Mr. President, on behalf of the delegation of Panama I should like to convey to you our heartfelt congratulations on your well-deserved election, which has put in very capable hands the responsibility of directing the debates of the General Assembly. In offering to you, Sit, the President of the forty-fourth session of the General Assembly the support and co-operation of the Panamanian delegation, we acknowledge that the success of its work will depend in great measure on your vast experience and known dedication, particularly in matters concerning the solution to problems of great significance to the Members of the Organization, such as safeguarding peace and the sharing of efforts leading to the eradication of that affront to humanity apartheid. Your inaugural address revealed a clear perception of the problems of the third world, which gives us renewed hope for the fulfilment of our tasks in the Assembly.
I am also pleased to congratulate the Secretary-General and his staff for the excellent report he has made available to us on the work of the Organization. Its contents are clear proof of the arduous and intelligent work that has been done to solve some of the most difficult problems confronting our world today. As Provisional President of the Republic of Panama, 1 shall now refer to a matter of importance, especially to small nations, and reiterate denunciations and concepts that have been expressed by other Panamanian rulers before this forum for the greater part of this decade.
Indeed, once more we denounce the continued violation by the Government of the United States of the terms of the Panama Canal Treaties. It is disrespectfully ignoring the norms of international law which relate to civilized coexistence among sovereign States. Not even the Host Coin try Agreement between the United Nations and the United States Government has been able to curtail the cruelty with which we are being persecuted. Panamanian diplomats and officials with me here are not all of those who were to accompany me. Entry visas to the United States were refused to the others. Prior to this, a visa was also denied to a Panamanian Ambassador on special mission for the meeting of the Security Council on 11 August this year, in violation of the obligations of the United States Government to the Organization.
Denunciations presented by Panama - even before the current crisis in Panamanian-United States relations - in this and other world forums, still prevail concerning the so-called Law 96-70 passed by the United States Congress, as well as the other impositions and practices which this aid previous Governments have used insistently to avoid compliance with such Treaties, undermining my country's sovereignty, security and economy, in detriment of the interests aid security of the international community, which benefits from the services of the Canal.
During the past 27 months my country has been subjected to the most intense disinformation campaign concerning its reality in order to discredit its Government authorities aid to undermine our national struggles. This is part of a brutal programme of political, diplomatic and financial pressures, interference in our internal affairs, intimidation and military threats. The aim is to subjugate us by denigrating, isolating aid impoverishing our people, in order to subvert the institutional order of the Republic and place us at the will of United States regional strategy.
These facts demonstrate that there are still centres of power in the world which make it difficult and costly for a small nation to cling to its identity and procure its own social and political answers according to its human idiosyncrasies and in search of its own destiny.
Nevertheless, notwithstanding these obstacles, in the last years of the decade of the 1960s, a transformation movement was instituted in Panama, a movement which did not fit traditional schemes.
In 1968, under the leadership of General Omar Torrijos, Panama began a new governmental effort whose principal characteristics were a marked emphasis on popular reforms freeing the people from ignorance, from backwardness and from despair; in other words, a process of democratising the opportunities of progress and welfare for all sectors of our society.
However, our effort was viewed not only as dangerous, but as ever more dangerous, because one could not wave the banner of anti-communism against it.
The social results of the last two decades are self-evident. In 1968, life expectancy at birth for a Panamanian was 64.3 years; in 1987, when the stage of open aggression was reached, life expectancy was 72 years. Infant mortality, which had been 51.6 per thousand live births, had been reduced to 22.9. We increased the medical facilities from 189 to 608. The percentage of population covered by our social security programme, which includes free medical and dental care and had been 18.5 per cent, reached 62.5 per cent. The percentage of population to which drinking water was available climbed from 65 per cent to 86.2 per cent. Enrolment of university students in 1968 was 11,992; in 1987 it had reached 56,567, while the rate of illiteracy went from 20.7 per cent in 1970 to 13.2 per cent, according to the 1980 census. And in this decade, literacy programmes have multiplied and telephone service and electric power have been extended to practically the entire country.
To this we should add that in June 1987 projections for real economic growth were estimated at 6 per cent, one of the highest in Latin America for that year. As a result of aggression, the national economy experienced extraordinary losses: an estimated 20 per cent reduction in the gross national product and of 40 per cant reduction in tax revenues, and a doubling of the unemployment rate. Thousands of small businesses went bankrupt, more than 70,000 workers lost their jobs, and there was a shortage of basic food products, medicines and hospital equipment. Aggression was meant to impose suffering upon our people in order to modify their political conduct.
To these actions we must add the extreme interference in the internal affairs of our country. Among other things, the Government in Washington seized funds belonging to the Panamanian nation in the United States, ordered its companies and the Panama Canal Commission to with old payment of taxes to Panama, aid suspended making payments to which it is committed pursuant not only to the Treaties subscribed to by both countries but also to the laws of the United States. To this we add the orders given to United States capital firms in our country illegally to sequester bank monies aid to impede payments to those on a blacklist of functionaries and others accused of continuing to defend Panama's interests. Persecution at the international level, not excluding multilateral agencies of which we are a member, is intended to put an end to national efforts to achieve economic recovery and meet the basic needs of the Panamanian people.
As a result, Panama today has become living evidence that the Government of the United States means to impose upon Latin America and the Caribbean a new model of colonization by establishing dependent and weak governments, coerced by economic crisis and financial terrorism. Such governments would in many cases be established through manipulating the people with disinformation campaigns, economic blackmail and political interference so that, in the final analysis, they would become States whose sovereign powers could only be exercised depending on the need to preserve United States interests.
What my country is enduring is only an early manifestation of a strategy for continental domination whose purpose is to deform our historical ideals of independence and annihilate our aspirations to true democratisation.
United States aggression has net with an intense patriotic mobilization of our people, unequivocally reaffirming our nationalism. Faced with the failure of its purposes, the Government of the United States has reverted to other, equally ignoble, means. In another flagrant violation of the Panama Canal Treaties, it has sent fresh personnel contingents and additional military equipment to its military installations located in our country, and it has multiplied its shows of military force which, in addition to being illegal and unjustified, are dangerously targeted to intimidate, threaten and provoke the Panamanians.
Arguing a posterior that these are military "exercises" to which they allegedly have a right, alluding to feeble pretexts, or simply without any justification at all, troop contingents, artillery and armoured vehicles, accompanied by combat helicopters, have frequently trespassed into areas under exclusive Panamanian jurisdiction. They have gone so far as to close national roads and highways and militarily to seize the most important water treatment facility that supplies drinking water to a third of the population of the country. In addition, they have mobilized, in privately registered vehicles, troops wearing civilian attire but carrying combat equipment, through densely populated neighbourhoods in our nation's capital.
Last August, these acts of intimidation were intensified both in frequency and gravity, while at the same time there was open discussion of an armed attack against Panama in the United States Congress sub-committees, and the Chief of the Southern Command - illegally installed on Panamanian soil - boasted publicly of his willingness to decimate the country by blood and fire, in a matter of hours.
Actually, as proof of all this the printed text which I am delivering to the Assembly today does not include the most recent examples of United States belligerent provocations in my country. Last weekend military personnel from the Southern Command arrogantly and threateningly prevented my compatriots from engaging in an act of elementary human solidarity, going to the aid of American soldiers trapped on board a helicopter that had just crashed into the sea after buzzing our coast, sowing panic among hundreds of bathers at a beach under Panamanian jurisdiction. As a result, none of the crew members survived and the Government today has had to control a new attempt at subversion frustrated by the firm resistance of our people and armed forces.
Previously, at the height of interventionist strategy in our electoral process - as the United States Administration has now admitted - they delivered to the Panamanian opposition over 310 million, and as if this were not enough, the United States went so far as to condemn the results of our elections in advance, and publicly to air the possibility of sending in its troops to kidnap the Commander-in-Chief of the Panama defence forces, an act of state terrorism repeatedly condemned by General Assembly resolutions.
The United States, as an active participant in the Panamanian elections, affected the integrity of the voting to such a degree that the Electoral Tribunal decided to nullify the elections by a resolution which has since been upheld as constitutional by the unanimous vote of the Supreme Court.
All those actions are serious violations of international law aid the United Nations Charter and, furthermore, they have been committed with ostentatious arrogance in the presence of dignitaries from the regional organization.
Panama hopes that the community of nations will weigh the potential consequences of a heightening of the United States military threat against my country, as this could affect peace and the continuance of international juridical order. If the people and the Government of Panama have not capitulated in these 27 months of siege on the part of the West's foremost Power, we shall not yield now, and this fact heightens the imminent danger to the region. The Panamanian people's patriotic mobilisation has led to the formation of volunteer civilian brigades with a firm willingness to resist at whatever cost in defence of our national sovereignty and self-determination.
In order that the nature of the conflict should be perfectly clear, I must denounce that, in cur case, the United States cannot invoke the pretexts that it has generally used to justify its military interventions. In 27 months, there has not been a single incident which could, in the least, affect the efficient functioning of the Panama Canal and, in the whole of the Panamanian territory, there has not been a single death of a United States citizen, civilian or military, attributable to the act or will of a Panamanian citizen. The absurdity of such allegation would be compounded by the fact that for 86 years the people of Panama have lived in close contact with United States personnel. Even under affront and humiliating practices of discrimination and arrogant treatment, not a single act of terrorism against a civilian or military citizen of the United States, nor against its property, has ever been committed by a Panamanian citizen or by a citizen of another nation in Panamanian territory. I can proudly and rightfully state that citizens of the United States are far safer in Panama than they are in their own country, in their own cities, and this statement is supported by our statistical data and theirs.
There are few people so free of rancour, so committed to agreements based on sacrifices required by reciprocal concessions, as the Panamanian people. For these reasons, we continue to set an example of peace in the midst of the desolation and violence which has, regrettably, marked the history of the American continent in the last decades.
These expressions of our special nature reveal very particular characteristics of the national identity we are in the process of forming but they are also conditioning factors in our process leading to a genuinely Panamanian democracy. If the past few decades are impartially assessed in terms of how human rights are observed in Panama, without making comparisons with governments on this or other continents, the figures show that there is a profound respect for human dignity as the backbone of our liberation movement. Even during the last three years of artificially induced discord in our society, there have been no political murders or disappearances and there have been no torture chambers, while the total number of police arrests and actions is so tiny that it has been exceeded elsewhere by factors of ten or a hundred in a matter of days.
Our defence forces in no way represent a traditional army organized as a repressive force; on the contrary, they are a genuine expression of our people. Our military personnel are preparing themselves the better to carry out the requirements of the Panama Canal Treaties, which legally require us to assume increasing responsibilities for protecting and defending the Canal with a view to taking over completely from the United States forces, which are temporarily stationed in Panama solely for these legal purposes. Those who attempt to denigrate or hinder the formation of out national armed force are at the same time concealing their intention to fall back on the argument that we are unprepared as a justification for prolonging military presence. This is the reality behind the political and propaganda rhetoric which is being used against Panama to disguise interventionist and aggressive acts by means of sordid accusations aimed at the social role of the Panamanian defence forces.

Panamanians are aware that the only links that the leader of a great Power has with world realities are determined by the many levels of the hierarchy beneath him. we know that it is at those levels in the sinister cores of closed governments that many abuses originate, and we know that we have to penetrate to those levels in order to put an end to the present insistence on continuing with the punishment which is supposed to prevent the continent from being "infected" by the nationalist example of resistance set by the Panamanian people.
For this reason, I shall avail myself of this solemn occasion to reiterate what I said at my inauguration as Provisional President of the Republic of Panama: notwithstanding military aggression and the constant threat that force will be used against us, we have no intention of heading or promoting any movement against the lives or economic interests of citizens of the United States and we are prepared to re-establish the ties of friendly association without rancour; on the condition,
however, that no sacrifice of our sovereignty or lessening of our independence is imposed on us.
During these past months, the Panamanian Government has on many occasions shown its willingness to pursue dialogue both with Washington and with our internal opposition with a view to achieving honourable and equitable formulas of understanding in order to ensure that the life of the country will return to normal without foreign interference, aggression or threats. Only in this way will it be possible to find a satisfactory solution and continue the democratisation process in a genuinely Panamanian manner. If these efforts have not borne fruit, the primary responsibility must fall on the obstinacy with which the Government of the United States is clinging to a misguided policy that ignores Panamanian reality. In an unmistakable spirit of continental brotherhood and in the awareness of  the limits on authority clearly established by the Charter of the Organization of American States, the Government of Panama heartily welcomed the efforts of the regional Organization to mediate in seeking solutions to the internal aspects of the present conflict between Panama and the United States. We are cooperating very willingly, and without cavilling at making concessions in order to establish valid channels for negotiation aid we are continuing to keep those channels open. At the same time, the Provisional Government of which I am President has initiated the widest possible debate on an economic and social plan to consolidate the recovery which we have begun to achieve and it is also taking steps towards resuming the democratisation process by means of elections to ensure
that the will of the people is freely jessed. However, the free expression of the will of a people is unthinkable while they are enduring economic strangulation and living day after day under the threat of a military attack. What right does anybody have to talk about free elections when at the same time they are sabotaging the democratic develops of an electoral debate by threatening to cut our throats?
In this context, I should mention the fact that amongst the intellectuals and politicians, journalists and diplomats, community leaders and envoys from organizations who come to Pan arm from abroad, the most frequent reaction we see when they arrive in Panama is one of surprise at finding a reality which is the reverse of the me shown by the d is in for nation networks. Not only are the basic structures of democratic coexistence still intact, but our institutions have undergone only the inevitable changes brought about by military threat and the most outright and blatant interference by one nation in the internal affairs of another in order to impose an artificial and arbitrary political model.
the Provisional Government is not only performing its duties of ensuring contro1 over its territory and acting in its capacity of acquiring and fulfilling its international obligations, it is doing so in a climate of peace and without imposing its authority by force. However, my Government is under no illusions that confronting a permanent conflict between our small nation and a Power such as the Unite States is either convenient or positive. If indeed the numbers of Panamanians - inside my Government and outside it, within the armed forces and out of uniform - willing to defend our country at any price are high enough to safeguard our national identity before the world, we do not have to shirk our commitment to democratisation or waver in our determination to bring it about.
The Government of the United States has kept Panama in a state of emergency for 27 months and has threatened the very existence of the Panamanian State. None of our efforts, none of the sacrifices we have made in our commitment to the process of democracy has been recognized or taken into account. On the contrary, not only has the reality in our country been concealed, but persecution has increased. That is why I ask the United Nations to contribute to our efforts by carrying out, through applicable mechanisms, a careful and detailed verification of the path which my Government is following towards our own democracy, and to testify to the actions other Governments are taking to obstruct or strangle those efforts.
It is not my intention to dramatize our situation, but only to present the facts. Panama has this alternative: to consolidate its presence in the community of free nations, or to become a protectorate, a new form of colony, albeit disguised in flowery language. We represent somewhat more than the simple longing of a country to develop its own plans for the benefit of its citizens. We are an invaded country whose primary commitment is to break the shackles of coarse interference in its internal affairs, which undermines its independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity and threatens the basic rights of its citizens.
The aggression which we are enduring is the result in no small measure of Panama's loyalty to the principles of non-alignment and to our commitment to neutrality and friendly relations with all nations of the world. It is also the result, in large part, of our refusal to allow our territory and military resources to serve the purposes of foreign military aggression against a country with which we have fraternal bonds. It is the result of our rejection of any form of foreign occupation; it is the result of our unreserved defence of the right of all nations to choose their forms of government without interference of any kind. The current struggle of the Panamanian people does not make us forget others but, rather, strengthens our satisfaction at the advances taking place in other parts of the world. My country decisively supports all efforts to eradicate apartheid once and for all.
We are against racism not only because this is a humanitarian question but also because of our experience as a society where there is not the slightest trace of racial discrimination.
In a spirit of honour and duty, my country has sent a delegation of the Panama Defence Forces to join the contingents supervising implementation of the agreements which will guarantee Namibia's independence. We would express the warning that in the elections to be held in Namibia, as well as those to be held in Nicaragua, we must avoid any type of foreign intervention that could interfere with the sovereign expression of the will of the citizens of those countries - as happened recently in the case of Panama.
How can anyone speak of free elections when a nation grants financial, organizational, promotional and news-media assistance to one political faction in a foreign country, when in other neighbouring nations information and communication systems are set up to brainwash the citizenry, and when the secret services of a foreign Government establishes infiltration and bribery networks in all the organizational units of the country getting ready to elect a government by popular vote? A genuinely democratic contest cannot be conducted when a foreign Government is resorting to coercion by hunger and extreme deprivation, as well as to the outright buying-off of the leaders of other Governments, and when, in addition to an overwhelming apparatus of psychological warfare, the voting population is subjected to the threat of destruction, terror, grief and ruin.
We also hope for the success of the joint plan of the United Nations and the Organization of African Unity for the decolonisation of Western Sahara, so that the independence and self-determination of the Sahraoui people can be ensured for ever.
We call for negotiated solutions in Kampuchea and in the Middle East. We cannot forget that progress in lessening tensions everywhere is directly related to recognition of the inalienable rights of the people. In that respect, Panama continues to offer its solidarity to the people of Puerto Rico in their struggle for self-determination. We urge all parties to continue supporting the efforts of the Secretary-General to fulfil the aspirations of the Cypriot people to independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity, and the Panamanian people embraces the Cypriot people's struggle as its own. Panama also desires the prompt reunification of the Korean peninsula.
Central America, understandably, has a special significance for us. We welcome the agreements reached by the Heads of State of the region, and we hope that they will not again be obstructed by the arbitrary and unjustifiable decisions of other countries. We remain convinced that the Malvinas islands are an integral part of Argentina, and we therefore place our hopes in the prompt renewal of ties between Buenos Aires and London, and in a greater response to the requirements of the process of decolonisation prevailing in the world.
The advances which we mention today - the lessening of tensions between the super-Powers, the agreements to eliminate intermediate-range missiles, the Geneva Agreements on Afghanistan, and the cease-fire between Iran and Iraq, which we hope will ultimately lead to a permanent peace treaty - should not be interpreted to mean that all the major problems are on their way to final solution.
Many of the peoples of the world continue to endure the harsh conditions and dangers caused by a terrible plagues drug consumption and trafficking, a serious threat to the future of mankind as well as to the stability of institutions and States. We see criminal organizations controlling sums of money which exceed the gross national product of many nations, a handful of criminals amassing so much material power that they can defy legitimately constituted authorities and unleash insurrections that take on the dimensions of internal warfare. We must therefore open our eyes to this radical distortion of the basic concept of human association in national States. This is the moment to identify the real roots and rationally agree on the cure, without demagoguery.
On the other hand, third-world countries, particularly the Latin American nations, are weighted down by the burden of their foreign debts and by pressures which increasingly require the sacrifice of national sovereignty and the national heritage, while the needs of their peoples are becoming more urgent and pressing. In these circumstances, new forms of neo-colonial subjugation are beginning to emerge, as if humanity's progress in certain areas must be paid for at the cost of setbacks in others.
It is unjust for small and poor countries that are struggling to meet their obligations in the international community, playing the game honestly, still find themselves the victims of those who cheat. My country's situation is a good example. I was the Comptroller-General immediately before assuming the presidency, and I can vouch for the scrupulous manner with which we complied with our obligations until 1987. But solely because of the unjust sanctions imposed by the United States Government, Panama has been unable to meet its commitment since that date. Faced with the choice of not paying our foreign debt and seeing our people starve, we have opted for the former, as befits a Government conscious of its moral and social responsibilities.
Once again before this Assembly I request the world community to direct its attention to the case of Panama.
If the self-determination of the Panamanian people, their ability to engage in peaceful labour aid their commitment to neutrality and friendship with all peoples and nations were to be fully and effectively realized, that would mean more wealth aid welfare for the people of the United States, greater distinction for its leaders, and greatest splendour for the ideals it professes, than would our subjugation into slavery through the use of military force. The cost of the second option is clear, given our unwavering determination to defend our country.
The first path, towards which world direction and history is heading, is the one which will lead to lasting and fruitful yields. By abandoning arrogance and coercion, the United States will have greater assurances of always being able to count on friends in the heart of the Americas, on people who, in moments which require reciprocal concessions of interdependence, will be more willing aid more understanding, than it will by carrying out a terrible aggregate of siege, privation, humiliation and injury.
We are a nation with such great potential that citizens of many other countries may find among us plentiful opportunities for fortune and happiness. Changes in world trade, in transportation and in communications systems enhance the increasing importance of Panama's geographical characteristics. My Government is fully aware that the rapid development of the wealth of that great natural resource for the benefit of the Panamanian people is inseparable from equitable aid respectful association with other nations and other peoples.
Mr. President, it is now my duty, with which I happily comply, to convey the timeless debt of gratitude which the Panamanian people feel towards Your Excellency for the words with which you referred to the situation in Panama in your inaugural address to this forty-fourth session of the General Assembly.
Indeed, the current conflict between the United States and Panama is incompatible with peace, but a prompt solution depends on allowing Panamanians to carry out our daily tasks in a secure environment, free of violence.
Before this forum, I solemnly reiterate my Government's best willingness to peacefully resolve our differences with the Government of the United States, based on mutual recognition of the legitimate interests of both nations.
To establish a climate of good will, the first step should be for the United Stages to comply with the provisions of the Panama Canal Treaty of 1977, and appoint the Panamanian Administrator proposed by the us, who is to assume office on 1 January 1990, in less than three months. On our part, what I am about to state will leave no doubts in anyone's mind as to our own good faith.
The idea of establishing a multinational force to combat drugs is being debated by several Governments. We believe that this proposal merits deep analysis for we must weigh the difficulties of establishing such a force against the incredibly destructive power amassed by these criminal networks.
If formulas could be devised so that a multilateral action of this nature became the subject of an international convention, with adequate mechanisms to safeguard national sovereignty and avoid threats to the independence of any nation, then the Republic of Panama would not only render its enthusiastic support to the initiative, but would go further.
Given our long experience in fighting illegal drug traffic, because we are neither a producing nor a consuming country, and because our successes in this area have been recognized by the entire world, the Republic of Panama would be willing to accept the headquarters of such a multinational force in our territory, as another service that the Isthmus' strategic position would offer to the international community.
If the United States desires a new relationship with Panama concerning military bases, why does it not state that openly? Let the United States make such an announcement, without disguising it in an attempt to impose it using the formula of force without war.
In any case, whether with my Government or any other Government of Panama, decisions must reflect the will of the Panamanian people pursuant to article 310 of our Constitution, which establishes a referendum procedure for the ratification of international agreements of a nature so vital to the Republic. The people themselves must be the contracting party.
The Republic of Panama has been made into a giant experimental laboratory by the most powerful nation in the world, one that proclaims itself the leader of human rights.
In my country, essential elements for the taking over of governments and territories have been put into practice. They are based on low intensity warfare and include tactics such as psychological warfare, economic aggression through the seizure of goods aid property of poor nations, the indebtedness of countries without great resources for future collection with inflated interest, using a form of blackmail which undermines their sovereignty end dignity.
lb this one must add military threat and aggression under terms dictated by the arrogance of superior weapons and provocations targeted against a traditionally peaceful people.
This laboratory, which produced the so-called Panama crisis, extends to other nations, intimidating them in order to exert pressure and force them to isolate 2 million Panamanians who have never had, and do not have, a background of hostile attitudes, or racism, or aggressiveness, or plans for offensive expansion, and whose only sin is to raise a banner against neo-colonialism, against apartheid and against any form of imperialism.
 Two million Panamanians aspire only to be left in peace, to work in peace, to share and enjoy the fruits of our efforts, free and in peace.


It gives me pleasure at the very outset to convey to Major-General Garba my sincere congratulations on his election to the prestigious position of President of this world body at its forty-fourth session. His election is a tribute both to his country, Nigeria, which has demonstrated its unflinching loyalty to the principles and purposes of the United Nations Charter, and to his own vast ability, skill and experience.
Let me also pay a tribute to his predecessor, His Excellency Mr. Dante Caputo of Argentina, for his outstanding record at the helm of the General Assembly at its forty-third session.
I should like also to express our gratitude to the Secretary-General, Mr. Javier Perez de Cuellar, for his relentless efforts to enhance the role of the Organization in the maintenance of international peace and security and the solution of global problems. We urge that his role in finding peaceful, comprehensive solutions to regional problems receive full support from the Security Council and the General Assembly. Today's world, fortunately, is marked by a general relaxation of tension in international relations and improved prospects for finding peaceful and lasting solutions to global and regional problems. New vistas of co-operation or. the multilateral, regional and bilateral levels have been opened, facilitating the solution of common-security, political, economic and environmental problems that have plagued our world. Mutual relations between the United States and the Soviet Union are improving, and confrontation between the two has eased considerably. Progress has been made also in negotiations on the reduction or elimination of various types of nuclear, chemical and conventional weapons, while the destruction of at least one category of nuclear weapons is already under way.
The need for speedy solution of regional problems has been universally acknowledged, although the process of achieving this has been painfully slow. Peoples in various parts of the world, including our own region, are still the victims of senseless wars and destruction because old policies based on confrontation have not been abandoned in the interest of regional peace and harmony.
In the Middle East, we condemn the continued Israeli occupation of Palestinian and other Arab lands, including Jerusalem and the Syrian Golan Heights, and Israel's iron-fist policy against the heroic Palestinian intifadah. The convening of an international conference with the full participation of all parties concerned, including the State of Palestine, on an equal footing, remains the only possible avenue for resolving the Middle East conflict.
The Republic of Afghanistan welcomes the cessation of war and the commencement of talks between Iran and Iraq. We sincerely hope they will find an honourable and lasting solution to all their differences in the near future.
In Cyprus, we welcome meetings between the President and the leader of the Turkish Cypriot community, and we support a peaceful solution achieved through dialogue and based on the independence, territorial integrity and national sovereignty of Cyprus.
We welcome the withdrawal of Vietnamese troops from Kampuchea and demand that an end be put to all forms of interference in the internal affairs of Kampuchea. All efforts should be made to restore peace in the country and to let Kampucheans themselves solve their internal difficulties.
We also support the Korean people's quest for peaceful reunification and national unity through dialogue and reconciliation.
In southern Africa, the continuation of the abhorrent policy of apartheid is the source of great human suffering, destabilization and conflict. We demand the full implementation of Security Council resolution 435 (1978) and believe the Secretary-General and the United Nations Transition Assistance Group should be rendered full support so they may supervise a free, democratic and unhindered election and the achievement of full independence for Namibia. We welcome the high-level meeting between Morocco and the POLISARIO Front, and support the efforts of the Secretary-General and the current Chairman of the Organization of African Unity towards the holding of a fair referendum without administrative or military constraints.
We support the accord reached among five Central American countries on putting an end to war and destruction in Nicaragua and hope for its unhindered implementation.
It is also our hope that the question of the Malvinas may be promptly resolved on the basis of General Assembly resolutions, eliminating the differences between Argentina and the United Kingdom.
The disparities in economic development between developed and developing countries is deepening constantly, while the economic and social situation in most developing countries continues to deteriorate further. The plight of the least developed countries has reached a particularly distressing level because the Substantial New Programme of Action for the 1980s for the Least Developed Countries has not been implemented. Growth and development in developing countries continue to be mostly stagnant or to register negative rates. Commodity prices remain low and terms of trade are worsening, and protectionist measures on the part of developed countries have been on the increase. The problem of debt and debt servicing has become unbearable for developing countries, resulting in a net flow of financial resources from developing to developed countries. We welcome the convening in April 1990 of a special session of the General Assembly and hope the fourth United Nations Development Decade will reverse the adverse trends experienced during the Third Decade.
It is also our earnest hope that the Second United Nations Conference on the Least Developed Countries, scheduled for 1990 in Paris, will adopt adequate measures for implementing General Assembly resolutions on acceleration of the development process in the least developed countries in the 1990s. Despite our sincere wishes and concerted efforts, and contrary to the general trend of improvement in the international climate, the situation in our region remains far from satisfactory. If anything, it has deteriorated further. Aggression against Afghanistan and interference and intervention in its internal affairs have acquired new dimensions. The complete withdrawal of Soviet troops from Afghanistan and our sincere compliance with the provisions of the Geneva Agreements notwithstanding, these Agreements have been sabotaged by Pakistan. Prom 15 February to the end of August 1989, 18 different types of weapons have been put in the hands of extremist groups trained in Pakistan to continue the blood-bath in Afghanistan. These weapons include 250 ground-to-ground rocket launchers, 110 pieces of field artillery and mortars, 120 recoilless artillery, 550 air-defence missile complexes, 2,950 heavy machine-guns, 4,500 manual rocket launchers and 200,000 different types of ground-to-ground rockets.
The number of military training centres for the extremists in Pakistan has now reached 180, marking an increase after the entry into force of the Geneva Agreements. Each week between 30 and 35 armed groups, comprising 1,200 to 1,500 people trained in these centres, are infiltrated into Afghanistan to bring death and destruction. Units from Pakistan's 11th Division are directly participating in the fighting inside Afghanistan. So do mercenary Wahabis from Saudi Arabia, which is also putting generous financial assistance in the hands of the extremists. Similarly, from 15 February to the end of August 1989, a total of 413,102 rockets and heavy artillery shells have rained down on the inhabitants of the cities of Afghanistan. What has been the result? Thousands of civilians killed and thousands more injured. In Kabul alone, 1,383 rockets have claimed the lives of 671 people and injured another 1,014. Recently even the aeroplane used by the representative of the Secretary-General was not spared such rocket attacks. As recently as 22 and 23 September, a total of 40 rockets were fired on Kabul - on the
ewe of the General Assembly - killing 41 people and injuring 59. One of the rockets hit a crowded market-place. This is blind terrorism perpetuated by the interventionist policy of one of the signatories to the Geneva Agreements.
The resort to rocket attacks on cities and the blind and indiscriminate terrorist attacks against civilians testify not to the strength of the extremists but to their weakness. It is the result of crushing defeats of these groups in Jalalabad, Khost, Kandahar and elsewhere in Afghanistan. The heroic armed forces of Afghanistan defending the independence, territorial integrity and national sovereignty of the country, as is their patriotic duty, have dealt these hirelings of the aliens so crushing a blow that they do not dare any more, even with the direct assistance and participation of the Pakistani army, to face the defenders of Afghanistan. The result has been desperate rocket attacks on cities and the indiscriminate murder of innocent men, women and children. These attacks cannot, however, compensate for the moral, political and military bankruptcy of the extremist groups, nor can they revive in the rank and file of the opposition the lost hope of a military victory. Many commanders inside the country have by now realized the need for ending this fratricidal war and restoring peace through national reconciliation.
What Pakistan is continuing against Afghanistan is State terrorism, which has been condemned by the Assembly as well as by the Non-Aligned Movement in a resolution adopted at the Belgrade summit meeting.
If internal problems in a neighbouring country should be taken to constitute a basis for policy towards that neighbour, who can predict what could happen to Pakistan and what its future would be? The Punjabis, Sindis, Pashtoons and Baluchis are all tired of the increasing domination of the Pakistani military. However, these are Pakistani problems and we, as neighbours, do not arrogate to ourselves the right to get involved in them. Nor do we believe in creating Governments for others outside their country.

The hope for military victory which was crushed at Jalalabad has been further lest during what was termed the sunnier fighting season. No new deadline of 12 or 18 months will accomplish through military means what was supposed to happen weeks or even days after 15 February of this year but did not.
But the question is; How many more Afghans have to go down the drain of a senseless fratricidal war for the planners and executors of the war to realize the futility of the military option? How much more must Afghanistan, a least developed country, be destroyed before a military solution is abandoned in favour of a political solution?
The time to bring peace to Afghanistan is now. Every day that passes claims the lives of more of its people and brings more havoc to its economy. The grounds for peace, for reconciliation, for the establishment of a broad-based government exist in Afghanistan. What is required is the abandonment of old policies, of intransigent positions and of disregard for reality.
The path to arrive at peace in Afghanistan is clear. Full and faithful implementation of the Geneva Agreements by the parties and guarantors and the implementation of consensus resolutions of the General Assembly are the most important and basic steps in that direction. Putting an immediate end to interference and intervention in the internal affairs of Afghanistan, as clearly stipulated by the Agreements, can and must play a cardinal role in realizing peace. Pakistan's sincere co-operation with the United Nations good Offices Mission to Afghanistan and Pakistan (UNQ3MAP) can turn it from its present ineffectiveness into one that fully supervises the implementation of all the provisions of the Geneva Agreements. So far, the Government of Afghanistan has brought to the notice of UNGOMAP 6,492 cases of flagrant violations of the Geneva Agreements through 827 notes delivered to its headquarters in Kabul. These cases cover violations of every single provision of the Geneva document on non-interference and non-intervention, such as, among other things, the dismantling of bases, refraining from the dispatch of armed groups and the transfer of arms and not committing acts that would undermine the stability of the other high contracting party. None of these violations has been investigated exactly as stipulated in the Geneva Agreements, owing to Pakistan's complete disregard for the accords. The continuation of war, destruction, great human suffering and loss of life in my country is a telling testimony to the complete neglect of all the provisions of the Geneva Agreements by Pakistan. When the flames of war, aggression and intervention are still increasingly swallowing up lives and properties of the people of Afghanistan, any claim that the Geneva Agreements' provisions on non-interference and non-intervention are being implemented can obviously not be taken seriously.
The people of Afghanistan and the international community are beginning to question the sincerity and good will of Pakistan in signing the Geneva agreements, as well as the actual observance and supervision of their implementation. The statement made at the opening of the general debate by the President of the United States of America, Mr. George Bush, and his words on the need to work together in the framework of the United Nations to bring peace to those who have fallen victim to regional conflicts are encouraging. A positive change in United States policy, from putting the means of war and destruction in the hands of extremists to assisting and contributing to the peace process in Afghanistan, would play a significant role in putting those words into effect.
War cannot accomplish any policy goals and the so-called interim government, illegally established by Islamabad, cannot gain even a grain of legitimacy. The situation has already disintegrated into infighting and armed clashes inside Afghanistan. The policy of supplying them with huge quantities of advanced weapons cannot serve the United States interest in the region, while in the long run the continuation of war, destruction and human suffering in Afghanistan will further damage its standing among the Afghan people. Peaceful ways of arriving at policy objectives are certainly there and must be sought.
The situation in Afghanistan has changed since 15 February 1989. The People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan has abandoned the monopoly on power. Therefore, the continuation of previous policies by the United States Administration is not realistic. This has been reflected in the United States mass media and also in the United States Congress. We are ready to welcome in Kabul a special envoy of the United States Administration for a fact-finding mission and an exchange of views. We believe that such a trip would allow the United States to get first-hand knowledge of the present reality in Afghan society and of our goodwill in regard to restoring peace and for a democratic system based on political pluralism and a free economy.
As is the case in most other parts of the world, in our region too the traffic in arms and narcotics go hand in hand. The involvement of Afghan extremist groups in the production and smuggling of drugs during the past 10 years has brought about a very dangerous situation. The Republic of Afghanistan stands ready fully to co-operate in eradicating this serious problem.
We welcome the positive and realistic trends in the policy of our neighbour to the west, the Islamic Republic of Iran. From the great country of China, another neighbour of Afghanistan, we expect a more positive contribution to the restoration of peace in our country. We, on our part, are ready to have normal, friendly relations with all the countries of the world, particularly our neighbours.
The question of the safe, voluntary and honourable return of Afghan refugees requires urgent attention. Those who perpetuate the war in Afghanistan must not cite the continuation of the war as a pretext for their policy of hindering the return of the refugees. While we express our gratitude to all these countries, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and other organizations and agencies for having provided for our Afghan brothers while they were refugees, we believe the time has come for such assistance to be geared towards their repatriation to their homeland and reintegration in the life of their country. We urge Pakistan to co-operate in the establishment of mixed commissions. The establishment of these commissions, which according to the Geneva Agreements should have occurred immediately after the entry into force of the Agreements 16 months ago, is long overdue.
The reconstruction of Afghanistan requires urgent international, governmental and non—1governmental assistance. Unfortunately, 3wever, a number of countries have refrained from putting at the disposal of the United Nations Coordinator for Economic and Humanitarian Assistance to Afghanistan the assistance they have already pledged. Assistance to the people of Afghanistan should not fall victim to political considerations.
As regards the internal aspect of the difficulties of Afghanistan, our stand has been set forth on several occasions, most recently by the President of the Republic, Mr. Najibullah, in his address to the Ninth Conference of the Heads of State or Government of the Movement of Non-Aligned Countries in Belgrade. Allow me to reiterate briefly the main contents of the position of the Republic of Afghanistan.
We believe that dialogue should start among all Afghan political forces inside and outside Afghanistan aimed at holding a nation-wide peace conference with the participation of all forces concerned. The conference should agree on a leadership council and declare a six-month-long cease-fire. During that period the leadership council should establish a broad-based coalition government and create a commission to draft a new Constitution and the law on general elections for its approval. Following the adoption of the new Constitution and the law on elections by a traditional Loya Jirgah called by the leadership council, general elections through direct, secret ballot should be held. A new government formed by one or more political parties enjoying a majority shall govern the country in accordance with the new Constitution. We stand ready for the supervision of the general elections by an international commission.
The Republic of Afghanistan believes that a peaceful political solution must be comprehensive and just, and one in which all political forces must participate. Leaving any political force, including the People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan out of the coalition, not only will not solve the problem but will create serious obstacles. The level of participation in the State structure should be subject to negotiation, but participation itself should not. Peace in Afghanistan must come through rational concessions accepted by all. These concessions should be aimed at eradicating all the grounds for conflict and war and not at sowing the seeds of yet another war.
It is an open secret that a great number of commanders have boycotted the leadership of organizations based in Pakistan, realizing their servitude to the enemies of our homeland. A number of commanders have opened talks with the State and they are observing cease-fires in areas under their control. Contacts with others are continuing and, sooner rather than later, cast negative feelings and mistrust will give way to friendship, brotherhood and unity.
The leadership of the Republic of Afghanistan has faith in armed opposition commanders because it is they who will bring the blessings of life and tranquillity to the people in the areas under their control. Similarly, the leadership of the Republic of Afghanistan will continue its policy of national reconciliation despite the irrational position adopted at present by the leaders of extremist organizations based in Pakistan. For us, the national interests of Afghanistan and the restoration of peace in our country are above any group, tribal, ethnic, political, party or ideological interests.
The external aspects of the situation around Afghanistan could best be resolved by convening an international conference with the participation of Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iran, India, China, the United States, the Soviet Union and the Chairman of the Movement of Non-Aligned Countries. The conference, which at the outset would agree on putting an end to the delivery of weapons to all factions in Afghanistan, should guarantee Afghanistan's permanently neutral and demilitarised status, which would be enshrined in the new Constitution. Because of Pakistani aggression, interference and intervention, the Republic of Afghanistan came before the Security Council in April this year. Except for a very few delegations, the overwhelming majority of countries which participated in the debate supported a political solution and the need for the implantation of the Geneva Agreements. If armed intervention and violation of the Agreements continue. Afghanistan will have no choice but to come before the Security Council once again.
In conclusion. Mr. President, let me reiterate our conviction that by renewing our faith in the principles and goals of the United Nations Charter, we together, under your leadership, can contribute significantly through our deliberations and decisions in this Assembly, to the establishment of a better, safer and more orderly world for all of us to live in. My delegation stands ready to co-operate with you in reaching this goal.


It gives me pleasure to congratulate you, Sir, most cordially on your election as President of the forty-fourth session of the General Assembly. As a representative of a prominent African country, friendly Nigeria, and as a person of vast diplomatic experience and wisdom, you are eminently qualified to preside over this Assembly.
At the same time, I wish to pay tribute to His Excellency Mr. Dante Caputo, the representative of Argentina, for his very successful presidency of the forty-third session.
There are many reasons for which I should like to express special appreciation and gratitude to the Secretary-General, Mr. Perez de Cuellar. I have primarily in mind his important contribution to seeking solutions to the most acute problems of the world during the past year.
His view of the present state of international relations and its reflection upon the position and role of the United Nations, presented in his annual report on the work of the Organization, is indeed noteworthy.
The Ninth Conference of Heads of State or Government of Non-Aligned Countries was recently held in Belgrade, the capital of my country. I trust that the Assembly shares our conviction that this was one of the major international events this year.
It is my great privilege and responsible duty to present to the Assembly the results of the Ninth Conference contained in the final documents and messages of that most important gathering of the non-aligned countries. I believe that in this way I shall contribute also to the consideration of the issues on the agenda of this year's General Assembly session.
The Heads of State or Government of Non-Aligned Countries adopted a Declaration as well as a number of separate documents on specific questions in the political and economic fields. The summit documents reflect the views of the Movement of Non-Aligned Countries on current developments in international relations, as well as its aspirations to contribute to these processes.
In the briefest possible terms, these views could be expressed as follows. After a long period of tension over the past few years the situation has started to change; world tensions are easing, and this is having a positive effect on the process of resolving some protracted world crises and problems.
 Basically what has been happening is what the non-aligned have always advocated, but the situation is still far from that which is desired. International relations today contain the characteristics of both the old and the new. Detente is far from being universal as wars are still being waged in many parts of the world. Political detente along East-West lines has not been followed by economic detente along North-South lines. The process of the pauperisation of the South is continuing, "technological achievements can bring about vast improvements in the quality of life, but tragic destruction as well. While human rights are in some places a basic premise of living, elsewhere they are but a far-off objective.
In the assessment by the non-aligned countries, the world is at a crossroads. There may be an acceleration in the progressive development of the international community, but there may also be drastic retrogression.
In a world of growing interdependence, the non-aligned countries have expressed their readiness to bear their share of responsibility for resolving common problems. Accordingly they have opted for dealing also with those problems which are of growing concern to the entire international community, such as, for example, the issue of environmental protection and the drug problem.
For decades we have been opposing confrontations in the world, aware of the fact that problems can be resolved only through dialogue and co-operation. We are determined to co-operate with all other countries of the world to that end, confident that realism will prevail over prejudice and dogma.
In keeping with their views, in their Declaration the non-aligned countries highlighted several areas to which they assigned priority in their future work. The first priority is efforts to keep the peace, to achieve disarmament and to settle disputes by peaceful means.
The notion of security is not confined to its military component. Closely associated with disarmament are: the observance of the principles of the United Nations Charter; the peaceful settlement of disputes; economic development; and respect for all collective and individual human rights.
Now, when the veritable process of disarmament has finally been initiated, non-aligned countries continue to work for its strengthening and expansion. The  total elimination of nuclear weapons remains the primary objective. Yugoslavia, together with other non-aligned countries, gives top priority to a comprehensive ban on nuclear tests. We also advocate the earliest possible adoption of a comprehensive convention on the prohibition of chemical weapons and their elimination.
At the Ninth Summit Conference the non-aligned countries also emphasized their readiness to make their full contribution to the initiation and realization of the process of conventional disarmament at global, regional and sub regional levels.
I should like also to underline our full support for the central role and responsibility of the United Nations in the field of disarmament. Such a role would be further affirmed by the establishment of an integrated multilateral verification system under the auspices of the Organization.
The next priority is a common quest for effective and acceptable solutions to the problems of international economic relations.
In welcoming the positive changes in international relations the non-aligned countries at the Ninth Summit Conference pointed out that "a detente devoid of economic content is unlikely to endure". This specific assessment has been thoroughly elaborated: the ever-more-difficult position of developing countries whereby a majority of mankind is denied access to scientific and technological achievements is the major obstacle to global aspirations to integration on the basis of interdependence and equitable co-operation. Such a trend is not only an impediment to the faster and more-balanced development of the world economy as a whole, but also a latent threat to global peace and stability.
In their analysis the non-aligned countries have noted the complex changes taking place in the world economy; its increasing multipolarity; new technological breakthroughs; the strengthening of integration groupings world wide; and reforms in socialist countries. These changes have new potentials for development but their course is intricate and their outcome uncertain. There are also new dangers of processes closing in and excluding third parties.
However, practice increasingly is proving that the world economy is hard to manage on the basis of agreements reached in a narrow circle. The more favourable international political climate, the greater general awareness of interdependence and the years of relatively stable growth by developed countries could indeed be fertile ground for a new beginning in the North-South dialogue and co-operation.
The messages of the Ninth Summit Conference and the ministerial meeting of the Group of 77 which preceded it unequivocally express the readiness of non-aligned and other developing countries jointly to seek effective and generally acceptable solutions to the key and interrelated problems of external debt, development, financing, trade, raw materials and technology, as well as to the specific and particularly acute problems weighing upon the least developed countries. We are convinced that today there are realistic conditions for establishing a new global development consensus and that this is an opportunity that the international community must not miss. I should like to point out that the external-debt problem of a considerable number of developing countries is one problem whose solution can no longer be postponed.
The protracted economic stagnation of these countries and the constant outflow of capital, through external-debt servicing, to the economies of the developed countries cannot but have grave social and political effects on the debtor countries, as well as on the international community as a whole.
We support the evolution in the position of creditors and the signs of their goodwill to approach this problem with more inventiveness, thus offering better prospects for its settlement, but we also wish to emphasize that it is necessary to deal with this problem in a more expedient and more efficient manner, in the interests of all.
We do not expect that solutions to all problems can be found here in the United Nations. It is necessary to combine action at national, regional and global levels. The specialized agencies and forums have a clearly defined role. However, it is from this universal and most democratic forum that the very necessary political impulse and guidelines should be given to ensure that all activities are coherent and conducive to the creation of conditions favourable for the more rapid inclusion of developing countries in the mainstream of the world economy. More fruitful communication and the reaching of agreement on a larger number of key economic and development issues would at the same time constitute the best guarantee of the success of the forthcoming special session of the General Assembly scheduled for April next year.
The imperative need for a new development consensus also requires the political engagement of countries at the highest level. Therefore, the idea of regular consultations between the leaders of the North and South is a timely one and deserves our full support.
The next important priority for the non-aligned countries is support for the right of all peoples living under colonial or alien domination or foreign occupation to self-determination and independence. Stressing their commitment to the goal of complete eradication of colonialism, the non-aligned countries once again pledged to strengthen their solidarity with non-aligned and other countries facing aggression, intervention or interference in their internal affairs.
The greatest remaining colonial problem, Namibia, is hopefully being brought to an end. The process of gaining independence on the basis of Security Council resolution 435 (1978), which is now taking place and is the focus of the attention of the entire world public, represents a victory for long efforts made primarily within this Organization of ours to end the illegal occupation by South Africa. That process is now entering its final but most critical stage. It is our responsibility to prevent through resolute action all attempts to thwart the United Nations plan at the last moment. The people of Namibia must not be prevented from freely expressing their will at the elections.
To this end, in a special Declaration adopted at the ninth summit meeting, the non-aligned countries called upon the Security Council and the Secretary-General of the United Nations urgently to take a series of measures to counter all possible future violations of the United Nations plan. However, this time the non-aligned countries are also taking action themselves. Their fact-finding mission, which visited Namibia early in August, will return there to oversee the November elections and report immediately to the Movement. Together with its other actions of support and assistance to the Namibian people, now and in the future, and in keeping with its fundamental goals and priorities, the Non-Aligned Movement is thus demonstrating in practice its active solidarity with peoples in the process of gaining their freedom.
B
Consistent with the positions of the Movement, the Heads of State or Government of the Non-Aligned Countries most strongly condemned the continuous existence of the system of apartheid and supported the continuation of all existing measures and the taking of new ones for its elimination. At the same time, by adopting the Harare Declaration of 21 August of the Ad Hoc Committee on Southern Africa of the Organization of African Unity (OAU), they supported the determination of the people of southern Africa to put an end to apartheid through peaceful means and  negotiation. That determination is fully in line with the current situation in international relations, and our Organization is in duty bound to use all its influence to prevent this courageous and wise move of the people of Africa from being frustrated. A historic responsibility now rests upon South Africa. The road towards peace and co-operation in the region or the road towards an eruption of revolt by the subjugated people and bloodied is the choice it has to make. All that is rational and humane in man tells us there cannot be, there must not be, a dilemma.
Other points of crisis and instability in the world also require our urgent and undivided attention. At this favourable moment, it is our responsibility, as Members of this Organisation, to use every avenue to bring about the successful completion, or at least the speeding up, of the processes that have been initiated for their (solution, or to restart them where they have come to a halt.
We believe that it is indeed high time that the statesmanlike and constructive position of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), the legitimate representative of the Palestinian people, be met with an equally worthwhile and constructive response on the part of other principal factors on whom the peace process in the Middle East depends. While welcoming every partial step which might bring that region closer to peace, we feel that the continuing opposition to the convening of an international conference under the auspices of the United Nations and with the full participation of the PLO should be overcome as soon as possible. The vast majority of the countries of the world long ago expressed their support for this realistic way towards a comprehensive solution to the Middle East crisis, which would create the possibility for all countries in the region to live in safety and peace within their territories.
The tragic escalation of conflict further endangers the prospect of bringing unity, full sovereignty and territorial integrity to non-aligned Lebanon and prolongs the suffering of its people. Now is the time for all factors concerned to assist the continued efforts of the Arab Tripartite Committee which, enjoying the broadest support, could lead to a situation in which the vicious circle of violence might be broken and replaced by agreements.
A political solution to the problem of Afghanistan requires that the Geneva Agreements be consistently and completely implemented and that all their signatories and guarantors consistently abide by the letter and spirit of those Agreements. This would facilitate the opening of an intra-Afghan dialogue, aimed at establishing a broad-based Government comprising representatives of all segments of the people of Afghanistan.
Although this summer's conference on Cambodia in Paris did not yield a comprehensive solution, the momentum of diplomatic efforts must not be allowed to abate. Slow and laborious as it may be, the negotiating process is bringing certain results, strengthening hopes that conditions will soon be created for the people of Cambodia freely to determine their destiny. The withdrawal of foreign troops is certainly the most important step in that direction.
The recent peace agreement of the Presidents of five Central American countries concluded in Tela, Honduras, has, it is to be hoped, removed hindrances to the implementation of the Esquipulas II peace Agreement. Welcoming the actions of the Secretaries-General of the United Nations and the Organization of American States in support of international verification of the implementation of the peace Agreements, I wish to express our conviction that strict observance of those Agreements by all is essential for the achievement of lasting peace in the region.
The consistent and full implementation of Security Council resolution 598 (1987) remains the basis for achieving a comprehensive, just, honourable and durable settlement of the conflict between Iran and Iraq.
As regards Western Sahara, we are convinced that full co-operation by all parties with the United Nations Secretary-General and the Chairman of the OAU in their further efforts is essential if there is to be a just and definitive settlement. Despite all the difficulties, we believe that continuation of the Secretary-General's good offices and the inter-communal talks, in an atmosphere marked by an overall improvement in international relations, will lead finally to decisive breakthroughs in resolving the Cyprus problem. The way to the peaceful reunification of Korea is through dialogue and mutual confidence-building, in conformity with the principles of the 1972 North-South joint statement.
Next on the list of priorities of the non-aligned countries is the environmental protection problem. The dangers menacing the atmosphere, the seas and the forests today threaten all countries alike and dramatically highlight the interdependence of the contemporary world. Proceeding from that conviction, the non-aligned countries voiced their full readiness to contribute to the strengthening of global co-operation to protect and improve the environment. They also stressed that this objective can be realized only within the context of growth and development, and with the allocation of additional resources, giving developing countries access to ecologically cleaner technologies and making possible their active participation in global ecological co-operation. It is on that basis that the non-aligned countries will call, at the forty-fourth session, for the adoption of a final decision on convening the World Conference on Environment and Development in 1992.
The next priority is the full realization of human rights and freedoms. The non-aligned countries stress that the right of every individual to full enjoyment of civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights is the source of the greatest inspiration to the Movement, and one of its basic objectives. They confirmed that they share fully the wide and growing recognition of the special importance of the full enjoyment of human rights and freedoms, both collective and individual. Indeed, there can be no rights and freedoms of people without the individual rights and freedoms of every person. We in Yugoslavia believe that the extent to which an individual enjoys fundamental rights and freedoms is the measure of the degree of democratisation of the society and of the possibility of their inclusion in broader democratic processes in the world to which we aspire.
In this context, one should, however, bear in mind the fact that civil and political rights cannot be separated from the economic, social and other rights and needs of man, and that in a great majority of developing countries the economic and social conditions are quite difficult. Finally, the non-aligned countries are pledged to strive to strengthen the role and effectiveness of the United Nations in discharging its legitimate responsibility for resolving all major problems of the world. For this purpose, they will endeavour to ensure that the machinery of the Organization is reinforced, and its activities efficiently coordinated - convinced that, as they have stressed, the role of multilateralism is growing at both the global and the regional levels. I am confident that this view is shared by other members of the Organization.
Those are the priorities set by the members of the Movement of Non-Aligned Countries at their ninth summit in Belgrade. My country fully supports and endorses them and, as co-ordinator of the activities of the non-aligned countries, will endeavour to see them realized in the near future. On the basis of their political decisions, and in keeping with these priorities and with their positions on specific issues, the non-aligned countries approach the work of this session determined to make a constructive contribution.
This session of the General Assembly, like the last one, is being held in an international climate amenable to the consideration of crucial world issues. This facilitates our work, but also heightens our responsibility for future developments. It is our special responsibility, by ensuring the success of this session, to make a substantive contribution to the strengthening and further affirmation of the United Nations in resolving key global problems. May the forty-fourth session of the Genera] Assembly bring more genuine co-operation and less confrontation than any previous one. If we achieve that, the results will more than live up to our expectations. What is more, we might even manage to overcome some of the psychological limits that ingrained beliefs and long-established practice impose on us. Those are the factors that limit, perhaps even imperil our future.


I join previous speakers in congratulating our President on his election to preside over the current session of the General Assembly. It testifies to the high esteem in which he is held by the General Assembly and is also an indication of the respect felt for the great country, Nigeria, of which he is a worthy representative.
As inhabitants of an island separated from its neighbours by a vast ocean, Icelanders may have had a keener appreciation than the peoples of most nations of the extent to which distance has come to count less and less as a factor in world affairs. The forging of ever-closer links within the world community has been apparent at many levels - technological, economic and environmental. As a consequence, there is new a growing awareness among the various peoples of the world of a universality of interest and of a common destiny of humankind. Some time ago somebody coined the phrase, "global village", to describe that trend. Someone from a seafaring nation would perhaps put it differently, we are all in the same boat.
The globalisation of issues that used to be the prerogative of individual States has not simply been a matter of historical inevitability. Deliberate political action has also had a role to play. The far-reaching changes that are under way in East-West relations, as evidenced most recently in bilateral talks between the United States aid the Soviet Union, have shown us how effective political leadership can truly make a difference.
We are entering a new era in international relations, which, seems to offer realistic prospects for a fundamental transformation of the political, ideological aid military confrontation which has so characterized One post-war era. The successful management of the present transition period will require the political will and imagination to map out new avenues in international relations, paying due regard to the risks and uncertainties involved.
Efforts to overcome suspicion aid lack of trust in relations between East aid West have helped establish an environment in which it might now prove possible to channel resources from costly military competition to more creative international endeavours. The easing of tensions between East and West will thus no doubt redound to the benefit of North-South relations also.
I should like to pay a tribute to the Secretary-General for his valuable contribution to solving serious international and regional conflicts, thereby strengthening the role and image of the united Nations.
Strengthening the united Nations implies reinforcement of the rule of law in international relations. The growing awareness of the world community of the rule of law in international affairs is particularly welcome to an unarmed nation, which fought its battle for independence without resort to violence.
The changing world environment is opening up unprecedented opportunities for the united Nations. With the cold war mentality on the wane, the world
Organization can now for the first time entertain realistic hopes of translating into reality the vision contained in the United Nations Charter. At the same time* the Organization itself has emerged as a more effective agent of change.
We who are alive now can be seen as merely temporary guests on this planet, Earth. While we are here we are under an obligation to preserve the common heritage of our forebears and to secure the living conditions of our descendants, the generations that come after us.
Iceland is a country which is overwhelmingly dependent for its existence upon the exploitation of the resources of the seas. For Icelanders the safeguarding of the environment is a matter of life or death, no less.
We are grateful for the initiatives which are apparent on the international front in so many spheres*, on the protection of the ozone layer, on long-range transboundary pollution and, most recently, on the transboundary movement of hazardous wastes. Two years ago we welcomed in this body the report of the World Commission on Environment and Development, chaired by my Nordic friend Gro Harlem Brmdtlaid, the Prime Minister of Norway. The report analysed the state of the environment and made recommendations for future action. This year we started the preparatory work for a United Nations conference on environment end development, to be held in 1992.
These initiatives respond to a need which is becoming ever more apparent to the world community. In the industrialized world we are looking into the murky backyard of the civilization we have created - be it on land, at sea or in the atmosphere. To all of us, and particularly with reference to the developing world, it is becoming apparent that without reducing poverty, and at the same time protecting the environment, economic growth will be denied us in the future.
We are seeing the effects of global warming, the greenhouse effect, destruction of tropical rain forests, deforestation, acid rain, desertification and depletion of the ozone layer.
The inhabitants of the earth's continents need to be reminded that the oceans cover more than 70 per cent of the earth's surface. They are and will remain in the future a basic source of life on earth. For my people, the Icelandic nation, preservation of the natural resources of the seas will, therefore, remain paramount. As we say in Icelandic: "Fcourland vort halft er hafio" - or, the sea is half of our fatherland.
The living resources of the sea can be considered as the world's food reserves. The increasing pollution of the seas, not least that caused by radiation and by the industrialized nations' practice of using the open seas as a dumping ground for their industrial wastes, is therefore a major cause for alarm, not only for coastal States but for the whole world community.
We can view these developments against the threat of the even greater, indeed catastrophic, damage which could be caused by the weapons of mass destruction. We need only recall the devastation which resulted from the use of these weapons at the close of the Second World War.
In its greed and short-sightedness the ruling species of this earth, which has given itself the honourable title of "homo sapiens", seems not only to be prepared to disregard the consequences of its behaviour on its own habitat, but to be actually engaged in total warfare against nature - even ready to destroy it completely.
I was struck by the sombre assessment in the Brundtland report which refers to the 6 million hectares of productive dry land which is turned into worthless desert each year, and the destruction of more than 11 million hectares of forests annually. Over three decades this destruction would extend to land masses the size of, respectively, Saudi Arabia and India. The report warns us of the environmental trends which threaten radically to alter the planet and endanger many species upon it, including the human race. Are we helpless in the face of these assaults on our globe? I say "no" - end the initiatives I referred to earlier can be seen to have their basis in a recognition of the legal obligation to work together to protect our planet. These obligations can be traced to the principles of the united Nations Charter which govern our work in this body. The general principles of the Charter entail firm commitments for mankind and for Governments not to pollute our planet, nor ruthlessly to exploit our natural resources. The Charter establishes a duty of a moral and ethical character. Our past, present and future activities constitute an integral ecological whole. The Bible reminds us that as we sow, so shall we reap.
The General Assembly has adopted resolutions setting out some of the relevant principles; one of these is the 1982 resolution adopting the World Charter for Nature. We have seen endorsed in this body the principles of the Stockholm Declaration adopted at the close of the 1972 united Nations Conference on the Human Environment. I also note article 55 of Additional Protocol I to the Geneva Convention of 1949.
In 1982 the world community adopted the united Nations Convention on the law of the Sea, which contains, in its part XII, important principles on the protection of the marine environment. The Brundtland Commission concluded that
"the most significant initial action that nations can take in the interests of the oceans' threatened life-support system is to ratify the law of the Sea Convention". (A/42/427, annex, Chapter 10, para. 55)
The World Charter for Nature includes among its 24 principles the obligation to respect nature and not to compromise the genetic viability of earth. Additional Protocol I to the Geneva Conventions provides that care be taken in warfare to protect the natural environment against widespread, long-term and irreparable damage. A group of legal experts reporting to the Brisndtland Commission set out a
series of legal principles asserting, for example, the fundamental right of all human beings to an environment adequate for their health and well-being.
But it is in the Law of the Sea Convention that we can seek inspiration for our further efforts in the field of environmental protection. It is a matter of pride foe my nation and for many of the peoples of the developing world that we were ahead of our time when we started our long-drawn-out struggle for this constitution of the marine environment. In the Convention we can find the obligation to protect and preserve the marine environment through co-operation between States on a global and regional basis. We find the limitations on dumping and pollution of the atmosphere particularly relevant in this context.
The Government of Iceland is of the view that existing legal instruments for the protection of the environment should be strengthened. There exist various legal instruments that apply to specific fields of protection of the environment. But new instruments are needed, for example with regard to climatic change. New fields should be explored. We welcome, for instance, the initiative of Malta proposing the inclusion of a new item in the Assembly's agenda, on environmental protection of extraterritorial space.
We are, however, also of the view that we can take further steps by drawing from the experience in drafting the law of the Sea Convention. A new concise legal instrument should be prepared, setting out the principles with regard to the rights and obligations of States generally applicable to all fields of protection of the environment. These principles would relate to the right of all human beings to a safe environment and the obligations to conserve natural resources and maintain biological diversity and to provide for utilization of natural resources on the basis of tine principle of optimum sustainable yield. They would call for standard-setting, for environmental assessment and for obligatory co-operation between States in the protection of the environment. It would be appropriate for the General Assembly itself to signify its commitment to this field by taking the steps necessary for the preparation of such a new legal instrument, either under its own auspices or in connection with the preparatory work for the 1992 conference on environment and development.
The well-known Norwegian expert in international law Jens Evensen - a judge at the International Court of Justice - has reminded us that "good planets are hard to find". Let us realize and accept in all humility that we have to live in peace, not only among ourselves but also with mother Earth.
The changes towards more economic and political freedom in Central aid Eastern Europe are both more rapid and more radical than could have been expected previously. As evidenced by developments, particularly in Poland and Hungary, countries in Central and Eastern Europe now seem to have a realistic prospect of being able to abandon a political and economic system, forced upon them in the wake of the Second World War, that was alien to their culture and heritage and, as history has proved, utterly detrimental to their economic progress.
These developments are a major factor in establishing a basis for improvements in East-West relations. But it must be recognized that internal change in Eastern Europe does not take place in isolation? the irreversibility of internal change may to a substantial degree depend upon external responses.
Present developments in Central and Eastern Europe need, therefore, to be encouraged. They should be looked upon as an unprecedented opportunity to transform East-West relations, to build a new foundation for a lasting peace in Europe that gives more weight to political than to military arrangements.
As the use of force in East-West relations has become more remote than at any other time since the Second World War, arms control aid disarmament have moved to the centre stage of attention. Arms control, however, should not be regarded as a substitute for genuine progress across the whole range of issues an the East-West agenda, which includes, certainly, the human dimension. The balanced results of the Vienna follow-up meeting of the Conference on Security aid Co-operation in Europe (CSCE), which ended in January, have helped to place the security-related aspects of that agenda in a proper context.
Yet there can be no question but that progress on arms control has a positive impact far beyond the area of security proper. The early conclusion of the current CSCE-sponsored Vienna negotiations on conventional forces in Europe, on the one hand, and confidence and security-building measures, on the other, holds particular promise. An agreement to eliminate current imbalances in conventional weaponry would remove one of the underlying causes of East-West tension and facilitate the transformation of political relations in Europe.
Prospects for substantial and meaningful disarmament have also been boosted significantly by the declared willingness of the United States and the Soviet Union to cease production, and do away with their stockpiles, of chemical weapons. We welcome, in this context, the proposals made by President Bush to this Assembly only a week ago and the positive Soviet response.
The reduction of the massive arsenals of nuclear weapons is no less a test case for improvements in East-West relations than are negotiations on conventional weaponry and confidence-building in Europe. If the past provides us with any guidance, an era of co-operation is not likely to be realized if the competition in nuclear weapons cannot be managed.
The Treaty to eliminate intermediate nuclear forces on land has dramatically demonstrated how substantial cuts in nuclear weapons can serve the purpose of enhancing security. It is in this spirit that we welcome recent success in the removal of obstacles to a strategic arms-reduction treaty. The progress made towards the ratification of the Threshold Test-Ban Treaty and towards a treaty ran peaceful nuclear explosions is a necessary step towards the goal of a comprehensive test ban.
The Icelandic Government has expressed its view that; once the current negotiations in Europe have yielded satisfactory results, confidence-building and arms control should be extended to the seas. The seas have not received much attention in disarmament negotiations so far, although several treaties apply to the maritime domain. The arms race at sea clearly deserves more attention in order that a safer and more secure ocean environment may be created.
We therefore welcome the growing recognition that improved stability, predictability end confidence are called for at sea no less than on laid. There is also a growing understanding that confidence-building at sea must be compatible with the principle of freedom of navigation aid must take into account the asymmetrical dependence of different States upon the seas and secure ocean lines of communication.
The strategic arms talks offer the prospect of a substantial reduction in strategic nuclear weapons, including those at sea. In our view, the large number of non-strategic naval nuclear weapons should be taken into consideration as a subject in a confidence-building and disarmament process that includes sea areas.
Security and the environment are becoming increasingly interrelated. The contamination of the ocean environment must be taken seriously by nations that depend on the living resources of the seas. Repeated Soviet nuclear-submarine accidents remind us of the potentially disastrous consequences of such accidents, particularly if they were to occur in important fishing waters such as those around my country. As an initial step, we therefore suggest that international guidelines for the safety of sea borne reactors should be worked out by the International Atomic Energy Agency. These guidelines should apply to all vessels.
I have argued that the problems of the environment are emerging as the dominant issue facing this Organization in the decades ahead. But, even as we take on new tasks and responsibilities, there will remain a need for the good offices of the united Nations in bringing regional conflicts to a peaceful solution.
The situation in the Middle East and a peaceful solution of the Arab-Israeli conflict - continues to be of primary concern to the international community. A comprehensive, just aid lasting solution will be found only if the parties concerned refrain from acts of violence and thus show their sincere will to attain the goal of a lasting peace.
Israel's plan to hold elections in the occupied territories is an important step in the process of seeking a solution to the conflict. In particular, we welcome and support the 10-point plan recently presented to this Assembly by President Mubarak of Egypt for the implementation of such elections. Egypt has ignited hope for a dialogue that might lift the Israeli-Palestinian conflict off the streets aid onto the negotiating table.
We welcome the constructive efforts of the Arab League to reach a cease-fire in Lebanon. A lasting solution guaranteeing that country's independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity must include the withdrawal of all foreign troops. The taking of hostages end abductions constitute intolerable violations of international humanitarian law.
One of the most important achievements of the United Nations is the extensive codification and progressive development of human rights. The United Nations has successfully increased the number and scope of international agreements. Its latest achievement in this field is the drafting of a convention on the rights of the child, to be considered at this session of the General Assembly.
In spite of this active role of the United Nations, the frequency and magnitude of human-rights violations are deplorable. It is obvious that setting standards is not enough; we must, through international action, make Governments and individuals abide by these standards, and we must increase pressure on all those who violate human rights. One of the means to that end is to strengthen the implementation measures aid enforcement capabilities of the united Nations Another key element is knowledge. Every individual on Earth must be informed of his fundamental human rights. We must always bear in mind that it follows from the Charter of the United Nations that a State cannot claim that the promotion and protection of human rights constitute an intervention in the internal affairs of a State.
I referred earlier to the increasing awareness of the world community of the role of the rule of law in the affairs of nations. In this connection the Government of Iceland welcomes the inclusion in the agenda of this session of the item on a united Nations decade of international law, following the Hague Declaration of the Movement of Non-Aligned Countries. We note the incorporation in that Declaration of references to many of the principles of the rule of law which, as I have indicated today, should govern relations between States.
More than 1,000 years ago the Icelandic Althing - the oldest parliamentary assembly in the world - adopted the principle of the rule of law to guide the relations between the various interests in the newly established republic. This principle - Legibus gentes sunt moderandae - was inscribed on the gavel used for many years in this noble Assembly. We are reassured that in the era of co-operation that we are now entering, the world community will let its actions be guided by this universal principle of the rule of law.