266.	 Sir, may I begin by congratulating you on your election to the presidency of the General Assembly. This is an appropriate recognition both of your own personal achievements and of the important role your country is playing in international affairs. New Zealand will fully support you in your endeavour to make this session a productive one, just as we fully support the Secretary-General in his efforts to make the United Nations more effective in the search for peace and development.
267.	Less than two weeks ago I had the pleasure of representing New Zealand at the independence celebrations of the new State of Saint Christopher and Nevis. Today I join others in congratulating the international community's newest Member in being represented for the first time at the United Nations. It is a salutary reminder to us all that one of the first acts of such a young and small country has been to register, in a formal sense, its interest in this Organization. We in New Zealand have no difficulty understanding that. By most counts, we are ourselves a young and small country. Our welfare can be profoundly influenced for better or worse by external developments very largely outside our control. Some four decades ago, when the Charter of the United Nations was negotiated, we held high hopes that through international co-operation we would achieve a measure of political and economic security which a country like New Zealand could not hope to realize alone.
268.	Time and experience have tempered our earlier expectations. In recent years we have seen the Soviet Union invade Afghanistan in flagrant violation of the Charter. Similarly, the invasion of Kampuchea by Viet Nam has been followed by nearly five years of occupation, thereby preventing the political settlement that the Assembly has urged repeatedly. The essential character of the apartheid system remains intact, in spite of the strongest condemnation by the international community. Day by day we witness the continuing suffering of various peoples and countries in the Middle East, indicating to us once more that peace and security cannot be achieved by force of arms alone. In one of those areas of conflict- Lebanon—New Zealand welcomes the cease-fire and hopes that it paves the way for a more lasting settlement among the parties involved.
269.	The Antarctic region stands in sharp contrast to these troubled areas throughout the world. For over 20 years the Antarctic Treaty" has succeeded in making Antarctica an area of international co-operation and preventing it from becoming the object of international dissension. The Treaty is open to any Member of the United Nations and it remains in force indefinitely. It makes a very effective contribution to achieving the purposes of the United Nations. We assume that any study carried out by the Organization will fully recognize this fact and seek to reinforce the Treaty rather than to weaken it.
270.	Antarctica is one example of what can be achieved by practical international co-operation. The South Pacific is another. At least once a year the heads of all the independent Governments in our region meet together in the South Pacific Forum to talk over common problems and to work out ways of dealing with them. So far we have succeeded in keeping our part of the world peaceful. We are, however, concerned about the continuation of nuclear testing in the South Pacific. We appreciate the offer made by the French Government to allow qualified experts from countries in the area to visit the testing site and check the effectiveness of the safety precautions followed by the French authorities. But the question is not merely one of safety precautions; it is about the use of a relatively peaceful part of the world for an essentially warlike purpose.
271.	We realize that this problem cannot be dealt with on a purely regional basis, and that is why New Zealand, like other countries in the South Pacific and elsewhere, attaches great importance to the negotiation of a comprehensive test-ban treaty. To be effective, such a treaty would need to be fully verifiable. Given good will and effort on all sides, we believe this problem can be overcome. The conclusion of a comprehensive test-ban treaty would do much to strengthen the 1968 Treaty on the Non- Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons and to limit the nuclear arms race.
272.	The part of the world in which New Zealanders live is one of the few areas of relative tranquillity. Nevertheless we are from time to time sharply reminded of the limitations both of international law and of normally accepted standards of civilized behaviour. The ruthless and totally unjustified attack by the Soviet Union on a civilian airliner has provided such a reminder. The Soviet Union must accept full responsibility for this act of brutality. What is truly outrageous is that the Soviet Government claims this action was fully in accordance with Soviet law. In plain language they seem to be saying that if tomorrow a civilian airliner from any one of our countries mistakenly flew over Soviet territory then they reserve the right to shoot it down.
273.	The limits to international co-operation are thus plain—all to plain—to see, yet the membership of the United Nations remains intact, and we welcome to the fold a new Member from the Caribbean region.
274.	The reason, I suggest, is obvious. However difficult it has been to develop habits of international cooperation on these major political issues, there is no practical alternative for the overwhelming majority of countries.
275.	I believe that today this applies with equal force to the international economy. International economic linkages are such that in practical terms no single country any longer has freedom of action. That is the consequence of several decades of sustained growth in world trade, production and investment. The interdependent world economy has arrived on our doorsteps, and the world has little idea how to manage it.
276.	The theory behind economic interdependence is not new. We always knew that the health of any individual economy was linked in no small measure with the health of its major trading and investment partners. There is nothing novel in pointing to the close connections between, say, trade and financial flows.
277.	What is new is that the practical significance of those linkages has increased to such an extent and with such rapidity that we have failed to adapt sufficiently our institutions and our thinking so as to be able to cope with those linkages.
278.	New Zealand respects the competence of the principal economic institutions such as IMF, the World Bank and GATT. As originally conceived after the war, they each had their role—IMF was concerned principally with short-term balance of payment adjustment and maintaining exchange rate stability, the Bank was concerned with development and GATT dealt with trade.
279.	The growth of interdependence has totally blurred these tidy dividing lines. The long-term resolution of the debt burden built up over recent years is inextricably linked with the resolution of the problems of protectionism. The old phrase that debt is deferred trade sums up the reality that it is only through increased exports that the interest and principal repayments can ever be met.
If protectionism chokes off that possibility, then the debt problem assumes very different proportions.
280.	It is not just a question of interdependence between issues such as debt and trade, development and growth. It is also a question of the interdependence between countries, between regions, between North and South.
281.	The current economic crisis facing many less developed countries has obscured the fact that until recently the growth performance of many of those countries was particularly strong. It has been estimated that in the 25-year period 1950 to 1975 the per capita gross Rational product of the developing countries as a whole grew at an average rate of 3.5 per cent per annum. Even though we knew this left a number of countries with unacceptable levels of poverty, this was a remarkable historic achievement. It was matched by creditable progress in such crucial indices as a steady rise in life expectancy and adult literacy.
282.	Because of these developments it was clear by the beginning of the 1980s that it was no longer accurate to see the concept of dependence flowing one way only. By the 1980s the economic health of developed countries was beginning to be influenced profoundly by the economic performance of their less developed neighbours.
283.	This is what interdependence means. It was visibly demonstrated last year when the expected recovery of the developed and affluent countries members of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development [OFCD] did not eventuate in the second half of 1982 very largely because of a sudden downturn in the demand for their exports to the less developed world. Faced with acute financing difficulties caused by a contraction in commercial bank lending, many of the more heavily indebted countries had no option but to pursue adjustment policies based largely on slashing imports. This impaired their own development needs. It impaired the OECD's recovery.
284.	From the suffering of the Second World War a system for international economic co-operation was developed. Those who designed that system had in mind a world economy that was very different from the interdependent world economy we live in today. In many respects those post-war arrangements achieved their central objectives. Many of the key elements, such as currency convertibility, are still as relevant today as they were then. The successes of that system of trade and payments created the global economy we have today. I believe the international community must now move on to the next phase of international economic co-operation and begin the task of managing that interdependence.
285.	To describe the scope and magnitude of that task I have used the term "a new Bretton Woods". For over a year, at a variety of international forums, I have urged the international community to initiate the comprehensive examination of the world's trade and payments system that is the first necessary step towards a new Bretton Woods. The conference as such should be regarded as the last step, the culmination of the most careful preparatory process of analysis and discussion.
286.	During that time there has been considerable debate over the future of the trade and payments system. There have also been unmistakable signs of a recovery in the United States economy, and the immediate danger of default by the most heavily indebted countries has been averted by various rescue operations.
287.	The key question, I believe, is whether the recovery and these rescue operations will in practice set back the growing consensus in favour of a comprehensive examination of the underlying structural difficulties facing the world economy. There is a serious danger that this will be the case. The remedy, however, lies entirely in our own hands.
288.	Let me first summarize the international debate as I believe it has evolved over that period. In February 1983 the Brandt Commission's second report proposed a major review of the world's trade and payments system." In March the Movement of Non-Aligned Countries endorsed the Indian Prime Minister's call for a conference on money and finance for development. Following the meeting of OECD ministers in May, at which I repeated my call for a Bretton Woods-type conference, the French President made a very similar proposal. Then, at the Williamsburg Summit the leaders of the industrialized countries issued a somewhat tentative call for their ministers of finance to work with the Managing Director of IMF to prepare the groundwork for what might develop into a high-level international monetary conference. However qualified that endorsement may have been, it was a response from the developed world to the growing weight of opinion favouring a careful examination of these international economic issues. The middle ground, if not clearly delineated, was at least becoming visible.
289.	Finally, at the meeting of Commonwealth finance ministers, which concluded in Trinidad and Tobago less than two weeks ago, ministers of finance from 44 countries, representing the diversity of wealth, population and size that is the key characteristic of that grouping, commended the general thrust of a major report entitled "Towards a New Bretton Woods".
290.	This was a report compiled by eminent experts from nine Commonwealth countries. Its work on conditionally, liquidity problems, the role of special drawing rights, protectionism and sovereign debt, to mention only a few of the issues covered in the report, will, I hope, be sifted and refined. As the first attempt by an international institution to outline the agenda for such a fundamental examination of the trade and payments system, it deserves careful consideration by the wider international community.
291.	Surveying the debate over the past 12 months as a whole, therefore, international opinion seems to have been evolving in a promising direction. We were beginning to move away from the sterile confrontations that have been the hallmark of international economic debate even in recent years.
292.	However, we now face the possibility that the recovery—welcome as it is—may have the somewhat predictable result of unravelling a good deal of that growing consensus. If the international community has been increasingly ready to consider the scope for changes to the trade and payments system, it has no doubt been due to the long period of stagflation we have been through. Equally, now that the first clear signs of a recovery in the United States and certain other industrial economies are evident, some of the pressure to examine these long- term issues is off. It may be only realistic to expect that debate to be influenced by short-term fluctuation in the real economy. It would, I suggest, be reasonable to expect a little more vision.
293.	In spite of the misgivings of many Governors and the continuing, though privately expressed, disquiet of the international banking community, a message to emerge from the annual meetings of IMF and the World Bank was, regrettably, all too clear. With some of the major industrial countries there was a mood that can be expressed quite simply: now that the recovery is under way, let us put aside all this talk of changes to the trade and payments system.
294.	I believe that view is more than short-sighted; it is tragically misplaced. The recovery of industrial countries, in itself undoubtedly the best piece of economic news we have had for some years, will not come to grips with the deep-seated changes that have occurred in the world economy since the formation of the Bretton Woods institutions.
295.	In 1982 the world economy went backwards. World production declined by an estimated 2 per cent, and the volume of world trade declined by 2.5 per cent. Had this continued into 1983 I believe it would have put nearly impossible strains on world economic and political stability. The recovery certain developed countries are now experiencing has to be seen against that perspective. It has turned the tide against the forces of contraction of world output and trade unprecedented in our post-war experience. The recovery in demand will strengthen many commodity prices and thus may offer some relief to those countries which, like New Zealand, have suffered disastrous declines in their terms of trade during the last decade. Finally, however, the recovery is not a panacea for the problems of debt, protectionism and development.
296.	In the first place the recovery is cyclical in nature and confined to relatively few countries. Even for them the persistence of high interest rates is a serious threat to sustained recovery of their economies.
297.	Recovery will not tackle the underlying roots of protectionism, since clearly, the growth of protectionist action predates the recession. Protectionism, which is by no means confined to the OECD countries, will persist in the developed world if only because no one is predicting growth rates which will reduce the number of unemployed, roughly 35 million, in the OECD area.
298.	Recovery will not do much to alleviate the debt burdens of many developing countries. The Commonwealth study "Towards a New Bretton Woods" estimates that there are as many as 40 countries which have been reported to have agreed to debt reschedulings or to be in substantial payments arrears. In the 10-month period to June 1983 the value of cross-border debt being renegotiated with commercial banks has been calculated as being over 20 times larger than in any previous year. Debt of this magnitude is a powerful force for uncertainty, a threat to the recovery and a source of instability for these Governments, whatever their political system.
299.	Nor can I see any reason why the recovery should reverse the mood—so obvious in most countries—which has been aptly described as "aid weariness". The New Zealand political system is no more immune to that than any other democratic country. However, my experience with our small but highly effective aid programmes in the independent countries of the South Pacific has convinced me that the prevailing modem view of aid is profoundly misplaced.
300.	I have advocated putting aid on a firmer basis, possibly by issuing special drawing rights to the countries in greatest need. In any such distribution there may be a useful role for the World Bank, in part because that would put the Bank's finances on a more assured basis.
301.	These are only some of the medium- and longer- term issues which I believe the modest recovery in the OECD area will do little to address.
302.	The ideas, the issues involved, although technical in nature, have profound political implications. Many countries represented in the Assembly have witnessed directly the political consequences that flow from economic dislocation. Economic growth and stable financial markets will not of themselves preserve the fabric of world peace, but they are powerful positive forces all the same. Many of the elements of the post-war system of economic co-operation are under strain. I believe we, as an international community, now need to develop new political levers to tackle some of the underlying difficulties. We must move beyond the ad hoc responses that have developed to cope with severe, long-term current account deficits. We must reassure heavily indebted countries that there will be adequate financing available while they pursue the long-term process of structural adjustment. The original political mandate of GATT, which is now all but exhausted, must be renewed.
303.	The difficulty in all this is to move beyond general expressions of concern to initiate a process which might come to grips with some of these fundamental issues facing the world trade and payments system.
304.	Of course, if the complacent mood prevalent in some countries persists there is little that can be done. In that case, the middle ground that I believe was becoming visible until very recently will quickly disappear. We will quit the field and leave it to extremists of varying points of view. We will return to the dubious pleasure of the sterile confrontations of past years.
305.	I do not pretend to have a blueprint for the process that might lead to a comprehensive examination of the trade and payments system. There are many possible approaches, involving different timetables and different combinations of people and institutions. The study "Towards a new Bretton Woods", to which I referred earlier, has one such proposal worthy of the Assembly's consideration. Ultimately, the process must be tailored to the needs of the main participants so as to command their support.
306.	It is not hard, however, to describe in general terms the criteria for a successful examination of the trade and payments system.
307.	First, the basic work must be undertaken by experts of the highest standing, otherwise its analytical competence would be subject to easy and probably fatal challenge.
308.	Secondly, these experts must enjoy the confidence of major Governments and have ready access to their political advice. In that way, we might avoid proposals that are completely outside the limits of political possibility.
309.	Thirdly, any such group must be of manageable size. In my view this implies a small group of around 15 to 25 members broadly representative of the international community and working closely with the major international economic institutions. We would probably end up with something analogous to the structure of the Interim Committee and the Executive Board of IMF. Unlike the Interim Committee, however, it would be concerned with all the fundamental long-term trade and payments issues, rather than simply determining the current policy of IMF.
310.	Fourthly, a conference, involving participation on a far wider international basis, should be seen as a conclusion rather than a beginning. The Commonwealth finance ministers saw a Bretton Woods-type conference in this context very much as an end to the process rather than a commencement.
311.	It is more difficult to be definitive about the timetable when agreement on the process described above still escapes our grasp. I believe there is an urgent need to begin the task now, and I believe that the general proposition has wide support. If we accept the projections which imply an annual rate of growth in the key industrial countries of 3 to 4 per cent into 1984, then this gives us some flexibility to implement any changes agreed at what we might call the study group level. If we delay the start of our examination too long, then we face the possibility of yet another cyclical downturn in the world economy. A return to an even less auspicious macro-economic climate could sound the death-knell to the implementation stage of the exercise.
312.	The point requires no labouring. There is a real and pressing need to get on with the job of re-examining the system and working out how to adapt it to the needs of the period we live in. Delay is dangerous. To avert the threat, we should aim to have broad international agreement to implementing changes in the trade and payments system by, say, 1985. The process of preparing for it should begin straight away, certainly by the beginning of 1984. The time for action is now.


At the Seventh Conference of Heads of State or Government of Non- Aligned Countries, held at New Delhi from 7 to 12 March 1983, the chairman of the Movement of Non-Aligned Countries, Prime Minister Indira Gandhi of India, appealed to fellow heads of State or Government to participate in this session of the General Assembly with a view to reaffirming our faith in this Organization and to strengthening its role in the maintenance of international peace and security, and also to make a collective reassessment of the economic problems facing our one world today, particularly as they undermine our interdependence and mutuality of interest.
Imbued with faith in the Organization as the repository of the hopes of mankind for the maintenance of international peace and security, and given our serious concert) about the economic situation facing the world today, I hearkened to the summons issued at New Delhi to join my colleagues, follow heads of State or Government, in a concerted effort to reaffirm that faith and to contribute, it was hoped, to the search for solutions to the common problems besetting our world today.
Before proceeding any further, Sir, I should like to take this opportunity to congratulate you on your election as President of the thirty-eighth session. I wish you every success as you undertake the onerous task of guiding the deliberations of this session. Your impressive record as a diplomat, a jurist and a renowned statesman accounts for the support you have received from the Assembly in its electing you to preside over its affairs.
Permit me also, Mr. President, to pay a tribute to your predecessor, Mr. Imre Hollai of Hungary, for the commendable efforts he deployed as President of the thirty-seventh session. We recognize his valuable contributions to our efforts in promoting the goals of the United Nations.
May I also take this opportunity to welcome into this group of nations the new State of Saint Christopher and Nevis as a Member of the United Nations. We congratulate the Government and people on their independence and wish them every success in their task of nation-building.
Last year, my Government, concerned with the increasingly deteriorating international relations and the danger this posed for international peace and security, as well as the detrimental effect it was having on the Organization, called on the membership to implement the provisions of the Charter of the United Nations relating to the maintenance of international peace and security.
While the Security Council has been considering this issue over the past year, it is a matter of regret to my Government that meanwhile the international situation has not only deteriorated, but the threat of nuclear war has become even more menacing and real. For even today we meet against the backdrop of the unfortunate Korean civil airliner incident, resulting in the loss of life of 269 innocent people. The atmosphere and condition of mind that gave rise to this incident are, in our view, both regrettable and deplorable.
Even more alarming is the fact that with the increase in international tension, the uninterrupted arms race and the threat posed by nuclear weapons, the Organization stands helpless, unable to take meaningful initiatives to arrest this drift towards self-immolation. It was with a view to averting this danger that heads of State of the Non-Aligned Movement, in their meeting at New Delhi, called for a strengthening of the role of the United Nations to avert the threat of nuclear catastrophe.
It may be recalled that it was after a global catastrophe some 38 years ago that we, "the peoples of the United Nations, determined to save succeeding generations from the scourge of war, which twice in our lifetime has brought untold sorrow to mankind", founded the United Nations.
Today, if I appear on this rostrum, it is to reaffirm the faith and determination of my Government and people, as we helplessly watch the incidents of global tension rising every day, whether they be on the mountains and plains of Central America; in the streets and arid plains of the Middle East, reflecting the anguish of the Palestinian people to be born as a State; in the towns and villages of South-East Asia or in the deserts of Chad; in the struggle of the people of Namibia to be born free as an independent nation in the denial of the human dignity of the black people of	South Africa; and even, in the futile fratricidal war in the Gulf area. We see in all this a catalogue of woes and tribulations besetting our world. States have selfishly ignored the pledge we made when our founding fathers adopted the Organization's Charter. Today, what do we see? Nations continue to take up arms against nations and factions have been created within States, with adverse consequences for international peace and security.
It is our firm belief that as long as we continue to ignore the pledges and commitments enshrined in the Charter and refuse to utilize its procedures and provisions, so long shall our world be plagued by these problems and, indeed, new sets of problems. It is in this regard, therefore, that my Government believes that the General Assembly should be the echo chamber of the conscience of the international community. We should use the United Nations to articulate common problems and focus our energies to find solutions to them. This is the message I want to reiterate, as the head of a small, independent country grappling with the problems of nation-building in a world distracted, self-distracted if you will, by political tension born of mistrust among nations.
Even as the world is confronted with the threat of nuclear annihilation and mounting political tension, because of the escalating arms race, developing countries such as mine face no less a threat to their very survival as nation States in the equally serious international economic situation. The complex problems that today constitute the international economic malaise have been discussed in various international forums, and it is no hidden secret that, increasingly, the continued viability of many of the newly independent countries as nation States is becoming bleaker in an inexorably hostile economic world. Unless the international community immediately comes to terms with the situation, even that glorious chapter of the Organization, that of political decolonization, may have to be rewritten.
The burden of the crisis has been felt within the international monetary system. It has been reflected in severe cutbacks in finance and development assistance and in unacceptable restrictions in terms of trade, both for manufactured goods from the newly industrialized countries and for agricultural raw materials and minerals from non-oil-exporting countries.
The result of all this has been disappointing as regards the improvement of the social and economic welfare of millions of people across the globe, whose legitimate expectations of well-being remain disappointed and unfulfilled.
Inasmuch as it is evident that every country represented here today has, in one way or the other, been affected by the global economic crisis, the one inescapable fact remains that the world stands in need of a new order to rearrange our social and economic relationship. More than ever before, we need imagination, compassion and, above all, the political initiative and will to meet the deepening economic crisis and afford our peoples the improved standard of life that is their due. It is not by acrimony, confrontation and division that this new order I speak of will evolve or be established, but rather by the recognition and the affirmation of our mutuality of interest and our indissoluble interdependence.
The rapid expansion of international travel, the unprecedented movement of money and finance across continents, the possibilities of easily transmitting disease and illness over vast distances, cosmic pollution and a myriad of other problems all attest to the need for the Organization to address itself to the question of global interdependence. It therefore behaves us all to recognize that only in this course lies our collective and individual salvation, and that this is our understanding of fairness and equity.
Allow me to aver that even though the present state of the world economy has unfavorably affected the countries of the world as a whole, and the developing countries above all, it is, however, generally recognized that the least developed among them have suffered most and because of the weakness of their economic structures are the least likely to benefit from any economic recovery without massive international support from the major donors and financial institutions. In this regard, the achievement of the objectives of the Substantial New Programme of Action for the 1980s for the Least Developed Countries,' unanimously adopted in Paris in 1981, is more than ever a valid goal.
In this connection, let me take this opportunity to express to the Secretary-General my Government's appreciation for recently sending an inter-agency mission to assess, the assistance needs of Sierra Leone, with the aim of mobilizing the financial and other resources necessary to implement the programmes and projects identified in the report. The report is an official document before this session of the Assembly. I therefore urge all States and relevant institutions and organizations to give it the necessary attention with the aim of participating effectively in a donors conference to be organized in due course.
I would like at this juncture to express the gratitude and appreciation of my Government and people to all agencies and organizations, within and outside the United Nations system, which are rendering assistance to my country. We have no doubt that these institutions and agencies could give humanity greater assistance if only we could minister the necessary political will to provide them with the resources they require to fulfil their mandates. These institutions, by their role and function, give practical meaning to one of the cardinal principles of the Charter by promoting social progress, improving standards of life and ensuring the economic and social advancement of all peoples and thereby strengthening the fabric of international peace and security.
The United Nations was born out of the lessons of the last global catastrophe I spoke of earlier. Let us, therefore, apply the lessons of that global catastrophe, reaffirm our faith and uphold and respect the organs, procedures and provisions of the Charter, for only in this way can we assuredly fulfil our pledges to save succeeding generations from the scourge of war. I affirm the commitment of the Government and people of Sierra Leone to this end.


288.	 I wish first to thank all
heads of delegation who have spoken with empathy and
with concern for my country, Lebanon. I sincerely hope
that a reunited and reinvigorated Lebanon will promote
the great causes to which they all contribute.
I am pleased to congratulate the President on his
election to the presidency of the thirty-eighth session. My
congratulations acquire special significance in view of the
close relations existing between our two countries, as well
as the traditional ties of friendship and co-operation
that characterize relations between Latin America and
Lebanon.
290. I wish to express appreciation to the President's
predecessor, Mr. Imre Hollai, for the able manner in
Which he presided over the thirty-seventh session.
291.	I also wish to pay a warm tribute to the Secretary-
General for Ms dedicated work on behalf of peace. His
clear vision of the international community and of the
United Nations peace-keeping and peace-keeping capabilities, his human and diplomatic Qualities and the
Competent way in which he guides the work of the Organization is alt worthy of our highest esteem.
292.	My delegation has carefully studied the report of
the Secretary-General on the work of the Organization
We express our support for the valuable comments and observations in this report, especially those
relating to the endeavours to enhance the effectiveness
of the Security Council and strengthen the United Nations
peace-keeping operations, whose missions and objectives
are set by the Security Council.
293.	My delegation specifically supports the Secretary-
General's proposal to dispatch fact-finding missions to
areas of tension, to prevent possible conflicts which could
endanger international peace and security.
294.	Our agenda this year is replete with increasingly
complex and still unresolved problems affecting internal-
tonal peace. Lebanon, a founding member of the United
Nations and a nation sensitive to the problems of other
nations, finds itself once more In the vortex of the storm.
We are therefore compelled to focus on our own problems, sine it is our nation's very existence that is in danger.
295.	One year ago, at the thirty-seventh session, President Amin Gemmate stated here:
"... we have had enough; enough of bloodshed,
enough of destruction, enough of dislocation and
despond. We have paid the high price of war. We should
not pay an additional price for Pease. As a Member
of the United Nations we want our rights to be restored
to us." This appeal of yesterday is still our appeal of today, for
we Lebanese desperately need peace and security with
freedom and justice. Furthermore, it is our right, indeed
our responsibility, to explain our case to the Assembly
and to absolve ourselves before the court of history, lest
misunderstanding of the Lebanese problem usher the
region into a war that could threaten the existing order
in the globally pivotal Middle East.
296.	There is a great deal of ideological propaganda that
insists that Lebanon will always be in turmoil, that Lebanon can never contribute to civilized and purposeful
lives. Those who maintain these absurdities see their
interests best served in conflict and confrontation; they
would feel lost and purposeless in a society of civilized,
co-operative and peace-loving nations. They insist that
Lebanon will always remain intractable, hoping thereby
to dissuade the United Nations from exercising its peaceful role or friendly Powers from extending a sympathetic,
helping hand.
297.	In the face of this propaganda and through eight
years of bloodshed, economic ruin and foreign intervention of every sort, it is proof of our inevitable viability
as a nation that no Lebanese faction has ever entertained
the idea of partition or secession. The Lebanese people
are absolutely committed to a unified and independent
Lebanon. What the Lebanese people share is a precious?
experience in democratic government, unique in the Arab
world. Until war broke out, Lebanon was the cultural
and economic capital of the Middle East, the meeting
place of Arab and Western intellectuals, the centre for
international trade and a precocious example
of successful, peaceful democratic government.
298.	In 1975, as the society of civilized States looked
on, this young democracy succumbed to a host of Arab-
Israeli, inter-Arab and East-West tensions. To be sure,
Lebanon, take other heterogeneous societies, had its share
of internal tensions, but the virtue of democracy is that
it can remind these tensions peacefully, unlike other forms
of government which can only resist and suppress them.
299.	We stand before the world asking for an opportunity to be left to ourselves in order to allow our democratic ways to resolve the tensions in our nation. This
request is in no way Utopian or unreasonable, for many
of the oldest and most stable Member States of the
Organization—European, Asian and American—have
experienced similarly tumultuous and dangerous periods
in their past as they forged heterogeneous populations
into unified, modern nation States. Thus, in addition to
our courage, determination and faith, historical precedent
is on our side.
300.	in Lebanon, a pluralistic society is attempting to
reach mature nationhood. The contours of religions and
faiths are being redefined in order to conform to the
requirements of the modern State. The political philosophy of a traditional society is adjusting to the realties
of super-Power conflict, pervasive ideologies, supranational mass movements and modern military threats.
of Host third world nations, and to understand and
successfully treat the problems of Lebanon would be to
avert similar uncertainty and conflict in the third world
of the next few decades.
30. Lebanon today finds itself occupied by three regular armies and by surrogate fighting forces attached to
these armies. Israel occupies about one third of Lebanese
territory, in the area under its control it raises local armies
and militias; it trains them, equips them and provides
them with logistical support. Israel declares to the world
that it understands Lebanon and wants to save it, yet it
proceeds to act in a manner that wilts idea to its destruction. To the Jewish people, who have tasted the bitter
pill of destruction, we now proclaim in this international
forum "Let your actions match your words. You wanted
security for your northern frontiers. You have got that
security in the proposed agreement". In the light of
emerging political facts we urge Israel to reconsider the
obstacles which are making the implementation of the
agreement difficult.
302. Syria effectively controls about one half of Lebanese territory. Its army no longer enjoys the umbrella of
legitimacy that the Lebanese Government had provided
since 1976. No one will deny that Syrian forces have
played a balancing role in the past in the raging international conflicts fought on Lebanese territory, but this is
no longer the case. The prolongation of a Syrian military
presence In Lebanon is likely to exacerbate relations
between Lebanon and Syria, and It works to the disadvantage of both, in the Syrian-held territory of Lebanon,
Palestinians, Iranians, Libyans and a number of local
organizations, armed and directed by the Syrians, have
been pitted against the forces of the legitimately Constituted Government. Clearly, Syria and Lebanon have
many inseparable interests, some of which have increased
greatly in the past seven years. Cleary, the relations
between Lebanon and Syria were and still are destined
to be qualitatively closer than the relations between Lebanon and any other country in the Middle East. Lebanon
has made it abundantly clear that it intends to cultivate
these relations, to address our common interests and to
work with Syria in the promotion of ideals which the
peoples of the two countries share. Now Lebanon calls
upon Syria to extend a helping hand, to give meaning
and substance to the bond of brotherhood that ties the
Arab States toga her. We expect Syria to withdraw its
forces in a manner that will promote Lebanon's sovereignty while at the same time addressing Syria's security concerns.
303. Palestinian fighters in Lebanon are now based near Tripoli in the north and near Baalbek in the east. Together with Other elements and some local militias supported by external forces, they were directly Involved in
fighting the Lebanese Army and in preventing it from
extending its authority in the area recently evacuated by
the Israelis. Since 1970 Lebanon has been the base for
military actions by the PLO against Israel, actions which
led to successive air raids by Israel and two invasions of
Lebanon, in 1978 and 1982, the second of which led to
Israeli occupation of south Lebanon. The Lebanese, more
than any other people in the Arab world, gave the Palestinians the opportunity to experiment with all types of
methodologies to reclaim their legitimate rights. If they
have failed to do so it is not for lack of good will on the
part of Lebanon. Now, however, neither Lebanon nor
the Palestinians wishes to perpetuate a tragedy which
may translate itself into havoc not only for the Lebanese
but also for the Palestinian civilian population in Lebanon as well. We therefore call on the PLO to reciprocate
the good will it has enjoyed from the Lebanese by withdrawing its fighters, as its leaders had agreed to do. To
the Palestinians whose presence in Lebanon is legal we
say that we recommit ourselves to them in this world
forum and reaffirm that they wish enjoy all rights and
privileges provided by the taw. They will thus be able to
resume a normal and secure item, unequalled in its freedom and its cultural implications in any other country
of the Middle East.
304.	Thus a Lebanon afflicted by forces from beyond
its frontiers proclaims to the Assembly in word and in
deed its readiness to accommodate what these forces
claim to be equitable, fair and just to them. We are ready
to reason with alt, clinging to what is our own, while
allowing to the limits of rationally and liberality what
others claim to be their interest in what is our own.
305.	Because of our legal rights under the Charter of
the United Nations, under international law and under
the rules of civilized existence, we feel justified in calling
upon the moral conscience of mankind, represented
in the Assembly, to save this valiant and beleaguered
democracy.
307.	Lebanon, because of its pluralistic society, its
democratic form of government and its geographical
location, has become the centre of conflicting policies in the region. Lebanon is, in effect, reaping the fruits of all that has gone wrong in Middle East politics in the past 50 years, or of all the policies that have failed to acquire legitimate status in the fluctuating order of the Middle East politics. To allow Lebanon to flounder in its present course is to aggravate the conflicts of the region and to export them beyond its frontiers into Syria, Iraq and the Gulf States, which are also, like Lebanon, mixed societies whose elements could be ignited by the fires of ideological passion.
308. Palestinian refugees flooded Lebanon in the wake of the establishment of Israel, and in time the refugees became fighters challenging not only Israel but the very liberal Lebanese order that allowed them to thrive. Syria, in its confrontation with Israel, has become highly militarized and impatient with Lebanon's liberal regime. Revolutionary Arab States exploited Lebanon's pluralistic structure and encouraged the rise of movements and parties whose objectives were in conflict with the broad-based consensus on which the Lebanese pluralistic, democratic order is based.
309. When others were busy mobilizing masses, building
armies and concentrating power in ruling Elites, the Lebanese were contributing to peace and excelling in trade
and finance, in education and health and in the promotion of the arts and the fine things of life. Perhaps in ail
this we underestimated the necessity of building a strong
State, strong institutions and a strong national army.
Lebanon's sin, if sin it be, is that it was too free in a region
where freedom was not appreciated, too Iberia in a region
known for its powerful regimes and too permissive of acts
and thoughts that openly sought to undermine the very
system that nurtured them.
310. it has now learned its lesson. it will continue to
cherish freedom, but will not permit it to deteriorate into
anarchy; it will continue to uphold Iberia, pluralistic
values but not at the expense of a strong and vibrant
nation State; it will tolerate, at indeed cultivate, diversity of thought and organization, but within the dear cut confines of the unity of the State, the unity of the
people and the unity of governmental institutions.
3. Lebanon's wars is a regional war with international
dimensions. The different communities of Lebanon were
forced by political and military facts costing about them
to take sides. n conflicts involving the Israelis, the Palestinians and the Syrians, virtually no community was
allowed the freedom to be truly neutral and truly Lebanese. Only after the battier had raged for some time did
the Lebanese begin to realize what was actually happening
oh their land. When the realization was complete, they
rallied to the cause of Lebanon and tried to extricate it
from the web of forces in which it had become entangled.
Accordingly the duly elected Parliament, one of the few
truly representative parliaments in the Middle East, freely
and unanimously elected Amin Gemayel to the presidency. The Parliament represents all communities, all
regions, all political trends in the country. When Lebanon
signed an agreement regarding the withdrawal of Israeli
forces from Lebanon, only two members of Parliament
cast their votes against it. An impressive national consensus exists to end the wars of others on our land, to
remove all non-Lebanese forces from the country and to
stand behind the President in his efforts to liberate, unite
and develop Lebanon.
312.	A year ago we asked the Twelfth Arab Summit
Conference, held at Fez, to acknowledge Lebanon's decision to remove Israeli, Syrian and PLO forces from Lebanon. In early spring we asked the Seventh Conference
of Heads of state or Government of Non-Aligned Counties, at New Delhi, to support Lebanon's right to get all
non-Lebanese forces out of the country. The agreement
reached in May 1983 between Lebanon and Israel under
United States sponsorship requires Israel to withdraw
fully from Lebanon. Recently, President Gemayel sent letters to President Assad and to Mr. Arafat asking them
to withdraw their armed forces from Lebanon.
313.	The Security Council has repeatedly reaffirmed our
right to extend our sovereignty throughout our land. Since
1978 the United Nations has maintained UNIFIL in the
south, a force which against heavy odds has upheld
Lebanon's legitimate rights in the area of its operation,
providing security and hope to the local population. To
the counters contributing to this force we express our
deep gratitude.
314.	We are deeply grateful to the United States,
France, Italy and the United Kingdom for their peace-
keeping forces in our country and for the support they
are giving the Government in attaining its broad objectives. Lebanon must pay a special tribute to President
Reagan, who has wholeheartedly committed himself to
helping Lebanon regain its unity, sovereignty and independence. In the past week the efforts of the United States
and of Saudi Arabia, in quiet and intensive diplomacy
between Beirut and Damascus, have led to a cease-fire
which we hope will end the bloodshed and start the
political process of conciliating conflicts and interests.
We are grateful to the United States and to Saudi Arabia
and to their able diplomats who worked tirelessly in
achieving the cease-fire. We now look to the United
Nations to help us establish the mechanism that can
adequately supervise it. We hope that this urgent and
humane objective will have the enthusiastic support of
ail Members of the Organization.
315. In short, Lebanon's message to the General Assembly is this: help us remove all non-Lebanese forces from
our country, and Lebanon on its own will resolve its
internal tensions and resume its valuable position as a
contributor to world peace and international prosperity,
both cultural and economic.
316.	The Middle East is undoubtedly a region fraught
with conflicts, but of all the problems of the region the
Lebanese problem is the most crucial and therefore the
most urgent. The Iran-Iraq war poses a danger to the
stability of the Oaf. Soviet-American rivalry in the
Middle East endangers the delicate international balance
of power. The Palestinian problem poses a threat to peace
in the Arab East. The Arab-Israel problem threatens the
State system in the region. And, finally, there is the
problem of radical minority movements and the danger
they pose to a stable social order in the area.
317.	If dialogue and diplomacy can succeed in Lebanon
this success will breed other successes, and the parties to
the effort Will gain credibility and momentum and go on
to resolve other problems. If Lebanon fails, every society
from Morocco in the west to the Guff States in the east
will be threatened. Now the world looks on as the battier
between order and anarchy rages; every regime in the
region awaits its outcome. If there is any crisis
whose consequences spies the beginning or the end of an
era, it is the Lebanese crisis. In a the historical sense
Lebanon's crisis is axial and future events will be judged
by what was done or left undone at this juncture.
318.	Lebanon is doing the impose within the limited
means at its disposal. The Government exercises effective
control over barely 15 per cent of the territory, and yet
the people, irrespective of the force that exercises control
over them, are overwhelmingly with the Government.
President Gemayel has called again and again on all
leaders of the opposition to joining a dialogue that will
establish the precipices on which the new Lebanon will
be founded. Now a dialogue committee has been established and efforts are under way to convene it as soon
as possible. The stage has been set for the formation of
a Government of national unity and the opposition has
been invited to participate in it.
319.	We have in the past year built an army committed
to the impartial defence of the entire Lebanese polity, an
army of all the people, for all the people. The cohesion
of the army in the past month is a reflection of the
cohesion that holds Lebanese society together irrespective
by outsiders. We have given peace and order to the city
of Beirut, the only area exclusively under Government
authority. Where the Government holds sway, the different communities in peace as one family, and no one looks askance at his neighbour.
320.	In speaking to the Assembly about Lebanon I am
speaking of a subject not unfamiliar to representatives.
For over 100 years Lebanese have been emigrating to the
Far East, to South-East Asia, to Australia, to New Zealand, to Africa, to the Americas and, more recently, to
Europe at the Gulf States. Ambitious and daring Lebanese have been responsible for great intellectual, artistic
and developmental achievements in the new lands that
they have made their homes. In most of the countries
represented in the Assembly Lebanese hold key positions
in government, education and business. They left their
native country in search of a dream, the dream of excelling and of giving their progeny more, much more, than
they had themselves. I also know, however, of the dreams
of the Lebanese today in the tortured land of Lebanon.
They are simple dreams. Most representatives would be
surprised that they are called dreams at all. Tate Lebanese
dream of leading simple, ordinary lives. They dream of
returning to their cities, to their towns, to their visages.
They dream of opening their shops in the morning and
closing them in the evening. They dream of harvesting
their crops, of sending their children to school and of
welcoming them home in the evening. They dream of
peaceful walks to the village spring. They dream of
gathering as the sun goes down at recounting ordinary
stories and ordinary events in an ordinary life. They
dream of what others take for granted.
321.	I bring with me the aspirations of a beleaguered
people. My voice encompasses the voice of tens of thousands of men, women and children who have lost their
lives in a merciless international conflict.
322.	What I ask of the international community assembled in this Hall is to help the Lebanese nation secure
the normal, the minimum, conditions of national existence. The Lebanese people themselves are anxious to
achieve the rest. The Lebanese are a capable, inventive
and industrious people. They will not succumb to the
rages of international chaos and conflict but will mould
a stronger and deeper national entity out of the suffering
that they have endured. We like to think that we are not
alone in this struggle, and we look to our brothers in the
society of nations for encouragement, assistance and
support.


144.	 Mr. President, it gives me great pleasure to congratulate you upon your election as President of the thirty-eighth session of the General Assembly. The experience of Panama—and your personal role in that experience—ensure that you will serve in this high office with distinction.
145.	The Australian Government also warmly welcomes Saint Christopher and Nevis, now the 158th Member of the United Nations.
146.	In this year's report on the work of the Organization the Secretary-General observes that the drive towards an effective, peaceful and more equitable world order has slowed, that the incentive to develop international institutions has weakened, that political will has dissipated.
147.	He has urged a return to the far-sighted diplomacy of the founding years of the Organization and a recommitment by all of us to the Charter. The regaining of that vision and that commitment has become an urgent responsibility. We must recognize the extent to which we have drawn on the credit and credibility which underlie the whole operation of the United Nations. We must act with a genuine sense of urgency to re-establish the vitality and the authority of the Organization.
148.	It is true that millions around the world have better lives—have lives to live—because of the work of the United Nations agencies. It is equally true—and we must accept the consequences—that in the past 38 years a very significant proportion of the world's population has grown up judging the United Nations by what it has not been able to do. They are not just the people predisposed to scoff at the noble aspirations defined at the founding Conference at San Francisco. They include the most passionate believers in the civilized world community for which the United Nations stands. They have suffered too long being deprived of what this body can offer them.
149.	We have the Charter. We have the principles. What we lack is the consistent will to implement them—a sufficient commitment to this institution which is the real and only expression of the international community. There are notable achievements on the United Nations record, but we c not overlook any longer those many unfulfilled expectations.
150.	Mr. Evatt, one of the first Presidents of the General Assembly and a distinguished predecessor of mine, sought to guarantee the position of the middle and small Powers because he knew that they would need the United Nations most. He wanted limitations on the use of the veto in the Security Council and enhanced powers for the General Assembly. The importance of these ideas for an effective, participatory United Nations is undiminished.
151.	Realistically, Australia accepts that it is not possible to go back literally to the structure and procedures envisaged in the 1940s. While it is true, for example, that the powers given to the Security Council to deter, prevent, punish and terminate aggression were thought practicable then, they are no longer so. Those sections of the Charter providing such powers were based on a great-Power consensus that was always fragile and, in the event, was short-lived.
152.	Today the Security Council must operate by persuasion and consent, but it must operate better. A number of suggestions have been made in this regard—most notably by the Secretary-General and by the Governments of the Nordic countries. It is the earnest hope of the Australian Government that the specific proposals to come forward during this session will be firm and practical, and that they will be acted upon.
153.	Obviously, the Security Council is at the nub of any proposition to make the operation of the United Nations more effective, and the crucial element in what happens there is the state of relations between the superpowers. It is clear to us all, and acknowledged by the parties themselves, that the relationship is going through a difficult phase. I do not doubt that the leaders of the United States and the Soviet Union are aware that a serious mistake or a breakdown in the management of that relationship could destroy us all in this age of nuclear weapons.
154.	The United Nations was planned to be a forum for discussion of the major issues of concern to the world. But there is a responsibility we all share—particularly the super-Powers, but also the countries of the North and South, East and West—to avoid undermining this institution by allowing it to become merely another venue for the pursuit of sterile objectives such as bilateral competition between the super-Powers or empty rhetoric by one group making unrealistic demands of another.
155.	I appeal to both sides in all earnestness and good faith to pay regard to the wider significance and potential of this single all-embracing institution of the world community. The United Nations is all of us. I do not suggest a retreat from reality, only an effort to minimize the potentially crippling impact upon this body at a time when it is, we have to acknowledge, debilitated.
156.	Obviously, the United Nations can never be fully effective without normal relations between the superpowers. I suggest only that we try to maintain it in the best condition possible until that time arrives.
157.	There is one sense in which the super-Powers live in a world exclusive of others. They deal with each other on issues and on a plane that others cannot share. Yet all our destinies are potentially at stake in their relationship. And it is here in the United Nations that we who are not great Powers see our best opportunity to make known our shared concern.
158.	It seems to us that these great and threatening tensions arise from fundamental misconceptions. The difficulty is to find adequate means of addressing those fundamentals when there are such compelling distractions in the flow of events within the relationship.
159.	There is no ambiguity in Australia's position in the broad picture. We are allied with the United States. We are a democracy. We support democratic institutions and those that share our values. The Australian Government, like Governments of other democracies, expresses the will and the interests of the people who elect us. When the Soviet Union chose to destroy an unarmed Korean airliner we condemned its action in the strongest terms—and that, manifestly, was the feeling of our people. The same was true of the reaction in democratic societies to the invasion of Afghanistan. Democratic Governments reflect their constituencies, or they do not survive. By virtue of that same process, we can assure the Soviets with utter certainty that the people of our democracies have no interest in confrontation.
160.	Whatever judgement Soviet leaders may make about the system in the West, they have no justification for a view that it is bent on the destruction of the Soviet people's security and welfare. In their theoretical analysis of the world and their vision of the future, those Soviet leaders must concede a secure and lasting place to the West and to the non-aligned and developing countries. It is not legitimate to seek the subversion and overthrow of these countries.
161.	In the West, as we also assess future prospects, we must concede a proper place for the Soviet Union—not only in terms of power but also as defined by the legitimate concerns and aspirations of the Soviet peoples. The extent to which those peoples have suffered in war and invasion—and not only in this century—is something almost beyond the comprehension of most of us. Yet that experience greatly influences Soviet judgements and policies, and must be understood. To understand is not to exculpate, however, when transgressions of proper international conduct occur.
162.	Essentially, I am suggesting that wherever possible, we encourage and assist the super-Powers to moderate antagonisms, to obtain new understandings, perhaps to find new mechanisms for political action and consultation, and that all of us rid ourselves of dangerous stereotypes and misconceptions. The United Nations must be capable of providing some of those mechanisms. Unquestionably, the need is even greater now than at the time of the founding of the Organization. From this distance we may judge that there was excessive enthusiasm then for a body with the authority of a final arbiter. Today, we cannot expect it to be that.
163.	Since the fragile consensus of the greater Powers disappeared, the Security Council has had to operate by persuasion and consent—a situation unlikely to change in the near future. Security Council members have a privileged position in the United Nations system. This is even more true of the five permanent members, and especially true of the two super-Powers. It is the view of the Australian Government that additional responsibilities accompany that privilege. The greater the privilege, the greater the responsibility. I hope the Council will begin to look more often to its composition.
164.	I am pleased to note the Secretary-General's efforts to work more closely with the Security Council and hope that they will be reciprocated. It may be timely to review the whole body of procedures and mechanisms employed by the Council. Periodic and private meetings of the Security Council, as envisaged in earlier times, could be useful in the present climate. Private meetings may be helpful in developing arrangements for the informal examination of a dispute in its early stages.
165.	The habit of having public debates after the fighting has started has not, as a general rule, been beneficial. When the Security Council meets during an outbreak of hostilities, it is difficult not to regard a demand for the cessation of hostilities as a minimum demand. Yet, the truth very often is that the demand is not practical and might anyway give an advantage to the aggressor.
166.	One of the trends that has weakened the authority of the United Nations in recent years is the bypassing of the Security Council, usually for one of two reasons: the certainty of a veto or the likelihood of insubstantial action. On the latter point, it is not beyond us to devise a better methodology, taking into account the practical possibilities of information-gathering, United Nations involvement, initiation of discussions or negotiations between the parties and follow-up. As to the veto, valid arguments have been presented frequently for and against it, but it remains with us. In my view, however, we are entitled to expect that those who hold such power will use it with restraint and on the basis of considerations that go beyond mere self-interest. It does not exist to promote immobility.
167.	The Charter was designed as a practical instrument as well as a statement of principle and the veto power is one practical recognition that all States are not equal in terms of power. It is a practical reminder that some Members are able to exercise a stronger claim on our attention than others. On the other hand, the Charter created a democracy in the General Assembly. Here, our common interests predominate. The Assembly and the Security Council should be mutually supportive in their relationship. The overall results should provide, for those many countries who need it, the assurance that the highest priority can be the well-being of their people rather than a costly pursuit of security.
168.	To provide this assurance, I suggest, the United Nations must find the capability and the will to mount effective peace-keeping operations. As I stated earlier, the Organization has been notably weakened by being bypassed when such a need arises; yet there can be no expectation of effective United Nations action. Perhaps the most obvious feature of past peace-keeping ventures by the United Nations was that the war was already under way when the peace-keepers were sent. In these times when grass fires can so readily become conflagrations, we must surely think carefully about the scope for more pre-emptive action.
169.	Along with remedial action in respect of peacekeeping, there is desperate need for revitalized United Nations activity in the areas of disarmament negotiations and the defence of human rights.
170.	A fundamental area of concern to the United Nations and to all decent people is the need for vigilance in the preservation of human rights. The reality is that the United Nations and its Members have made great progress in this field, whether it is defined in terms of fundamental political freedoms, action against racism, action against sexism, or the general development of law and legal practice affecting human rights. But human rights, individually and collectively, are still violated daily. One of the fundamental tests of a principled organization like the United Nations will be its ability to protect the rights of individuals as human beings. Human rights are gravely challenged by deteriorations in economic and political conditions. Seeking to guarantee them in law is essential, but we must stop the common phenomenon of human rights being the first casualty of economic and political difficulty. We must stop this not only because it is wrong, but also because the seeds of a second round of violence are sown when human rights are ignored. Central to the policy of all Governments must be a determination to pursue economic and social policies compatible with the preservation of the rights of the individual.
171.	The debate about the right to development, in the United Nations bodies concerned with human rights, is important in the North-South economic debate. We understand that human rights in the absence of economic rights seem hollow to the poor of the world. Poor men, after all, are more impressed with the provision of bread than with the abstract wisdom of Western thought. They are, however, best served when they benefit from both. Similarly, struggling developing nations are more inspired by guaranteed access to export markets, better pricing policies, adequate credit on reasonable terms and a fair flow of investment funds with which to promote their development than by the cold comfort of homilies about the fictitious free flow of market forces in international trade.
172.	I have noted the emphasis placed by many speakers on the fragility and dangers inherent in the present international economic situation. The nature of these problems, as well as the need for the rich countries of the world to respond generously—and indeed, in their own interests—to the economic difficulties of the developing nations, including the indebtedness of many third-world countries, is clear. If I can expand on a metaphor of Claude Cheysson, the Minister for Foreign Affairs of France, which likened the potential economic failure of some developing countries to an aircraft stalling at the point of take-off, I would add that should crash landings occur, they would be in the midst of substantial slabs of developed nations' economies. The effect would be mutually crippling, not only in terms of the impact of failed major financial institutions, but also as a consequence of the disastrous impact on two-way North-South trade flows. In fact, if we fail to help remedy the economic problems of the developing world, we shall invest deeply and unwisely in policies which may well disable the developed world itself.
173.	In these circumstances, the proposals for the new international economic order, the Brandt Commission report and the principles of the North-South dialogue should command more constructive and determined responses from the developed nations of the world than they have so far been ready to make. Some of the key proposals contain economic and logistical problems, but these difficulties are not reason enough for doing nothing—or, at most, precious little—about them.
174.	As a democratic socialist Government, the Government of Australia is firmly committed to working constructively and practically in pursuit of the objectives set down in these various programmes and we wish that there would be an unambiguous declaration of renewed intent on the part of all industrialized nations to work towards these ends. In this way, we feel, the moral compulsions in defence of human rights are directly linked with a demonstrated and genuine concern for economic rights.
175.	But nothing threatens human rights, life, or a decent standard of living more than war and armaments. During the last year we have witnessed in all parts of our heterogeneous world a rising voice against the arms race. That voice must be heard, especially by those in government who have the responsibility for making decisions.
176.	What is at issue is a fundamental refusal by people all over the world to accept that humanity will be defeated and destroyed by technology. The question is—do we run the machine or does it run us? Will the awful arithmetic of the atomic bomb overwhelm us and destroy us?
177.	It is more than a rhetorical comment to say that nuclear weapons represent a genocide of the human spirit. Their destructive power is overwhelming. They represent an expression of the genius of man in science and technology. But to allow the genius to turn against humanity is to admit the final genocide.
178.	As the Secretary-General has pointed out in his report to the General Assembly, the principles of the Charter are no more closely tied to the survival of humanity than in the field of disarmament. Interestingly, he has said that we need a recommitment to those principles. In this single word he has drawn our attention to a fact of vital significance, that is, that the principles are there, they exist in the Charter and that they held a livelier place in our imagination and our actions in the past than they do today. That place must be restored and strengthened. We must recommit ourselves to the maintenance of peace with the lowest possible level of armaments and to disarmament as one of mankind's highest practical goals. The need for this is urgent and this is what the people of the world are telling us. They will not accept that the system is out of control. They will not accept the arms-race mentality. The stakes at issue are far too high and the possibility of error leading to global catastrophe grows daily and in direct proportion to the introduction of every new nuclear-weapon system.
179.	The Australian Government is committed to the arms control and disarmament goals of the United Nations, as enshrined both in the Charter and in the substantial fabric of international law that has been developed since the Organization came into existence. That body of law should be developed further and adhered to universally. One of the Australian Government's first actions following its election was to make policy decisions in the disarmament Held which elevated disarmament and arms control goals to the required level of priority within our foreign policy, particularly in relation to our role within the wider world community. It did this motivated by the certain knowledge that this was what the Australian people wanted.
180.	Australia is determined that there will be an end to the nuclear arms race and a reduction in the number and kinds of nuclear weapons held by nuclear-weapon States. We are determined that the Treaty on the Non- Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons shall be strengthened and adhered to universally. Linking these two objectives, we are determined that there should be an end to nuclear testing in all environments for all time. We will seek, with all the vigour possible, an international agreement to ensure that the arms race does not extend to outer space.
181.	Nuclear issues are central to the survival of mankind, but people die daily, and in alarming numbers, through the use of conventional weapons. The arms trade is running at some $700 billion a year. This is a major threat to life and human rights. It provides no security. It is manifestly an illusion to believe that security stems from the barrel of a gun, and the allocation of resources to this trade, instead of to development and the promotion of decent standards of living, is a scandal of monumental proportions.
182.	Military budgets must be reduced. The arms trade must be curbed. Action must be taken to stop the black- market trade in arms. Australia believes that these three goals are ideal subjects for negotiation by the United Nations. Accordingly, we will be promoting action on them.
183.	Chemical weapons—the so-called poor man's atomic bomb—are abhorrent. Their effects are devastating and inhumane. They are cheap and easily stored. They are ideally suited to the non-industrial world, and they must be outlawed. Australia will try to see an international convention developed that will have this effect.
184.	I should like now to turn to several issues of particular concern to Australia.
185.	Australia is and will always be a part of the Southeast Asian and South Pacific region. We are naturally concerned that a stalemate continues over the Kampuchean question. This perpetuates a situation of instability between the countries of Indo-China and neighbouring countries, in which the immediate victims are the Kampuchean people themselves. Australia favours a political solution in Kampuchea. We do not support any approach based on a continuation of the present military activity. Any resolution of the conflict will need to include such basic requirements as the withdrawal of foreign forces from Kampuchea and a form of self-determination for the people of that country. Unfortunately I expect no quick solution.
186.	With regard to southern Africa, we fully understand the frustration expressed by many delegations that the implementation of Security Council resolution 435 (1978) on Namibia should have been obstructed for so long. It is clear now that the long-delayed independence of Namibia is being held up by extraneous issues not encompassed in the United Nations plan, such as its linkage with the withdrawal of Cuban troops from Angola. Australia believes that those extraneous issues should not be allowed to impede Namibia's accession to independence.
187.	I am also concerned to note that the repugnant system of apartheid continues without meaningful modification in South Africa. It is abhorrent to the human spirit that the State should exercise such blatant discrimination against its own citizens on the basis of race. This in turn sows the seeds of instability as the State continues to find it necessary to suppress the aspirations of those seeking to give expression to their rights.
188.	Last year at this time the General Assembly expressed its anguish at the cruel events which had engulfed Lebanon and its people. It is a tragedy that Lebanon is still in the grip of turmoil and conflict. It is more than ever urgent that the conditions be created to enable the Government of Lebanon to assert its authority over its sovereign territory. We welcome the cease-fire as an indispensable first step towards a peaceful settlement. We sincerely hope that all sides in the conflict will be able to meet in a genuine effort to find a solution to Lebanon's internal problems in the knowledge that Lebanon's hopes for the future lie in dialogue.
189.	The tragedy of Lebanon has also served to emphasize yet again the continuing and pressing need for a comprehensive, just and lasting settlement of the Middle East dispute. For Australia, this means the need to sustain the right of Israel to exist behind secure and recognized borders. That is an absolute commitment. But, equally, it means recognition of the central importance of the Palestinian issue in any settlement. The Australian Government acknowledges the right to self-determination of the Palestinian people, including their rights, if they so choose, to independence and the possibility of establishing their own independent State. The Australian Government also recognizes that any arrangement finally agreed upon will evolve from processes involving the peoples of the immediate region, including those of Syria and Jordan. The roles and views of the super-Powers cannot be ignored in any such process.
190.	Earlier this year I noted, on behalf of the Australian Government, that Indonesia had incorporated East Timor in its territory, and at the same time I expressed our concern that an internationally supervised and accepted act of self-determination had not taken place. Australia notes the decision of the Assembly to defer consideration of the situation in East Timor until the thirty-ninth session of the General Assembly. We hope that Indonesia and Portugal will be able to use the time between now and the next session to reach a lasting settlement of this question, a settlement which will take into account the best interests of the people of East Timor.
191.	Tensions in Central America have increased since the last session of General Assembly. Australia believes that solutions to the problems of this region lie in the maintenance of the principle of non-intervention in the internal affairs of other States and in the efforts directed towards domestic reforms and reconciliation. Australia therefore welcomes and supports the important role the countries of the Contadora Group are now playing in seeking to develop a dialogue and a consensus among the countries of the region.
192.	Before concluding my statement, I feel obliged to turn to an issue which is on the agenda of the General Assembly for the first time and which is of particular importance to Australia, namely, Antarctica.
193.	The Antarctic Treaty is a uniquely successful international instrument of co-operation. It is a major disarmament agreement and excludes all military activities. It forbids nuclear explosions in Antarctica and prohibits the dumping of nuclear waste. There is a comprehensive system of on-site inspection, with observers being guaranteed freedom of access at any time to all areas of Antarctica. The resulting demilitarization and denuclearization of the continent—to which the two super-Powers are parties—is of great value to mankind and of specific value to Australia as a neighbouring continent.
194.	The Antarctic regime is also an instrument of conservation and management of resources.
195.	I should add that the Treaty is not exclusive. Any State may accede, and 28 nations with diverse economic and political interests have already done so. The most recent adherents to the Treaty are India and China.
196.	Australia is concerned about the introduction of this matter into the United Nations lest the substantial achievements of the Treaty system be put at risk. The United Nations was created to solve problems, not to create new ones.
197.	It is the opinion of the Australian Government that any attempt to negotiate a new international agreement on Antarctica or to renegotiate parts of the Treaty would prove counter-productive and introduce uncertainty and possible instability into a region of hitherto unparalleled international harmony.
198.	The United Nations symbolizes and provides the framework for the steady, almost relentless, growth of a sense of world community. This sense of world community is a unique feature of the twentieth century—a product of communications technology, economic development and political consciousness—and this sense of world community will continue to grow with the inevitable increase in interdependence.
199.	In this context, the United Nations is absolutely essential. Indeed, its great achievement has been that for almost 40 years now, it has given effective and continuing expression to this new dimension of the community of nations. It has done this in a period of unparalleled change, including the era of decolonization, over which it presided, and major shifts in the disposition of power. To compare the agenda and compass of this body with those of the League of Nations 50 years ago is to appreciate why one has endured and the other could not. The evolution of this essential institution cannot be allowed to falter now.
200.	We cannot escape the fact that the process is becoming more and more difficult—not least because this growing sense of world community sits uneasily with the system of nation States that were chosen as the basis of our political system. The inherent tension between notions of untrammelled national interest and a growing sense of world community present our greatest challenge, as individual Governments and as United Nations. We face great enough pressures individually; the United Nations must bear the sum of these conflicts and manage them constructively.
201.	The alternatives are limited: a world, in a state of perpetual tension, dominated by a handful of great Powers, or a resort to arms that would leave very little future for any of us. These, I remind the Assembly, were the very things the United Nations was created to eliminate.


131.	 The world in which we live is characterized by the contempt of some Powers for fundamental human rights and the rights of peoples. Intolerance reigns everywhere and the arrogance of some nations makes us ponder on the true meaning of mankind's very existence.
132.	In that context, I am particularly pleased to congratulate the President on his election to preside over the thirty-eighth session of the General Assembly, which opened a few days ago. His country, Panama, is rightly famous for its isthmus, a bridge between North America and Latin America. We believe that as President he will be the bridge between the various opinions held at the United Nations and that he will synthesize positively the diversity of positions in order to reach compromises satisfactory to the international community. Therefore, we have no doubt that under his guidance, with the legendary wisdom of his country combined with his qualities as an experienced diplomat and statesman, we are assured of the session's success.
133.	I should also like to take this opportunity to congratulate the outgoing President, Mr. Imre Hollai, who guided the work of the thirty-seventh session with competence, moderation and a spirit of reasonableness.
134.	I wish also to convey the warm congratulations of Togo to the Secretary-General on all his ceaseless efforts to maintain peace throughout the world. These are all the more to his credit since the end of the century is characterized by a reign of intolerance. All those who, like him, seek at such a troubled time in our history to have the voice of peace and wisdom heard deserve our gratitude.
135.	The delegation of Togo also warmly congratulates Saint Christopher and Nevis on its admission as the 158th member of the Organization. In doing so, we hope that this young State will make its contribution to our joint quest for world peace, security and prosperity. To this end, I can assure it of the complete readiness of the Government and people of Togo to co-operate with it.
136.	Intolerance of, and contempt for, human rights and the rights of peoples have characterized the whole period since the beginning of the thirty-seventh session. Throughout the world we are witnessing acts of violence to such an extent that we wonder whether the last quarter of the century has been struck by the demon of hate or of intolerance. If we are not living in a reign of contempt for human rights and the rights of peoples, how can we explain the cold-blooded shooting down by Soviet air forces of the Korean Air Lines Boeing 747, with 269 innocent people on board? Ten years ago a Boeing 707 of Libyan Air Lines was shot down in a cowardly manner in similar circumstances by Israeli air forces. This reveals the same contempt for fundamental human rights and the rights of peoples. What is most disturbing is the silence maintained on all sides in the face of these barbaric acts and the fact that, faced with these tragic events, even the Security Council is lost for words and takes no decision. The paralysis of the supreme body of the United Nations, if it were repeated, would cause serious concern to the smallest nations, which need the Organization's protection.
137.	For what would be the fate of human rights and the rights of peoples if States, taking advantage of the power that they possess at a given time, subjugated other peoples, with contempt for all morality? Unfortunately, this contempt for fundamental human rights and the rights of peoples now prevails everywhere: in the Middle East, in Afghanistan, in Korea, in Democratic Kampuchea, in southern Africa—particularly Namibia—and in the Western Sahara.
138.	The OAU, created 20 years ago, put on its political programme the liberation of Africa from the colonial yoke. Twenty years later we know that, unhappily, there is still one country, South Africa, which continues in Namibia to defy the international community and to flout fundamental human rights with its policy of
Racism in South Africa is still raised to the level of a political system; segregation is unashamedly common currency. Faced with intolerance, the people of South Africa has no other choice than to organize under the banner of the African National Congress and the Pan Africanist Congress. Pretoria answers all the legitimate claims of the people of Azania with summary executions, mass imprisonment and blind repression. Are the peoples of Africa indignant, faced with such barbaric actions by the Pretoria Government? That Government's only answer is to bomb the front-line countries and to show a revolting arrogance in the face of unanimous condemnation by international public opinion. But sooner or later the peoples of Azania, with the support of peace-loving people throughout the world, will put an end to the apartheid regime, and South Africa will become a multiracial society in which tolerance will at last become the law.
139.	In Namibia, SWAPO, the sole legitimate representative of the Namibian people, is courageously waging a struggle for liberation. Our Organization has always demonstrated the support of the international community for this just cause. A number of solutions have been proposed, and Security Council resolution 435 (1978) clearly defined the stages designed to lead Namibia to independence and sovereignty with territorial integrity. But since then South Africa has continued to defy the Organization. Worse still, Member States of the Organization which unconditionally voted for Security Council resolution 435 (1978) too often today show an accommodating attitude towards South Africa and its claim to link Namibian independence to the breaking of international agreements made by neighbouring sovereign States. Togo believes that Namibia's independence is a problem of decolonization, which falls within the framework and the objectives of the United Nations and that this problem must be separated from South Africa's interference in the internal affairs of Angola and the other front-line States.
140.	Contempt for human rights and intolerance have been displayed during this year. The Government of Togo wishes to repeat its position on Chad. Togo deals with States, not with individuals. That is why Togo deals with Governments established by the peoples concerned. When it was the Tombalbaye Government, Togo dealt with that Government; when it was the Government of General Malloum, Togo dealt with that Government; when it was the Government of Goukouni Oueddei, Togo dealt with that Government. Today, since President Hissein Habre took power on 7 June 1982, Togo deals with Hissein Habre Tomorrow, if the people of Chad decides to acquire the leaders, Togo will deal with those leaders. Peoples acquire the leaders they want, and do so in different ways. It is not up to Togo, rather than the people concerned, to legitimize a Government.
141.	Togo cherishes the firm hope that in the last analysis reason will triumph over contempt and time sooner or later dialogue will replace brutal arrogance.
142.	As regards Western Sahara, Togo would like to recall that, faithful to its principles, since 15 March 1976 it has recognized the Saharan Arab Democratic Republic, in order to demonstrate its attachment to the principle of the self-determination of peoples. This is why we are all the more pleased that since the nineteenth session of the Assembly of Heads of State and Government of the Organization of African Unity, held in June, the hope has emerged of finally seeing implementation of the principle of the right to self-determination, which thus would allow the Saharan people to make its choice freely. We have stated that the events of the past year have been dominated by contempt for human rights and the rights of peoples. This is also true of the Middle East and other countries of Asia.
143.	Regarding the situation in the Middle East and the Palestine problem, my country, Togo, is guided by the following principles. All peoples of the region must live in peace. Palestine has the right to an independent and sovereign State. We cannot refuse the Palestinians that which the international community granted the Israelis. The occupation of other peoples' territory by force must cease on the part of the State of Israel. All the parties involved, in a spirit of mutual respect for each other's rights, must understand that arms have never resolved problems and that only dialogue around the negotiating table can restore peace in this region that for more than 30 %rears has been a theatre of war. We should like to reiterate our position. Togo supports the just claim of the Palestinians to live in a sovereign and independent territory. This legitimate principle, from which the State of Israel has benefited, that State of Israel cannot refuse to others without evincing contempt for the fundamental rights of peoples and individuals.
144.	Far from the troubled Middle East we find another hotbed of intolerance, Afghanistan. This problem emerged a few years ago following the invasion by foreign troops of that country, which wishes only to build its life in peace. When will there finally be respect for the right of the Afghan people to settle its own problems free from foreign interference.
145.	In Democratic Kampuchea, strong backing has emerged around the tripartite coalition led by Prince Sihanouk, which serves as a lesson for the Vietnamese invader. Togo supports the efforts to achieve liberation of Democratic Kampuchea and cannot admit the accomplishment of occupation.
146.	In Korea, the division of the country in two, were it to continue, would create a	situation of two fictitious Koreas, while the people aspire to unity. The proposals made by the Democratic People's Republic of Korea and President Kim 11 Sung in our view are a basis for discussion, provided the foreign interference which hampers dialogue between the two parties is ended.
147.	The contempt and arrogance of some are not revealed solely on the political level. Today the law of the strongest governs economic relations between nations.
148.	Today it is a truism to state that the world economic crisis does not spare a single country. In the industrialized countries the slow-down in production has forced enterprises to cut jobs and the rate of unemployment has reached alarming proportions. The tidal wave of unemployment continues to grow, creating a category of marginal citizens from which bands of hooligans, bandits and members of gangs of all persuasions are recruited.
149.	The developing countries, whose economies are from the outset dependent on the economies of the industrialized countries, painfully endure the consequences of economic stagnation spawned in the industrialized countries. As the weakest link in the world economic chain, the developing countries bear with difficulty a crisis which is not their fault. Forced to borrow on the international market to ensure their development, these countries are the first victims of increased interest rates. Loans which were made several years ago can now be doubled or tripled by the mere fact of the rise in the interest rate. This unprecedented debt is accompanied by the adverse effect of the rise in the dollar. Since foreign loans are pegged to the dollar a rise in that currency automatically entails a rise in the debt. A short time ago the rate of the dollar was still bearable, but today it has increased by more than 50 per cent.
150.	Everybody seems completely indifferent to this tragedy. The development efforts undertaken by the poor countries have been wiped out at one stroke.
151.	Instead of facing the crisis, some of the industrialized countries adopt a way out in which a new kind of protectionism replaces the old and smacks of abject xenophobia. Nearly everything is blamed on foreigners, although those same foreigners, now conveniently called "expatriates", for decades contributed to the development of the industrialized countries. Faced with this tragedy, what is the solution advocated by the great Powers? Nothing, or almost nothing. But perhaps that is not true. There are quite a lot of conferences, but they in no way propose real solutions. Are the great Powers at least inspired by the will to do something? We have our doubts. They seem to refuse to face reality. However, man's creative spirit is not totally lacking during this last part of the twentieth century, and as has been stated by the Founder-President of the Togo People's Party, the President of the Republic, General Gnassingbe Eyadema:
"Today the development of science and technology has brought the people of our planet closer together and has endowed the developed nations with marvellous means of bringing about spectacular changes in the life of man.
"But what would be the use of this progress, the fruit of the intelligence and work of the human community, if change did not include as a prerequisite for its objectives the world-wide improvement of the human condition?"
152.	Indeed, what would be the use of discovering how to travel to the moon if nations refused to shoulder their responsibilities? Here the annual report of the Secretary- General speaks with the greatest force. We have the impression that nations taken individually tend to abdicate their historical responsibilities, and now there is a serious danger that nations collectively are not able to shoulder their international responsibilities. It is at this level that the role of the Security Council is crucial. The Secretary-General in his report makes the following highly significant statement:
"All too often the members of the Security Council tend to be so divided on the matter at hand and so apprehensive of each other's reaction to it that agreement on how to proceed remains elusive. When we consider how to improve the performance of the United Nations we must give priority to the cohesion and co-operation of the membership in facing threats to international peace. We should recognize that such threats are of an importance which should override the differences of interest and ideology which separate the membership. The Council must be primarily used for the prevention of armed conflict and the search for solutions. Otherwise it will become peripheral to major issues, and in the end the world could pay, as it has before, a heavy price for not learning the lessons of history."
153.	What happened regarding the most recent events which the Council has had before it is proof of the situation of deadlock, since, faced with the threat to peace, faced with contempt for human rights and the rights of peoples, the Security Council has not been able to take a decision. It is to be hoped that the alarm sounded by the Secretary-General, who has expressed here the anguish of billions of human beings on Earth, will at last be heard. If the echo of this hope resounds from the thirty-eighth session of the General Assembly, our meeting will not have been in vain.