Allow me to begin by congratulating you most warmly on your election to the presidency of the General Assembly of the United Nations in this session. Your election reflects the confidence that the international community places in you, and is a tribute to your country Malta We are very confident that under your wise guidance the General Assembly in its current session will achieve positive results aimed at the reinforcement of international co-operation and understanding among peoples. We wish you all the best in your endeavours.
Allow me also to express the deep gratitude of the delegation of Sudan to your predecessor. His Excellency General Joseph Garba, a dedicated son of Africa, who has shown considerable wisdom and skill in his stewardship of the forty-fourth session of the General Assembly.
We should also like to renew our thanks and appreciation to Mr. Javier Peres de Cuellar, the Secretary-General of the United Nations, for Ms incessant efforts aimed at strengthening international peace and security, indeed, for the dignity and well-being of mankind.
It is, indeed, most gratifying for us to see an independent Namibia as a Member of the United Nations, following a hard and protracted struggle on the part of its people and a solid international backing which finally made its independence possible. We have no doubt that young Namibia will contribute actively to the work of our Organisation. We also welcome the Principality of Liechtenstein, the latest Member of the United Nations.
We also wish to express a very special welcome to our brethren in Yemen on the occasion of Yemen's unity into one strong sovereign State. We trust that this great achievement by our brothers will reflect positively in all endeavours of the international community and organisations.
Within the same framework, we should like to welcome the forthcoming unification of Germany. My country has recently witnessed a series of festivities on the occasion of the first anniversary of the Revolution for National Salvation, a revolution which, since its inception, has shown unwavering determination to offer the people of Sudan an opportunity to rise above all their sectarian and tribal differences, which wore exacerbated by the previous regime. The people of Sudan are now free to choose the political system which best suits them without any pressure or diktat.
The Revolution for National Salvation has been logical in that it made peace its first priority. Peace is the necessary prelude to the improvement of Sudan's conditions and preparing it to play its natural role on the regional and international levels.
Having decided not to address any issue without the full participation of the people of the country, the Revolution has convened a Conference of National Dialogue on the issues of peace in the country. All national forces participated in that Conference, and were able to make recommendations on the ways and means of consolidating the country's unity, power sharing, the distribution of wealth and the relationship between religion and the State within the framework of a federal system wherein citizenship will be the basis of belonging to a unified Sudan.
The State has adopted the recommendations of the Conference, in which the peoples of both the north and the south participated, and, without any attendant, formulated upon that basis a programme for negotiations. Not surprisingly, the rebel movement accepted the programme as a workable basis for negotiation in the meeting that took place in Nairobi in December 1989 between representatives of the Government and the rebel movement. Several National Dialogue Conferences followed one another on such issues &s the economy, diplomacy, information, social development, women and the problems of education, including the issue of illiteracy. Other conferences addressed the problems of the most vulnerable groups of the population, including the problems of displaced persons, refugees, childhood and motherhood, h wider political conference is now addressing the issue of democracy. The aim is to come up with a democratic formula of full popular participation that would enable the people to exercise democratic rule without tutelage. The Revolution has taken it upon itself to ensure the human, political, social and economic rights of the people in line with the dictates of all religions and the norms embodied in the international covenants on human rights and democracy.
All this has been taking place within the framework of Sudan's culture and heritage. Our civilisation has led us towards an openness to the cultures and identities of others in order to forge a common human civilisation. Recognising that human dignity cannot be realised without securing all the requirements of such dignity, the Revolution has become aware that economics is the central factor among those components. Therefore, we have made the restructuring of the national economy a first priority, the objective being to secure and liberalise all sectors of the economy with full popular participation. Development of human resources has also become the basis for comprehensive development.
Towards that end, the Revolution has adopted a three-year programme of economic salvation. It has also promulgated a new law on investment. A number of Arab and foreign development partners have been invited to participate in reviewing the draft of that law before its promulgation, to ensure a feeling of security for their investments on their part.
Sudan's keenness to promote peace is not limited to its national borders. The yearning for peace has been extended to embrace relations with all our neighbours particularly in the Horn of Africa. This we have done in the context of a just, humane perspective, which respects good neighbourliness, and which is based on a strong foundation of durable peace, in order to allow the people of this region to unify their wills and endeavours to develop their region. This would only b· achieved by exploring the root causes of conflicts in the region in a collective manner in order to formulate feasible solutions. I am, therefore, pleased to say that Sudan has received a very positive response from all the leaders of the sub-region, we have also been encouraged by those friends who are keen to achieve peace and security in the sub-region. I am confident that the member countries of the Inter-Governmental Authority on Drought and Development (IGADD) will pursue their collective efforts to achieve peace and development for all their people.
There is no doubt that the acceleration of economic co-operation between the countries of the region, with the support of our friends, will have a positive impact on the prospects of durable peace in the region.
The successive indicators of international détente, especially over the past two years, have given rise to real hope and created opportunities in all the areas of international development, especially in the developing countries and more particularly in the least developed countries. This will naturally narrow the present gap between the North and the South. An outstanding landmark in that direction has been the guest for the reduction of arms and armaments expenditures The Middle East witnessed an easing of tension when the guns of Iraq-Iran were silenced and successful negotiations were initiated by our brethren in Iraq to reach a final solution to that war in order to eliminate all its after-effects In accordance with international legality and respect for the Charter, as well as the relevant resolutions of the Security Council. By doing this, Iraq served the cause of peace. However, there is now cause for concern. War threatens once again and the presence of foreign fleets in the Gulf is a grave development that warrants such concern, both on our part and on the part of all those who are interested in peace and who foresee the devastating consequences that may arise from shifting the conflict from the search for peaceful solutions in an Arab framework to a confrontation whose consequences cannot be predicted.
Sudan's position on this grave situation is the following. First, efforts must be pursued towards the achievement of a peaceful solution to the present conflict between Iraq and Kuwait within an Arab Muslin from work that would lead to the elimination of the root causes of their differences.
Secondly, Sudan is fully committed to the principles of international law and legality, the Charter of the United Nations and the charters of the League of Arab States and the Organisation of African Unity (OAU). Sudan has clearly and emphatically reiterated this commitment at every Arab Meeting that has been held on the Iraq-Kuwait crisis. Sudan's main concern is to avert a devastating war in the region and to spare the Kuwaiti people further suffering and enable them to resume their natural place in both Arab and international communities. On more than one occasion, we have affirmed our commitment to the Security Council resolutions on this crisis. I now reaffirm that commitment.
Thirdly, Sudan wishes to express its deep regret that this should have happened between two Arab sister States. We also realise that this complex situation has developed into an imminent threat to Arab national security. This threat, as we have often said, is the intensive foreign military presence in the region, that is a prelude to the imposition of a new security order. That new security order will not take into account the requirements of national Arab security. It will be aimed at safeguarding the interests of foreign States in the region without any regard for the security of the countries of the region. It will impose upon the region a pattern of peace that cannot be compatible with the aspirations of the Palestinian people to exercise their inalienable rights, including their right to self-determination and the establishment of an independent State in their homeland, Palestine.
Fourthly, in the light of the preceding three points, Sudan has taken initiatives, including visits by the Chairman of the Revolutionary Command Council for National Salvation to several Arab States with the object of closing ranks and the determination to contain the crisis within an Arab framework and prevent the penetration of foreign forces into our region, we wish to reaffirm our strong desire to achieve peace and security for our brethren, the people of Kuwait. Furthermore, we are completely convinced that an approach of military confrontation will not solve the problem. We are equally convinced that it runs counter to all international norms and humanitarian principles to impose a complete blockade against Iraq, and thus deprive Iraqis of food and medicine.
Fifthly, we continue to believe that this is an Arab problem and that as such it should be contained within an Arab framework. The possibilities of an Arab solution are still available despite the difficulties created by an imposed foreign intervention in the region.
Fro, this rostrum we call for giving that Arab solution a further chance to achieve a durable settlement that could be made possible through peaceful negotiation and would thus avert the threat of war in the region and spare humanity the consequences of a devastating military confrontation.
We should all strive with a unified will to achieve lasting peace in the Gulf region. We should also silence the drums of war which some are so intent on beating.
We continue to believe that responsibility for resolving this crisis is, of necessity, collective. Mo single State or group of States has the right to take it upon itself to implement Security Council resolutions with its arsenals and infantry, marine and air forces, without such forces being part of a peace-keeping force established by the Security Council pursuant to Articles 41, 42 and 43 of Chapter VII of the Charter. Any action outside those articles would amount to an extremely dangerous precedent.
We appreciate the concern shown by international economic and financial organisations and a number of States with regard to the negative economic impact of the Gulf crisis especially on the non-oil producing States, and the least developed countries. We also appreciate the readiness shown by those States and organisations to mitigate the negative impact of the crisis brought about by the rise in oil prices and the resultant increase in the prices of manufactured goods and production inputs have direct affect the life and development processes of a great number of nations at a time when they need to accelerate their development efforts.
We look forward to seeing this objective point of view translated into a program, of action and into inflows of resources to the developing nations. We also hope that it will be included in the resolutions that will be adopted at this session of the General Assembly.
The international community is still confronted with a number of issues of great importance. We should face up to them with practical measures and a strong united political will. The explosive situation in the Middle East continues to be neglected and marginalised. Some States have made their first concern the defence of Israel. Some permanent members of the Security Council use their right of veto in a way incompatible with the principles of international law and the provisions of our Charter.
Four consecutive sessions of the General Assembly have passed while the Palestinian intifidah has been escalating, and every day the Palestinian people heroically prove their firm steadfastness and determination to regain their full and inalienable rights. Adherence to international instruments on human rights and the rights of nations requires the international community to respect that struggle against occupation, injustice and oppression that trample all international and human norms.
This regrettable situation makes it imperative for the international community, represented in this Assembly, to take a clear position against the increasing waves of Jewish Migrants fro, the Soviet Union and other countries and their settlement in the occupied Arab territories. We affirm our support for the id,, of placing the occupied Arab territories under direct international trusteeship to safeguard the Palestine, of the Palestinian people in the Palestinian territories, to preserve their integrity, safeguard their inalienable rights and protect then from oppressive Israeli practices, which have gone far beyond all reasonable limits.
The people of Sudan, along with all the other peoples of the African continent, follow with keen interest the first victories of the people of South Africa. We welcome the release from prison of the great freedom fighter Nelson Mandela and others. We also welcome the unbanning of anti-apartheid organisations including the African National Congress of South Africa and the Pan Africanist congress of Azania. On the question of political and economic sanctions, Sudan calls on the international community to keep the sanctions in place against the racist regime until such time as apartheid has been completely dismantled and a free, democratic and non-racial South Africa has emerged.
One of the most important pending problems before the international community concerns the conclusion of a comprehensive nuclear-test-ban treaty. My delegation regrets that the international community has failed thus far to adopt measures that would strengthen the security of non-nuclear States or guarantee that nuclear weapons will not be used against them by those who do possess such weapons.
Conventional weapons continue to develop both in the terms of quantity and of destructiveness. They still find their way to the markets of arms developing countries. We have not yet succeeded in realising the clear relationship between disarmament and development.
It seems to us that that role of the United Nations is being marginalized  in the field of disarmament. Multilateral negotiations have not been accorded the importance they merit.
0n the economic level, we have not yet succeeded in implementing the major programme of action for the 1980s in favour of the least developed countries. International co-operation for the eradication of poverty in the developing countries continues to be an unattained dream. The influx of refugees contains to grow into the host countries including Sudan. We cannot ignore the heavy burden Imposed on our country by that influx of refugees, who are pouring across our eastern and western borders. The spectre of drought and the continued conflicts in neighbouring countries will generate new waves of refugees. We, therefore, call on the international community to shoulder its responsibilities in support of Sudan in this important human domain in the light of the fact that the Sudanese people are offering all they can without asking for gratitude. The fact is that the Sudan shoulders some 70 per cent of the cost of sheltering refugees in spite all its difficult economic and social circumstances.
The international community is still unable to combat the growing scourge of narcotic drugs in many communities throughout the world, while most developing countries continue to quake at the dangers posed by poverty, hunger and disease.
Problems arising from the deterioration of the environment continue to be a source of serious concern. This should lead to greater international co-operation on reaching new goals commensurate with the gravity of the dangers arising from that deterioration.
We have repeatedly affirmed that the development of the developing countries is first and foremost the responsibility of those countries. We have held to that commitment, but we continue to believe that international support is necessary in the process of development and of raising the standard of living in those countries.
We in Sudan harm accepted that the responsibility for alleviating the suffering of our people is ours and have considered every possible option to deal with the economic crisis we face. This has resulted in the formulation of a three-year programme for economic salvation aired at restructuring the Sudanese economy through the revitalisation of all economic sectors, the rationalisation of the use of disposable resources, the achievement of social balance ,and the alleviation of the suffering of the poorer segments of the population. We can achieve those objectives by: more emphasis on development in the agricultural sector with a view to the achievement of self-sufficiency in food and in agro-industry in general, the encouragement of an export drive through a liberalisation process, the elimination of bureaucratic impediments, and the mobilisation of all available domestic and foreign resources to increase production and improve efficiency.
All this can be achieved only if we eliminate obstacles to investment and encourage the private sector to make a positive contribution to national development. Nor can such efforts bear fruit without a favourable international economic environment in which the international community accepts its responsibility vis-à-vis the elimination of all the difficulties which stand in the way of growth and development in the developing countries.
The debt problems remain an ongoing problem of both debtors and creditors, Debtors are over burdened by a debt service problem which hampers their development and loads to complete and utter poverty. Creditors, on the other hand, are no longer able to recover their loans,
In our country, the debt burden has reached the point where it threatens the entire structure of our economy. No have adopted various measure, aimed at mitigating the chronic deficit in our balance of payments. Among those measures is the limiting of our imports to the extent necessary for development, the
encouragement of exports in order to increase our export earnings and the reduction of public expenditures even though such cuts will have adverse effects which our people will have to suffer. However, those measures are not sufficient by themselves and cannot lead to an overall solution to the crisis. We hope the international community will face up to its responsibilities and increase its participation in the efforts aimed at resolving this problem, and thus match the earnestness of our policies and the firmness of the measures we have taken despite their heavy burden they will impose on our people. The problem is too serious to be left solely to the international financial institutions. In saying this, I am voicing a joint African position on the problem of indebtedness, a problem, which have clearly become a grave crisis that threatens the prospects of development and the very life of the developing nations.
We appreciate the encouraging initiatives of some donor countries, toward reduction of the debt burden. We hope that this spirit will inspire the hole international community to follow their example, so that we can put an end to this problem which is a great obstacle to economic and social growth in our countries.
An effective solution for such a severe problem requires a positive response and genuine action to encourage a sufficient flow of resources and expertise to the developing countries, in order to expand their absorptive capacities and accelerate their development. Resolving the problem further requires that action be taken to improve the terms of trade in the international arena and open additional outlets for the exports of developing countries by removing restrictions on their foreign trade.
All of the foregoing is required to adjust the balance of power and the terms of trade in favour of the developing countries and also to bridge the current development gap between the North and the South. There is no need to elaborate on the expected positive results from all these factors, that is, the achievement of balance in international development and the ensuing international stability and security.
The effects of all those problems I have just referred to will reflect harshly and bitterly on children, particularly in developing countries. In relation to the question of indebtedness, for example, son, children will pay the price of never seeing the light of life, others will suffer from poverty and preventable diseases because their poor families cannot afford vaccines and medication. At this crucial time, it is a sign of hope and optimism that the World Summit for Children has been convened here at the United Nations. This summit meeting indicates that the international community, represented by the political leaders of all countries, is still capable of making a humanitarian gesture in the interest of a new and prosperous future for children. The summit’s declaration, plan of action and political commitment represents a historic humanitarian lead that can be put to effect only by the will and determination of the international community collectively and every country individually to implement those two important international instruments. I should like to declare Sudan's firm commitment to strive, on its own and in co-operation with others, to put children first in every casa.
Sudan, while it continues to face severe economic and social problems, like many other developing countries, also suffered a number of natural and environmental disasters over the past few years. It still feels the effects of those calamities.
Natural disasters and the war waged by the rebel movement in the southern part of my country have taken their toll on our food supplies, which depend to a great extent on uncontrollable climatic conditions. In the two preceding agricultural seasons, the rainfall was below the normal average. At present, signs of drought which are beginning to appear in the northern part of our country, threaten to create food shortages and therefore increase our apprehension. The situation in the neighbouring countries is no better and, therefore, we fear that there may be a new influx of refugees into Sudan in the near future. It is also possible that a one of our food nay find its way into neighbouring countries. Mindful of all this, we expeditiously requested the expertise of the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations in order to determine scientifically the food position in our country for the coming year.
Sudan is proud to be the initiator of an unprecedented initiative which is indicative of its concern for all its citizens in all circumstances, be it in times of war or in times of peace. That initiative baa allowed for the first time in recorded history the smooth flow of food and Medicine to citizens in the areas of military operations through a number of safe-passage corridors, in pursuance of Sudan's desire to protect all its citizens regardless of location or attitude.
All those efforts were undertaken within the framework of Operation life-line Sudan, for which we extend our appreciation to the international community represented by the United Nations, its Secretary-General and his senior relief assistants and the Executive Director of the United Nations Children's Fund who was assigned the duty of supervising that successful operation, which stands as an example of the huge capabilities of international humanitarian co-operation. We laud the role of the international community, which became a partner with Sudan in that historic operation. We look forward to more positive international co-operation in support of phase 2 of Operation Life-Line Sudan, which relates to rehabilitation and construction in the light of the resolution of the United Nations General Assembly in that regard.
We have discussed sincerely the international and regional problems of concern to Sudan and the international community. We have also dealt with the problems, hopes and aspirations of Sudan with frankness and sincerity, so that all these issues may figure in the deliberations and resolutions of this session. We have come here to reaffirm our unwavering confidence in the United Nations and in international co-operation for the achievement of a more just and prosperous future for all.
We should like to assure all Members of the Assembly of the firm commitment of Sudan to remain an active participant in international co-operation and in the enhancement of efforts towards the achievement of world peace and human development.


Sir, on behalf of the delegation of Guatemala, I wish to extend to Mr. de Marco most cordial congratulations on his election as President of the United Nations General Assembly at the forty-fifth session.
On behalf of the Government of Guatemala, I wish to say that we are very pleased at the admission to the United Nations of Namibia and Liechtenstein as full-fledged Members, since this reinforces the principle of universality of our Organization.
I should also like to place on record the profound appreciation of the people and the Government of Guatemala to the Secretary-General of the United Nations, Mr. Peres de Cuellar, for his constant efforts in the search for peace and the strengthening of democracy in Central America and other parts of the world.
I cannot fail to state how pleased the Government of Guatemala is at the new climate of dialogue and well-conceived co-operation that has been generated by the attitude of the United States and the Soviet Union and the very important fact for Europe and the world at large of the achievement of a united Germany, which could be a decisive factor for world peace. In the same context, we wish to underscore the importance of the process of democratization in Eastern Europe.
We recognize the special relevance of the World Summit for Children, and we are pleased to state that the Government of Guatemala signed the Convention on the Rights of the Child when it was opened to signature and ratified it before its entry into force.
The Government of President Cerezo has reiterated its faith in the purpose and principles of the United Nations and its political will to co-operate resolutely in this world forum towards the achievement of the highest values it has enshrined for mankind, such as peace, freedom and justice. He has also reaffirmed his commitment to the defence and promotion of democracy, respect for human rights and promotion of complete and harmonized development for all poor countries.
The Government of Guatemala also reiterates its full support for the principles of international law governing relations among States: basically, self-determination of peoples, non-intervention, the legal equality of States, peaceful, just and negotiated settlement of international disputes and political and ideological pluralism, as bases for a democratically organized community of nations.
I believe that, if political and economic relations among States were to be governed effectively by the principles enshrined in international law, which we have fully accepted in theory and enshrined in a large number of international instruments, there would be no hotbeds of tension and instability such as those that cause us to experience precarious peace with a constant danger of losing that peace.
My government is convinced that peace, the highest aspiration of mankind, is the result, both domestically and internationally, of firm political will on the part of nations to achieve such peace through measures and agreements that basically seek reconciliation, tolerance, mutual respect and, above all, social justice. I believe deeply that only democracy as a system of government provides us with the basis and appropriate framework to seek peace, but democracy understood as a value and as a norm of conduct which is invariable, backed up in law and by a solid set of principles that fully guarantee the enjoyment of all freedoms. The most important challenge that has been confronted by the Government of Guatemala has been precisely that of strengthening democracy.
Since the beginning of the mandate, which coincided with the entry into force of the present political constitution of the country, President Cerezo has established in the country a government oriented basically towards meeting the needs of the poorest and most vulnerable sectors of the population, which had traditionally been forgotten and left on the sidelines. The people since then have enjoyed all freedoms, which they have exercised fully through the strengthening of people’s organizations, whose legitimate aspirations form part of our nations priorities, reflected specifically in programmes directed towards meeting their most urgent needs.
Dialogue has been intensified through forums for reconciliation, in which sectors convinced that dialogue is the only way to make progress politically are progressive participating. President Cerezo has demonstrated in practice what democracy is all about and has never resorted to coercive measures to resolve the political and social problems that he has had to confront throughout his administration.
We are now in an open electoral process, a process that is free, pluralistic and participative and that will culminate, on 11 November, with the general elections. These elections are to take place in a democratic environment in which the political parties carry out their campaigns without any constraints. In order to strengthen the transparency of the electoral process, the Organization of American States has been invited to send observers, and also a large number of Governments of various parts of the world will by testifying to the honesty and cleanness of the elections.
The National Commission of Reconciliation of Guatemala, in the framework of the Esquipulas II Agreements, with the full support of the Guatemala Government, took the initiative of promoting a process of dialogue between the Guatemalan National Revolutionary Unity (URNG) and the various political, management and religious sectors and people’s representatives, as well as with the Government of the Republic, in order finding a political solution to our national problems, a solution that allows for reconciliation among Guatemalans and that therefore provides total peace for the country.
 This process of dialogue began in Oslo at the end of March this year between delegates of the National Commission of Reconciliation of Guatemala and those of the URNG. They continued at Madrid in June with representative of political parties from Guatemala, and at Ottawa at the beginning of September, with talks between the URNG and the private sector. A meeting is also planned to be held in Quito between URNG and the religious sectors of the country, as well as a meeting with the trade union sectors.
This process of dialogue is the result of a national consensus, which is why it has been given the support of the Guatemalan population and of the international community.
I should like to underscore and thank the Secretary-General for his resolute support for this process of dialogue in which he has participated as an observer, thus giving the process greater credibility and confidence as regards the commitments that have been achieved.
The Guatemalan Government also expressed its appreciation to the Governments of Norway, Spain, Canada and Ecuador for their contribution to this process.
The Central American region has in the past few decades been confronted with situations of crisis, instability and violence that have been an obstacle to its progress and that have meant the loss of valuable lives.
On more than one occasion the results of the paths chosen by our Presidents to promote peace, democracy and security in Central America have been called into question. May I none the less say how very deeply pleased we are at the all important progress achieved towards the implementation of the peace agreement signed by the Central American Presidents, which has made it possible to see that, in spite of the long and difficult path followed, the obstacles encountered and the historic responsibility called for by the task, efforts have not been in vain and are yielding fruit.
Proof of this can be found in the truly democratic political processes recently conducted in fraternal countries of the region, in the internal dialogue among irregular forces and Governments of Central American countries towards helping establish domestic peace and strengthening national reconciliation.
We are please at the progress made in negotiations on security, verification, and the control and limitation of armaments in accordance with the Esquipulas II Agreements, and we trust that this will make it possible to reorient resources towards the development of Central America.
These efforts on the part of the Governments of the region should be joined by those of the international community, which should give its support for the achievement of peace, stability and democracy in Central America. The actions of the United Nations and of the Organization of American States in respect of the peace process constitute unprecedented advances. The important diplomatic work done by the Costadora Group and its Support Group with a view to arriving at a peaceful, negotiated solution for peace and democracy and at reducing tension deserves our fullest appreciation.
We are also grateful to other countries that have supported us throughout the process. The European Community, for its part, has, through the institutionalization of interregional relations, shown its readiness to support efforts to put an end to violence and instability in the Central American region.
Against this background of improved political prospects for the region, and convinced that Central American presidential gathering are an appropriate means for analyzing and making decisions at the highest political level of our peoples, the Presidents of Central America welcomed the proposal of President Marco Vinicio Cerezo Arevalo to hold an economic summit that would make it possible to deal with the grave economic and social situation of Central America.
We believe that this presidential meeting will be the beginning of a second stage of the Esquipulas II process, in which the peace dividends will make it possible to reorient efforts and resources towards the expansion of our economies and the well-being of our peoples.
The Central American Presidents took extremely important decisions in order to reorient the process of integration of the region as a means to achieving development, to achieve the inclusion of Central America in global economic, financial and technological trends, and to support and co-ordinate sectoral policy to promote economic growth, and to make it possible to bring social benefits to the people.
In this context and in accordance with the request of the Central American Presidents for international assistance towards complementing our efforts, we Central Americans, who have already taken the initiative in choosing our path, must now reassess the support that the international community provides and offers to the region in order to make optimal use of that aid and to reorient it to the actual needs of the region in fulfillment of the presidential agreements.
In this respect, the aid granted to the region by the European Community within the framework of co-operation signed in Luxembourg between the two regions in 1985 and aimed at social and economic development projects in the region deserves our attention.
We agree with the new direction takes for community co-operation in support of the reactivation, restructuring and strengthening of the process of economic integration in Central America. This is reflected in the plan for the establishment of a regional system of payments, which will give new impetus to intraregional trade.
Furthermore, the plan for special co-operation for Central America, the PECE, which arose in response to the appeal of the Central American Presidents at their summit meeting at Esquipulas II in order to obtain from the international community special support for the peace and development of the region should be promoted and adjusted to the actual requirements of the region in fulfillment of the Antigua commitments. In this context, the plan must continue and be given financial resources from the United Nations Development Programme so that it may be able to continue to function.
We believe that other initiatives for co-operation with the region should be considered, such as the initiatives presented  by Colombia, Mexico and Venezuela – the Group of Three – the initiative of the International Commission for the Recovery and Development of Central America.
Furthermore, in support of political changes which have taken place in Latin America and the Caribbean, the President of the United States of America recently announced a new programme for economic and financial relations between the United States and the Latin American and Caribbean region, known as the Initiative for the America. This is clearly an opportunity to promote the region’s prosperity and forma new American community. In principle, Central America has expressed its satisfaction at the prospects for this proposal, which we believe will help fulfill the agreements reached by the Central American Presidents in the plan of action adopted at their Antigua meeting. Guatemala has also reacted to the offer to support the protection of the environment by a mechanism for the exchange of bilateral debt for development projects.
Central America must react positively to such an initiative. None the less it must use as its terms of reference the results of the Latin American countries which have already progressed in their negotiations in this direction. We must consider a joint strategy on the basis of its political and economic potential, and recognize that, as a bloc of countries, it will have better possibilities for facing future challenges in regard to economic, financial and trade matters and greater power of negotiation in the international context.
It is important to highlight the validity, as of 1 May 1990, of the treaty establishing the Central American Parliament and other political bodies. The Parliament constitutes an institutional mechanism of a permanent nature for the strengthening of pluralist dialogue and democracy as fundamental elements for peace in the region.
The Central American Parliament will also help promote and strengthen the process of Central American integration and encourage the broadest co-operation among member countries. The policy of the Guatemala Government in respect of human rights is firm and well defined. The United Nations Commission on Human Rights and its Sub-Commission for the Prevention of Discrimination and Protection of Minorities have been examining the situation of human rights in Guatemala and have adopted resolutions in this regard. While it is true that those bodies have expressed their concern at the human rights situations in my country, it is also true that they have recognized the efforts being made by President Cerezo’s administration towards promoting and guaranteeing respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms.
Furthermore, both the Commission and the Sub-Commission and, in general, the international community are aware that there is no policy of violation of human rights in Guatemala. The Government of President Cerezo, therefore, reiterates, in this world forum, its unswerving commitment to respect human rights completely and to ensure their full exercise. The Government of Guatemala is therefore quite ready to continue to co-operate with the Commission and other serious bodies that have a genuine concern for human rights in our country, but we do reject the unjust campaign of disinformation that certain biased sectors are trying to conduct in an attempt to harass and single out Guatemala by painting an alarming picture of the human rights situation that does not in any way correspond to the reality.
Millions of human beings are wandering all over the world, victims of armed conflicts in their countries; others are victims of natural disasters; and others have left their homes because it has been impossible for them to rise above the poverty in which they were born. I am referring to refugees and displaced persons. The work of the United Nations through its High Commissioner for Refugees deserves our recognition. The Central American government are aware of the need to resolve this problem and to ensure to all Central Americans who return to their homes suitable conditions for their reintegration into national life. Guatemala feels encouraged to pursue this effort to solve the problem and it is grateful for the international support it has received. We are aware of the difficulties that need to be overcome, but we have the political will to resolve them and we declare once again the right of all Guatemalans living abroad to return to their homeland in conditions of freedom, security and respect for their human rights, so that they may be able to participate actively in national life.
The Government of Guatemala is deeply concerned at the production and consumption of drugs and the illicit traffic in them. We have therefore taken a series of internal measures to combat this scourge. At the hemispheric level, we consider it necessary to strengthen the power of the Inter-American Commission for Drug Abuse Control, since all possible action must be taken to combat the ills related to drug trafficking. At the global level, my Government was one of the first to sign the United Nations Convention against Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances, which was adopted in Vienna at the end of 1988. It is my pleasure to report that we shall soon be ratifying that Convention.
In short, both at the national and at the international level, the Government of Guatemala has maintained its unswerving resolve to fight openly against drug trafficking, since this is an extremely serious problem, one which constitutes a threat not only to peace but also to the stability of our institutions and our societies.
The Government of Guatemala considers it necessary to establish, at the international level, mechanisms of co-operation for the rational use of natural resources, the control of pollution and the restoration of the ecological balance.
We believe that poverty and the deterioration of the environment are closely interrelated and that it is necessary therefore to bear in mind the fact that protection of the environment constitutes an integral part of the development process. In this context, we fully support the decision of the United Nations to hold a conference, at the highest possible level, on the environment and development in Brazil, in June 1992.
In order for peace to be lasting, it is necessary to encourage social development and the adoption of measure for the enhancement of the economic well-being of the neediest sectors of society. The situation that now prevails of differences between rich and poor nations can be seen, to a greater or a lesser degree, in all societies. It is time to piece the well-being and advancement of human beings at the centre of all our activities.
The economic situation throughout the world continues to be adverse to the economic and social development of the developing countries. Guatemala is now facing one of the most severe economic crises in its history. That same situation prevails throughout the entire Central American region and the developing world at large. No short-term solution is in sight. The situation seems to worsen day after day. Foreign debt and its serving have made an already difficult situation worse. The magnitude and seriousness of this problem requires a broad and resolute approach, since this constitutes a grave threat to the political, social and economic order of many countries.
It is a matter of concern that in the Uruguay Round of Multilateral Trade Negotiations the interests and concerns of the weakest developing countries are not being taken sufficiently into account. The objective of these negotiations should be to benefit all nations and to provide developing countries with access to existing trade blocs and also to new markets. Therefore, the needs of the developing countries must be duly taken into account.
Guatemala considers that the United Nations is the appropriate forum in which to seek just solutions to shared problems, particularly in the economic field. There is a need for understanding and co-operation on the part of the economically stronger countries. It is urgent and necessary to continue a serious and constructive dialogue between developed and developing countries. It is unfortunate that the efforts made by the Group of 77 at the multilateral level have encountered obstacles that are now difficult to overcome. No significant progress was achieved at the special session devoted to international economic co-operation and, in particular, to the reactivation of economic growth and the development of the developing countries. We are therefore pleased at the decision to hold a special session of the Economic and Social Council at the ministerial level next year.
This decision revitalizes that important body of the United Nations and will make it possible to set new policy guidelines in the economic and social sphere in the new context in which we are living.
International peace and security have been endangered once again in the already torn region of the Middle East. Guatemala views with deep concern the conflict which arose on 2 August last when the armed forces of Iraq occupied the territory of Kuwait, forces which still remain there. Since the beginning of this conflict the Security Council has done work of an unprecedented nature. The agreement of the permanent members of the Security Council to go beyond the ideological differences has made it possible for them to agree on measures that emphasizes the rule of law, respect for international law and for the purposes and principles enshrined in the United Nations Charter, norms which all sates that cherish peace must respect.
Guatemala supports the collective measures adopted by the Council to prevent new threats to the peace and to eliminate existing ones through the application of measures under Chapter VII of the Charter. Guatemala has taken the necessary steps for full implementation of the resolutions adopted by the Security Council since the beginning of the conflict instigated by Iraq. We appeal to the Iraqi Government to desist from its attitude. Guatemala rejects any action aimed at the annexation of Kuwait and reiterates its appeal to Iraq to withdraw from Kuwait. Guatemala encourages the Secretary-General of the United Nations to continue his tireless work of good offices aimed at the peaceful settlement of this conflict. Guatemala condemns the entry into and search of accredited diplomatic headquarters in Kuwait and considers unacceptable the use of civilian and diplomatic personnel as hostages.
As stated by President Cerezo in this forum last year, Guatemala recognizes the right of the Palestinian people to self-determination and independence in their own territory, which does not compromise or affect the existence of the State of Israel within its borders as recognized by the United Nations. We are convinced that a political and negotiated solution to the problem of Palestine will certainly be a step towards a solution to the problem of the Middle East.
The situation in Lebanon does not seem to be improving. The civil war continues to take lives and to render increasingly difficult the economic situation of the population. Guatemala appeals to the parties to the conflict to desist from their hostile attitude and to take conciliatory measures that could make it possible to establish the confidence necessary for negotiations and dialogue and to put an end to a war which has taken so many lives and which has caused so much suffering in that country.
Peace-keeping operations will undoubtedly contribute to the reduction of budgets devoted to total destruction and to the arms race. The moral force of the United Nations is an additional guarantee of the transparency required for the peace process. It is also the most appropriate way to involve the international community in the restoration of international peace and security. Certainly this cannot be a solution to an existing problem, but it provides the time necessary for the reduction of tension and for the promotion of the mutual confidence-building measures that are necessary if we are to lay the foundations of a lasting and stable peace.
Central American itself has benefited from the operations through the work done in the region by the United Nations Observer Group through the work of International Support and Verification Commission in the process of demobilization of the Nicaraguan resistance. It is a source of deep pride that, for the first time in history, we see United Nations operations promoting the total destruction of weapons.
One region that could benefit from peace-keeping operations is South-East Asia, where there are encouraging signs of a peaceful solution.  We support the efforts being made by the Association of South-East Asian Nations to achieve a negotiated political solution to the conflict in Cambodia. We hope that the Paris Conference will be resumed so that the Khmer people may be enabled at last to enjoy peace, security and respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms.
The United Nations has been called upon to participate in the referendum that is to be held to resolve the conflict of Western Sahara. Guatemala welcomes the joint agreement, the timetable and the plan approved in June by the Security Council. The referendum seems to be the most feasible means of resolving the Sahraoui conflict, and Guatemala supports the work done by the United Nations in this regard.
Events in southern Africa deserve mention. We are very pleased at the liberation of Nelson Mandela and at the beginning of dialogue in South Africa. None the less, we note with concern that the complete and unconditional abolition of the odious system of apartheid practiced by the South African Government is being delayed. There can be no peace, nor can there by development, without the total abolition of apartheid as a system of government.
The Guatemalan Government views with profound gratification the dialogue that has begun between North Korea and South Korea with a view to reconciliation and the reunification of the Korean peninsula. This intra-Korean dialogue contributes to détente and to the promotion of global peace. Guatemala believes that, within the United Nations principle of universality, it is appropriate that South Korea and North Korea be admitted to the Organization, within whose framework more significant progress in the process of dialogue between the two Koreas, with a view to ending confrontation and achieving unification, is feasible.
Guatemala supports the efforts being made by the United Nations in the global disarmament campaign and associates itself with the appeal for the investment in the economic and social development of developing countries of all funds released by the reduction of nuclear arsenals. Guatemala, as a signatory to the Treaty of Tlatelolco, supports efforts to prohibit tests of all types of weapons of mass destruction and supports the use of outer space solely for peaceful purposes of benefit to all mankind.
Guatemala supports the talks that the Government of the fraternal Republic of El Salvador, within the framework of the Esquipulas II agreement, is conducting with the armed opposition in that country. It is our hope that Salvadorians will find a negotiated political solution that can put an end to a decade of destruction and polarization in their society.
Guatemala supports Haiti’s request that the United Nations organize an observer group for the election that are to be held in that country. We hope that the Haitian people will achieve the peace and internal reconciliation for which they yearn, enabling them to exercise freely their civil and political rights.
In an effort to contribute to the important work of the United Nations in the peaceful settlement of disputes, the Guatemalan delegation has submitted a new item for consideration at the forty-fifth session of the General Assembly. This item will be considered by the Sixth Committee. It is a draft of conciliation rules, whose objective is to promote the use of conciliation as an ad hoc means of resolving disputes between States. We believe that this may help the United Nations in its efforts to promote and maintain international peace and security.
For reasons of State relating to the electoral process that is taking place in our country, President Cerezo could not be here. However, he asked me to convey to you, Mr. President, his warmest greetings and his best wishes for the success of the Assembly’s deliberations, as well as his solidarity with the decisions that are adopted in the search for peaceful and just solutions to the grave political, economic and social problems afflicting all mankind.
May God be with you.


Allow me, Sir, at the outset to extend to you most sincerely the congratulations of my delegation on your election to the presidency of the forty-fifth session of the United Nations General Assembly. We are confident that under your wise and experienced leadership this session will be a successful one.
It is with a great sense of pride that I salute your predecessor for his very creative and productive stewardship of the forty-fourth session. The adoption by consensus of the historic Declaration on Apartheid, the Convention on the Sights of the Child, and others carries the imprint of his inspired leadership of that session. We owe him a heavy debt of gratitude.
Under the steady, wise, careful and purposeful leadership of our Secretary-General, the United Nations has continued to make impressive strides in the quest for peace in our troubled world. A few months ago, we welcomed into the family of our world Organisation the new, independent State of Namibia, free and sovereign at last, thanks to Mr. Javier Peres de Cuellar's tenacity of purpose. We salute the Secretary-General.
I join those who spoke before me in extending to the Principality of Liechtenstein a warm welcome into the family of the United Nations. The addition of a Member to our Organization adds another step in its progress towards universality.
The orderly evolution of a logic of peace in international relations has continued to gather momentum despite intermittent spasms of crisis and conflict that occasionally threaten to restore the old order. The cold war can now safely be pronounced dead and buried. The Second World War has at long last lost its residual vestiges with the termination of the four allied Powers' troubled superintendency over Germany. Germany has been reunited. We share the joy of its people.
Polarised ideological lines between and among nations have become blurred, if not anachronistic, λ new epoch in the march of our common history has begun in earnest. In the words of the Secretary-General,
"As we survey the political scene, we see the dawn of a new era in Europe, streaks of light in some regions and the darkness of old animosities and new hatreds enveloping others." (A,4Ş,1. p. 3)
In Eastern Europe, we continue to be touched by the infectious spirit of renewal which has manifested itself in the inexorable resurgence of democratic pluralism. There has been pain and suffering in some of these dramatic developments, but, increasingly, the message they all convey is one of reconciliation and hope. We salute the architects of these positive developments and wish them well as they settle down to design new ways of life for their societies and fashion a new age for their beloved Europe.
The rest of our troubled world is opt happy yet. Bloody civil wars have continued to unleash their all-consuming fury on innocent populations in many lands. Regional conflicts have yet to become a thing o£ the past, despite the end of the cold war from which they have often in the past derived their fuel, their raisons d'être. There is enough reason to hope, however, that the relaxation of tension between the East and the Vest will have a catalytic effect on the search for solutions to these conflicts. The guns of these wasteful conflicts, which have for so far been sowing death and destruction in Africa, Asia and Latin America, must be silenced.

The situation in Afghanistan pains us a great deal. Why should Afghanistan continue to bleed so much, after the removal of foreign troops, which this Assembly demanded for almost a decade? The answer is that some parties to that tragic conflict have not shown any faith in the efficacy of the Geneva Agreements, having chosen a military solution to settle the conflict. This Assembly roust insist on the implementation of the Agreements.
In South-East Asia, the intractable problem of Cambodia is now ripe for solution, if the very laudable efforts of the five permanent members of the Security Council can be nurtured to fruition. A national supreme council comprising the leaders of the warring factions has been established to administer the country during the implementation of a United Nations plan. This positive development represents a precious opportunity, not to be wasted in political posturing and wrangling. Cambodia and its people have suffered long enough.
Botswana welcomes the steps, however tentative, that have recently been taken by the two parts of Korea towards reconciliation and mutual accommodation. The recent meeting between the Prime Ministers of North and South Korea, it is to be hoped, signals the beginning of the end to the division of Korea, and the ushering in of a new era of reconciliation and peace for that troubled peninsula. We urge the two sides to deploy every effort to reunite their country.
There has still been no movement of note on the Cyprus question. We urge the parties to intensify their efforts, taking advantage of the increasingly effective good offices of the Secretary-General, to find a lasting solution to this vexing question.
We had all hoped that the end of the eight-year-long war between Iran and Iraq would usher in a new era of peace and stability in the Gulf. Our hopes have been shattered. The Gulf has once again become a cockpit of violent conflict. The brutal invasion and annexation of the small, peaceful Kingdom of Kuwait by Iraq has shocked us all. The invasion has had very serious reverberations all over the world, in keeping with the very sensitive nature of the Gulf area, a war psychosis has been stirred up over the crisis, with unpredictable consequences.
The ghastly reality of tens of thousands of foreign nationals who had been working and living peacefully in both Kuwait and Iraq and who suddenly find themselves stranded in the desert without food or shelter is an outrage to our humanity, to say the least. Even worse is the possible fate of those foreign nationals who remain in Iraq as hostages or human shields; or, worse still, of those who might be held hostage to hunger and starvation.
Iraq must heed the voice of reason, vacate Kuwait and restore its independence and sovereignty as demanded by resolutions of the Security Council, which Botswana fully supports. Aggression must not be allowed to pay.
It is our fervent hope that the crisis can still be resolved peacefully, for we shudder to contemplate the consequences of a violent solution. We hope that the leaders of Iraq will, sooner rather than later, find the wisdom and courage to extricate their country from the strait-jacket of defiance and bellicosity in which they have placed it.
The fortunes and misfortunes of the Gulf are, of course, intertwined with those of the Middle East as a whole. The area remains one of endemic conflict and intractable problems. The Iraqi invasion of Kuwait exacerbates this unhappy state of affairs.
The bloody revolution of frustration that has been raging in the Israeli-occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip has now assumed the characteristics of a quiet, forgotten revolution. The Gulf crisis has become the dominant news item, and occupies the front burner of international concern and preoccupation. And yet, the Palestinian question remains very much alive and cries to the heavens for a solution. Nothing will deter the Palestinian people from continuing to yearn and struggle for a homeland of their ova, and as long as this is the case, there will be no peace, no security and no stability in the Middle East, either for Israel or for its neighbours.
Botswana continues to hope that Israel will find the wisdom and courage to negotiate a lasting solution with the genuine leaders of the people of Palestine. Israel must, for the sake of its own survival, come to terms with the aspirations of the Palestinian people.
In Latin America, the Falklands issue remains unresolved, even though relations between the contending parties have improved considerably. It is our hope that the United Kingdom and Argentina will use these improved relations to negotiate an end to their dispute over the Falklands. The dispute cannot be wished away or ignored. The longer it is ignored, the more it will haunt and bedevil the peace and stability of the South Atlantic.
The brutal civil war goes on in El Salvador, War and suffering have become a way of life in that troubled country, and will remain so as long as the parties to that tragic conflict cannot stop the bloodshed and come to terms with the wrongs and injustices of their common past, and seek amicable solutions to them. The people of El Salvador deserve the peace envisaged for them and other Central American nations in Esquipulas II.
Let me now come closer to home. When we met here last year at the forty-fourth session, Mr. Nelson Mandela was still in prison. Prospects for change in South Africa were very dim. South Africa was still set in its violent and cruel ways, unrelieved even by the appearance on the political scene of α new loader of the National Party, whose statements seemed to convey a message of hope to a hopeless and desperate nation.
A year later, South Africa looks different. Mr. Mandela and his life-sentence colleagues have been released. Scores of other political prisoners have also regained their freedom. Two crucial talks between the African National Congress of South Africa (ANC) and the Government have been held - in Cape Town in May and in Pretoria in August - and have been pronounced a success.
The dramatic opening of a chink in the citadel of apartheid by President F. W. de Klerk on 2 February 1990 had been preceded by the adoption of the historic Declaration on Apartheid and its Destructive Consequences in Southern Africa by the General Assembly at its forty-fourth session. Adopted by consensus, an historic achievement by itself, the Declaration states in paragraph 1:
"A conjuncture of circumstances exists, which, if there is a demonstrable readiness on the part of the South African regime to engage in negotiations genuinely and seriously, given the repeated expression of the majority of the people of South Africa of their long-standing preference to arrive at a political settlement, could create the possibility to end apartheid through negotiations."
The Cape Town and Pretoria Minutes, two of the most promising manifestations of the possibility of a negotiated and peaceful end to apartheid and its repressive structures, have changed the face of South Africa. The Minutes have not ended that tragic country's reputation for brutality and violence. They have not created the requisite atmosphere for full-fledged negotiations, and yet in a very real sense, the South African tragedy is ripe for solution, as never before, even in spite of the recent wave of violence.
Pretoria has gone some way in the implementation of the Declaration on Apartheid. The report of the Secretary-General, contained in document A,44,960 of 1 July 1990, gives credence to this assessment. Mandela and several other prisoners have been freed. The state of emergency has been lifted, except in Natal. Some apartheid laws, among them the Separate Amenities Act, have been repealed. Hospitals have been desegregated. And, finally, promises and assurances for more affirmative action on the remaining repressive 1шг have been made, particularly through the medium of AKC-Government talks.
"The prospect of a non-racial democracy in South Africa in the not-too-distant future is no longer unrealistic." (A,4S,1. p. As observes the Secretary-General in his incisive report on the work of our Organization. Indeed, all the leaders of South Africa, black and white alike, stand poised face to face with their most fateful moment of truth. A golden opportunity to collaborate in the shaping of a new South Africa has been landed on their lap. The opportunity must not be wasted. Thus far, the ongoing exploratory talks have been limited to two parties, the AMC and the National Party. The other parties have been derisive, hostile or dismissive about the talks, describing them as a sell-out, a charade or capitulation by the AMC.
Wisely, the AMC has made it clear that it does not consider itself the anointed and sole representative and spokesman of black South Africans. Mr. Mandela has called for the formation of a broad front of the black leadership to face the leaders of the  white community ate the  conference table. We fully support that call; because in unity there is always strength, and black South Africa needs unity and strength.
The violence now ravaging the lives of hundreds of innocent people, black people, in the townships, must be dealt with by a black leadership that is united in purpose and determined in its commitment to the realisation of the new South Africa we all seek. The new South Africa cannot be brought about in pools of innocent blood spilt by the crude weapons of tribalism, political factionalism and thuggery. Such a state of affairs can only retard, if not thwart, the process of change in South Africa.
This applies also to those in the white community whose "invisible hand" might be busy stoking the fires of a racial conflagration in a pernicious attempt to preserve the status quo. The onus is on the South African Government to seek out this invisible hand and cut it off to save the gains that have thus far been made in the guest for a new South Africa.
We are very worried that some elements in the South African police, encouraged and abetted by the right wing, may have thrown in their lot with those who seek to preserve the status quo at all costs, and are thus bent on ensuring that President de Klerk and Mandela are impeded in their efforts to prepare South Africa for change.
We are, nevertheless, convinced that change in South Africa is inevitable. The first bold steps towards a new South Africa have been taken. The United Nations and the world at large have encouraged peaceful change in the country, and must continue to do so. In the final analysis, however, the destiny of South Africa can be shaped only by its people.
The people of Angola have suffered long enough. The civil war there is: as senseless as ever. We are, however, encouraged by reports of progress in the ¡recent talks between the Angolan Government and UNITA. It is hoped that the parties will declare a ceasefire and commence negotiations for a peaceful resolution of their conflict.
Angola's tragedy is Mozambique's tragedy. In Mozambique, too, an utterly senseless and brutal civil war has been wreaking unspeakable havoc on that war-weary country. The Government has long shown its readiness to negotiate with the rebels, who, unfortunately, have thus far failed to demonstrate any serious intention to respond positively. We urge those who still give sustenance to NENAMOČ for whatever reason, to desist and thus save the people of Mozambique more senseless mayhem and bloodshed.
So long as the question of Western Sahara remains unresolved it cannot in reality be said that with Namibia's accession to independence in March this year Africa has rid itself of all vestiges of colonialism.
Fortunately, the way now seems to be clear for a solution that will end, once and for all, the painful colonial limbo in which the people of Western Sahara have been wallowing ever since the abdication of their former colonial Power. The Secretary-General's report of 18 June 1990, contained in document S,21360, is encouraging indeed, containing, as it does, the rudiments of a proposal for the resolution of the Western Sahara question. It is our fervent hope that the parties will co-operate fully with the United Nations Secretary-General and the Chairman of the Organization of African Unity to develop and implement the proposals without delay.
As East-West tension gives way to global co-operation, the challenge now is how to take advantage of this climate for the benefit of all mankind. There are major challenges regarding means to safeguard the global environment in such a way that it can continue to sustain development far into the future, and also how to bridge the ever-increasing gap between the rich North and the poor South. We should now be able to direct more attention and effort towards increasing the well-being of our people.
In this context, we are encouraged to note that the dialogue towards realising these objectives is already under way. The United Nations special session on international economic co-operation and the second United Nations Conference on the Least Developed Countries, which was held recently, focused on issues such as our ever-increasing indebtedness and falling commodity prices. The lack of stability in the pricing of our commodities has made our products highly risky ones around which to plan our development. The crisis in the Gulf and the resultant sharp movements in oil prices will only compound the problem.
Our efforts to prime our economies will be to no avail unless the international community takes bold steps to address these problems, which are seriously affecting our development efforts.
We remain hopeful that the reduced defence spending in the industrialized world will release significant funds for foreign aid and that a fair portion of the so-called peace dividend will be channelled to the least-developed countries.
In addition to the two conferences that I have just mentioned, a conference on development in Africa was held in Maastricht, Holland, in June this year. This conference, which was co-chaired by the President of the Republic of Botswana and Mr. Robert McNamara, former President of the World Bank, addressed the economic problems facing sub-Saharan Africa. It was agreed that the development of Africa is a long-term process and that it must be a human-centred process. The achievement of food security and assured universal access to health care and to education and employment opportunities must be the primary objective of this process.
The war against the scourge of narcotic drugs and their consequences is far from won. Demand for these dangerous drugs is as insatiable as ever, while the supply continues, unabated and inexhaustible. But we cannot afford to be daunted, for that would be tantamount to acquiescing in the needless destruction of generations of young people - mostly young people - who are being lost in ever-increasing numbers to an insidious drug culture. Those within whose borders drugs ore produced must spare no effort to eradicate production, while those within whose borders the drugs are consumed must spare no effort to eradicate demand.
The adoption, on 30 September 1990, of the Declaration on the Survival, Protection and Development of Children represents a momentous milestone in the history of mankind. For the first time there is a universal commitment to the welfare of the child, to which Botswana is very proud to subscribe. The Botswana Government has always placed the plight of children at the top of the agenda of priorities in the formulation of its development policies. In Botswana, education - from primary school to university - is free. Current statistics indicate that 85 per cent of our children have access to formal education, at least at the primary level.
Botswana has also taken important strides in the provision of adequate health facilities. These have resulted, during the period since 1980, in a rapid reduction in the child mortality rate. In 1988 the immunization rate reached 98 per cent, and in the case of malnutrition the figure has now been reduced to under 1 per cent. Our commitment to primary health care remains the top priority in our development strategies.
Botswana has subscribed to the Convention on the Bights of the Child, which was adopted last year at the forty-fourth session of the United Nations General Assembly. Together, the Convention and the Declaration on the Survival, Protection and Development of Children constitute a formidable foundation on which the future of our world's children can, and must, be securely constructed. It is our cherished hope that the spirit of 30 September 1990 will stiffen the resolve of nations to join forces to combat poverty, illiteracy, disease and unbridled population growth and thus create a hotter and safer world for our children.
The United Nations - this repository of the hopes and aspirations of mankind - has entered a new era. All those who have already spoken in this debate waxed poetic about the indestructible virtues of our Charter, to which, without exception, they reaffirmed their unswerving fidelity and commitment. They spoke eloquently about their determination to infuse the Organisation with a new dynamism, a new mission, a new sense of purpose. Botswana shares fully those expressions of renewed faith and confidence in an Organisation that, only a year ago, was reviled as an empty symbol, He, too, reaffirm our faith in it. It is our fervent hope that, in particular, the Security Council's new-found vitality, so amply demonstrated by the unusual facility and rapidity with which it has been reacting to the crisis in the Gulf, will be ardently sustained and replicated in respect of other crises.


On behalf of the Haitian delegation, may I first of all extend to Mr. Guido de Marco most cordial congratulations on being chosen unanimously to direct the work of the forty-fifth session of the General Assembly. We are very pleased about this election, convinced as we are that his outstanding personal qualities and his great experience in international problems are the best guarantee of the success of our work.
I would be remiss if I did not also pay a tribute to Mr. Joseph Garba of Nigeria, whose energy, efficacy and moderation earned him the respect and admiration of everyone during the last session.
We also congratulate the Secretary-General. Mr. Javier Peres de Cuellar, who deserves our recognition for the successes achieved by the United Nations in recent years. His latest report on the state of the world rightly emphasizes the new opportunities emerging at the dawn of this decade.
We welcome with great satisfaction the admission of Namibia and Liechtenstein as full Members of our Organisation.
Forty-five years after the creation of the United Nations, historical events are accelerating rapidly. The cold war is almost over, as the recent treaty on the final settlement of the question of Germany has shown. There are encouraging signs of solutions to problems on all continents, which only yesterday were criss-crossed by many conflicts that by force of circumstance had become stakes in the East-West competition. The cause of peace continues to make progress. The same is true of democracy, which has remodelled the post-war political and ideological landscape.
But no one can underestimate the potential of conflicts threatening this new peace dynamic. From Liberia to Ethiopia, from Central America to Afghanistan, many hotbeds of tension remain, quite apart from a large number of local or regional conflicts that for the past four decades the United Nations has been unable to prevent or control.
Moreover, the storm currently ¡raging in the Arab, Persian Gulf is an unprecedented threat to world peace.
Along with those uncertainties, the growth of extreme poverty in the countries of the South dramatically emphasises that the international economic crisis is not over - quite the contrary.
The international community is now living in a time of a dual contrast, between peace and war and between the economic euphoria in the North and the growing impoverishment of the South. It is against that background that the General Assembly is beginning its forty-fifth session, whose work should have a lasting effect on the new decade, full of so many challenges.
Exactly two months ago the whole world was plunged into a state of shock the premeditated aggression against the sovereignty of Kuwait initiated the gravest crisis in the past 20 years. The invasion became annexation. They are equally unacceptable in law and international morality. Unless there is a radical change, there is the risk that the logic of war which seems to prevail will commit us to a military confrontation, with unpredictable consequences.
In the face of that danger, the Republic of Haiti urges the United Nations to play to the utmost its unique role of trying to avert the major conflict that the whole world so much fears. We believe that a spreading conflagration is not inevitable, so long as the party primarily concerned decides to admit its errors and to respect the principles of the United Nations Charter which have been so flagrantly violated.
In that connection, we believe there are two basic requirements the complete restoration of Kuwait's sovereignty, without any reservation, and the complete and unconditional withdrawal of the occupation forces, reflecting the status quo of 1 August 1990. We should give diplomacy a chance to attain those objectives through negotiations, in accordance with Security Council resolution 660 (1990) and subsequent Council decisions, all of which have the firm support of the Haitian Government.
Clearly, for a peaceful outcome of the conflict Iraq must take the first steps towards a negotiated settlement. Therefore, the Republic of Haiti joins the unanimous appeal to the Government of Iraq to heed the voice of wisdom and reason. It is not too late.
Still with regard to the Middle East, we cannot overlook the deadlock in the
search for a solution to the Israeli-Arab question, which has been aggravated by violence that has been endemic for three years now in the occupied territories presenting another major challenge to peace. Hopes of progress towards a solution seen to depend on the opening of a dialogue between all the interested parties, especially between the Israelis and the Palestinians, within the framework of negotiations acceptable to both parties. In any event, the Haitian Government strongly supports the efforts already initiated with a view to beginning a negotiation process on the basis of commonly acknowledged principles, contained in particular in Security Council resolutions 242 (1967) and 338 (1973). For it should be repeated that the key to any solution lies in Israel's right to live in peace within secure borders, internationally recognised and guaranteed, and in the Palestinian people's exercise of its legitimate rights to a homeland and self-determination.
The Republic of Haiti cannot remain indifferent to the fate of Lebanon, threatened with disintegration because of a bloody and unceasing tragedy. In that friendly country we have witnessed with alarm successive violations, which remain unpunished, of the basic principle of non-interference in the internal affairs of States. While condemning such acts, whatever the reasons given by those responsible, the Haitian Government calls for respect for the relevant United Nations resolutions, so that the Lebanese people may finally, after the torment of the past 15 years, regain control of their destiny, with full territorial integrity.
The struggle for peace in the Middle East, with which Haiti fully associates itself, is part of a larger picture the creation during the current decade of an international environment in which war may finally be outlawed.
Although the world's attention has rightly been upon the Gulf crisis, there has recently been an exceptional improvement in the international climate with regard to the maintenance of peace. That is especially true of the situation in southern Africa. The year now coming to an end has seen Namibia gain its independence after a long decolonisation process in which the United Nations played a key role - and we pay it a public tribute for that.
There was a first glimmer of hope in South Africa with the freeing of Nelson Mandela and his comrades in the struggle. Praiseworthy initiatives have since been made by the South African Government. Nevertheless, the risk of civil were threatening that country has lessened the prospects of a rapid dismantling of the apartheid system, whose structure remains basically unchanged. The Republic of Haiti, because of its very nature, endorsed the aspirations of the black majority of South Africa and the struggle of its liberation movements. We believe it to be our duty once again to call for the continuation of sanctions against the Pretoria regime until it shows proof of its determination to put an end to its universally condemned policy.
The Haitian Government welcomes the outline of a national solution to the crises that have torn Angola and Mozambique since their independence.
Similarly, the efforts to settle the question of Western Sahara seem to give us reason for hope. The Haitian Government continues to hope that a solution will be found taking fully into account the inalienable right of the Saharan people to self-determination, in accordance with the relevant resolutions of the United Nations and the Organisation of African Unity.
Similarly, we note with satisfaction the progress achieved towards a settlement of the conflicts in Asia.
Under the auspices of the United Nations and with the tireless support of France - to which we would like to pay a tribute for its sustained activities - an overall settlement of the issue of Cambodia seems to be at hand. The Republic of Haiti is pleased for the Khmer people, which after so great a struggle is now emerging from a long nightmare.
Furthermore, in view of the recent developments in the Korean peninsula, the time seems to have come for the Republic of Korea finally to be admitted as a full-fledged member of the great family of the United Nations. Haiti fully supports its aspirations.
Closer to home on the American continent, Central America, after being a bloody pawn in East-West rivalry for more than a decade, has committed itself to the Esquipulas II Treaty and the guest for a peaceful solution to the many conflicts there and the building of a new democratic order. In this regard too we should emphasise that, to its credit, the United Nations has lived up to its mission. The Republic of Haiti hopes it will continue to help the Central American nations finally to put an end to the suffering caused by civil war and, above all, to find a way to development - the essential element of peace, without which any democratic endeavour would be illusory.
We also wish to emphasise the exceptional factors that have come together and fostered the dawning of freedom in the East and boundless prospects for stability, security and peace in Europe. The Haitian Government and people would like to hail, first and foremost, the consecration today of German unification - an outstanding symbol of the beginning of a new age for Europe and the world as a whole.
Finally, the Republic o£ Haiti is pleased at the incontestable progress achieved in the limitation of the chemical, bacteriological and nuclear arms race. The excellent steps that the super-Powers have been taking for some time now are full of promise. For us, as for the entire third world, there is much hope of achieving real disarmament. This closely affects prospects for improving the living conditions of hundreds of millions of human beings now suffering or dying of hunger. As is rightly recalled in the latest report of the World Bank on development, any reduction by 10 per cent of military expenditures by the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (HATO) would automatically involve a doubling of official assistance, if that is indeed desired.
In that regard, we support the recent appeal of the Secretary-General for increased assistance to the emerging democracies of the third world, whose peoples should not be tempted to associate democracy with dire poverty and misery, as was so rightly emphasized by Mr. Perez de Cuellar.
It is time we realized that democracy also has an essential socio-economic dimension, without which it loses its raison d'être.
The Haitian delegation cannot fail to express its concern and bitterness in the face of the growing economic gap and disparities between North and South. The vigorous economic expansion that has taken place in the past eight years has become the norm for the industrialized world. As a hostage to this growth, perhaps it is no longer development but stagnation and regression that have been the lot of most third world nations. It suffices to consider the spectacular decline of the average income in Latin America, which is at a level lower than that of 20 years ago.
The situation in sub-Saharan Africa and in so-called least developed countries is the most cruel example of this. In the face of the growing complexity of the problems facing the third world, which in fact have affected the prospects for lasting peace, we are all bound to note the need for a critical examination of the policies and machinery that gave rise to the enormous confusion of the 1980s, which have quite rightly been called the lost decade.
In that regard, the Haitian delegation believes it must emphasize some of the serious setbacks that have come about as regards the objectives of the international development strategy of the past decade.
First, official assistance has never achieved the desired objectives in terms of volume, and has most often been simply a palliative racier than input that was indispensable for lasting development.
Secondly, for very dubious reasons we have too often seen the freezing of vital programmes of co-operation, sometimes unilaterally and selectively, by creditors, when the extremely vulnerable economies of our countries need public assistance that is both stable and predictable.
Thirdly, many constraints have been imposed from abroad, stemming in particular from rigorously applied programmes of structural adjustment at the cost of abandonment of essential social services and cessation of productive investment. But instead of the co-operation that we expected in return, the countries concerned have only been offered the prospect of market forces, as if they are our fragile economies' only hope of salvation in facing the challenges of underdevelopment.
Finally, how could we fail to emphasize the stranglehold of debt-servicing and the problem of the inverse transfer of resources and the drop in commodity prices, which are now lower than they have been in 30 years?
It is not surprising that the economic recovery of the North has not trickled down to the South as expected.
That is why the Haitian delegation believes that the question of the establishment of a new international economic order is still a timely one, for at the beginning of this decade it seems to us there may be no more urgent task than that of attacking the structural causes of the poverty and underdevelopment raging in the third world. We believe in this respect that it is necessary to adopt a series of priority measures, in particular the following:
First, a significant increase in financial facilities for development financing;
Second, the establishment of a system of international co-operation that takes fully into account the specific problems of the most vulnerable countries and those countries most affected by the current crisis, especially the least developed ones;
Third, special support for developing countries that have been affected to help them deal with the substantial increase in energy costs;
Fourth, equitable treatment of external indebtedness;
Fifth, a restructuring of multilateral institutions, whose role in development financing should be in full accordance with the objectives assumed by the United Nations;
Sixth, a revitalizing of South-South co-operation and the process of regional integration;
Seventh, the entry into force, so often postponed of the common fund for commodities.
That having been said, we cannot fail to pay a tribute to the many efforts made in various places that have clearly shown that the idea of enlightened international solidarity is not a dead letter. An example is the new programme of action adopted at the recent Paris Conference on the Least Developed Countries. The steps taken by France to cancel the debt for those countries constitute a positive change. It is incumbent on the international community to make those changes a reality.
The General Assembly has already been seized of a request from the provisional Government of Haiti on the organisation of forthcoming elections. I would be remiss if I did not refer to the situation prevailing in Haiti today, a major multi-dimensional crisis has afflicted Haiti for more than four years now. After the fall of dictatorship the Haitian people regained its public freedoms and clearly demonstrated its refusal to return to it. Since 7 February 1986, the date of liberation, various Government formulas have failed in the face of the irrepressible desire for change expressed by the Haitian people. This period of searching has given rise to a whole series of difficulties for the economy and the good name of Haiti. The abortive elections of 29 November 1987 constituted one of the saddest such episodes. Since then, in addition to the massive disinvestment that resulted, an almost total freeze on public development assistance has strengthened and intensified the national trauma provoked by that unspeakable act.
The Haitian people have been noting with anger the increased degradation of the infrastructures. Illiteracy, which is now at 80 per cent, has not been reduced. Even hope - which brought the Haitian nation onto a new path - has now been threatened. It is in order to stop this vicious circle that the Provisional Government of the Republic, which resulted from a broad, national consensus, has committed itself firmly to putting the nation, amidst all these difficulties, onto the path to free and honest elections which have for too long been postponed.
That is why since its coming to power the Government of Her Excellency, Mrs. Ertha Pascal-Trouillot, while endeavouring to find ways and means to improve living conditions for the Haitian people, has asked for bilateral and multilateral assistance and especially assistance from the United Nations to help the Provisional Electoral Council, the constitutional body entrusted with the task of organizing independent elections, fully to carry out its mandate.
In this regard the Haitian people and their Government would be grateful to all friendly countries from all continents, and in particular to the fraternal countries of the Caribbean Community (CASICOM) and Latin America for any spirit of solidarity they might show with regard to Haiti and any interest they might show in the success of the electoral process.
The date for the elections has just been officially set for 16 December by the Provisional Electoral Council< Nothing can now stop the march towards democratic elections organized in the best climate of security which the armed forces of Haiti have committed themselves to guarantee. We express the hope that the United Nations, in turn, will respond favourably and on an urgent basis to the request made by the Government of Haiti for appropriate assistance. I should like to reiterate the appeal made by the Provisional President of the Republic to the entire international community that finally Haiti will not remain alone: that on 7 February 1991 a new, freely elected President might take office, thereby putting Haiti irreversibly among the growing community of democratic nations.
At a time when a new chapter is opening in history, the current state of world offers us areas of sadness as well as areas of promise for the future picture shows the degree of urgency with which the international community must meet the challenges to peace and international security. No less important in gap that continues to grow between the rich and the poor: the progress achieved in East-West relations should not obscure this dangerous chasm.
We welcome the fact that, increasingly, people are showing confidence in the United Nations in meeting the many challenges that await us at the dawning of the year 2000. Among these challenges we would mention the consolidation of peace, of democracy, the preservation of our threatened environment, the campaign against drug abuse, the constant promotion of human rights, and, above all, the emergence of humanity from a level of dire necessity to a level where no one will lack any necessity.
The Republic of Haiti for its part is convinced that developing as we are in a global community, we have no recourse but to international solidarity with interdependence and an increased awareness of our common destiny if we are to meet these challenges.