Mr. President, it gives me great pleasure to offer you, on behalf of the Ghana delegation, our warm congratulations on your unanimous election. Your election is a reflection not only of the international recognition of the valuable contribution which your country, Nigeria, has made and continues to make towards the promotion of global peace and security, but is also a tribute to the part which you personally have played in fashioning stable and credible international relations. We look forward to working with you in the tradition of our two countries. I should also like to congratulate your immediate predecessor, Mr. Dante Caputo of Argentina, for his excellent leadership during the forty-third session of the General Assembly.
Since our last meeting the international political climate has improved but not so the economic situation in most developing countries, which continues to be among the major preoccupations of countries such as mine. In sub-Saharan Africa, in particular, the situation remains critical in spite of the reform policies being implemented by African Governments and tine initiatives being taken by the international community to support African recovery efforts. Urgent measures are required to control the crisis and put Africa an the road to sustainable growth.
The Ghana delegation would like to take this opportunity to express sincere appreciation for the financial end other support extended by the international community to Africa since the last session of the General Assembly.
The fact remains, however, that sub-Saharan Africa will continue to require the maximum support and co-operation of the international community, particularly in dealing with the problems of external constraints, which, as confirmed by the Secretary-General in his report on the mid-term review, are "emerging as the most critical obstacle to African recovery and development". These relate to depressed export earnings, the severe debt-servicing burden and insufficient availability of finance.
These obstacles have contributed in no small measure to the weak economic performance of the region, even as global output and trade in 1988 recorded significant growth and expansion. In that year, world trade grew at the remarkable rate of 8.3 per cent and the prices of non-fuel commodities improved substantially. However, the benefits of this strong growth in world trade and output were not evenly shared. Except for metals and sugar, the prices of commodities of interest to Africa either fell or remained weak. Ghana, for instance, lest about 3100 million in 1988 on its earnings from cocoa. With the international cocoa price falling further below last year's levels, the estimates of our losses this year are even higher.
We believe that the way to bring stability to commodity markets and ensure remunerative prices fair to producer and consumer alike is to make effective use of the mechanisms provided by the Integrated Programme for Commodities. One such mechanism is the Common Fund for Commodities. My delegation, therefore, welcomes the coming into force of the Agreement on the Common Find for Commodities earlier this year. We should all work actively and constructively to make the Common Fund a worthy example of international co-operation for development.
The large fiscal and trade imbalances of some of the major economies have created considerable strains in the trading system. Protectionist pressures have been mounting, as have unilateral actions. Access of developing countries' exports to markets in the industrialized countries has become increasingly difficult. The Uruguay round of multilateral trade negotiations must lead, among other things, to the removal of both tariff and non-tariff barriers, so as to restore free trade to its proper place in the international trading regime.
Seven years ago, the common that had long been growing over the external indebtedness of developing countries erupted into a crisis. Rally aware of its potential for systemic disruption, the international community embarked on an uncertain search for solutions to the problem. Today, we are nowhere near a solution. The crisis has rather deepened. Debt service ratios have on the whole worsened and the magnitude of the debt has increased from a few billion dollars to 31.3 trillion. One can with good reason conclude that the strategies pursued so far have not been effective. The rescheduling of unmet obligations or the provision of funds to pay accrued interests, which have been the hallmark of debt management strategies, have only postponed current obligations and made debt-servicing burdens over the years even more onerous. Characteristic of the two-little-too-late approach to the solution of the debt problem is the rescheduling options for the Paris Club creditors agreed upon at the Toronto summit in June 1988. The Toronto consensus was heralded as holding promise for significant debt relief for the poorest developing countries on the basis of comparable burden-sharing by all official bilateral creditors. Since then the Paris Club has given further definition of the new options, end it is clear that the short-term cash flow benefits are unlikely to have a significant impact on the debt-servicing burdens of the countries concerned.
When the multilateral financial institutions which were created to assist countries in meeting their short aid long-term resource needs become net recipients of resources even from debt distressed developing countries in a region like Africa, it is a clear failure of international policy. The various facilities aid programmes established for the purpose of enhancing the lending capacities of the Bretton Woods institutions, such as the World Bank's special programme of assistance to support concessionary co-financing and the Fund's structural adjustment and enhanced structural adjustment facilities, have not been adequate to stem the tide of reverse transfer of resources to these institutions, particularly the Fund. Furthermore, the commendable effort being made by some debtor countries, in spite of severe resource constraints, to meet their debt and other obligations has resulted in the untenable phenomenon, in recent years, of the net transfer of huge resources from developing to developed countries.
This is indeed troubling because other sources of capital flours have levelled off. Reduction in private lending has been drastic while official development assistance has stagnated at more or less half of the target of 0.7 per cent of the gross national product established by the United Nations. I must here pay a deserved tribute to those developed countries that have attained or even exceeded this target.
Faced with these constraints, most developing countries carrying out structural adjustment programmes have not been able to register growth in their economies. Investment to enable them to expand their productive base and create jobs and wealth has had to be drastically curtailed. Equally affected is investment in social infrastructure, such as health and education.
In Africa, the economic and social situation is a matter of deep concern. Per capita output has been negative for several consecutive years. Average living standards have been falling end large sections of the population are unable to meet their basic needs. It is a region that, according to the estimates of the Economic Commission for Africa, suffered terms of trade losses in 1987 of the order of $19 billion, transferred over 91 billion net to the International Monetary Find (IMF) and repaid several billion dollars to creditors. It also faces a resource gap variously estimated by the World Bank, the IMF and the Secretary-General's Advisory Group on Resource Flows to Africa to be between 31,5 billion and 3 5 billion per annum.
At a time when many developing countries have been carrying out structural adjustment and policy reforms, it is difficult to understand why their determined efforts should be so needlessly undercut by an inadequate response of the developed countries. It is even more incomprehensible that the industrialized countries stubbornly refuse to engage in such dialogue as would ensure justice for the developing countries. The alternative to dialogue is confrontation. The economic and social hardship imposed on developing countries through a conscious policy of maintaining economic inequalities emanating from colonialism is a potent threat to international peace and security, to the sustainability of the adjustment programmes and indeed of debt-servicing obligations, with dire implications for the international financial system as a whole.
Clearly the growing economic marginalization of important regions in an interdependent world cannot be allowed to continue. That was why the Group of 77 called for the holding of a special session of the General Assembly to examine ways and means of reactivating growth, particularly in the developing countries. The session, to be held early next year, should reach a consensus on policy measures to be adopted to ensure the economic recovery and development of the developing countries. The outcome of the special session will no doubt provide useful inputs for the elaboration of the international development strategy for the fourth United Nations development decade. We should make the 1990s a decade of hope, of recovery from economic and social decline, of equitable international economic relations, and a decade in which development will regain its lost momentum.
No country can today remain aloof from the concern expressed world-wide over environmental degradation and the daily damage to our climate conditions whose harmful effects know no boundaries. The Ministerial Meeting of the Group of 77 held in Caracas this year recognized the importance of this issue and emphasized the close relationship between poverty aid environmental degradation. Ghana therefore supports the proposed conference on the environment to be held in 1992.
We wish to stress that the developed countries bear greater responsibility not only because they are largely responsible for the degradation of the environment aid pollution of the atmosphere but also because they have the resources and technical know-hew for reversing the situation while promoting sustainable development. They also have responsibility to stop the unconscionable conduct on the part of their industrialists of dumping hazardous wastes in developing countries. We should also like to see an international convention with appropriate penalties for the dumping of toxic waste. In this connection, it is a matter of deep regret that the Basel Convention of 22 March 1989 on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Waste and Their Disposal has not met the concerns of all. It does not provide for stopping waste traffic from the industrialized world to developing countries desperate for hard currency.
We would also like to caution against the concern for the environment on the part of the developed countries being translated into environmental conditionalities for development assistance. That concern should be channelled into research for new and environmentally more secure technologies that should be freely available to all.
Improved East-West relations continue to strengthen prospects for further advances in arms control and disarmament. This is particularly true of the ongoing East-West talks in Vienna on cutting down conventional weapons and thereby reducing the risk of war in Europe. While the negotiations are fraught with complexities the opening bargaining positions have been close enough to give hope that a conventional arms treaty in Europe could be a reality. The lesson of the Vienna talks should not be lost on developing countries, which should not indulge in unrestricted purchase of such weapons. In this regard much will depend on the extent to which East-West detente aid non-interference in the internal affairs of developing countries makes this unnecessary.
We welcome President Bush's proposals on the banning of chemical weapons and the encouraging response by the Soviet Foreign Minister, Mr. Eduard Shevardnadze. Ghana shares the international concern about the use end spread of chemical weapons. This concern underlies our signing of the 1925 Geneva Protocol, which outlaws such weapons, aid our support for the declaration adapted at the aid of the Paris Conference held early this year. We hope that the statements by the Soviet Union and the United States will help speed up the Geneva negotiations on a chemical-weapons convention.
With regard to nuclear disarmament, Ghana is concerned about the slow rate of progress so far registered. Despite current positive developments in the field of disarmament, the world is still threatened by the massive stock of nuclear arsenals. We call upon the super-Powers aid other nuclear-weapon States to redeem their promises of effectively eliminating nuclear weapons from our planet.
The global drive for peace continues to show encouraging results in several regions. Conflict and confrontation seem to be giving way to political dialogue and negotiation, aid even if the guns are not entirely silent the over whelming desire is for conciliation and mutual accommodation.
It is a matter of deep regret that the united Nations, which has been a major contributor to this encouraging trend, should continue to be starved of funds, particularly as the reforms recommended in 1985 by the high-level governmental experts have been implemented almost in full.
To the critics of the united Nations we say that the problem does not lie with the Organization. The problem may well lie with their perceptions of the Organization, which fortunately are not shared by the majority of Member States. We wish to reiterate our appeal to those member States still withholding their contributions to release them so as to make the Organization solvent. We also take
this opportunity to support, in principle, the Secretary-General's proposal for the establishment of a special reserve fund for peace-keeping operations.
Ghana had hoped that the month-long Paris Conference on Kampuchea, which ended in failure five weeks ago, would build upon the very useful groundwork done in Indonesia earlier in fee year. We are happy to note, however, that it will reconvene in the spring of 1990. We urge all the parties to exercise maximum flexibility in order to resolve their outstanding differences..
On the Middle East, Ghana continues to support the call for an international peace conference under the auspices of the united Nations, to be attended by all parties, including the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), to deal with the problems of Palestinian rights aid secure boundaries for all States in the region. The recently announced, hard-line conditions for carrying out the election proposals made by Israel have not improved the prospects for peace in that troubled land. The conditions - which are that no elections will be held until the intifadah ends, that Arabs in East Jerusalem will not be permitted to take part, that Jewish settlements will continue to be built, and that Israel will not agree to give up any land - are not designed to promote peace. So far, the PLO and its Arab friends have been making all the running for peace. We call upon Israel to reciprocate these peace gestures.
The current peace efforts in the Afghanistan situation urgently need to be strengthened. Eighteen months after the signing of the Geneva Agreements and seven months after the Soviet troop pull-out, Afghanistan continues to suffer from gross and unwarranted external interference. The Assembly should call for the immediate cessation of external interference in the internal affairs of Afghanistan so that the Afghan peoples can together reconstruct their corn try.
The peace process in the Iran-Iraq situation also requires a new impetus. He welcome the several rounds of talks under the auspices of the United Nations, including the proposals for confidence-building measures between the two parties. For the peace efforts to succeed, however, Iran and Iraq would have to show the necessary flexibility and move away from the present impasse by narrowing their positions on the constituent elements of the cease-fire, including, in particular, the withdrawal of forces to internationally recognized boundaries and the early return to navigation of the Shatt a 1-Arab waterway. We also call upon the two parties to allow the prisoner-of-war exchange to proceed as required by article 118 of the 1949 Geneva Convention.
Since the last session of the General Assembly significant developments have been taking place in Central America, raising the prospect of peace in that region. It is our firm conviction that the Esquipulas- II Agreements remain the most viable basis for bringing peace to the region. We therefore support the efforts of the five leaders of Central America and urge all parties to exercise the necessary political will aid restraint, which alone can give the peace arrangements the chance to work.
The current wave of international peace has also washed the African shore. The peace treaty signed on Thursday, 31 August, between Libya aid Chad, ending their 16-year-old conflict, reflects the happy turn of events an the continent. We welcome the peace efforts in Angola and Mozambique. We continue to watch with much in sorest the ongoing consultations on the planned referendum on Western Sahara, whose people cannot be denied their legitimate aspirations indefinitely.
The situation in southern Africa, however, continues to be a matter of deep concern. The brutal repression send harassment of the members of the mass democratic movement protesting against the sham all-white elections held on 6 September should make all those who see the end of apartheid in South Africa's cost to peace overtures sit back aid think again. The racist regime has not, despite its recent declarations and overtures, shown any willingness to move in the direction of real justice for the black majority. The racist regime continues to fund and direct the Mozambique National Resistance (MNR) to ravage Mozambican peasants and workers. It also continues to provide weapons to the UNITA bandits to undermine the efforts for peace in Angola. It has through trickery and treachery sought to rig the Namibian elections, in flagrant disregard of Security Council resolution 435 (1978). The verdict of the Security Council contained in its unanimous resolution 640 (1989), adapted in August, has clearly exposed the contradiction between what South Africa preaches and what it actually does. There is a need, therefore, for the international community to remain vigilant aid maintain its pressure on the racist regime.
Our oft-stated position, in the light of the worsening situation, is that South Africa must lift the state of emergency immediately and unconditionally, release Nelson Mandela and other political prisoners and detainees, lift the ban on all political organizations and opponents of apartheid, commence meaningful negotiations with genuine black leaders on ending apartheid, halt the carnage in Mozambique and Angola caused by its surrogate organization, and cease military aggression against its neighbours in order to end apartheid and bring peace and security to the area. Until that is done, comprehensive mandatory sanctions should be imposed on the racist regime by the international community.
In conclusion, we must stress that the ever-widening gap between the developed and the developing countries remains an urgent matter for solution by the international community. It calls for a realistic approach which fully reflects the spirit of interdependence and international co-operation which has emerged in dealing with political issues.
Ghana welcomes the commendable efforts by the United Nations in the discharge of its role of promoting peace, social progress and better standards of life for peoples throughout the world. As we enter a new decade, this role will become even more important. The United Nations requires the co-operation of all Member States in the years ahead in dealing with its daunting tasks. The people and Government of Ghana stand ready to play their part.


On behalf of the Rwandese Republic, allow me first to convey our warmest congratulations to Mr. Garba of Nigeria, as well as to the officers of the Bureau, who have been elected to guide the work of this session of the General Assembly. Mr. Garba's unanimous election as President of the General assembly at its forty-fourth session is a tribute both to his outstanding diplomatic qualities and to his country, Nigeria, and all of Africa. Our congratulations go equally to the President of the General Assembly at its forty-third session and his associates for the competence with which they guided the work of that session.
should also like to pay a warm tribute to the Secretary-General, Mr. Javier Perez de Cuellar, for the skill, determination, maturity, understanding and wisdom he has shown in carrying out his complex tasks, as a result of which our Organization has recorded many successes and enhanced its prestige.
The Rwandese Republic is proud to join the great family of the united Nations within the prestigious and solemn framework of the forty-fourth session of the General assembly.
The annual sessions of the General Assembly unquestionably provide the best opportunity to celebrate peace and the brotherhood of the nations of the world and to take stock forthrightly and constructively of the world's economic, political and social health.
The twin pillars of our work continue to be the safeguarding of international peace and security and the building of permanent relations of friendship and co-operation between nations. Our work is part of the long march of the peoples towards the realization of the highest aspirations of all mankind - the development of international harmony and freedom and progress for all peoples.
Rwanda reiterates its solemn commitment to the cause of peace and pays a heartfelt tribute to the United Nations for the great successes it has recorded since its creation, we take this opportunity to express the hope that the bends of fraternity and solidarity between peoples will be made even stronger, in order to put an end to the economic and political crisis that is persisting in the world, particularly in the southern hemisphere, including Africa.
Despite efforts at various levels to achieve agreement and integration, despite the internal adjustments that have been made, often at the cost of great sacrifices, and despite the goodwill shown both bilaterally and multilaterally at the international level, the crisis continues, the debt increases and the gulf of recession grows deeper year by year, to the detriment of the world's weakest economies.

The Rwandese Republic is convinced that the sombre picture of the world economy will not be improved without the establishment of a true balance, with fairer payments for raw materials and basic commodities. Therefore, there must be a fundamental reform of the mechanisms and structures of international trade, to the benefit of the still underdeveloped peoples of the South, who provide the raw materials for the prosperous industries of the North.
The continuing economic stagnation afflicting the least developed countries is rooted in the long-standing injustice in the world market. There has already been much discussion of that unfortunate situation. We are amazed by the silence and unwillingness to act of the majority of wealthy countries as they see our societies inexorably trapped in a vicious circle of poverty and debt.
The pernicious, exponential growth of Africa's indebtedness has often been criticized here, and there is a risk of the phenomenon's becoming a tired refrain in diplomatic rhetoric as the years pass. The tragedy has become a sad reality that worsens day by day, aggravated by climatic hazards and other natural disasters, which in several regions of our continent have been particularly severe this year.
Rwanda, which has suffered as much as have other African countries, once more appeals to the international community for more effective solidarity and mutual understanding with regard to Africa's external debt. My country takes this solemn opportunity sincerely to praise the various generous initiatives of some friendly countries - such as the Federal Republic of Germany, Canada, France, Belgium and Japan - to lighten the debt burden. Those initiatives range from the forgiveness of interest on the debt to the cancellation of accumulated debts.
The Rwandese Republic appeals to all other wealthy countries to join in those initiatives. Above all, we plead for the working out and implementation of a lasting global strategy that will make it possible for all the debtor countries to liquidate once and for all their public debt, both commercial and private. Rwanda reaffirms its total support for the common African position on the subject. We support the appeal for the holding of an ad hoc international conference, and believe that the elimination of the crisis would be a vital step on the road towards improving the international economic environment.
He must make the most of the desire to be realistic which has become manifest in recent months at the bilateral level. It must be extended to include all the least developed countries, but we must also implement international strategies and action to bring about the economic recovery of the poor countries, to Which solemn commitments have been made.
Rwanda contends that, faced with the persistence of the crisis, we must see that the strategies and plans of action go beyond mere words and become a reality, with on the one hand North-South co-operation and on the other hand vigorous efforts to bring about economic integration based on genuine South-South, regional and sub regional co-operation.
The economic situation of Africa and the developing countries in general is  today more worrying than ever before. Here I should like to stress the fears and hopes that we the African countries in the category of the least developed feel
faced with the gloomy prospects for the world economy that recent events have revealed.
The Group of 77, which provides both the ideal forum for South-South co-operation and an appropriate framework for negotiations with the developed countries in the context of the North-South dialogue, has just celebrated a quarter of a century of existence. Despite differences of opinion, it has reason for at least partial satisfaction at some achievements, notably the maintenance of relative unity and cohesion and the launching in 1974 of a world-wide appeal for a new economic order, an appeal which, unfortunately, when it came up against reality, did not get beyond the stage of a slogan, but which is now more relevant than ever. I should also mention here the adoption in 1981 of the Caracas Programme of Action on Economic Co-operation among developing Countries, which, despite being buffeted by events, also remains relevant.
However, although there is now a keener awareness of the problems, this silver jubilee comes at the end of a wasted decade. Nevertheless, perhaps some good can come out of its we must all learn from the failures of the past, as we approach the last decade of the twentieth century, and make the 1990s a decade of economic recovery. Ail the necessary resources must be mobilized in support of the universal implementation of a more realistic and more efficient international development strategy. We once again call upon the most industrialized countries and the international financial institutions to show goodwill and realism in their policy on the debt and to help free the South permanently from economic stagnation.
We ask that suitable, fair measures be taken to support the effort, that our countries are making, which involve considerable sacrifices, and that better integrated and better adapted solutions be devised with the full co-operation of all parties to guarantee mankind a balanced, harmonious future.
We strongly urge that all the necessary intellectual and moral resources be mobilized in the search for solutions to the economic crisis of the third world in general and of Africa in particular. Those solutions should take into account all the dimensions of the problem, without forgetting or overlooking the social aspects, for the peoples rather than States must be the main beneficiaries of recovery measures. A stifled third world would undoubtedly be a latent threat to the prosperity of the industrialized societies. The economic situation of Africa and the third world is indeed disastrous. Rwanda refuses, however, to yield to despair; it earnestly appeals to all nations of goodwill in the Assembly to work with renewed determination and vigour in all sectors, in order to overcome poverty and desolation.
We appeal for unstinting support from the international institutions, programmes and plans of action already in place and from those vet to be agreed. I refer in particular to the new international development strategy for the fourth United Nations development decade for the period 1991 to 2000, in connection with which the ad hoc preparatory committee is actively pursuing its work. I refer also to the Second United Nations Conference on the Least Developed Countries, scheduled for September 1990 in Paris, and to the April 1990 special session of the General Assembly devoted to international economic co-operation in particular to the revitalization of economic growth and development in the developing countries. In the area of international co-operation in which the stakes and challenges are enormous, the Rwandese Republic favours negotiations as the best way to promote a just and balanced world economic order.
Rwanda firmly supports the appeal made in Caracas at the commemoration of the twenty-fifth anniversary of the Group of 77, and at the time of the celebration of the bicentenary of the French Revolution by a group of Heads of State from the countries of the third world, for a decisive resumption of the North-South dialogue and for the promotion of international economic co-operation for development. In this connection, we are convinced that there must be major structural changes in the world economy and we believe that all countries, rich and poor, much commit themselves to international co-operation within the framework of interdependence which is inevitable. might makes right has been a feature of international economic relations, but it must no longer be accepted. We believe that the current crisis, regardless of responsibility, must be viewed in a new light and that the continuing transfer of resources from the South to the North must yield to a more balanced system from which any form of exploitation will be excluded.
The United Nations Programme of Action for African Economic Recovery and Development 1986-1990, which was adopted by the General Assembly in June 1986, is rapidly coming to an end and might well have little impact on the economic picture of the continent, which was true also of the United Nations international development strategy for the last three decades.
A basic problem of crucial importance is still before us, and the Rwandese Republic fully supports the ad hoc resolution of the 25th Summit Conference of the Heads of State or Governments of the Organization of African Unity (OAU), held in Addis Ababa in July 1989. In that resolution the Heads of State or Governments of the OAU appealed to the international community substantially to increase the resources of the Programme, in particular within the framework of the International Development Association (IDA); to extend the Programme beyond 1990; to create additional facilities for financial assistance to intermediary-income African countries non-beneficiaries of the IDA; and to intensify efforts to mobilize resources of the North in support of the economic and social recovery of Africa.
Rwanda is convinced that such recovery requires joint efforts by both the South and the North*, the South, by making the appropriate comprehensive structural reforms and improving the macro-economic management of its growth, while endeavouring to stabilize its balance of payments; and the North, by committing itself to supporting these actions through fostering measures of assistance
by the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, and through specific initiatives ranging from the reduction of interest rates to the cancellation of debts, within the framework of a global strategy.
We believe that to be truly helpful the structural adjustment of our economies must also be balanced by readjustments in the North; otherwise it runs the risk of amounting to a sterile process of contraction with disastrous political and social consequences. In our opinion, without it the deterioration of the economic and social conditions in African countries will continue, notwithstanding the efforts made by Governments through policies and programmes to bring about stabilization and structural adjustment.
In the spirit of General Assembly resolution 43/27, urging our countries to increase their efforts to produce a viable and practical conceptual framework for an economic programme of structural adjustment, and in keeping with the objectives and strategies based on the Plan of Action and the Final Act of Lagos and on the United Nations programme of Action for Economic Recovery and Development 1986-1990, the latest Summit Meeting of the OAU has just adopted the African Alternative Framework to Structural Adjustment Programmes (AAF SAP) for socio-economic recovery and transformation.
Rwanda believes that this is a vital, pragmatic instrument for integration, and we hope that it will make it possible for African countries to continue to adjust their economies while ensuring that this adjustment will bring sustained growth and real development in its train.
In this connection, Rwanda supports the appeal of the OAU to the international community and the multilateral financial institutions, as well as the General Assembly, to give greater thought to the AAF SAP and to show greater understanding of the efforts and the realities of structural adjustment in Africa. Together with the efforts that have been made within the framework of North-South co-operation, which is indispensable, the Rwandese Republic believes strongly in the principles and objectives of economic integration as the basis for a self-sustained endogenous development in the context of States and within the sub regional and regional frameworks, in keeping with the spirit of Lagos. Prom this perspective, we fully support the resolution adopted at the latest Summit Conference of the OAU on the Second Industrial Development Decade in Africa and the proclamation of 20 November as African Day of Industrialization.
Indeed, the importance of a Second Decade in this area is not justified only because the objectives of the First Decade have not been achieved, but above all because well-conceived industrialization is a major asset in creating structures within the framework of economic growth and in the search for lasting solutions to the economic crisis and indebtedness. Industrial investment is, moreover, a fruitful way for African countries to take their destiny in their own hands by way of playing a better, uninhibited role in the world economy.
while in this framework the style of development advocated by the North is new irreversible, it is still true that the indispensable transfer of technologies from the North to the South must take place in conditions which make these technologies accessible and acceptable. Perhaps it would be naive to speak of industrialization without making specific reference to the traditional problems with regard to commodities and the harmful machinery of world trade.
Though the international community is pleased with the creation in July 1989 of the Common Fund for basic commodities, the serious concerns regarding the effectiveness of the Fund that have been created by. the inequities in the world economy must not be disregarded.
The non-industrial countries that provide raw materials are caught up in inextricable difficulties ranging from insufficient production to lade of access to international markets and deterioration in the prices received for their raw materials. Internally, these countries are not able to be self-sufficient in food for their people. At the same time industrialized countries are perfecting protectionist techniques and creating real regional empires.
Thus misunderstanding between the two groups is growing, creating suspicion and giving rise to meagre results in the commercial negotiations that have been taking place within the framework of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT). Language unacceptable to both sides has been used, and completely different goals are being pursued.
Rwanda pleads for a better balance for Africa and third world countries and for poor countries to be given an opportunity to export, profitably, food, agricultural products and manufactured and semi-manufactured products. Regrettably, present methods of exchange encounter closed markets, and traditional networks of exploitation that have been particularly harmful to developing countries are continually encountered.
On this one-way street, which only increases the dependence and fragility of African economies and third-world economies in general, the African countries are continuing to witness, powerlessly the continuing deterioration of their sources of income that results from the median isms imposed by the great northern industrialized countries, which is the source of the vicious cycle that characterizes the whole process of production and marketing. The most flagrant case is that of the difficulties being encountered in the present negotiations within the framework of the new international agreement on coffee, a product in a particularly perilous state though it is one of the pillars of many of our economies.
Rwanda, rather than yielding to pessimism, favours the emergence of a new style of co-operation that is more effective and takes the form of appropriate programmes of action that enable our countries to diversify their production and deal with the deficits we have always experienced, which have been a severe handicap.
In the spirit of such interdependent co-operation, from this rostrum Rwanda wishes to express its sincere thanks to all countries and international organizations that have, bilaterally and multi later ally, given us the support we need to promote our development. Rwanda is also very grateful to those countries and organizations for their goodwill and friendship, and we solemnly renew our commitment always to manage our economic assets wisely. In these difficult times we intend to be a reliable, business-like partner on whom the international community can rely as it endeavours to bring about greater well-being for the peoples of the world.
In the same spirit Rwanda pays a solemn tribute to all States, peoples and international institutions of good will, governmental or non-governmental, who are voluntarily investing their energies in the economic development and social progress of the poor regions of the world for the greater benefit of mankind as a whole. The misfortunes of the world cannot be summed up solely in terms of economic imbalances between the North and the South. There is a major crisis that will seriously burden the future of mankind and could even endanger life on Earth. It is the crisis arising from the heedless management of the ecological wealth of the world, which has been so disrupted by the industrial development of contemporary civilization.
An ecological crisis has already been declared? certain vital parameters show the excesses of our civilization but in terms of the destruction of natural resources and the accumulation of industrial waste. There has been disastrous management of much wealth. In this area Rwanda believes that the international community as a whole is involved and that a movement of international solidarity must come about if we are to mobilize all the resources we need to preserve a healthy, viable environment for human beings.
It is regrettable that at a time when there is general dismay following the sounding of the alarm with regard to the ozone layer, certain industrialized countries of the North are unscrupulously taking advantage of the present situation to dump their waste on African soil and poison our world. Once more Africa is a victim of drought and creeping desertification. Paradoxically it is also subject to floods and is struck by plagues of locusts. Sadly, natural disasters have affected many areas of Africa as we try to fight against traditional scourges such as desertification. The Republic of Rwanda appeals to the international community to give increased support to our continent in this regard in an effort to preserve our natural resources and our environment.	j

Special support of that kind is essential, and could be provided through the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and be supplemented by bilateral programmes.
The programmes of industrial development, which make massive use of natural resources, should, more than in the past, enjoy an environmental component at both the technical study stage and the stage of implementation so that they can be integrated into resource-use plans.
The Republic of Rwanda expresses the hope that in this vital area of the environment the international community will mobilize the necessary intellectual and technical resources to produce solutions that will guarantee the survival of our planet. For our part, under the leadership of His Excellency the President of the Republic of Rwanda, Major-General Juvenal Habyarimana, who has made the preservation of the environment one of his top priorities in the programme of food self-sufficiency, Rwanda has undertaken significant actions in this area. Byway of example I might mention the national programme for struggle against erosion, our reforestation campaign, the national environmental strategy and the environmental plan of action - the last two being in the course of preparation.
In addition we have adopted a number of political end administrative measures such as the installation of community and development works - (IK UGANDA). He have a national day of the tree, agricultural competitions and prizes, and annual themes devoted to agricultural production. These various actions are aimed at providing incentives to and mobilizing the Rwandese people, encouraging them to participate in food production and to create a balance between production and population, 95 per cent of which lives in rural areas and depends entirely on the income and resources produced by agriculture.
With the population growing at the rate of 3.7 per cent, during the last two decades Rwanda has recorded significant achievements, notably the following: the production of potatoes rose from 109,621 tonnes in 1974 to 244,700 tonnes in 1983  21 per cent of the land of the country has been reforested, and 83 per cent has been covered by anti-erosion ditches from 1974 to 1986 the contribution of UNUGANDA community efforts to the national development efforts has been evaluated at 14,845,450,209 Rwanda francs.

The people of Rwanda has been able to make such achievements thanks to the tireless efforts and initiatives of President Habyarimana. Yet despite the results achieved with regard to protection of the environment and self-sufficiency in food, Rwanda, like other third-world countries, is facing many challenges that are hampering the improvement of its people's social and economic conditions.
Together with the serious economic concerns facing the international community - some of which 1 have just outlined - the entire world is torn politically by bloody tensions and fatal conflicts resulting from anachronistic situations of intolerance, colonialism, oppression, imperialism and racism. Violence reigns wherever those outmoded vices remain, wherever the sovereignty of peoples and the integrity of States are flouted, wherever an individual's dignity and human rights are trampled underfoot.
Open violence reigns and even grows in many parts of the world, despite nearly a half century of united Nations peace-making efforts. It reigns in the land of apartheid, where it propagates terror in southern Africa) it reigns in the Arab territories illegally occupied by Israel, in Lebanon and in parts of Latin America. The mission of the United Nations to ensure and promote international peace and security is all the more timely today, since one explosive situation gives way to another, and the sound of guns continues to echo in many parts of the world, destroying the energy necessary for the advancement of peoples and societies.
None the less, the Republic of Rwanda pays a resounding tribute to the United Nations and its specialized agencies for their tireless work in support of international understanding and harmony. Thanks to the united Nations and its noble role in promoting peace, the twentieth century is entering its final decade in a world-wide climate of detente, and there are genuine prospects for peace at the international level. It is not excessively optimistic to envisage the resolution of the political and military tensions that have long existed in the wake of the Second World War.
This climate of detente is due in large part to the fact that reason seems to have triumphed in relations between the Powers of the East and the West with respect to disarmament, even though much remains to be done before the nuclear threat is totally eliminated. The beneficial effects of that detente on the rest of the world are obvious, and the road we have travelled should be carefully mapped in order to record for ever our achievements and to ensure that we continue to march forward in the search for peace and security. In that connection, the international community has welcomed the progress made in many conflicts where the great Powers had been in more or less direct conflict. In southern Africa the Brazzaville and New York agreements were able to break the deadlock on Namibia and begin a process of reconciliation in Angola.
At this very moment - despite set-backs attributable to the South African forces of colonialist aggression, which call for the greatest vigilance on the part of the United Nations and the organization of African Unity (OAU) - the plan for the independence of Namibia is irreversibly under way under United Nations auspices.
In that connection, the Conference of Heads of State or Government of the organization of African Unity, which held its twenty-fifth regular session in July 1989, considered the status of the implementation of Security Council resolution 435 (1978) on the independence of Namibia. The Conference expressed its regret at the grave incidents of' April 1989 and stressed that they were a predictable consequence of the reduction in personnel of the United Nations Transition Assistance Group. It stated its serious concern at the activities of   South African terrorists operating before our very eyes with the intention of compromising and derailing the November elections. It is incomprehensible that South Africa should openly and with impunity defy international conventions on Namibia as defined by the relevant resolutions of the Security Council.
Rwanda firmly supports the position of the OAU and calls on the General Assembly to take the decisions that can rectify the situation and guarantee truly democratic elections for our Namibian brothers, so that at the Assembly's forty-fifth session Namibia, under the leadership of the South West Africa People's Organization (SWAPO), can come to this rostrum as the one hundred sixtieth Member of the united Nations.
Regrettably, the international community seems to have grown used to the internal and external demands of the racist Pretoria regime and to the genocidal acts that have long been perpetrated by a handful of criminals against the black majority of that country. That indifference does not conceal the commercial interests of certain countries, for the sake of whose profits millions of people have been sacrificed and democracy hobbled. The Republic of Rwanda appeals to the free world to strengthen pressure of all kinds on the criminal Pretoria regime to make it normalize political and economic life in conformity with the universal principles of democracy and human dignity.
Apartheid is the height of institutionalised racism; it is an odious and inhuman political, social and economic regime* it is the utter denial of human dignity. It is a criminal, reactionary and degrading system which is doomed to disappear. In the OAU, in the Movement of Non-Aligned Countries and from this rostrum we have often condemned unreservedly Pretoria's terrorist, abject policy. The forty-fourth session gives us another opportunity to express our disgust and grave concern at the unspeakable crimes committed by the racist minority in South
Africa, and the physical, moral, social and economic harm it has been causing for more than 200 years. We vigorously deplore the notorious indifference of the murderous racist regime's economic, political and military partners with respect to comprehensive mandatory sanctions - those partners who would like to be viewed as the champions of democracy and the defenders of human dignity and human rights. Despite our disappointment, we appeal to the international community to increase its support for the liberation movements in that country, and we strongly support the convening in December next of a special session of the General assembly on apartheid and its destructive consequences in southern Africa.
With respect to the situation in Angola, Rwanda firmly supports current peace initiatives. That was why the President of the Republic of Rwanda personally participated in the talks held in Gbadolite in June 1989 on the commendable initiative of President Mobutu of Zaire. Rwanda appeals to all political leaders to support those peace initiatives so that the fraternal country of Angola may see the end of the civil war that has sundered it for more than 15 years and may finally devote its energy to healing its wounds and to achieving social and economic progress.
My country also reaffirms its support for the fraternal people of Mozambique, which for many years has been the victim of criminal attacks by REN AM 0, which is supported by the racist Government of South Africa. We renew our support for the Sahraoui people, which continues to be deprived of its right to self-determination and independence*, we welcome efforts by the OAD and the United Nations to formulate suitable modalities for the implementation of the peace plan for western Sahara.
Elsewhere in Africa tension and civil war persist, blocking the social and economic development of the peoples concerned. Rwanda deeply believes in the irrefutable virtues of dialogue and the peaceful settlement of disputes, and in the principle of the non-use of force, and we vigorously condemn terrorism and aggression, in keeping with international ethics and the spirit of non-alignment. The Republic of Rwanda welcomes the peace initiatives that have been taken in the extremely difficult context of these conflicts. We urge the parties concerned to use direct and fraternal dialogue, which is the only way to promote the dynamic of peace and security between peoples.
Rwanda has repeatedly expressed in international forums its support for peace and dialogue. This is a policy which we are seeking to turn into concrete fact at the sub regional, regional and international levels.
The state of war which has been tearing the Middle East apart for decades, leading to the martyrdom of the Palestinian people, and the devastation of Lebanon, which not so very long ago was prosperous but today has been ravaged, are distressing situations whose persistence brings shame on all mankind.
Having officially recognized the independent State of Palestine, proclaimed in Algiers in December 1988, Rwanda once again expresses its solidarity with the Palestinian people's cause and its dedication to peaceful and direct negotiations between the parties concerned. The only legitimate force, which we believe in, is the force of law and reason, for that is the only one that is compatible with peace and the dignity of men and peoples.
Although Rwanda, like other peace-loving countries, heaved a deep sigh of relief following the cease-fire between Iran and Iraq and the beginning of negotiations between the two parties, we are still concerned by the continuation of armed conflict in Afghanistan, after the much-lauded withdrawal of Soviet troops.  The United Nations, the Movement of Non-Aligned Countries, the Organization of the Islamic Conference, and all the forces of mediation must do their utmost to put an end to this source of tension and fratricidal hatred. But if that is to be done, the belligerents must show good-will and reasonableness and must agree to sit down at the negotiating table.
In connection with the situation in Cambodia, we express our complete support for the process of mediation currently under way. We hope that the negotiations being conducted within the framework of the Paris Conference and at the level of the United Nations will continue and will lead very soon to balanced and lasting solutions.
On the same lines, we hope that the problems that are afflicting some countries in Latin America and making it an unstable region will soon be resolved. It is high time that all the forces there opted for peaceful negotiations and democracy, and that the forces of interference recognized that the States concerned have a legitimate, inalienable right to national sovereignty. In this context, Rwanda supports ail the peace initiatives and efforts at reconciliation in Latin America, particularly within the framework of the Contadora Group.
Mankind's recent history has left certain peoples with open wounds, and now the international community must devote itself to healing them. We of course have in mind past conflicts, from the ruins of which certain countries must work to rise and the spectre of which must be exorcised. But we have in mind also - and specifically - the continuing tragedy of the divisions that are tearing fraternal peoples apart. Iron curtains and other walls of hatred, shame and pain persist at various levels, pitting brothers of the same nation, the same people, against one another, for ideological reasons.
Rwanda constantly strongly encourages all efforts to ensure the peaceful reunification and independence of the Korean nation and the praiseworthy initiatives to bring about the lawful restoration of the unity of the German people.
In that respect, Rwanda has been following with optimism the negotiations on the question of Cyprus that have been conducted under the auspices of the United Nations, and we hope that they will continue to be guided wholly by the principles of the sovereignty, unity and territorial integrity of States. We join other non-aligned countries in welcoming the Secretary-General's diligent efforts to promote constructive dialogue, the demilitarisation of Cyprus, and the immediate withdrawal of the forces of occupation and exploitation.
The wind of detente, which is blowing in the sky of international relations, and the prospects for world peace which it raises, will be described in the history books of mankind as the fulfilment of a long-cherished dream of all the peoples. The international community must take this unprecedented opportunity to strengthen peace and solidarity among men and must make full use of the provisions that exist and the actions that have been taken to support disarmament, nuclear demilitarisation, the reconversion of the oceans into zones of peace, the non-militarization of outer space, and the reduction of tensions wherever they exist.
In this vital area of disarmament, the many facets of which will once again - and more than ever before - be the focus of the General Assembly's attention at the present session, Rwanda wishes to express here unequivocally its unswerving support for negotiations aimed at the maximum, decisive mobilization of minds so that there will be the determination to put into effect all the stages of general and complete disarmament. In particular, we strongly urge the United States and the Soviet Union to preserve what has been accomplished by the dialogue that is under way in this sphere, to the great joy of the entire United Nations family, and to continue to the end to deserve the confidence they have aroused in the international community.
We are optimistic about the noble initiatives to ensure detente that have been undertaken between East and West. We welcome not only the general relaxation of tension which is gradually becoming evident in the world political climate, in respect of regional and local conflicts, but also the ushering in of a new era of democracy and freedom in the world, in particular in the Eastern countries.
In addition, it is imperative, in our view, that this process of detente be extended to the solution of the economic and social problems in the world - in particular the plight of the poorer countries. The North must become more keenly aware of the dangers posed by the iniquities in the world economic situation, which in their way are just as dangerous as the arms race or the deterioration of the environment.
A world dominated by a new ethic of peace; a world in which everyone stands together and from which the noise of guns and the nuclear threat as well as all forms of violence, terrorism and discrimination will be banished; a world that will be freed once and for all from the consequences of colonialism and racism and will be characterized by understanding, dialogue and co-operation: that world is within the reach of peoples of good will and is in our view the most natural aspiration of all men.
Rwanda earnestly hopes for the flourishing of detente and the ushering in of a new era of peace and equity and social and economic progress. We express again here our determination to work unreservedly for those goals in our internal policies and in our relations with the States that cherish the noble ideals of the great family of the United Nations and the Movement of Non-Aligned Countries. Rwanda has deep faith in the United Nations, which represents the most appropriate international body for the maintenance of the movement towards peace in the world and for the peaceful settlement of disputes. More than any other organization, the United Nations is empowered to lead the oppressed peoples to freedom and self-determination.
More than ever before, the United Nations must promote more just international co-operation in every area in accordance with the sovereign equality of States. It has recorded an impressive range of successes, particularly in the area of the maintenance of peace, for which it won the 1988 Nobel Peace Prize, which reflects great honour on us all.
Rwanda supports the noble ideals of the United Nations and sincerely hopes that in order to ensure greater efficiency and success, the organization will always be scrupulous in working on the basis of realistic and realizable objectives. We extend our heartfelt gratitude to the United Nations bodies devoted to the economic and social development of the world. Special thanks goes to those who are working tirelessly for the well-being of the most vulnerable groups - children and mother. That is why continuing efforts must be made to provide the necessary resources.
The Republic of Rwanda expects the forty-fourth session of the General Assembly to make great strides forward, and appeals to all Member States to further strengthen their cohesiveness and solidarity so that we may progress towards the realization of the ideals of our Charter, which are based more clearly than ever before on the vital need to establish a new, better balanced and more just international economic order that is fair to the traditionally disadvantaged countries of the third world. We believe that that is the most realistic and safest way to guarantee for all mankind a future of peace, security and full development.


I should like first, on behalf of the Government and people of Japan, to express „y heartfelt congratulations to you, Ambassador Garba, on your election as President of this forty-fourth session of the General Assembly, I am confident that your wealth of experience and keen insight will ensure that this will be a very productive session. You may be assured that the Japanese delegation will be unstinting co-operating with you as you carry out your solemn responsibilities.
At the same time, I express my sincere respect for the many outstanding accomplishments of Mr. Caputo during his tenure as President of the forty-third session. Founded with the maintenance of world peace as its most important objective, the United Nations has played a very positive role in resolving many issues that have confronted the international community. Most recently its efforts to effect Namibia's transition to independence and its guest for a peaceful solution to the Central American conflict have earned it world-wide praise and high expectations as to the success of its future endeavours. Indeed, success has restored the authority of the United Nations, a situation I sincerely welcome. Underlying the enhancement of these United Nations activities for world peace have been major changes in the state of international relations. Yet success would not have been possible without the tireless efforts of the United Nations Security Council and Secretary-General Javier Perez de Cuellar and others concerned. On this occasion I convey to them my profound respect and appreciation.
The international community is today in the midst of a major transition from discord to dialogue, from conflict to co-operation. We are entering upon a new era, in which we must confront the global challenges of bringing about lasting solutions to regional conflicts, sustaining prosperity, preserving the environment, and building a society based solidly on respect for human rights.
Looking first at relations between the United States and the Soviet Union, we are pleased to see dialogue taking root and expanding in a diversity of realms. In particular, we welcome the latest round of talks that was held just last week and look forward to further progress in that dialogue. In Europe we see progress being made in talks on conventional forces and on confidence- and security-building measures. Sino-Soviet relations have been normalized. Determined efforts are being made for reform in many of the socialist countries. All of these are welcome developments. The positive changes in East-West relations have also given new impetus to the drive to negotiate peaceful solutions to regional issues and regional conflicts. In addition to the transition to independence in Namibia and the peaceful resolution of the conflict in Central America, the effort to achieve peace in Cambodia entered a new stage with the holding of the International Conference in Paris this summer.
However, while a start has been made in resolving regional conflicts and stabilizing these areas, the achievement of a comprehensive solution to any of these issues will not be easy. Although foreign troops have withdrawn from Afghanistan and a cease-fire has been implemented between Iran and Iraq, it cannot be said that these areas are truly at peace. Likewise, on the issue of peace in the Middle East, even though there have been some new developments, substantive progress has yet to be made. The situation in Lebanon is also very worrisome.  As for the Asian region, some developments in line with the new thinking in the Soviet Union are discernible in, for example, the Sino-Soviet relationship,
the situation in Cambodia, and the Afghan problem, m the light of these developments, Japan hopes further to strengthen and expand the political dialogue being actively pursued with the Soviet Union and realize a genuine improvement in the bilateral relationship, including the resolution of the Northern Territories issue. I would stress that, beyond improving Japan-Soviet relations, this would constitute an important step towards enhancing peace and stability in the Asia-Pacific region and improving East-West relations as a whole.
Recent events in China stunned the world and had a strong impact on the feelings of the Japanese people toward China. Nevertheless, Japan's expectations for China's policy of reform and opening up to the outside world remain unchanged, and I hope that the Chinese Government will pay due heed to world opinion and strive to regain the confidence of the international community.
A new era is also dawning in the quest for global prosperity. The world economy is generally experiencing satisfactory growth, and the newly industrializing economies are achieving remarkable levels of development. Further, all the countries concerned are making a determined effort to see that negotiations in the Uruguay Round achieve substantive results by the end of 1990. Japan will continue to strive to ensure that progress is made in these negotiations. Yet, when we look at the world economy as a whole, it is clear that there are still a number of problems standing in the way of sound world economic development, not the least of which are the persistent massive external imbalances and the threat of protectionist pressures, the deteriorating economic situation in the world's poorest countries, including those in Africa, and the enormous burden of debt in countries of Latin America and other parts of the world.
At the same time, we are faced with the stark reality of an accelerating threat to the global environment, the soundness of which is an absolute prerequisite for the prosperity of the world. Moreover, human rights continue to be abused and there are still massive exoduses of refugees in many parts of the world. All of these are international concerns that demand the attention of the entire international community.
In the context of these changes, as Japan interacts with the rest of the world more intensively and in a broader spectrum of fields, it realizes that it must play a more active role in international affairs. Early this year, we were honoured by the many envoys from all over the world who came to Japan to pay their condolences at the time of Emperor Showa's funeral. I wish on this occasion to express, on behalf of the Government of Japan, my profound gratitude. That experience has made us all the more keenly aware of the importance of Japan's international role. With the aim of contributing to a better world, Japan has launched an International Co-operation Initiative to foster world peace and prosperity. The three elements of the Initiative are: strengthening Japan's co-operation as it actively participates and co-operates in the effort to establish and sustain world peace; expanding its official development assistance to contribute to growth in developing countries! and strengthening international cultural exchange to encourage greater understanding among the different cultures of the world. Expanding upon this Initiative, Japan is also devoting its attention to the environment and other global issues. The Kaifu Administration, which was formed in August of this year, is developing an activist foreign policy stance as one of its major objectives, and is determined to do everything in its power to create a world of peace and
prosperity, and an international community that is more just and more responsive to human needs.
I should like next to say a few words about the role of the United Nations and Japan's contribution to it in the light of its position as I have just outlined it.
If we are to achieve and maintain world peace and stability it is imperative that we find fundamental solutions to the regional conflicts and regional problems that even today are taking countless lives and causing immense suffering across the globe. Although first steps have been taken towards settling these conflicts, comprehensive solutions have yet to be achieved, and in many instances efforts are now at a crucial stage.
looking at the decade-long conflict in Cambodia, the recent Paris conference offered an historic opportunity for the parties directly involved, and other interested countries, to assemble for intensive discussions and negotiations. While the conference did not result in a comprehensive political settlement, and no agreement was reached on the establishment of an international control mechanism, there were a number of significant developments, including the dispatch of a fact-finding team, as suggested by the Secretary-General of the United Nations. We believe it is imperative for everyone concerned to make an even greater effort to ensure that true peace is restored to Cambodia. I very much hope that this session of the General Assembly will provide added momentum towards peace in Cambodia.
It should be noted that international control remains important at every stage of the peace process in Cambodia. The mechanism for international control should be truly universal and fair, should possess a wide range of experience and expertise, and should have the support of and access to a broad range of human and financial resources, lb understand this is to realize that such a mechanism must be established within the framework of the United Nations.
As an Asian neighbour, Japan has stated clearly its intention seriously to consider providing necessary financial cooperation, personnel, refugee repatriation assistance, and other support for the establishment of an international control mechanism to help settle the Cambodian problem, the major cause of instability in the region. In addition, Japan has proposed that an international reconstruction committee be established to provide the international framework for Cambodia's recovery once peace has been restored. I am pleased that this proposal was accepted in principle at the recent international conference. Japan is determined to cooperate with the other countries concerned and to continue its steadfast efforts for the ultimate attainment of a comprehensive political settlement.
As regards the Angola-Namibian issue, I very much welcome the fact that, with last December's tripartite agreement, progress has been made towards resolving the problems in Angola, and genuine progress continues to be made in the process of Namibia's transition to independence. Namibian independence has great historical and symbolic significance as it marks the attainment of the objective of decolonisation on the African continent. The United Nations is now making an Organization-wide effort to ensure that this transition goes smoothly, an effort that has won broad international acclaim. This is the sort of effort that only the United Nations can undertake, and is a further demonstration of the useful role it can play. Consistent with its desire to co-operate for peace, Japan is providing about 30 people to take part in the United Nations Transition Assistance Group monitoring the constituent assembly elections scheduled for this November.
In Afghanistan, civil war continues, and the situation remains a source of deep concern. Japan believes that the establishment of a broad-based government reflecting the popular will is absolutely essential to the attainment of true stability in that country. Japan is therefore cooperating actively by making contributions through the Office of the United Nations Coordinator for Afghanistan and by providing personnel needed for medical assistance and infrastructural improvements to facilitate the repatriation of Afghan refugees. It does so in the hope that peace will be restored to Afghanistan as soon as possible through the determined efforts of the Afghan people themselves to resolve their problems and that the refugees will soon be able to return to their country safely and with honour.
Turning to the Iran-Iraq conflict, Japan highly appreciates the maintenance of the cease-fire through the presence of the United Nations Iran-Iraq Military Observer Group. However, even one year after the implementation of the cease-fire, the peace negotiations have yet to bear fruit. I very much hope that both sides will approach these negotiations with determination and flexibility so that a comprehensive peace can be achieved in accordance with Security Council resolution 598 (1987). Japan will continue to give its full support to the Secretary-General's mediation efforts and will extend all possible cooperation for the settlement of this conflict.
Although there have been a number of noteworthy initiatives since the Congress of the Palestine National Council met late last year, including the proposal for elections in the occupied territories, I cannot but be concerned by the lack of  substantive progress in the Middle East peace process. As the intifadeh continues, the situation in the occupied territories deteriorates further. I wish to pay a high tribute to the ongoing and determined efforts of the parties concerned towards the prompt achievement of a just, lasting and comprehensive peace, I strongly hope that their efforts will result in a concrete plan. In support of the efforts of the parties concerned to achieve peace, Japan intends to step up its high-level political dialogue with the Arab countries concerned, the Palestine Liberation Organization and Israel. At the same time, it is seeking to expand its assistance to the Palestinian people. We must not turn our back on the situation in Lebanon. I very much hope that the parties concerned will exercise maximum restraint, and that a way will be found to end the fighting and to achieve national reconciliation. In this regard, I pay a high tribute to the activities of the League of Arab States and particularly to the Tripartite Committee. Resolutely opposed to all forms of terrorism, hostage-taking, and other inhumane acts, Japan strongly appeals for the immediate release of all hostages.
South Africa's system of racial discrimination is intolerable, and must be completely dismantled without delay. I sincerely hope that the new Government established in that country will take concrete and effective steps to abolish
apartheid. For its part, Japan will continue to co-operate with the rest of the international community in pressing South Africa to lift the state of emergency, release Nelson Mandela and all other political prisoners, legalize the African National Congress and other anti-apartheid organizations, aid promptly initiate dialogue with representatives of various sectors of the black population. At the same time, Japan is actively supporting the victims of South African apartheid and is extending assistance to the other countries of southern Africa. In Central America, we welcome the progress that has been made in the peace process, with the United Nations playing a role in line with the agreement reached at the meeting of the presidents of the five Central American countries. As part of its support for the Organization's activities, Japan is prepared to provide personnel for the United Nations elections-monitoring commission for the general
elections scheduled to take place in Nicaragua next February. Japan is also considering what form of co-operation it can extend in the security verification mechanism and other areas.
The issue of the Korean peninsula is primarily one to be settled peacefully through direct dialogue between the authorities of the South and of the North. Japan hopes that progress will be made in constructive and substantive South-North dialogue. It has a high regard for the vigorous efforts that the Republic of Korea has made towards that end since 7 July 1988, when President Roh Tae Wbo issued the Special Declaration in the Interest of National Self-esteem, Unification and Prosperity. The exchanges between the Republic of Korea and various Socialist countries that are taking place in the wake of last year's Seoul Olympics are to be encouraged as a means of relaxing tensions on the peninsula.
In the light of this new situation, Japan is working to improve relations with North Korea, with due regard for maintaining the international political balance. Japan hopes to contribute to the creation of a climate conducive to dialogue between South Korea and North Korea. Moreover, we would welcome and support United Nations membership for South and North, whether simultaneous or separate, as an interim measure towards the goal of unification of the peninsula. This would also enhance the universality of the United Nations.
As we have seen, the United Nations has played an important role in settling regional conflicts around the globe, especially in the peace-keeping field. Yet the United Nations mission to prevent and eliminate the threat of conflicts is ju3t as important as its peace-keeping operations are once conflict has broken out. Even when prevention proves impossible, efforts must be made to settle a conflict before it on escalate. Last year the Declaration on the prevention of disputes, which was jointly proposed by Japan and five other countries, was adopted by the General Assembly, while recognizing the roles to be played by Member States, the Security Council and the General Assembly, the Declaration calls on the Secretary-General to approach directly the countries concerned, when necessary, in an effort to prevent conflict and to consider sending fact-finding missions to regions where conflict is imminent.
Japan is determined to extend all possible co-operation to settle regional conflicts in all parts of the world and to the United Nations peace-making and Peace-keeping activities. Very broadly speaking, Japan's co-operation for peace is grounded in the following four principles. First, in addition to supporting fully the Secretary-General's peace-making initiatives, Japan focuses its diplomatic efforts on extending all possible co-operation for the settlement of regional conflicts.  Secondly, Japan is striving to extend as much financial support as possible to United Nations peace-keeping activities, and will strengthen its co-operation by providing personnel in areas where a Japanese role would be appropriate. Just as, in the past, it has extended voluntary contributions as circumstances demanded this August, made a contribution towards the establishment of a fund to strengthen peace-keeping activities so that new peace-keeping aerations may be initiated without delay once the settlement of a regional conflict is reached. I f call upon other member States to support this fund.
Thirdly, Japan is determined to strengthen its support for the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and other forms of relief extended to people made refugees by regional conflicts in various parts of the world.
Fourthly, Japan provides all possible co-operation after a conflict has been a solved so that the land and economy of the country ravaged by war may be restored a d the lives of the people stabilized and improved. Arms control and disarmament is an issue critically important to the preservation of lasting world peace and stability. Japan is making ever greater g forts in this regard, in recognition of the fact that world peace is essential to 2- ; own security.
Japan welcomes the progress being made in the strategic arms reduction talks between the United States and the Soviet Union, and in the negotiations on forces in Europe, and hopes that it will contribute to a further stabilization of East-West relations. In the United Nations, in the Conference on D -armament, and in other multilateral disarmament efforts, significant progress h been made towards a chemical weapons ban. In an effort to conclude such a Comprehensive ban promptly, the countries concerned continued to negotiate at the Paris Conference last January and, again, at the International (? eminent-Indus try Conference against Chemical Weapons held this month in
Canberra. I express my high appreciation of the initiative towards the global elimination of chemical weapons outlined yesterday by President Bush. Encouraging, too, are the serious efforts that are continuing in the nuclear disarmament field in preparation for next year's review of the Treaty on the Non-proliferation of Mi clear Weapons.
Appropriate verification measures are essential to the attainment of effective arms control and disarmament, and in recent years greater ingenuity has been called for in this area. Pooling all of its technical capabilities, Japan is taking the initiative in the establishment of an international test verification network for the nuclear test ban. Also, it has drawn upon its position as a country having a sophisticated chemicals industry to make constructive proposals for the establishment of means of verification of a ban on chemical weapons.
Consistent with those disarmament efforts, Japan acted as host to the United Nations Conference on Disarmament Issues this April in Kyoto. The Conference was highly successful in contributing to an enhanced awareness of the need for an international nuclear test verification network and in reaffirming the complementary nature of United States-Soviet disarmament efforts and the multilateral disarmament efforts being made in the United Nations and other forums. Japan is second to none in the co-operation it extends to international efforts for arms control and disarmament in the United Nations and in the Geneva Conference on Disarmament.
To achieve the sustained prosperity of the international community, we must work for growth in developing countries. It is imperative that all countries co-operate by taking a global perspective. So far, Japan has systematically enhanced its overseas development assistance and contributed vigorously to supporting and strengthening the economic development and adjustment efforts of developing countries. At present, Japan is making a determined effort to meet its fourth mid-term target. At the same time, Japan decided this July to expand its programme of recycling no less than $US 30 billion over a three-year period starting in 1987, to become a programme of recycling at least $US 65 billion over a five-yea, period starting in 1987. Seeking to support the new strategy on the debt of developing countries, Japan is working to earmark a total of at least $US 10 billion of this enhanced capital recycling programs for untied capital support to countries eligible for this debt strategy.
Special consideration should be directed to the plight of the poorest countries in sub-Saharan Africa and elsewhere, given that they face increasingly harsh difficulties as a result, inter alia, of sluggish commodity markets, slow growth, trade deficits and snowballing debt. Japan has announced that, in addition to the total of approximately $us 500 million in non-project grant capital assistance that it is currently disbursing, it is prepared to provide a total of about 3US 600 million in the three-year period starting in 1990, to support the efforts of these countries to restructure their economies. At the same time, starting this fiscal year, Japan is taking additional measures and is implementing grant assistance for debt relief, on past yen credits extended to the least developed countries, of approximately $us 5.5 billion in principal.
I should like to emphasize the important role the United Nations and related organizations play in the development of developing countries, in addition to continuing its support for United Nations operational activities such as the United Nations Development Programme, Japan intends to take an active part in the special session of the General Assembly devoted to international economic co-operation, the second United Nations Conference on the Least Developed Countries and the preparations for an international development strategy for the fourth United Nations development decade, all of which are scheduled for next year.
Mankind is today at an epochal turning point. The invention of the steam engine in the late eighteenth century completely transformed the social and economic structures that had been developed through the course of human history. From the nineteenth century to the middle of the present century, the pace of technological advance accelerated with the development of synthetic chemicals and progress in nuclear engineering, petro-chemistry and materials and electronic engineering, and society rode an unbroken wave of development. Flushed with that success, we turned our gaze outward towards space, downward to develop the technology to explore the ocean floor and, finally, inward to biotechnology with its promise to unlock the secrets of life. At the same time, rapid advances in communications satellites have made possible the real-time exchange of information and image-reception everywhere, making the world a single informational global village.
These dramatic scientific and technological advances offer unlimited potential for the solution of the problems confronting mankind. If we are to realize that potential we must make constant progress in basic scientific fields. The promotion of joint international research through the exchange of scientists and the exchange and transfer of technology will be important in effectively mobilizing financial and human resources in those fields.  On the other hand, it has been demonstrated that if the dramatic expansion of economic activity which is an outgrowth of scientific advance were to proceed in a way that would destroy the balance in the planet's ecosystem the global damage weald be irrevocable,. In just these past 30 years - the blink of an eye in the vast continuum of history - during which mankind has ventured to the far reaches of space and has sought to explore the oceans- depths, there has been an ominous acceleration in the pace of environmental destruction. The health of the planet is gravely threatened by global warming, the destruction of the ozone layer, the depletion of tropical rain forests, acid rain and desertification. The global environmental problems that confront us today must be dealt with by the entire international community working together. Our generation has a solemn responsibility to preserve the natural beauty around us and rebuild a healthy global environment so as to secure the future of coming generations.
The protection of the natural environment so as to enable all people, regardless of where they live, to lead , comfortable and healthy life is a Prerequisite for the prosperity of the international community. The effects of such problems as environmental destruction, explosive population growth and natural disasters transcend national boundaries and, as problems common to all mankind, present a global challenge to the international community. This is an area where the united Nations, as the international community's most universal organization, must bring all its authority to bear.
Is it not incumbent upon the international commit, today to act quickly and in a concerted manner to take better care of our global environment so as to ensure the continued prosperity of our children and our children's children? Japan believes that should be done by adhering to the following four principles, first, preservation of the global environment while working to attain stable world economic growth; secondly, emphasis on the importance of scientific knowledge as fundamental to the protection of the global environment, thirdly, the imperative of a global response to problems* and, fourthly, due consideration of the situation of developing countries.
Japan has long focused its attention on environmental problems. In accordance with the principles I just outlined, and co-operating multilaterally and bilaterally, Japan intends to mobilize all its scientific and technical capabilities, its experience and its knowledge vigorously to address global environmental problems. As part of those efforts, Japan will continue to support the activities of such international organizations as the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the International Tropical Timber Organization and will aim to increase the aggregate sum of its official development assistance for environmental efforts to approximately 300 billion yen over the next three years.
Further, earlier this month Japan, in co-operation with UNEP, was host in Tokyo to a conference on the global environment. Constructive scientific discussions were held, and recommendations were formulated on the question of what to do about such atmospheric changes as global warming and on the relationship between development and the environment in developing countries. Among the results were the suggestion, made for the first time, of a maximum permissible limit on carbon dioxide emissions and recommendations on measures that both developed and developing countries should take. I believe those recommendations will serve as important guidelines for discussions at this session of the General Assembly and for international efforts prior to the 1992 United Nations conference on the environment and development. Japan, for its part, intends to take part seriously in those endeavours.
A variety of measures must be taken to protect the global environment, and a number of organizations within the United Nations system are implementing meaningful programmes. I believe these international efforts should be further Promoted in an efficient and well co-ordinated manner. Accordingly, I should like to propose that the General Assembly conduct in-depth discussions on measures to enable the United Nations to strengthen policy coordination on global environmental problems throughout the United Nations system. Mitigating the impact of natural disasters is another important objective in the overall effort to preserve the environment for life on this planet. As a country which has taken initiatives in this area, Japan feels particularly gratified that the International Decade for Natural Disaster Reduction will commence next year. Japan intends to extend technical cooperation and to assist in strengthening activities which would enhance public awareness with respect to the reduction of natural disasters. I should like to take this opportunity to appeal for active participation by all countries in co-operating in this important area.
Along with the preservation of the natural environment, it is important that we create and maintain a social climate in which people everywhere can live without fear, in which their basic rights and freedoms are guaranteed, and in which they can live in health and dignity. Consequently, the international community cannot but be very concerned about the continuing abuses of human rights and the outflows of refugees in every part of the world. The drug problem and international terrorism are likewise very serious international problems. The resolution of global humanitarian problems, the creation of a society respectful of human rights, and the establishment of truly universal values are precisely the global challenges for which the United Nations should mobilize the cooperation of its Member States and international organizations so it can play a more effective role. In the conviction that international co-operation is essential for the solution of the drug and other problems, Japan intends to participate vigorously in United Nations activities in those areas.
There has recently been a succession of landings by boat people on the shores of Japan, and, while it very much hopes that the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, other international agencies and the countries concerned can do something to resolve this problem, Japan will make available, to the best of its ability, financial co-operation, resettlement accommodations and other assistance consistent with its long-standing practices.
International co-operation in the medical field is likewise important if we are to create a society in which all people enjoy a healthy and rewarding life. Thanks to the efforts of the World Health Organization (WHO), and with the co-operation of every country, smallpox, that scourge of mankind, has been eradicated. And now the world-wide spread of acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) clearly demonstrates once again that global co-operation is essential for the prevention and medical treatment of infectious diseases.
Japan has enriched the field of advanced medical technology, combining its knowledge of modern Western medicine with its experience with its own traditional medical science. It has also achieved a society whose members enjoy the greatest average longevity in the world. Japan intends to contribute its scientific know-how, information, technology and experience, both in the form of multilateral co-operation through WHO, the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) and other organizations, and in the form of cooperative bilateral efforts in order to enhance co-operation in such areas as public hygiene, the prevention of epidemics, health education and dissemination of primary health care, as well as clinical medicine and research.
As we enter this age of dramatic change, it is only right that the focus and priorities of United Nations activities should likewise change. The goal of the administrative and fiscal reforms no, being pursued is to enable the United Nations to remake itself into a more effective Organization, one better able to respond to the changes in the international community, by moving away from issues that have lest their urgency and mobilizing its human and financial resources to meet the new global challenges. Thanks to the untiring efforts of the Secretary-General and everyone else concerned, the three-year programme for administrative and fiscal reform will be brought to a conclusion at the end of this year.
But this should not be the end of our longer-term efforts to make the United Nations more effective and flexible. Any organization that hopes to avoid stagnation and gain resilience must continually strive for self-renewal. I believe that all Member states should give these efforts to re-invigorate the United Nations their total support. Japan has worked hard to build a country of peace and freedom, in keeping with the national goal of creating an international society in which people everywhere can live in peace, free from fear and want. The United Nations, indispensable as the only truly universal organization we have, has shown the way by illuminating the ideals of such a society. Yet it must be noted that even the United Nations, despite the expansion of its activities and its many achievements in, for example, humanitarian relief and operational activities since its founding in 1945, has at times been forced to retreat from these lofty ideals, at times appearing disengaged or powerless in the face of a difficult international situation. Nevertheless, the true worth of any  organization or agency is determined by the will and attitudes of its members.
In that sense the United Nations is an accurate reflection of the international community. It is the will and attitudes of its Member States that determine how the United Nations is utilized, whether it moves closer to its ideals of international peace and prosperity or is forced to lower its sights and retreat.
Emerging from a course of introspection and reforms upon which it embarked on the occasion of its fortieth anniversary, the United Nations today seems to be experiencing a renaissance as we approach the next half-century. As long as Member States make a determined effort through the United Nations, and strive to meet such urgent global challenges as attaining peace and making progress in disarmament, sustaining prosperity, resolving environmental problems and establishing a society in which human dignity is respected, then world-wide trust in the United Nations and expectations concerning its future role can only increase.
The United Nations has a major role to play and we, its Member States, have grave responsibilities to fulfil in ensuring the international community's stability and prosperity in the 1990s. Ever since becoming a Member, Japan has
attached great importance to the United Nations. Its trust in the Organization is unwavering, and its expectations of the role it has to play remain undiminished. As a responsible member of the global community and as a staunch supporter of the international order, Japan is determined to do its utmost within the United Nations to create a world of peace and prosperity and an international community that is more just and more responsive to human needs.