Sir, I congratulate you on your election to the
high office of the presidency. A heavy
responsibility rests on your shoulders. This has
been a turbulent year in international affairs.
The shocks of the past 12 months are reflected in
the agenda. This has been a testing time also for
the new Secretary-General. He faces more hard
tasks ahead.
43. We have endured a year of crisis in the
world economy. The international monetary system
has teetered on the brink of catastrophe. The
twin evils of inflation and unemployment have
ranged throughout the world; growth has slowed
almost to a halt.
44. Nor has the world become a more peaceful
and secure place. On the contrary. The Middle
East has been a cockpit of war. We have just seen
a massacre of unarmed civilians in Lebanon on a
scale we find hard to believe. Afghanistan is
still occupied and tyrannized by the Soviet
Union. Vietnamese troops still hold Kampuchea. A
totally avoidable war has been fought over some
remote islands in the South Atlantic. Great-Power
relationships have deteriorated. There has been
no progress towards disarmament.
45. I want to say a little more about the
world economic situation. As a small trading
nation, New Zealand is acutely sensitive to
fluctuations in the health of our major trading
partners. New Zealand is classed as a developed
country, but we share many of the problems of
developing countries. Our prosperity depends on
the export of a relatively few primary products.
In the current world situation, terms of trade
run against us. When the economic giants sneeze,
we do not catch cold; we catch pneumonia.
46. It is not surprising therefore that my
Government has taken a leading role in recent
months in advocating a revitalization of the
international economic and financial
institutions. The system established at Bretton
Woods 38 years ago served reasonably well during
a long period of economic growth in the 1930s and
1960s. There is a widespread agreement that it
needs to be improved and strengthened, not tom
down. There is no consensus yet as to how that
can be achieved.
47. At international meetings of Finance
Ministers in recent weeks, the New Zealand Prime
Minister has advocated an international
conference to re-examine the role and adequacy of
the international institutions established at
Bretton Woods. Such a conference would require
detailed groundwork and preparation. It is,
perhaps, too early to spell out the agenda. What
must first be demonstrated is the political will
to undertake the task. My Government believes
that that will exists in many countries, but some
of the largest and most powerful Members of the
Organi-zationóthose with the greatest economic
cloutóhave still to be convinced.
48. One thing is clear. The efforts that have
been made in the Organization to effect progress
through a North-South dialogue have reached
stalemate. The very term North-South polarizes
attitudes. Doctrinaire argument will get us
nowhere. Nor will a retreat into policies of
economic isolationism. The growth of
protectionism is one of the most disturbing
by-products of economic recession. It will not
help growth in the powerful economies of the
major industrialized countries, and its effects
on the vulnerable economies of the developing
countries can only be disastrous.
49. Let me emphasize again the constructive
purpose of my Government's call for a review of
the international economic institutions. We wish
to see them strengthened and, if necessary,
supplemented. They may need new powers. They
should be more responsive to genuine needs. In
the financial field, they should be more flexible
in the conditions they impose for lending. There
should be a large increase in quotas to
strengthen the position of the International
Monetary Fund [IMF]. There is a need for
discipline to apply to those countries which
accumulate large surpluses in their balance of
payments, as well as to tht.se which are forced
into large deficits. This is sometimes called
symmetrical surveillance. Greater regulatory
powers than exist at present may be required. IMF is
no longer facing cyclical downturns in member
nations but long-term structural imbalances. Its
rules must be adapted for longer-term lending and
easier conditionality. A decision on these
matters at a special meeting of the world
community would make the political decision,
country by country, to accept such changes much
more easily.
50. But these are only suggestions on our
part. I repeat that what is needed is a clear
demonstration of political will to embark on a
new program designed to restore confidence in
the world economic system. Only thus can we look
for the world consensus required to implement
such a program. May I say that we look to the
major economic Powers to display both more
determined leadership and a greater
understanding of the problems faced by smaller
and weaker economies than they have so far.
51. Although far removed from the Middle
East, New Zealand is closely concerned with what
goes on there. We have friendly relations with
all Middle East countries and important trading
relations with an increasing number of them. The
United Nations has an important role to play in
maintaining peace in that area and it must
continue to play that role despite the
frustrations it faces. For many years New Zealand
has contributed observers to the United Nations
Truce Supervision Organization. We welcomed the
restoration of peace between Egypt and Israel.
We wanted to see a peace-keeping force
established in the Sinai under United Nations
auspices but, since that was not possible, we
agreed to contribute to a force that was
acceptable to both Egypt and Israel. In that way,
we hope we have made an appropriate contribution
not only to the peace-keeping but to the
peace-making process.
52. It is a matter of great concern to us
that L at process has not continued as intended.
New Zealand has consistently supported Security
Council resolution 242 (1967). We believe that
Israel is entitled to exist in peace behind
secure borders. Equally, we believe that the
Palestinian people are entitled to determine
their own futures: and to establish their own
State, if that is what they wish, following the
withdrawal of Israeli troops from the occupied
territories. We believe also that all foreign
combat troops should be withdrawn from Lebanon.
The innocent civilian population in that war-torn
country has suffered long enough, if necessary,
after the present temporary three-nation force is
withdrawn from Beirut, the role ol' the United
Nations peace keeping force should be expanded to
stabilize the situation in Lebanon for as long as
may be necessary.
53. In his report on the work of the
Organization the Secretary-General has commented
with admirable frankness on the shortcomings of
the United Nations in carrying out its primary
task of preserving international peace and
security. He has suggested ways in which the
Security Council might operate with more
authority. We support those suggestions. We
believe that a greater willingness on the part of
the great Powers to work together rather than
against one another is the key to a more
effective Security Council. Nevertheless, the
non-permanent members also have an important part
to play. We take seriously the obligation
conferred by the Charter on the Members of the
United Nations to make their own contribution to
the maintenance of international peace and
security. It is with that obligation very much in
mind that New Zealand has presented its
candidature for membership of the Council at the
forthcoming elections.
54. The situation in Kampuchea also remains
of deep concern, h undermines the stability of
Southeast Asia and adversely affects the security
of our close friends in the Association of
South-East Asian Nations. If unresolved, it
carries the potential, by reviving great-Power
rivalry in the area, to threaten the security of
the wider Asia-Pacific region. More immediately
the situation prolongs the human misery and
suiting that have been a tragic fact of life m
Kampuchea for too long.
55. New Zealand firmly believes that any
lasting solution to the situation in Kampuchea
will have to take into account their legitimate
interests of all the parties concerned. We hope
that the year ahead will see some progress. The
formation of the coalition Government in
Kampuchea is a step in the right direction. We
have never condoned the crimes and atrocities of
Pol Pot and his associates and we welcome the
broader representation of the Kampuchean people
in the Government of Democratic Kampuchea.
56. There is an important role for the United
Nations in working out a settlement. We welcome
the efforts of the Chairman of the /i J Hot
Committee of the International Conference on
Kampuchea as part of it.
57. Another year has passed without progress
in relations between North and South Korea.
Tension remains high in the peninsula and the
diversion of resources to military purposes
continues. Families are still separated and a
unique and ancient society remains divided. New
Zealand does not believe that this situation need
or should continue. My Government's view is that
the way forward is through negotiations between
the Korean peoples themselves. We exhort the
North Korean authorities to respond positively to
South Korea's various proposals for steps towards
national reconciliation.
58. With regard to Africa, my Government has
followed closely the efforts of the five-member
contact group to negotiate the withdrawal of
South Africa from Namibia and permit the people
of that country freely to exercise their right to
self-determination and independence. Following
the emergence of a Government in Zimbabwe
reflecting the wishes of the majority, we
expected to see more rapid progress towards the
freeing of Namibia from illegal occupation. We
hope that the situation will now be peacefully
and speedily remedied and that the people of
Namibia will very soon be able to decide their
own future in free and fair elections. It is long
since time Namibia took its rightful seat in the
Organization.
59. New Zealand maintains its steadfast
opposition to the system of institutionalized
racism imposed by a minority Government in South
Africa on the vast majority of its people. New
Zealand has no diplomatic or consular
representative in that country. For many years we
have embargoed the export of arms to South
Africa. In accordance with its obligations, as a
member of the Commonwealth, under the Gleneagles
Agreement my Government has consistently sought
to discourage sporting contacts with South
Africa. The great majority of New Zealand sport
organizations, including the Olympic and
Commonwealth Games Association have steadfastly
refrained from such contacts.
60. It is time that the disgrace of apartheid
was ended. It is an affront to human dignity.
Tragically, the South African Government has
ignored the calls of its own people and of the
world that it dismantles the apartheid system and
introduces one which upholds racial equality and
respect for human rights and basic freedoms. Only
then can South Africa resume a normal
relationship with the rest of the world and play
its proper role in a continent which has
desperate need of its technology and resources.
61. I should like to end by saying something
about the small island countries of the South
Pacific and their problems. These are, after all,
New Zealand's closest neighbors and friends. We
have with them strong ties of history and
culture. Many of their people have migrated to
New Zealand but retain close links with their
island homes. New Zealand's overseas aid program
is increasingly concentrated in these countries.
We welcome the fact that the great majority of
the island countries have now achieved
independence or an advanced stage of
self-government. Some of them now speak with a
distinctive South Pacific voice in the
Organization.
62. it is good that self-determination in the
South Pacific has been achieved peacefully. The
process is, however, not yet complete. We welcome
the progress that has taken place towards
self-determination in the Trust Territory of
Micronesia. We welcome also the program of reform
which has been instituted by the French Government
in New Caledonia. In common with our fellow
members of the South Pacific Forum, we hope for
quick progress towards the goal of
self-determination for this Territory. We are
actively promoting political development in the
small island Territory of Tokelau and have
welcomed visits by United Nations Missions to
monitor its progress.
63. The fragile economies of small island
States pose enormous problems for their
development. The United Nations criteria for
least-developed States take insufficient account
of the problems of minute size, lack of resources
and extreme isolation, which are common to many
of these island States. New Zealand has sought to
help overcome these problems by lowering trade
barriers, promoting private investment and
helping to develop regional shipping services. We
have welcomed the increased involvement of the
United Nations in the South Pacific area. But
more outside help is needed, and the small size
of the recipient countries should not deter the
appropriate international agencies from making a
more effective contribution than they have up to
now.
64. One of the few significant resources
which the South Pacific countries can export is
fish. The most important part of this resource
consists of the highly migratory species such as
tuna. The establishment of the 200-mile economic
zone under the United Nations Convention on the
Law of the Sea offers the island countries the
opportunity to exploit this resource for their
own benefit. It is for that reason, among others,
that New Zealand and other South Pacific
countries are strong supporters of that
Convention and look forward to its early entry
into force. My Government will continue to urge
the major industrialized countries to accept and
become parties to the Convention. All South
Pacific countries are naturally sensitive to the
possibility of pollution of the surrounding
ocean, for example by the dumping of nuclear
waste. We are also strong advocates of the
complete cessation of nuclear-weapons testing,
especially in the Pacific. It is a matter of
great regret and concern that the negotiation of
a comprehensive test-ban treaty has virtually
come to a halt.
65. New Zealand and its South Pacific
neighbors will continue to press for the
conclusion of a test-ban treaty. Such a treaty
not only will remove a possible environmental
threat from our own backyard, but will be an
important step towards nuclear disarmament, which
has seen no progress in the past year but becomes
more urgent day by day.