52.	Allow me at the outset to express to you, Sir, the warm congratulations of the delegation of the Yemen Arab Republic and myself on your election to the presidency of this session. I am confident of your ability to carry out the great task which has been entrusted to you, for your political expertise and wisdom are well-known.
53.	I wish also to express our appreciation and thanks to your predecessor, Mr. Imre Hollai, who fulfilled his responsibilities brilliantly. I cannot fail to pay a tribute to the valuable and unstinting efforts made by the Secretary-General in the service of the Organization and its purposes. He has been discharging his complex duties with great skill and ability, and we wish him continued success.
54.	My delegation and I are pleased to welcome Saint Christopher and Nevis to membership in the international Organization.
55.	Each year when we ascend this rostrum we are filled with hope that we will be able to realize many of our aspirations for justice, stability and prosperity before the following session. Most regrettably, however, realities
limit our legitimate aspirations to the realm of mere thinking and optimism.
56.	The present international situation is grave, characterized by proliferating hotbeds of tension brought about by recourse to force in the settlement of international disputes and by the escalation of the cold war between the two super-Powers, with its attendant feverish and frightening arms race.
57.	These developments constitute a retreat from the provisions and norms of international law, but at the same time they serve to emphasize the importance of the role of the United Nations and its growing value as the best framework for dialogue and discussion aimed at resolving the problems which affect the prosperity, security and stability of our peoples. When we review our individual and common concerns in these periodic meetings, we are reaffirming the soundness of the philosophy which serves as the foundation of the Organization, and we are embodying the firm desire of our peoples to achieve greater understanding and co-operation in our world which is marked both by growing interdependence and a diversity of outlook.
58.	There is no doubt that the Organization's prestige will be tested severely if the United Nations is limited merely to adopting resolutions and recommendations without possessing the means to implement them.
59.	My country esteems highly the numerous achievements of the United Nations in various fields, and it also realizes the importance of the role of the Organization in the present international circumstances.
60.	We wish to express our support for the report of the Secretary-General on the work of the Organization [%%?.] in its entirety and for the stress it lays on enhancing the effectiveness of the United Nations through co-operation among its bodies and Members, so that it will be enabled to play its role for maintaining and consolidating the peace that we seek and the justice we desire and the prosperity we are to achieve.
61.	The question of the Palestinian people has been for more than three decades a blow to man's ethics and ideals, and it continues to be so. The situation in the Middle East is an embodiment of the ever-widening gap between our goals and aspirations on the one hand and the painful reality of international relations on the other hand.. There we see Israel escalating its aggression against the Arab States and occupying part of Lebanon by force, thanks to its having found in one of the super-Powers an ally which stands behind its aggressive expansionist designs and protects it from all international pressure and sanctions for its unceasing crimes.
62.	The present design to divide Lebanon is but one in a series in the unceasing Zionist plot against the integrity and future of the Arab nation. The clear role now being played by the United States in support of Israel in the implementation of this aggressive design provides ample evidence that the Zionist invasion of Lebanon would not have happened without co-ordination with the White House and would not have continued had not the United States desired that it should.
63.	While the Tel Aviv Government has decided to occupy the southern part of Lebanon without regard for international laws and norms or for the resolutions of this Organization, the intervention by force of the United States of America in the internal conflict in this helpless State in support of one part of its population against another represents, in our view, a serious development in the policy of Washington in the area, the consequences and implications of which should not be underestimated either for the security of the area or for the relationship between the United States and the States of the area.
64.	It is clear that the United States is now moving from the position of supporter of Israel in its aggressive and expansionist approach to that of ally and accomplice in all the actions of the Zionist State. This is in complete contradiction with the responsibility of the United States as a permanent member of the Security Council and in direct opposition to the wider interests of Washington in the region.
65.	We in the Yemen Arab Republic view with profound concern this position taken by the United States. We call on the American Administration to reconsider the strategic alliance that exists at present with the racist Tel Aviv Government, and to stop the unconditional military, economic and diplomatic support for that Government that has always played a major role in the implementation of the aggressive Zionist design.
66.	We also call for the immediate, complete and unconditional withdrawal of Israeli forces from all Lebanese territory in implementation of the relevant resolutions of the Security Council. We proclaim our full support for the Lebanese people, which has displayed such steadfastness in resisting occupation and any agreement with the Zionist enemy that is detrimental to its sovereignty and independence, harms the security and stability of any Arab country, limits the role of Arab Lebanon and compromises its national commitments, as set forth in the relevant instruments, treaties and resolutions of +he Arab summit.
67.	No one can doubt that the tragic situation in Lebanon and the emergence of other hotbeds of tension
in the area are but ramifications and side-effects of the lain question, that of Palestine, which is the core of what is known as the question of the Middle East.
68.	The increasing Israeli aggressive expansion in the area confirms something we realized long ago and have warned against on more than one occasion, that the Zionist entity, in view of its aggressive and expansionist nature and the racist mentality of its leaders, represents the most serious source of tension and aggression in the area.
69.	Experience proves this, because Israel has waged a succession of aggressive wars against its neighbours on the pretext of protecting the 1948 frontiers. Having occupied the remainder of Palestine by force in 1967, its forces last year ravaged Lebanon, in order to divert international public opinion from the reality of the Zionist occupation of the Palestinian territories and the Syrian Golan Heights to a new situation whereby Israel would be able to achieve its expansionist ambitions and impose its hegemony on the whole area.
70.	Things have gone so far that the leaders of Tel Aviv can publicly state their intention to annex the West Bank and Gaza. This is because of the absolute support given by the United States to guarantee Israeli military superiority in the region.
71.	There has recently been a stepping up of Israel's arbitrary practices against the population of the occupied Arab territories, where crimes of murder, torture, mass detention and confiscation of property are committed by the occupying forces with a view to depopulating those territories and establishing more Zionist settlements therein.
72.	It is indeed regrettable that the United States recently opposed a draft resolution, otherwise unanimously accepted by the members of the Security Council, confirming the illegality of the Israeli settler practices in the Arab occupied territories. This demonstrates a blind
bias in favour of the aggressive Tel Aviv Government which is in contradiction with the moral and political responsibilities of the United States, as well as with its previously declared position on the issue. It is clear that this is one of the chief factors encouraging the Government of Israel publicly to state its intention to establish more Jewish settlements in the occupied Arab territories and to launch a media campaign in preparation for the final annexation of those territories.
73.	If the continuance of the Israeli occupation of Palestine and the denial of the rights of the Arab Palestinian people are the crux of the problem of the Middle East, the obstacles to the solution of this problem are in the intransigence of the leaders of Israel and their adherence to the policy of expansion and settlement, coupled with the inability of this Organization to ensure compliance with its resolutions and the will of the international community because of the position of the United States and its absolute support for Israel.
74.	Despite that, scores of resolutions adopted by the Organization have reaffirmed the rights of the Arab Palestinian people, including its inalienable right to return to its territory, to exercise its right of self-determination and to establish its own State on its national soil under the leadership of the PLO, the sole legitimate representative of the Palestinian people. Mo: cover, the continuous struggle of the people of Palestine under PLO leadership has proved the impossibility of establishing a lasting peace in the area without taking into account the rights and demands of the Palestinian Arab people.
75.	The participation of the great majority of the Members of this Organization in the International Conference on the Question of Palestine, held from 29 August to 7 September at Geneva, was a clear manifestation of solidarity with the struggling people of Palestine. The decisions of the Conference  expressed the general support for that people's inalienable and legitimate rights.
76.	As an international rally advocating right and justice, the Conference revealed the isolation of those States that failed to shoulder their responsibilities and confined themselves to participating in the work of the Conference as observers. That position represents a denial of the noble principles of freedom, independence and justice which their peoples were the first to uphold and advocate in the march of mankind in this epoch.
77.	Separate attempts to find a partial solution to the conflict in the Middle East have been futile. Similarly, attempts to prevent the PLO, the sole legitimate representative of the Palestinian people, from participating in these efforts are also futile and unjust and are not really aimed at reaching an equitable and authentic solution to the problem.
78.	My country, which has genuinely supported the Palestinian people, as proved by the blood spilt by the Yemeni martyrs in that just cause, reaffirms that any settlement that ignores the PLO and does not confirm the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people, including its rights to return, to self-determination and to establish its own independent State on its national soil, would be unjust and doomed to failure, because these are the criteria on which the Arab position with regard to the Camp David agreements is based and they will determine our position concerning all future efforts.
79.	The Arab States have left no stone unturned in the quest for peace in the Middle East. They proved their genuine desire for a peaceful settlement of the Arab- Israeli conflict when the Arab leaders unanimously agreed, at their summit conference at Fez last year, on a plan for a peaceful solution,  which was welcomed by all States and all international and regional organizations that advocate law, justice, and peace.
80.	The return by the great Powers to the policy of the cold war and rivalry in acquiring spheres of influence, intervention in the internal affairs of other States and the use of force for the settlement of international disputes are to us sources of both concern and sorrow. There is no doubt that the injection of elements of confrontation and dispute between the East and the West into the regional conflict entails serious risks that may have ominous consequences. Moreover, the failure so far to achieve any significant progress in the negotiations on curbing the arms race, and the intensification of that feverish and alarming race the expenditures on which are more than $800 billion per year, leads us to reiterate that this could bring humanity to the point of no return where its destiny might well depend on some accidental occurrence.
81.	The Yemen Arab Republic, which like many other States views all this with profound concern, would welcome any initiative conducive to achieving international detente and curbing the arms race.
82.	Proceeding from that premise, we associate ourselves with those who have appealed sincerely to the Soviet Union and the United States to continue their ongoing negotiations on curbing the arms race and to achieve specific results and adopt effective and practical measures in this regard as a prelude to the general and complete elimination of nuclear weapons, so that our people may have a secure future existence and in order to release the resources wasted on the manufacture and purchase of arms for the settlement of the pressing economic problems affecting many countries of the world.
83.	The call by the General Assembly to convert the Indian Ocean into a zone of peace free from the rivalry and military presence of the great Powers is an authentic expression of the interest of the peoples of the region in security, prosperity and stability.
84.	My country, which has consistently rejected the idea of any foreign military presence in the area of the Indian Ocean and the Red Sea, whatever its source or form, fully supports the General Assembly resolution and looks forward to participating in a successful Conference on the Indian Ocean in Sri Lanka next year. We consider the preparations by the great Powers to participate in the proceedings of the Conference to be a positive indication that augurs well.
85.	My country, which firmly believes in regional co-operation among neighbouring countries and has always called for continuous dialogue and understanding between the nations and peoples and for settling differences by peaceful means, is greatly concerned about the maintenance of security and stability in the Horn of Africa. It calls for the settlement of the problems among the States of the area through negotiation and dialogue so that they may apply themselves to dealing with questions of development, prevent any foreign intervention in their affairs and avoid being dragged into the conflict between the great Powers.
86.	The Iraqi-Iranian war is entering its fourth year. This is a source of both worry and sorrow, especially after the efforts that have been made at mediation. We cannot fail to repeat our appeal for the immediate ending of this ill-fated war and a response by the neighbours and brothers in religion in Iran, to all the efforts made for reconciliation and a just settlement that safeguards the legitimate rights of the two parties to the conflict.

87.	We shall welcome all peace initiatives in response to the mediation efforts and we call on all States, especially those with influence, to continue these serious efforts in order to end this war, which is not in the interest of any of the parties to the conflict either now or in the long run.
88.	We also regret that a solution has not yet been found for the question of Afghanistan. We feel that it is right for the Afghan people to have the opportunity to determine its own destiny and to choose the form of regime it will have according to its own will and in a manner acceptable to it without any outside pressure. As a first stage, all forms of intervention in the internal affairs of Afghanistan should cease, and the refugees should return to their homeland.
89.	As regards the Korean question, my country supports the continuance of serious dialogue between the Governments of North and South Korea for the reunification of Korea on a sound democratic basis, free from outside intervention.
90.	The development of the situation in Cyprus deepens our conviction concerning the need to work for a solution agreed upon by the two communities as a prelude to the reunification of the island in a manner that ensures for all equality of rights and duties, in accordance with the relevant United Nations resolutions.
91.	Furthermore, the present developments in Central America affect not only the security and prosperity of the peoples of the Americas, but international peace and security as well. The Yemen Arab Republic views with concern what is taking place in that area. It believes that it is necessary to respect the sovereignty and independence of States of the d ea, not to interfere in their internal affairs and to give the peoples the opportunity to forge their own future in accordance with their will and ambitions, free from any foreign pressures or tutelage.
92.	Man's achievements in this century in the efforts to eliminate all forms of colonialism and racism constitute a bright chapter in modern history, marred only by the continuing racist colonialism and foreign occupation in Namibia and Palestine. The alliance between the two racist Governments of Pretoria and Tel Aviv is clearly aimed at uniting their efforts to suppress the national liberation movements in Palestine and Namibia and to stifle the ambitions and aspirations of the peoples of the two countries and their right to freedom, independence and self-determination.
93.	We also view with profound concern the increasing co-operation between the racist regimes of Pretoria and Tel Aviv in the manufacture of weapons, especially nuclear weapons, since this constitutes provocation and a threat to the stability and security of the Arab and African States. We call on the countries that provide those two regimes with the material and the potential for the manufacture of nuclear weapons to stop their dealings with those regimes, and at the same time we call on the Arab and African States to increase their vigilance and their co-operation and to close their ranks in order to frustrate the aggressive designs of the two racist regimes.
94.	Our people, which is proud of its long-standing struggle and its rejection of all forms of foreign domination, oppression, and tutelage, has firmly and unconditionally supported the legitimate struggle of the people of Namibia for freedom and independence, under the leadership of SWAPO.
95.	There is no other way to stamp out the racist occupation of Namibia except by imposing effective sanctions against the Government of Pretoria in order to compel it to implement Security Council resolution 433 (1978), which constitutes the best framework for a settlement of the problem of Namibia. The prevarications of the Government of South Africa over withdrawing from Namibia in accordance with Security Council resolutions render the Western countries dealing with Pretoria especially accountable for not bringing effective pressure to bear on the Government of South Africa to compel it to end its illegal occupation of the Territory of Namibia.
96.	Proud of being free from the polarization and rivalry between the big Powers, my country is committed to and adheres to the policy of the Movement of Non- Aligned Countries and its principles and objectives. The success of the Seventh Conference of Heads of State or Government of Non-Aligned Countries, held from 7 to 12 March 1983 at New Delhi and in which my country was privileged to participate, has made a tangible contribution to consolidating the unity and solidarity of its members and co-ordinating their efforts to reduce international tension, protect the rights of peoples to sovereignty and national independence and to establish a new just and equitable system of international economic relations. The Non-Aligned Movement has proved to be one of the corner-stones of international stability and security.
97.	Economically the international situation is no better than it is politically, with steady deterioration. The present crisis afflicting the world economy is not a cyclical phenomenon but the result of structural maladjustments underlying all aspects of the international economic system. The continuation of this situation will lead to more economic deterioration and directly affect the question of peace and stability in our interdependent world.
98.	Our main goal should be the acceleration of the development of the developing countries, giving special attention to the least developed among them. The adoption by the General Assembly of the International Development Strategy for the Third United Nations Development Decade has been of some help in improving the course of international economic co-operation and accelerating the development of the developing countries in the context of the international community's search for a new international economic order. However, the setbacks in international economic co-operation and the frustrating results with respect to the global negotiations are not a source of satisfaction.
99.	We believe that the problems of development and economic co-operation require urgent action and the crystallization of a strong political will that can help to achieve effective progress that takes account of all sides and can produce abundantly prosperity and well-being for everyone. The position of certain countries—foremost among them the developed countries—and their failure to participate seriously in solving the world economic crisis, as well as their espousal of such short-sighted economic policies towards the developing countries as the reduction of official development assistance, the imposition of tariff and non-tariff barriers on the products of the developing countries and the raising of obstacles to the transfer of technology, coupled with the phenomena of inflation, fluctuating exchange rates and higher interest rates, have all helped to deepen the world economic crisis and aggravate its serious effects on the developing countries and their development plans.
100.	The discouraging picture of our world today is a source of justified pessimism for many. The problems
caused by the deterioration of the international economic crisis and the worsening economic situation of many developing countries are multiplying, with a resulting heightening of tension in international relations.
101.	The results of the sixth session of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, held from 6 June to 2 July 1983 at Belgrade, are not adequate for the serious situation in the developing countries, which are suffering from lower growth rates, increasing foreign debts, a reduction in their terms of trade with developed countries and the record decline of earnings from their exports, which consist mainly of primary commodities. Although the results of the UNCTAD session did not measure up to the requirements of the international economy and the aspirations of the developing countries, in particular the least developed countries, the resolutions adopted at the session, and a serious commitment to implement them, could constitute important steps towards beginning to solve the problems of the developing countries and enabling them to take measures to achieve their economic and social development. The commitment of most developed countries to freeze protectionist measures and gradually reduce restrictions on imports from the developing countries will perhaps enable the latter to increase their participation in international production and trade. The consensus reached on a number of questions before the sixth session could also represent a useful step and an encouraging indicator for the continuation of dialogue.
102.	In this respect we wish to recall the decisions of the United Nations Conference on the Least Developed Countries/ which were reaffirmed at Belgrade. In these decisions most developed countries undertook to raise the level of their official development assistance to 0.7 per cent and made a commitment to allocate 15 per cent of their official development assistance to the least developed countries and to double that figure by 1985.
103.	My country, the Yemen Arab Republic, which at this time is celebrating the twenty-first anniversary of the glorious September revolution, is now passing through a shining period of its history when democratic practices have become part of the daily life of everyone at all levels, through the People's General Congress and in pursuance of the spirit and the letter of the national charter, the intellectual inspiration for the march of our people towards reconstruction, progress and unity.
104.	What is significant is that all the genuine national forces have taken part in drafting the charter in a democratic atmosphere unprecedented in our country. This would not have happened without the determination of the political leadership, led by Colonel Ali Abdullah Saleh, President of the Republic and Commander-in- Chief of the Armed Forces and Secretary-General of the People's General Congress, who embodied the true spirit of democracy and of the national charter when he stood before the representatives of the people and proclaimed that, in keeping with the provisions of the constitution, he would not stand for re-election for a second term at the end  of his first term of office. This deepened the great esteem of the people for him and their insistence on re-electing him to guide the march towards the next stage.
105.	We consider that the broadening of the base of democratic participation and the adoption of the national charter, as well as the political programme of action, are the most important accomplishments of the past few years in our internal policy. In the economic Held, the attainment of the first five-year plan, and later the second five- year-plan, is a successful achievement in which we take pride and which is clearly reflected in the improved standard of living of our people.
106.	In the same measure that our political leadership is interested in achieving more in the field of comprehensive development, it spares no effort, in co-operation with the political leadership in the southern part of the nation, to overcome the fragmentation and division left by British imperialism in the south and by the Imamate rule in the north, a matter which provides more propitious opportunities and greater and better potential for a united and prosperous Yemen to secure permanently security and stability in the area. The meetings of the Yemeni Council, under the chairmanship of the two leaders of the nation, held at the capital city of San'a in the middle of September, give a fresh and strong impetus for accomplishing the Yemeni unity which is the first goal of our people.
107.	The foreign policy of our country proceeds from our understanding completely the unity of aim and destiny of the Arab nation. Therefore it makes painstaking and concerted efforts for the unity of the Arab ranks with a view to uniting potentials and abilities for the service of our common goals, with a genuine desire for non-intervention in the internal affairs of others and separating itself from blocs and axes whose effects are detrimental.
108.	Moreover, the bonds of faith and the Islamic heritage that link us to the other Islamic countries impel us to contribute effectively to reinforcing collective action through our membership in the Organization of the Islamic Conference in such a way as to serve our common goals in fruitful co-operation in all fields and to defend things sacred to Islam and to participate in building the edifice of contemporary human civilization.
109.	Our foreign policy is based on clear and principled foundations reflected by our constant position concerning various international issues. This is also embodied in our growing bilateral relations with friendly fraternal countries. Because of our commitment to the principle of non-alignment, our country has pursued an open-door policy with any country regardless of the social or economic philosophy of the regime of that country and on the basis of non-intervention and mutual respect.
110.	We are truly proud of the widening of the circle of our friends and the good fruits that we picked through the relations of friendship, understanding and co-operation.
116. My country was afflicted, as the Assembly knows, with an enormous earthquake in December of last year, which led to the destruction of many towns and villages and economic facilities. More than 300,000 people are living in tents. But because of the will of our people and the co-operation of our brothers and friends, we were able to rescue and find refuge, albeit temporary, for those people who were victims of the earthquake, and we have started reconstruction of the affected areas and to renew their economy.
111.	However, this will require enormous expenditures that go beyond our own abilities. But we are sure that we will be able to reconstruct because of the resolve of our people and the co-operation of brothers and friends, despite the fact that directing a great part of our limited financial resources for this purpose will affect our development plan.
112.	On this occasion we offer our profound thanks to the United Nations for its efforts, through many of the specialized agencies, in the relief operations after the earthquake catastrophe. We also offer special thanks and gratitude to all the friendly and fraternal countries and organizations that gave us a helping hand during the first
phase of our continual efforts to overcome the effects of that disaster.
113.	I have the great honour, in conclusion, to convey the greetings of the Yemen Arab Republic, both its leadership and people, to all the countries of the world which love peace and which are participating in this session, so that understanding, justice and peace may prevail for the happiness and good of mankind.


94.	 Please accept my congratulations, Sir, on your election as President of this session. You merit our full co-operation, not only in your capacity as a representative of Panama, but also by virtue of your experience of Assembly affairs, your country's contribution to the peace of Central America as a member of the Contadora Group and, last but not least, your inspiration as a true son of the ideals of Simon Bolivar, on this the 200th anniversary of the Liberator's birth.
95.	We take this opportunity to compliment the Deputy Foreign Minister of Hungary, Imre Hollai, for his tireless efforts in presiding over last year's session.
96.	We welcome the new addition to our membership by the admission of Saint Christopher and Nevis. We offer our congratulations on its independence and we extend our best wishes for the peace and prosperity of its people.
97.	The system of co-operation and mutual understanding originally envisaged in the Charter of the United Nations is increasingly being threatened by the cynical use of military predominance in inter-State relations. We have to ask ourselves whether this unrestrained scramble for global power and complete influence over men and resources is leading us irresistibly to the 1984 nightmare evoked by Orwell, which would engulf State sovereignty as we know it, or can we as independent nation-States still achieve our freedom and self-respect in peace and harmony?
98.	The signs are far from encouraging. In Latin America a number of peoples, in particular in El Salvador and Chile, continue to be suppressed as the/ demand their basic human rights. Others who have achieved these rights through bitter struggle, as in Nicaragua, are faced with resolute opposition from outside.
99.	In Asia there persists the shameful presence of foreign troops in Afghanistan and Kampuchea. The peaceful reunification of Korea is still thwarted by the imperatives of foreign interests. Two neighbouring countries, Iran and Iraq, remain locked in a festering conflict.
100.	The Palestinian people are still engaged in their bitter struggle to secure a homeland. Attempts at national reconciliation in Lebanon are wrecked by the contending pressures of divergent outside interests.
101.	In Africa the peoples of Namibia and South Africa still await their liberation from the imposition of racist and immoral bondage.
102.	In our own region of the Mediterranean we remain the helpless witnesses of the continuing violation of the sovereignty, unity and territorial integrity of the sister island of Cyprus. We live under the constant threat of massive armadas scouring our sea and using our region as a base from which to project their influence to neighbouring countries.
103.	In the light of these realities the policies adopted by Malta's socialist Government since 1971 have been inspired so far by our yearning for a community of nations pursuing their individual destinies in peace and co-operation. Yet we cannot ignore the fact that dangerous, radical and even costly choices could be forced upon us in view of the growing number of fellow nations and peoples caught in the vortex of events which threatens to engulf us all.
104.	It is therefore necessary to take stock of Malta's achievements and prospects in the military, political and economic fields.
105.	In the military Held we confront an irrational situation in which a frenetic production and deployment of monstrous armaments is defined as the best safeguard of peace. It is this attitude which has exposed the Mediterranean to the escalating naval confrontation of the two armed alliances.
106.	Until 1971 Malta was enmeshed in this confrontation by virtue of the military bases it was obliged to offer NATO. However, from 1964, as soon as Malta was no longer constitutionally a British colony and therefore not considered part of United Kingdom territory, it lost all the protective defence guarantees deriving from the collective security arrangements of the Washington treaty.
107.	This situation only increased the attraction of the military bases as a prime target in any eventual hostilities and therefore unashamedly exposed the Maltese to much greater dangers than those tolerable even in any NATO member country. If left unchecked, NATO would have by now been contemplating the deployment of nuclear missiles in Malta. Our unprotected citizens would therefore have become further exposed to the hazards of accidents in time of peace, as well as to the assured destruction by pre-emptive strikes in time of hostilities.
108.	It took the workers' movement in Malta to recognize the insanity of such policies and put a stop to them. The options we have exercised since 1971, leading to the closing down of the military bases in 1979 and the ensuing denial of military facilities, eliminated from Malta that military connection which was absurdly jeopardizing our freedom and safety.
109.	We have seen the beneficial effects of our choices for peace.
110.	, Our close neighbour Libya was among the foremost to recognize the significance of our decision to remove all military bases from our territory for the security
of the Mediterranean. It was the first to give us both moral and material assistance to enable us to overcome the violent opposition we faced in the initial stages.
111.	From a distant region, China also understood very early the important contribution Malta was making towards a peaceful and co-operative global environment for which it was also striving. China has been a consistent and solid friend of Malta ever since, and the Maltese people deeply appreciate this.
112.	Many countries have today recognized and expressed support for our status of neutrality, both at the bilateral level and in the multilateral forums of the Movement of Non-Aligned Countries, the Commonwealth and the Conference on Security and Co-operation in Europe.
113.	The options which our workers' movement has exercised for peace and co-operation have so far ensured the greater freedom of the Maltese people and their growing respect within the community of nations. However, in a world experiencing an increasing threat to the institutions of peace, we have to remain extremely vigilant. The options we take in the future have to be conditioned by the realities with which we are faced.
114.	At the political level Malta exercised its options for peace by adopting a status of neutrality based on the principles of non-alignment, by maintaining equal distance from the super-Powers and by promoting cooperation and security in the Mediterranean. Over the past years these policies found their principal expression in the Non-Aligned Movement, in the Security Council and in the Conference on Security and Co-operation in Europe.
115.	At New Delhi, in March of this year, Malta joined the non-aligned countries in reaffirming the commitment to the pursuit of peaceful intercourse among nations, the rejection of arms build-up as a basis for security, the desire to avoid the entanglements of bloc alliances, the demand that all peoples be permitted to seek their prosperity in free and sovereign nationhood, and the call for vastly increased global economic co-operation to relieve the misery, hunger and suffering which still cast a dark shadow in the closing twentieth century.
116.	Malta steadfastly joins in the pursuit of these objectives because it sees in their implementation the most effective safeguard of the political and economic freedom which it has progressively achieved over the few years since eliminating all unwanted foreign military, political and economic influence from its territory.
117.	At New Delhi the non-aligned countries formally expressed their recognition and support of the status of neutrality adopted by Malta in pursuance of its objective to entrench the process of its national development within a larger process of regional security and co-operation in the Mediterranean	an. In the same spirit the New Delhi meeting welcomed Malta's initiatives on Mediterranean security undertaken within the Conference on Security and Co-operation in Europe and agreed to call a meeting of all Mediterranean non- aligned countries to consider what further action should be taken to consolidate Mediterranean security and co-operation.
118.	We cannot forget that it is through the support of the Non-Aligned Movement that Malta finally was given its first opportunity to serve as a member of the Security Council. All cur actions in the Council have been inspired by the firm appreciation of its unique role in the pursuit of international peace and security. We have in this way further manifested the active concept of our neutral status. Malta's is not a passive neutrality intent on shying away from a commitment to international obligations.
Neither is it a neutrality inhibited by any purist notions which impose a deliberate avoidance of the super-Powers. On the contrary, by evolving a policy of equal distance we have established a mature relationship with both super-Powers which permits us to fulfil the role we have assumed in the quest for peace and co-operation in our region, as well as in bringing about a co-operative and positive attitude towards the resolution of international problems.
119.	Over the past nine months there have arisen in the Security Council frequent occasions calling for our endeavours to promote international peace and security.
120.	The situation in Central America, in particular the threat to the sovereignty and freedom of the Nicaraguan people, has figured prominently in Council discussions. Malta's position on this issue has been inspired by two basic objectives: safeguarding the hard-won rights of the Nicaraguan people, and accepting the role of States in shaping the destiny of their own region. We consulted intensively with the Nicaraguan representatives, as well as with, on the one hand, the members of the Contadora Group—Venezuela, Mexico, Panama and Colombia— and, on the other hand, the permanent members of the Security Council, particularly the United States, to identify the most appropriate Council action on this problem. This resulted in the delicately balanced resolution 530 (1983), unanimously adopted, which reaffirmed the right of Nicaragua to live in peace and security, free from outside interference, and gave support to the continuing work of the Contadora Group.
121.	Our own region of the Mediterranean has had more than its fair share of problems over the course of this year. The Council has had to deal with a dangerous confrontation between Libya and the United States, with mutual complaints from Chad and Libya against each other, with the international implications of a civil war in Chad and with the even more awesome international implications of the problems of Lebanon. On each occasion Malta sought to steer discussion in the Council to the essential aspects of the issues at stake, the need to avoid interference in the internal affairs of States, respect for human lives, the avoidance of super-Power involvement in regional issues, and the primacy of regional States in defining solutions for problems of their own region.
122.	The solutions Malta has sought for these problems are not based on any intention or desire to assign blame or condemnation but rather on the need to identify, through quiet and patient diplomacy, pragmatic steps towards the relaxation of tension. In this context we are satisfied that our role in the Council discussions on Chad has helped towards the adoption by consensus of a President's statement which continued adequately to cover subsequent developments by urging co-operation rather than exacerbating tension.
123.	Similarly, in the recent case of the Korean Air Lines incident, our first and dominant concern was to work to ensure not so much that a culprit be identified but that a collective undertaking be secured to guarantee that no similar incident will ever happen. We voted for the draft resolution eventually submitted in the Council after we were satisfied that there existed a sufficient commitment to work within ICAO to reinforce the international rules and regulations aimed at avoiding such incidents, particularly by ensuring that in cases of accidental violations of airspace the over flying aircraft would be given due warning, safe landing would be provided and all the countries concerned would be involved in any necessary discussions.
124.	Unfortunately, there are instances when direct accusation cannot be avoided simply because the violation
of the basic norms of international behaviour is so persistent and blatant. Such is indeed the case of Israel's policies concerning the inalienable right of the Palestinian people to a homeland of their own. Malta will continue unequivocally to condemn Israel as long as its present policies are maintained, and our support for the Palestinian struggle, under the leadership of the PLO, remains unchanged.
125.	Similarly, in the case of Namibia and South Africa, we cannot but continue to voice our horror and disgust at the aggressive and immoral manner in which a small and recalcitrant racist minority continues to defy the most basic norms of human behaviour. Within the very modest means at our disposal, we are giving assistance to the Namibian people in their continuing struggle. As Malta had helped in the educational and technical training of Zimbabwean students before their country's independence, we are now offering similar opportunities to Namibian students.
126.	At the same time, in the Council we also worked actively for a unanimously adopted resolution on Namibia, which involved very intensive and delicate negotiations. That resolution [332	mandated the Secretary-General to undertake consultations with all the parties involved, and we trust that the basis thus established will be pursued assiduously by all so that the Namibian people will finally achieve their long-awaited independence.
127.	The confidence that we have inspired through our approach in the Security Council has been such as to encourage members to entrust us with the complex and time-consuming task of identifying points of convergence in efforts to enhance the Council's effectiveness in fulfilling its role for peace. We shall pursue the efforts we have undertaken over the past months and which by September had already resulted in a note by the President outlining a lumber of points on which progress could be achieved.
128.	Malta sees the Security Council not only as the body which deals with issues once they reach crisis point, but also as having an important role in laying down the more durable foundations for the improvement of the international environment through effective action which, for example, facilitates the creation of zones of peace in regions like the Mediterranean, the Indian Ocean and elsewhere.
129.	Over the past three years, in the Madrid follow- up meeting of the Conference on Security and Co-operation in Europe, Malta has been engaged in another forum where it has sought to consolidate the basis of its own national freedom through the enhancement of the process of regional and global security and co-operation.
130.	In 1975, in the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe at Helsinki, meeting for the first time since the Second World War, all European States except Albania, together with the United States and Canada, agreed on a broad set of measures aimed at ensuring European security and co-operation. At Madrid, Malta's basic position was that the arrangements being worked out for security in Europe should be reflected in analogous arrangements regarding the Mediterranean region. The tremendous resistance to Malta's position at Madrid showed unmistakably the clear intention of some participants to reject the commitments they had undertaken at Helsinki regarding security in the Mediterranean. This Malta could never accept.
131.	By late July of this year Malta had made it clear that, after waiting through two and a half years of bickering and confrontation at Madrid over an extended range of East-West issues, we would not be forced into a hasty approval of a final document which failed to reflect the Mediterranean dimension of the Conference. Nor would we agree to a proposal that the meeting should simply register a lack of agreement on Malta's position. At that point it was only Romania which stood by Malta to ensure that the consensus procedures of the Conference would continue to be respected.
132.	Those who were seeking to orchestrate our apparent isolation at Madrid started to lose ground by the middle of August. Following an approach by Finland on behalf of the Nordic countries, the Prime Minister of Malta was in a position to indicate to President Reagan and President Andropov that a proposal had emerged which, while safeguarding Malta's legitimate Mediterranean concerns, also indicated our clear willingness to reach a solution acceptable to all. A number of participants, including Greece and Italy, expressed their readiness to accept that proposal, while at the same time clearly explaining to us the formidable pressure being put upon them to maintain an intransigent position.
133.	That Mediterranean countries supported Malta's stand was to be expected. What was surprising was the hesitation and delay that the Soviet Union showed in coming round, as it eventually did in mid-August, to supporting this proposal aimed at enhancing the process of Mediterranean security and co-operation. After all, the late President Brezhnev himself had clearly enunciated on a number of occasions those steps to which the Soviet Union was committed in seeking to transform the Mediterranean into a zone of peace, in particular the extension of confidence-building measures to the Mediterranean, a co-ordinated reduction of armed forces in the region, the withdrawal of nuclear ships from the Mediterranean and an undertaking by nuclear Powers not to use nuclear weapons against non-nuclear Mediterranean States.
134.	At Madrid, Malta was also fortified by the large measure of support which it was receiving from countries outside the Conference. China firmly gave us this support, and the League of Arab States, in a public declaration made during the last week of August, expressed its strong interest in the Conference proceedings and its whole-hearted support for Malta's proposals regarding Mediterranean security. We are deeply conscious of the positive impact which this support had on developments at Madrid.
135.	Indeed, by the beginning of September our persistence had prevailed and, with the assistance of the neutral and non-aligned participants in the Conference, a commitment was obtained from all participants that there would be continuing support by the Conference for further initiatives to strengthen security and co-operation in the Mediterranean region. A last-minute attempt by the United States to make this support conditional upon restricting all such initiatives to Conference procedures was swept away at the eleventh hour.
136.	The significance of the resulting agreements is that they create the essential conditions to ensure that issues of Mediterranean security and co-operation will be taken up in at least three follow-up activities.
137.	There is, first of all, the Conference on Security- and Confidence-building Measures and Disarmament in Europe, which is to start work at Stockholm in January 1984 and preparations for which will commence in Helsinki later this month. That Conference will bring together all European States and the super-Powers themselves to discuss confidence-building measures and disarmament not only in northern and central Europe but also in the Mediterranean.

138.	In the second place, there will be a seminar on Mediterranean co-operation at Venice next year, as a follow-up to the first meeting on Mediterranean cooperation in the economic, scientific and cultural fields, held in 1979 at Valetta.
139.	In the third place, the results of the various ad hoc meetings and the initiatives, on Mediterranean security which Malta and other States concerned will take during the next three years, in conformity with the final agreement in Madrid, will be taken up at the next Conference follow-up meeting, at Vienna in 1986.
140.	It is also significant that at the Madrid meeting the two super-Powers and their respective allies not only accepted Malta's declaration of neutrality as a contribution to security and co-operation in the Mediterranean but also urged other States to respect this neutrality.
141.	At this session of the General Assembly Malta intends to take further steps towards Mediterranean security, for which we expect the support of, among others, all States participating in the Conference on Security and Co-operation in Europe. The Assembly is already on record as calling for the transformation of the Mediterranean into a zone of peace. We expect that this year this call will find a clearer and more detailed formulation and will also be accompanied by agreement on practical steps to bring about this transformation.
142.	In this way we will be consolidating a process which will enable the Stockholm Conference to tackle issues of Mediterranean security in a meaningful manner. This process will also be enhanced by the planned meeting of Mediterranean non-aligned States, as called for in the New Delhi Declaration.
143.	Indeed, we have to look closely and carefully at the factors leading to the sharpening of tension in the Mediterranean if our options for peace in the region are to remain viable. The massive naval concentration in our sea, for example, is premised upon too absolute an application of the principles of the freedom of the high seas. Both the theory and practice of international law today already place growing constraints upon this principle so as to make it more consonant with the economic needs of the coastal States. In a closed sea like the Mediterranean, does there not strive a point beyond which the legitimate interests of coastal States make an absolute application of the principle of the freedom of the high seas no longer tolerable as a basis for justifying the massive naval and nuclear build-up by the superpowers which we are experiencing? Are not the commitments undertaken in the Helsinki Final Act themselves a pointer to a growing need for restraint of action where such restraint is necessary for the enhancement of regional security and co-operation?
144.	It is therefore evident that the actions we are taking at the political level in asserting our national freedom and sovereignty bring us ever closer to a sharp choice between the options based on co-operation and mutual respect and those which are premised on the unrestrained and selfish grasp for power. As long as the avenues for co-operation remain open, Malta remains determined to utilize them. Increasingly, however, we also have to consider the alternatives which may present themselves if all other action fails.
145.	Nowhere is this dilemma more acute than in the economic field. For its part, Malta has sought to ensure that its political assertion of its newly won freedom would itself galvanize and give new dimensions to our endeavour to ensure the economic viability of our people, which will in turn enable them to fulfil their political role for peace.
146.	We have found this possible in two related aspects. At the internal level the removal from our midst of an oppressive foreign presence, together with the consequent weakening of the local reactionary forces nourished by that presence, suddenly released a tremendous potential for action. The main pillars of our economic infrastructure finally came under Maltese control. Transport and communications, insurance and banking and the means of information and education could therefore be used for the direct benefit of Malta's economic development.
147.	Perhaps the most visible manifestation of this development lies in the major infrastructural transformation we have produced in our Grand Harbour over the last few years. The Grand Harbour of Valetta is justly renowned for natural endowments perhaps unique in the whole of the Mediterranean. Its long coastline, sheltered inlets, deep berthing and strategic location were, however, for centuries exploited only by foreign occupying Powers to bolster their naval supremacy in the region.
148.	This has now all been changed. Whereas less than two decades ago the harbour was exclusively devoted to servicing warships, today it has major civil ship-repairing and ship-building facilities and is the centre of a growing trans-shipment trade and the venue of increasing maritime tourist activity.
149.	Over a short period of phenomenal capital investment, we have constructed new and modem dry-docks and shipyards, opened up major container and berthing facilities, converted old port installations into large and modern ones and are in the process of completing grain- storage facilities equipped to handle over 80,000 tons of grain.
150.	These infrastructural developments, which have permitted us to become a major servicing centre for our region, have also necessitated the development of a whole new harbour in Marsaxlokk, on the south-east coast of the island. This is now in an advanced stage of construction and when completed will greatly enlarge Malta's trans-shipment and related potential for the Mediterranean region.
151.	I regret to have to reiterate a point I already made at the they-seventh session, namely, that some of the benefits of these projects are being jeopardized by the presence of remnants of war in our harbours and territorial waters. There is, furthermore, good evidence that Britain's continuing arrogant and unco-operative attitude on the question of the removal of bombs and wrecks from our harbour offers yet further evidence that the counsels of those opposed to Malta still prevail in British official circles. This explains why, in spite of Malta's friends in Britain, the potential for an improved relationship between the two countries continues to be frustrated by the lack of adequate responses by Britain on a Govemment-to-Govemment basis. How else can one interpret the leading role Britain has arrogated to itself to stifle Malta's special relationship with the European Economic Community [EEC] by obstructing recommendations already submitted by the EEC Commission, recommendations endorsed by the British member of the Commission himself? This opposition is all the more suspect in its motivation as it is based on irrelevant considerations such as the relating of assistance to gross national product per capita, which Britain has already thought to waive in respect of other Mediterranean countries.
152.	It is in selfish and short-sighted ways such as these that nations seek to close the options for co-operation and peace for which the majority of people on our globe fervently hope.

132. Yet in another equally important respect, the political freedom of action based on its status of neutrality helps Malta overcome these problems and enlarge its freedom of manoeuvre, even in the economic Held. Progressively we have widened the range of our trading and other economic relationships to include most countries, developed and developing alike, from our region and beyond.
153.	Those countries which are interested, for their own political reasons, in reinforcing the basis for Malta's neutrality seek to ensure that their expressions of political support be complemented by concrete measures of economic co-operation. Such measures would in turn ensure that no single country or group of countries could exert such a dominating influence through economic involvement as to render Malta's neutrality unstable. For its part, in developing ever closer economic relations with a country or group of countries, Malta is resolved not to permit one set of relations to preclude another se ; of equally close relations. It is these two principles which inspire Malta to seek a balance in its concurrent approaches with, on the one hand, the EEC and the emerging markets of the Gulf and the Maghreb and, on the other hand, the two super-Powers.
154.	With the EEC Malta has long-established economic links which it is seeking to improve. We have found a considerable understanding from our European partners of the need for corresponding economic and financial measures of support for our status of neutrality, in exchange for our guarantee that Malta would not be used as a base for aggression against any EEC member State.
155.	There is also a growing understanding that the need to ensure that the special relationship Malta is to establish with the Community, which will be different from full membership, and the concomitant obligation to apply politically inspired economic sanctions entangling us unnecessarily with an economic group against a third country or group of countries would not preclude us from pursuing equally close, though not exclusive, special relationships with other economic groups.
156.	In fact, we have already forged close ties with our neighbours in North Africa, especially Libya and Algeria, which are participating actively with us, through joint ventures and in other forms, in various industrial projects, including the construction of an iron foundry, the development of manufacturing enterprises and the building of tourist complexes. Our friends from the Gulf, particularly the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, assist us through grants and loans on conditions which are genuinely adapted to our small and fragile economic and financial potential. This assistance enables a more rapid development of the new port at Marsaxlokk, the grain silo and the Marsa shipbuilding yard, among other projects. We are in this way putting into pace the foundation for a special relationship with the Maghreb, as well as with Gulf countries, which, we are assured, will permit us at the appropriate time to gain preferential access to their markets once these are more closely consolidated.
157.	Our policy of equal distance from the superpowers has an economic dimension as much as a political dimension. The super-Powers today are convinced that our actions in the Security Council, the Conference on Security and Co-operation in Europe and the Non- Aligned Movement, among other bodies, constitute an unequivocal manifestation of our staunch adherence to the policy of equal distance in the political sphere. Malta is resolved to maintain this policy, while fully conscious of the limitations which deny infallibility to even the best among us.
158.	Similarly, in the economic sphere, Malta is not seeking to offer one super-Power any advantage over the other but is simply seeking to develop its economic relations with both of them to the greatest possible extent.
159.	From the United States of America we have had repeated expressions of political good will. These have yet to be translated into concrete projects of economic co-operation.
160.	From the Soviet Union we have had a more formal commitment, entered into on signing the neutrality agreement, that it will develop commercial and economic relations with us in such a way as to reflect its support of our neutrality. Yet, the results of this commitment have so far been disappointing. This tends to confirm the sense that, overall, this agreement is virtually not working, thereby raising doubts as to how much good faith there was behind it in the first place.
161.	In contrast, our relations with the People's Republic of China are producing many tangible results of mutual benefit to our two countries. Without even the necessity of formal assurances of friendship, in April this year, Madame Chen Muhua, Minister for Foreign Economic Relations and Trade of China, visited Malta and reached agreements with us on co-operation in the industrial, commercial, tourism, health and ship-building sectors.
162.	Forging mutually beneficial relationships with other countries is, in our view, a long-term strategy aimed at consolidating our economic freedom on the basis of co-operation and mutual respect. During a time of almost endemic international economic recession such as we are experiencing, more immediate action is also required. Even in this specific context we have found that the long- term relationships we are building with other countries permit the introduction of various measures which also have remedial aspects, among which reciprocal trading agreements have proved to be most beneficial.
163.	These arrangements not only help to maintain our flow of trade at a time of shrinking international commercial activity, but also have the longer-term effect of enlarging our potential export markets, as well as creating a useful mechanism to help balance our trade with partners with which we traditionally have large deficits. Over the last two years Malta has entered into reciprocal trading arrangements with Iraq, Turkey, Libya, Poland, Romania, Albania and Italy, and even more recently with multinational corporations which, in return for the major purchases we make from them, undertake to purchase products manufactured in Malta.
164.	We are satisfied that in this way we can give expression to our national aspirations to freedom and progress by making choices based upon co-operation with other peoples. It is unfortunate that such an approach is not always possible. In contrast to the great good will which we have found elsewhere, the uncooperative attitudes and policies we are experiencing in our relations with Japan have been nothing less than disgusting. It is for this reason that, after our trade with that country had accumulated a deficit of over $100 million within a few years, and in the light of its obstinate refusal to take any remedial action, we stopped all our imports from Japan.
165.	The Japanese response continues to be extremely negative. Their proposals for compensation to date have been so minimal that they do not even constitute a basis for useful discussions, much less offer a justification for lifting our ban on their exports. The selfish manner in which/the Japanese pursue their trading policies places serious obstacles in the path of international economic co-operation. It should come as no surprise, therefore,
that Malta has taken the action which it has considered necessary and that, within a short time, other countries too will have to do likewise.
166.	As a developing country, Malta is highly sensitive to the need for the establishment of a new international economic order. Though our individual problems differ tremendously in nature and degree, all of us in the developing world share a common disadvantage: our economies, for one reason or another, are especially exposed to pressures and influences from outside. For Malta, this exposure is the result of the very small size of our island economy and our lack of exploitable natural resources. In this context, the criteria, based on gross national product per capita and the quantum of foreign exchange reserves, applied by international institutions for their development assistance are completely inapplicable to Malta. In an economy of our size, the more relevant factors are such aspects as the disproportionate onus on the total economy of even the most minimal of infrastructural projects and the absolute need for liquid reserves in the absence of any significant indigenous productive or natural resources capacity.
167.	In our view, the irrelevance of development assistance criteria constitutes one aspect of the insensitivity of the international economic system to real needs of development, which affect us more particularly because of our status as a developing island country. Other aspects of the inequitable international system, especially those relating to trade, transfer of technology, and money and finance, affect us in equal measure, as they do most other developing countries.
168.	It is yet another expression of our desire to seek the options based on co-operation and understanding that we join other developing countries in calling upon the industrialized countries to respond to our call for major structural reforms in the international economic system, in particular by agreeing to launching global negotiations and convening an international conference on money and finance. The fragile edifice of our present international system is indeed most shaky in its economic foundations. If Orwell's nightmare were to take shape, its roots would probably lie in the debris of a bankrupt and stagnant world economy.
169.	In Malta, it is thanks to the painstaking efforts of the workers' movement that our people today appreciate the different options in the road to their development. It has been the workers' movement which has defined and worked for peace and co-operation at the military, political and economic levels: our elimination of all military entanglements, our adoption of a status of neutrality based on the principles of non-alignment, and our expanding relations with so many different countries.
170.	The methods of aggression can only frustrate these peaceful choices. While our deep commitment remains to pursue these choices, our ability to do so depends to a large measure upon the international political and economic environment which prevails and for which the individual actions of all of us are ultimately responsible
171.	The workers' movement lit the torch of freedom and peace in Malta, where it now burns brightly. The socialist Government of Malta seeks to project this beacon for peace throughout the Mediterranean.


121.	I wish first to congratulate the President on his election to that office. My delegation is confident that he will conduct this session with complete success. For our part, we are fully prepared to co-operate with him to bring the work of this session to a successful conclusion, strengthen the role of the United Nations in solving international problems, and lay firm foundations for peace in the world.
122.	It gives me pleasure to welcome the accession of Saint Christopher and Nevis to membership in the United Nations. I wish it progress and am sure it will make an effective contribution to the work of the Organization.
123.	It is not often that the delegation of my country has begun its statement to the Assembly by addressing itself to issues that are of particular concern to Iraq. Iraq has always shown and continues to show serious and sincere interest in the major issues of its own area and in international issues of a wider scope. Our delegation has also focused on those issues which have had the effect of promoting the attainment of mankind's goals of liberation, progress and peace. But the aggression that has continued against my country for more than three years now cannot but assume the highest degree of importance among the issues with which our delegation is concerned and which it wishes to submit for discussion in this session.
124.	For the fourth time since 1980 we meet here in this Hall while war continues to rage, with the regime in power in Teheran insisting on maintaining and widening the conflict and persistently pursuing its aggressive and expansionist designs and ambitions.
125.	It is not for the first time that the Assembly is hearing about the controversies relating to this conflict, whether within the framework of the United Nations, the Movement of Non-Aligned Countries or the Organization of the Islamic Conference, or on the bilateral level.
126.	There has been some confusion with regard to the circumstances which led to the outbreak of the war. On several occasions in the past, representatives have heard various arguments and statements from both our delegation and the delegation of the other side. Iraq, however, firmly believing in the justice of its cause and having full confidence in the validity of its position, has now settled the argument. Iraq has invited the international community to arbitrate in this issue. We have submitted a proposal to this effect to the Islamic Good Offices Committee and to the Non-Aligned Movement, and our proposal was reiterated at the Seventh Conference of Heads of State or Government of Non-Aligned Countries, which met at New Delhi. We are reaffirming it now in the forum of the United Nations.
127.	The Iraqi proposal calls for the formation of a neutral arbitration committee to determine which side started the aggression and the war and which side bears the responsibility for continuing the war all this time, with all the human and material losses that it has entailed. Iraq is prepared to accept the results of such arbitration.
128.	If the other side dares see the truth uncovered in an objective manner, we urge it to accept this just, balanced and practical proposal. We hope the General Assembly will also support our proposal and entrust its implementation to the Secretary-General, who has been asked by the Security Council to undertake peace efforts.
129.	While this constitutes the logical and sound solution to this problem, I do not think that anyone in the Hall is unaware of the well-known fact that it is the regime in power in Teheran which refuses to end the war and insists on its continuation. Iraq has agreed to all initiatives calling for an end to the war since 28 September 1980, when it unhesitatingly accepted Security Council resolution 479 (1980). Iraq has also accepted all the initiatives of the Islamic Good Offices Committee and responded positively to the initiatives of the Non-Aligned Movement. It has undertaken many initiatives of its own, calling for a cease-fire on religious occasions in order to provide the proper climate for ending the war. It has proposed the conclusion of a special agreement with Iran forbidding attacks against villages and cities and all civilian installations with a view to protecting human lives and material property.
130.	In all these initiatives and deliberations Iraq did not set any pre-conditions. It has always expressed its readiness for a cease-fire and declared its wish to establish permanent peace with its neighbour based on the principles of the Charter, mutual respect and non-interference in internal affairs.
131.	You are all well aware of the attitudes of the Iranian government. This regime has earned for itself the discreditable distinction of being the only one in the world to reject Security Council cease-fire resolutions. It has also earned for itself the bad reputation of officially and ceaselessly expressing the wish to continue the war, to occupy Iraqi territory and to change the system of government in Iraq as well as in other countries of the area. Here I would like to draw the attention of representatives to the glaring discrepancy between the statements and declarations of the representatives of the Iranian regime in international forums and those emanating from the true authorities inside Iran. Words spoken in this Hall can have no serious meaning and cannot be regarded as honest if they are not in line with the official and existing positions taken by Governments. We can present hundreds of proofs attesting to the ambitious designs of the Teheran regime on our country. There are official Iranian declarations indenting that Iranian forces have occupied parts of Iraqi territory and expressing the determination of the Teheran rulers to occupy more territory, including villages and towns. These declarations also point to the insistence of those rulers on interfering in our internal affairs, and some of these declarations have been circulated as official records of the Security Council and the General Assembly. Such are the official and existing attitudes that ought to count, rather than the embellished words, full of hypocrisy, offered from the forums of international conferences and meetings for the purpose of deceiving and misleading international public opinion and avoiding pressure.
132.	The history of the ruling clique in Iran abounds with attempts at blackmail. During the last few weeks, they came up with a fresh attempt of this kind when they launched their threats to close the Strait of Hormuz and prevent the Arab Gulf countries from exporting their oil. In fact, by its continued armed aggression against my country, the Iranian regime has deprived Iraq of the possibility of exporting its oil and engaging in free trade in the Gulf area. This constitutes an explicit threat to the vital interests of Iraq. Iraq, however, will not stand with arms folded before such a situation, nor can it be expected to submit to Iranian blackmail. I am sure that the States of the region, which cherish their dignity and independence, will not, for their part, submit to this sort of cheap blackmail. They have adequate means to deal with it. But it seems strange indeed that certain international quarters should see nothing wrong in this cheap blackmail and try to adopt attitudes that, if implemented, would only encourage the aggressor to persist in aggression and blackmail. We wish to make our position unequivocally clear: we are not prepared to tolerate blackmail by the regime in power in Teheran on the one side, and blackmail by the regime in power in Tel Aviv on the other. Our peoples have the will, the dignity and the strength that will enable them to withstand such blackmail and to make the aggressors see that their acts of aggression will inevitably cost them dear.
133.	Iraq has always been concerned to see that peace and stability prevail in its area and that foreign influence be kept away from that area. This position of ours is quite clear and free from ambiguity. However, it should be equally clear that security, stability and prosperity should extend to all and be the responsibility of all. To shift the entire responsibility to one party with no regard to its security, its stability and its interests would be a most abnormal state of affairs. If anyone were to take such a position, Iraq would certainly not accept it. Iraq is prepared to undertake a joint, responsible search for ways to guarantee the security, stability and prosperity of the States of the area and the world at large, but only on condition that it will itself be assured of its rightful share of security, stability and prosperity rather than being asked to pay the whole price alone.
134.	Within the framework of the search for guarantees of security and stability in the Arab Gulf area—a sensitive region involving the interests of many countries of the world—Iraq, speaking through its President, Mr. Saddam Hussein, on 7 June 1983 called for the conclusion of a bilateral agreement between Iran and Iraq under the auspices of the United Nations with a view to ending all military operations in the Gulf area as a whole. This responsible proposal would bring many benefit  to the conflicting parties, banish a large part of the anxieties and tensions prevailing in the countries of the region and ensure the flow of oil and free trade in the Arab Gulf area. It would also help tackle the problems of pollution in the Gulf. If efforts or pressures should prove necessary to achieve these goals, they should be directed towards the regime in power in Teheran to ensure its acceptance of this practical, responsible and balanced proposal. I earnestly hope that the proposal will meet with acceptance and that the Secretary-General will take the necessary steps to have it implemented in the way he deems appropriate for supporting his necessary initiatives. My Government is perfectly willing to co-operate with him in all sincerity and with all seriousness, but we emphasize in this regard that these questions should not be dealt with in a manner that would diminish the effort required to end the war. The international community, and the United Nations in particular, has the direct responsibility to end this war. A special responsibility devolves upon the permanent members of the Security Council, which, in view of their special position in the Council and the realities of international relations, assume additional obligations with regard to the maintenance of international peace and security.
135.	It is the duty of all these parties to persuade, if not force, Iran to end the war, which has lasted for such a long time and is now threatening the entire region with grave dangers.
136.	We say this although we know well the details of the efforts and attempts which have been made to end the war. But we must state frankly here that those efforts have been far from adequate. Some of them have lacked the requisite measure of seriousness, continuity and perseverance; they could be described as efforts undertaken in a spirit of feigning action just to avoid blame rather than in the spirit of commitment, to say nothing of sacrifice, which is needed in order to put an end to this destructive and dangerous conflict. I would point out here the fact that all these initiatives have long been suspended. We also wish to point out, in all frankness, that there are plans aimed at prolonging the war to achieve certain selfish benefits or implement questionable scenarios in our region. We know all these things and we know who is behind them. We advise those who concoct them to abandon their games and stop playing with fire. We also tell them, in all frankness, that we cannot remain indifferent to their activities and that we shall not fall prey to treachery and deception. Our will is our own, and we have sufficient means to defend our security and our sovereignty. Our people have a will of steel; they have the capability and they have inexhaustible resources with which to defend their lives, their dignity, and their sovereignty and make the aggressor understand by tangible means that the cost of continuing his aggression will be very high indeed.
137.	Besides the aggression against my country by the Iranian regime, there is the continued Zionist aggression from which the Arab nation and the Palestinian people have suffered for decades. The regime in power in Tel Aviv is based on racism, expansionism and aggression. It is a regime which scorns international law and all human considerations. It refuses most impudently to implement General Assembly and Security Council resolutions. It imposes on the region policies of terrorism, expansionism and destruction.
138.	This fascist regime has a strange theory of security, a theory which is contrary to all the norms observed by the international community and to all the laws and customs of mankind. It allows itself to occupy the territories of others and to launch raids on neighbouring countries on the pretext that it is protecting its security, whereas all the world knows that it is that regime alone which has threatened and continues to threaten security and stability in the region.
139.	My country was subjected to a flagrant aggression by that fascist regime when, on 7 June 1981, taking advantage of the circumstances created by the war of aggression waged by its fellow in thinking and in action, the Teheran regime, it attacked our installations for the peaceful uses of nuclear energy.
140.	If a number of States in this or any other region were to adopt the Israeli theory of security and the theories of the rulers in Teheran, who give themselves the right to expand and to change regimes, one could imagine how much anarchy, insecurity and instability would prevail in the whole world.
141.	Such theories and practices must be resisted with all our might and by all the means at hand. We call upon all the countries of the world to resist these irresponsible actions. In particular, we call upon the United States of America to desist from supplying the Zionist aggressors with military and financial support and stop providing them with a political cover. All the world knows that without the support by all possible means given to this regime by the United States, it would not have been able to persist in its aggression. It is not our wish that the United States should be an accomplice in the Zionist aggression against the Arab nation, but its continued support for the aggressors and the political cover it provides them with makes it, in fact, an accomplice—and an active one at that.
142.	The fact that the United States boycotted the International Conference on the Question of Palestine held recently at Geneva confirms United States complicity with the Zionists in their denial of the rights of the Palestinian people. Be that as it may, the Geneva Declaration on Palestine'" has made it quite clear that the international community affirms these rights, and the Programme of Action which the Conference adopted'" lays the sound foundations for dealing with the issue. We call upon ail Members of the Organization to do their utmost to support the Geneva Declaration and to implement the recommendations of the Conference in order to establish peace and stability in the area.
143.	We also urge States, and particularly those Western States which co-operate with the Tel Aviv regime on both the bilateral and the multilateral levels, to re-examine the ethical validity of such co-operation, especially in the military and economic fields, as well as the legal basis on which it rests. While declaring that they do not give political or legal recognition to annexation by the Zionist entity of occupied Arab territory, these States deal with it in the economic, commercial and financial fields as if it were a normal entity which does not annex the territories of others by force or illegally exploit their natural resources. This kind of normal dealings with Tel Aviv will only encourage the aggressor to persist in the policy of seizing lands and annexing territories by force and constitutes an acceptance of the	situation imposed by that policy.
144.	Such attitudes cannot be explained in terms of even-handedness or neutrality. When there is an aggressor who persists in aggression and who refuses to listen to the voice of the international community with regard to the restoration of justice and peace, then it is not being neutral, objective or even-handed to provide that aggressor with assistance or to deal with him by such means as allow him in fact to continue his aggression and his irresponsible behaviour.
145.	We must recall here the resolutions adopted by both the General Assembly and the Security Council on the annexation by the Zionist entity of Arab Jerusalem and its declaration of that city as its capital. Any State which decides to transfer its embassy to the Holy City of Jerusalem not only encourages the Zionist entity to continue its policy of aggression, but also participates in that aggression, flagrantly challenging the rights of the Palestinian people as well as this Organization and its Charter and contributing to the weakening and diminution of the status of the United Nations.
146.	Iraq supports with all its power the just struggle being waged by the Palestinian Arab people to regain its inalienable rights in its own land and its own home, Palestine. We also reaffirm our support and backing for the PLO as the sole legitimate representative of the Palestinian Arab people. The attitude of certain States, including the United States, which deny recognition to that organization and refuse to deal with it as the sole legitimate representative of the Palestinian Arab people, reflects their total partiality to the Zionist aggressors and bears no relation to the true situation in our area and in the world as a whole. Such an attitude has no legal justification. Those who are really concerned with peace and justice in our region and in the world at large should abandon that anomalous attitude, recognize the facts and deal with legitimacy.
147.	There have been attempts at the political and physical liquidation of the PLO. More than a year ago, the Zionist invasion of Lebanon was undertaken with a view to liquidating the PLO and murdering the Palestinian Arab people. Sordid massacres were committed against that people, supervised and carried out by the leaders of the Tel Aviv regime and their armed forces,
148.	In the West Bank there has been an acceleration of organized acts of terrorism against the Palestinian people and of attempts to have Palestinians deported from the land of their forefathers. The plans of the rulers of Tel Aviv to establish settlements in usurped Arab lands continue to be implemented. This colonial project should stop immediately. We are truly amazed at the attitude of the United States, which offers excuses for this colonial project, which is contrary to all international law, to human rights and to United Nations resolutions.
149.	The time has come for the international community to go beyond condemnation of this policy and its results and to proceed to make use of the measures set forth in the Charter to thwart this colonial project and to take a stand against the policies of terror and repression carried out by the rulers of Tel Aviv against the Palestinian Arab people.
150.	Needless to say, Iraq's firm position is to support the PLO and its legitimate leadership. Iraq rejects and condemns all attempts to weaken or fragment the PLO or to rob it of its political will. Whatever their pretext, such policies can only serve the purposes of the Zionist plan to liquidate the PLO and to deprive the Palestinian Arab people of its ability to express itself both by active struggle and by political means.
151.	The rulers of Tel Aviv continue today to implement their blueprint for the establishment of a Greater Israel. They are bearing down heavily on Lebanon, that small and weak Arab country, in an attempt to appropriate for themselves part of its territory. The redeployment of the Israeli forces in Lebanon is an overt attempt to maintain the Zionist occupation of substantial parts of Lebanese territory with a view to annexing them eventually to their fascist expansionist regime.
152.	Since the Zionist invasion of Lebanon, the United Nations has adopted many resolutions calling for the total and unconditional withdrawal of Israeli forces from all Lebanese territory. The rulers of Tel Aviv, however, with their well-known contempt for the Organization and for international public opinion, have refused to comply with those resolutions, and they continue m occupy substantial parts of Lebanese territory.
153.	We emphasize here the need to adhere to principles and to apply the international decisions relating to the preservation of the unity and sovereignty of Lebanon and preventing any party from partitioning that country through the imposition of a situation, of a capitulation or of an exchange of benefits in order to expand at the expense of this small and peaceful country.
154.	Iraq hereby reaffirms its total solidarity with the Lebanese people in its efforts to preserve its sovereignty, independence and territorial unity and to impose its own independent will in the decisions it takes. Iraq will do all it can, especially within the Arab framework, to assist Lebanon and its people to achieve those aims.
155.	When we call for and work towards the establishment of a just peace in our area and for our Arab people, we in Iraq are not unaware of the climate of tension that prevails in many parts of the world and of the wars raging in more than one area. The majority of such crises are caused by policies of force and hegemony, by attempts to acquire spheres of influence, by interference in the internal affairs of States and by non respect for the will of their peoples to live in freedom and peace. Worthy of attention also is the grave acceleration of the arms race, especially in the nuclear field, and the acquisition of a nuclear capability by racist entities such as South Africa and the Zionist entity. Such a capability will enable them to engage in nuclear blackmail so that they may persist in their racist and aggressive policies in Palestine, South Africa and Namibia, which continues to suffer under the illegal occupation of Pretoria. We support the struggle of liberation movements in southern Africa, which aim to secure freedom, dignity and equality for the peoples there.
156.	It is necessary to call attention also to the tense situation in Central America and the Caribbean region. Based on our firm principles, we reject all forms of interference in the internal affairs of peoples and urge that solutions to the problems of this area be sought through negotiations, without the use or threat of use of force.
157.	Finally, it is necessary to point to the deterioration in the international economic situation, especially that of the developing countries, which suffer from grave problems which are discussed in detail by the General Assembly every year. It is regrettable that no progress has been made so far towards solving these problems or towards easing the difficulties of the developing countries
158.	The present crisis in international economic relations, with the widening gap between the developing and the developed countries, constitutes one of the gravest of problems and is a source of instability threatening world peace and security. For the first time since the
Second World War the per capita gross domestic product has declined in many developing countries, and the pieces of basic commodities have fallen in real terms to their lowest level in 50 years. The access of the exports of developing countries to the markets of the developed countries is being greatly reduced. Consequently, the revenue of developing countries from those exports has decreased, while the interest on loans to them has soared, a matter which has led to considerable deficits in their balances of payments and to substantial increases in their debt obligations.
159.	The developing countries, which have born the greater part of the burden resulting from the financial crisis in international economic relations, have tried sincerely to enter into dialogue with the industrial countries. They have submitted practical and realistic proposals to find a way out of the present crisis. The best example of those initiatives is the Economic Declaration of the Seventh Conference of Heads of State or Government of Non-Aligned Countries, which contained new ideas and constructive proposals, both short-term and long-term, to deal with the international economic situation. The final document of the Fifth Ministerial Meeting of the Group of 77, held at Buenos Aires from 28 March to 9 April also contained realistic proposals and draft resolutions which were subsequently submitted to the sixth session of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development at Belgrade in June. But all those initiatives, as well as the desire to institute a permanent constructive dialogue, were met with rejection and inflexibility on the part of some industrial countries, and the opportunity offered by the sixth session to introduce new approaches that might serve the international community as a whole was missed as a result.
160.	The present session of the General Assembly follows a number of extremely important conferences held this year which issued documents that merit serious study. This session offers another excellent opportunity for deliberations and consultations on the follow-up steps that should be taken with regard to the important proposals put forward by the developing countries. It is our hope that the industrial States will respond in a constructive spirit so that solutions may be found that will benefit all the peoples of the world.
161.	As a developing country, Iraq has worked in all international forums in support of proposals to introduce structural changes in the world economy to make it more equitable. It is also the view of Iraq that international economic co-operation is a matter of the utmost importance, and no group of States, no matter how great their economic power, can alone avert the effects of the present crisis.
162.	Economic co-operation among the developing countries has become an important factor in international economic relations. Iraq has made such co-operation one of the main goals of its foreign policy. This approach has been translated into practical action, as represented by the loans and concessionary assistance which Iraq has offered to other developing countries; but the circumstances created by the Iranian aggression against our country that has continued for more than three years have led Iraq to discontinue its assistance for the time being.
163.	It is our hope that during this session tangible progress will be made towards finding solutions to all the political and economic problems I have spoken about, which are of interest to all mankind.