I have great pleasure in congratulating you, Sir, on your assumption of the presidency of the General Assembly at its forty-sixth session. I am confident that your wise leadership will enable this session to deal successfully with the broad agenda before it. You may count on my delegation's cooperation in the discharge of your onerous responsibilities. I would like to record my appreciation for the energetic and imaginative presidency of your predecessor, Ambassador Guido de Marco of Malta.
The Secretary-General of the United Nations, His Excellency Mr. Perez de Cuellar, who has served the international community at a critical turning-point in modern history, deserves our deep gratitude and unstinting admiration. His indefatigable energy, dedication, diligence, imagination and resourcefulness have enabled the United Nations to play a pivotal role in the resolution of many crisis situations.
I am delighted to welcome in our midst the Democratic People's Republic of Korea and the Republic- of Korea. India enjoys excellent relations with both and trusts that their admission to the United Nations will further contribute to dialogue and reconciliation in the Korean peninsula. This would also enable them to contribute more effectively to the strengthening of peace and security in the region and in the world at large. We are happy that the Baltic Republics - Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania - have taken their rightful place in the Organization. Similarly, I should like to congratulate the Federated States of Micronesia and the Republic of the Marshall Islands on their admission to the United Nations.
In the year that has elapsed since the forty-fifth session of the General Assembly, India and the world lost a distinguished statesman in the person of Mr. Rajiv Gandhi, the former Prime Minister of India. Rajiv Gandhi's commitment and dedication to the cause of peace and international understanding naturally made him an extremely ardent supporter of the United Nations. We firmly believed that the Organisation, where the entire international community is represented, offers an ideal forum to tackle the manifold problems facing mankind: eradication of poverty, disarmament, environmental conservation, elimination of the menace of drugs and so on. He was particularly concerned about the threat of total annihilation posed by nuclear arsenals, and he will long be remembered for the Action Plan for a nuclear-weapon-free and non-violent world that he presented to the special session on disarmament in 19BB.
The recent dramatic changes in the world have led to a restructuring of international relations. After decades of the cold war, there is a move towards dialogue to replace confrontation, trust to replace suspicion and, above all, peace and cooperation to replace strife and discord. Democracy is taking root in the Eastern European countries, which are, at the same time, making efforts to integrate into the world economy. The process of change in the Soviet Union, initiated by President Gorbachev's policies of perestroika and glasnost, has received further momentum recently. Elsewhere in the world, too, there is evidence of the successful assertion of the democratic aspirations of the people. In our own region, there are the shining examples of Bangladesh and Nepal. As the Secretary-General has aptly put it in his report on the work of the Organization:
"Today there are far more solid grounds for hope than there are reasons for frustration and fear."
While welcoming these positive changes, we cannot but be aware of the formidable obstacles we still face in the creation of an equitable and just world order. Glaring inequalities continue to plague our planet. Disparities among countries and groups of countries have not only persisted, but have also widened. If the promise of a restructured framework for international relations is to be realised, it must address the interests of all and must be accepted by all.
India was among the first to speak out, several decades ago, against the division of the world into hostile camps. The policy of non-alignment, embraced by most of the newly independent nations, stressed the right of nations to determine their own destinies. The Non-Aligned Movement called upon the super-Powers not only to end their rivalry but also to work in cooperation for the benefit of the world. The present situation, marked by the disappearance of bloc rivalries and their replacement by increasing cooperation among major Powers, is a vindication of the Movement's basic plank. As the recent meeting of the Ministers of the non-aligned countries in Accra declared, the Movement will continue to be an important factor in international relations by pursuing the goal of establishing a society based on social, economic and political justice through dialogue and cooperation.
The relaxation of tensions in international relations has inevitably led to progress in the resolution of a number of crisis situations. In Central America, Nicaragua and El Salvador have ceased to be arenas of conflict and tension. Peace has dawned in Angola with the signing of an accord between the parties concerned. Cambodia is on the verge of a negotiated solution. Cyprus and Afghanistan also seem to be moving towards a peaceful settlement. In Western Sahara, a referendum sponsored by the United Nations is about to be held, ending decades of acrimony and conflict in the region.
The crucial role that the United Nations has started to play in these and other crisis situations is in keeping with its original mandate. The convergence of the objectives of the permanent members of the Security Council has led to a consensus among them on several issues, as envisaged in 1945. The United Nations, at the same time, needs to be strengthened and reformed in order to live up to the expectations placed in it.
In this connection, one of the challenges faced by the United Nations today is to make it truly representative of the interests and aspirations of all its Members and to make it an arena of cooperative action of all nations and peoples.
As the Non-Aligned Movement has recently reiterated, the current efforts at reform of the United Nations should include measures designed to make the decision-making process at the United Nations, particularly in the Security Council, more democratic and transparent. In this context, we should examine, as a matter of urgency, the proposals before us for an expansion of the Security Council to reflect the increased membership of the United Nations and to ensure a more equitable and balanced representation of the Members of the United Nations in the Council.
This year has seen the conclusion of the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START), an outstanding achievement in the field of nuclear disarmament. For the first time in history, there is going to be real reduction in the strategic nuclear forces of the United States and the Soviet Union. This has been long overdue, but there is no reason to be complacent. The process of reduction of nuclear weapons must continue. The START reductions are very limited and are confined to numbers, without any effect on the quality of these weapons. The reductions should now be deeper, quicker and should involve all the nuclear-weapon States. The Treaty should not lead to qualitative upgrading of the remaining arsenals, nor should the warheads released be reused in other systems.
Nuclear weapons have no place in today's world and with the end of the cold war the irrelevance of the doctrine of nuclear deterrence stands further exposed. Unfortunately, new theories of deterrence are being developed in order to legitimise the continued possession end Improvement of nuclear weapons. Deterrence is now being conceived either in the balance-of-power context or against the so-called delinquent powers among developing countries.
The action plan proposed by India at the third special session on disarmament in 1988 assumes increased relevance today. The present is the opportune moment to commence work for a new treaty to give legal effect to a binding commitment by the nuclear-weapon States to eliminate nuclear weapons within a time-bound framework, and by all non-nuclear-weapon States not to cross the nuclear threshold. The implementation of the action plan could also help in ending the unnatural division of the world into nuclear "haves" and "have-nots" and the need to erect all kinds of discriminatory ad hoc regimes to sustain such a division.
The Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty symbolises this division. India has not accepted the Treaty because it does not impose reciprocal obligations on the nuclear-weapon States to eliminate nuclear weapons. Furthermore, the Treaty enforces inequitable full-scale safeguards on all the nuclear activities of the non-nuclear-weapon States without imposing commensurate obligations on the nuclear-weapon States.
Nevertheless, I should like to state that, even without having signed the Non-Proliferation Treaty, India has scrupulously adhered to a non-proliferation policy and has never helped any other nation in developing nuclear weapons. We shall continue to abide by such a policy.
We also have our best opportunity in the coming year to conclude a global convention banning chemical weapons. India is committed to working along with all those delegations that wish to complete the work on a draft chemical-weapons convention within the stipulated time frame. What remains to be done in the field of verification, compliance and consultative mechanism should be accomplished without further delay through common effort and understanding. He should all realise that the greater good of humanity is at stake in the abolition of chemical weapons and this good should not be compromised for lesser, short-term ends.
The Gulf crisis earlier this year underscored the inadmissibility of aggression by one country against another. Like the rest of the international community, we feel gratified that aggression has been reversed. We rejoice that Kuwait is once again a sovereign independent State. The Gulf region has long been a focal point of tension and instability. This region is our neighbour, and we are hopeful and confident that, following the recent crisis, there will be peace and stability in the region.
As a member of the Security Council since January of this year, India has tried to play a constructive role in the Council's effort to deal with the Gulf crisis. We lent support to all endeavours to secure the withdrawal of Iraq from Kuwait without resorting to war. Once the war started, we combined our efforts with those of like-minded countries to bring it to a speedy end and, in any case, to ensure that the destruction and devastation unleashed by the war remained limited. We also tried to assert the Security Council's role in guiding the course of the war and in calling for a cease-fire. Being conscious throughout of the humanitarian aspects of the crisis, we made a number of proposals in the Council to provide succour to the innocent civilian victims of the conflict.
The Gulf crisis and the ensuing war severely damaged the economies of many countries, including my own. Nevertheless, we remained in step with the international community in imposing comprehensive sanctions. The Gulf crisis demonstrated that in the present era of global economic interdependence, the imposition of sanctions in a region, particularly when that region happens to be a major source of the energy supply, is bound to have an adverse effect on the economies of a large number of other countries both within and outside the region.
Our experience of invoking Article 50 of the Charter to seek redress was, to say the least, both frustrating and disappointing. The consideration of our case took place after long delays and it resulted only in a call on Member States and United Nations specialised agencies to give attention to our problems. A lesson that we should draw from this experience is that, in future, a mechanism should be devised for the automatic commencement of action under Article 50 in the event of the imposition of sanctions. As the Secretary-General stated in his report on the work of the Organisation: "n today's conditions of economic interdependence, the effect of the imposition of comprehensive economic sanctions on third States that are economic partners of the offender State requires that Article 50 of the Charter be supplemented by appropriate arrangements creating obligations to assist concretely the disadvantaged third State or States". (A/46/1, p.6)
The Gulf region still suffers from the aftermath of war. The United Nations has the duty and responsibility to exert all its energies to remove the suffering, hunger and squalor left behind by the war. This is particularly true of the Iraqi civilian population, whose misery is not lightened by the continuation of economic and trade sanctions. We commend the humanitarian assistance provided to the people of the region by Member countries as well as United Nations agencies. At the same time, we believe that any outside intervention in a Member country on humanitarian grounds constitutes an abridgement of national sovereignty and is, therefore, fraught with serious implications.
We sincerely hope that the flexibility shown by all parties concerned will help to resolve the Middle East conflict, at the core of which is the Palestinian question. India applauds the assiduousness with which the United States has worked to get the various parties involved to the negotiating table. I trust that these efforts, along with those of the parties concerned, will mark a beginning in the resolution of the vexed Middle East problem. He believe that a just and comprehensive settlement of the Middle East question will be possible and durable only if it restores to the Palestinian people their fundamental rights, including their right to a homeland.
I mentioned Cambodia earlier. Events there are shaping towards what we hope will be a peaceful resolution of the conflict. We specially welcome the Cambodian delegation to the United Nations, led by His Royal Highness Prince Sihanouk, Chairman of the Supreme National Council of Cambodia, which has recently taken several initiatives in bringing Cambodia closer to an era of peace and restoration.
India appreciates the contribution made by the five permanent members of the Security Council and the Paris International Conference on Cambodia towards resolving this long-drawn-out problem. We are glad to be associated with this process as a member of the Paris International Conference. The Cambodian people, who have suffered so much in the past, deserve the continued support of the international community to complete the badly needed process of national reconciliation and reconstruction. We look forward to the emergence of Cambodia as a sovereign, independent, neutral and non-aligned nation in accordance with the wishes of its people.
I trust that the Secretary-General's five-point plan on Afghanistan will inspire the parties to the conflict to negotiate a framework for resolving this issue. We welcome the decision by the United States and the Soviet Union not to supply arms to the parties involved, but this step will be effective only if supplies from other sources also stop forthwith. The United States has a major role to play in this regard. We call for a comprehensive political settlement of the conflict in Afghanistan which would preserve the sovereign, non-aligned and independent status of Afghanistan.
Of late, further movement in dealing with the Cyprus issue is discernible. India supports peace efforts that ensure the sovereignty, unity and territorial integrity of Cyprus, and in this light welcomes further negotiations under United Nations auspices. Myanmar remains deprived of the democratic rights its own people voted for over three years ago. India calls upon the Myanmar leadership to accept the people's verdict and work with them to restore democracy in the country.
The South African Government has recently undertaken a number of positive steps towards dismantling the apartheid regime. We welcome these changes. At the same time, we remain fully aware that a lot more needs to be done. The South African authorities must immediately take all necessary measures to start the process of negotiations. Equally important is curbing the continuing violence in certain parts of the country. The pressure that has been brought to bear on Pretoria by the application of sanctions has proved to be useful and must be sustained. The international community must remain vigilant until the complete eradication of apartheid and the transformation of South Africa into a non-racial, unitary democracy.
While apartheid is on the retreat in South Africa, an attempt is being made to institutionalize racism in Fiji. The interim government in Fiji has incorporated into a new constitution certain provisions which are in violation of the internationally accepted principles of democracy and human rights. By institutionalizing oppression and injustice, Fiji appears to be moving backwards in history to a darker age. The Suva regime should abandon such anachronistic policies and join the rest of the world in enlightened democratic governance.
In the economic field, there is an increasing trend of integration of the process of production, consumption and trade in the world economy, brought about mainly by the communications revolution. This has led to an unprecedented enhancement of the interdependence of nations and increasing competitiveness among major operators in the world economy. One of the very significant outcomes of this phenomenon has been the creation and strengthening of regional economic groupings, particularly among developed countries. Western Europe is moving towards an integrated market by the end of 1992. The former East and West Germanys have been united. In a few years Germany is expected to emerge as an even stronger economic Power. While these are significant economic changes, we do not see concomitant moves towards meaningfully addressing North-South development issues.
Responding to the changing realities, many developing countries are making strenuous efforts to carry out structural changes in order to meet the challenges. We in India have also introduced far-reaching changes in our industrial, trade and monetary and fiscal policies. Our aim is to remove unnecessary controls and regulations so as to release the creative forces in the economy and realise its full potential. As a consequence of these policy changes, we envisage sharply increased interlinkages with the world economy. We need the understanding and cooperation of our partners from developed countries to derive the full benefits from the measures we have adopted and as a cushion against the short-run pressures that may build up. We also need an international economic environment which is conducive to ensuring the success of such measures. In various multilateral organizations, it will be our endeavour to work towards establishing an international economic order which is truly multilateral and based on the principle of non-discrimination and the rule of law.
The overall external economic environment for developing countries remains unfavourable. Many of these countries are facing the problem of worsening terms of trade, increasing problems in finding access to advanced technology, and reductions in the resources available for development.
The overall debt situation for the developing countries has assumed alarming proportions and poses a serious threat to their economic viability. A solution to the developing countries' debt problem would need a comprehensive and integrated strategy encompassing all categories of affected countries and all forms of debt.
Against this backdrop, the Secretary-General's proposal for an international conference on the financing of development deserves support. As he further points out in his report on the work of the Organisation:
"A reinvigoration of the North-South dialogue has now become more urgent than ever. Fortunately, conditions exist now for advancing it constructively without a needless overlay of rhetoric or ideological controversy." (A/46/1, p. 12)
India attaches great importance to an early, successful and balanced outcome of the current Uruguay round of multilateral trade negotiations. He are a serious partner in these negotiations, which we approach with an open mind and a considerable degree of flexibility. But we have our own concerns to be met and interests to safeguard. That is why we have been insisting that the overall package that emerges from these negotiations must contain specific and time-bound commitments on issues of concern to developing countries.
The developments of recent years have further validated the disarmament and development linkage and made it a reality. National budgetary policies of some of the major military Powers already provide for the channelling of resources now locked into the arms race into economic growth. The peace dividend now needs to be realized at the international level. The International Conference on Disarmament and Development envisaged mechanisms in this regard which should be put into effect. We notice another disturbing trend in the economic field. Attempts are being made to factor into the calculus of international and bilateral economic cooperation, non-economic considerations such as good governance, observance of human rights, environment, military expenditure, and so on. The Indian polity is firmly anchored on political pluralism and individual freedom. We attach high priority to the preservation of the environment and would very much like to reduce our military budget. But these laudable goals should apply to all countries, developed and developing. What is questionable is the linkage of these issues with development assistance of which only the developing countries are the recipients.
Environmental concerns are fast moving to the top of the world agenda and are rightly at the forefront of international concern and attention. We are convinced that environmental problems cannot be isolated from the general issue of development and must be viewed as an integral part of development efforts. For global environmental problems to be dealt with effectively, we need to forge global partnership which seeks to protect the environment while simultaneously addressing the development requirements of the developing countries.
It is well recognized that the principal sources of pollutants in the environment lie in the developed countries and these countries accordingly bear the main responsibility for combating such pollution. Furthermore, if financial, technical and other capabilities are also taken into account, then it becomes quite clear that the responsibility for undertaking corrective action devolves on the developed countries. Without the provision of adequate, new and additional financial resources and environmentally benign technologies on preferential and non-commercial terms, it would be difficult for the developing countries to adopt environmentally safe and desirable technologies, much as they would like to do so. Such technologies should not become simply another source of commercial profit for the developed world.
India will continue its constructive contribution to the preparations for the 1992 United Nations Conference on Environment and Development. We hope that at the Conference the twin issues of environment and development will be addressed in a balanced way and in their totality.
India is glad to see changes around the world that serve to strengthen fundamental human rights. India's own deep commitment to human rights, true to its democratic traditions and practices, is well known. India's parliamentary institutions, independent judiciary, free press and public opinion provide the necessary checks and balances to safeguard individual as well as collective human rights. I would, however, urge caution in projecting the promotion of human rights in an intrusive manner that militates against national sovereignty. Contexts and situations differ from country to country, and international concern for human rights preservation should not detract from the efforts in the same direction made by the country concerned.
In recent years, terrorism has emerged as one of the most dangerous and pernicious threats to the enjoyment of human rights, peace and stability in many parts of the world. Through killings, kidnappings, extortion and other such means, terrorists and their organisations have effectively usurped the basic human rights of innocent civilians. In a number of cases, they are using brutality and fear to undermine the free functioning of democratic institutions, including the legislative, executive and judiciary branches of government, as well as the press. Such terrorism assumes a particularly pernicious form when it is aided, abetted and sponsored from abroad. Sponsorship of terrorism in another country constitutes a violation of the principles governing relations among States which have been enshrined in the United Nations Charter. This deserves the condemnation of the international community.
Drug abuse control has gained a commendable measure of global co-operation. Drug abuse is a menace calling for concerted and strong action. India welcomes the establishment of the United Nations Global Programme of Action for international drug control. He would stress the need for additional financial resources and technical assistance for crop substitution and other measures to combat drug trafficking and abuse. In conclusion, let me say that we in India wish the recent epochal changes worldwide to be the harbingers of peace, prosperity and an equitable and just world order. The logic of progress in on the side of those who think and act progressively, not of those who wish to remain frozen in an unresponsive status quo. India looks forward to cooperating with other nations in the noble endeavour of strengthening world peace and cooperation.


At the outset, I would like to congratulate you, Sir, on your election to the presidency of the General Assembly for this session. I have no doubt that, like your predecessor, you will guide its proceedings to a very successful conclusion.
We extend our welcome to the new States Members of our Organisation - the Republic of Korea, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, the Federated States of Micronesia and the Republic of the Marshall Islands - which widen and strengthen its universal framework. We also welcome the entry into membership of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, countries which have regained their liberty after the long night that followed upon the infamous Molotov-Von Ribbentrop Treaty. Of course, Argentina was among the first nations to recognise their independence.
We would also like to congratulate and thank the Secretary-General, Mr. Javier Peres de Cuellar, for the way in which he has fulfilled his sensitive mandate. We are extremely proud that he is a Latin American. His term of office has been the most active ever in our Organisation's history, and he discharged it masterfully. No doubt, his thoughts and recommendations will be valuable contributions to the future of the United Nations.
The end of the cold war has established a completely new international framework. In a world from which conflicts will undoubtedly not vanish, but where the worst threats have been dispelled, the United Nations has an invaluable role to play as guarantor for these promising realities. Argentina is committed to supporting the endeavours of the United Nations. In that context, we reaffirm our support of the system of collective security enshrined in the Charter and in particular to the central role of the Security Council in maintaining peace.
My country is building a sound political and economic stability, thanks to which we Argentines can now make long-term plans. The Argentina of today is doing very well in a process that began in 1983 and has been solidly entrenched since 1989. We are living through profound transformations, and it is no mere coincidence that this should be taking place at a time when the entire world is strengthening the foundations of a new world order.
The changes in Argentina are the outcome of three serious crises over the past 15 years. The best thing that a country can do is to avoid crises; the next best is to learn from them, and that is what my country has done. The restoration of democracy was accelerated by the human rights crisis and the Malvinas crisis. Finally, the transformation of our foreign policy came as a result of our realising that our isolationist attitude of past decades was ineffective and led to confrontation. The crisis of the State-controlled economic model in 19S9 produced serious instances of hyperinflation which led us to a radical change of course in our economic thinking and to today's openness and stability.
The crises in hyperinflation, foreign policy and human rights together generated a total renewal of the country's internal and external economic and political profiles. Argentina has stepped firmly into a new era. This is a process that coincides with deep-rooted trends affecting the entire planet and many Members of the United Nations. In our case, the key to this evolution is that the strengthening of freedom and democracy go hand in hand with economic reform and openness. He can say with great satisfaction that the legitimacy of these reforms was reaffirmed by the results of the elections held recently in my country on 8 September, when the principal political forces coincided in supporting the policy of economic stability.
Since 1989, Argentina's foreign policy has been marked by our will to join in the new international order, by the defence of our interests and by our international reaffirmation of democratic values. Furthermore, as a Latin American country we aspire to the consolidation of a greater Latin American nation encompassing the entire region. In the heart of all Latin Americans is a kind of nostalgia for such a greater homeland. Our joining in this new order has been affirmed by a number of specific measures, such as our active support of the Security Council during the Gulf crisis, which included the sending of military personnel; our current contribution of observers to various peace-keeping operations; and our explicit support for the processes of change in Eastern Europe.
Additional proof of our willingness to cooperate and our commitment to International peace and security can be seen in our excellent and Mutually beneficial current relations with the United Kingdom. This has occurred under the umbrella of a formula agreed upon with the British Government that protects the inalienable sovereign rights of Argentina over the Malvinas, South Georgias and South Sandwich Islands.
Concerning this issue I reiterate that the Argentine Government believes that the new climate between the two countries should also - at the right time - facilitate the resumption of negotiations regarding sovereignty as this General Assembly has repeatedly requested.
The encouraging process of integration between Argentina and Brazil has great relevance, due to the intense efforts involved and its transforming consequences for our countries and the region. Last March the two States, together with Paraguay and Uruguay, signed a treaty in Asuncion for the establishment of the Common Market of the South (MERCOSUR), which should be set up by 31 December 1994. He have no doubt that the Asuncion Treaty will come to be for our region what the Rome Treaty was for the Community. What we are saying is not a small matter, but nor is what is at stake.
The magnitude of this regional economic area becomes evident if we consider that the population of the participating countries is 190 million and their gross domestic product (GDP) more than $400 billion, that is, 2 6 per cent of the GDP and 51 per cent of the population of Latin America and the Caribbean.
At the same time, we consider that the Americas Initiative formulated by the President of the United States is a positive proposal. It encourages us to work together with solidarity and on equitable grounds and on the basis of concrete facts such as trade, the debt and investment. The framework agreement recently signed in Washington between the United States and the emerging MERCOSUR is also very promising for a future of fruitful cooperation in our sub regional relations with that country.
Thanks to important agreements recently signed with Chile, it will soon be possible to say that there are no longer any points of disagreement in the demarcation of the long boundary between Argentina and its sister country, and this opens up the possibility of carrying on an intensive programme of economic cooperation, which is crucial for both nations.
With Brazil we have also made significant progress in other sensitive areas. Last August our Presidents signed an agreement on the use of nuclear energy exclusively for peaceful purposes. Negotiations are also going on between the two countries on the one hand and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) on the other, for a safeguards agreement that will enable IAEA to monitor nuclear facilities in Argentina and Brazil in order to verify that our nuclear programmes are exclusively for peaceful purposes.
In this respect, I should like to reaffirm that the Argentine space programme is solely one of peace and cooperation, fully transparent and subject to the existing international safeguards. That is why we have decided to adhere to the missile technology control regime.
Together with Brazil and Chile we have taken the historic step of pledging not to manufacture chemical or biological weapons. In this very concrete way our countries definitively exclude the possibility that the southern tip of the Americas might be affected by the consequences of the irrational use of scientific progress. In this context, I wish to reaffirm my country's firm commitment to eliminate all weapons of mass destruction from the Latin American region.
I explicitly reaffirm our commitment to the respect of human rights and political pluralism both within and outside our borders. The new era which began with the end of the cold war is characterized precisely by the triumph of these political ideals and of the market economy as its most efficient instrument. The consolidation of these new and positive circumstances demands steadfast resistance to any abandoning of principles. The Argentine Government refuses to be an accomplice to the justification, under any pretext, of the violation of human rights and fundamental freedoms. Economic and social rights are no less important than civil and political ones, but the attainment of the former cannot be used as a pretext for denying the exercise of the latter. The imposing of conditions for the effective exercise of human rights has been resorted to time and again by non-democratic regimes.
The Argentine Government also emphasises the right of the international community to point the finger at those responsible for gross and systematic violations of human rights and fundamental freedoms. The Argentine Government therefore takes an active part in the Commission on Human Rights and has ratified the Inter-American Pact on Human Rights. At the last Assembly of the Organisation of American States (OAS), held in Santiago, Chile, we signed a declaration of multilateral commitment to the defence of democracy. There is only one real lacuna in the efforts for the consolidation of the Latin American region. My Government is eager to ensure that Cuba will very soon, in peace, return to the international community, emphasising a market economy and the defence of human rights, issues that are already being addressed by their former colleagues of Eastern Europe.
Our recent withdrawal from the Movement of Non-Aligned Countries reflects our view that the end of the cold war and the establishment of a new international order have deprived the very concept of non-alignment of meaning. It reflects also our frustration at the movement's refusal to commit itself unequivocally on matters such as those mentioned above, which go beyond the opinion and behaviour of many of their member countries. We are firmly committed to the protection of the environment and to the fight against drug trafficking. These are areas in which, for the sake of higher principles linked with the interests of mankind, the international community has the right to exercise effective control. Here we note with particular satisfaction the convening of the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development, to take place next year in the sister republic of Brazil.
On the other hand, Argentinean foreign policy is at the service of the Argentine people, and is inspired by democratic ethics. For decades the Argentine Republic suffered a constant and growing impoverishment, the main victims of which were its people. Confrontational foreign policies brought about high costs, which were suffered above all by the poor and the needy. My Government has chosen to eliminate useless confrontation from its foreign policy because it considers that such confrontation is counterproductive to its own interests, as well as to those of the new international order. This it an instance in which morality converges with pragmatism, and in which defending legitimate material interests is equivalent to defending principles.
At the same time we emphatically demand that an end be put to the protectionist practices that are distorting the international markets for agricultural products through production support measures and export subsidies. These policies do not have a rational economic foundation either for the countries that apply them or for us. On the one hand they do not allow efficient producers to place their agricultural exports and on the other it punishes the contributors and consumers and the largely urban sectors of those countries which implement these policies of protection. Furthermore, these policies promote serious ecological degradation, which is brought about by these production methods and the excessive use of chemicals, which cannot be sustained by the environment. That leads to a greater environmental Imbalance than the very serious destruction of the tropical forests. On the other hand, there is a flagrant asymmetry in trade practices that tolerate subsidies to agricultural exports while banning those to industrial exports. Only very rich countries could apply such mistaken policies, but even they jeopardise global productivity and risk their future competitiveness by applying such policies.
We are convinced that the elimination of all subsidies will be beneficial for all nations. He will continue our struggle in the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) and in agreement with the other members of the Cairns Group until we achieve this goal. We expect the clear support of the United States and the understanding of the Community as regards the need for reform. The future, no less than that of international economic cooperation, depends on our ability to find a multilateral solution to these problems in order to avoid destructive trade wars and safeguard the positive spirit of Bretton Woods.
In order to create firm economic links with the Western European countries, Argentina has signed agreements on the promotion and mutual guarantee of investments, and is willing to negotiate agreements for the elimination of double taxation, which will facilitate the normal flow of capital in both directions. At the same time, we have rescheduled our debt with the Paris Club.
We look forward to more flexible Interaction with the European Economic Community. We trust that the framework agreement signed a little over a year ago and the agreement signed in April 1991 on the establishment of a delegation in Buenos Aires will strengthen relations and facilitate exchanges. I should like to refer to my country's position regarding three specific issues - aspects of the current world situation that are of particular interest to my Government.
Among the many positive changes that have taken place in the world, we are encouraged by the South African Government's programme of political, social and economic reforms, aimed at dismantling the unfair system of apartheid completely and forever and at paving the way for the building of a new South Africa. That is why we have decided to re-establish diplomatic relations with that State. This step is one indication of our commitment, together with the international pressure, to the establishment of a fair and democratic society in South Africa, based on the principle of one man, one vote and on the total elimination of racial discrimination.
On the other hand, it is a matter of concern to us that, in spite of countless efforts and steps forward towards a peaceful solution to many regional conflicts, the international community has not yet found a just, peaceful and definitive solution to the question of Palestine. We support the call of the United States for the convening of a peace conference in the region, aimed at achieving a satisfactory and final solution to the various issues at stake, including the restitution of occupied territories and recognition of the right to secure and internationally recognized boundaries. In this context, the Argentine Government, as was stated last year in the General Assembly, believes that the time has come to leave behind offensive language based on analogies between Zionism and racism. That would help to create a climate of agreement that would facilitate the current diplomatic initiatives.
In regard to our Latin American region, I with to express the Argentine Republic's support for the ongoing efforts to reach a definitive solution to the conflict involving El Salvador. I wish to reaffirm my Government's recognition of the role of the Secretary-General and that of his Special Representative. I wish to note also the positive attitude of the Government of El Salvador in the search for consensus based on peace, justice and the consolidation of democracy in that sister nation. We valued particularly President Cristiani's visit to Argentina this month.
All of mankind's hopes for the remaining years of this century converge in assigning a key role to the United Nations. In that sense, 1991 has been a revealing and decisive year in overcoming scepticism. The Security Council, in particular, has shown its effectiveness, thanks to the cooperation born of the end of the cold war. It is up to us to see that these positive trends continue to be strengthened. The United Nations is undoubtedly the proper forum to discuss problems and to find solutions and ensure their implementation. Accordingly, we must commit ourselves to the most stringent respect for our Charter and to the most united and enthusiastic defence of the spirit that it embodies.


I extend my sincere congratulations to you, Sir, on your election to the presidency of the General Assembly at this session. Tour election signals our recognition of your personal competence, experience, skill and wisdom, and of the high esteem which your country, the sisterly Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, enjoys in the international community. I would also like to extend my many thanks to your predecessor, Mr. Guido de Marco, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Malta, for presiding over the previous session.
I also take this opportunity to single out with gratitude Mr. Javier Perez de Cuellar for his tireless efforts during the period he has spent at the helm of the Secretariat.
It is indeed a good omen for our Organization to start this new session by admitting seven new States to its membership, some of which, such as the Marshall Islands and the Federated States of Micronesia, are newly independent, while others - Lithuania, Estonia and Latvia - have just regained their independence, and still others had their applications for membership delayed because of political circumstances. This multiple accession to the membership of the United Nations contributes greatly towards its achieving universality. We would like to express to the two friendly Korean Republics our pleasure at their admission to the United Nations and our hope that it will mark the beginning of increased cooperation and understanding between them in such a manner as to contribute to laying the necessary foundations for attaining the hopes of their one people.
The forty-sixth session of the General Assembly convenes in the midst of many immense global changes. Events are accelerating at such whirlwind pace that merely keeping pace with them, let alone exploring their nature or absorbing their significance, has become extremely difficult. The big question to ponder, however, is whether such events indicate a return to previous periods in this century, when differences and disputes between States over borders and conflicting interests led to two destructive world wars. Or could they perhaps be harbingers of the dawn of a genuine opportunity for the emergence of a new world order and a new era of constructive international cooperation in solving all remaining problems throughout the world and of addressing, in a just and even-handed manner, any potentially explosive problems as soon as they appear?
We in Jordan see the positive in these developments and look through them towards a better future for this world. The disappearance of the intense rivalry between the two super-Powers, now replaced by dialogue and cooperation, has led to solutions to certain global problems, such as the independence of Namibia, and to easing aggravating conditions in others, as in the Western Sahara, Cambodia, Afghanistan, Cyprus, Central America and South Africa. This raises our hopes that those problems will be settled, peacefully and definitively, in the near future. Moreover, considerable progress has been achieved on the question of curbing the nuclear-arms race and efforts to reduce the numbers of existing weapons, especially by the two super-Powers.
The emergence of the present movement towards establishing a new world order - the outlines of which are beginning to take shape - demands that we all examine it in depth so as to determine the substance of this new order, its basic features and the objectives envisaged for it, and thus arrive at new ideas and plans commensurable with the challenges that such an order would pose or face.
The challenges facing the world today, whether in the fields of the environment, armaments or the economy, have acquired a universal nature affecting mankind as a whole and not just one particular region. The meltdown of the Chernobyl nuclear reactor and the severe damage sustained by the environment in the Gulf region are but two vivid examples of this. Proceeding from a profound belief in the collective international responsibility for confronting the dangers that threaten or encompass the environment, and driven by the desire to ensure that joint efforts be directed towards preventing the exploitation of the environment for harmful purposes, Jordan has requested the inclusion of an item on the session's agenda calling for the implementation of effective measures to prevent the exploitation of the environment for military purposes. My country hopes that by opening this important humanitarian subject for discussion it might be possible to arrive at new ideas paving the way for more effective action to prevent the exploitation of the environment - which is the property of all mankind - now and in the future, in any way or form and in any circumstances, for military purposes. In 1977, agreement was reached on concluding a Convention to prevent such acts. However, the environmental disaster in the Gulf proves that those arrangements were insufficient and demonstrates the urgent need for measures that are comprehensive in scope and more potent in effect.
Only recently has the world begun to pay any serious attention to the true nature of the damage sustained by the atmosphere enveloping our globe as a result of the discharge of the noxious by-products of scientific and industrial progress into it, and to the effect this has had on the world's climate. The world has also begun to be aware of the true damage to the earth's environment as a result of the development requirements of some States.
Thus, the sense that threats to the environment are a matter of concern to all mankind, and the recognition that any one State - no matter how strong or scientifically advanced - cannot deal with such threats alone, has led to the convening of important international conferences to address the various aspects of this issue. At some of these conferences Heads of State from all over the world participated in their deliberations. One such meeting was the 1989 Hague Conference in which 25 monarchs and Heads of State or Government participated, including His Majesty King Hussein. Another was the second Conference on the Climate, held in Geneva in November 1990, in which His Majesty King Hussein also participated.
We are looking forward to the first International Conference on the Environment and Development, which the United Nations will convene in Brazil in 1992, and consider it a test of humanity's ability to work in concert to lay the foundations for the protection of the environment and to strike a balance between the requirements of development and the preservation of the environment.
Preserving the environment, we believe, is intrinsically related to disarmament at the global and regional levels, in particular to weapons of mass destruction, be they nuclear, chemical or bacteriological. For how can one objectively think of preserving the environment when one knows full well that the weapons of the two super-Powers alone are enough to destroy the whole world many times over? How can the world afford the financial resources necessary for preserving the environment and striking the necessary balance between development requirements and environmental conservation when billions upon billions of dollars are wasted each year on a rabid arms race between various States?
It is from this standpoint that my country welcomed the agreements recently reached between the United States of America and the Soviet Union to eliminate some weapons of mass destruction and to reduce greatly the numbers of others. These agreements represent important initial steps towards realising the loftier goal of diverting the arms race in the direction of the complete elimination of such weapons, transforming the tools of warfare, which mankind manufactures to destroy itself, into productive work-tools and channelling the resources earmarked for weapons production towards other human purposes better suited for the future of mankind as a whole.
Jordan, which in the past readily signed all agreements on the non-proliferation of all kinds of weapons of mass destruction, will be pleased to participate again in any conference or activities aimed at concluding more of such instruments. It also welcomes the move by a number of States that had not previously signed the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons to do so, and hopes that this trend will include all States that had not yet signed.
In this respect, it should be stated that Jordan welcomes the recent initiative of President George Bush to reduce unilaterally the large number of United States nuclear weapons, a move that was warmly received internationally. We earnestly hope that this initiative will be met by similar reductions on the part of other nuclear-weapon States.
The ever widening economic gap between developing and industrialized States remains the most serious threat to world peace. While the industrialized States have attained a level of development and progress that enables them to turn their attention to highly technical and scientific matters, most developing States are barely able to ensure hand-to-mouth subsistence levels for their peoples; that prevents them from participating in the harvest of the fruits of mankind's progress and advancement. Thus there is an urgent need to reopen the door to serious, constructive dialogue between the North and the South with a view to adopting effective, innovative measures that would narrow the gap, enable developing States to use modern technology to develop their economies and their human resources, and facilitate access by their products to international markets in such a way as to promote the development of those products. Failure to address the subject with the seriousness it deserves would threaten social upheaval in many countries, accompanied in most cases by dangerous military flare-ups and all the extremism that comes with hunger and deprivation.
The steps recently taken by several industrialized States to cancel or reduce debts incurred by some developing States deserve encouragement. This practice should be more widespread in order to alleviate the heavy debt burden of developing countries and enable them to channel their available resources to genuine self-development. In that regard, it could become necessary to establish new ground rules for loans and assistance to developing States by making them synchronous with the progress recipient States achieve in development.
Preservation of the environment, disarmament and development all fall under the heading of preserving the right of mankind as a whole to a world in which it can lead a decent life. The progress today's generation makes in that area will determine the quality of the planet we shall bequeath to future generations.
Our preoccupation with following the important developments now taking place in the world, inevitably brings us back to the problems of our region, the Middle East, and how they are affected by such developments. Like the rest of the world, the Middle East now stands at a major turning-point in its history. The general feeling is that there is a good opportunity - which might not return in the future - to achieve, with the cooperation of all the parties concerned, a just and lasting peace in the region, a peace that would include the solution of all the region's problems, foremost among which is the question of Palestine.
Since 1967, Jordan has been in the forefront of those calling for a peaceful, comprehensive solution to the Arab-Israeli conflict based on the principle of international legality as represented by the United Nations. We have pursued that goal earnestly and honestly. Jordan has also responded favourably to all peace initiatives on this matter submitted since 1967 by parties from outside the region, including the United Nations.
Consistent with that policy, my country welcomed the initiative outlined by the United States President George Bush in his statement to the United States Congress on 6 March 1991, in which he reiterated his country's policy on solving the problems of the region, proclaiming that
"A comprehensive peace must be grounded in United Nations Security Council resolutions 242 (1967) and 338 (1973) and the principle of territory for peace. This principle must be elaborated to provide for Israel's security and recognition, and at the same time for legitimate Palestinian political rights. The time has come to put an end to the Arab-Israeli conflict". That trend has been bolstered by the untiring efforts of the United States Secretary of State, Mr. James Baker, during his many visits to the region, and by his continuous contacts with the parties involved in the conflict, including the Palestinian side. This led to the call for convening a peace conference this month in which all parties concerned in the region will participate. The conference will be held under the auspices of the two super-Powers - the United States and the Soviet Union - and with the participation of the European Community, the United Nations and other Arab States.
Jordan, which pioneered the call for a peace conference to find a comprehensive settlement of the conflict in the area, finds acceptable, in principle, the formula being prepared for convening the sought-after peace conference, because that formula includes the main elements for which Jordan has been calling, particularly the following: reference to Security Council resolutions 242 (1967) and 338 (1973); the principle of land for peace; the mutual recognition of the right of States to live in peace; and the legitimate political rights of the Palestinian people.
Jordan has unequivocally insisted on the right of the Palestinians to participate in the conference through representatives they have freely nominated. It has also accepted a formula for Palestinian participation through a joint Jordanian-Palestinian delegation, should the Palestinian side agree, provided that dealing with the Palestinian-Israeli dimension of the problem be restricted to the Palestinians and the Israelis while the Jordanian side would address the Jordanian-Israeli dimension.
Jordan is ready to participate seriously and earnestly in the peace process aimed at achieving a peaceful settlement in the region because it recognises the benefits of peace and the dangers of the existing state of no-war-no-peace.
As it participates in the peace process, Jordan is aware too that a peaceful solution must be based on justice. In our view, that justice - as eventually accepted through the peace conference by all the parties involved in the conflict - must be the mainstay and guarantor of peace if we truly want that peace to endure. The Arab side in general and the Palestinian side in particular, as expressed in the recent resolutions of the Palestine National Council, have agreed to give peace in our region a chance by keeping the present window of hope wide open, and to give the emerging new world order room for hope that this will quickly lead to comprehensive world peace.
But we and the rest of the world are waiting to see whether the present leaders of Israel are equally ready to achieve the desired peaceful solution or whether they prefer to remain prisoners of their own intransigence, thus killing the chances of peace for their people and for the region as a whole.
Jordan considers that the best measure of Israel's seriousness towards the peace process would be an end to Israel's illegal settlement activities in the occupied Palestinian territories, including Al-Quds and the Golan. Such activities not only contravene international conventions but, if they continue in their present form, will also destroy an essential element in the peace formula.
Proceeding from its devotion to peace in the region, Jordan supported the efforts aimed at making the Middle East a some free of all kinds of weapons of mass destruction, be they nuclear, chemical, biological or other weapons. To be able to achieve this, it is the view of my country that it should begin with the signing of, and adherence to, the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, by all States of the region which have not done so yet, particularly Israel, in preparation for arriving, during the peace conference, at agreements to start ridding the region of such weapons in a general and comprehensive manner, as well as proceeding to reduce conventional weapons.
Jordan has suffered, and continues to suffer, from the consequences of the painful events that took place in the Gulf, from the start of the Iraqi occupation of Kuwait to the ensuing destructive war, the effects of which are still being endured by both the Iraqi and Kuwaiti peoples, in addition to large numbers of other Arabs and non-Arabs.
The position of my country with respect to these events had been clear from the outset. It was elaborated in the statement delivered by the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Jordan in the Assembly on 26 September 1990, in which he said:
"Jordan, as a civilized country that respects its obligations under the Charter of the United Nations, does not and cannot approve of the resort to force as a way of solving differences between States, nor does it accept the occupation of the territory of others, nor does it support or recognize any demographic or political changes resulting from war in our area or anywhere else in the world. Therefore, Jordan did not recognize the decision to annex Kuwait. Jordan has called and continues to call for the restoration of legitimacy in this Arab country ...". (A/45/PV.8 . p. 77)
Based on this, my country sought hard to find a peaceful solution to the problem within the framework of joint Arab action before matters reached the point of the use of force.
Moreover, my country declared its unequivocal adherence to all United Nations resolutions on the subject, especially Security Council resolution 661 (1990), although implementation of that resolution led to the infliction of heavy damage on the economy of Jordan and the livelihoods of its citizens. Adding to those difficulties and burdens was the influx of large numbers of its citizens working in Iraq and Kuwait - more than 250,000 - who had fled the crisis. Even after the ending of the major crisis, Jordan still receives large numbers of Jordanians and Palestinian nationals who are forced to leave Kuwait. My country is seeking the help of the competent international bodies to provide it with the necessary aid for absorbing those returnees who had lost their livelihood and income and returned to Jordan empty-handed, as well as for enabling them to regain stable lives and find new means of livelihood, under increasingly difficult economic conditions caused by the sudden influx of such a large number of persons.
At the same time, Jordan is deeply distressed by the harsh living conditions the Iraqi people are now enduring as a consequence of the war in the Gulf, and by the possibility of a real famine befalling the Iraqis if the present situation continues, as well as by the death of large numbers of children because of shortages of necessary medicines and food, not to mention outbreaks of epidemics due to shortages in the means of sterilization, water purification and other basic sanitary services. The reports by His Highness Prince Sadruddin Aga Khan, the Executive Representative of the Secretary-General for Humanitarian Assistance in the Middle East, and those by other humanitarian societies active in Iraq, gave a painful description of the true state of the present living conditions in Iraq and of what is expected to happen if human conditions there continue to deteriorate. My country feels that any political consideration pales and retreats, indeed fades away and disappears altogether when measured against the reality of human pain and suffering. Jordan, therefore, calls for speedy action to take the necessary measures to lift the economic blockade against the Iraqi people to enable them to overcome the sorrowful inhuman conditions they are suffering.
My country also wishes to reiterate its keen interest in preserving the unity of Iraq and its sovereignty over its territory, and considers that to be an important element in the maintenance of stability in the region as a whole.
As for sisterly Lebanon, my country joins its fraternal people in their joy over the end of the ruinous civil war, which devastated the country for nearly 15 years, and over the success of the legitimate authority there in restoring its sovereignty over most of the Lebanese territory. We also hope that this success will continue so that Lebanon can regain its full sovereignty over its whole national soil. We call upon the world Organization to support Lebanon in its efforts to implement Security Council resolution 425 (1978) and other resolutions stipulating the withdrawal of Israeli forces from the territories it controls in southern Lebanon.
My country wishes to renew the expression of its full commitment to, and support of, this great Organization and its complete concern in seeing it continue to perform its work, to the best of its ability, for the good of all humanity. In this context, Jordan reaffirms its support for the efforts aimed at developing the work of the Organization and introducing the appropriate improvements and amendments to contribute to its increased efficiency and
ensure the performance of its duties in an objective, fair and efficient manner, so as to preserve its fundamental role as an Organisation established to realise mankind's eternal dream to avoid the scourge of war and preserve international peace and security.


We are today In the happy position of being able to give a warm welcome to the representatives of the three Baltic States, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. It is a particular pleasure for Denmark to welcome our neighbours on the Baltic Sea back to the international community as free and independent States. With the fully restored Independence of the Baltic States, one of the last remaining issues arising from the Second World War has finally been settled. The membership of the Baltic States is a natural continuation of their membership of the League of Nations.
I am also very happy to welcome the new Member States of the Republic of Korea and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea as well as the Republic of the Marshall Islands and the Federated States of Micronesia,
The second term of office of the Secretary-General is drawing to a close. Throughout the past decade Mr. Peres de Cuellar has been untiring in his efforts to find solutions too many of the problems facing various areas of the world and the Organisation itself. He can rightfully be gratified that, at long last, many of his efforts are bearing fruit. The United Nations of today is stronger and more respected than when he assumed office 10 years ago.
I recall with warm feelings the atmosphere in this forum one year ago. We had then experienced a year full of dramatic and historic changes sweeping through the countries of Central and Eastern Europe. He had witnessed the fall, one by one, of outdated totalitarian regimes and the resurrection of democracy and respect for human rights. These developments inspired a new optimism with regard to our future in general and to the future of this Organization in particular. Today we can look back on yet another year of dramatic developments in the Soviet Union and in central and Eastern Europe. Fortunately, the positive trend has continued. However, in August we lived through "three days that shook the world". The putsch in Moscow sparked off a global shock. As in a nightmare, we imagined the return to totalitarianism and the cold war. All the more heartening was the awakening to the rejection of this development by the force of a people that will no longer accept oppression.
Those of us in Western Europe who after the Second World War had the opportunity to develop our democracies in freedom have now a special obligation to support the new democracies in their struggle to establish a solid foundation for their freedom. This we cannot do merely by declarations. We must provide economic support and we must open our own markets. We now have a unique opportunity to create a Europe whole and free - an opportunity we must not allow to slip through our hands because of narrow-minded national selfishness threatening to turn back the clock.
Let me add that today the Danish Government is proposing to our Parliament a plan of action covering the next few years, outlining our bilateral support for reforms in Eastern Europe, as well as our contributions to the multinational efforts, first of all through the Group of 24.
The new foundations for East-West relations have opened new and promising perspectives for the role of the United Nations. We come to this year's General Assembly session more confident that a genuine willingness has emerged to use the Organization as an effective instrument to resolve and prevent conflicts among nations. We come with visible proof that, when the world community is resolved to work together for peace, those who challenge the peace cannot win. The Iraqi assault on Kuwait led to hitherto inexperienced constructive cooperation in the Security Council and a collective military effort which made it clear that the world will no longer tolerate such flagrant military aggressions. For the first time in its history the United Nations system has been able to exploit to the full its potential for prevention of war and use of collective sanctions provided for in the Charter. The United Nations system has thus been allowed to play a far more active role in conflict prevention and peace-keeping. This is very encouraging for the future role of the United Nations and the establishment of a new world order.
However, in welcoming this development we must remind ourselves that the strengthened role of the United Nations in resolving conflicts among nations is first and foremost a result of the rapid change in East-West relations. It means that at the present stage the United Nations is as strong as the strength and durability of the new international political climate. We must therefore seize the present favourable opportunity - while we have it - to make the Organization more effective, by implementing much-needed reforms and devising mechanisms which can make the Organization more solid, should a less favourable climate return. Therefore the reform and strengthening of the United Nations - the whole United Nations system - should be a central issue at this year's General Assembly session.
In the political area, the Gulf war and later developments have made it clear that there is a real need for strengthening the ability of the United Nations to act rapidly and efficiently in crisis situations. We must strengthen already existing mechanisms. Thus, the Security Council must work closely together with the General Assembly, and the Secretary-General should play a more active role in preventing conflicts and in resolving emerging crises. Furthermore, the Security Council should have stronger instruments at its disposal with regard to peace enforcement. We must consider the effectiveness of various types of sanctions; and we must clarify how military forces can be employed and especially the role of the Security Council in carrying out military action.
Denmark has always been a firm supporter of United Nations peace-keeping operations. There certainly is a basis for increasing their role, especially in conflict prevention. A prerequisite will be a satisfactory solution with regard to the financing of the peace-keeping operations. In this respect, we strongly support the Secretary-General's proposal to increase the Working Capital Fund. We also suggest the establishment of a separate peace-keeping fund to ensure quick action when new peace-keeping operations are launched. Such a fund must be based on the collective responsibility of all Member States - that is, on assessed contributions.
The Gulf conflict and the associated revelations of Iraq's enormous arsenals have led to a revival of interest in international measures to control the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and to encourage greater responsibility in the transfer of conventional arms. The world community will increasingly have to tackle excessive build-ups of arms which might threaten global and regional security. Denmark will therefore, together with our European Community partners, submit an initiative on international arms transfers during this General Assembly session.
Lasting peace can be achieved only if we tackle the growing disparities between rich and poor nations, and between rich and poor people within nations. For years we have had lengthy and unproductive debates on who is responsible for the lack of progress in developing countries. It is therefore encouraging that these debates have recently been replaced by a much more constructive dialogue, which underlines our shared responsibility. Of special importance is the growing recognition that development of democratic systems, good governance and respect for human rights are essential for ensuring sustainable development. We welcome the reforms which many countries have initiated in the economic and social areas, although they do not yet go far enough; and we are pleased that democracy and pluralism are spreading to parts of the world hitherto characterized by one-party regimes and dictatorships.
However, the formal establishment of institutional structures and procedures will not suffice. The political and economic decision-making process must be based on broad public participation and in particular the active participation of women and young people. Through our own experience in Denmark we have certainly learned the importance of this.
Over the last two decades the role of the United Nations system's operational activities in development cooperation has gradually declined, and disillusionment may lead to further erosion. There is a lack of focus in considerable parts of the system; and the system as such has often evolved in an ad hoc manner in response to temporary needs.
The improved international political climate provides a unique chance for radical reforms giving the United Nations programmes more focus and cohesion and increasing their contribution to economic and social development.
Denmark has demonstrated its support for United Nations efforts in the field of development by contributing financially far more than the size of our economy would indicate. This special interest and our wish to ensure effective utilization of our contributions prompted us in 1988 to set up, together with the other Nordic countries, what is called the Nordic United Nations Project, whose final report was submitted in April this year. The project contains a number of ideas, which we hope will be considered seriously. The two main ideas of the project relate to funding and governance of United Nations programmes. The present funding mechanism might be replaced by a mechanism that improved the prospects for forward planning and greater fairness. On governance, the idea is that the present governing bodies of five United Nations organs should be replaced by a single governing body, an international development council. This would not only be a major step towards rationalisation of the governance of the United Nations development efforts, but would also provide the scope for improved coordination and coherence.
While the United Nations can make an important contribution to the development of third-world countries, it cannot be a substitute for the integration of these countries into the global economy. Industrialized and developing countries have a common interest in strengthening a free and open world-trade system. Protectionist pressures must be resisted. All countries now need to make a special effort to bring the Uruguay Round negotiations to an early and successful conclusion.
The enhanced status and powers of the United Nations in the area of the maintenance of peace and international security should go hand in hand with an increased humanitarian profile for the Organization. Developments - in particular, those of the past year - have clearly confirmed the need for a much stronger role for the United Nations in the area of humanitarian assistance and relief operations in emergencies. The frequency, extent and complexity of recent disasters - man-made as well as natural - and the accompanying costs in terms of human suffering and loss of life should serve as a powerful impetus for action.
An essential aim should be to increase the effectiveness 01 the world community's relief efforts. There has proved to be an urgent need for improved coordination and cooperation between organisations of the United Nations system, other humanitarian agencies and Member States. The situation in Iraq proved this point with alarming clarity.
But improved coordination will not be possible without structural reform and new institutional procedures. We therefore strongly support the creation of a new high-level post, directly under the Secretary-General, with special responsibilities in the area of coordination. The position should be filled by a person with strong authority and personal standing in order to ensure both the necessary coordination and the maximum political backing for United Nations humanitarian operations in situations with conflicting political views and interests.
The United Nations operation in Iraq, set up to provide relief to refugees and internally displaced persons, should be seen as a milestone. The deployment of United Nations guards, aimed at providing security for the United Nations relief workers and property, took place against the background of strong concern about the fate of large groups of people, the fleeing Kurdish population in particular.
It has greatly expanded our understanding of the capacity of the United Nations to assume a stronger role in the humanitarian area. From the outset, Denmark has strongly supported the United Nations operation in Iraq, which was initiated, with imagination and courage, by Prince Sadruddin Aga Khan. We are at present the largest single contributor of personnel to the United Nations guards. In all too many cases political motives have prevented humanitarian assistance from being received by a country or from reaching population groups who are badly in need of help. Without a fundamental change in our attitude towards such obstacles we shall never be truly successful. It is my strong hope that, inspired by the United Nations operation in Iraq, we shall soon see further progress in recognition of the right of the United Nations to intervene for humanitarian purposes.
Refugee flows, caused by turbulent changes around the world, constitute a large and growing problem. It is becoming more and more obvious that two of the so-called traditional solutions - local integration in neighbouring countries, and resettlement outside the region of origin - are coming increasingly under strain. However, these traditional solutions are still important when such flows occur, and I should like to acknowledge the efforts of many countries - not least the poorest - in shouldering such responsibilities.
Although there are some recent successful examples of the third traditional solution - that of voluntary repatriation - the time has come to take a much closer look at the causes of refugee movements. It is a paradox that those countries, or regimes, whose actions are the root causes of refugee flows are not called upon to shoulder their proper share of the ensuing burden.
The consequences of violations of the most fundamental human rights often give rise to further migration of a more general nature and, therefore, become even more serious. The receiving countries and those who seek to protect refugees find it increasingly difficult to identify and assist the people who are in real need. This may eventually endanger the whole concept of the protection of refugees. If we wish to remove some of the main causes of future refugee flows the time has come to extend the notion of State responsibility to include responsibility to create tolerable conditions for one's own citizens and not to dump one's problems on other countries' doorsteps.
Respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms is one of the purposes of the United Nations. The violation of human rights in any part of the world is a legitimate concern of all States, the United Nations and the world public at large. Such concern, and the ensuing activity, cannot be considered unwarranted interference in the internal affairs of States.
It is a paradox of international law that, on one hand, a customary rule may have evolved, permitting a State to intervene outside its own territory through rescue missions vis-à-vis their own nationals if they are exposed to grave dangers, whereas, on the other hand, it is still not legitimate to use armed intervention to rescue thousands of innocent persons whose lives are in danger because of their own government's repressive policies.
The deployment of allied units in northern Iraq, on the basis of Security Council resolution 688 (1991), should become a turning-point as regards the balance between the principle of sovereignty and that of humanitarian intervention. I strongly support the following statement contained in the Secretary General's address in Bordeaux on 24 April this year: "We are clearly witnessing what is probably an irresistible shift in public attitudes towards the belief that the defence of the oppressed in the name of morality should prevail over frontiers and legal documents." Those were the right words at the right time. I believe that consideration is urgently needed on how the international community should assume its responsibility to take action in the face of massive violations of human rights that endanger the lives of large numbers of innocent people. In situations characterised by such conditions, "internal affairs" must be considered a concept of the past.
I have dwelt at length on what I think are essential reforms of the United Nations system. Let me cow turn briefly to some of the areas of serious conflict in the world.
In Yugoslavia, the escalating violence has given cause for great concern. The European Economic Community will continue its mediating efforts through the peace conference in The Hague and the continued presence of its monitors in Yugoslavia. These efforts must be based on the principle of the people's right to self-determination and on the full protection of the rights of minorities. At this time, the Security Council is debating how the United Nations can best support the efforts of the European Economic Community.
The current regime in Baghdad continues to provoke the international community by Ignoring Iraq's obligations under international law. The situation of the Iraqi people - and not least the plight of the Kurds and the Shiites - continues to cause deep concern. The international community must insist that Iraq unambiguously adhere to Security Council resolution 688 (1991), attaching special importance to the call for a genuine dialogue with a view to securing basic rights for the entire Iraqi population. The question of whether to relax the sanctions against Iraq must be closely related to its fulfilment of all its obligations under Security Council resolutions 687 (1991) and 688 (1991).
The outcome of the Gulf crisis created new opportunities for solving the Arab-Israeli conflict and the Palestinian question. All parties concerned should seize these opportunities to provide the basis for a just, lasting and comprehensive solution in the Middle East. And the United States-led peace initiative deserves our full support. We are convinced that with the necessary political will and courage, the parties concerned should be able to overcome the final difficulties concerning the modalities for the peace conference. It is my sincere hope that the parties will refrain from taking any step that might result in new obstacles to convening the peace conference and that they will implement confidence-building measures. In this respect, the G-7 proposal to suspend the Arab trade boycott of Israel in return for a freeze by Israel of its settlement policy warrants special attention.
An additional confidence-building measure would be the repeal of the resolution equating Zionism with racism, a point of contention which for the past 16 years has strained the atmosphere regarding Middle East questions. Denmark wholeheartedly supports efforts to achieve this repeal. With regard to Cambodia, we are particularly pleased with the decisive progress made in the last few days towards a comprehensive political settlement. We congratulate the five permanent members of the Security Council, the two Co-Chairmen of the Paris Conference - Prance and Indonesia - and the members of the Cambodia Supreme National Council, under the leadership of Prince Norodom Sihanouk, for the work they have done.
If, as we confidently expect, the settlement documents are signed on 31 October, the largest United Nations peace-keeping operation of all time will follow. It will be another major test of the ability of the United Nations to respond to new challenges. In this case it will be the challenge of bringing peace and democracy to a people who have suffered unimaginable tragedy for too long.
In South Africa, progress towards a non-racial democracy has continued, in spite of difficulties. The legal foundation of apartheid has been scrapped and preparations made for real negotiations on a new constitution. The early convening of an all-party conference should be the next major step towards democracy.
We trust that the United Nations will continue to play a constructive and active role in this historic transformation of South African society. This year the General Assembly has a special responsibility to maintain the unity among Member States in supporting the continuation of progress in South Africa.
Denmark has for many years given assistance to victims of apartheid. We are willing to adapt the nature of this assistance and contribute directly to the establishment of post-apartheid society.
Political and economic changes have been accompanied by a new commitment to protect our planet from environmental degradation and resource depletion. In deciding to convene the 1992 United Nations Conference on Environment and development, the United Nations demonstrated its determination to respond to these new challenges. We have the highest aspirations for the Conference.
The objectives of the Conference and the related negotiations on climate change and biological diversity are shared by all. We have a strong self-interest in protecting the natural resources that will form the basis of future development. And we all share the desire to break the vicious circle of poverty and environmental degradation.
Though all countries share a common responsibility, the responsibility is also differentiated. Industrialised countries must make a special effort to clean our own house and to make sure that measures taken in developing countries support, rather than hamper, their development.
One necessary condition for realising this aspiration is the full integration of environmental concerns into development strategies. Another is a substantial increase in financial flows to developing countries.
At the meeting in Rio de Janeiro next June, we will make every effort to ensure that the Conference produces concrete, operational results with regard to legally binding conventions on climate and biodiversity and also regarding the processes being initiated by the adoption of "Agenda 21" and the "Earth Charter".
Only a few years ago, many were disillusioned as to whether the United Nations could play a genuine role in solving conflicts and maintaining peace. This has changed dramatically. The world community's confidence in the peace-keeping and peace-building activities of the Organization has grown significantly, and the number of United Nations operations has increased during the past few years.
We have a great responsibility to use this year's General Assembly to consolidate the progress already achieved and to create a strong Organization that can fulfil the aspirations of mankind.


I am happy to congratulate you warmly, Sir, on your election to the presidency of the General Assembly at its forty-sixth session. The Bahamas is confident that, given your vast experience and diplomatic skills, you will lead this session to a successful conclusion.
I take this opportunity to express deep appreciation to your predecessor, Mr. Guido de Marco, the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs of Malta, for the excellent manner in which he presided over our deliberations at the forty-fifth session.
Our Secretary-General has given much to our Organization and we owe much of our success in the past year to his wise leadership. The Bahamas wishes to record its appreciation for his untiring efforts as a champion of peace. As he demits this high office, the Bahamas wishes to pay the highest tribute to this great son of our Latin American and Caribbean region for his enormous contribution to this Organization. Among his greatest legacies will be his dedication to fostering the social and economic development of developing countries - a noble legacy indeed.
I wish also, on behalf of the Government and the people of the Bahamas, to welcome the Republics of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, North and South Korea, the Federated States of Micronesia and the Republic of the Marshall Islands to membership in the United Nations.
Only two weeks ago the first democratically elected President of Haiti, the Reverend Father Jean-Bernard Aristide, proudly addressed this Assembly. He, and indeed all of us, held great expectations then that Haiti had finally closed the door on its political past and stood poised in the sunlight of democracy, ready to challenge the international community to live up to its promises and obligations to render real economic support to the fledgling Haitian democratic Government, without which it could not survive.
Today I am forced to join the world community in condemning the betrayal of Haitian democratic ideals by the military. This latest attempt to wrest power from the duly elected and constitutional Government of Haiti is particularly bitter to those of the region who played so intimate a part, in the realization of Haitian democratic elections less than one year ago and who witnessed the inauguration of President Aristide in February of this year. We call on those who have seized power in Port-au-Prince to recant and immediately restore constitutional order to the Republic, to bring those responsible for the loss of life to justice and to allow Haiti to continue on its path to genuine growth and development. We call for international solidarity in the pursuit of this goal and we urge speedy action to end the suffering of the Haitian people.
The decade of the 1990s has already proved to be one of tremendous revolution, as evidenced by dramatic charges in the international political landscape. At no time in history has there been a more widespread quest for freedom and democracy. Consistent demands and pressure to dismantle apartheid have set the wheels of change in motion in South Africa. The proud people of Namibia celebrate the first anniversary of nationhood and the German people a year of reunification as the aspirations of the peoples of Latvia, Estonia and Lithuania to independence have been realized.
We also welcome the success of the United Nations-sponsored peace initiative in El Salvador and we hope that the parties will observe the letter and the spirit of the agreement so that the people of El Salvador can enjoy the benefits of peaceful development. Although at tremendous cost. International action repelled aggression in the Persian Gulf and upheld the basic tenets of the Charter of the United Nations. Today the sovereignty and the territorial integrity of Kuwait are preserved.
We welcome the initiatives currently under way to bring all States involved in the question of the Middle East to the negotiating table. We reiterate our support for an international peace conference to address the right of all States to exist within secure and recognised boundaries, in accordance with Security Council resolutions 242 (1967) and 338 (1973).
We commend the Governments of Belize and the Republic of Guatemala on their negotiations, which have now resulted in the establishment of full diplomatic relations. We welcome this development, fully cognizant of the tremendous potential for enhancing the peace and security of the region.
These dramatic developments on the international political front have opened new economic opportunities and challenges for the global economy. It is particularly urgent now that countries with weak economies be granted a fair opportunity to participate in the benefits to be derived from now trade and investment initiatives.
It will be recalled that during the last session of the Assembly I announced that the Bahamas had introduced a new investment programme designed to encourage the flow of foreign investment capital. I am pleased to inform the Assembly that new legislation is soon to be completed:
"An Act to encourage the establishment, conduct and expansion of enterprises and investment in designated areas of the islands of the Bahamas by the granting of certain exemptions and fiscal incentives to persons engaging in such enterprises or investment".
This kind of economic initiative is particularly important to the development of the Bahamas and the economic advancement of its people. The Bahamas remains deeply concerned over its lack of access to international resources on a concessionary basis and its exclusion from official development assistance. Therefore the Bahamas welcomes the Enterprise of the Americas Initiative, whose proposals on the management of external debt, investment promotion, trade liberalization and the environment are critical to the development of countries in the region. We would encourage other developed countries to undertake similar initiatives and to make benefits available on as wide a basis as possible, including all countries in the region. The Bahamas hopes that the necessary resources required to render the American Initiative effective are put in place in a timely fashion so that the gains might stimulate new, important economic activity in participatory States.
The Bahamas regrets that the last round of negotiations of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) did not achieve global agreement, and we hope that the process will be given a further opportunity so that the trade concerns of all countries, especially the developing countries, can be addressed towards the enhancement of international trade relations.
The international drug trade has generated social, economic and political problems of such magnitude that the global community is obliged to continue investing vast efforts and resources in combating it.
It is evident that a well coordinated and properly financed plan, supported by the commitment of Governments, is required if international efforts against the drug menace are to be successful. The Bahamas has therefore enthusiastically supported the increased emphasis on galvanising the framework for international cooperation in drug control in recent years, resulting in the establishment of the United Nations narcotic drugs Global Programme of Action. The efficacy of the Heads of National Drug Law Enforcement Agencies (HONLEA) system is evident. The international drug control treaty regime is now more complete following the adoption of the 1986 United Nations Convention against Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances, and significant blueprints for drug control generated the very important Global Programme of Action.
We are confident that the international community will build on this new foundation to the fullest extent. The Bahamas can be counted upon to play its role at the international, regional and bilateral levels, and we hope that the success which we have achieved through cooperative efforts will be an example to others. We would be happy to share our experience with other Member States.
As an archipelagic State, whose principal industries are tourism and fisheries, we have among our highest priorities the preservation and protection of the environment and the maintenance of a sound ecosystem. We endorse the development of a multilateral approach to the protection of the environment which will recognize the needs and concerns of all countries for sustainable development. We look forward to the 1992 Conference on Environment and Development and the adoption of international conventions on biodiversity and climate change. My Government wishes to acknowledge the assistance extended by the United Nations Environment Programme, the United Nations Development Programme and the donor community to enable developing countries to participate in the preparatory process for the Conference. We hope that contributions will continue so as to allow for developing countries to be adequately represented at the Conference itself.
Regrettably, the most appropriate forum for global action again finds itself severely handicapped by its financial situation. States must resolve to give the United Nations the financial resources it needs.
When my country entered the international family of nations 18 years ago my Government made a commitment to respect the basic principles of international law and the Charter of this Organization. We noted then that we entertained no illusions of grandeur about the potential of small States like the Bahamas to influence world affairs. We remain committed, however, to enhancing the work of the United Nations and its potential greatness and influence. We call on all Member States to do likewise.
In 1992 the Bahamas will commemorate the quincentennial anniversary of the encounter of two worlds, which is an inescapable part of our history. By virtue of the first landfall of Columbus in the new world at San Salvador, the Bahamas became the first known part of the new world, a historic fact in which Bahamians take a great deal of pride. The first event of our official calendar took place recently with the arrival of the Japanese reproduction of Columbus's flagship, the "Santa Maria" at San Salvador. This visit, to be followed by a year-long programme of activities, including exchanges in the Bahamas involving countries from every region of the world, will highlight the importance of strength and diversity of the cultures of the world. The Bahamas is particularly pleased that so many States have agreed to participate so that we may place the last 500 years in their proper perspective.
Peace and security are of the utmost importance to human development and advancement. They are also important to the Improvement of economic stability and the arrest of stagnation and recession.
The elusive economic recovery, which has occupied so much time and discussion over the last year and a half, recovery from which benefits would flow to developing countries, seems to defy the prognostications of the sages. An atmosphere of fear, and uncertainty will not promote the economic conditions we all long for and require to allay the problems which beset our countries. We pray for and work towards the promise of favourable times.
The great English novelist Charles Dickens, writing in 1859 of a Europe faced with the challenges of industrial and political revolution in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, entered into literary immortality the 1ines:
"It was the best of times, it was the worst of times - it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness". (A Tale of Two Cities) To paraphrase Thomas Paine, it was indeed a time that tried men's souls. Tumultuous times are once again upon us, and, as they were 200 years ago, they are again centred in Europe. As then, the tremors of Europe's tumult are felt in the Americas, in Africa and in Asia. But troubled times are always times of great opportunity, as Dickens recognized all those years ago. We must look at these times as seasons of light and springs of hope.