42.	 Almost one year ago, the young People's Republic of Angola was historically and officially admitted as a full Member to the United Nations. The time that has since elapsed has not yet been sufficient to efface from the Angolan people's memory the struggle waged by their revolutionary vanguard against the anachronistic, anti-democratic and hostile attitude taken by the United States of America in the Security Council when it delayed and vetoed the admission to the United Nations of the People's Republic of Angola.
43.	On 1 December 1976, when the People's Republic of Angola for the first time made its voice heard from this rostrum, it was stated that our admission to this world body was not just a victory for the Angolan people: it was a victory for all peace-loving and freedom-loving peoples, - a victory for all the progressive forces and countries which supported our long and hard national liberation struggle. But it was an incomplete victory, because we were not at the same time celebrating the admission of the glorious Socialist Republic of Viet Nam. Today, however, the picture of that victory is complete, and tomorrow it will assume even greater proportions with the inevitable admission of other independent countries.
44.	Permit us now, Sir, on behalf of the delegation of the People's Republic of Angola, to extend our warmest congratulations on your election to the presidency of the thirty-second session of the United Nations General Assembly and to wish you every success in the fulfilment of your arduous task.
45.	We should like to convey to the President of the thirty-first session our appreciation of the outstanding services he rendered during the period in which he was invested with the same high responsibilities, and »5so to express to the Secretary-General of the United Nations our deep gratitude for the great dedication he has brought to the solution of various grave problems with which both the People's Republic of Angola and the international community have had to deal.
46.	The foreign policy of the People's Republic of Angola is governed by unequivocal guiding principles, which we should like to recall and indeed to reaffirm: the establishment and maintenance of diplomatic relations with all countries of the world on the basis of mutual respect for national sovereignty and territorial integrity, non- aggression, non-interference in internal affairs, equal and reciprocal advantage, peaceful coexistence and non- alignment; respect for the principles of the Charters of the United Nations and the Organization of African Unity; the intransigent safeguarding of our complete national independence and of our socialist option; the diversification of relations of co-operation in the most varied fields; militant solidarity with the national liberation movements, with oppressed peoples and with the struggle of the workers of the whole world, on the basis of proletarian internationalism; and the progressive strengthening of bonds of friendship and co-operation with the socialist community and anti-imperialist communities of every continent.
47.	However, despite the clarity and indeed the universality of most of the principles enunciated, the People's Republic of Angola and hence the Angolan people are still faced with a lack of any kind of understanding, with accusations and labels 'with biased press campaigns, with divisive manoeuvring and multiform offensives orchestrated by the imperialist Powers with the connivance of external and internal agents, all aimed at the annihilation of the revolutionary process now in progress, the establishment of neo-colonialism and the consequent paralysis of the liberation struggle of the peoples of Namibia, Zimbabwe and South Africa, with grave consequences for the other front-line States.
48.	The Government of the People's Republic of Angola will not fail therefore to speak out in accordance with the principles that guide it, or to act with the authority and responsibility vested in it so as duly to comply with the duties and obligations it has assumed vis-à-vis the Angolan people and the progressive international community. By this we mean that we intend to face problems objectively and not to resort to compromise merely as a way of finding provisional solutions or of concealing a lack of political courage in the face of the complexity or delicate nature of some situation or another. This implies that we shall clearly, honestly and courageously assume the responsibilities of our positions and options.
49.	The present state of international political affairs is essentially characterized by a multiplicity of conflicts of different types. No one in this Assembly can or should be unaware that the growing contradiction between the capitalist camp and the socialist camp has shifted the scene of military confrontation from South-East Asia to the African continent, where, as a result of the resounding defeat of North American imperialism in Viet Nam and the collapse of the Portuguese colonial empire, an offensive is being mounted by certain imperialist Powers in the form of indirect intervention, the immediate effect of which is the destabilization of progressive African regimes.
50.	A brief analysis of the international panorama shows that the direct confrontation of the peoples with imperialism, neo-colonialism, colonialism, Zionism, apartheid and the exploitation of man by man is still an incontestable reality in the present era. Peace is therefore far from being assured in all parts of the world, because we are still witnessing a frenzied arms race, the perpetuation of colonial wars, all manner of aggression against independent States, foreign domination and occupation, economic plunder and a proliferation of plots by the imperialist Powers against the national sovereignty, territorial integrity and security of States.
51.	At the same time, and in particular, the shameful armed aggression against Benin; the heinous assassination of the President of the People's Republic of the Congo, Marien Ngouabi; the criminal attempted coup d’état in Angola organized by a group of factionalists serving foreign interests; the armed aggression and incursions carried out by the racist and Fascist regimes "of so-called Rhodesia and South Africa against Mozambique, Zambia, Botswana and Angola; the military conflicts between contiguous African countries; the fostering of subversion and counterrevolution in certain African countries; the troop movements north and south of Angola's borders; the financial, material and even logistic support given to Angolan puppet organizations, and so forth—all this is a very clear indication of the aggressive designs of international imperialism on the African continent.
52.	In view of this somewhat gloomy picture, and in order better to face up to imperialist manoeuvres, it seems to us essential that there should be joint action, particularly within the framework of the movement of non-aligned countries, whereby each nation would ensure its complete national independence by taking national resources into its own hands and exploiting them for the benefit of its people; reject any form of subordination and dependence and any interference or pressure whatsoever, whether of a political, an economic or a military nature; prohibit the establishment of foreign military bases on its national territory and support all those fighting for the dismantling of such bases, which are generally imposed or maintained against the will of the people; seriously devote every effort to a necessary and effective international detente, to general and complete disarmament, and to the implementation of measures designed to strengthen international security and to ensure a total ban on the production and use of any kind of chemical, bacteriological or nuclear weapons, including the neutron bomb; prevent by every means the Indian Ocean from becoming the scene of any military confrontation and contribute decisively to its maintenance as a zone of peace; put into effect, as far as possible, development programmes which can be defended against economic blocs; and firmly support genuine national liberation movements in every possible way.
53.	However, one of the most serious problems to be faced over the coming years, especially for under-developed countries, will undoubtedly be the economic crisis in the capitalist world, essentially characterized by rising inflation and growing unemployment, by the diminished level of real profits from the export of commodities from underdeveloped countries and the growing indebtedness of those same countries.
54.	In the face of this situation, which basically affects the countries of the so-called third world, practical ways must be devised of applying the oft-repeated principles concerning the establishment of a new world economic order founded essentially on equity, sovereign equality, interdependence, common interest and co-operation between States.
55.	It has therefore become necessary to act in such a way as effectively to create a new equilibrium in international economic relations based on social justice, human dignity and the inalienable right of peoples to exercise total and permanent sovereignty over their national resources and freely to use and dispose of those resources.
56.	In the course of two years of independence, the Angolan people and the Government of the People's Republic of Angola, under the leadership of the Movimento Popular de Libertagao de Angola  and of their far-sighted leader, Mr. Agostinho Neto, have managed to overcome a series of difficulties and obstacles. With each passing day and month, they become ever more involved in the great and inspiring battle for national reconstruction in order to respond more adequately to the interests of the most exploited strata and to build a truly socialist society. At the same time they are preparing for an event of great historical significance: the holding of the first Congress of the MPLA and the creation of the party of the working class.
57.	Despite the invasions from the north and the south by the regular armies of Zaire and South Africa, together with bands of puppets and mercenaries supported by certain Western Powers and certain French-speaking African countries; despite the destruction and plunder carried out by those same forces, with material damages estimated at S6,700 million, for which compensation has not yet been paid; and despite the flight and departure of technical cadres, most of them Portuguese—all factors which caused the paralysis of internal trade and of industrial and agricultural units and the consequent sudden sharp decline in production—it is absolutely undeniable that quite positive and encouraging result have already been achieved, especially in the fields of education, health, agriculture, industry, fisheries, construction, the economy, internal and external trade, and national defence.
58.	In this respect, there is still a state of emergency in the People's Republic of Angola, and the tremendous efforts made in the task of national reconstruction have not as yet made it possible to attain the production levels reached in 1973, the last year of Portuguese colonial domination.
59.	For all the foregoing reasons, the so-called gross national product in the People's Republic of Angola is today very much lower than S300-that is, S250 per capita. Hence, we have good reason to regard ourselves as being among the least developed countries, and we are justified in our appeals for assistance to many types of international bodies and, in particular, to the specialized agencies of the United Nations.
60.	For the activity already carried out in the People's Republic of Angola by those specialized agencies, we must express our most sincere gratitude, particularly to UNDP and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, for the volume of assistance - and for the projects carried out or now in progress We express the same feelings of gratitude to all the countries and organizations which in this respect have, directly or indirectly, contributed to lessening the sufferings and the sacrifices of the Angolan people.
61.	Because it is our understanding that the consolidation of the independence of the People's Republic of Angola should now lead to a more substantial contribution to the national liberation struggle of peoples still subject to colonial domination, and because we consider that the armed struggle waged by the peoples of Namibia, Zimbabwe, South Africa, the so-called Western Sahara and East Timor is still the most valid way for them to achieve their inalienable right to independence, we have, out of the most elementary spirit of militant solidarity and internationalist duty, assumed the responsibility of giving our support, in every possible way and in accordance with our modest possibilities, to their legitimate representatives, namely, SWAPO, the Patriotic Front, the African National Congress, the Frente POLISARIO and the Frente Revolucionaria de Timor Leste Independente.
62.	However, there are certain considerations which come to our mind. In the first place, the various forms of support given to the Fascist and racist Pretoria and Salisbury regimes by the imperialist and neo-colonialist Powers, in particular the United States of America, France, the Federal Republic of Germany and the United Kingdom, such as the sale or supply of arms or military equipment, financial investment, the refusal to observe the embargo on arms and oil supplies and other decreed sanctions, and the provision of nuclear technology and the requisite equipment, constitute clear acts of aggression against the peoples of southern Africa and against the United Nations itself.
63.	While it is true that we do not reject a priori the possibility of creating favourable conditions in Namibia and Zimbabwe for a negotiated settlement on the independence of those territories, it is no less true that we do not yet believe that a just solution to the existing antagonism can be found merely through talks between the so-called "group of five" and the Vorster regime—in the case of Namibia—or through the already rejected Anglo-American plan, in the case of Zimbabwe. Moreover, we still cannot conceive of the supporters of such regime really being able to convert themselves into sincere champions of the aspirations of the Namibian and Zimbabwean peoples.
64.	In this connexion, we should like to recall that, as clearly stated by the President of the MPLA and of the People's Republic of Angola:
".. . only through armed struggle is it possible to defeat the oppressive forces in the world. It is not through negotiations, through conferences or councils, that the peoples will determine their own future, because there is a struggle of interests, a struggle between classes now developed through imperialism and through the desire of one social group to dominate all the others. It was armed struggle that led to the talks in Switzerland and it was armed struggle which brought the problems of Zimbabwe and Namibia to the forefront. Without armed struggle, the national liberation struggles would have no vigour. It must therefore be intensified."
65.	What will be decisive for the People's Republic of Angola, however, will be the positions or decisions taken in the near future by SWAPO and the Patriotic Front.
66.	Within the context of support for the armed struggle for national liberation, we consider that the democratic and progressive forces in the international community cannot remain indifferent or sit by with folded arms, as we have already openly stated, either with regard to the difficult and legitimate struggle of the Saharan people under the leadership of the Frente POLISARIO, or with regard to the equally hard and legitimate struggle of the people of East Timor, led by FRETILIN, for their legitimate right to self-determination and independence. After the withdrawal of the former colonial Powers and in the light of General Assembly resolution 1514 (XV), which contains the Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples, it is inconceivable that, in the face of a certain conniving passivity, those two liberation movements should find themselves obliged to fight, weapons in hand, against foreign armed forces belonging to certain countries which are members of the non-aligned movement and which did not take up arms during the period of Spanish and Portuguese occupation. It seems to us indispensable that the State members of 041) and of the United Nations Special Committee on the Situation with regard to the Implementation of the Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples should assume, with urgency, their responsibilities.
67.	In the context of solidarity with other struggling peoples, we should like once again to reaffirm our unconditional support for the Arab people of Palestine and their legitimate representative, the Palestine Liberation Organization, in their struggle against Zionism to recover their national rights and their homeland, which has been usurped by Israel. At the same time we support the full right of the Palestine Liberation Organization to take part in all negotiations concerning the solution of the situation in the Middle East. The absence of that Organization and the attempt to push it aside will make it impossible ever to halt or eliminate the conflict. We reaffirm our militant solidarity with the Korean people in their persistent efforts to reunify their country by peaceful means without any foreign interference in their internal affairs; and we again reaffirm our unreserved support for the people of Puerto Rico in their just struggle for their full right to self- determination and independence and against the annexation of the country to the territory of North America. We also reaffirm our militant solidarity with the Chilean people in their determined struggle to regain their freedom, their independence and their human dignity.
68.	The Angolan people and their revolutionary vanguard, MPLA, who wish only to live in peace within their geographical boundaries, are conscious of their national and international duties, as well as of the dangers that surround them and the acts of aggression that are. being prepared against the People's Republic of Angola.
69.	The Angolan people and their leading bodies are not unaware of the grave threats to which they are subject, coming on the one hand from the Zairian regime, which, apart from everything else, recently concluded a contract with the Orbital Transport and Raketen Company of the Federal Republic of Germany and, on the other hand, from the South African regime, which continues to train bands of puppets on Namibian territory and to infiltrate armed groups into Angolan territory to spread death and destruction among the population on the border, while their mentors, without the slightest scruple or even the least sense of the ridiculous, proclaim in certain European, American and African capitals that such and such provinces in the country have been occupied, although no one has seen them even in a commune or municipality
70.	The consequences of these designs, which can prove disastrous, are already the full responsibility of certain Governments of Western Powers and of certain French- speaking African countries.
71.	In reaffirming our profound gratitude for the militant solidarity extended to the Angolan people by the socialist countries, particularly the Soviet Union and Cuba, and by progressive African countries and the democratic forces in general, we wish to assure the Assembly that nothing can deflect the Angolan people from the revolutionary course they have freely chosen.
72.	The struggle continues. Victory is certain.


105.	 May I start, Sir, by offering you my heartiest congratulations on your election as President of the thirty-second session of the General Assembly and by pledging the co-operation of the Sierra Leone delegation in the execution of the duties of your high office.
106.	I find it reassuring that the problems facing the contemporary world are being considered and discussed under your guidance. In addition to your personal qualities, you represent a country which, together with a few others, pioneered the evolution and successful establishment of the non-aligned movement which became, and still is, a strong moderating force on the harsh ideological struggle and sterile military competitiveness of the super-Powers. With your outstanding diplomatic and international experience and your experience as your country's Deputy Federal Secretary for Foreign Affairs, we are assured, Mr. President, that you are well placed to execute the task of steering the General Assembly through its thirty-second session.
107.	Secondly, Mr. President, permit me to express my Government's recognition and appreciation of the invaluable role played by Mr. Hamilton Shirley Amerasinghe of Sri Lanka when he was serving in the position you now occupy. His contribution to the work of the United Nations and to international understanding in general goes some way beyond his presidency of the thirty-first session of the General Assembly. Difficult as his task was, Mr. Amerasinghe also very ably presided over the law of the sea Conference and the Ad Hoc committee on the Indian Ocean. His efforts contributed greatly to bringing about some measure of understanding among the nations of the world on issues some of which are of an intricate nature and of vital concern to the international community.
108.	This current session marks the admission to membership in our Organization of two new Members, namely, the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam and the Republic of Djibouti. In the view of my delegation, this event is more than a merely formal act. In the case of the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam, after a long and destructive period of internecine conflict exacerbated by external involvement, it is decidedly with universal approbation that this great and heroic country takes its rightful place in the council of nations. In the case of the Republic of Djibouti, its accession to membership marks yet another step in the inexorable march of all peoples to the goal of self- determination. In admitting these two States to the United Nations, our Organization has-given yet another positive testimony to its adherence to the principle of the universality of membership. It is in this spirit that Sierra Leone welcomes these two new countries into the ranks of our Organization, secure in the belief that they both will contribute constructively to our collective search for solutions to our common global problems.
109.	The issues which will dominate this session are not new. Some of them are as old as the United Nations itself. The fact that we continue to discuss them means that we are all determined to arrive at some solution. The world is beset with problems, among which the inequality of opportunity in satisfying the most basic human needs should be of primary concern. Furthermore, we are compelled to contend with the reinforcement of bastions of racism and the denial of basic human freedoms and fundamental rights to millions of people all over the world. This situation has been aggravated by the unbridled accumulation by nations, both large and small, of weapons of mass destruction. We entertain the hope that under your presidency, Sir, solutions will be devised to accommodate the differences that have long divided us.
110.	Significant among the issues before the Assembly is the grave threat to world peace and security, which, every minute, even as we sit here now, looms above in southern Africa like a gathering storm. Almost every year, shortly before this body is scheduled to meet, there is a flurry of diplomatic activity which quietly dies down with the closing of the session. Whether at this podium, as I stand here, or in State capitals all over the world, representatives of governments loudly proclaim their support for efforts at ending South Africa's illegal presence in Namibia, bringing down the illegal regime of Ian Smith in Zimbabwe and putting an end to the odious crime of apartheid in South Africa itself. It has become customary for these pledges to serve in the great majority of cases only as masks for hiding what is actually going on behind the scenes.
111.	In a plural society—and my delegation is persuaded to assert that South Africa is in fact such a society, as indeed are many, if not all, of the States in the international community gathered here today—it is imperative that every section of that society, through its elected representatives, participate fully in government. Apartheid, by its nature, and its failure to acknowledge this principle represents the very negation of humanity and a denial of the democratic process.
112.	It is not enough to have South Africa modify its policy on petty apartheid. This may appear to South Africa and its collaborators as a major concession on its part. My delegation cannot accept this. The least we ask of South Africa is that the pluralistic character of its society be proportionately reflected in its Government, as it is in every civilized nation in our world today.
113.	South Africa must note that adjusting to the views of others, accepting and benefiting from their information and experience, requires a sensitivity and restraint which makes all the difference between what is civilized conduct and what is not.
114.	The choice, as my delegation sees it, is a simple one. Mr. Vorster is left with the choice of either ensuring the survival of all minorities in South Africa by accepting the immediate and imperative process of democracy, or enduring the consequences of the bloodshed which will inevitably result from his stubborn determination to stick to the obdurate policy of apartheid. The Sierra Leone delegation hopes that Mr. Vorster will be persuaded to choose democracy because time is decidedly running out for him.
115.	It is a disturbing fact that South Africa has acquired nuclear capability, in spite of its shameless denial that it has done so. Already the regime is steeped in the blood of innocent African schoolchildren, whose only crime, if crime it be, is to have dared to question the way they are taught and governed. With its acquisition of nuclear technology, South Africa's aims must be ominously clear to all of us. It is quite conceivable that, either through desperation or by a deliberate act of aggression, or a combination of both, it may embark on the dangerous adventurism of the total annihilation of all Africans from the African continent in order to preserve it for its so-called white civilization and against the "spread of communism" for which the principles of apartheid, we are told, have become Holy Scripture. The responsibility for this criminal intention is as much South Africa's as, indeed, it is of those who by their complicity, silence or indifference have encouraged it.
116.	South Africa continues to occupy Namibia with a superciliousness that baffles even its most loyal collaborators. It has deployed and continues to maintain a large part of its armed forces in that territory in defiance of General Assembly and Security Council resolutions and the International Court of Justice. In addition, and in total disregard of international public opinion, it decreed on 1 September last the annexation of Walvis Bay and with characteristic arrogance added that its annexation of the Bay, although without prejudice to the future status of Namibia, was not negotiable. How long can the international community tolerate this arrogant flaunting of power or remain indifferent to this illegality?
117.	Sierra Leone, for its part, once again reaffirms its support for SWAPO. It reiterates that any settlement which excludes SWAPO as the legitimate representative of the people of Namibia is unacceptable and should not be recognized or countenanced by the international community. We therefore call upon South Africa to comply with Security Council resolution 385 (1976) without further delay, for that is the only way to sanity.
118.	With respect to the situation in Zimbabwe, the policy of the Government of Sierra Leone has been to support armed liberation struggles as long as peaceful attempts to resolve the constitutional problems remain unproductive and deadlocked. In spite of the fact that there have been several attempts to resolve the constitutional crisis peacefully, the illegal Smith regime has continued to intensify its repression of the indigenous people of Zimbabwe and has committed acts of aggression against neighbouring independent States, which are all Members of this Organization. It is against this background that the Sierra Leone delegation reaffirms its unflinching solidarity with the liberation movements in Zimbabwe, whose continued struggle may well be complemented by the most recent Anglo-American proposals for a settlement.
119.	Commenting on these proposals, His Excellency Mr. Siaka Stevens, President of the Republic of Sierra Leone, had this to say:
"The preoccupation of the Government of Sierra Leone to see the restoration of legality to the political process in Zimbabwe, has for long remained as primordial as has been our solidarity with the African liberation movements in that country.
"One of the most enduring tenets of the conduct of our foreign policy is buttressed by our fundamental belief in the settlement of disputes by peaceful means. This is why we do entertain considerable hopes about the possibilities of a peaceful settlement of the Zimbabwe problem, as contained in the new Anglo-American proposals for restoring legality in Zimbabwe."
120.	In this spirit, the delegation of Sierra Leone welcomes the practical measures contained in these proposals. In view of the failure of previous attempts, however, we call upon the United Kingdom and the United States of America to prevail on Ian Smith to accept the proposals, and to define in clearer terms, the role of the principal participants, so as to ensure the effective transfer of power to a majority government within a specific period and in an atmosphere of peace and security for all concerned.
121.	We have never believed in the delusion to which Smith and his illegal white minority regime have given expression in claiming that an "internal settlement" can be possible within the foreseeable future. We warn him, as before, that time is decidedly running out and that this might be the last chance for him to accept with honour the inevitability of majority rule, and thus prevent the unnecessary loss of human life and property that will otherwise result from the armed struggle.
122.	I wish to reaffirm before this world body that the Government of Sierra Leone is ready and willing to contribute its share to the United Nations Zimbabwe force as contemplated in the proposals. It is also our conviction that the Zimbabwe development fund, if generously subscribed to by the international community, could, along with the measures proposed for security, ensure a prosperous start for an independent State of Zimbabwe, which we are avidly looking forward to welcoming in this Assembly.
123.	If the South African issue has been a matter of concern to us in Sierra Leone, the Middle East question, in our view, also rightly evokes concern. This Arab-Israeli conflict itself has had repercussions far and wide—if only manifested to some of us in this Assembly in phenomenal price increases in the cost of certain essential products.
124.	The momentum generated by the disengagement agreements on the Sinai peninsula and the Golan Heights initiated and negotiated by the former United States Secretary of State, Mr. Henry Kissinger, was acclaimed universally as a step in the right direction. Those disengagement agreements marked the beginning of a genuine search for a durable peace. When those efforts culminated in the convening of the Geneva Peace Conference on the Middle East, we entertained the hope that a real possibility existed for a lasting settlement. Unfortunately, the story of the Geneva Conference was that of an exercise in futility, and the thrust of the initial efforts became dissipated by procedural pedantry, ranging from the shape of the table to who should attend and in what capacity.
125.	While we welcome the renewed peace initiatives, we are convinced that Security Council resolution 242 (1967) of November 1967, notwithstanding its studied ambiguity and omissions in certain particulars, provided to a large measure the point of departure for a viable peace settlement in the Middle East. While we acknowledge and reiterate the right of Israel to exist within secure and recognized boundaries, in accordance with the spirit and letter of the said Security Council resolution 242(1967), we remain resolved that the right of Israel to exist within those borders is as valid and as imperative as the right of the Palestinian people to self-determination. In other words, we affirm that the Palestinian people have a right to a secure homeland—indeed, to a State of their own—and we believe that the recognition, acceptance and application of that fact by the parties concerned in particular, and by the international community in general, would supply the missing but indispensable link in the chain of a durable and just settlement in the Middle East.
126.	In this connexion, therefore, we regard the establishment of Jewish settlements on the West Bank and other areas of Israeli-occupied territory and the recently disclosed Sharon plan for further settlements in those areas to be not only patently illegal according to certain principles of international law but also a real impediment to the efforts now being undertaken to bring peace to that area. The plan for further settlements in the occupied territories are, we suspect, inspired by a kind of Jewish lebensraum, and it will, we are certain, inevitably evoke an Arabia irredenta response from the other side. This, unfortunately, is a recipe for perennial instability. The world cannot tolerate it.
127.	We therefore call upon Israel to discontinue plans for the establishment of new settlements and to dismantle those already established.
128.	Finally on this point, no fact in the history of the twentieth century is more staggeringly improbable than the State of Israel itself. Its establishment owes much to the finest ideals in man and much to his darkest barbarism. We therefore call upon Israel to recognize as a fact that the
Palestinian people have a right to self-determination in a State of their own, as was envisaged and stipulated nearly 30 years ago by this Assembly in the partition plan resolution. We are convinced that it is only through the recognition and application of this fact that peace—a durable and just peace-will be restored to this part of the world.
129.	The Cyprus situation continues to elude efforts towards a meaningful solution—a fact further complicated by the premature demise of President Makarios. The concerns of the Secretary-General as expressed in his report to this Assembly are therefore real. We shall support any solution which does not impair the independence and territorial integrity of that Republic and which assures the harmonious coexistence of the two communities without external interference. We therefore support the recent Security Council resolution which encourages the intercommunal dialogue and calls upon all concerned to exercise restraint.
130.	When the Conference on Security and Co-operation in Europe convened in Helsinki in the summer of 1975, my country and, I believe, many others in this Assembly, expressed the hope that that event marked the beginning of a general period of stability. We took the optimistic view that military empires belong to the past, and that thenceforth science, technology and productivity would determine the ranks of individuals and nations, and we looked forward to sharing as beneficiaries of this great accord. In other words, detente meant, to us, a general lull in confrontation and a guarantee of our security, and, indeed, it created an atmosphere in which our economic well-being would be catered to. We entertained the hope, expressed by many speakers before me from this podium, that the enormous resources, both material and human, now devoted to armaments would be diverted to development. It is in this light that we support this same idea, as enunciated by the Foreign Minister of Sweden when she addressed this Assembly earlier, and we look forward to the special session of the General Assembly on disarmament.
131.	None the less, we have been disappointed in the fact that the events that have been unfolding in Africa since the Helsinki Conference bear all the marks of a shift of the theatre .of confrontation from the European continent. We cannot remain indifferent to the proxy wars being fought on the African continent. We therefore appeal to those Powers that have influence to take joint action with us to avert the disasters attendant on those confrontations. For us there is no substitute for peace.
132.	The United Nations system represents a continuum in man's drive for co-operation and a search for peace on this one planet, earth. The Charter in 1945 realized, then as well as now, that for prosperity, as well as for peace and freedom, the world is one. The basis of the international economic system should be that poverty anywhere constitutes poverty everywhere for poverty like peace is indivisible. Articles 1 and 55 of the Charter of the United Nations commit the Organization to the solution of problems of an economic, social and humanitarian character. It cannot be otherwise, for neither peace nor freedom can resist disruptive forces if the economy fails to provide for the general welfare. Economic stability and the elimination of poverty have therefore occupied—rightly, in our view—a central place on the agenda of the United Nations.
133.	Since the seventh special session of the General Assembly, the world community has embarked on a number of meetings and negotiating rounds the main objective of which has been to arrive at a modus operandi for the implementation of the definitive decisions adopted since the sixth special session. Those decisions we believe, complement the thrust of the International Development Strategy for the Second United Nations Development Decade in so far as they are related to the universal endeavour to plan, on the basis of quantitative data, targets and projections, the growth and development of the least developed countries.
134.	Unhappily, we have not on the whole succeeded in translating those decisions into reality. We have often ended up with different groups within our system maintaining uncompromising positions on all the crucial issues. Such a situation, we believe, not only is undesirable, but is likely to lead to that confrontation and sterility which we have laboured so much to avoid. It is our firm view that the developed market economies have not made the concessions which we expected of them, nor have they yet made the required rational and equitable adjustments of their consumption of the non-renewable resources of the world. The result of such an attitude has been the failure to finalize our negotiations on such key issues as the common fund for buffer stocks which, within the Integrated Programme for Commodities,3 we expect to be a key stabilizer of the earnings of developing countries.
135.	Seven years after the launching of the Strategy for the Second Development Decade, the targets which were set to narrow the gap between the developed and developing countries have not been achieved. Only a few developed countries succeeded in meeting the target for the transfer of official development assistance in the form of grants and concession loans in accordance with the requirements of that Strategy.
136.	The various negotiations on problems of the world's economy held with a view to bringing the new international economic order into being, produced equally unsatisfactory results. Among the efforts made in the past 12 months to achieve an equitable international economic order, my delegation believes that the Conference on International Economic Co-operation provided a useful and challenging forum for resolving the differences that exist between the developed and developing countries. To be sure, the Conference achieved only limited and meagre results on a number of crucial issues; but then one does not expect the new international economic order to emerge overnight. My delegation would like to see the discussions continued and sustained throughout this session of the General Assembly, so that some compromise and understanding will be achieved on the key issues which are still unresolved.
137.	Speaking specifically of the International Development Strategy, we can say that its failure is due manifestly and mainly to the performance of the developed countries,
which have not, as a whole, attained the targets or implemented the policy measures contained therein. Furthermore, it is our view that the Strategy itself proved ineffectual in that it attempted to tackle the problems of economic development through a series of unrelated measures within an existing international institutional framework which had evolved a structure which gave a greater share of the benefits to the developed market economies.
139. Those nations which are most powerful and whose interests are best served by the status quo have advocated stability far more than change. This was the case when the developing countries demanded" a redistribution of the world's resources and called for a fuller participation in the decision-making process. In this regard, stability for the developed countries became conterminous with the "continuance of their material prosperity." But that very continuance of material prosperity happens to be the root-cause of instability in the world economy and, unless this fundamental contradiction is resolved, concepts like "the new international economic order", "international co-operation" and "interdependence" will merely continue to mask the political and economic self-interest of the more powerful. The extremely meagre achievements of the Paris talks, in our view, confirm this assessment.
140.	Unfortunately, the failure of the Paris Conference on International Economic Co-operation to resolve crucial issues continues to create considerable anxiety and concern among developing countries. Nevertheless, we in Sierra Leone believe that the Paris talks formed a basis for promoting understanding and have brought into full focus some of the underlying problems connected with development and international economic co-operation. We therefore took a keen interest not only in the proceedings of the Conference itself, but in all the subsequent international efforts deployed for the continuation of the dialogue within the forums and under the auspices of the United Nations. Sierra Leone's guiding principle here is to give each and every member of this community of independent and sovereign States an opportunity to participate and to be heard.
141.	My delegation's concern for the impasse reached in the Paris talks transcends the much-talked-about understanding of contemporary economic relations which was thought to have been engendered. While acknowledging the limited results of the talks, therefore, Sierra Leone does understand and share the frustration of the South, to which we rightly belong, at the way the spirit of goodwill, so refreshingly manifested by all concerned during the sixth and seventh special sessions of the General Assembly, failed to translate that understanding into the vital agreements on crucial issues which the group of 19 developing countries represented at the Conference fought so hard to secure. The perpetuation of that goodwill suffered an even greater setback by the failure of the resumed thirty-first session of the General Assembly to come up with an agreed text for an objective assessment of the outcome of that Conference.
142.	During that session, we noted a disquieting hardening of the positions of different groups, positions which are fodder to the lingering spectre of the very imbalances in economic power that dictated the need for the establishment of the new international economic order. It is my delegation's sincere hope that bringing such intricate negotiations within the competence and under the aegis of the United Nations system will not mean that they will suffer in the future from this trend.
143.	We are convinced that related to the global search for a new international economic order are the endeavours embarked upon in Caracas in 1974s for rational and more intelligible ground rules for the exploitation and utilization of the sea, which represents three-quarters of mankind's living environment.
144.	We therefore believe that the international community should proceed in its efforts to develop a body of rules-an institution, if you will-to regulate the use, exploration and exploitation of the sea. It is for us rather disappointing that the international community has so far not been able to complete the negotiations necessary for the adoption of a comprehensive regime for the law of the sea. We hope, however, that those areas on which a reasonable amount of agreement has been reached will be protected against further amendment which, if encouraged, will continue to move the Conference round in circles in a never-never world.
145.	In spite of the many criticisms aired in recent times about our Organization, my delegation still has faith in the validity and viability of the United Nations. We believe that an institution of this nature, once established, acquires a life of its own, independent of the elements which have given birth to it, and it must develop, not necessarily in accordance with the views of those who created it, but in accordance with the requirements of contemporary, life.
146.	In meeting the challenges attendant on this transition of the Organization from the way it was conceived in San Francisco in 1945 to the way it is adjusting to the demands of contemporary life, it is our view that the Secretariat has over the years discharged its functions with praiseworthy effectiveness, despite the meagre resources upon which it
has had to rely.
147.	In this respect I should therefore like to pay my delegation's special tribute to our Secretary-General and the dedicated members of his staff, through whose untiring efforts the ideals and principles of the Charter still continue to keep us together in our joint venture to a better and prosperous works.


79.	 Mr. President, I am delighted to express to you my warmest congratulations on your election to preside over the thirty-second session of the General Assembly. The unanimous vote of confidence which brought you to the presidency is evidence of your merits and of your remarkable personal qualities. I am convinced that under your direction the debates of our Assembly will be conducted with all the necessary authority, thanks to your profound knowledge of international relations and your great experience.
80.	I also wish to convey my deep appreciation and respect to Mr. Hamilton Shirley Amerasinghe, who occupied the presidential Chair during the previous session of the Assembly with the greatest ability. Similarly, I should like to recognize and emphasize the sustained and tireless efforts of the Secretary-General of the United Nations in serving and consolidating world peace.
81.	The delegation of Lebanon welcomes into the United Nations two new Members—Viet Nam and Djibouti. Their new presence within the United Nations accords with the principle of universality of our Organization by broadening its foundations and thus facilitating the complete fulfilment of its mission.
82.	Before dealing with the questions involved in the general debate, or with the problems of the Middle East, and of Lebanon in particular, I should like to emphasize a fact which to us is very significant. We have come to this session after the peace process has really begun in Lebanon, and we are here to represent as a delegation the profound determination of our country to continue to exist, the unified country of a unified people under the leadership of a freely and constitutionally elected President.
83.	Since the preceding session, many events have taken place, near and far, which have given rise to both expectation and concern. We have followed with the greatest interest the development of relations between the great Powers, the North-South dialogue, and the development of the situation in many areas of unrest, such as Africa, Cyprus and the Middle East. We have done so without losing sight of the danger of the proliferation of nuclear weapons or the close relationship between political security, military security and economic prosperity.
84.	This year the agenda includes a large number of items. Lebanon has participated in studies and in discussion of these items at  previous sessions of the General Assembly, either in meetings of the specialized agencies or at international conferences sponsored by the United Nations. Since our attitudes on all these items are firm and well known, I see no need to go into details. Suffice it for me to point out here that the positions of Lebanon have always been in conformity with the spirit and letter of the Charter and in harmony with the policy of non-alignment, the needs of the developing countries and the general rules which govern the evolution of the world.
85.	Since the founding of the Organization, Lebanon has continuously demonstrated its faith in the guiding principles of the United Nations, its belief in the need for, and usefulness of, international co-operation and its concern for peace based on justice for the good of mankind.
86.	If our international community had been able in good time to find appropriate solutions to the dangerous problems which have become items regularly included in our agenda, the world would not have reached its present stage of insecurity, its peoples would not have become more and more separated by their conflicts, and our Organization, in the execution of its role, would probably not have been reduced to a situation that is close to paralysis. If only the United Nations had succeeded in freeing the world of its complexes of fear and injustice, peace would now reign throughout the world. But unfortunately the facts are otherwise, and the responsibility is shared among us.
87.	While, therefore, it is inadmissible for us to exonerate anyone in particular from this responsibility, the great Powers, for their part, bear a responsibility proportionate to their enormous potential, let alone the fact that the Charter of the United Nations has entrusted them with a particular role in the maintenance of peace and security in the world.
88.	I say this with conviction and yet without bitterness, despite the fact that my country has been one of the victims of the continuation of the crisis in the Middle East.
89.	Before taking up the specific problems of Lebanon, I should like to deal with the Middle East crisis, whose echoes have filled the chambers and halls of the United Nations for the past 30 years, and whose repercussions have been particularly tragic for Lebanon.
90.	Lebanon has always been in the vanguard of those defending the Palestinian cause. In this respect, its position remains unchanged. It is the same position as that of the majority of the States Members of the United Nations, which is based on the resolutions of the Security Council and of the General Assembly—particularly resolution 3236  of 22 November 1974. All those resolutions, without exception, condemn the acquisition of the territories by force as illegal; all those resolutions urge Israel to withdraw from the occupied territories and recognize in full the rights of the Palestinian people.
91.	Furthermore, one of the consequences of the worsening Middle East crisis has been to perturb the economy of the world, particularly through its repercussions on the energy sector. Hence, it has now become impossible to find solutions to the energy crisis without having previously re-established calm and stability in our part of the world.
92.	Thus, no matter how much international diplomacy tries to separate the energy crisis from the Middle East question, it cannot ignore this obvious reality.
93.	It is high time for the world Organization to help the Palestinian people recover its full rights, particularly the right of self-determination and the right to establish a homeland in Palestine. It is high time to bring about the withdrawal of Israel from all the Arab territories occupied since June 1967. It is high time for the world Organization to put an end, once and for all, to the violation of international rules and conventions, to Israeli practices in the occupied territories, including the establishment of settlements and the enforcement of Israeli laws upon the citizens of those territories.
94.	In this respect, it must be emphasized that the Arab States have adopted, on the Palestinian question, attitudes which derive from their sincere desire to establish, in the Middle East, a lasting peace based on the principles of right and justice, as well as on the resolutions adopted by the United Nations in its various bodies. Should our Organization fail to abide by those principles and to implement its resolutions, we fear that international relations will then be governed by the law of the jungle.
95.	For all these reasons, Lebanon supports the efforts made for a just and lasting peace in the region, on the basis of the United Nations resolutions. We also support the reconvening of the Geneva Peace Conference on the Middle East in a manner which can ensure the legitimate national rights of the Palestinian people. Lebanon has already expressed its desire to be invited to that Conference, not only in order to assume its responsibilities in the establishment of peace, but also to defend its own rights and interests in each and every question submitted to the Conference, it being clearly understood that the internationally recognized borders of Lebanon are not subject to any discussion whatsoever.
96.	Should the United Nations and its various bodies remain in a state of negativism and indifference in the face of the violation of its resolutions, it will continue to create a vicious circle. And the Middle East region would become a fertile ground for successive explosions, which give rise to more dangerous and more extensive confrontations.
97.	In all sincerity and seriousness, I must warn this Assembly that the Palestinian problem, in the absence of a just and appropriate solution, will lead to a major conflagration. Lebanon, that small peace-loving country, open to all cultures and peoples, that country unique in the world, through the interaction of the different intellectual, spiritual and human currents within its borders, that country which has always set an outstanding example of harmonious coexistence between creeds and civilizations, that very Lebanon has been, during the past two years, the scene of the most extreme violence.
98.	Whatever the direct causes of the bloody events which have taken place in Lebanon and which I shall not go into today, there is no doubt that one of the main elements of the Lebanese tragedy has been created by the delay in finding a just and permanent solution to the Palestinian question. This situation has led to the presence of an excessive number of Palestinians in Lebanon and to a state of unrest caused by the aggravation of the existing contradictions in the Middle East between the different States and their differing policies.
99.	The price which Lebanon has paid, as a consequence, is excessive, and we are still bearing a burden beyond our means. The war in Lebanon is, in most respects, the result of a prior injustice committed against a people driven out from its land and deprived of its country. Thus, injustice has itself provoked injustice, and violence has engendered further violence in the host country which is innocent of what befell Palestine.
100.	The tolerance which Lebanon has adopted as a standard for its relations with others, and its open attitude towards ideologies and people, are qualities which seem to have turned against Lebanon itself in a disastrous way, and this has been exacerbated not only by the special structure of Lebanon, but also by an abuse of its liberal system.
101.	There were Lebanese who believed, when the fighting was taking place on their land, that the world had abandoned them and the values they represented until the day when the Syrian Arab Republic, acting as a brotherly loyal neighbour, took the initiative of intervening at the darkest moment of our struggle, an initiative which was later supported by a number of our brethren Arab countries, to be subsequently endorsed by the Arab community at the summit meetings in Riyadh and Cairo. Thanks to the measures taken following those conferences, Lebanon was able to make progress towards recovering its own security and its well-being. However, Lebanon is still convalescing, for it continues to confront the complex problems of its own reconstruction, together with the challenges, the aggressions and the various attempts at exploitation which expose southern Lebanon and the entire region to enormous dangers.
102.	Some people are happy to soothe their consciences by wishing to believe that the war, the destruction, the forced migration and the sufferings experienced by southern Lebanon are the inevitable results of the Middle East crisis, and hence they continue to neglect the adoption of the measures necessary to bring justice to this part of Lebanon. To them we say that Lebanon rejects their logic, that it refuses to continue to suffer, to accept what is happening in southern Lebanon, and to be subjected to the inevitable clashes that this solution generates, pending a solution of the Middle East question.
103.	Although the Lebanese are fully aware of the effects of the Palestinian question and of its repercussions on the tragedy of southern Lebanon and on the Lebanese crisis in general, they cannot accept that Lebanon alone should bear the burden of the consequences, of the hesitations and evasions which prevent a solution of the Middle East and thus become the only arena of conflict in the region compelled to pay for the mistakes made by others.
104.	The painful events taking place in southern Lebanon constitute a danger that threatens the region and perhaps the whole world. Aware of the multiple dimensions of the tragedy of southern Lebanon and of the suffering endured by our fellow countrymen there, the Lebanese authorities are sparing no effort to find a solution by any possible means. Taking this aim as a starting-point, the Lebanese authorities have drawn up, with the help of Syria, at the Chtaura meeting, a programme to implement the decisions taken at the Riyadh and Cairo summit conferences. Thus, we are striving to create a climate favourable to the prompt application of these decisions in the south, and to the restoration of peace to this Lebanese land, especially now that, as you know, the fighting has stopped.
105.	In this respect, Lebanon is counting on the support it has found with friends who have responded to its appeals throughout the world. In spite of the difficulties in the way of this approach, we firmly hope that during this delicate phase of spirit of peace, good will, self-restraint and wisdom will prevail so that security will again be definitively restored in the south and the prevailing causes of and anxiety will be eliminated.
106.	Furthermore, the Assembly is undoubtedly aware of the heavy consequences of the burden that Lebanon now bears as a result of the ordeal it has undergone. Consequently, Lebanon appeals to the international community, and to your Organization in particular, for increasing material and moral support so that we can resume Lebanon's human and cultural role in the world. At this time, I should like to express my appreciation and my deepest thanks to brotherly and friendly countries which have shown us their sympathy and continue to do so throughout the present critical stage of rebuilding our institutions.. I wish to stress in particular the efforts made by the Secretary-General, Mr. Kurt Waldheim, whom we were happy to receive in Lebanon. We availed ourselves of that opportunity to express to Mr. Waldheim our gratitude for his interest, his concern and his assistance. I also wish to commend the efforts made by the United Nations, whether through its various organs and their related programmes, or through experts sent by the specialized agencies and now working in Lebanon. I should also like to convey my most sincere thanks to the International Committee of the Red Cross which, in the most difficult circumstances, has discharged its deeply appreciated humanitarian task.
107.	The establishment of a just and lasting peace in the Middle East is absolutely vital. For this reason, we urge the United Nations to fulfil its obligations under the Charter.
108.	In this context, Lebanon is determined to defend its sovereignty, its independence and its territorial integrity against any aggression and to demand respect for its rights by all means, especially for its exclusive right to raise any issue that may concern its territory, its problems or its citizens.
109.	To all those who have thought or still think they can exploit the differences in Lebanon and the contradictions in the Middle East, we say that our country is resolved to live in peace, within a framework similar to that within which it lived before the recent events, a framework within which our people can live again in peace, understanding and harmony. Similarly, Lebanon is resolved to prevent any interference in its own affairs and to assume to the best of its ability its mission in the Arab world and in the world at large.
110.	The sufferings which the people of Lebanon have endured make it more eager for justice and equity, not only with respect to its own cause, but with respect to any other cause that is just.
111.	The gamble on peace or war in the Middle East is one on which will depend not only the political and economic equilibrium of the world, but also the fate of present and future generations. This is a fact of which, we believe, responsible leaders are not unaware.
112.	The country which I represent is located, as you know, in a region of the world where the main currents of the history of man have sprung up, clashed and merged. My country has known great civilizations; it has also witnessed the decline of many others. Wherever one digs into the earth of Lebanon, there are revealed successive ruins of cities, temples and monuments which were erected as a testimony to the continuous renewal of human society in our land.
113.	Lebanon has therefore remained true to itself, witnessing from its mountains and shores this unique panorama of history through thousands of years. From this perspective it has derived its spirit, its civilization and its heritage which have formed the essence of its mission. Thus Lebanon has become in its turn a centre of civilization and of intellectual as well as material exchanges which have enabled us to establish with other nations and countries the closest of ties and a profound commitment to the ideals of free communication between countries and peoples at large.
114.	Thus, our history has taught us that life is stronger than death, that coming together is better than drawing apart, and that truth triumphs over falsehood. It has also taught us that man will ultimately succeed in overcoming difficulties, however enormous they may be, provided he is inspired by faith, trust and sincerity.
115.	In conclusion, let me express the hope that my faith in the future of my country and in its perennial character will find its response in the faith which each one of you has in his own home land. I also hope that my faith in the wisdom of this Organization and its spirit of justice will enable us all together to work for a better future for our countries and mankind.


137.	 This session of the General Assembly opens under circumstances clouded in uncertainty and fraught with persistent dangers to world peace. There is cause for deep concern over the great political and, above all, moral issues of our time. There is doubt about the capacity of the United Nations to meet the challenges it is facing. In this situation the Assembly must praise its luck in having found you, Mr. President, ready to chair this session. The Netherlands Government and people have always admired your country's strong sense of independence. 1 congratulate you most warmly.
138.	On behalf of the Government of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, I wish to extend a warm welcome to the two new Members of the Organization, the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam and the Republic of Djibouti.
139.	In his annual report on the work of the organization, the Secretary-General shows grave concern over the state of the world and of the Organization. Indeed, the positive facts and developments are overshadowed by negative events and situations. Free elections and a return to democracy contrast with increased violations of human rights. Progress in the North-South dialogue and prosperity in some parts of the world are clouded by unemployment and inflation, protectionism, persistent mass poverty and lack of progress in achieving structural change in world economic relations. Progress towards detente in Europe and the absence of war in some regions have to be measured against the dangerous stalemate in the Middle East, growing violence in southern Africa and the increased threat of nuclear proliferation.
140.	1 wish to stress the moral implications of the issues which this General Assembly is again called upon to solve. Too often the moral responsibility of the Members of the United Nations tends to be overlooked and neglected in our preoccupation with selfish national interests, and yet there is no higher code of conduct for the nations of this world than the Preamble to the Charter, which contains the basic human values which should guide the behaviour of States and the community of States: collective responsibility for common problems, tolerance, national self-restraint and readiness to compromise, justice and respect for human dignity and individual rights, concern for the poor and oppressed.
141.	The same Charter provided instruments, institutions and procedures for co-operation to realize these high values. But can the Organization still cope with today's world? There is a paradox: universality has been virtually obtained, but, at the same time, nations seem to turn away from the Organization by creating parallel structures and by frustrating the very system of co-operation through unwarranted politization. The other side. of the medal is that frustration caused by lack of progress in solving vital issues leads to politization and alternative institutions. It is disquieting that lengthy talks on strengthening the United Nations and on restructuring its economic and social arm have brought us nowhere.
142.	It is against this background that I wish to address myself to some of the key issues of today. On a number of these problems the Minister for Foreign Affairs of Belgium has clearly stated the position of the nine members of the European Community: he has stressed the political will of our countries constructively to co-operate towards their solution. In this same spirit I should like to add some remarks on behalf of the Government of the Kingdom of the Netherlands.
143.	In the Middle East, for the first time perhaps since the beginning of the conflict, there is now hope for a genuine peace conference to start working out a lasting settlement. Responsible statesmen of the countries concerned have voiced their desire for peace. Everywhere the conviction is growing that the state of war must come to an end and that the time is ripe at last for devoting the invaluable human and material resources in the region to peaceful development. In this situation, it is of course of vital importance that all Governments concerned should refrain from any statement or policy, in particular with regard to the West Bank, that could constitute an obstacle to this pursuit of peace.
144.	The situation in southern Africa is a source of growing anxiety The death of Steven Biko symbolizes the denial of fundamental rights which the black people of South Africa still have to suffer. At the World Conference for Action against Apartheid in Lagos, the deep concern of the Netherlands Government and people was expressed when we advocated a mandatory arms embargo against South Africa under Chapter VII of the Charter and when we pointed to the inevitability of economic measures directed against that country under the same Chapter, should the Government of South Africa refuse to introduce fundamental changes in its society without further delay. We said so last year, but there is hardly any change at all. The Netherlands has for many years applied an embargo on all arms deliveries and has put an end to export-credit guarantees. Further steps are considered, such as the curtailment of new investments.
145.	The Lagos Conference has signalled to South Africa more clearly and incisively than ever that the policies of apartheid are totally unacceptable and that their continuation will inevitably have serious consequences. At the same time it has followed a constructive approach by calling in its final declaration on the Government of South Africa to let all people, irrespective of race, colour or creed, including the white minority, participate as equals in determining the destiny of their nation. We fervently hope that South Africa will understand this signal and will respond to the appeal addressed to it by abandoning apartheid before violence takes over.
146.	Developments in Namibia and Southern Rhodesia have reached a critical stage. The Netherlands supports the intensified international efforts of the United Nations and of the five Western members of the Security Council to break the stalemate in Namibia and solve the problem on the basis of democratic elections under the supervision of the United Nations so as to enable its people to exercise the right to determine in freedom the destiny of their country. The Netherlands Government strongly endorses the Anglo- American proposals on Southern Rhodesia. 1 urge all the parties concerned to grasp what looks like a last opportunity for peaceful transition to independence through sections on the basis of the principle "one man, one vote". The Netherlands is prepared to contribute to a Zimbabwe development fund on condition that such a fund is acceptable to the future Government of a free Zimbabwe elected on the basis of majority rule.
147.	One of the most burning moral issues in today's world is the question of human rights. To promote respect for human rights and fundamental freedom is one of the basic objectives of my country's policy. Human rights is more than ever before arousing deep public concern- The Final Declaration adopted at the conclusion of the Conference on Security and Co-operation in Europe, with its clear obligations in the field of human rights and the policy of the American Administration, are clear evidence of this fact. But there is also the sinister fact that widespread and persistent violation is increasing in many parts of the world. Too often, however, in the United Nations other motives and interests prevail over genuine human rights considerations. The fully legitimate action by the United Nations with regard to a limited number of specific situations is outbalanced by inaction or even total silence in a much larger number of cases that give rise to equal or greater anxiety The United Nations has even failed to act against
the scourge of terrorism and the taking of hostages. This Assembly must make a determined effort to come to grips with this outrage to everyone and every people.
148.	The struggle for human rights comprises not only civil and political rights but equally economic, social and cultural rights. The realization of the totality of those rights is imperative for achieving the full development of the human personality. The promotion of human rights includes the achievement of just social and economic structures; it forms an indispensable element of the development process.
149.	However, 1 cannot accept the thesis that the observance of fundamental freedoms should be subordinated to the realization of social and economic advancement. Inability to guarantee the enjoyment of one basic right should never serve as a justification for violating another one.
150.	The United Nations has a crucial, twofold task in the field of human rights: standard-setting and implementation. The impressive body of humanitarian standards laid down in conventions, declarations and resolutions needs continuous evaluation, elaboration and completion. This session of the General Assembly should work and make further progress on the issue of political prisoners and religious intolerance. Fully in line with the momentum created by International Women's Year, this session should finalize the draft convention on the elimination of discrimination against women. Let me stress in this respect the role of the United Nations in improving the status of women.
151.	The task of the United Nations in the field of implementation is difficult and delicate. Under the Charter the United Nations has the power and the duty to create adequate machinery for the protection of human rights. Existing machinery is inadequate and even in danger of being curtailed, but more regrettable is the lack of the political will to pursue human rights. There is a huge gap between theory and practice, between proclaimed standards and actual protection and observance. Bridging this gap is first of all up to Governments and the people themselves, but the United Nations can and must make a strong and effective contribution to this end.
152.	This Assembly will again discuss the human rights situation in Chile. If the Government of Chile is sincere in its self-professed concern for human rights it should allow the Allana mission9 to come and see for itself. But continued concern over Chile must not lead us to ignore serious and persistent violations of human rights elsewhere in the world. There also the United Nations should act.
153.	I welcome the entry into force of the two United Nations Covenants on Human Rights. My Government will ratify the Covenants as well as the Optional Protocol on the individual right of complaint in the near future. But the procedures for implementation under these instruments represent only a minimum. They do not make it possible to react in an appropriate manner to urgent and serious violations of human rights. The time has come for the
9 Ad Hoc Working Group on the Situation of Human Rights in Chile appointed in conformity with resolution 8 (XXI) of the Commission on Human Rights.
United Nations to create the office of the Commissioner for Human Rights who can make inquiries and render good offices and advice in concrete human rights situations. The human rights machinery already available in the United Nations-I refer to the Commission on Human Rights and its Sub-Commission—must in the meantime be strengthened. As of now open or disguised hostility to the cause of human rights prevents these institutions from being fully used. Thus it can happen that the intergovernmental structure of the United Nations sometimes acts as a barrier to the voices of the oppressed being heard. I wish therefore to stress the importance of non-governmental organizations in the promotion of human rights as an indispensable source of information and as a tool for public education and support for the victims of oppression. The Netherlands will, oppose efforts to smother the voice and the rights of these organizations.
154.	In economic terms the world is not much better off. The international community continues to be faced with economic and social conditions throughout the world that call for urgent and imaginative action but to which policy responses have so far been inadequate. Governments around the world are faced with painful and difficult policy choices affecting directly the well-being of their citizens. In the industrialized world the fight against inflation and unemployment requires sacrifices in a state of affluence; but, what is worse, in many developing countries recession adds desperate dimensions to already difficult situations.
155.	The issue of development and growth is no longer a matter of concern and immediate interest to the third world only. What is at stake today is the future and the management of the world economy as a whole in the interest of both developed and developing countries. In spite of serious efforts the United Nations system has so far proved inadequate to meet in a coherent manner these new, interrelated challenges of development in the third world and the preservation of growth and economic activity in the industrialized world.
156.	Whether or not it is called a new international economic order, a fundamental readjustment of international economic relations and national policies is now called for. That is the lesson of the 1970s.
157.	In the wake of the sixth and seventh special sessions and other United Nations conferences, the Conference on International Economic Co-operation was another milestone in the North-South dialogue. The results of the Conference were important but limited because it failed to produce a break-through in the- negotiating process and because it failed to recognize the need for structural change. I regret that the resumed thirty-first session could not reach agreement on the evaluation of the Conference and on its follow-up.
158.	The immediate task for this session is to revive and intensify the political momentum, to start or pursue serious negotiations on specific issues, and to prepare for the future. To start with, it is a matter of urgent necessity for the Governments of developed and developing countries alike to be united in warding off the ominous forces of trade protectionism and in sustaining the import demand of developing countries by more aid transfers or otherwise. This, in turn, will have a stimulating effect on the economies of the industrialized world.
159.	A new, practical, more direct approach is required for the selection of specific issues to be negotiated between those most concerned. I refer to commodities, debts, trade, investments. In these negotiations a differentiation of instruments is needed according to the specific positions and conditions of the developing and developed countries concerned. The negotiations must take the common interest of rich and poor as the essential point of departure. They must be consistent with global strategies and aims already agreed upon.
160.	In the meantime, the world community must now start preparations for a new development strategy, for the implementation of a new international economic order in the interest of both developed and developing countries. Such a strategy should contain new elements: urgent attention to meeting basic human needs in developing countries in the context of structural change in developing as well as developed countries; participation of the people, including youth; greater emphasis on the role of women in development; diversification of instruments according to needs and conditions; and also measures and targets for sustaining growth and economic activity in the industrialized world as part of a joint effort for a new global compact for development.
161.	In view of the enormous tasks before us, I particularly welcome the launching of the Brandt Commission. This Commission can perform a crucial complementary function and have a catalytic effect on the preparation of a new United Nations development strategy.
162.	Among the global problems which can only be solved by a common effort, the energy issue is one of the most urgent. If adequate measures are not taken now, a new and more serious energy crisis in the 1980s is almost inevitable and will affect not only the poorest countries but also the economies of the rich. The United Nations has so far failed to respond to this challenge.
163.	The rich countries consume a disproportionate amount of the world energy supply. Accordingly, it is primarily their responsibility to conserve energy, to promote intensified exploration and exploitation of conventional energy sources, and to develop alternative sources. Not nearly enough has been done so far. The Netherlands Government will work in all appropriate forums for active, joint and well-co-ordinated policies in this field.
164.	1 wish, however, to sound a word of caution. In my view the energy situation is serious but not so desperate that we should not carefully judge all possibilities for enlarging the supply of energy on the basis of their consequences and side effects. The sense of urgency must not lead us into haste and premature decisions. Much more can be done to achieve higher energy efficiently. A recent conference sponsored by UNITAR has shown that the sources of recoverable fossil fuels are far from being exhausted and that a much higher recovery rate is feasible. There are promising alternative resources of renewable energy if, at least, technological developments in this respect get more support than hitherto. I hope that the preparatory work on a United Nations conference on new and renewable sources of energy will give a strong impetus to our activities in this field. This can be of tremendous benefit for the poorest countries and for all of us. The United Nations can and must play a more active role in matters of energy research and development, and I trust that this General Assembly will support the relevant Economic and Social Council resolution of last summer, its resolution 2119 .
165.	Given proper and timely efforts by all concerned, the scope for energy savings and for developing alternative supplies is such that a wise, anticipatory energy policy will make it possible in the long run to balance supply and demand of energy.
166.	I see no compelling reason to rush headlong into the development of nuclear energy. A race in nuclear technology, if left unchecked and uncontrolled, could lead to dangerous and undesirable side effects.
167.	I wish to draw particular attention to the deadly threat of proliferation of nuclear weapons, which calls for measures without delay. The non-proliferation Treaty and the IAEA safeguards constitute important political restraints. Their political and practical value should not be underestimated. However, new and sophisticated nuclear technologies are being developed which make it easier to cross the threshold of nuclear military capability. Action is necessary in two directions. First of all, the existing system of safeguards and controls must be expanded and strengthened. I would urge that the IAEA studies on the storage of fissionable materials be speeded up and intensified in order to arrive rapidly at an international plutonium storage regime under IAEA auspices. Secondly, we urgently need an inherently safe nuclear fuel cycle which would not contain significant amounts of weapons- usable materials. We must make civilian nuclear technology proliferation-resistant.
168.	The Netherlands Government, therefore, warmly welcomes President Carter's proposals for an international nuclear fuel cycle evaluation and will actively participate in the Conference to be held in Washington next month on that subject. It is my fervent hope that this evaluation will result in a truly co-operative effort of suppliers as well as consumers of nuclear material and technology, without discrimination, in order to limit the risks involved in the use of nuclear energy and at the same time to satisfy the basic energy needs of all countries. For this result to be achieved, it is essential that the outcome of the evaluation should not be prejudged in any w,-y. The further spread of sensitive technologies which increase the threat of proliferation of nuclear arms must be avoided.
169.	The early conclusion of an effective and comprehensive test ban will greatly strengthen the non-proliferation regime and other measures to curtail the nuclear arms race. This raises the position of nuclear explosions for peaceful purposes. The high expectations with regard to the potential benefit of such explosions have not been fulfilled; in my view the time has come to eliminate the basic inequality between nuclear weapon Powers and non-nuclear weapon Powers in this field. This should be achieved by a comprehensive test ban which would also prohibit nuclear explosions for peaceful purposes by individual nations and under which nuclear Powers would assume the same self-restraints as the non-nuclear Powers. It is time to cut off this dangerous road to both horizontal and vertical proliferation. Here I have also in mind the Strategic Arms Limitation Talks. I regret that up till recently these talks have made little progress and may perhaps not lead to agreement before the first interim agreement of 1972 lapses in October. I feel, however, encouraged by the promising developments in the discussions between the United States and the Soviet Union in the last few days. Curtailing the strategic nuclear arms race is a matter which allows no further delay..
170.	It is my fervent hope that the special session of the General Assembly on disarmament, to be convened at the initiative of the non-aligned nations, will create the new political impulse to fruitful and effective multilateral disarmament negotiations in which, in our view, the Conference of the Committee on Disarmament must play an important role. The special session must give high priority to nuclear disarmament, but it should also tackle the problem of the increasingly dangerous trade in conventional weapons. Whether or not that session will succeed in turning the tide will depend on our common effort and political will.
171.	All these pressing problems have in common their deep moral implications. Racial discrimination, terrorism, the torture of prisoners, widespread suppression of human freedom and social injustice have roused the conscience of the world, which will not rest until these immoral practices are banned. It is immoral to have plenty and to continue to let hundreds of millions live in poverty and misery. Our conscience cannot rest when a minority consumes and wastes the bulk of the world's energy resources without caring for the bulk of the world's people. It would be inadmissible by hasty action and short-sightedness to allow the danger of nuclear proliferation to go unchecked.
172.	The institutional machinery for dealing with today's manifold problems has been inadequate and, in some cases, altogether lacking. The United Nations has played too passive a role, a role of reacting to, rather than pre-empting, dangerous events. Have Member States lost confidence in the United Nations? And if so, why? I do not believe in Utopia, but I for one am still convinced of the overriding value of the Charter and of the great potential of the Organization.
173.	The world problems of today can be solved if Member States have the political determination to make the system work. The seventh special session demonstrated that it can work if States are prepared to bring vital matters before the United Nations for negotiation on the merits of the case and at a high political level. This applies to the General Assembly itself but even more so to the restricted key organs of the United Nations: the Security Council and the Economic and Social Council, which provide" ample possibilities and instruments for both formal and informal negotiations.
174.	I urge Member States to make full use of the International Court of Justice, which has adapted its procedures in order to meet almost any case or dispute between Members in a thorough and expeditious manner.
175.	Speaking about international law, 1 wish to draw the attention of the Assembly to the initiative of Australia, supported by the Netherlands and other States, to include in the agenda of our session the item "Review of the multilateral treaty-making process". This initiative is an example of the many possibilities for innovation and strengthening the United Nations system which Member States under the Charter have at their disposal.
176.	Last but not least is the Secretariat, which Dag Hammarskjold so brilliantly described and defended in his address at Oxford University on 30 May 1961 and which is characterized as "an instrument, additional to the normal diplomatic methods, for active and growing service in the common interest". The Articles of the Charter are explicit enough. The history of the United Nations has set ample precedent: the Secretary-General and the heads of the specialized agencies have the authority for initiate action and inspiration. I urge them increasingly to use this authority in consultation and interaction with the intergovernmental organs for the common interest of Member States and the Organization.
177.	This Organization was created on the morning after the nightmare of the Second World War as a new, more perfect instrument for peace. The Charter remains our most precious guideline for international co-operation. But cooperation does not take place by itself; it must be constantly fostered. Let us be aware of the ever-growing number of problems which can only be solved by international co-operation in common institutions. Time is of the essence. Many problems become more intractable as time goes by. Let us therefore pledge ourselves anew to effective co-operation so that the generation of the year 2000 will be able to give a positive verdict on the efforts of the generation of today.