Mr. President, allow me first of all to extend to you the warm congratulations of the Burmese delegation on your election as President of the twenty- seventh session of the General Assembly. Notwithstanding the heavy responsibilities of your official duties at home, you have come here to be with us and to lend your eminent services to this Assembly in a truly international spirit of co-operation. We are confident that your wide experience and the perception and statesmanship which you have shown in the service of your country will prove valuable to you in guiding the challenging tasks of this Assembly towards a successful outcome, thereby giving added impulse to the cause of international peace, cooperation and progress.
2.	I am particularly pleased to take this opportunity to pay a tribute to our outgoing President, Mr. Adam Malik, for the admirable manner in which he presided over the deliberations of the twenty-sixth session of the General Assembly. The wisdom, dignity and good sense which he brought to this office will long be remembered.
3.	I wish also to express to the Secretary-General the congratulations of the Burmese delegation on his able and penetrating appreciation contained in the introduction to his report on the work of the Organization [A/8701/ Add.l] -of the realities of the present international situation and the future role of the United Nations.
4.	The interval between the last session and the present session of the General Assembly has been a period marked by events of historical and political significance events that have fundamentally changed the configuration of international relations and have brought us to the awareness that the post-war structure of international politics has come to an end. Altogether, a new era in the international order is now taking shape before us. After having passed through over two decades of a structure of bipolar world politics imprinted with a highly charged ideological conflict, a cold war, that constantly verged on the brink of a potential nuclear outbreak, the protagonists on the world's political stage are now coming to acknowledge the realities which have emerged in the international system and seemingly are moving towards a more pragmatic relationship based upon the demands of very real mutual national interests that far transcend their differences.
5.	In our view, this is clearly a welcome process. It is an evolution that fosters international detente. The more steps the major Powers take to blunt the sharp edges of ideological hostility and move towards realistic accommodation, the less justification will there be for the existence of Power blocs and the delimitation of the international community. The more the major Powers regulate their relations on the pragmatic basis of coexistence and recognize their global responsibility by reason of their great destructive capacity, the less likely are the chances of provoking a nuclear war. The world follows the current changes with great interest and with the high expectation that the major Powers will not fail to show a way out of the impasse of the last 26 years. For this to be achieved, it would obviously be necessary for any detente, any accommodation between the major Powers, to extend beyond them in order to embrace all regions, especially those where conflicts and tensions continue to exist and where the presence of such Powers is most felt.
6.	The new events that have occurred are familiar to all of us and I do not propose to burden the Assembly with a detailed commentary. In summary, they include the dramatic shifts in the position of rival major Powers. After more than 20 years of hostility the first contact, established this year in Peking, between the President of the United States and the leaders of China marked a historic world turning-point. The Moscow summit last May between the President of the United States and Soviet leaders was of major political significance. These developments have led to greater flexibility in international relations.
7.	The benefits of the changing international circumstances have also been felt in some long-standing areas of tension and conflict. On the Indian subcontinent and in the Korean peninsula there is a tendency on the part of the opponents to enter into a process which could, phase by phase, restore durable peace and security in their respective areas.
8.	The recent Simla Agreement between India and Pakistan has contributed considerably to the lessening of tension and the promotion of peace and stability not only in the subcontinent but also in Asia as a whole. The Governments of the two countries have agreed to put an end to the conflict and confrontation that have marred their relations and to work for the promotion of a friendly and harmonious relationship and the establishment of
durable peace in the subcontinent so that both of them may henceforth devote their resources and energies to the pressing task of advancing the welfare of their peoples. The Burmese delegation very much welcomes this positive development.
9.	In Korea, a significant breakthrough has been achieved after years of misunderstanding and mistrust, hostility and conflict. North and South Korea have agreed that the reunification of their country shall be achieved through independent Korean efforts without being subjected to external imposition or interference, that it shall be achieved through peaceful means and not through the use of force against each other, and that a great national unity shall be sought above all, transcending differences in ideas, ideologies and systems. Appropriate measures are now being taken by the two sides to achieve this national objective.
10.	I cannot help also mentioning that elsewhere in Asia significant movements are under way to secure the recognition of and respect for the Indian Ocean as a zone of peace, and the South-East Asian region as a whole as a zone of peace, freedom and neutrality free from any form or manner of intervention by outside Powers. We believe that the prospects for the success of these movements would greatly improve if the major Powers would cease using the region as an arena of influence and abide by the principles of peaceful coexistence-notably the principle of non-interference in the internal affairs of the countries of the region.
11.	All in all, these developments of historical and political import hold forth greater promise for the future than the last 26 years of crisis and hostility. They represent great decisions in terms of overcoming one's self and in terms of the exercise of a high degree of moral responsibility and statesmanship by the leaders of our contemporary world.
12.	All countries have a clear interest in the evolution of a world which allows for peaceful and stable coexistence. The past year has seen the basic principles of peaceful coexistence gaining more and more ground among the major Powers. In this connexion it is of particular significance that the United States of America and the People's Republic of China, in their joint communique issued at Shanghai on 27 February 1972, and the United States of America and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, in their statement of basic principles on their mutual relations issued at Moscow on 29 May 1972,  pledged themselves to abide by the basic principles of peaceful coexistence, thus expanding the area of acceptance of those principles in international relations. As a country that has upheld those principles and applied them in pursuing a policy of active friendship with ail nations, Burma naturally welcomes their application to the fullest extent in international relations. For humanity to prosper without fear or suspicion, we must engender in the world community a sense of faith and confidence in inter-State relations. The prerequisite for this is the willingness and determination of all nations to live together as good neighbors, irrespective of each other's political, economic and social systems, and to observe the principles of peaceful coexistence namely, mutual respect for each other's sovereignty and territorial integrity, mutual non-aggression, non-interference in each other's internal affairs, equality and mutual benefit.
13.	In spite of the tangible results of the international detente now unfolding before us, we do not overlook the fact that in IndoChina and in the Middle East the situation is one of sharp contrast, and it is a sad commentary on our times that it should remain unsolved for years on end.
14.	The continued rivalry and intervention of outside Powers in the States of IndoChina still threaten the peace and security of the South-East Asian region. This intervention has resulted only in untold suffering, the loss of countless lives and massive material destruction. As a nation belonging to the same region and having experienced the senseless rigors of war on its soil during the Second World War, Burma is deeply concerned with the tragic plight of all the peoples of IndoChina. In particular, the situation in Viet-Nam continues to weigh heavily on the conscience of nations. The tragedy is that for 30 years the people of VietNam have been subjected continuously to violence and untold misery. We cannot but be struck by the scale and intensity of the hostilities that continue and the devastating proportions of the modern weaponry employed. The delegation of Burma believes that the withdrawal of all foreign troops from the States of IndoChina, a firm commitment by outside Powers not to intervene in any manner whatever, under any circumstances, in the internal affairs of those States, and direct negotiations between the indigenous parties concerned to achieve national reconciliation all these conditions are necessary to enable the peoples of those States to work out peaceful solutions to their problems by themselves.
15.	As far as the Middle East situation is concerned, Burma views the stalemate as capable of sowing seeds of discord and generating unrest among the peoples of the region. This could erupt into violence and threaten the stability of their own countries, as well as the peace and security of the world. In a year in which so many sharp modifications have occurred in other areas of tension, it would be to the general relief of the international community if the opponents in the Middle East were to rethink their positions and respond to the trends of world detente. The problems of the Middle East are highly emotional and complex and can be solved only by peaceful means and not by means of armed force. To our mind, Security Council resolution 242 (1967) continues to provide a sound basis for a peaceful settlement of the Middle East problem.
16.	Although there have been significant changes in the nature of the international system in the course of this year, three major features of the world that developed in the post-war period are destined to dominate the life of the international community for a considerable time. These are the issues of the prevention of nuclear war, the bridging of the economic gap between the developed and the developing nations, and the racial conflict over color. All three issues, which plague humanity, are matters of man's struggle for survival free from fear of the nuclear bomb and on the basis of equality and justice.
17.	The Burmese delegation has always been of the view that the ultimate goal of the entire human race in the field of disarmament must be the achievement of general and complete disarmament under strict and effective international control. Indeed, we believe there is no alternative to that.
18.	But, as we all know, general and complete disarmament raises a multiplicity of complex and delicate issues which strike at the very heart of the security and sovereignty of nations. It presupposes the existence of an effective system of universal collective security, without military alliances, such as that envisaged in the Charter as well as a further maturing of the spirit and ideals of internationalism. Therefore the achievement of general and complete disarmament would necessarily take time. In the circumstances, the Burmese delegation feels that the immediate efforts of the international community could more gainfully be directed towards achieving agreements on what are commonly referred to as collateral or partial measures of disarmament designed to contain and reduce the dimensions of the armaments problem and thereby to bring the ultimate goal of general and complete disarmament that much nearer. In this context the Burmese delegation is of the view that arms control and disarmament measures related to weapons of mass destruction should be given first priority.
19.	The ominous implications of nuclear weapons will continue to impinge upon our lives; and the foremost problem, the prevention of nuclear war, can be solved only through the pursuit of measures of arms control and disarmament specifically in the nuclear field. The life of man today is corroded by his fear of the nuclear weapon, which if let loose would mean his annihilation. A world dominated by nuclear-armed super-Powers is not a pleasant prospect and each small step those Powers take towards control of their nuclear weapons should be welcomed in the context of progress in the disarmament talks.
20.	The first tentative opening towards limitation of their strategic arms has been made by the United States and the Soviet Union. The Moscow agreements of 26 May 1972 of those two foremost nuclear Powers on, respectively, the limitation of and a moratorium on their defensive and offensive strategic weapons provide prospects for the inauguration of further nuclear arms control and disarmament measures. In order to underpin the viability of the Moscow agreements on strategic arms limitation, the conclusion of an underground test-ban treaty has clearly assumed greater urgency, since such a measure can help arrest the further qualitative development of nuclear weapons. Burma would urge that the first productive outcome of the Moscow agreements should lie in the direction of a ban on underground nuclear tests to complement the 1963 partial test-ban Treaty and thus finally to achieve a comprehensive test ban.
21.	Another matter which needs to be tackled with the utmost urgency is the elimination of chemical weapons from the arsenals of all States. In the view of the Burmese delegation the aim of the negotiations in this regard should clearly be the complete and effective prohibition of the development, production and stockpiling of all types of chemical weapons and the total destruction of existing stockpiles, and the working out of the adequate and effective verification procedures that would make such a comprehensive prohibition possible. We therefore favor a comprehensive approach to the problem, since a partial approach cannot lead to a comprehensive solution.
22.	As regards the task of bridging the economic gap between the developed and the developing nations-the situation of the "haves" and the "have-nots" all that can be said at present is that there is as yet no evidence of a break-through. Despite all the efforts at the national and international levels, the phenomenon of a widening disparity continues to exist. When the United Nations was conceived in 1945 it was not envisaged that the conscious aim set forth in the Preamble to the Charter "to promote social progress and better standards of life in greater freedom" would have special relevance to the developing nations. Few then gave so much as a thought to the possibility that the problem of the developing nations would assume primacy in the economic and social work of the United Nations. But two thirds of the world's population belong to the developing world and their physical needs have to be met and their hunger for human dignity satisfied.
23.	We are all aware that the trends have not been in favor of the developing countries. The decline in their share of world exports, their rising burden of debt and their slow rate of growth are amply documented in United Nations reports, which bear testimony to the sad state of international co-operation in this field. The outcome of the third session of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development [UNCTADJ held at Santiago, Chile, also provides us with an important case in point. UNCTAD has been useful in providing a forum for the discussion of a wide range of economic problems of interest to the developing countries. It has no doubt helped to define the issues more clearly and, as a consequence, has contributed to a better understanding and appreciation of the problems of the developing countries. However, despite this greater understanding, a more concerted international effort to overcome the difficulties was not in evidence at the Santiago session. It is common knowledge that no significant progress was made on substantive issues and that the achievements fell far short of the aspirations of the Group of 77 developing countries as contained in the Lima Declaration.
24.	The past year has also witnessed further upheavals on the international monetary scene. It is not necessary to emphasize here that a new and equitable international monetary arrangement to meet the needs of world trade and development is an urgent necessity at this time. We hope that such a system will soon be implemented with the full participation of all interested parties.
25.	It would be an illusion to believe that the developing nations could catch up with the developed within a few decades. What is imperative, however, is a continuing narrowing of the gap, instead of a widening of it. Obviously, no nation can be developed solely from external resources; in the final analysis the prime mover in development will always have to be a country's own effort and its will to rely on its own resources. But, the world being interdependent, the problems of the developed and the developing are in a state of permanent interaction, and progress in development can be achieved only on the basis of collaboration between the two.
26.	Another challenge of our times is the problem of racial conflict over color. Vestiges of the most virulent forms of colonialism and its concomitant evils, racism and racial discrimination, are still a live phenomenon which permeates the relation of man to man in certain parts of southern Africa. It is hardly necessary to stress that the subjection of peoples to alien domination and exploitation constitutes not only a violation of the principle of equal rights and the self-determination of peoples but also a denial of fundamental human rights. TTie persistence of repressive measures to deprive peoples of still dependent Territories in southern Africa of their right to self-determination, freedom and independence is of growing concern. The situation there is one of conflict, with international ramifications. So long as the Governments concerned continue to react against the tide of world opinion, and so long as certain important PcweiS tend to indulge in covert evasion of United Nations sanctions, the tension in Africa is bound to increase both in range and in intensity and to impede the attainment of the United Nations ideal of peace and security.
27.	The current worldwide movement of political and social changes will inevitably have their impact on the United Nations. The challenge the Organization is faced with may be greater than in the past and every effort will have to be made to strengthen and develop the United Nations in consonance with the changed conditions and needs of the world. The work of the United Nations must, therefore, be conceived and devised against that background. Significantly, the rigid power structures of the past are giving way to a diversity among nations and new power centers have emerged, allowing for greater freedom and flexibility among nations. Simply stated, this means that the time is not far off when the Charter of the United Nations will be due for revision and for adjustment to these broad forces. In dealing with the rising concerns of the population explosion, environmental pollution and ecological imbalance, the Organization's area of work and activities will continue to grow in volume and complexity and inevitably entail increased expenditures. If we are to succeed in them, it will be necessary for the United Nations to take appropriate steps and measures for a more rational division and co-ordination of work among its network of agencies and organizations, in order that the available financial resources of the Organization may be kept within reasonable and controllable frontiers. The Burmese delegation shares the general concern at the dour ting expenditure of the United Nations, particularly its administrative costs. We are therefore highly gratified that the Secretary-General has personally taken this matter in hand. We should like to commend him for the determined and decisive manner in which he has been enforcing economy measures in the Organization, which have already yielded considerable results, and to assure him of our support and co-operation in his further efforts in the same direction.
28.	In conclusion, the Burmese delegation feels that the international community is now entering upon a new era of negotiation and accommodation, leaving behind an era of confrontation and conflict. The methods of diplomacy will in our view again become of vital importance to nations which seek to pursue their interests successfully and peacefully. There can be no doubt that, in solving international problems of a political, economic, social, cultural or humanitarian character, multilateral diplomacy becomes a necessity. The United Nations, as the center for harmonizing the actions of nations in the attainment of that objective, is the best forum for the conduct of multilateral diplomacy. The Burmese delegation hopes that the major Powers will abandon their tendency to by-pass the United Nations in seeking solutions to international problems of vital importance and will make full use of the United Nations and its organs for this purpose. To the extent that the States Members of the United Nations actively participate in working out solutions to international problems, they are bound to have a greater sense of involvement and responsibility, thereby lending greater impetus and effectiveness to the work of the United Nations.


May I be permitted first of all to express to the outgoing President, Mr. Adam Malik, our deep appreciation of the tact, the courtesy and the skill with which he conducted the work of the twenty-sixth session of the General Assembly. May we also assure him that he has our fullest admiration and best wishes.
68.	I should like now to address to our President the warmest congratulations of the Togolese delegation upon his brilliant election to the presidency of this session. No one doubts that his intellectual qualities, his vast experience in international affairs and his profound attachment to the cause of our Organization carried much weight with this Assembly when it made its choice.
69.	I could not fail to mention the eminent role played by our former Secretary-General, U Thant, who has left the powerful imprint of his personality on the life of our community. With respect to his successor, Mr. Kurt Waldheim, his designation by the twenty-sixth session was an inspiration which we applaud.
70.	Since our new Secretary-General took over his functions we have had only reason to congratulate ourselves on the considerable qualities of which he has given proof. His spirit of initiative, his courage and his devotion to the cause of peace are a guarantee of renewed faith in our Organization, which at present is suffering from a crisis of confidence and whose difficulties escape no one.
71.	We have the feeling that these real and disquieting difficulties cannot be solved unless all the nations represented here work as a united family. In this connexion, the restoration of China's rights in our community during the last session constituted an outstanding event and a realistic approach to the solutions we seek. The cause of peace cannot be defended effectively without realism, nor rendered a lasting service without justice. Therefore it is desirable to adopt the same mental attitude towards the other problems unfortunately, very numerous because any other approach, such as the one that prevailed until then, could only lead to a stalemate.
72.	For many years in fact our Organization has been confronted with the same difficulties, the majority of which have not been satisfactorily solved, on account of the lack of the necessary spirit of sincere co-operation and political will. Must we henceforward infer that each year the sessions of the General Assembly will be no more than constant failures and oratory of the highest moral standing with no greater significance than the words of Cassandra? The consideration of questions which for many years have been on the agenda of our sessions provides some foundation for these apprehensions.
73.	As regards the Middle East drama, the reciprocal attachment of Togo to both the Arab countries and Israel incites us to desire for that region a just and durable peace. To us the return to peace requires the honest implementation of Security Council resolution 242 (1967). We demand for each State in the area concerned the recognition and respect of its sovereignty and its territorial integrity. We believe that the will recently manifested by the Arab Republic of Egypt, which led to a certain military disengagement by that country, makes possible a compromise solution in the near future, and we sincerely hope that soon Arabs and Jews may coexist in peace in that part of the world.
74.	We are especially appreciative of any attempt which seeks through dialog to smooth over the difficulties between the countries. Agreement is the basis of the policy of His Excellency General Etienne Eyadema, President of the Togolese Republic, to which all the Togolese people in good faith pay a deserved tribute and which today enables them to enjoy in newly found peace the virtues of unity and spiritual reconciliation. That is why we wish here publicly to congratulate Chancellor Willy Brandt on his resolute policy of detente in Europe and of rapprochement towards his brothers in Eastern Germany, a policy to which the whole world unanimously paid a tribute by conferring on him the Nobel Peace Prize.
75.	We also rejoice at the attempt recently undertaken by the two Koreas to endeavor to solve their problems themselves. It is the duty of our Assembly to help to create favorable conditions for the reunification of that painfully divided country. In their effort to find an agreement the two Koreas may rest assured of the support and sympathy of Togo. We must keep in mind the idea that divided peoples will always seek at any price to restore the links that history has created between them and that fortuitous events have broken.
76.	As regards the Far East, we must not overlook the fact that at this time whole peoples live in conditions comparable to those of the Second World War. We must make an effort to awaken from our torpor, from our guilty indifference in the face of the VietNamese problem. Thousands of innocent people are subjected to a cruel, merciless war, to deadly and indiscriminate bombardments. Our Organization must no longer remain aloof from this problem; it must encourage and support every attempt at a settlement inasmuch as it is, unfortunately, powerless to impose a cessation of hostilities. We are convinced that pressure from this Organization and from world public opinion in the long run will be a factor of peace in the IndoChinese peninsula.
77.	The position of my Government with regard to the problem of decolonization has not changed. Togo unreservedly supports the struggle of Territories still under foreign domination to shake off the colonial yoke. It is regrettable to note that, despite the Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples of 14 December 1960 [resolution 1514 (XV)], Portugal continues to subject the peoples of Mozambique, Angola and Guinea (Bissau) to barbarous, racist and anachronistic occupation. With the complicity of certain Member States which claim to be friends of Africa, that under-developed country finds the means and has the audacity to attack and violate the territorial integrity of certain African States. We, the African countries, are resolved to provide the freedom fighters with the necessary moral and material aid to rid our continent of the scourge of Portuguese colonial domination. The last Assembly of Heads of State and Government of the Organization of African Unity [OAU], held in Rabat from 12 to 15 June 1972, abundantly showed, if need be, our unremitting determination to do so.
78.	The problem of racism in Rhodesia and South Africa still constitutes a serious preoccupation for our Organization. In this connexion we must applaud the happy initiative taken this year by our Secretary-General. While the results achieved are not yet those we desire, we are nevertheless in duty bound to recognize that that mission was not entirely negative. Nevertheless, we must not be excessively optimistic, because the country of apartheid, which has not renounced an iota of its racist philosophy, has never taken much notice of the resolutions of our Assembly and shows an arrogant and absurd contempt for world public opinion. It is, however, to be hoped that common sense and realism will prevail in the end and that the racists of South Africa will understand that peace is not nurtured by continued expedients.
79.	As regards Rhodesia, we are happy at the decision recently taken by the International Olympic Committee to refuse to allow that country to participate in the games in Munich, which we believe is in keeping both with the resolutions of our Organization and of the OAU. This irrefutably demonstrates that the loyal application by Member States of the sanctions promulgated against that country would represent an important step forward towards the solution of the Rhodesian problem.
80.	My Government attaches great importance to the problem of disarmament. World peace and security cannot be safeguarded so long as controlled disarmament is not achieved. That is why we most strongly demand the convening, as soon as possible, of a world conference on this burning question, because the race in engines of death not only threatens world peace, but also uselessly deprives a large part of mankind of greater assistance for development.
81.	At the beginning of the Second United Nations Development Decade, the major preoccupation of the developing world is still its economic development. Certain preliminary signs lead us to anticipate the possible failure of the main objectives embodied in the International Development Strategy for the Second Development Decade.
82.	The first session of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development [UNCTADJ, held in Geneva in 1964, defined great possibilities for action which aroused great and genuine hopes in our countries.
83.	True, some very minor progress in 1968 can be credited to the second session of UNCTAD. But we must also acknowledge that in the absence of an international policy likely in the long run to improve the export earnings of the developing countries, the latter have registered only negative results as regards the expansion of their exports. Further still, last year's monetary crisis very seriously disrupted our already precarious economies, compelling us thus to assume the consequences of a situation for which we were in no way responsible.
84.	The prospects of the third session of UNCTAD awakened in the poorer countries the hopes of which we are all aware. In fact, those countries were convinced that in the course of that important meeting the developed countries at long last would become aware of their responsibilities and would help them find appropriate solutions to their multiple development problems.
85.	Once again, we must express our bitter disappointment at the results of the third session. Neither at New Delhi in 1968 nor at Santiago in 1972 were the developed countries willing to give proof of that indispensable solidarity that should normally bind the members of our international community, as laid down in tKe Charter of our Organization. Once again they regarded our just claims as mere children's whims and refused to grant any concession likely to offer the beginning of a solution to our economic difficulties.
86.	Such an attitude is incompatible with the decision taken by those countries within the framework of the Second Development Decade. It is true that actually those countries, instead of subscribing to firm commitments, rather gave their marked preference to recommendations formulated in vague terms, without obligations or sanctions, as if to disengage themselves of any responsibility in a matter with which they no longer felt concerned. It is therefore not surprising that the poor or unfavorable treatment that the developed countries persist in imposing on our primary commodities on the world market contributes to a large degree to the continued deterioration in the terms of trade, thus depriving us of substantial export earnings indispensable for the balanced development of our economies. Our agricultural primary commodities encounter difficulties of every kind on the international market: marketing difficulties, instability of prices, competition from synthetics, and so on. Yet it is from these products that our countries draw their main resources.
87.	It is high time for the international community seriously to tackle this problem, the solution of which is becoming urgent. For nine years the cocoa-producing countries have been awaiting the outcome of negotiations
that should lead to the conclusion of an international cocoa agreement. In my country's economy this product holds a very important place, and the nefarious effects of its price fluctuations on our budgetary earnings can be readily
understood. Now that it would appear that all the technical conditions for an agreement exist, we address a pressing appeal to the consumer countries to show sufficient political will in order to arrive, as soon as possible, at the
conclusion of an arrangement that will take into account the vital interests of the producer countries by guaranteeing to
them a just, remunerative and stable price.
88.	The recent monetary crisis which created so much disruption throughout the world shows, if need be, the urgent necessity of reforming the international monetary system. We believe, as advocated by UNCTAD, that the new monetary system should, in the interest of the developing countries, help to create conditions in which the export trade of the developing countries could expand and diversify; could take into account a transfer of resources in an amount equivalent to that mentioned in the International Development Strategy, namely 1 per cent of the national gross product, and could include financial assistance abroad, the modalities of which could be established on the occasion of the restructuring of the system.
89.	We reaffirm that it is through concerted international action, which would take into account the interests of all Member States and more especially those of the poorer countries in the international community, that an equitable and lasting solution could be found.
90.	My country is gratified at the efforts of UNCTAD to help the least developed among the developing countries. The identification of these countries, we know, is no easy task. The Trade and Development Board has taken a decisive step by preparing a list of countries forming a nucleus. Continuing efforts must be made in order to define such criteria more clearly and to analyze them with greater objectivity and justice, while taking into account all the significant factors of under-development. We believe it necessary no longer to overlook the dynamic character of the life of States and to proceed to periodic stock-taking within the framework of the International Development Strategy. Only flexibility will ensure equity in this area.
91.	My delegation could not fail to mention the results of the important United Nations Conference on the Human Environment, held in Stockholm last June. We must become fully aware of the gravity of the problems posed by industrial pollution and recognize that it is one of the greatest scourges of modern times. But we must recognize that there is no greater pollution than the poverty, malnutrition, disease, racism, and so on, threatening the environment and two-thirds of mankind.
92.	To national and temporary solutions, which perforce are insufficient and inoperative, we must prefer solutions at the world level.
93.	We have no doubt that the serious problems of the environment with which we are at present confronted are the inevitable consequences of economic growth. However, these dangers inherent in scientific and technological progress must not prevent or delay the industrial development of our countries.
94.	The fundamental principles enunciated in the Declaration of the Conference and in the various resolutions adopted at that Conference  are such as to serve as the basis for the preparation of adequate international measures, in conformity with the United Nations Charter and respect for human rights, with a view to helping the developing countries to take advantage of the industrialization possibilities they are offered while minimizing the risks of degradation of the environment.
95.	My delegation approves the idea of the creation of an international institution and of a special Environment Fund. In our view this fund should be based on voluntary contributions and should be supported by taxes on the polluting industries. The wealthy countries must defray the cost of the protection of their environment and help the poor countries in their struggle against such problems while at the same time they should not reduce the assistance they provide.
96.	The fundamental objectives provided for within the framework of the Second Development Decade will not be effectively achieved except through concerted action which, if effectively carried out, will undoubtedly contribute to the consolidation of international peace and the establishment of a new economic order.
97.	This new economic order is but an element in the new order that all countries, each year in this Assembly, call for with all their strength. For this dream to become a reality, all that is needed is the will and the spirit of solidarity, whose virtues everyone is so prone to acknowledge, of States in our community, particularly those whose wealth and power impose upon them special responsibilities for the maintenance of peace. But it is not necessary to succeed to persevere, according to a famous adage. But to persevere we must first begin. In other words, we must want change in order to achieve a more just and prosperous world for all.


Mr. President, the twenty-seventh annual session of the General Assembly having been placed under your presidency, it is my pleasure to congratulate you, on behalf of the delegation of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, upon your unanimous election to your high office. We salute in you, Sir, not only an eminent representative from a country with which the Netherlands shared war-time experiences -a Polish division took part in the liberation of the Netherlands in the last part of the Second World War- but also a prominent representative of another medium-sized European Power actively engaged in the search for ways and means of promoting a political detente in our part of the world.
2.	I should be remiss if I did not pay a tribute, on behalf of the Netherlands delegation, to Mr. Adam Malik, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Indonesia, who presided over our previous annual session with all the courtesy, forbearance, grace and sagacity that characterize the Indonesian people.
3.	It is also my pleasant duty to address a personal word of welcome to the Secretary-General and to Under-Secretary-General Morse, both of whom are gracing the podium for the first time.
4.	Although I am speaking exclusively on behalf of the Netherlands, and not on behalf of the European community, I stress the European accent of my views, firstly because I do not wish to approach the problems before this Assembly from a purely national standpoint and, secondly, because at this moment the Netherlands has the privilege of presiding over the Council of Ministers of the European Community. The part of the world to which my country belongs is undergoing significant economic and political changes-not that we are without economic difficulties. Inflation, stagnation, unemployment all these evils beset us from time to time. Their effect should not be under-estimated, but I feel confident that in due course and through a better common effort we shall overcome them.
In general the Common Market has proved to be of great benefit to its members; there will be, and there can be, no way back.
5.	This morning we were delighted to learn the results of the Danish referendum. The enlargement of the European Community by three new partners, which in our opinion constitutes a break-through of importance not only to us but to the world as a whole, is more limited in scope than we in the Netherlands had hoped. The doors to the Community remain open to democratic countries interested in admission and willing to subscribe to the treaties. The greater European Community as it is to be constituted soon will comprise more than 250 million people with, in general, a very high level of economic and social development, with a vast commercial, industrial, scientific, educational and technological potential, with an outgoing interest in the rest of the world, and with no political or military axes to grind. The harmonization of foreign policies among the European partners will develop as time goes on, and thus enable Europe to play an effective and constructive role in the world. We are approaching this political co-operation pragmatically, but the prospects, in the light of our experiences, look promising.
6.	Europe does not want to isolate itself from the world as a whole; nor do we want to become a new super-Power. What we do want is to develop our responsibilities, both towards our own peoples and towards other countries and, more particularly, towards the developing world. You may safely assume that the European Common Market will play an ever more important part in global co-operation for economic development. In this connexion I may point out that the Council of Ministers of the Community, together with the European Commission, last week devoted an extensive discussion, for the first time, to the attitude of the Common Market towards development co-operation.
7.	Europe, of course, is more than the countries of the European Community. In the introduction to his report on the work of the Organization [AI8701/Add.l] the Secretary-General has pointed out the developments toward detente on the continent of Europe. We the members of the European Community and its prospective members, as well as our other friends and allies, welcome this development. We are convinced of the need for co-operation between Western and Eastern Europe. Preparations for the convening of a conference on security and co-operation in Europe are getting under way. I hope that in the course of this year it will be possible to start the multilateral preparatory talks which are necessary to ascertain whether the conference can yield tangible results-whether, in other words, the conference will enhance and increase security and trust for all parties concerned, both for individual
countries within the present alliances and between the groupings as a whole. In harmony with the conference on European security and co-operation there will be the need for negotiations on mutual balanced force reductions. Indeed, without the complement of a mutual reduction of forces a conference on European security would make no sense.
8.	My Government is looking forward to a positive outcome of all these negotiations, which may result in growing economic, scientific, technological and cultural co-operation. Most important of all, I hope that they will lead to a greater understanding among all the peoples of Europe, who, in our view, must be assured of freedom of movement and of a free exchange of information and ideas.
9.	But again, even the whole of Europe does not live in isolation. Europe is only a part of the world, and we Europeans have to play our role and to assume our responsibilities in a global context. For the Netherlands three points are essential. In the first place manifestations of violence must be curbed, both on the level of States and on the level of individuals and groups; in the second place the forces of justice, reason and moderation must be strengthened by world-wide co-operation through the United Nations in all its facets; and in the third place the forces of economic and social growth must be regulated in order to achieve a fairer distribution of wealth and improved standards of living in the world. I should like to elaborate on these three points.
10.	In the case of Governments, the curbing of the means of violence in the first place implies arms control and disarmament. The Netherlands takes an active part in the disarmament deliberations in Geneva; we know that results can be attained only after long and patient discussions. The framework of disarmament talks is now under discussion. We may reform the Conference of the Committee on Disarmament, we may have a world disarmament conference, we may choose any other suitable framework, but it has now become essential that the principal Powers, especially the five nuclear Powers, the permanent members of the Security Council, should participate in those discussions.
11.	In the field of disarmament I wish to emphasize, once again, the importance of concluding an agreement for the cessation of underground nuclear-weapon tests. During the twenty-sixth session of the General Assembly the Netherlands delegation expressed the hope that such an agreement might be reached within a year. I deeply regret that those hopes have not materialized. With regard to the question of on-site inspection, the rapid progress of seismology and the sophistication of its technology point towards increasing possibilities for control by national means. I therefore call upon the Powers concerned to take account of this development in order to achieve the comprehensive ban which, in our view, is long overdue. At the same time I repeat our urgent plea to all nuclear-weapon Powers to stop testing in all environments.
12.	Concern about the nuclear arms race should not blind us to the urgency of reducing conventional arms as well. The accumulation and the proliferation of conventional armaments create and increase tensions in many parts of the world and divert resources from the promotion of social and economic goals. In this connexion I want to express, in particular, our concern about the increasing trade, including the second-hand trade, in conventional weapons and military equipment. It is extremely difficult to come to grips with this problem, because many aspects political and economic are involved. Nevertheless, I should like to appeal to supplying, trading and receiving countries to consider entering into consultations with a view to finding ways of stemming this alarming development.
13.	The problems of curbing violence confront us inevitably with the remaining conflicts in the world. The Middle East, for instance, still presents a bleak picture, in spite of the praiseworthy efforts of the Secretary-General, his Special Representative, Ambassador Jarring, and many others. The Netherlands Government remains profoundly interested in a peaceful settlement in the Middle East and in the search for an equitable and mutually acceptable solution.
14.	In our view, neither criminal acts such as the Munich outrage nor military retaliatory actions can advance the search for a peaceful settlement in the Middle East. In general terms I wish to emphasize the urgent need for the prevention of acts of international terrorism, wherever they occur. I am grateful to the Secretary-General for his initiative to discuss this subject during the session of this Assembly. In the last few years we have tackled one aspect of terrorism, namely, the hijacking of airplanes. The Netherlands has ratified the Tokyo Convention  and the ratification procedure for the Conventions of Montreal and The Hague  is well under way. We urge other Governments to speed up, too, their ratification procedures. When studying measures against terrorism in its different forms, we will have to look, too, at the underlying causes, and the possibilities of eliminating them. We will have to look at the whole problem, without political bias and in the spirit of a common effort to stop the wanton killing of human beings and the resulting deterioration of international relations. In this spirit my delegation will give its full support to the search for a sensible solution of this intricate problem.
15.	The second point -after dealing with the forces of violence- I mentioned as being essential for the United Nations is the strengthening of the forces of justice, reason and moderation. This, of course, involves the actual functioning of the United Nations. Here I must say that, as in many other countries, elections will be held in the Netherlands before long. As in any democratic country, controversies on many issues are rampant. However, there is no controversy in the Netherlands about the question of support of the United Nations. Therefore I know that I am on safe ground when I pledge, on behalf of the Netherlands people, our unrelenting support for strengthening the structures of world-wide co-operation. An arresting subject of further study in this context might be, in the Netherlands view, the modernization, adaptation and improvement of the process of international legislation.
16.	One hundred and thirty two nations are now represented in this Assembly and we hope that in the near future others may join us in order to turn the principle of universality into reality. Different traditions, varying systems of government and diverging opinions on the problems before the world are guiding us. This remains the inescapable basis of reality in our Organization and this reflects on its effectiveness. We in the Netherlands do not believe that the resulting problems can be solved by a general revision of the Charter. We may adapt Articles of the Charter, whenever circumstances warrant it, but the Charter as a whole must stand as long as the political world situation remains essentially unchanged. To make our Organization more efficient we might devise better conference techniques. Moreover, we might for instance look into the desirability of keeping the General Assembly and the Economic and Social Council in some form of permanent session to meet the demands of our times.
17.	Last year I advocated the optimal use of the resources and talents available to the United Nations in the Secretariat. The top of the Secretariat has now undergone changes. I wish to assure the Secretary-General that he may always count on the support and the understanding of my Government in his efforts to streamline the Secretariat and to raise its level of competence wherever feasible. One aspect of strengthening the role of the United Nations is, in my opinion, a more effective policy of information on the work done by the United Nations family on all levels.
18.	How do we see the role of the Secretary-General in this whole context? Briefly, my Government looks at the Secretary-General's office in the following light. The Secretary-General is the servant of an Organization of 132 Member States and, in questions of security, the servant of the Security Council. In these matters he has little freedom of action or room for maneuvering. This point is illustrated by the unresolved question of peace-keeping operations. In April of this year the Netherlands made some suggestions in order to try to bridge the differences between those who would like to stress an independent role for the Secretary-General and those who stressed the preponderance of the Security Council for all aspects of those operations. In principle we subscribe to the preponderance of the Security Council, but at the same time we think that a workable way out can be found without infringing principles.
19.	In peace-keeping operations the Secretary-General can, in our view, have only limited responsibilities.
20.	However, that is one side of the picture. The other side is that the Secretary-General of the United Nations, because of his function, has an independent responsibility to speak up and to try to initiate action whenever, in his opinion, great humanitarian problems are involved. I completely agree with the following words used by Mr. Waldheim in the introduction to his report on the work of the Organization:
"No matter what criticisms or setbacks may arise, the unwritten moral responsibility which every Secretary- General bears does not allow him to turn a blind eye when innocent civilian lives are placed in jeopardy on a large scale. [A/8701/Add. 1, p. 4.]
21.	My Government is profoundly concerned over the increasing violation of human rights and the resulting human suffering in various parts of the world. It would be unforgivable if the international community allowed cruelty, terror and other infringements of human rights to go by without comment.
22.	Therefore, the General Assembly will also have to discuss, once again and with even more insistence, the policy of apartheid in South Africa and the problem of decolonization which still besets the continent of Africa. Progress towards the elimination of apartheid is essential for peaceful development. A meaningful dialog to this end would be of particular importance for the promotion of a solution deemed urgent and indispensable by the world community. As to the decolonization of the few remaining Non-Self-Governing Territories in Africa, my delegation fears that, irrespective of the right of self-determination to which all peoples are entitled under the Charter, further refusals by the Government of Portugal to embark on constructive planning for eventual decolonization will inevitably play into the hands of the forces of violence.
23.	Coming now to the third point which we see as vital for the role of the Netherlands in the United Nations, I wish to speak on the subject of regulating the forces of economic and social growth in the world, of achieving a more equitable distribution of wealth and prosperity among the peoples of the world and greater possibilities for human well-being, or and here I would refer to the terminology used by the Foreign Minister of Brazil of achieving a system of collective economic security, an idea which deserves further consideration and study.
24.	Two years have passed since the adoption by the General Assembly of the International Development Strategy for The Second United Nations Development Decade [resolution 2626 (XXV)] and today doubts have arisen over the prospects of realizing the objectives and the targets of the Strategy, as a result of the expected shortfall in official development assistance in relation to the targets set in the Strategy. There is, however, no reason to dismiss the Strategy or to lose faith in the Second Development Decade.
25.	On the contrary, the Strategy was in fact drafted as a dynamic instrument, adaptable to new circumstances and to change, and it was recognized from the outset that periodic review and adjustment would be required. Thus, while the basic objectives and philosophy of the Strategy, as a new framework for world-wide economic co-operation based on freely accepted rights and duties of States, remain unchanged, the need is now clearly felt for enlarging its contents and for adjusting it to a number of new elements which have emerged since its adoption.
26.	I refer in the first place to the United Nations Conference on the Human Environment, held at Stockholm in June, which has confronted the United Nations system and its Member nations with a new dimension of economic growth and co-operation, namely, with the imperative need to preserve and enhance the human environment. The Conference and its results were in themselves a milestone in the history of the United Nations, to the extent that the United Nations system proved its capacity to tackle new and vital problems, to devise new machinery for dealing with these problems and to integrate this dimension of economic development into the already existing broader framework of United Nations objectives and activities. Stockholm, however, was a beginning; the Development Strategy adopted in 1970 did not sufficiently take into account the problems of the human environment, and it has now become necessary to set new objectives for the preservation and enhancement of the human environment, relating them, in particular, to the economic development of developing countries.
27.	A second new element emerged at the third session of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development [UNCTAD], which met at Santiago in April and May and which projected a new vision of the world-wide interdependence between monetary problems and the problems of the economic development of the developing nations and of the structure of international trade. In this field, too, the International Development Strategy needs elaboration and adjustment. A most important new element in development is the deeply rooted problem of mass poverty in developing countries and its traditional attributes: unemployment, malnutrition, slums, lack of minimum hygiene, lack of education and glaring inequalities in standards of living. The Committee for Development Planning and, last week, Mr. de Seynes, the Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs, and Mr. McNamara, the President of the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development, have brought this new conceptual context to the attention of the world. They have recommended that both developing and developed countries and international organizations take a bold approach in tackling this problem and they have thus replaced the traditional statistical approach of per capita growth by a new concept which places human well-being in all its aspects in the center of development policy. There is an urgent necessity to integrate the concept of mass poverty and unemployment into the Development Strategy and to try to set objectives and, if possible, targets for its elimination.
28.	In addition to those three new elements, I wish to mention the progress which has recently been made in deepening our understanding of and our possibilities for drafting policies with regard to the problem of the least developed countries and the relationship between growth, prosperity and population. In respect of the least developed countries UNCTAD at its third session adopted important recommendations and it may be necessary also in this field to rethink some of the concepts embodied in the development Strategy.
29.	With regard to population, it is encouraging to note that the United Nations Fund for Population Activities is expanding its activities. For 1974, that is to say, one year before the mid-term review and appraisal, it is expected that the World Population Year and the World Population Conference, 1974, will enable us to deepen our understanding of the highly complicated, and at the same time delicate, problem of population. In our view, it is essential that we should increase our understanding and our capacity to deal with the problem in relation to development, both at the national and at the international levels.
30.	Last, but not least, there remains the inescapable fact that official development assistance is expected to fall short of the target set in the Strategy. As I pointed out, the International Development Strategy was drafted as a dynamic instrument and it recognized, from the outset, the need for review and appraisal. The United Nations system is fortunate to have now at its disposal the broad framework of a machinery for review and appraisal which will enable it to adjust the Strategy to the new trends and new facts which I have just mentioned. This adaptation will perhaps have to lead to new objectives and targets for the fulfillment of the aims of the Strategy or the reaffirmation of accepted targets, and it is therefore of the utmost importance that individual Governments and all the organs of the United Nations family alike prepare themselves thoroughly for the first experimental review and appraisal, to take place in 1973, and particularly for the mid-term review of 1975.
31.	The United Nations and its affiliated organizations have in recent years assumed new tasks and new activities and, as a result, the United Nations structure and the co-ordination between its different organs have become increasingly complicated. It therefore seems desirable to us that, parallel to the review and appraisal of the basic concepts and objectives of the International Development Strategy, a review should be undertaken of the institutional structure of the United Nations. This review should be carried out against the background of the provisions of the Charter which have assigned to the Economic and Social Council a central, policy-making and co-ordinating role as well as against the background of subsequent General Assembly decisions setting up new organs like UNCTAD, the United Nations Development Program and the United Nations Industrial Development Organization.
32.	I have tried to explain how my country approaches the important problems before this Assembly. I have stressed the development of the responsibilities of the European Powers, not only among themselves, but also to other countries and, in particular, to the developing part of the world. This is not an exclusive responsibility of a few. The development towards a world community is, and has to be, a common effort of all countries represented in this hall.
33.	May God's blessing rest on this joint effort and on the labors of this session!


Mr. President, your election to the presidency of our General Assembly is for us a source of profound joy. The honor it bestows upon your friendly country and on your own person is a just tribute to your high personal qualities and your competence.
6.	In associating the delegation of Lebanon with the warm congratulations and good wishes that have been addressed to you, I wish to assure you of our full co-operation and to express our conviction that under your wise guidance our work will progress under the very best of circumstances.
7.	We are also pleased to thank and pay a tribute to your predecessor, Mr. Adam Malik, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Indonesia, and to recall the wisdom, tactfulness and great skill with which he discharged the functions of the presidency of the last General Assembly session, in particularly delicate circumstances.
8.	The agenda of the present session includes many important items to the consideration of which the delegation of Lebanon will lend its full co-operation. I shall at this time limit myself to mentioning two of them which are, for us as a developing country, of particular interest. These are disarmament and development.
9.	One of the priority aims of our Organization is to achieve disarmament. The mad arms race of recent years and the terrible holocaust that threatens our universe must urge States all States forward to work by every possible means for the attainment of that noble objective. We recognize, to be sure, that some progress has been made and that some partial success has been achieved within the framework of our Organization or bilaterally. But much more will have to be done and our efforts to achieve the goals we seek must be increased.
10.	That is why the delegation of Lebanon welcomes the proposal to convene a world disarmament conference within the framework of the United Nations. This conference will be called upon to contribute to dispelling the fears of an anxious mankind, to carry out progressively and by stages the prohibition of weapons of mass destruction and the destruction of these weapons and, finally, to arrive at the desired disarmament to ensure international security.
A/PV.2041
11.	Disarmament cannot be disassociated from.the major problem confronting our planet: that of development. It is not by mere chance that the General Assembly has proclaimed the 1970s as both a disarmament and development decade. Incalculable resources are swallowed up every year for military purposes. A minute part of these resources, if devoted to action for development, would greatly contribute to solving the economic and social problems which are becoming increasingly acute because of under-development, would narrow the gap between the rich and the poor of the earth and would lessen the enormous disparities which still exist within national communities as well as between a small group of privileged countries and the vast majority of mankind.
12.	The International Development Strategy for the Second United Nations Development Decade [resolution 2626 (XXV)J, which was inspired by the loftiest principles, has set important targets and defined the means to attain them. However, these principles and objectives must not remain pious hopes; and a political will, particularly on the part of the developed countries, and a feeling of human solidarity over and above selfish interests must contribute to implementing these objectives fully.
13.	The disappointing results of the third session of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development [UNCTAD], which confirmed the' apprehensions that the previous conference had aroused, prove that this will and this feeling have not yet attained the necessary degree and intensity.
14.	On another level, we are gratified at the positive results achieved at the United Nations Conference on the Human Environment. The Declaration of the Conference, the environment funds and the appropriate institutional machinery will doubtless promote international cooperation for the preservation of the human environment. In this field as in others relating to development, the contribution of the advanced countries is of paramount importance and the needs and interests of the developing countries must be protected. Lebanon for its part will contribute within its means to the collective undertaking for the preservation of the environment.
15.	The yearly sessions of the General Assembly provide us with an opportunity to assess the international political situation and to measure the progress accomplished in the attainment of the objectives of our Charter. This year we find indications both of new hope and continuing disenchantment.
16.	First of all, we see reason for hope because we have observed an atmosphere of detente and rapprochement which has continued to establish itself and develop throughout the past year and a slow but sure progress towards the peaceful political solution of a certain number of conflicts and crises which trouble our world.
17.	The high-level contacts between the great Powers and the recourse to diplomacy and discussion certainly contribute to the maintenance of peace and encourage rapprochement and co-operation, thereby removing the specter of confrontation. The efforts made to accelerate the process of the political settlement of certain persistent conflicts also contribute to a relaxation of the international climate an.r to putting into effect within our Organization the principle of universality, which is so earnestly desired.
18.	However, we cannot help noticing that there is less interest in certain grave problems, in particular, the situation prevailing in the Middle East, which constantly threatens international peace and security. The interdependence of nations in our present world is such that it is quite obvious that no nation can remain indifferent to the crises which for many years have troubled that part of the world.
19.	I need not recall facts which are known to all. I simply wish to draw the attention of the General Assembly to two points which, as I see it, are of particular interest.
20.	The first is that the Assembly, as well as other United Nations organs, such as the Security Council and the Commission on Human Rights, has already adopted clear- cut positions on the question of the Middle East in general and on some of its aspects in particular, for example on the status of Jerusalem, the treatment of the occupied populations and the Israeli attacks against Lebanon and other Arab countries.
21.	What I should like to say here and I shall never tire of repeating it-is that none of these decisions, and I stress "none", has been implemented by Israel.
22.	Ambassador Jarring's mission under Security Council resolution 242 (1967) has been deliberately and methodically sabotaged, like the decision itself. General Assembly resolution 2799 (XXVI), adopted at the last session, which, like Security Council resolution 242 (1967), was designed to seek a political solution to the conflict, has not even begun to be implemented.
23.	In resolution 2253 (ES-V), which was adopted by an overwhelming majority on 4 July 1967 and confirmed by resolution 2254 (ES-V) of 14 July 1967, the General Assembly declared that the annexation of Jerusalem to the State of Israel was invalid and called on Israel "to rescind all measures already taken and to desist forthwith from taking any action which would alter the. status of Jerusalem". Other resolutions on the same lines have been adopted since 1967, confirming the above-mentioned resolutions. In spite of this, the process of Judaization is continuing implacably in the Holy City.
24.	The populations of the occupied territories, which should have been protected by the Geneva Conventions and the general laws of war, are subjected by the occupier to a veritable regime of terror. Kept in a state of inferiority and subjection, their freedoms are violated and their property is plundered. The commissions of inquiry established by the United Nations have never been able to carry out the mission entrusted to them. The Israeli authorities have always refused them access to the territories which Israel controls.
25.	Even within the territories that since 1948 have been directly subjected to Israeli authority, the Arab populations have always been the subject of bullying and discrimination. The treatment applied to them is the most arbitrary which can be imagined. By way of example, the Christian inhabitants of the villages of Kefar Bar'am and Iqrit, who were removed by force from their homes in 1948, have not been able to return to their villages and land in spite of a decree in their favor, a decree which this time was issued not by the Security Council but by the Supreme Court of Israel itself. What has happened at Iqrit and Kefar Bar'am is but an example. It illustrates the procedures used by the Israeli authorities in hundreds of similar cases.
26.	In another field which is of more direct concern to my country, how many times has the Security Council condemned Israel for the attacks committed by its armed forces against Lebanon? How many times has it called upon Israel to put an end to its aggression and threatened it with more effective measures if it did not change its attitude?
27.	All these appeals, resolutions and injunctions have remained without effect, as have those which defined the foundations for political solutions, those intended to safeguard the real character of Jerusalem and protect the populations in the occupied territories, or those designed to put an end to aggression against neighbors. These resolutions, to quote Israel, are "destined for the morgue of history".
28.	No further proof is needed e Israel does not intend to submit to any discipline or to implement any decision. Only the policy of force counts for Israel.
29.	I consider that this permanent challenge to the international community by a country which owes every- thing-even its very existence to the United Nations quite obviously raises a problem which should be considered and settled by the United Nations. The facts of the problem are clear, as I have just recalled. What is also clear are the elements of the solution. By this I mean the sanctions provided in Chapter VII of the Charter of our Organization.
30.	The second point to which I should like to draw the attention of this Assembly is that the conflict in the Middle East is degenerating rapidly and becoming extremely dangerous. Acts of violence have become so frequent, so broad and so serious that they no longer threaten only the civilian populations, but even endanger international peace and security. Certain Palestinian elements on the one hand, and the regular Israeli forces on the other hand, are embarked on an infernal cycle of violence.
31.	If measures were to be adopted to put an end to this state of affairs, it seems to us necessary, if they are to be effective, that they should be studied in an impartial spirit inspired by the two following requirements.
32.	First of all, the study must cover all the acts of violence. To circumscribe it to the acts committed by the Palestinians alone would be proof of partiality and injustice. One must not pretend to forget that it is the Zionists who inaugurated political terrorism and introduced it in the Near East. Today there is too great a tendency to wish to ignore the bloody exploits of the Haganah, Irgun, Stern and many other Zionist terrorist organizations. But how can one fail to remind all those who no doubt in order to clear their consciences are accusing the Palestinians of the assassination of Count Bernadotte, the United Nations mediator, or of the massacre of the inhabitants in the village of Deir Yassin, where the bodies of old people, women and children were thrown into a hole where they were discovered by the International Red Cross? How can we forget the attack on the King David Hotel in Jerusalem which killed men, women and children?
33.	Without going too far into the past, which is nevertheless still in our minds, let us recall to those who today show so much anger and indignation about the taking of hostages and the massacre which followed -a massacre which took place under very confused circumstances that no one seems to be in a hurry to elucidate- that however horriMe the violence which took place in Munich, the attack committed only yesterday by the Israeli forces within the territory of Lebanon was no less odious and condemnable.
34.	On 21 June 1972 Israeli forces penetrated into our territory, killing 3 Lebanese soldiers and kidnapping 6 Lebanese and Syrian officers to be used as hostages in order to obtain the liberation of Israeli prisoners held in Egypt and Syria. Those who committed this aggression were not uncontrolled and practically uncontrollable elements; they were not men who were driven to despair and who are alone responsible for their acts. They were soldiers of a regular army, acting on behalf of their Government and on the orders of their superiors. This act of State terrorism was applauded by the Israeli leaders and presented by them as a glorious exploit.
35.	On the morrow of the Lod attack, of which Lebanon immediately disapproved and with which it was in no way associated, the Israeli air force on 21, 22 and 23 June unleashed an attack against the innocent civilian population of Hasbaya and Deir El-Achaer, killing and wounding men, women and children. The intention of Israel was to take revenge on the peaceful Lebanese villagers for the Puerto Rican and Israeli deaths which had taken place under the guns of foreign extremists who came to Israel from a foreign country. How can one fail to condemn this massacre of Lebanese civilians, dictated by an apparent logic of terror?
36.	Only a few days ago, on 8 September, the same Israeli air force bombed three sites in the north and south of Lebanon. The "glorious" results of this heroic operation was that 9 children, one woman and 2 men were killed and 34 other civilians were wounded, including 16 children aged from 8 to 15 years.
37.	Even more recently, on 16 September an armored Israeli division, with air support, invaded the south of Lebanon under cover of "suppressing" the fedayeen. Actually, it destroyed or damaged 435 dwellings and two bridges, killed or wounded 143 military and civilian Lebanese, as well as approximately a score of Palestinian refugees, and itself suffered severe losses inflicted by the Lebanese army. I believe that the least that can be said about this typical new aggression is that it had resulted in a definite setback for Israel on the political level and on the military level.
38.	Is it the desire to take measures against terrorism? Such measures can be effective only if they are based on objectivity, not using two weights and two measures.
39.	Secondly, if there is really a desire to do away with acts of violence, one must attack honestly and courageously the real causes and discover means of eradicating them. It is not sufficient to consider certain episodic manifestations. In this connexion, certain truths should be said, and said without hedging the issue, even though they might disturb the moral and intellectual comfort of those people and circles who are complacently desirous of keeping a clear conscience and who themselves shoulder an awesome responsibility, either because they have persecuted the Jews, or because they have allowed the Jews to subject an innocent people to the atrocious treatment to which they themselves were subjected.
40.	The creation of the State of Israel was accompanied by the mass exodus of the inhabitants of Palestine, provoked by threats, intimidation and terror. Today there is a new Diaspora of wandering Palestinians and displaced Arabs, who cannot and do not want to be assimilated in any other country.
41.	These people, almost 2 million human beings, live in a state of growing despair, which explains certain passionate reactions and certain desperate acts. These people are convinced, quite rightly, that they are the victims of Zionist terror.
42.	Despite all the principles on which our civilization is based, never has this people been given the opportunity to be consulted as to its fate or to exercise its natural right to self-determination. True, the international community had decided 23 years ago that the Palestinians who were chased away could choose between returning to their homes or receiving just compensation [resolution 302 (IV)]. But for 23 years never has there been a beginning of the application of this decision because of the intransigence of Israel. Nor has the international community, in 23 years, ever decided to apply the decision which it itself had freely adopted. The Palestinians-and who can blame them? -feel themselves to be totally abandoned and betrayed.
43.	If it is really desired to do away with the sources of violence, it is to this source that one must go in the first place. It will solve nothing to repress, it will avail nothing to punish, one group of persons or another or any given country which one considers -unjustly, furthermore- to be responsible for any given attempt. Violence has never suppressed violence. On the contrary, it rekindles and exacerbates it and gives it increased vigor, audacity and intensity.
44.	What does one expect, what can one expect from repression- that it will physically repress the elements of the Palestinian resistance? Suppose that this objective could be attained and that the world were to tolerate such genocide. Can one not foresee that the resistance of the Palestinian people will rise from the ashes and give it a vigor and aggressiveness which it has never known so far?
45.	Zionist terrorism cannot suppress the entire Palestinian people. And as long as justice is not done and these legitimate aspirations are not satisfied, one must expect these feelings of despair and frustration to increase in intensity and seriousness.
46.	Before I conclude, it is my duty to draw the attention of the Assembly most particularly to the aggressive attitude of Israel in regard to my country. Israel has constantly been committing aggression against Lebanon for four years, whereas the Armistice Agreement of 1949, which remains in force and was once again confirmed by the Security Council in its consensus of 19 April 1972,  categorically forbids Israel to do so. Israel first sought to justify these aggressions by alleging that there had been rocket fire from Lebanese territory directed against the territories under Israel's control.
47.	Lebanon adopted certain measures to put an end to these allegations. Being short of arguments, Israel then claimed that Palestinian resistance fighters were undertaking acts of violence within the occupied territories and it deduced from this that they had infiltrated through the Lebanese frontier, Lebanon then requested of the Security Council, and obtained on 19 April 1972, an increase in the number of observers on its international frontier. The reports of these international observers presented to the Council prove not only that the allegations of Israel are unfounded, but further, that it is Israel itself which constantly violates the Lebanese frontier.
48.	At the end of 1968, the Israeli commandos destroyed 13 Lebanese civil aircraft at the airport in Beirut, under the pretext that Palestinian commandos which had attacked an Israeli aircraft at Athens had passed through Lebanon in transit. Even more recently, after the Lod attack, the Israeli army organized a genuine massacre of the Lebanese civilian population under the pretext that the extremists had passed through Lebanon in transit. On the morrow of Munich three deadly raids were carried out against the Lebanese civilian population, and this time Israel felt no need to seek the slightest justification.
49.	Need I say how fallacious these pretexts seem to us? That there are Palestinians in Lebanon and that they feel that they are the victims of Israel nobody denies; Israel knows it better than anyone, since it has forced them by terror to take refuge in Lebanon and is against their repatriation.
50.	Moreover, Palestinians are settled in a large number of countries, Arab and non-Arab. If Israel were to follow all their movements, suspect and implicate all the countries where they reside or through which they may have gone in transit, then it would be not only towards Lebanon but towards most of the countries of the world that it should launch its bomber squadrons.
51.	How can one allow Israel to attack Lebanon, and Lebanon alone, persistently, whenever any action is undertaken against its interest or its nationals in any part of the world? If the intransigence of the leaders of Israel was the cause of the Munich massacre, by what confused logic can one blame Lebanon and hence justify the attacks on Lebanon and the massacre of women and children? Furthermore, the Federal Government of Germany itself officially declared that Lebanon could not in any way be held responsible.
52.	Actually Israel is pursuing quite different objectives. If Lebanon is the target it is not to avenge Athens, nor Lod, nor Munich. I repeat, Lebanon-and Israel knows it -is in no way implicated in these affairs. What Israel is doing is seeking a pretext to destroy it. Lebanon in its present structure, where Jews, Christians and Moslems coexist freely, harmoniously and democratically, this Lebanon disturbs Israel because it is a categorical and living denial of Israel's racist concepts and policy of ostracism. Furthermore, Israel covets a part of our territory. It is an expansionist State by nature and by vocation and cannot be satisfied with fixed, immovable and recognized frontiers.
53.	All the maps drawn up by the Zionist movement and the statements made by authoritative Israeli leaders confirm these objectives. Zionist propaganda, which has available to it means heretofore unknown in the history of the world, has succeeded in making international public opinion believe in the image of a peaceful and threatened Israel. The facts, particularly since 1967, categorically refute these assertions.
54.	Today, when the same propaganda claims that the security of Israel is threatened by Lebanon, and that to defend its security it is forced to carry out military actions against Lebanon, no one can any longer believe it.
55.	Lebanon does not threaten Israel. It is Israel which threatens Israel. It threatens Lebanon in its harmonious, human structures; in its integrity and its independence.
56= The international community, which has so often condemned Israel for its aggression against my country, knows this full well. In expressing my gratitude, as well as that of Lebanon, to this community, and especially to those friendly countries that have so often taken the initiative of giving support to the cause of Lebanon, in particular by demanding the immediate withdrawal of Israeli forces from Lebanese territory, I appeal once again to the friendship and vigilance of those I have mentioned to prevent any new aggression.
57. It is not the Israelis or the Palestinians or the allies of either of the parties directly engaged in the conflict that can put an end to that conflict and thereby to acts of violence. It is only the international community which is capable of taking that responsibility. For my part, I refuse to make a definite finding of failure or bankruptcy. The founders of our Organization wished it to be powerful, effective, and capable of ensuring the new international order to which mankind aspired after the ravages of the war - a new order based on law and justice, solidarity, peace and collective security. Towards that end they vested the Security Council - which bears the prime responsibility for the. task of maintaining that new. international order-with powerful means. The Charter also provides for adequate measures to deal with the persistent violation of its principles by a Member of the Organization.
58.	We are increasingly convinced that it is necessary and urgent to restore the authority of the United Nations and its prestige, to enable our Organization, by the energetic application of the provisions of the Charter, fully to ensure its noble role in the interests of all Member States, all nations, large or small.
59.	Lebanon is a small country, which believes in peace and justice. It firmly believes in the principles and purposes of the Charter of the United Nations, and finds in the respect of these principles and their development the principal guarantee for its security. Accordingly, Lebanon would fervently hope that the safeguarding and consolidation of the United Nations will unite the faith and the energies of all States and of all men.