 May I first offer my sincere congratulations to you, Sir,' on the assumption of the presidency of the thirty-sixth session of the General Assembly. Your long experience in diplomacy and government makes you eminently suited to occupy this high office. Your election as President, when considered with the fact that the Republic of Iraq currently holds the chairmanship of the Organization of the Islamic Conference and will be the next chairman of the non-aligned movement, inspires confidence because of your Understanding of the problems of the Middle East which will no doubt provide valuable guidance to the deliberations of the Assembly. The delegation of Mauritius assures you of its co-operation in the discharge of your onerous responsibilities.
3.	I should also like your predecessor, Mr. von Wechmar, to know how much we appreciated his valuable contribution to the thirty-fifth session of the General Assembly ind the recently concluded eighth emergency special session.'"" Namibia.'
4.	May I also express our esteem for (he Secretary-General for his dedication and devotion to the work of the United Nations and his untiring and constant efforts to uphold the principles enshrined in its Charter.
5.	On behalf of the Government and the people of Mauritius, I have great pleasure in welcoming the admission of Vanuatu and Belize to the great family of the United Nations.
6.	We consider that Namibia should obtain its independence and that the world community should press for the. implementation of Security Council resolution 435 (1978). In this connection, we welcome the move of the United States to break the stalemate and bring about the reactivation of the contact group of five Western States, with the help of the Secretary-General. It is only the combined support of all the good will existing in the world that will bring about the solution of the question of Nanmbia.
7.	We come from a multiracial country where people, irrespective of their religion, race, color or sex, enjoy full freedom of conscience and equal rights, and it is only natural that we view with great concern the gross abuses of human rights in the world. South Africa should realize that any doctrine of superiority based on racial discrimination is scientifically false, morally condemnable, socially unjust and dangerous; there is no justification at all for racial discrimination. "	.'"''
8.	My country welcomes the solemn commitment made at the last session of the Assembly of Heads of State and Government of the Organization of African Unity by His Majesty King Hassan II of Morocco to accept the organization of a referendum in the Territory of Western Sahara. We request the United Nations to provide the necessary facilities and help in ensuring peace and security during the organization and conduct of the referendum, so that the will of the people may be freely, expressed, .without, threat or intimidation.
9.	My delegation considers the realization of the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people as indispensable for the solution of the Palestinian problem. We are glad that on the interminable question of the Middle East we note a constructive swing of the pendulum towards recognition of the Palestine Liberation Organization IPW] as a symbol of the right of the Palestinian people to self-determination and independence.
10.	- We reject the enactment by Israel which proclaims Jerusalem , its capital as . a violation of international law and consider such activities on the part of Israel as serious impediments in the peace process. We urge Israel to comply with Security Council resolution 465 (1980) and all resolutions relevant to the restoration of the historic character of the Holy City of Jerusalem.
11.	Mauritius is particularly concerned with events in Africa, South-East Asia, the Middle East and Latin America and appeals to all countries directly involved to accept the good offices of the United Nations and other regional groups to negotiate with a view to finding an acceptable solution to the problems which are inflicting untold miseries upon the inhabitants of those countries.
12.	We must admit that the present session Is meeting at a time characterized by serious threats to detente.and the . beginning of yet another unbridled arms ..race. Ail. the Member States seem to agree on the need for nuclear disarmament,, limitation of strategic arms and establishment of nuclear-free and demilitarized zones, but, unfortunately, .what is actually happening is that the world is spending $500 billion yearly on armaments alone while 500 million people throughout the world are today starving because one tenth of that , sum is not available. My delegation hopes that the major Powers will contribute significantly to making the second special session of the General Assembly devoted to disarmament, scheduled for 1982 success.
13.	In years ago the General Assembly adopted a resolution to make the Indian Ocean a zone of peace [resolution 2832 (XXVI)], but .events in the region have converted the Ocean into a zone of fear and tensions. However, bad it not been for the significant role of the United States in the Indian Ocean, social, economic and political stability would have- been considerably affected iu the countries bordering the Indian Ocean,
14.	While political tensions and wars are endemic, economic crisis has today become pandemic. The main problems of the world today are mass unemployment, inflation and balance of payments deficits, which constitute a direct threat to social democracy in the third world. Such a situation is indicative of the insufficiency of the present world economic order. Almost all of the speakers who have preceded me are unanimous on this unfortunate state of affairs, if we do not act now I am afraid that a still . larger number of developing countries will be pushed to the verge of economic and financial collapse. If the present slow-moving negotiations for the establishment of a new international economic order are not revamped and backed by the necessary political will, the world will witness unprecedented confrontations between the rich developed countries and the poor developing countries. Such a confrontation will be in the final instance detrimental of the whole of humanity.
15.	In this context we thought that the Brandt Commission would have come to the help of the world. We welcome the forthcoming meeting of the North-South dialog which fa due to be held at Cancun. My Government is hopeful that some kind of Marshall Plan will evolve from this meeting which.will contribute to helping the third world countries overcome their economic ills. We deeply appreciate the positive conclusions reached  at the United Nations Conference on theLeast Develop Countries held recently in Paris
16.	In the face of mounting debts, high costs of borrowing and decreasing foreign aid, the more fortunate developed countries should search for more automatic ways of transferring and redistributing wealth from the rich north to the poor south. The opportunity, my Government feels, is produced by the Third United Nations Conference on the Law of the Sea. The sea-bed, with its estimated $24 trillion worth of nodules and other sources of wealth now lying in international waters, belongs to nobody, so perhaps to everybody. These immense resources are the common heritage of mankind, and they should be mined in accordance with international agreement and control. This
offers a chance to the nations which have , already developed the necessary technologies for' sea-bed mining to 'distribute the unexpected, windfall of the ocean !is wealth for the common good of mankind. - Perhaps this is a unique opportunity dramatically and, painlessly to narrow the hitherto growing gap between the rich and poor, My delegation therefore welcomes the proposed International Sea-Bed Authority with powers to exploit the mineral resources of the sea-bed and to distribute them under a well-defined international convention.
17.	1 wish to conclude on a human plane. Mauritius has a special interest in the plight of the disabled In our country and the disabled everywhere. No issue is more revealing of the humanism that has always been the hallmark of the United Nations. Much progress has been made with .the proclamation of the year 1981 as the International .Year of Disabled Persons, to the extent that the General Assembly decided [resolution 351133] that the item should be considered in plenary meeting. The Advisory Committee for the International Year of Disabled Persons has examined the possibilities of continuing the activities of the International Institute for Rehabilitation of Disabled Persons in Developing Countries on the basis of the results achieved in 1981 [see AI36l471IAdd.l. sect. Ill], We hope that this further step of .progress will be authorized.
18.	Finally, I reiterate my faith in and dedication to the principles enshrined, in the Charter of the United Nations.


I should like to congratulate the President on his election to the presidency of the thirty-sixth session of the General Assembly. In electing him the Assembly has recognized both his outstanding personal qualities as a diplomat, deeply versed in United Nations affairs, and the growing importance of Iraq, a country with which Ireland has recently developed closer relations. I wish also to pay a tribute to his predecessor, Mr. von Wechmar of the Federal Republic of Germany, who presided over the last session with great skill and dedication. I join in the tributes which have already been paid to our SecretaryGeneral for his untiring efforts in the cause of peace in such difficult times.
151.	It is a pleasure to welcome to the General Assembly the representatives of Vanuatu and of Belize. My country, as a member of the Security Council, had the honor to join in recommending both for membership of
the United Nations.
152.	The international outlook in this month of September 1981 is sombre indeed as sombre as it has been at any time in recent years. Change and flux have always been a feature of international life, but as we start this session of the Assembly it must be clear to all of us that strains and pressures are building up in many areas to a dangerous degree.
153.	First, over the past year relations between the superPowers have deteriorated, and there are signs that the next year may bring a period of challenge and confrontation rather than of dialog and agreement.
154.	Secondly, the prospect of any serious effort towards disarmament seems to be receding. The talk is rather of new weapon systems, of higher defense spending and of the possibility of actually fighting a nuclear war.
155.	Thirdly, tensions in several regions where there are serious problems of long standing have increased dangerously over the past year. The Middle East and southern Africa continue to present problems that concern and threaten all of us. Conflicts continue in countries such as Afghanistan, Kampuchea and El Salvador, and there is open war between Iran and Iraq.
156.	Fourthly, the general world economic outlook continues to be discouraging; and there has been little serious progress in the effort to reorganize the world economy on a fairer basis. Major change which is necessary in the common interest is no closer than it was a year ago, and many millions of the world's peoples have little reason to expect any early improvement in their lot.
157.	Each of those sources of conflict and tension is dangerous enough in itself, but the pressures they generate now seem to be intensifying and to be reinforcing one another. The result has been a general increase in international tension over the past year and an increased strain on the fabric and structures of international life.
158.	The question for each of us, large or small, at the start of this session is how we can use the framework, structures and procedures offered by the United Nations and its family of related agencies to make the world at the end of another year less dangerous than it is today at the start of our session. Over the next three months the General Assembly faces a long agenda of issues in the political, economic, social, legal and human rights fields. The views of the 10 members of the European Community, to which Ireland belongs, have already been stated in this debate by Lord Carrington, the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs of the United Kingdom [8th meeting]. I should like, in this national statement, to set out more fully the views of my own Government on the most important of the issues before us.
159.	There is at least one area of importance where some significant progress has been made. This is the Third United Nations Conference on the Law of the Sea, which is probably the most ambitious global undertaking of the United Nations in recent years. The wide variety of issues and the different national interests involved have made the work difficult to complete, but considerable progress has been made and my Government is happy at the extent of the agreement already reached. Many fundamental issues have been negotiated to the stage where consensus seems feasible and only a few outstanding issues remain unresolved. I hope that the program of work which the Conference has set itself for the next session can be adhered to, so that it will be the final decision-making session, and that a comprehensive convention on the law of the sea can be adopted by consensus next year. •
160.	On the other hand, the deterioration of relations between the superPowers has blocked any real progress on disarmament during the past year. Mutual distrust has led instead to an emphasis on arming rather than on disarming. We all know the difficulties. Each Power or alliance views the arms which it acquires and stockpiles for itself as defensive. It is those of its opponents or potential adversaries which are seen as dangerous and contributing to tension. It is understandable that States should wish to ensure their own security. But the increase in the armaments which one side feels to be necessary to ensure its security increases in the same proportion the insecurity of its rival. So they are caught in an apparently unending arms spiral. The arms race becomes itself a cause as well as a consequence of increased international tension.
161.	The nuclear arms race now seems to be in the process of escalating in an exceptionally dangerous manner. The theory of nuclear deterrence is one which many may have grudgingly accepted. My country has never believed that deterrence could be a really durable basis for a stable and peaceful world order. But until now, at least, this approach has been based on the assumption that nuclear weapons would Clever be used. There is now, however, a growing view in some circles that it might be possible actually to fight and to win a nuclear war. This new theory could mean that nuclear war, far from being unthinkable, could come to be seen as a rational instrument of State policy. Such a theory challenges the dictates of common sense and threatens to undermine the moral prohibitions which so far have averted the ultimate disaster.
162.	What we need now from the nuclear Powers are some practical measures of arms control which would limit the growth of nuclear weapons as a necessary preliminary to later agreement on their reduction. That at least would give some hope of progress on other disarmament issues. My delegation has been encouraged by" the announcement that the United States and the Soviet Union have agreed to begin talks in Geneva on 30 November on limiting so-called tactical forces. But this can only be a small beginning in a world of nuclear danger. The world needs a good deal more, and needs it soon. For sometime now Ireland., like many other countries, has been pressing for a treaty imposing a complete ban on all nuclear testing in any environment, and pending that a voluntary moratorium on any further tests. This would be a token of the nuclear Powers' good faith and would help to dispel some of the increasing distrust which is damaging international relations.
163.	We also believe that a new and serious effort is needed to strengthen the Treaty on the NonProliferation of Nuclear Weapons in order to prevent their further spread. There is an urgent need for a chemical weapons convention, particularly in view of some recent developments. We want to see early progress in other areas relating to disarmament, including so-called confidence-building measures to help diminish international distrust. A new more positive approach by all participants in the review conference of the Final Act of Helsinki, at Madrid, and at the Committee on Disarmament in Geneva would, we believe, help in changing for the better the present international climate.
164.	The steady increase in military expenditure is not only dangerous in itself but also a wasteful diversion of the world's resources from development. Poverty, malnutrition, disease and illiteracy all the effects of under-development remain daily realities for the vast majority of the world's population. In terms of sheer numbers, more people today live lives of misery and want and more people die of hunger than ever before. This situation is an affront to the human conscience. Because of its universal character, the United Nations system has a vital role to play in promoting development. Ireland fully supports that role. We believe that the emergence of the NorthSouth dialog is one of the most encouraging achievements of international cooperation during the past decade. But it must be a real and constructive dialog and not a mere exchange of statements on existing positions. The problems are such that practical solutions must be found urgently.
165.	Ireland wants to see a renewal, an expansion and a strengthening of the NorthSouth dialog. We believe that the United Nations has the capacity to respond to the demands of a new dialog as well as to the need for measures to accelerate growth in developing countries and to improve the global economy. In particular, we look forward to an early start on a process of global negotiations, which we believe will promote growth and development of benefit to the entire international community. Our hope is that the meeting next month in Cancun will facilitate and speed up preparations for the global negotiations. We want to see the fundamental issues tackled and imaginative but practical solutions devised to meet the many problems now facing us.
166.	I am happy to record that my Government, on coming to office three months ago, pledged that Ireland intends to reach the United Nations target of 0.7 per cent of gross national product for official development assistance by the end of this decade. This will.be done by progressively increasing our allocations for development assistance each year and will be accompanied by an emphasis on maximum effectiveness of our aid within a balanced overall program. In the context of the overall target we are committed to devoting at least 0.15 per cent of our gross national product to the least developed countries.
167.	Concern for human dignity, however, must not be limited to economic issues only. In recent years, situations in which society operates in such a way as to deprive people of their fundamental rights in a serious and systematic way have rightly become the concern of the international community as a whole. It is over 30 years since the proclamation of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. In that period, the influence of the Declaration has increased immeasurably. The general principles of the Declaration have been given more detailed legal status through the human rights instruments subsequently adopted by the United Nations, and the Organization has developed its procedures and machinery for examining gross and consistent violations. We want to see that capacity improved. In particular, the section of the Secretariat dealing with human rights should be strengthened.
168.	Even though the United Nations is still in a position to investigate only some of the gross violations in the world, there is evidence that progress is being made in such investigations. The extension by the Commission on Human Rights of the mandate of the Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances reveals the willingness to investigate that widespread problem. The range of internationally agreed instruments enabling the.United Nations to take action in regard to specific categories of violation is also being widened. At this session of the General Assembly we shall consider, with a view to adopting and solemnly proclaiming, the draft Declaration on the Elimination of All Forms of Intolerance and of Discrimination Based on Religion or Belief.5 That is the outcome of nearly 20 years of work within the United Nations. It will define in some detail a very important human right the right to freedom of belief.
169.	At this session the Assembly will also examine allegations of serious and widespread human rights violations arising our of conditions in certain Member States. I do not want to overlook violations in other countries, but I should say that the situation in El Salvador is a matter of particular concern to many people in Ireland. The callous disregard for human life in the political struggle and the murders which have taken place on a massive scale have shocked the world. We are convinced that the desperate plight of the population can best be alleviated by an end to outside interference and by the negotiation of a just and durable settlement. In this connection, Ireland accepts the principles underlying the recent Joint FrancoMexican Declaration on El Salvador, which, as the Minister for Foreign Affairs of France, Mr. Cheysson, said earlier in this debate [9th meeting], has served as a reminder of the need to let each people settle its own affairs by political and democratic processes.
170.	In many regions of the world where there are conflicts or potential conflicts, the increased tensions to which I referred earlier can be clearly seen.' One such area is southern Africa, where Namibia is still occupied illegally, where acts of aggression continue to be launched by South Africa against other States in the region, and where the policies of apartheid are rigorously applied within South Africa.
171.	The joint statement by the Ministers for Foreign Affairs of the Western contact group on Namibia of 24 September 1981, has given us some hope that Security Council resolution 435 (1978) will be implemented and that Namibia will become independent in 1982. We welcome that statement and hope that every effort will be made to ensure .that the negotiating process regains momentum. Should our hopes once again be dashed and South Africa again refuse to comply with the decisions of the Security Council on Namibia or attempt to postpone indefinitely Namibia's independence, we believe that the Security Council should be ready to discharge its responsibilities effectively and without delay. The seriousness of the situation in southern Africa and the need to achieve a rapid, just and peaceful settlement for Namibia, were demonstrated in recent weeks by the actions of South Africa against other States in the region, particularly Angola. I repeat here what we have already stated in the Security Council that Ireland condemns South Africa's aggression against Angola as a violation of Angola's sovereignty and of the Charter of the United Nations.
172.	Underlying the problem of southern Africa is the apartheid system in South Africa. That is not an issue on which it is possible to maintain a neutral attitude. Apartheid constitutes a direct challenge to the values which are enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations. We have seen no meaningful changes in South Africa's apartheid laws. Rather, those appear to be applied in an increasingly ruthless manner. The South African Government removes thousands by force to so-called homelands; it applies the pass laws rigidly; it maltreats its political prisoners; it imposes harsh sentences on opponents of apartheid, such as the recent death sentences on a number of members of the ANC; it continues to impose banning orders; it systematically suppresses all efforts to move towards a truly democratic society.
173.	Apartheid cannot succeed and the policies which flow from it will ultimately fail. Those in power in South Africa should face now the reality of their situation. Elaborate diversionary propaganda exercises aimed at persuading the world that all is well in South Africa deceive few, save, perhaps, those who devise them.
174.	The Middle East is another area where a long-festering dispute has given rise to periodic outbreaks of violence on a massive scale which are dangerous not only for the region but also for the world as a whole. In recent months, we have witnessed the attack on the nuclear facility in Baghdad, the heavy casualties in Beirut on 17 July and the loss of further Lebanese, Israeli and Palestinian lives in hostilities in the IsraelLebanon border area. Those developments render all the more urgent the conclusion of a just, lasting and comprehensive peace settlement in the Middle East.
175.	The Foreign Secretary of the United Kingdom, in his statement on behalf of the 10 members of the European Community, has already outlined the principles which we believe to be basic, and has emphasized our determination to work towards such a settlement, Ireland, as a member of the Community, fully shares those views. In the search for a way forward, we also consider particularly interesting and worthy of serious consideration the statement by His Royal Highness Prince Eahd of Saudi Arabia, setting out the principles advocated by his Government for a settlement.
176.	This conflict is a particularly difficult and intractable one because it is a conflict of rights. We believe that acceptance by the parties to the conflict of the principles already enunciated by the member States of the European Community, namely, the right to security and existence of all States in the region, including Israel, and justice for all its peoples, is essential if progress is to be made towards a peace settlement. An integral element in these principles is full exercise of their right to self-determination by the Palestinian people within the framework of a comprehensive settlement in the negotiation of which all concerned, including the PLO, play their full part. It is our hope that each of the parties involved will be able to accept a role for the others in the negotiation of a settlement on this basis.
177.	Lebanon is a particularly tragic casualty in the Middle East conflict. Its problems are largely a consequence of the larger conflict in which it has become a battleground. The cessation of armed attacks called for in Security Council resolution 490 <1981) of last July is holding, and this has brought, if not peace, some respite from violence. But experience has shown that to offer reasonable hope of something more than a temporary lull in hostilities such arrangements must be consolidated and built on. Ireland continues to contribute troops to UNI FIL, as we have done to nearly every United Nations peacekeeping operation since we joined the United Nations 26 years ago. I should like to pay a tribute to the courage and devotion to duty of the members of that Force from all 11 countries involved and to express my sympathy for the losses they have suffered. It is essential that all of the parties concerned extend to UNIFIL their full and unconditional cooperation.
178.	Elsewhere in the Middle East, war continues between Iran and Iraq and no end seems to be in sight despite the efforts of several mediation missions. There are also continuing conflicts in central and southern Asia, in Afghanistan and in Kampuchea.
179.	The past 18 months have brought great suffering to the Afghan people, large numbers of whom have been forced into exile in neighboring countries, particularly Pakistan. The crisis not only affects the country itself but also imposes severe difficulties in neighboring States and threatens both regional stability and international peace. My Government believes that any settlement must necessarily provide for the withdrawal of foreign troops and the creation of conditions in which the people of Afghanistan can determine their own form of government, free from outside intervention. The initiative of the European Community offers a reasonable means of advancing towards a negotiated settlement and of returning Afghanistan to its traditional independent and nonaligned status.
180.	The people of Kampuchea too have undergone appalling suffering over recent years as a result of domestic cruelties and the hardships imposed by foreign invasion and occupation. Here too we believe that a comprehensive political settlement is needed. This should lead to an independent Kampuchea, whose people would be free to select the Government of their choice. In our view, Kampuchea should be free from any foreign military presence, it should maintain friendly relations with all the countries of the region and it should have the benefit of international assistance for reconstruction. We hope that Viet Nam and other nations whose cooperation is essential for arriving at a peaceful solution may soon agree to join with others in the international community to discuss a settlement on the lines I have indicated.
181.	The right of every people to freedom from outside intervention applies too to Poland, a country for whose people we in Ireland have a special regard. We believe that, in accordance with the provisions of the United Nations Charter and the Final Act of Helsinki, it is for the Polish people themselves to determine their own future without the threat of any intervention in their internal affairs.
182.	I have spoken here of a series of world problems and the approach which my Government takes to them. I feel it right at the end of this statement to refer to a problem nearer home, that of Northern Ireland. I want to inform the world Assembly of the approach of the new Irish Government to that issue.
183.	In the past 10 years violence in Northern Ireland has led to the deaths of 2,150 persons. This year alone deaths due to political violence have already reached a figure of 85. For a community of only one and a half million people these figures reflect much suffering and very serious community diversions. What is the origin of this tragic situation?
184.	As it moved to independence just over 60 years ago, Ireland was divided. A long and complex history had left a minority in the northeastern corner of the island who favored the existing union with Great Britain and were not prepared to join the majority in independence. So Northern Ireland was created and remained within the United Kingdom. Within this area, the Unionists, who were a minority in the island, now became a local majority. There was also a substantial minority who strongly opposed this settlement, which had made them a minority within Northern Ireland, and who aspired to a reunification of the whole island of Ireland. The result ever since has been a divided community in Northern Ireland, where political identity and loyalty has always been the basic issue in democratic elections and where violence has flared up at frequent intervals.
185.	Historians may argue whether the problem of Northern Ireland was in its origin a colonial one. My Government does not approach the issue in this way. Nor do we see it as a matter of disputed territory or a claim of some kind by the Government and the people of the south on Northern Ireland. The central issue for all of us in Ireland today is peace, not peace in the sense merely of an end to violence although that of course is vital but peace in the wider sense of reconciliation and of healing.
186.	This is necessarily a broad and general aim to which many would subscribe. The question is how to bring it about. What policies, what efforts and what changes will be needed? What future political structures will be necessary within Northern Ireland, between north and south in the island of Ireland and between Ireland and Great Britain, two countries which have been linked so closely and for so long? And how are the extremists of whatever political outlook whose recourse to violence opens new wounds instead of promoting healing and reconciliation to be dealt with? These are difficult questions, and they preoccupy my Government.
187.	What I can do here is indicate very clearly the direction my Government will try to take and the principles we will try to follow.
188.	First, as I said, our primary aim is peace, healing and reconciliation. It follows that we utterly repudiate violence, because violence in such a situation not only causes human suffering, but also keeps open old bitterness and cruelly opens new wounds.
189.	Secondly, the claim by the men of violence to derive legitimacy from the past or from the future for acts of violence in Ireland today is a spurious one. By their actions those who make this claim are replacing the dream of Irish unity by a nightmare of violence and discord. The freedom won by the people of Ireland with much difficulty in the past was the freedom for each generation of people living in Ireland to choose the type of society they want for themselves and for their children. No Irish Government will allow that freedom of choice to be usurped.
190.	Thirdly, my Government is open in its outlook and approach. It is ready to examine, to consider and, if major change is needed, to propose to our electorate whatever may best advance our basic aim of healing and reconciliation in Ireland.
191.	Fourthly, to this end, too, we will do what we can to promote good will and understanding through dialog across the community divisions in Northern Ireland and also between north and south in the island of Ireland.
192.	Fifthly, we want to do all this within a framework which gives expression to and further promotes the many close links between the islands of Ireland and Great Britain.
193.	Unfortunately, for many months now an immediate and pressing issue the hunger strike by prisoners in Northern Ireland has diverted attention and energy from those broader aims. That issue, related as it is to prison conditions in Northern Ireland and to the status to be accorded in prison to those who have been convicted of violence, has attracted worldwide attention. It is natural that it should do so. Self-sacrifice, particularly through a long drawn-out hunger strike, testifies to deep conviction, and it arouses human emotions of sympathy and concern for those who are prepared to accept such a long and slow death. It is thus a weapon of great power. But it is a weapon; and in Northern Ireland it is a weapon which has been used with great determination by organizations and people who themselves have shown the most ruthless lack of concern for human suffering. In the words of the Irish poet Yeats: "Too long a sacrifice makes a stone of the heart." The hunger strike and its needless prolongation have made a stone of many hearts in Northern Ireland today.
194.	Since it began in early 1981, 10 persons have died on hunger strike. But in that same period some 64 other persons have died by violence in the area, 40 of them struck down without mercy by those very organizations which seek to mobilize support and humanitarian concern around the world for their own members who are serving prison sentences in Northern Ireland for earlier acts of violence.
195.	My Government has deep sympathy for all who suffer in Northern Ireland. No one of compassion could be indifferent in human terms to each successive death as it occurs. But what is one to say of those who encourage and use the long drawn-out and widely publicized death of a young hunger striker to call for human rights while they themselves are meting out death most cruelly and without compassion to those whom they choose to see as opponents of'Irish unity. For our part, the Irish Government, speaking for the great majority of the Irish people, wants to see an end to killing, to violence of all kinds and to the voluntary sacrifice of lives used as a weapon in a campaign of violence. We want this for humanitarian reasons but also because we know that the hunger strike is a weapon to gain support for those who use violence and we want to see that weapon defused and disarmed.
196.	There have been times in recent months when it seemed to us that the hunger strike could have been brought to an end without any concession of principle, that is, without conceding so-called political status, if the prison authorities were to make changes in certain limited respects in the rules under which the prisoners are held, while continuing to ensure, as they must, the good governance of the prison system as a whole. My Government, in its continuing contacts with the British Government, has sought to encourage it to consider whether any such measure might be open to it and could be introduced without concession on basic principle. Our hope was that lives could be saved in prison and outside and that the weapon of the hunger strike would thereby be blunted and defused. We believe that some such changes are possible without yielding on principle, and we hope that, they will be made by the British Government in View of its particular responsibilities. But I want to emphasize here also the responsibility for an end to this stubborn confrontation on the part of those members of paramilitary bodies who have organized it and sought thereby to mobilize support for their campaign of violence.
197.	Many public figures in Ireland in both the political and religious life of the country have called insistently for an end to the hunger strike and an end to the campaign of violence. Those calls simply must be heeded. I want to echo and amplify them in the Assembly. The hunger strike and the campaign of violence with which it is closely linked are tragic and ultimately futile diversions from an aim which most Irish people share that of bringing healing and reconciliation to the island of Ireland and lifting the burden of history from the shoulders of all its people.
198.	I began my statement here today by referring to the sombre international climate and the need to do what we can at this session of the Assembly to improve it, to lessen tensions and to ease conflicts. That is our aim too in Ireland. I have tried to explain to representatives the approach that we are taking, and I ask for their support and understanding for what we are trying to do. I hope that by the time I come to speak to the Assembly next year I will be able to report progress and that I may be able to talk to representatives of real movement towards peace and reconciliation in Ireland.
199.	In summary, we in Ireland seek peace in the world through the instrumentality of the United Nations; we seek peace in the many trouble spots of the world through the United Nations and other international agencies; and we seek peace in our own small island through the same principles of justice and mutual understanding that form the basis of the work of the United Nations.


Please accept my congratulations, Sir, on your election to the high position of President of the thirty-sixth session of the General Assembly. My delegation is confident that your great personal experience of the work of the United Nations will ensure the success of this session.
54.	The Mongolian delegation welcomes the admission to membership in the United Nations of Belize and the Republic of Vanuatu and wishes the peoples of these countries every success in strengthening their freedom, independence and economic development.
55.	The world has entered the penultimate decade of the twentieth century, which is characterized by the steady growth of the forces of peace, democracy and socialism. The year 1981 is rich in events of special significance for our country. The Mongolian people has solemnly celebrated the sixtieth anniversary of the foundation of the Mongolian People's Revolutionary Party and the sixtieth anniversary of the victory of the people's revolution, which ushered in an era of national renaissance, progress and prosperity in its history. In March of this memorable year a citizen of the Mongolian People's Republic, J. Gurragcha, took part as a member of the SovietMongolian crew in the flight into outer space of the spacecraft Soyuz 39.
56.	Fundamental transformations have taken place in Mongolia in this historically short span. Our society has traversed from medieval feudalism to socialism, bypassing a whole stage of social development capitalism. Today, the Mongolian People's Republic has become a socialist State with a dynamically developing economy, a, flourishing culture and a steadily rising standard of living of the population.
57.	Today our people, relying on the disinterested aid and close cooperation with the countries of the socialist community, is striving to achieve the objective of completing the construction of the material and technical base of socialism.
58.	The General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Mongolian People's Revolutionary Party, President of the Presidium of the Great People's Khural of the Mongolian People's Republic, Yu Tsedenbal, in his report to the eighteenth Congress of the Party set forth the following tasks for foreign policy activities in the strengthening of peace:
"Actively and consistently to pursue the policy of consolidating detente and improving the international situation; to promote in every way the implementation of the peace initiatives advanced by the twenty-sixth Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union as a follow-up to the Peace program; to support the efforts of peace-loving States to curb the arms race and to adopt effective measures in the field of military detente and disarmament; to contribute within the framework of the United Nations and other international organizations to efforts aimed at finding constructive solutions to the pressing problems of today; to contribute in every way to strengthening peace and security in Asia through the joint efforts of Asian States; to work for a further expansion of political dialog and equal cooperation in various fields with the countries of Asia."
59.	The present international situation makes it incumbent upon all peace-loving States to set as their main objective the strengthening of peace and universal security. In 1981 the world community is witnessing growing international tension. The reason for such a negative turn of events lies in the intensifying intrigues of those in the most aggressive circles of imperialism, with the direct connivance of the Maoist leadership of China. These forces pursue the adventuristic objective of checking the world's social progress. Such a course represents an attempt to deny the right of nations to peace, national independence and social progress. It also represents a flagrant infringement of the right of newly independent countries to equitable and just international cooperation and to dispose freely of their national wealth and resources.
60.	The ever intensifying campaigns in the West against the mythical "Soviet military threat" or "international terrorism" are intended to justify aggressive actions not only against real socialism and the forces of national and social liberation, but they also serve as a cover for an offensive against all that is just, democratic and progressive, a cover for attempts to export counterrevolution. This policy, which is utterly divorced from reality and aspires to achieve the unattainable, is fraught with adventurism. The international community should be well aware of all this.
61.	That militarist and expansionist policy finds its material expression in the measures undertaken by the United States Administration and in the ruling circles of leading members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization [NATO] to secure military and strategic superiority over the world socialist community. Today the world is witnessing an unprecedented arms race and the implementation of a wide-ranging program to create new generations of strategic weapons as well as a whole system of nuclear and conventional weapons. New types of chemical and bacteriological weapons have been developed. A decision has been taken to deploy American medium range nuclear missiles in Western Europe. The United States has announced a decision to proceed to full-scale production of the neutron weapon. In that country too a scheme for the militarization of outer space is being hatched.
62.	Imperialist military bases are being expanded and, in addition, "rapid deployment forces" are being created for the purpose of intervening in various parts of the world.
63.	The United States refuses to ratify the SALT II treaty and evades negotiations on the vital issues of curbing the arms race and disarmament, particularly in the field of limiting nuclear and other types of weapons of mass destruction. The danger to mankind of such war preparations is further aggravated by the United States campaign to brainwash public opinion so as to make it susceptible to the idea of the admissibility of so-called limited nuclear war and the possibility of surviving such a war. In aspiring to world leadership, the United States has taken to arbitrarily declaring various regions of the world as spheres of its "vital interest", that is, turning them into targets of direct interference and armed intervention. Intrinsically connected with this is the United States military and economic support for reactionary regimes in the Middle East, South and SouthEast Asia, Latin America, southern Africa and so on. The undeclared war against the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan and the bellicose intrigues against the People's Republic of Kampuchea, carried out jointly by Washington and Peking, are part and parcel of the same policy.
64.	In the face of the policy of diktat and aggression, the Soviet Union and other socialist countries advance their peaceful initiatives worked out at the congresses of the communist and workers' parties of these countries recently. In particular, the Peace program for the 1980s put forward by the twenty-sixth Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union contains a whole set of constructive and realistic proposals on the key issues of improving the international situation and preventing the threat of war.
65.	The socialist countries propose peaceful dialog and constructive negotiations on the basis of the principles of equality and equal security as the only sensible way of settling international problems. dialog helps to strengthen trust and mutual understanding among States, ease tensions, preserve detente and eliminate conflict and crisis situations.
66.	In this connection, the Mongolian delegation underscores the special significance of an improvement in the relations between the two major Powers with differing social systems the Soviet Union and the United States. We believe that constructive meetings of representatives of these countries at all levels, including the highest, as was proposed by the Soviet Union, will have a decisive impact on improving the international climate and will serve the longterm interests of strengthening universal peace and security. It is in this light that the delegation of the
Mongolian People's Republic views the significance of the meetings recently held between the Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Soviet Union and the Secretary of State of the United States. The agreement to begin negotiations this 30 November on the problems of limiting medium range nuclear missile weapons in Europe cannot but meet with the approval of the international community.
67.	Implementation of the proposal by the Soviet Union to hold meetings of the Security Council with the participation of the top leaders of the States members of the Council  and other interested countries would in fact represent multilateral negotiations at the highest level on vital issues concerning the strengthening of universal peace and security. Given a positive stand on all sides, especially the permanent members of the Security Council, such meetings could yield far-reaching favorable results.
68.	Naturally, the main thrust of the initiatives of the socialist countries is aimed at the adoption of measures to halt the arms race and achieve disarmament especially nuclear disarmament. The approach of the socialist countries in this field is based on maintaining the existing global military and strategic parity and then lowering the levels of arsenals of States in strict compliance with the security interests of all countries. Regrettably, because of the negative position of the United States and some other nuclear weapon Powers, up to now there has been a conspicuous lack of proper consideration of such important proposals of the socialist countries as the cessation of production of all types of nuclear weapons and the gradual reduction of their stockpiles until they have been completely destroyed, prohibition of the creation of new types and systems of weapons of mass destruction, and so on.
69.	The Government of the Mongolian People's Republic considers particularly important the resumption of the negotiations on limiting strategic armaments together with the preservation of what has been achieved so far. In connection with the forthcoming negotiations on medium range nuclear missile weapons, my delegation reiterates its Government's high appreciation of the proposal by the Soviet Union to reach an agreement on setting a moratorium both quantitative and qualitative on the deployment in Europe of new medium- range nuclear missile weapons by the NATO countries and the Soviet Union, including the United States forward-based nuclear weapons in that region. Such an agreement would create conditions favorable to negotiations on lessening military confrontations in Europe, which has a direct bearing on the world situation in general. It would  also facilitate settlement of the question of convening a conference on military detente and disarmament in Europe and the achievement of tangible results in the Vienna talks on the reduction of armed forces and armaments in Central Europe.
70.	The Mongolian People's Republic, as one of the sponsors of the draft convention on the prohibition of the production, stockpiling, deployment and use of neutron weapons, submitted for the consideration of the Committee on Disarmament as far back as 1978, favors the immediate resumption of negotiations on this urgent problem. In its statement to the Committee on 20 August 19814 it condemned the decision of the United States on the full-scale production of neutron weapons and demanded that Washington stop production of this most inhumane type of weapon of mass destruction.
71.	Mongolia advocates completion, prior to the second special session of the General Assembly on disarmament, of the work on drafting a convention on the prohibition of radiological weapons.
72.	Success in the work of the second special session on disarmament, to be held in the first half of 1982,. would be particularly significant, as it would give further impetus to the talks on vital issues concerning ending the arms race and on disarmament. At that session the Assembly is called upon to reaffirm and develop the achievements of the first special session on disarmament, held in 1978, and to become an important step towards the convening of a world disarmament conference which could adopt binding decisions on urgent disarmament issues. The Mongolian People's Republic, as a member of the preparatory committee for the second special session, will continue actively to promote the success of its work.
73.	In view of the fact that the danger of the militarization of outer space is at present becoming evident, the proposal by the Soviet Union for the conclusion of a treaty on the prohibition of stationing weapons of any kind in this new area of human activity [A/36/192, annex] is most timely. Implementation of that proposal would strengthen the existing international legal instruments aimed at safeguarding outer space from becoming an arena of the arms race. In our view, it would be appropriate for the General Assembly to recommend to the Committee on Disarmament that it embark as soon as possible on the drafting of a treaty on the prohibition of the stationing of weapons of any kind in outer space, on the basis of the draft submitted by the Soviet Union.
74.	The Mongolian People's Republic fully supports the highly important proposal of the Soviet Union on the adoption by the General Assembly at the present session of a declaration on the prevention of a nuclear catastrophe. The requirements of the present moment are aptly met by the proposal [A/36/241], which condemns the first use of nuclear weapons as the gravest crime against humanity, and any doctrines allowing the first use of nuclear weapons as incompatible with human moral standards and the lofty ideals of the United Nations. My delegation considers highly relevant the provisions of the draft declaration on the supreme duty and direct responsibility of the leaders of nuclear-weapon States to act in such a way as to eliminate the danger of an outbreak of a nuclear conflict. The adoption by the General Assembly of the declaration would be the most important measure meeting the aspirations of the people of the world to prevent the threat of nuclear war and would considerably strengthen the security of all countries, particularly the nonnuclear States. My delegation considers that it is the duty of the General Assembly in accordance with its obligations flowing from the principles and purposes of the. United Nations Charter to adopt' the proposed declaration.
75.	The situation in the Asian continent gives rise to serious anxiety. The forces of imperialism, hegemonism and militarism are intensifying their intrigues against the peace and independence of the peoples of Asia. The expansion of the military political collaboration between the United States and China and the decision of the United States Administration to supply the latter with modern weapons, military techniques and technology constitute a particularly dangerous development. The increasingly obvious involvement of Japan in the military political partnership of the United States and China adversely affects the international situation.
76.	The situation in SouthEast Asia has deteriorated as a result of the intrigues of the aggressive and expansionist forces unwilling to recognize new realities and the steady consolidation of the people's democratic system in Kampuchea. Attempts are being unceasingly made to restore the regime rejected by the people of Kampuchea and to this end to bring together various groupings of traitors to the interests of their own people. The convening of the so-called International Conference on Kampuchea despite the objections of the Government of the People's Republic of Kampuchea and broad international public opinion can only be qualified as a flagrant interference in the internal affairs of that sovereign State. The decisions of the so called Conference have no legal force. They only play into the hands of those who obstruct the efforts to normalize the situation in SouthEast Asia and run counter to the genuine interests of peace and stability of all countries in the region without exception. Assigning the seat of Kampuchea in the United Nations to persons who have on their conscience the lives of millions of Kampucheans undermines the prestige and authority of the United Nations.
77.	The Mongolian People's Republic consistently supports the well-known proposals put forward by the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam, the Lao People's Democratic Republic and the People's Republic of Kampuchea to turn SouthEast Asia into a zone of peace, stability and cooperation. The Mongolian delegation holds that the new initiatives set forth in the memorandum of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Lao People's Democratic Republic of 28 September 1981 [A/36/561] represent a further development of the proposals of the three countries of IndoChina on the normalization of the situation in the region and can serve as a constructive basis for the achievement of that important objective.
78.	The intensification on the aggressive designs and bellicose intrigues by the hegemonist forces and their accomplices against the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan and the unbridled campaign waged around the nonexistent "Afghan problem" increasingly aggravate the situation in this region of Asia.
79.	The Mongolian People's Republic favors a political settlement of the situation arising around Afghanistan. The constructive proposals of the Government of the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan set forth in its statement of 24 August 1981 [A/36/457] open up the possibility of a positive solution of the problem and the establishment of peace and good neighborly relations in that region. The new initiatives of the Soviet Union on ways to ensure peace and security in the Persian Gulf area are making a contribution along the same lines. The Mongolian People's Republic rejects the proposal of some Western Powers to convene an international conference on Afghanistan, without its participation, as a maneuver designed to make possible interference in the internal affairs of the Afghan people.
80.	Of grave concern is the situation in the Middle East, where the Camp David deals have led to a further escalation of tension, which is fraught with danger to peace in the region.
81.	The barbaric raid by Israel on the nuclear research center in Iraq and its ceaseless aggressive actions in southern Lebanon have demonstrated anew the unruliness of Israel in its acts of aggression, which find full encouragement from the United States.
82.	An international conference as proposed by the Soviet Union could serve as a most suitable forum in the search^ for ways and means to achieve a comprehensive settlement of the Middle East problem. A lasting and just peace in the Middle East can be ensured only on the basis of the withdrawal of Israeli troops from all the occupied Arab territories and the exercise of the right of the Arab people of Palestine to self-determination, including the establishment of their own State.
83.	The Government of the Mongolian People's Republic favors the speediest possible peaceful settlement of the IranIraq conflict. Further perpetuation of the conflict plays into the hands of imperialist forces which seek to restore their lost positions in the region.
84.	My Government consistently supports the idea of turning the Indian Ocean into a zone of peace and stands for the elimination of the military presence of imperialist Powers in this region. It advocates the convening of an international conference on the Indian Ocean without delay. The Mongolian People's Republic proceeds from the premise that zones of peace would serve as an effective means of strengthening international security and limiting the arms race in the respective regions of the world.
85.	The Government of the Mongolian People's Republic continues to support the struggle of the Korean people for the peaceful and democratic reunification of their country without outside interference. This requires above all the early implementation of the provisions of General Assembly resolution 3390 A (XXX), which anticipates the dissolution of the so-called United Nations Command and the withdrawal of foreign troops from the south of Korea.
86.	The present complex situation in Asia urgently calls for concerted efforts to eliminate focal points of tension and to strengthen trust, mutual understanding and cooperation among the States of the continent. Guided by a sincere desire to facilitate the attainment of this vitally important objective, the Mongolian People's Republic has put forward a proposal [see A/36/388] for the elaboration and signature of a convention on mutual nonaggression and the nonuse of force in relations among the States of Asia and the Pacific, and for the convening to this end of a conference of States of those regions, to which the States permanent members of the Security Council would be invited.
87.	In connection with that initiative, the Parliament of the Mongolian People's Republic, the Great People's Khural, made an appeal to the parliaments of Asian and Pacific countries which has been circulated as an official document of the General Assembly [ibid.]. The President of the Presidium of the Great People's Khural, Yu Tsedenbal, has sent a message to 50 heads of State or Government of the countries of those regions and to the States permanent members of the Security Council. These documents contain the reasons for our proposal, as well as some considerations on its practical implementation. The message from Comrade Yu Tsedenbal expresses our readiness to exchange views with interested countries at any level. We are confident that the elaboration and signing of a convention which proscribes the use of force in international relations would eliminate one 6f the major sources of tension and conflicts in a vast area of the earth Asia and the Pacific. We express the hope that the proposal will find support and understanding from the States of those regions and from all countries which cherish peace and security.
88.	I need hardly stress here that the proposal of the Mongolian People's Republic is fully in line with the purposes and principles of the United Nations and has as its aim to contribute to the implementation of the provisions of a number of General Assembly resolutions on problems of strengthening international security and developing friendly relations among States. The initiative of the Mongolian People's Republic is intrinsically linked to the question of the conclusion of a world treaty on the non use of force in international relations, which is now under active consideration in the United Nations. It runs along the same lines as the Soviet initiative on the elaboration and application of confidence-building measures in the Ear East.
89.	The attempts in imperialist circles to preserve the last vestiges of colonialism as their stronghold and to intensify their actions against the cause of national and social liberation under the pretext of combating "international terrorism" poison the international climate and impede full implementation of the Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples [General Assembly resolution 1514 (XV)].
90.	The eighth emergency special session of the General Assembly, on Namibia, held at the beginning of this month emphasized anew the urgency of the* question of granting independence to the people of that country.
91.	The Mongolian People's Republic strongly supports the struggle of the Namibian people for independence under the leadership of its sole legitimate representative, the South West Africa People's Organization [SWAPO], and favors the imposition of comprehensive sanctions against the apartheid regime of Pretoria, which is occupying Namibia illegally. Having vetoed a decision of the Security Council on the application of sanctions, the United States has openly defied the peoples of Africa and the entire world community and has once more proved to be a supporter of the racist regime of South Africa.
92.	The large-scale armed aggression against the People's Republic of Angola committed by Pretoria has clearly demonstrated the grave danger to the cause of peace and the national independence of the peoples of southern Africa represented by the collusion of imperialist and racist forces. The Government of the Mongolian People's Republic and the .Mongolian people add their Strong voice to the demands for immediate withdrawal of the troops of the racist regime from those parts of the territory of the People's Republic of Angola occupied by them.
93.	The Mongolian delegation shares the opinion of the SecretaryGeneral that "in our time, international economic problems are inextricably linked with the maintenance of peace and stability ..." [see A/36/1, sect. VI].
94.	The policy of imperialist circles, seeking to perpetuate the old system of exploitation and diktat, adversely affects the world political climate and hampers the development of international cooperation directed at solving the global economic problems facing mankind. The socioeconomic situation of the developing countries, according to their main indexes, is deteriorating from year to year.
95.	The straggle to establish a new international economic order free from exploitation and discrimination is an objective process. For the success of this struggle it is important to take properly into account the realities of the whole system of world economic relationships, in particular the increasing weight and progressive impact of the economic relations of the socialist countries. It is also necessary to consolidate the progressive provisions of the well-known General Assembly documents concerning the restructuring of international economic relations on a just and democratic basis. It should be added that lack of progress in reshaping international economic relations is rooted not in the forms or levels of negotiations but rather in the policy of the industrially developed capitalist countries.
96.	However complicated the present international situation may be, peace can be preserved. The increasing economic and defense potential of the socialist community  above all, that of the Soviet Union erects an insurmountable barrier to the adventurist actions of the enemies of peace and the national independence and social progress of peoples.
97.	The role of the nonaligned movement, which recently marked its twentieth anniversary, has significantly increased as an important factor in the struggle for peace and international cooperation and against imperialist policies. The struggle of world public opinion to prevent the threat of war and for disarmament embraces the widest strata of people throughout the world.
98.	The Mongolian delegation once again wishes to stress the need to combine the efforts of the United Nations with the struggle of world public opinion for peace and international cooperation. This serves as an important guarantee of effective action by the United Nations as an instrument for maintaining peace and international security.
99.	In about a month it will be 20 years since the admission of the Mongolian People's Republic to the United Nations. The foreign policy of my Government during that period has been, as before, in full conformity with the purposes and principles of the United Nations. My Government actively advocates the enhancing of the role and effectiveness of the world Organization as an important instrument for strengthening peace and developing equitable cooperation among nations.
100.	The Mongolian delegation will, as before, spare no effort in contributing to the constructive work of the present session of the General Assembly in the interests of reducing international tensions and consolidating the spirit of mutual understanding and cooperation.


143.	 I take particular pleasure, Sir, in congratulating you upon your election to the presidency of the thirty- sixth session of the General Assembly. In awarding you this high office, the Assembly has chosen a diplomat whose invaluable personal qualities, long experience and profound knowledge of the workings of the Organization will ensure the successful outcome of our work.
144.	I should also like to express once again my profound appreciation of the dedication, determination and efficiency with which your predecessor, Mr. von Wechmar, carried out a most difficult task.
145.	I take this opportunity of extending cordial greetings to the delegation of Vanuatu. I recently had the pleasure of being host in Brussels to a mission from Vanuatu. My country looks forward to maintaining and developing the close ties which we established on that occasion.
146.	On this very day Belize has joined the United Nations. I should like to extend to it our warm welcome. The alphabetical order will mean that our two delegations will be neighbors in most meetings, and we take pleasure in that.
147.	The highest aspiration of human society is to organize its solidarity in justice and peace. The United Nations is the trustee of that aspiration, and the essential meaning of the general debate in the Assembly should be to gauge each year our achievements and to plan ahead. The General Assembly is the place for Governments to meet annually and examine their conscience. It should come as no surprise to find in this forum the contradictions and the doubts of all mankind.
148.	Beyond the diplomatic niceties and political constraints, serious reflection is necessary for us to see what we can really do to progress step by step toward the goal assigned to us.
149.	When we view the present state of the world it is all too easy to emphasize the injustices, the conflicts and the danger. The agenda of the current session is, in part, a catalog of the problems which endanger international relations. We have discussed many of these problems year after year without finding any satisfactory solutions.
150.	I shall speak on a single theme, that of peace, ,because my British colleague, Lord Carrington, on behalf of the 10 member States of the European Community, has already explained our views, our activities and our hopes concerning the main agenda items [8th meeting]. I need not cover all the points he has dealt with, for his speech was also that of Belgium. The very fact that the 10 member States of the European Community speak with one voice is in itself a concrete contribution to peace and to the transformation of a world of confrontation into a world of cooperation. We have here 10 countries of Europe, many of which for a century have repeatedly battled against each other and which, hardly 22 years after the First World War, were all caught up in another war which set the world aflame. Today, war between these countries of Western Europe has become unthinkable. What is more, they have embarked on building a genuine community. The results are not yet perfect, but they demonstrate that reason, a sustained will, a clear vision of the basic solidarity among peoples and the patient alignment of interests can overcome the age old curse. Starting from this example, I should like to consider practical ways which could ensure peace on a more stable basis, granting to all a real solidarity.
151.	Article 1 of the Charter defines the purposes of the Organization. Foremost among these is the maintenance of international peace and security. Belgium, a victim throughout the centuries of the quarrels of its neighbors, has traditionally been particularly devoted to the search for peace. Few peoples have had as much experience as we have of the disasters of war and therefore also of the blessings of peace. But this experience has also freed us from simple illusions about ways to achieve and maintain peace.
152.	Taught by its past and conscious of its own particular situation, Belgium has entrusted its security to a regional defensive alliance, in conformity with the provisions of the Charter of the United Nations, an alliance characterized by a high degree of permanent consultation among its members. Determined participation in this alliance enables my country to contribute fully to the difficult but essential dialog between East and West without which world peace would be no more than a precarious truce.
153.	When we view the problems of peace today, several facts stand out. In centuries past war was the ultimate instrument of international policy. When all ether methods became impossible, it was through war that the divergent views and interests and conflicting passions oilmen and Governments were finally resolved. Disputes found their solutions through war in ways that were often unjust but expedient. The threat hanging over everybody of destruction and misery encouraged compromises to some degree and often produced a period of stability of uncertain duration, characterized by fear and resignation. Power, above all military power, was the main goal of States, for even in times of peace, military power governed relations between States.
154.	It is this unorganized and savage world, in which force takes precedence over the rule of law, that we have tried to change by adopting the Charter of the United Nations. Such a change is the fundamental meaning and highest objective of the Organization. Have we completely succeeded? We know very well that we have not, but we have sparked some hope in the world and have opened the way to another ambition for mankind, that of a world based on international law, on the sovereignty of States, on respect for the weak, on reciprocal assistance and on the refusal to use violence. Several elements tend to lead us to believe that war is no longer a normal instrument of international policy: regional cooperation among States, the balance brought about in some regions by strong alliances, the will to independence of peoples in the face of the biggest Powers and their contesting the fruits of invasion, and finally the devastating power of the weapons themselves.
155.	The most striking and hopeful development, however, is the coming of age of world public opinion, which makes itself heard here in the United Nations, its point of convergence and its preferred means of expression. Aggression is not yet banished from the world we see this from recent and still current instances but it now involves a higher political cost and offers less promise of success. Aggression faces the general condemnation of the General Assembly, and its victims, feeling themselves supported, refuse to submit.
156.	Such is the progress achieved. It is still modest, but it shows us a direction in which our efforts can usefully be aimed. Our awareness and our solidarity represent the principal chance for peace. Our first concern should be to develop them at the regional level, as well as in the world Organization.
157.	A particular and spectacular question that strikes public opinion is obviously the accumulation of armaments. It is a scandal that huge resources are thus spent each year to the detriment of the production of goods more beneficial to mankind. It is easy to wax indignant and to content oneself with words or to recommend radical disarmament measures. This is a natural and popular response, and it corresponds to a deep-seated sense of morality. However, if we look at the question dispassionately some basic facts stand out.
158.	The first is that in the disarmament field, rhetoric cannot take the place of action. It is not the pedlars of dreams who best serve humanity. On the contrary, they tend to waste on illusions energies that could better be spent on the patient search for practical solutions.
159.	The second point is that only those States or groups of States which nurture deep-seated mutual distrust enter the arms race. Many countries do not maintain any military apparatus against their neighbors, even though the means to do so are available to them. This is the case with the countries of Western Europe, which have developed ties of solidarity and enough mutual confidence to allow them to dispense with any kind of military precautions against each other.
160.	Armaments, therefore, are the consequence rather than the cause of distrust and hostility. If we truly wish to curb the arms race and Belgium certainly does we must first of all tackle the causes. Several approaches could, I think, be followed simultaneously.
161.	The first and essential one is respect for the principle of noninterference in the affairs of other States, which was reaffirmed by General Assembly resolution 2131 (XX) of 21 December 1965. Without strict observance of this principle, no genuine progress towards peace can be achieved.
162.	Next, we must engage in the difficult but necessary dialog on problems that divide us. Even though conflicting viewpoints and interests cannot immediately be reconciled, such a dialog would gradually promote the accurate perception of the various motivations and views, the recognition of legitimate interests and, ultimately, a certain degree of tolerance and moderation and even cooperation in the search for solutions acceptable to all.
163.	The third approach, without waiting for this general dialog to bear all its fruits, is to begin well-defined conversations on security problems. Such conversations should not be limited solely to armaments but should also bear upon the ideas different sides have of their security and the suitable means to ensure it. Between potential adversaries, security can best be grounded in the existence of an equilibrium, but this equilibrium itself is difficult to achieve. Each seeks to counter the opposing strategy as it guesses or fears that strategy to be. At times, such strategies determine which arms will be produced, and at other times they are themselves modified by the appearance of new weapons. We therefore seem to be witnessing a pitiful race taking place in darkness and confusion, in which each participant pushes himself to the limit for fear of taking a risk where his opponent's supposed strategy is concerned. In this area of dialog on disarmament, therefore, we must focus more sharply on the exchange of the precise ideas the parties have of their own security problems, their strategies and their weapons Programs.
164.	My fourth recommendation would be to stress in the negotiations those measures which might decrease distrust and fear. Here, I should like to recall the steps taken in this regard by the Final Act of the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe, signed at Helsinki, which, among other things, provides for prior notification of maneuvers and military movements of a certain scope. We think this is of great importance and are very anxious to see those agreements respected.
165.	We should like to see further progress in this direction, leading to the holding of a conference on disarmament in Europe in the near future, the first aim of which would be to agree on militarily significant, compulsory and genuine confidence-building measures extending to the entire European continent. I mention the efforts undertaken on our own continent because I believe that this approach should also be attempted in other regions of the world, in ways, of course, suitable to each of them. Belgium is first and foremost desirous of obtaining practical results in matters of security and arms limitation and to this end has constantly advocated the free negotiation between neighbors of agreements likely to achieve these aims on a regional basis.
166.	More clarity concerning military situations and a more accurate forecast of their possible modification by means of confidence-building measures on a regional level would allow all States concerned to proceed in an atmosphere of security towards genuine and far-reaching arms reduction measures. Indeed, is it not obvious that when States have divested themselves of the means of suddenly menacing their neighbors and have ceased to fear being suddenly menaced themselves, their interest would certainly be to reduce their military expenditures and to negotiate a stabilization of the balance at a reduced level of armaments? .
167.	A fifth approach pertains to arms limitation itself. We welcome the fact that a few weeks from now the United States and the Soviet Union will start negotiations on the limitation of medium-range nuclear weapons. My Government has actively encouraged the holding of such negotiations. If the rapid and genuine progress that we desire is to be made, it is essential that a number of principles be clearly established. First, we have to put a stop to the exchange of allegations and accusations, which poisons the atmosphere of the negotiations and tends to turn them into a propaganda exercise rather than a search for concrete results.
168.	We must then recognize that the maintenance or restoration of equilibrium is a perfectly legitimate concern. Negotiations must start with the certainty that the equilibrium will be firmly assured in any eventuality, so that the negotiators can make a genuine, concerted attempt to reduce that equilibrium to its' lowest possible level. If this certainty is lacking there can be no assurance of the determination to hold genuine negotiations.
169.	From the outset we should concentrate our efforts on a limited number of arms and systems chosen from among those which are the most modern and of greatest concern that is, the most dangerous in a way that renders possible concrete and rapid results.
170.	I am well aware of the fact that the negotiations to which I am referring involve chiefly the United States and the Soviet Union, which possess these types of arms. But the negotiations are of concern to all of us, because they are an element of the strengthening of peace, to which we all aspire.
171.	War, as I stated at the beginning of my speech, seems and should seem to be less and less a normal instrument of policy. But we must be aware of another danger, namely, the sudden creation by a brazen nation of faits accomplis, the results of which are then difficult to undo. As the penalties for war are forgotten, so the temptation for frustrated and ambitious States to resort to it, hoping for impunity, will increase. Thus, the defense of international law should remain our constant concern. It is our guarantee, particularly the weaker among us, in the face of the most powerful. It alone can ensure the stability and security of our day-to-day relations, on which the wellbeing of all peoples depends in our increasingly interdependent world.
172.	To that end, we must remain watchful and ready to show, by our unanimous response, that a policy of fait accompli will bring general disapproval upon those who pursue it. We shall be able to prevent such action and apply effective sanctions only if we create among ourselves strong bonds of solidarity. No State will then lightly consider excluding itself from that solidarity and cooperation, from which all benefit. Such a state of affairs already largely exists in certain parts of the world on a regional basis. We must now develop it and extend it further so as to make it universal.
173.	The defense of peace and international law therefore necessitates a search for solidarity and justice.
174.	Hence, development cooperation is also essential in the search for peace. Just as transfers take place from richer to poorer areas within a country, so should they take place between nations. Balanced development of the family of nations and the reduction of economic disparities within it are thus prime concerns of the international community.
175.	Aware of the fact that the poorest countries with practically no access to capital markets require an increased amount of official developmental aid, Belgium has progressively increased this type of assistance. At the United Nations Conference on the Least Developed Countries, held recently in Paris, the Government of Belgium stressed the imperative need significantly to increase the volume and efficiency of the assistance to those countries. It announced that Belgium would pursue its efforts to attain, by 1985 at the latest, the goal of 0.15 per cent of its gross national product for assistance to the group of 31 most disadvantaged countries.
176.	This assistance will not be at the cost of other developing countries; Belgium wishes to remain among the most active countries in matters of cooperation. The position taken by Belgium at the Paris Conference the latest manifestation of the dialog between developing and industrialized countries illustrates the positive and constant attitude of my country in the field of international economic cooperation.
177.	Over the last few years, and especially since the adoption of General Assembly resolution 34/138, calling for the launching of global and sustained negotiations on international economic cooperation, the Belgian Government has persistently demonstrated its determination to promote such negotiations, taking into account the mutual advantages, the common interests and the responsibilities of the parties involved.
178.	The International Meeting on Cooperation and Development to be held at Cancun will bring together at the highest political level the representatives of 22 countries, from the most powerful to the neediest. We expect that this meeting will provide a new and much needed stimulus for the resumption of consultations leading to global negotiations.
179.	The present difficulties should not blind us to the true progress that has been achieved in increasing <he general awareness of the strong Jink which exists between peace, justice and solidarity among our peoples. We can, I am convinced, advance along this road through a serious and practical approach. Let us not cling to what divides us. Rather, let us attempt, day by day, to develop confidence and cooperation among ourselves. At the same time, in order to strengthen our solidarity and promote a more reasonably organized security, let us follow both the regional and the global paths.
180.	The Secretary-General in his report [A/36/1] rightly underlines the need to use the essential instrument the United Nations in a much more systematic, organized and regular manner so that it may better deal with the various aspects of international relations.
181.	I fully share the SecretaryGeneral's conviction, and I should like to pay a tribute to his untiring efforts to ensure respect for the laws and principles that the international community has laid down with such care.