31.	It is my privilege and pleasure to extend to you, Sir, on behalf of the Indonesian delegation, our most sincere congratulations on your election as President of the twenty-eighth session of the General Assembly. We are all aware of your competence and vast experience in international affairs, and my delegation is fully confident that under your guidance this Assembly will be able to conclude its work successfully.
32.	It is a matter of particular poignancy to me to acclaim the elevation of a distinguished son of Latin America to this high office at a time when turmoil and tragedy have again struck part of the continent he represents. The world has been shocked by the untimely death of President Allende of Chile. While my delegation feels that it should not pass judgement on what is essentially the internal affair of a friendly country, we sincerely hope that the Chilean people may soon see the restoration of national harmony and stability in their country so that they may be enabled to continue efforts to achieve progress, prosperity and social justice.
33.	I should like to avail myself of this opportunity to congratulate the German Democratic Republic and the Federal Republic of Germany on their admission to our Organization. My delegation welcomes their entry into our midst as an event of great significance for the realization of the principle of true universality of membership of the United Nations.
34.	This event also symbolizes the success of the process of normalization of relations in Europe, which we hope will further stimulate efforts towards easing international tensions. My delegation would like to pay a tribute to the far-sighted and courageous statesmanship that has succeeded in putting aside past enmity and distrust and opening the way to a new era of dialogue and peaceful co-operation in Europe.
35.	The admission of the two German States to the United Nations may set an example for other divided countries, if and when the peoples concerned agree to undertake a similar step.
36.	My delegation would, further, like to extend a warm welcome to the Commonwealth of the Bahamas, a sister archipelagic State, on its admission to the United Nations. I am confident that the commitment of the Bahamas to peace and peaceful development on the basis of the principles of the Charter will contribute to the efficacy of our Organization. We look forward to fruitful co-operation with the Bahamas in the United Nations and all its bodies.
37.	My delegation would like to thank the Secretary- General for the excellent report on the work of our Organization. We wish to underline his statement that "an institution works and develops only if there exists among its members the political will to make it work and develop" [A/9001/Add.1, p. 15}. If today we face the sobering reality of the increasing ineffectiveness of the United Nations role in world politics, if the failures of the United
Nations seem to overshadow its achievements, it is time for us to recognize that it is not so much the failures and shortcomings of the Organization itself that are to be blamed as we ourselves, the constituent sovereign States. It is high time that all of us, all the 135 Members of the United Nations, instead of criticizing the Organization and everyone else, exercised the wisdom of introspection and self-criticism.
38.	My delegation wishes to thank the Secretary-General for the reference he has made in the introduction to his report to the importance of the Fourth Conference of Heads of State and Government of Non-Aligned Countries, held in' Algiers on the eve of the present session of the Assembly. No one can deny the contributions of the non-aligned movement towards the reduction of international tensions and the establishment of a more peaceful world.
39.	My delegation is convinced that in the days to come non-alignment will play an even more significant role than it has in the past, as the movement addresses itself, with growing maturity and sense of purpose, to the realistic solution of the great problems faced by all nations.
40.	Like others in this Assembly, Indonesia welcomes the detente. We hope, however, that its blessings will be felt not only in Europe, where the Conference on Security and Co-operation in Europe has started its laudable efforts to end the post-war era of cold-war strife and to organize a new structure of peaceful coexistence and co-operation on the continent; its positive and beneficial influence must spread to other parts of the world also. We hope that detente will usher in a new international climate in which the solution of problems such as the Middle East and Indo-China may become less intractable. We expect that it may accelerate efforts to end the existence of illegal minority regimes and eliminate the remnants of colonialism, eradicate apartheid and racialism and contribute decisively to the success of the Second United Nations Development Decade. We also hope that the atmosphere of detente will not encourage the apparent tendency of big Powers to bypass the United Nations in efforts to find solutions for international problems affecting the entire world community.
41.	On the issue of disarmament, my delegation feels that progress has been painfully slow despite the vital interests that are at stake for all mankind. However, prospects for an abatement of the arms race are not entirely without promise. The recent agreements reached between the United States and the USSR on the limitation of strategic arms, although still limited in scope, deserve our commendation.
42.	The resolution adopted by the General Assembly in 1971 concerning a future world disarmament conference [resolution 2833 (XXVI)) increases our hopes regarding the prospects of general and complete disarmament. My delegation notes with regret, however, that the Special Committee on the World Disarmament Conference, set up under General Assembly resolution 2930 (XXVII), has not been able to start its work because some of the nuclear Powers — whose participation is most important for the success of the Committee's work — are not yet prepared to associate themselves with its activities.
43.	Allow me now to deal briefly with the problem of the Middle East, a problem for which the United Nations has shown profound concern and to which it has devoted —  though as yet in vain — considerable time and effort in the search for a just solution, satisfactory to all parties concerned. My delegation wishes to reaffirm its full support for the just struggle of the Palestinian people to secure their inalienable rights and the efforts of the Arab countries to bring about the withdrawal of Israel from all the territories it is now occupying as a result of the 1967 war.
44.	While we continue to believe that Security Council resolution 242 (1967) remains the realistic basis for a solution of the Middle East problem, new avenues should be explored in order that continued efforts by the Secretary-General and his Special Representative to implement that resolution may have a chance of achieving concrete results. At the same time, my delegation realizes that the search for a solution of the Middle East problem will be enormously facilitated if the big Powers are prepared to co-operate and make their positive contribution.
45.	The past year has witnessed further progress in the process of decolonization. As I have noted, the Commonwealth of the Bahamas has attained independence since we last met, while the Territory of Papua-New Guinea will shortly be self-governing, with full independence to be attained not later than in 1975. Though we may rejoice at these advances, the situation elsewhere, particularly in southern Africa, gives us little reason to expect that the provisions of the Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples [resolution 1514 (XV)] will soon be implemented there. On the contrary, we must in candour admit that the resolutions of the General Assembly and the Security Council condemning the racist and colonialist policies of the Portuguese and South African Governments and the illegal Smith regime have remained largely ignored.
46.	Recent events have again demonstrated the stubborn refusal of those regimes to desist from their condemnable policies and practices. Increased repression in the Portuguese-administered Territories of Guinea-Bissau, Cape Verde, Mozambique and Angola, mass reprisals in Rhodesia, dissolution of the territorial integrity of Namibia and the recent killings at Carletonville in South Africa continue to defy the conscience of the world community. The persistent denial to the vast majority of the people in those Territories of their most elementary rights has created a situation fraught with the gravest danger to the peace of the continent and of the world. The United Nations must not slacken its efforts to take effective steps to enable the people of Africa to exercise the right of self-determination and to attain their fundamental rights to independence and human dignity.
47.	While on the subject of the struggle for national independence, allow me to touch briefly on the question of national liberation movements and wars of independence. As a nation born out of a war of independence, Indonesia has supported and will continue to support to the maximum of its capacities all national liberation movements against colonial oppressors everywhere in the world. We must, however, never allow the concept of wars of
liberation to be used as a device to instigate or to perpetuate civil war in an independent and sovereign country or, worse, to sanction with it the interference by foreign Powers in the internal affairs of another country. If we were ever to allow this to happen not only would we violate one of the basic principles of the Charter, that of non-interference, but this might also pose a serious threat to the territorial integrity, national unity and sovereignty of the majority of countries gathered here in this Assembly.
48.	Although a formal end to war has come to Viet-Nam, actual peace still remains elusive. When we consider the recent developments in Viet-Nam it is important for us to be guided by the overriding objective of creating conditions that would make real peace possible in Viet-Nam. As manifested by the Paris agreements the Viet-Namese parties to the conflict, as well as the big Powers involved, have shown a community of interest in accepting the road of peaceful settlement rather than continuing war. In the actual implementation of the accords, however — which has been far from satisfactory — real peace can come about only if the political will on the part of those directly involved is there.
49.	Indonesia's acceptance of membership in the International Commission of Control and Supervision and our formal endorsement of the Paris agreements on Viet-Nam require that we act as impartially as possible in the implementation of the terms of those agreements and in our relations with all parties to the conflict. We cannot, therefore, act in any manner that would appear not to take into account these considerations, or the ongoing process towards finding just and lasting peace in Viet-Nam. To do so would mean prejudging that process and could be interpreted as interference in the internal affairs of others.
50.	The tragic events in Cambodia revolve, in our view, primarily around the question of contending national leaderships, further compounded by foreign interference and conflicting major-Power interests. It is hoped that a peaceful solution to the Khmer problem will be brought about through negotiations among the parties concerned. In
* the final analysis it is for the Khmer people themselves to decide on the leadership they want and the system of government under which they choose to live. Therefore my delegation is of the view that we should not take any action which might prejudge the decision of the Khmer people themselves and might prolong the tragic suffering and loss of life and property in Cambodia.
51.	We welcome the Vientiane Agreement  recently concluded between the Laotian parties. We hope that that agreement will indeed mean an end to the fighting in Laos and that the Laotian people will be able to start rebuilding their country which for so long has been ravaged by war.
52.	The Declaration of the Indian Ocean as a Zone of Peace was adopted by the twenty-sixth session of the General Assembly [resolution 2832 (XXV!}] and in the course of the twenty-seventh session an Ad Hoc Committee on the Indian Ocean, consisting of 15 members, was established to consider the implications of the Declaration
[resolution 2992 (XXVII)}. Given the differences of interests between the many countries, the littoral and hinterland States, the major maritime and naval Powers, the task of the Committee is undoubtedly difficult. As the successful implementation of the Declaration would strengthen the conditions of peace, security and co-operation in this important region of the world, the Ad Hoc Committee deserves our fullest support and co-operation in the discharge of its task.
53.	It is the concern which the countries of South-East Asia have for peace and security in their region that has prompted the Philippines, Thailand, Singapore and Indonesia to support the proposal of Malaysia for the neutralization of South-East Asia. The concept of South-East Asia as a zone of peace, freedom and neutrality, as embodied in the Kuala Lumpur Declaration,  recognizes the legitimate interests of all Powers concerned in the region and the necessity to undertake efforts to harmonize those interests in order to enable the peoples of the region to create conditions for peaceful developments.
54.	It is increasingly obvious that in the very near future international peace and security will be affected by the manner in which the international community faces and solves the intricate problems of the law of the sea. The forthcoming Third United Nations Conference on the Law of the Sea will be burdened with the heavy responsibility of trying to accommodate differences and conflicts of national interests created by outdated rules of the law of the sea or by the existence of legal vacuums. It is hoped that the Conference will be able to create new rules of the law of the sea that will not only guarantee the sound management and equitable distribution of the oceans' wealth but also respect the economic interests, national sovereignty, political unity and territorial integrity of coastal States. To realize those expectations it is imperative that in formulating new rules of the law of the sea the Conference should take due regard of the vital and just interests of Member States deriving from their special geographical circumstances. A realistic and pragmatic approach in dealing with the complex problems of the law of the sea is very much needed. Any new rules of the law of the sea will surely lack effectiveness if they do not take into account the physical, economic and political realities faced by Member States.
55.	Our preoccupation with the problems I have just mentioned should not prevent us from giving our urgent attention also to a range of other equally important and fundamental problems in the economic, social and humanitarian fields, which may perhaps require even greater concentration and intensity of efforts. The population explosion, mass poverty, the growing threat of world famine, the destruction of human ecology are in my view some of the major issues which will determine man's very capacity to survive in the decades to come.
56.	The food crisis that is at present being faced by the world as the result of grain shortages everywhere is becoming an acute problem not only for the developing countries, where food shortages caused by floods, droughts and crop failures are already chronic phenomena, but also for the rich and developed countries. Unless the international community gives this problem the attention commensurate with the seriousness of its implications the world may soon be faced by an unprecedented challenge to its very peace and security.
57.	Another problem that has lately assumed alarming proportions, affecting nations in all regions of the world, is that of narcotics and illegal drug trafficking, especially in connexion with the youth of the world. The widespread use of drugs among young people and the related question of juvenile delinquency clearly strike at the very roots of our common efforts at nation-building. Let us therefore join hands in a common cause to eradicate this scourge and lend our full co-operation to all international agencies concerned with the problem.
58.	The question of external development assistance and private foreign investments also deserves our thoughtful security. It is undeniably true that the economic development of a nation should remain the primary responsibility of that nation itself and that co-operation with outside interests should respect the principles of national sovereignty, including permanent sovereignty over natural resources. It has also become clear, however, that foreign assistance and investment, in the form of transfer of capital, technology and modern skills from the developed to the developing countries, if handled properly and with the necessary safeguards, can be useful in accelerating the process of national development. For such external assistance and investment to remain effective and to the mutual benefit of all concerned, we must see to it that such assistance only supplements, and in no way supplants, the national effort. Furthermore, the foreign investor must be able to reconcile his interests with the national development goals of the host country.
59.	Closely related to the question of foreign investment is the emergence of multinational or transnational corporations as a new dynamic factor in the world economy which poses a dilemma to most developing countries. The relevance here seems to be that their size, flexibility and financial capacities often place multinational corporations in too powerful a bargaining position vis-à-vis the developing country, thus posing a real threat to its national sovereignty. Here again the problem is not simply one of outright rejection but rather of the need for world-wide regulation of rights and responsibilities for the common benefit and justice for all concerned. We look forward to the results of the deliberations of the United Nations Group of Eminent Persons to Study the Impact of Multinational Corporations on Development and on International Relations.
60.	Another development which I should like to mention is the growing trend towards larger economic groupings among the developed countries and the concentration of trading strength in a number of agglomerations of economic power. While we can understand the advantages of such greater economic integration, we are equally concerned about the adverse repercussions it might have on the interests of developing countries. Whether or not such groupings and agglomerations will prove on balance to be "trade creating" rather than "trade diverting" will depend on the interplay of various factors, the net impact of which is difficult to predict.
7
61.	As a response to that development, countries in the developing world, joined together into regional or sub- regional groupings, have taken steps to cope with its negative aspects. In South-East Asia the Association of South-East Asian Nations [ASEAN] has initially formed associations of producers of primary products to maintain its competitive position in world markets and has lately gone further in strengthening economic interdependence in two directions.
62.	First, ASEAN has taken preparatory steps towards the creation of its own regional market. Studies have been undertaken on a number of projects with a view to rationalizing investment decisions within the regional market formed by the member countries. This is a beginning of a common industrialization programme which can be initiated in the region.
63.	Secondly, since June of last year ASEAN has established and institutionalized a dialogue on a continuing basis with the European Economic Community. That marked a significant step forward for ASEAN because it was the beginning of the forging of a common position in negotiations with a major trading partner. The Association is of necessity outward-looking by virtue of the economic and social structures of the member countries and, their geographical location. It intends to keep an open mind in maintaining and improving its relations with centres of economic power, but it rejects schemes which would make South-East Asia nothing more than a mere producer and supplier of raw materials operating under conditions of distorted power relationships with the industrialized countries and of continued singular decline in its terms of trade with them.
64.	Other recent developments in the economic and monetary fields continue to give us cause for deep concern. The recurrent international monetary crisis indicates that the world economy is still faced with considerable uncertainties which badly affect, in particular, the development efforts of the developing countries. These crises have caused further deterioration in the already precarious position of the developing countries. Despite determined efforts to improve their lot, we continue to witness the ever widening prosperity and welfare gap between the developed and the developing countries.
65.	The United Nations proclaimed the 1970s to be the Second Development Decade, and the International Development Strategy [resolution 2626 (XXV)J was adopted to guide the nations of the world in co-operating in their development efforts. Yet an over-all view of the performance over the first two years of the Strategy clearly indicates that we are nowhere nearer our goal of creating conditions of peaceful well-being that would ensure a standard of living compatible with human dignity for the larger part of mankind living in the developing countries.
66.	The key targets of the Strategy, crucial to its goals and objectives, have not been realized. This has led the Committee for Development Planning to conclude that the International Development Strategy remains much more a wish than a policy.
67.	It is, however, enlightening to note the growing awareness that continuing inequalities in the international distribution of wealth are morally unacceptable and materially incompatible with world peace and security. The problem which has now assumed urgent relevance is how to evolve the right relationship between developed and developing countries, conducive to the progressive elimination of these inequalities through a more rapid development in the developing countries.
68.	It is in the context of evolving such a new international relationship that we have to view the practical significance of two important and interrelated negotiations, namely, the multilateral trade negotiations and the negotiations on international monetary reform. The results of these two negotiations should, in our view, be assessed on the basis of their respective contributions to the building of a better and more equal pattern of international distribution of wealth and to the acceleration of the development process in the developing world.
69.	The multilateral trade negotiations will be conducted within the basic framework of the Tokyo Declaration which was recently adopted by the ministerial meeting of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade in Tokyo. While these trade negotiations are rightly aimed, as the Declaration states, at "the expansion and ever greater liberalization of world trade through the progressive dismantling of obstacles of trade", I should like to emphasize that our final goal is to raise the standard of living and welfare of the people of the world, particularly the people of the developing countries. It is the living standards in those countries that urgently need to be raised progressively, since most of their people are still living at a very low subsistence level. It is, therefore, imperative that any preferential treatment to be accorded to them be on a non-reciprocal basis.
70.	The same is true with the negotiations on international monetary reform. The new international monetary system, to be negotiated on the basis of the work of the International Monetary Fund's Committee on Reform of the International Monetary System and Related Issues, not .only should make possible an expansion of international
trade and the smooth operation of international payment settlements, but should also facilitate the development process in the developing countries through providing additional liquidity to them. A link between the special drawing rights and development aid should therefore be established. It is regrettable that major decisions on this important matter have to be postponed until next year, since the recent Nairobi meeting of the Committee could not agree on the key issues for reform.
71.	The developing countries have an enormous stake in the outcome of these two negotiations. We earnestly hope, therefore, that the international community can summon the courage and goodwill needed to make these negotiations successful.
72.	The process of reordering the international social and economic relationships, now under way, undoubtedly presents the United Nations, particularly the Economic and Social Council, with the challenge to assume more effectively and efficiently the functions entrusted, to it by the United Nations Charter. To meet this challenge it has been the considered opinion of my delegation that the Council should be revitalized and its role strengthened. Efforts which have been made so far include inter alia the enlargement of membership in the Council in order to increase its representative character. The Council should be made fully responsive to the challenges of our time, and the review and appraisal of the Development Strategy should become one of its major tasks.
73.	The Economic and Social Council, together with the other operational bodies of the United Nations, must be able to play a decisive role in evolving more effective concepts of international development co-operation. The activities of United Nations operational bodies such as the United Nations Development Programme, the United Nations Fund for Population Activities, the United Nations Environment Programme, the United Nations Children's Fund and the World Food Programme should, in our view, also be strengthened and consolidated. A more dynamic growth in their over-all resources will enable these bodies to respond quickly and adequately to the ever increasing demand for their services.
74.	The challenges and problems we face in the coming decades cannot be met by one nation or a particular group of nations, no matter how rich or powerful they may be. The destruction caused by a nuclear war is not going to be limited to the territory of the warring Powers alone. No nation-can be secure as long as another is beset with a sense of insecurity or of injustice. No nation can enjoy the fruits of material abundance or social welfare as long as other nations remain destitute, for the economic fabric of the world is like an indivisible chain that is only as strong as its weakest link. Every nation will suffer when the earth is unable to provide its inhabitants with those basic resources necessary for a life in peace and human dignity for all.
75.	In pledging Indonesia's continued dedication to the ideals and aims of the Charter, therefore, we commit ourselves not only to contributing our share in facing up to mankind's immense task of shaping a new and better world of tomorrow, but simultaneously also to enhancing the viability of the United Nations as the best instrument for global co-operation in quest of that goal.


1.	 Mr. President, on behalf of the Soviet delegation I should like to congratulate you on your election to the post of President of the twenty-eighth session of the General Assembly. In discharging your duties, you may be assured of our firm intention to help make this session a successful one. The Soviet Union seeks to ensure that every session of the General Assembly yields practical results in strengthening peace and the security of peoples.
2.	The past year has been crowded with major international events. Some of them, even if viewed separately, represent historic milestones. However, what chiefly characterizes this entire set of events is the development and strengthening of the shift from an extended period of tension in the world to detente and business-like co-operation. From this standpoint, the past year can in a sense be described as having marked a turning-point.
3.	The war in Viet-Nam was brought to an end. The flames of one of the most dangerous breeding grounds of war were stamped out. The just cause of the Viet-Namese people gained a major victory.
4.	In southern Asia, steps are being taken to bring about a further easing of the tension which several times in the past has led to open hostilities. It is gratifying that all three of the States on the subcontinent-India, Pakistan and Bangladesh-are involved in this process.
5.	The positive changes in the situation in Europe are even more clearly apparent. The task of normalizing relations between the States of Eastern and Western Europe is virtually complete, and we hope that no one will create artificial obstacles to the completion of this process. The convening of the all-European conference'' marked the opening of a new and extremely important stage in the work of guaranteeing security and organizing peaceful co-operation on a continent-wide scale.
6.	The danger of a global clash between the two world-wide social systems which would inevitably result in a terrible catastrophe for all mankind has been lessened. That is how the entire world views the Agreement between the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics and the United States of America on the Prevention of Nuclear War,  which was concluded during the visit to the United States by L. I. Brezhnev, tire General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union.
7.	Today, the principle of peaceful coexistence is not only recognized as the only possible basis for relations between the socialist and capitalist countries but is increasingly being given practical effect and embodied in treaties and agreements. The process of detente is a broad and deep one which is involving an increasing number of States and affecting more and more important areas of the relations between them.
8.	This gives us reason to hope that, as Leonid Ilyich Brezhnev noted in a recent statement, "the present detente is not a temporary phenomenon but the beginning of a fundamental reorientation of international relations".
9.	The changes for the better in international affairs arouse particular satisfaction in the Soviet Union. Not, of course, that other peoples are any less interested in peace than the Soviet Union, It is just that to us the increasing trend towards detente and co-operation is also confirmation of the correctness and consistency of the foreign policy pursued by the Soviet Union.
10.	Peace and friendship between peoples have always been the watchword of Soviet foreign policy and its unchanging goal. That goal was defined by V. I. Lenin, the founder of the Soviet Socialist State and head of its first Government. It has been and continues to be the basis of the foreign policy guidelines laid down at all Congresses of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. Our country has taken this position under all circumstances, regardless of the configuration of the international situation. It must be clear by now to any unprejudiced person that this is the long-range, permanent policy of the Soviet Union and is not merely a response to immediate circumstances. It is determined by the very nature of our social system.
11.	The shift in the course of international events in the last few years indicates clearly that ensuring a lasting peace on earth is not simply a noble but remote ideal; it is, rather a completely attainable goal of practical politics.
12.	Another fact is no less obvious. The positive results that hive been achieved up to now did not come about of themselves.
13.	A great deal of intensive effort has gone into the various international measures which led to detente. Sometimes the result is a treaty of agreement drawn up on a page or two of official stationery, but how much labour has gone into every article and paragraph! These agreements are generally preceded by an intensive process of feeling out, by discussions and intensive negotiations. A State visit or international conference lasting no more than a few days crowns the labour of many years.
14.	Obviously, there is no Government that will not say it wants peace, lasting peace, indeed eternal peace. If such pronouncements are not to remain an idle dream, however, they must be backed up by unremitting efforts that go on day after day.
15.	The Soviet Union exhorts its allies as well to follow this course. Indeed, we go beyond exhortations; acting in close co-ordination and in the light of international developments, we take concrete initiatives. At the recent Crimean meeting of leaders of the Communist and workers parties of the socialist countries, it was emphasized that all the States concerned must now join efforts in consolidating the favourable changes that have come about in international affairs, must consistently give practical effect to the treaties and agreements that have been concluded and must advance steadily towards the main objective, which is that of ensuring a lasting peace.
16.	It is a secret .to no one that detente has its enemies whose resistance must not be underestimated. There is also a certain inertia to be overcome. After all, what we are trying to do is to solve problems that have built up over a period of years or even decades.
17.	However, the supporters of detente are more numerous, and what matters is that their efforts should increase and not slacken.
18.	In a number of capitalist countries, a trend towards broader co-operation with socialist States has emerged and is becoming increasingly apparent. Far-sighted political figures in those countries, taking a realistic, responsible view of the world situation, show a willingness to join efforts in working out solutions which give equal weight to the interests of all concerned. It goes without saying that this benefits not only the States directly concerned but the entire cause of peace.
19.	Detente gives the non-aligned and neutral States a greater opportunity to exert a positive influence on international developments, A good many useful ventures, including some within the framework of the United Nations, got their start because of the political influence which these countries exercise. The results of the Fourth Conference of Heads of State or Government of Non- Aligned Countries at Algiers showed once again that when the Conference participants speak out in favour of detente and co-operation and against the forces of aggression and oppression of peoples, their voice is convincing and authoritative.
20.	By its very nature, detente cannot simply be a matter of improving relations between a few States or certain geographical regions. If it is to become irreversible, it must be a matter of concern to all States and ultimately become universal.
21.	The United Nations has 135 Member States, all of which, when they joined the Organization, assumed an obligation under the Charter to maintain international peace and security. If that entire potential for peace was translated into action, it would indeed give powerful impetus to the advance towards a reliable system of security for all peoples.
22.	One sometimes hears it said that now that the Soviet Union and the United States are improving their relations and concluding important agreements which help to lessen international tension, there is nothing left for other States to do but to stand by passively. Some go further than that and try to foster the false notion that all of this damages the interests of other countries.
23.	Apart from the fact that such assertions,, whether intentionally or unintentionally, distort the actual state of affairs, their practical effect can only be to paralyse initiative and hamper detente.
24.	Is it possible to conceive of a broader sphere in which energies can be brought to bear than that of peace? Peace offers vast scope for all countries. Every State, large or small, bears responsibility for maintaining security throughout the world. The whole question is where its policy leads to — whether it helps detente or hinders it.
25.	It is important to mark out the political paths to further detente. However, it is no less important that meaningful activities should be undertaken. These efforts cannot remain shut up in government offices. They must be supported by broad, tireless work on behalf of peace by the most varied social forces. Parliamentarians and businessmen, political parties and trade-union, youth, women's and veterans' groups, scientists and artists-all can play a part if there is a determination to work for peace. Millions upon millions of people must be drawn into the movement for a lasting peace.
26.	Yes, the situation in the world has definitely improved in the past year. It is incomparably better than 5 or 10 years ago. But does that mean that all is bright on the international horizon? No, not by any means.
27.	In several parts of the world, the danger of war still exists. In some the guns are already speaking, while in others the finger is poised on the trigger.
28.	The situation in Indo-China is still a complicated one. Military operations are now of a relatively limited nature, but tensions cannot be completely cleared away in that area unless the political settlement if fully implemented in keeping with the legitimate rights and interests of all the peoples of Indo-China.
29.	The key to this lies in strict compliance by all parties to the Paris agreements on ending the war and restoring peace m Viet Nam. in respect for the agreements reached in Laos, and in permitting the people of Cambodia to settle their internal affairs as they see fit and without foreign interference.
30.	True to its internationalist convictions, the Soviet Union will continue to give the necessary aid and support of the Democratic Republic of Viet-Nam and to stand beside the patriotic forces in Indo-China.
31.	Again and again we find ourselves returning to the situation in the Middle East, which, it must be stated bluntly, presents a danger because of the continuing Israeli aggression. Surely we cannot lake comfort in the fact that right now the breeding ground of war is not aflame but merely smouldering. The flames of war may shoot up at any moment, and who can say what the result will be'?
32.	The aggressor seized foreign lands before the eyes of the entire world and is holding on to them by force. In doing so, he is flagrantly violating the rules of international law. One need only recall the latest acts of provocation against neighbouring Arab countries, which were just recently the object of renewed condemnation by the Security Council. Furthermore, all this is not simply a gesture of recklessness or desperation by a handful of people, but the calculated policy of the State of Israel.
33.	No Arab can be made to believe that he must reconcile himself to the existing situation. The Arab States, which have been the victims of imperialist aggression, want only one thing - the restoration of what was taken from them by force -and they are right.
34.	The Soviet Union remains convinced that the Middle East problem can be solved. The basis for a solution exists in the form of the well-known Security Council resolutions, which as was confirmed once again by the recent discussion of the Middle East question in the United Nations are supported by an overwhelming majority of Stales Members of our Organization. The aggressor is becoming increasingly defiant in his refusal to agree to a settlement.
35.	Every effort must be made to see that Israel and the countries and circles that support its present policy understand at long last the need for a more sober approach and that they truly *et out on the path leading to a solution of the problem.
36.	As far as the Soviet Union is concerned, its position is clear, the situation in the Middle East must be resolved un the basis of the complete I repeat, complete withdrawal of Israeli troops from occupied Arab territories and of respect for the independence and inalienable rights of the States and peoples of the area, including the Arab people of Palestine. Our main, decisive interest in the Middle Fast is to promote the achievement of a just and lasting peace. The Soviet Union wishes to state tins once again from tins rostrum in the most categorical terms.
37.	In order to obtain a proper perspective in a situation characterized by the extreme complexity of the interplay of various factors, one must appraise events in all their fullness and constant flux. That is particularly true at the present stage of the situation, which is dynamic and full of contrasts.
38.	If one views unsolved problems without reference to the positive results that have already been achieved, it is easy to take an extreme position and deny the very possibility of resolving acute, controversial issues. In our opinion, however, there is no place for this approach to international phenomena, including the activities of the United Nations.
39.	Equally unproductive is the other extreme that of presenting the situation in rosy hues and failing to see that what remains to be done is far more than what has already been accomplished.
40.	Both extremes are bad. All States, all Governments and all political figures must, if they are conscious of their responsibility, regard it as their first duty in (he international arena to work actively for peace.
41.	A whole series of problems are clamouring for solution. It cannot be said that the United Nations is not dealing with them. It may well be asked, however, how many of them are really being solved, and the answer is not a comforting one. It must be acknowledged that some problems become harder rather than easier to solve as time goes by, but they may become even more difficult if they are put off further.
42.	The problem of problems is that of the continuing arms race. The development of techniques of mass destruction and the stockpiling of weapons have long since gone beyond the point where using them becomes an absurdity, for, as V. I. Lenin foresaw half a century ago, this process is "undermining the very conditions for the existence of human society". It must be obvious to all how ruinous it is to go on replenishing the arsenals. Yet. only in recent years has it become possible to take the first I repeat, the first step towards limiting the arms race.
43.	It would be wrong to underestimate the importance of the measures that have already been taken. These measures serve to impede to some extent the unrestrained proliferation of armaments, particularly the most destructive types.
44.	Ten years have passed since the signing of the Moscow Treaty Banning Nuclear Weapon Tests in the Atmosphere, in Outer Space and under Water, which was the first in a series of agreements. The fact that some countries have not acceded to the Treaty does not nullify the indisputable fact that it is beneficial to the peoples of the world.
45.	The Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons  has gained wide recognition, and it has also been extremely helpful in curbing the unclear arms race.
46.	Success has been achieved in preventing of the emplacement of nuclear weapons in several important natural environments, namely the sea-bed and the ocean floor and outer space. Bacteriological weapons which are among the most deadly, have been banned and eliminated.
47.	 Just recently, an important frontier was crossed when, as a result of agreements reached between the Soviet Union and the United States, mutual limitations were imposed on strategic arms and principles were formulated for negotiations on further such limitations. In conjunction with the historic conclusion of the Agreement between the Soviet Socialist Republics and the United States of America on the Prevention of Nuclear War, these accords contribute significantly to an improvement in the international atmosphere.

48.	However, further efforts are needed, and they cannot, of course, be confined to two nuclear Powers, even though those two may be militarily the mightiest in the world. We could, in particular, find it gratifying if other States were willing to adhere to the principles jointly laid down by the Soviet Union and the United States for renunciation of the use of force and decisive action to prevent the outbreak of nuclear war; that would be of exceptional importance in ensuring lasting peace throughout the world.

120.	Huge sums continue to be spent for military purposes, and military planning goes on.
121.	Since the United Nations first began to function, the Soviet Union has consistently sought to turn events in the direction of disarmament. We have always urged that it is of the utmost importance to ban nuclear weapons and ensure that nuclear energy is used exclusively for peaceful purposes. I might recall that back in 1946, the first year of our Organization's existence, the Soviet Union placed on the negotiating table a draft international convention to prohibit the production and employment of weapons based on the use of atomic energy for the purpose of mass destruction; it did so in the belief that the aspirations and the conscience of nations called for such a convention.
122.	How much discussion there has been since that time, and how many resolutions have been adopted by the Security Council, the General Assembly and various committees and commissions! If this were not such a serious matter, one could speak sarcastically about the mountains of paper that have been used up in the process. The essential point, however, is that there has been little change in the situation.
123.	It would not occur to anyone to deny that the solution of the problems of disarmament involves great difficulties. And yet the international questions which have been successfully resolved up to now also appeared forbidding at the outset. Consequently, references to objective difficulties do not reveal the main point. The crux of the matter lies in political considerations. And responsibility for political considerations rests primarily with the people who are invested with power, those who stand at the helm of government.
124.	There is hardly any point in digging about in the past, in analysing all the proposals which have been made or in dwelling on the positions of individual States. All that is quite well known. The walls of the United Nations have heard many speeches on the subject of disarmament.
125.	Today, however, we all have more experience in settling international problems than we had yesterday. And it suggests to us that even in the field of disarmament real progress can be achieved in some areas. All that is needed is to follow in practice a truth which in theory is certainly recognized by all: not to proclaim "all or nothing", but to single out one after another those problems on which agreement can be reached even at the present stage, and then solve them. Experience has shown that this approach can prove its worth even in such matters as vital to the security of the State as that ultimate weapon, the nuclear missile. Is that not demonstrated by the Soviet-American agreements dealing with that matter?
126.	Neither can there be any doubt about another matter. Those agreements would not have been possible if they had put either side at a disadvantage, if the principle of equal security had not been scrupulously observed.
127.	But if, on such a basis, two countries have been able to achieve a limitation of arms, then why cannot, say, five Powers act similarly, provided, of course, that there will be no threat to the security of any of them? And if that can be done, what is there to prevent such a method from being applied to a wider range of countries? The greater the number of States that participate in a practical solution of the disarmament problem, the more tangible will be the benefit for the security of all peoples.
128.	Furthermore, we believe that the successes achieved on the path towards detente already make it possible for considerable additional resources to be made available to assist the developing countries.
129.	In view of all these considerations, the Soviet Union wishes to propose that the question of the reduction of the military budgets of States permanent members of the Security Council of the United Nations by 10 per cent and utilization of part of the funds thus saved to provide assistance to developing countries should be included in the agenda of the twenty-eighth session of the General Assembly of the United Nations as an important and urgent item.
130.	If our proposal meets with general agreement, and if the General Assembly adopts an appropriate resolution, a beneficial and useful step can be taken.
131.	The States which are permanent members of the Security Council of the United Nations are known to have the largest military budgets. This is taken into account in our proposal.
132.	In our view it would be appropriate to take as the starting-point for the proposed reduction the level of military budgets for the current year, 1973. That proportion of the funds made available by such a reduction which would be used to benefit the developing countries could, for example, amount to 10 per cent.
133.	Needless to say, such a step would require "the participation of all the permanent members of the Security
Council without exception. It would also be desirable for other economically and militarily powerful States to reduce their military budgets.
134.	We suggest that the funds made available for economic assistance to the developing countries should, first of all, be granted to those countries of Asia, Africa and Latin America which have experienced great difficulties this year because of grave natural disasters such as drought and floods.
135.	The distribution of these funds should be carried out on an equitable basis. The amounts to be granted to individual countries, and the time-limits within which they are to be provided, could be determined by an international committee appointed on an ad hoc basis from among representatives of the developing countries, the States which are permanent members of the Security Council and other countries which reduce their military budgets.
136.	It is obvious that the reductions in military expenditure would also benefit the States carrying out such reductions. They would be able to channel considerable funds towards the non-military needs of their own people and an improved standard of living.
137.	The United Nations has laid the groundwork for fruitful activities on behalf of peace in a number of important fields.
138.	Specifically, at last year's session, the General Assembly voted by a large majority in favour of the settlement of two major problems: the non-use of force in international relations and permanent prohibition of the use of nuclear weapons [resolution 2936 (XXVIII], and the question of a World Disarmament Conference [resolution 2930 (XXVII].
139.	But has this clearly expressed will of the peoples of the world, this opinion of the overwhelming majority of the States Members of the United Nations been taken into account by all States? Unfortunately, that cannot be said to be true. It is a known fact that the Governments of some States have taken a position which prevents those decisions from being put into effect.
140.	The Soviet Union believes that the earliest possible implementation of the solemn declaration of the General Assembly, speaking on behalf of the members of the United Nations, concerning their renunciation of the use of force in international relations and the permanent prohibition of the use of nuclear weapons, would be an effective means of ensuring that one of the principles of the United Nations Charter was laid down as a law of international life. To that end, a forceful decision in the matter must be taken by the Security Council.
43. For its part, the Soviet Union is ready to negotiate and to formalize reciprocal undertakings with all -and I stress, all — the nuclear powers on the non-use of force, including, at the same time, prohibition of the use of nuclear weapons.
44. The time has come to undertake practical preparations for the convening of a World Disarmament Conference. Arrangements must finally be made so that the Special Committee provided for in the General Assembly resolution relating to preparations for that Conference can carry out the functions entrusted to it. There is no need to prove how desirable it is for all the nuclear Powers to take part in the Committee's work.
145.	There are some who contend that the World Disarmament Conference could not be productive because of the large number of participants. But who ever said that complex problems must necessarily be settled by two or three States, or that a large-scale international conference will not reach agreement?
146.	We harbour no illusions that the World Disarmament Conference will do away with all problems at one stroke. Let it go on for several months, or even several years. How can there be any objection to that if the Conference makes a contribution to the practical solution of urgent disarmament problems?
147.	It is also argued that the Conference might hamper the efforts at solutions involving a smaller number of States. We feel that such fears are unfounded. Multilateral efforts can only help bilateral ones, and vice versa.
148.	Although detente and the development of peaceful co-operation are measured, not in decades, but merely in years, into this short period of time there have been compressed events which are significantly changing the face of the world.
149.	Memories are still fresh of a time when relations between the Soviet Union and the major capitalist countries were marked by tension and, in the case of some of them, by outright hostility. The fact that those times are now behind us is not welcomed by all. But all who are concerned for peace welcome the fact that those relations are now on a new track.
150.	The Soviet Union and France have been dealing with each other in a consistent and serious manner for a number of years. Both countries have acquired useful experience and are using the favourable trends of detente to develop both their bilateral ties and political co-operation in international matters, and especially European matters. The Soviet Union values that important achievement.
151.	The radical changes achieved by the Soviet Union and the Federal Republic of Germany in their relations demonstrate that the two States are guided not by considerations of expediency, but by the long-term interests of their peoples and the interests of peace in Europe. A spirit of realism has also prevailed in the approach of the Federal Republic of Germany to questions which had long divided it and the Polish People's Republic and the German Democratic Republic. Many obstacles to the establishment of normal relations between the Federal Republic of Germany and the other socialist countries of Europe have been removed, although in the Federal Republic of Germany itself, from all indications, such a policy is not to everyone's liking. The influence of forces clinging to old, outworn policies can still be felt there even today.
152. A few days ago the General Assembly congratulated the representatives of the German Democratic Republic and the Federal Republic of Germany, two independent sovereign States, on their countries' admission to membership in the United Nations. This is one of the most important indications of the changes which are taking place in the world. We warmly welcome the presence in this hall of the delegation of the fraternal German Democratic Republic, and we are also gratified to see here the delegation of the Federal Republic of Germany.
153.	It is not difficult to gauge the significance of the historic fact that the General Assembly of the United Nations, pursuant to Security Council recommendations, enthusiastically adopted the decision to admit these two States to membership in the United Nations. That fact shows merely that such a decision was long overdue. It is in keeping not only with the interests of the German Democratic Republic and the Federal Republic of Germany, but also the interests of all States throughout the world.
154.	In a mere 18 months or two years an enormous distance has been covered in relations between the Soviet Union and the United States of America. As a result of Soviet-American talks at the highest level — during the visit of President R. Nixon to Moscow in May of last year and the visit of the General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet union, Leonid Ilyich Brezhnev, to the United States this year — a firm basis has been laid for the development of relations between the two countries in a way which is fully in keeping with the principle of peaceful coexistence and which opens up vast possibilities. A number of agreements in various fields have been concluded. All these agreements have been made public; they speak for themselves. And they have not remained mere pieces of paper; much work has been done to give them concrete expression.
155.	It is of fundamental importance that the improvement in Soviet-American relations is being achieved on the basis of mutual recognition of the opposition between the two States' social systems and ideologies, and on the understanding that the rapprochement between the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics and the United States of America is directed against no one and threatens no one's interests.
156.	The Soviet Union is convinced that if both sides unswervingly carry out all the obligations they have assumed, including the strict observance of a cardinal principle in international relations, that of non-interference in each other's internal affairs — a principle on which our whole approach is based-then Soviet-American relations will be a permanent favourable factor promoting international peace-a point which is of historic significance.
157.	Relations between the Soviet Union and Japan are not at a standstill. The Soviet Union intends to continue to work to ensure that these relations become relations of genuine good-neighbourliness and co-operation. That is quite feasible if both countries constantly bear in mind the fundamental long-term interests of peace and security in the Far East.
158.	The Soviet Union is ready to expand its relations of mutually advantageous co-operation with all countries of
Europe and the other continents which so desire, whether in the search for solutions to current international political problems, wide-ranging economic agreements, joint efforts to use the benefits of scientific and technological progress or the exchange of spiritual values.
159.	On the first day of the present session of the General Assembly the second phase of the Conference on Security and Co-operation in Europe began. This is a great and unprecedented endeavour. For the first time all European States, together with the United States and Canada have sat down at the same table in order jointly to determine measures that would help to assure the peoples of Europe a peaceful future for as long as can be foreseen.
160.	The Soviet Union views the prospects for the work of the Conference with considerable optimism. Its participants have already to a certain extent found a common language; there are, at least, no differences between them in agreeing that the Conference faces tasks of great importance which will require business-like and constructive consideration. If such an approach prevails to the end, the participants in the Conference will be able to place their contribution to the strengthening of general peace in the scales of history with a sense of satisfaction. That will benefit not only States directly concerned with European affairs, but all peoples of the world.
161.	There is a possibility of achieving a good and, in terms of its potential consequences, even a historic success as a result of the Conference. All that is necessary for this is for all participants to display a responsible and serious approach to the problems before them. Nobody should yield to the temptation to teach others how to manage their internal affairs. It must be admitted that some would like to try to impose their own internal practices on others. No, internal practices, internal laws, represent the line before the threshold of every State at which all others must stop.
162.	Were we to embark on a course of imposing our own practices on other countries, whether in the field of economic life or ideology, it is probable that those who are trying to persuade us to adopt the laws .morals and customs of others would disagree. And that is understandable and justified. If States and their representatives to the United Nations tried to act in that way, none of us here would advance one step in important matters and people would, not without justification, draw an analogy between the activity of the United Nations and the Biblical legend of the Tower of Babel, where those involved ceased to understand one another and failed to complete what they had intended to build.
163.	Meanwhile, some in the West are not averse to launching noisy propaganda campaigns and even to resorting to the methods of blackmail in order to cover up their own attempts to interfere in the affairs of other countries. Matters have gone so far that they are attempting to arrogate to themselves the right to dictate right and left by whom and how the question of emigration from this or that country should be handled, how many emigrants there should be and when and just where they should go. In doing so, they do not hesitate to praise to the skies those who represent no one but who, whether deliberately or inadvertently, are merely an unwitting weapon in the hands of the forces opposed to the relaxation of tension in the world.
164.	The Soviet Union decisively rejects such an approach and condemns it. We will not allow anyone to interfere in our internal affairs.
165.	The question that inevitably comes to mind is this: do the organizers of these campaigns seriously think that only the Soviet Union, only the socialist countries are interested in international detente and in the development of trade, scientific and technical and other forms of co-operation and that others are merely doing them a great favour by agreeing to hold talks on these matters?
166.	Anyone who is interested in the slightest degree in seeing an improvement in the international situation is well aware that this is not the case, that this is a reciprocal process governed by the mutual interests of the parties concerned and, above all, by the interests of the people.
167.	The main thing now is not to let the basic, truly important problems facing States be overshadowed by a poisonous atmosphere deliberately cheated over trumped-up questions.
168.	The Soviet Union considers it desirable to supplement political detente in Europe by military detente. This cause may be served by yet another major undertaking by a number of States: the talks opening on 20 October 1973 on the mutual reduction of armed forces and armaments in central Europe.
169.	As a result of the positive changes in the international situation, it is also becoming possible to view the situation in Asia in a new light.
170.	In Asian affairs, as in international affairs in general, the policy of the Soviet Union is a policy directed towards peace, security and co-operation. The Soviet Union extends its hand to any State which shares these goals. A shining example of this is the uninterrupted development of relations between the USSR and India, a great, peace-loving Asian Power. It is further demonstrated by the history of friendly relations between the Soviet Union and many other Asian countries. Our fundamental belief is that there are no problems in relations between the Soviet Union and the States of Asia which could not be solved at the negotiating table.
171.	The Soviet Union is the initiator of the concept of collective security in Asia. This idea is constantly gaining strength; scepticism is being dispelled and the unfounded suspicions are disappearing.
172.	In a recent speech in Alma Ata, the General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, L. I. Brezhnev, said that we support collective security in Asia because "we are seeking to eliminate war, armed conflicts and imperialist aggression on the continent of Asia; we want the conditions for unhampered development and national revival to be guaranteed every country and people; we want a spirit of trust and
mutual understanding to prevail in relations between the countries of Asia".
173.	The Soviet Union is in favour of equitable participation in the system of collective security by all Asian countries, without any exception. Any intention of directing collective security in Asia against any State is totally alien to us, despite allegations to the contrary.
174.	The positive changes which have recently become apparent on the Asian continent also include the emergence of new, constructive factors in the situation on the Korean peninsula and this is, first and foremost, to the credit of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea. That being so, it would be all the more inadmissible for new, artificial obstacles to the peaceful and democratic unification of Korea to be added to the old forms of outside interference in the internal affairs of the Korean people.
175.	There is, of course, no need to recall in detail in this Assembly the consistent support which the Soviet Union has given and continues to give to the developing States of Asia, Africa and Latin America. On more than one occasion the United Nations has been the arena for fierce political battles with colonialism of every kind, and the Soviet Union has always resolutely defended oppressed peoples and given all possible support to their struggle for national liberation.
176.	We are well aware that this is a difficult and grim struggle, and some very recent events remind us yet again that it may take tragic turns.
177.	In Chile, as we know, the lawful Government has been overthrown. The elected President, Salvador Allende, his country's most outstanding patriot, has been killed. The forces of reaction have struck a blow at the Chilean people's desire for true independence and freedom.
178.	There was serious provocation of another Latin American State, Cuba, whose embassy and one of whose ships were fired upon. Surely the heads of the military junta realize that such acts can only be described as international brigandage and acts of aggression?
179.	An anti-Soviet campaign has been stirred up in the country; there are instances of arbitrary and violent action against Soviet institutions and citizens who were sent to give friendly assistance to the Chilean people at the request of the lawful Government of the country.
180.	What can one say about this? There can be no doubt that history will bring to account those who attempt to prevent the peoples from breathing the air of genuine independence or to drown in blood their right to national freedom.
181.	For its part, the Soviet Government could not remain indifferent to the intolerable situation that was developing and took the decision to break off diplomatic relations with Chile, or, more precisely, with the regime of the military junta.
182.	There is no doubt that the just cause of the Chilean people will triumph in the end, despite the current tragedy.
183.	States which have embarked on the course of political independence have always found and will continue to find in the Soviet Union a friend ready to aid them in consolidating their economic self-sufficiency, to share its knowledge and experience and to assist them in their moments of difficulty. Expansion of co-operation with developing countries is an integral part of the foreign policy of the Soviet Union.
184.	It is our conviction that the relaxation of international tension is conducive to a situation where young States can, in peace, devote all their efforts and resources to economic and social progress, to raising the living standards of their people, and to shaping their own future without fear of outside interference.
185.	The healthier the over-all world atmosphere becomes, the more anachronistic are the remaining vestiges of colonialism and the reserves of apartheid and racial discrimination, the stronger is the condemnation they merit and the more vigorous must be the struggle to bring about their complete elimination. It is the clear duty of the United Nations to contribute to the speediest possible elimination of these shameful survivals of colonialism wherever they still exist, be it in Angola or Mozambique, Bissau or Southern Rhodesia, South or South-West Africa.
186.	It is our aim that the voice of the fighters should be clearly heard here, within the walls of the United Nations, that the Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples adopted by the fifteenth session of the United Nations General Assembly [resolution 1514 (XV)] should be fully implemented and that the racists and colonialists should be finally deprived of the opportunity to receive support from outside, in particular from certain Member countries of the United Nations, something which is still a feature of current international life.
187.	Those who struggle against colonialism and racism for their national liberation and for their inalienable human rights and dignity enjoy the unwavering support of the Soviet Union. Let there be no doubt that the Soviet Union will continue to do its utmost to ensure that this struggle ends in a decisive victory.
188.	In the struggle for peace, the Soviet Union and the countries of the socialist community are one with the developing States and we value this highly. With some of these countries we have well established relations; with others, relations are only now beginning to develop. But apart from this, the platform of the struggle for further detente offers ever-greater opportunities for co-operation. We believe that the fullest possible advantage should be taken of them.
189.	Throughout its history, the United Nations has operated in varying political weather, and so far the fine days have been far fewer than the bad ones. What has enabled it not merely to survive but also to do many useful things? The fact that it was founded for the purpose of maintaining international peace. And this task remains permanently relevant. From another point of view, the United Nations Charter contains adequate provisions for the fulfilment of the Organization's lofty mission. The
United Nations has demonstrated its strength in those cases where the purposes and principles of its Charter have been strictly observed, and its weakness when departures from the Charter have been permitted. What matters is that this world Organization should remain in the mainstream of international politics, contributing to the solution of crucial problems.
190.	This does not in any way imply that the Soviet Union is inclined to neglect even one aspect of the diversified activities of the United Nations, whether of an economic, social, cultural or humanitarian nature. It actively assists in putting into practice everything of value-1 repeat, everything of value — that the collective wisdom and experience of States can produce.
191.	Indeed, a few days ago, the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR ratified two important international legal instruments pertaining to respect for fundamental human rights and freedoms and the protection of human dignity and the interests of society as a whole. These documents were carefully and thoroughly elaborated in United Nations bodies and were subsequently approved by the General Assembly. I am referring to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights [resolution 2200 A (XXI), annex] and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights [ibid.]. These two Covenants do not merely contain wishes or recommendations of a declaratory nature, but provide for quite specific obligations on the part of States parties to them. We appeal to countries which have not yet signed or ratified these Covenants to follow our example and to take steps to ensure that they come into force as soon as possible.
192.	The peoples of the world expect from the United Nations measures which will contribute to a further improvement in the international situation. With favourable changes taking place in the world, opportunities are increasing for the United Nations to make its own, major contribution to the consolidation of detente and to making it stable and irreversible.
193.	For its part, the Soviet Union is sparing no effort for the triumph of the cause of peace on earth. This is the essence of its peace-loving policy and its peace programme, launched by the Twenty-fourth Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. Every State, every statesman can be confident that he will continue to find in the Soviet Union a faithful partner at all times and in all cases where action is taken to prevent the danger of war and contribute to peace.


As this is the first opportunity which the Commonwealth of the Bahamas has to speak in the general debate of the General Assembly, it is appropriate that at this time I should indicate to other delegations the general principles upon which the foreign relations of the Bahamas shall be conducted in this Assembly and in its associations with other States. The necessity to state these principles briefly will limit what I have to say for the most part to some broad generalizations, but I shall also make some modest suggestions for action by this Assembly in areas which are of particular significance to the Bahamas.
3.	A desirable starting point for me is the Preamble to the Independence Constitution of the Bahamas, which came into force on 10 July past and which reads as follows:
"WHEREAS Four hundred and eighty-one years ago the rediscovery of this Family of Islands, Rocks and Cays heralded the rebirth of the New World,
"AND WHEREAS the People of this Family of Islands recognize that the preservation of their Freedom will be guaranteed by a national commitment to Self-discipline, Industry, Loyalty, Unity and an abiding respect for Christian values and the Rule of Law;
"NOWKNOW YE THEREFORE:
"We the Inheritors of and Successors to this Family of Islands, recognizing the Supremacy of God and believing
in the Fundamental Rights and Freedoms of the Individual,
"DO HEREBY PROCLAIM IN SOLEMN PRAISE the Establishment of a Free and Democratic Sovereign Nation founded on Spiritual Values and in which no Man, Woman or Child shall ever be Slave or Bondsman to anyone or their Labour exploited or their Lives frustrated by deprivation,
"AND DO HEREBY PROVIDE by these Articles for the indivisible Unity and Creation under God of the Commonwealth of The Bahamas."
Thereafter in the constitutional document are articles which, subject to those which provide for the protection of the fundamental rights and freedoms of the individual, make the Constitution the supreme law of the Bahamas. We thereby consciously subjected our national sovereignty to adherence to the concept of the rule of law together with the proposition that:
".. . the idea of the rule of law must embrace the doctrine that there is a national responsibility to create and maintain the social and economic condition which will give meaning and substance to the idea of equality under law".
4.	Throughout the years of colonial administrations, the energies and attention of the Bahamian people, in particular for my generation, were directed to the ultimate goals of majority rule, political and economic self-determination and sovereign independence. One of the by-products of this necessary preoccupation with internal and anti-colonialist politics was that public attention was directed inwardly to internal problems. Matters of external relations were, therefore, relegated to an unimportant position or thought to be irrelevant to what at the time were the most immediate matters of internal politics.
5.	At the same time, however, there were external forces at work which were compressing the whole world into closer affinity and interdependence. A companion in growth and progress to our evolutionary advance to sovereign independence has been the remarkable change which has taken place during the past decade in communication and transportation facilities. Hence it is possible for words spoken here to be heard, and the speaker here to be seen, instantaneously anywhere in the world. It is also now possible to fly today from our capital city of Nassau to New York in 2 hours and 45 minutes, to Frankfurt in 9 hours or to Sydney in 25 hours.
6.	Therefore, ever since 1964 when the first comprehensive written Constitution came into effect in the
Bahamas and ultimate independence was assured, we have begun to look outward upon a world which was being shrunk by technology and which was being brought closer to us and to which we began to look with eager expectation. Indeed, this is evidenced by the fact that the Ministry of External Affairs of the Government of the Bahamas came into existence four years before independence and the 1969 Constitution which we had gave a wide measure of responsibility in foreign affairs to the Bahamas Government. Thereafter, the Bahamas began consciously to turn its attention outward and to recognize that there was a place for it in the world which its necessity to prosper and survive demanded be filled.
7.	It was therefore inevitable and a matter of course that the Bahamas, after independence, directed its attention to membership in the United Nations. It is not for the love of platitudes or a craving for fine words that in the Bahamas we take seriously the words of the preamble to the Charter of the United Nations which reads in part:
"WE THE PEOPLES OF THE UNITED NATIONS DETERMINED... to reaffirm faith in fundamental human rights, in the dignity and worth of the human person, in the equal rights of men and women and of nations large and small. .. and to promote social progress and better standards of life in larger freedom,
"AND FOR THESE ENDS to practice tolerance and live together in peace with one another as good neighbours, and to unite our strength to maintain international peace and security ...".
8.	The Commonwealth of the Bahamas is a new Member of this Organization. We have, none the less, observed the attempts which have been made by this body towards the realization of its purposes and principles as expressed in the Charter, to which all of us Members subscribe. The Charter imposes upon the members of this Assembly the enormous task of providing for the world conditions conducive to the betterment of the welfare of all mankind. This was the spirit in which the Charter founders drafted its constitution. This, similarly, must be the current resolve of its Member nations.
9.	We in the Bahamas have not been unmindful of the fact' that in its 28 years the United Nations has experienced both failures and successes, and notwithstanding the view which is apparently held by some and is born of frustration, I do not believe, as I have read expressed in a leading national journal of a Member State recently, that "... the sad, even bitter truth is that the United Nations is no longer in the mainstream of world politics".
10.	It may very well be that the enormous capacity of all kinds which exists within the States legitimately categorized as super-Powers has dwarfed the necessities of the other Members of the United Nations, but it is presumptuous to assume that the course of the super-Powers from time to time constitutes the mainstream of world politics. However, this would be the case if all the members of the Assembly passively allowed this to be so. Be that as it may, the aspirations of our people are no less real or immediate than those of the big nations and the demands made upon its leaders no less compelling.
11.	My Government has a responsibility to the Bahamas to make its proper contribution to the collective efforts to the United Nations to create an harmoniously ordered world society; to create an internationally recognized rule of law which will guarantee the territorial integrity of States; to sustain a level of economic growth which will provide a continuingly increasing standard of living, education and social services for its people; and to assist in creating a system of human values and of morality which will create a climate of existence for mankind to enable it to enjoy and fulfil itself in peace.
12.	But endless debate and tired cliches do not at all provide the machinery that will assist in finding solutions to some of the problems that now face us. These solutions ought not to depend on the interrelations between the sources of physical power and the location of authority, but rather upon the centralization of power and authority here as is envisaged by the Charter. Otherwise the pursuit of international peace and security will remain the province of a privileged few, and the credibility gap between the rhetoric of world international order and the realities inherent in the pursuit of the national interest of the few will become even wider.
13.	The urgent work of the United Nations, made more urgent by the total interdependence of States in the world, has significance and meaning for us in the Bahamas as it does for every other Member State. World problems and their effect have no national boundaries. The unresolved Middle East problems may seem remote and irrelevant to the Bahamas, but they are not. The Bahamas has no natural source of economically exploitable energy, and the frustrating lack of a peaceful settlement in the Middle .East which propels rising prices of oil in the world has its effect on the cost of fuel, the cost of electricity, the cost of living in the Bahamas and ultimately the standard of living of its people. So we say there must be solutions found there.
14.	The Bahamas is an archipelagic State, so located in the North Atlantic that heavily trafficked commercial shipping lanes pass through the archipelago. In the south-eastern Bahamas, the Crooked Island and Mira Por Vos passages exist for shipping to and from ports in the Caribbean and Central America, and to and from the United States of America and Canadian ports; in the north-west Bahamas, the Northeast and Northwest Providence channels are the shipping lanes through which pass practically all the commercial traffic between the Gulf of Mexico and Europe. The Bahamas has little known mineral resources, but has developed a successful resort industry and is in the process of diversifying the economy as rapidly as possible. We are aware, nevertheless, of the dangers to our ecology and resort-island facilities to which we are subjected by the large numbers of ships of all kinds which traffic through our waters. My Government is therefore conscious of the importance to the Bahamas of early international agreement on matters of territorial jurisdiction within the boundaries of our archipelago, on matters of territorial jurisdiction around the boundaries of our-archipelago, the limits of economic exploitation within and around the boundaries of our archipelago, pollution of our archipelago, rights of passage through our archipelago, and conservation and other related matters, all of which will affect the continued use of the sea lanes through the archipelago. All matters pertaining to international agreement on the law of the sea are therefore extremely relevant to the Bahamas.
15.	We welcome the attempts which so far have been made to secure for archipelagic States a just and equitable regime pertaining to the sea and sea-bed around and within them, as this concept constitutes not only a means of protection of the economic resources and safeguards against pollution, but also acts to ensure the psychological, political and social unification of the whole group of islands.
16.	The Bahamas is a major importer of food. Everything in the world, therefore, which is relevant to the supply of food and its cost is relevant to the Bahamas. Any action taken by this body which is calculated to increase food production, provide adequate conservation methods and improve the techniques of production will receive the active support of our delegation.
17.	The world of yesterday was. divided and measured by colour, by race, by religious beliefs and by ideological persuasion. The world today is additionally divided by the developed and the under-developed, the rich and the poor, the haves and the have-nots. The Bahamas is legitimately categorized as a small nation and as such requires a very unique combination of ingredients to create a successful nation State out of scattered islands: but small nations can be made into viable economic entities with the help of the technological expertise available in the world which can provide all the answers to successful development. The successful development of all under-developed countries can therefore be achieved provided that the developed countries are prepared to commit themselves to the task in co-operation with one another, not competitively, and without expectation of reward in any ideological conflict. The Bahamas would be a willing participant in the promotion of any United Nations economic development programme calculated to redress the balance between the developed and the under-developed undertaken in a spirit of universal co-operation.
18.	I have made reference to these few matters, by way of example only, to illustrate my proposition of the total interdependence of all nations in the world upon others, a fact which appears, sometimes, to be overlooked in the international contests of the national self-interests of big and powerful States, which interests, I believe, history will one day judge to have been some very narrow self-interests indeed. Practised as it has been by the big nations, it is little wonder that this contest of self-interest appears to have caused some lack of spirit and frustration here.
19.	In this connexion, I have to say that, notwithstanding the fears which have been expressed with regard to the present dialogue between the super-Powers and the detente said to exist between them, I do not share those fears. Implicit in the normalization of relations between the great Powers is their desire that there be no necessity for the world to be divided into contesting blocs of nations. We must, so far as we are able, accept that implication in this detente and believe that they mean what they say, and believe that they know how the people of the world will interpret their actions. Taken as it appears to be, is it not right that we may conclude that the super-Powers have agreed that the world has changed, that competitions between ideologies can lead only to armed conflict, that different economic systems can survive together harmoniously and that the world can now look forward to a new order of international order and justice led by them in this place?
20.	Over the 28 years of the life of this Organization we have witnessed the development of two super-Powers, the Republic of the United States of America and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. In very recent times, we have seen wondrous signs of dramatic changes in East-West relationships evidenced, first, by the arrival, acceptance and seating here of the People's Republic of China and secondly, less than two weeks ago, by the admission to membership here of the Federal Republic of Germany and the German Democratic Republic. In the next decade or two we may come to see a United States of Europe comprising what is now the enlarged European Economic Community and in that time a United States of Europe and a People's Republic of China may themselves realize their full potential to become super-Powers.
21.	In that event, and particularly if the detente fails to fulfil our hopes and dreams, it may become necessary to think again whether in the interests of international peace and understanding the Headquarters of our Organization should be located within the territorial jurisdiction of a super-Power, or whether it might more properly be located in a small but beautiful Member State which has no pretensions to power but which has many attributes for the congenial settlement of international disputes.
22.	Our delegation will be authorized to offer, at any time the question may arise, one of the 700 islands of the Bahamas as an ideal compromise location for any future Headquarters of the United Nations or any one or more of its agencies.
23.	I belong to a young country which is full of young people, not unlike young people of every other State represented here; young people who have become impatient with inconsistencies, indifferent to the claims of competing ideologies and to the cynicism of the old. It appears to many of the young of the world that the promise of 28 years ago has been too long frustrated by narrow prejudices and calculated self-interest and a failure to adhere to the clear intentions of the United Nations Charter.
24.	Prior to independence, there was a small minority in the Bahamas which sought to dismember one island from the nation; but majority rule and self-determination prevailed in the end and the movement failed. So we can view with compassion now two Germanys, two Koreas and two Viet-Nams. However, ideological conflicts imposed upon a people can never divide it for ever, no more than the mind of man can ever be separated from its will to exercise its sovereign identity and freedom.
25.	Do representatives believe that the world's youth are unaware of the fact that the United Nations has been unable to suppress the use of unlawful force; that narrow disputes go unsettled because super-Powers have been unable to agree; that interference with constitutionally elected Governments is overlooked; or that racism, in its most virulent form, is permitted to persist in southern Africa? Neither history nor succeeding generations will look with compassion upon a people that appeared to act without the guidance of morality or the rule of law.
26.	The hope of the generation to which I belong, and that of those younger than I, is for the preservation of a world order subject to the machinery of the United Nations, not by the so-called real-politik of super-Powers which are able to juggle the sovereignty of smaller nations. I am, however, not so Utopian as to believe that it is totally within our competence and not within the competence of the great Powers to make this hope a reality.
27.	If the United Nations, this world parliament, is to have immediate meaning and significance, if the conflicting claims of morality and power are to be reconciled, that can be accomplished only by the collective and concerted effort of the great Powers, each one of which, like the rest of us, has given solemn accord to the principles of the United Nations Charter.
28.	We have the means to give new hope to mankind, to create a stable international order dominated by total and absolute political and economic self-determination and human and moral values which make human beings paramount, not things or abstractions.
29.	In all such ways as are available to us, the Bahamas delegation will be committed to making the hope of the young and the world a reality in our lifetime. To that end, we shall actively support action by this body that will: first, create machinery to enable the United Nations to resolve all existing territorial boundary matters which now remain unresolved and thereafter to guarantee the inviolability of those fixed physical boundaries, making it an offence against international law to acquire or dismember a State by force; second, create a permanent peace-keeping force to enable this body to enforce the guarantees of territorial integrity which will be afforded to every State; third, actively promote the further development of the developing and under-developed world by a massive development programme sponsored by the active participation of the two super-Powers in particular, acting not in ideological competition but in universal concert, so that no State in the world need be made subject or bondsman to any ideology and every State may enjoy real self-determination, free to pursue its own best internal policies; no nation need thereafter be subject to the hegemony of any other State, and the world may be freed from the confining limitations and conflicting pressures implicit in competing economic systems; fourth, remove the last remnants of colonialism from the world, in particular from southern Africa, and all forms of foreign domination of the small by the big; fifth, build upon the detente between the great Powers to create the climate for positive and active co-operation by them in proving to the world that peace is merely the means by which national boundaries may be transcended and a world order created with their collective co-operative leadership, by which their unlimited technological skills may be applied in the equitable distribution of the wealth of the earth and the seas; sixth, accomplish the international renunciation of ideological conflict, competition between economic systems, religious bigotry and racism in all its subtle forms.
30.	The delegation of the Bahamas is committed to serve those ends. Some, perhaps, are Utopian, but all are capable of attainment provided that we all have the collective will.