arms race should usefully be channeled towards the social and economic development of the developing countries. It is against this background that my delegation would like to endorse the proposal of the Fifth Conference of Heads of State or Government of Non- Aligned Countries, held at Colombo from 16 to 19 August 1976, to convene as soon as possible a special session of the General Assembly to discuss the question of disarmament.
21.	The world has changed a lot since the Charter of the United Nations was drawn up more than 30 years ago. The membership of the Organization has since greatly increased, and so have its activities, especially in functional fields and in other burning international issues that have since confronted us. These drastic changes in the facts of international life make corresponding changes in the structure of the Organization imperative and require our urgent attention.
22.	The negative vote system in the Security Council, for instance, has now, more than ever before, become distasteful to most members of this Assembly because it runs counter to the principle of equality of all States and gives to a few a privileged status, dwarfing the will of the majority. We have stated before that this Organization was founded on the fundamental principle of equality among nations, whether great or small, strong or weak, rich or
poor. My delegation, therefore, urges that the veto system be replaced by a more democratic system in line with the requirements of law and justice.
23.	Uganda has pursued and participated with keen interest in the proceedings of Third United Nations Conference on the Law of the Sea. Although a land-locked country, Uganda shares an active interest in the peaceful exploitation of the resources of the sea-bed for the betterment of mankind. My Government is ready to support a just international convention for the effective exploitation of these resources.
24.	Uganda feels that any convention on the law of the sea must adequately cove; the interests of all countries, including the land-locked countries. There are still many areas of disagreement, and the non-aligned countries have already made proposals on the right of free access to and from the sea. This and other issues, particularly regarding the sea-bed and its exploitation and the exclusive economic zone, have to be satisfactorily resolved before we can come to a convention acceptable to all. We shall not be intimidated by threats of unilateral action on the part of some Member States to conclude a convention which will not cover our interests. We hope that the remaining difficulties will be resolved at the sixth session, which will take place in 1977, taking into consideration the position of the Group of 77.
25.	Regarding the world economic situation, we are all familiar with the reasons and developments which led to the current international economic crisis. Although there are some prospects for improvement on the world economic scene, economic growth in the developing countries has generally been scanty and in certain cases there has been some negative growth. The most seriously affected countries have been the ones least able to withstand this crisis. Considering that 18 out of the 29 least developed countries are located in Africa, many of them being land-locked or situated in disaster areas, and that Africa also contains 28 of the 45 most seriously affected countries [see A/31121, annex IV), the African continent has been the most severely hit of all the regions of the world. In this respect, the continent deserves increased assistance from the international community.
26.	The alarming disparity between the levels of development in the developed and developing countries has become a threat to world peace and security. Durable solutions must be found to the grave problems being generated by the present distribution of wealth in the world, the price relationship between raw materials and manufactured goods and discrimination in the world trade system as well as in the credit and monetary system. My Government considers the move towards the new international economic order as a logical response to the urgent need for greatly enhanced development prospects in the developing world.
27.	In this respect, we reaffirm our support of the positions taken at various international Conferences, particularly at the sixth and seventh special sessions of the General Assembly, the fourth session of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development [UNCTADJ and the Fifth Conference of Heads of State or Government of Non-Aligned Countries.
28.	My Government views with great concern the slowness with which some of the generally accepted programs of action for the international community are being implemented. It is particularly discouraging to note the lack of commitment on the part of the developed countries to implement those decisions of the General Assembly which laid down the foundation of the new international economic order. The efforts of the developing countries to bring about social and economic changes have been seriously hampered by various constraints, which, inter alia, have caused such efforts to fall short of the growth target of the Second United Nations Development Decade. The developed countries should accept and fulfill their obligations and commitments arising from the decisions and recommendations which laid down the foundations of the new international economic order. Furthermore, the developed countries should respond more positively to the proposals of the developing countries as contained in the Manila Declaration  adopted at the Third Ministerial Meeting of the Group of 77, which was held from 26 January to 7 February 1976.
29.	My delegation is deeply concerned at the lack of progress in the Paris Conference on International Economic Co-operation. After almost nine months of negotiations, the developed countries have not even responded, beyond general remarks, to the concrete proposals submitted by the Group of 19 developing countries taking part in the Conference. We expressed misgivings at the thirtieth session of the General Assembly about the Paris Conference, and the deadlock reached at the Conference seems to confirm our fears. We would, therefore, wish to propose that all future negotiations of this nature should be conducted under the auspices of the United Nations.
30.	The real issue now before us is whether or not we can come to terms with the political realities of an economically divided world and whether or not we can agree on the need to establish a viable economic system for the equitable distribution of the world's resources. This, then, is the stark reality before us. Mankind is now at the crossroads. We have either to turn towards the new international economic order or to choose to continue with the present inequitable system. My delegation is confident that the United Nations system is capable of arriving at an integrated multisectoral approach to the problems of economic and social development.
31.	In this context, I should like to refer to the limited nature of the progress achieved test May at Nairobi during the fourth session of UNCTAD, and urge the developed countries which have not already done so to accept, among other things, the principle of indexation, to achieve the target of 0.7 per cent of the gross national product as official development assistance to the developing countries in accordance with the International Development Strategy for the Second United Nations Development Decade [resolution 2626 (XXV)], to accept the cancellation or rescheduling of the developing countries' external debts and to implement the special measures in favor of the most
seriously affected, least developed, land-locked and island developing countries.
32.	In addition to the foregoing, very far-reaching economic decisions were taken at the recent Colombo Conference, and Uganda supported these decisions, which have already been presented to this Assembly by Mrs. Banda- ranaike, current Chairman of the non-aligned movement, in her address of 30 September last [th meeting]. They represent the joint aspirations of a big group of members of the world community. These decisions emphasize the importance of self-reliance. The non-aligned countries will together defend these aspirations, and the world community should take these countries' aspirations into consideration.
33.	May I reiterate our firm conviction that, whatever measures the international community may take in favor of the developing countries, the economic development of each country in the third world remains the prime task of the State concerned. My Government is resolved that international and foreign financial and technical assistance can only complement national efforts in the field of development. In this connexion, Uganda has taken steps to effect institutional changes in our economy and the Government has established full sovereignty over Uganda's natural resources to ensure that the course of economic development is directed in the best interest of the people.
34.	faking self-reliance as the basis of our economic policy, my Government is keen to develop closer co-operation among the developing countries. My delegation would like to urge those developing countries in a position to do so to increase their investments in developing countries rather than channeling them to developed countries. My Government is of the view that there is a vast potential for investment by developing countries in Africa as a whole and Uganda in particular.
35.	Having actively participated in the fourth session of the Governing Council of the United Nations Environment Program [UNEP] and in the preparatory work for Habitat: United Nations Conference on Human Settlements and in the Conference itself, which was held at Vancouver from 31 May to 11 June 1976, my Government is satisfied with the progress that has been made so far by UNEP in playing its role in the stimulation of interest in environmental problems as well as promotion of international and national awareness and action aimed at combating problems of the environment and of human settlements. My delegation supports the Vancouver Declaration of Principles, the recommendations for national action and the programs tor international co-operation  and believes that their implementation would go a long way towards improving human settlement conditions in developing countries. My delegation, therefore, wishes to support initiatives aimed at trying to establish a new, independent body on human settlements to tackle the serious problems of human settlements afflicting the world today.
36.	Before I conclude, let me briefly refer once again to the Israeli military aggression against Uganda on 4 July 1976. The Minister for Foreign Affairs of Costa Rica made malicious and unfounded allegations against Uganda on 27 September last [6th meeting], insinuating that my country was a party to the hijacking of the French airbus to Entebbe. It is shameful that a Minister from a developing country, namely, Costa Rica, should have turned himself into a spokesman for a racist, aggressive, Zionist country, listening to what the Foreign Minister of Costa Rica said, one wondered whether he was speaking as a representative of Costa Rica or as an honorary citizen of Israel. Who knows? What happened to Uganda could happen to Costa Rica. My delegation wishes him God's forgiveness.
37.	The Israeli military aggression against my country was a criminal, premeditated and flagrant violation of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Uganda. A debate was held on that aggression against my country in the Security Council last July.  I take this opportunity once again to reject categorically such malicious allegations and to stress that Uganda does not and will never support or condone terrorism and that no one should try to confuse a humanitarian act with an act of terrorism.
38.	This Assembly and the whole world are fully aware of President Amin's efforts to save the lives of the hostages held by commandos of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine in a hijacked French airbus. Permission for the hijacked airbus to land at Entebee airport was granted on purely humanitarian grounds and at the request of the French Government. The Uganda Government under the direct command of my President undertook every effort to give the most comfortable treatment to the hostages who, for the first time in the history of hijacking, were allowed to leave the aircraft. President Amin also persuaded the Palestinian commandos to release the hostages, and some were indeed released.
39.	The President of Uganda has already received some messages of thanks from the hostages, including the Israelis, for the excellent efforts he deployed to secure their release and the comfortable treatment they received during their stay at Entebbe airport. In actual fact, Uganda fulfilled, to the best of its ability, its moral and humanitarian duty. Now, instead of being grateful to Uganda, the Israeli Government carried out a barbaric invasion into my country, under the pretext of rescuing the 'remaining hostages. During the raid Uganda suffered heavy human and material losses. Our people died at the hands of the Zionists, who had no respect for human life or for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of an independent State Member of the United Nations. In any circumstances, the Israelis had no justification in attacking Uganda, which at that time was striving to secure the release of the remaining hostages. Israel has a reputation for disrupting efforts being undertaken for the establishment of peace and security. Uganda strongly condemns this wanton act of aggression.
40.	The Organization of African Unity [OAU], at the thirteenth session of the Assembly of Heads of State and Government, held from 2 to 5 July at Port Louis, adopted a resolution strongly condemning the Zionist raid on Uganda and calling for payment of full compensation for both human and material losses which my country suffered
during the raid. A similar condemnation is contained in the Political Declaration adopted by the Colombo Conference. [See A/311197, annex I.].	Our efforts to secure similar resolutions in the Security Council have been frustrated by the imperialist forces in the Council who are sympathizers with the Zionist regime in Israel. However, Uganda would like to register its gratitude to all the peace-loving countries which showed solidarity and sympathy during that trying period.
42.	Representatives will agree with me that the Israeli raid on Uganda defied all known principles of humanity enshrined in the United Nations Charter and was in direct violation of the Charter. Israel violated our sovereignty and territorial integrity, respect for which constitutes the basic principle for the maintenance of world peace and security, of which the United Nations is the chief custodian.
43.	Despite the Israeli aggression against Uganda, we have returned to Israel a jet plane that was loaned to us in 1971. Furthermore, the Uganda Government has appointed a commission of inquiry to look into the whole question of the Israeli invasion of Uganda, including the whereabouts of Mrs. Dora Bloch.
44.	Finally, we reiterate our faith in the United Nations and our willingness to co-operate with this world body in trying to find solutions to the many problems that face mankind.