15. Mr. President, your election at the nineteenth session of the General Assembly is a cause of particular satisfaction to the Tunisian delegation. This choice does honour to you and to the people of Ghana. It means that, for the second time, Africa at large has the signal honour of presiding over the work of the General Assembly of the United Nations. This choice places the experience and dedication of a citizen of the African continent at the service of the ideals of the United Nations. Allow me therefore to offer you Tunisia's congratulations on this happy occasion and to express the hope that this session, over which I am sure you will preside with distinction and efficiency, will be one of co-operation and of achievement of the objectives of the United Nations.
16. Were I not aware of your qualifications, Mr. President, I might doubt your ability to replace or succeed Mr. Carlos Sosa Rodriguez, who last year discharged with such distinction and efficiency the responsibilities which you now assume.
17. Allow me also to express the hope, as the Assembly has already done, that our Secretary-General will very soon be able to return to his place at your side and to resume his activities. He is greatly missed.
18. Another cause of satisfaction — of special satisfaction — to the Tunisian delegation is the opportunity given to me of welcoming two more sister African States, Malawi and Zambia, which have just been admitted to the Organization. Their admission is a sign of the progress — slow progress it is true, but sure — of decolonization. It strengthens African representation in the Assembly and lends support to Africa's efforts to find, with the help of the United Nations, the most fitting solutions to the many problems besetting it. These two countries, as eloquently stated by the heads of their delegations [1288th meeting], will not fail to bring to our work and to our deliberations sincere co-operation and a productive contribution.
19. The Tunisian delegation also takes special pleasure in congratulating Malta on its accession to independence and its admission to membership of our Organization. As is well known., Malta is more than a neighbour to Tunisia. The Mediterranean character and ethnic origins of its people and the presence and participation of its nationals, to this day, in the economic life of my country, are basic factors in the friendly relations which bind our two countries and which, I am sure, will become ever stronger.
20. As in the past, we not only affirm the right of all peoples to be present here; we uphold that right without exception and without reservation. We fervently hope that international relations will be freed of exclusions and prohibitions, and that the Organization will be opened to all nations without discrimination. This can only strengthen the authority and effectiveness of the United Nations. It is only on these terms that we can aspire to institute a universal order and to build a better world, freed of hatred and prejudice.
21. It is time to recognize the rights of a country of 700 million human beings and to allow it to resume its rightful place in our Organization; I am referring to the People's Republic of China. It is unseemly to continue to prevent so vast and important a country from participating in our deliberations; we believe that to do so would be a very dangerous error at a time when all our efforts are directed towards strengthening world peace and towards general and complete disarmament. How can we make progress in that direction if we fail to display realism?
22. We also fervently hope that the nations now divided will find the way to unification and stability, so that they may join us and the United Nations family may be expanded. The United Nations would then be achieving its destiny, which is to be the instrument of universal co-operation and of the universal will to strengthen world peace, and would be playing its true role in bringing the peoples together.
23. If the Organization is to be capable of meeting its ever-growing responsibilities and accomplishing its historic mission in the circumstances of today, it is essential that it should achieve the most complete universality and that its structure should be adapted to the changes which have occurred in the world. It is not a sign of life to remain frozen in a cast which was devised at a certain time (now past) and in a world where there was not even one half of the present number of independent countries.
24. I should like to recall the great relief and gratification with which last year we hailed the adoption of the General Assembly resolution [1991 (XVIII)l providing for the enlargement of the Security Council and the Economic and Social Council. We hope that nothing will hinder the attainment of those goals and the recognition of Africa's legitimate place in the new international order. We therefore appeal to all Member States, particularly to the permanent members of the Security Council, whose privileges are so great, to ratify the amendments which have been proposed to bring the Charter of the United Nations up to date; by so doing, they will help to wipe out an injustice and to right the wrong done, in particular, to the continent of Africa, which even today continues to bear the heavy legacy of the colonial era.
25. Since 1960, Africa, with the Democratic Republic of the Congo at its centre, has been beset with countless difficulties. The efforts of the United Nations to restore order and to maintain the territorial integrity of the Congo encountered difficult conditions (to say the least) and stubborn resistance, the continuing effects of which are unfortunately still being felt to this day.
26. My country responded, within the United Nations framework, to the appeal made by the Congo at the time and did not hesitate, in particularly difficult circumstances, to give that country aid and assistance; it sent its troops and technicians, thus helping the Congo to overcome, in some small measure, the difficulties resulting from the void left by the former administering Power.
27. However, the recent tragic and bloody events in the Congo have aroused deep feelings in my country, which cannot remain indifferent to the fate of those thousands of innocent victims, Africans and others. While deploring the treatment inflicted on those held as hostages — a practice which cannot today be followed or contemplated — and condemning the massacre of innocent people, my Government is nevertheless of the view that such acts cannot be divorced from the general Congolese context; for it cannot be over looked that the use of mercenaries, whose methods have brought them such sorry fame—they have even been referred to, in journalistic terms, as "monsters”— is at the bottom of a great many of these events which shock the conscience and the moral sense of the world. All these acts of interference, whose origins are so diverse but which have in common the characteristic of being alien to the Congo, and which have been condemned so often by both the United Nations and the Organization of African Unity, have brought about a situation of such complexity and gravity that the Security Council has been obliged, once again, to turn its attention to this tragedy.
28. The Tunisian Government, true to its tradition of plain dealing, will join in any concerted action, at either the African or the international level, which is aimed at putting an end without delay to ail foreign intervention, in whatever form, and at devising any measure calculated to heal the situation, to restore peace and to introduce stability in that part of Africa.
29. The fact that the recent events occurred at a time when the whole of Africa, concerned at the situation in the Congo, was striving to find a solution and to restore order and security makes them all the more regrettable.
30. At the request of the Government of the Congo, the ad hoc Commission of the Organization of African Unity, of which my country has the honour to be a member, was seized of the problem and deliberated with a view to finding the most effective ways and means of preventing any explosion and, perhaps, of remedying the situation. My delegation, which reaffirms here its full support for the recommendations of the Organization of African Unity, believes that the solution to the Congolese problem must be found in an African setting; this is natural, since a regional solution must be sought before the problem is taken up in a broader setting. However, the Organization of African Unity and its organs could not seriously hope to work positvely towards that goal unless foreign interference in the Congo ceases and unless, moreover, the Powers concerned give them their complete co-operation, without reservation and, most of all, without ulterior motives.
31. My delegation therefore appeals to all States, African and other, to refrain from any activities which might hinder the efforts of the Organization of African Unity to find a peaceful solution.
32. The restoration of peace and stability in the Congo continues to be Africa's primary objective. It will be achieved sooner and more effectively if all nations give their full support to the efforts of the Organization of African Unity towards that goal, in the sense not only of support for the decisions taken, but also of another kind of support in the form of any advice which those nations feel able to give and in promoting the implementation of the decisions.
33. Reverting to the United Nations more generally, I shall recall that the nineteenth session of the General Assembly opened amid pessimistic speculations. It is comforting to such obdurate optimists as we Tunisians are to see — or to glimpse — that the danger menacing the future development of the Organization now seems to have been partially dissipated, thanks to the cooperation shown by all Member States and their desire to avoid plunging the Organization into a crisis which could only end in the disintegration of the United Nations and in world chaos.
34. The United Nations remains more than ever the hope of the new nations and their last resort for the protection of their national integrity and political independence. Obviously, therefore, Tunisia is anxious to see a solution of the present crisis.
35. If, however, the Organization is to be able to discharge its obligations with respect to the maintenance of peace and security, it must be in a position to exercise its responsibilities under the best possible circumstances. To ensure this, the authority and prestige of the United Nations must at no time be impaired by financial or constitutional difficulties. We earnestly hope therefore that the difficulties encountered by the General Assembly at the beginning of this session, which have unfortunately not been completely removed, may be swiftly overcome, and that our deliberations may resume in the calm atmosphere essential to the productive progress of our work. We are sure that the goodwill of the parties concerned and the sincere co-operation of all Member States will in the end lead us to a final solution of the Organization's present financial difficulties and to a strengthening of the authority of the United Nations in future peace-keeping operations; for although we are optimists, we are also realists, and we can well imagine that there will unfortunately always be reason to fear disturbances, and even war.
36. In the world of today, an international organization for the maintenance of peace and stability is a prime necessity to all States. It is time that the United Nations, if necessary, through a constitutional reform, became an effective collective instrument for the strengthening of world peace and security, in accordance with the objectives stated in the Charter.
37. While reaffirming our adherence to the principle of our collective responsibility in this respect, I should like to stress the importance of recommending those measures which must be taken to obviate the drawback of haste and improvisation in peace-keeping operations and in the decisions that will set in motion the machinery of such operations, and of finding a solution which will enable the United Nations to undertake such operations with maximum effectiveness, speed and vigour. The provisions of the Charter are our constitution, but it must nevertheless be borne in mind that any rigid and uncompromising application of a given provision, which might have the effect of paralysing the Organization, or of hindering its work — even if only temporarily — would be highly prejudicial to the cause of peace, and perhaps to the very existence of the United Nations. The establishment of a satisfactory and effective peace-keeping formula is most important, especially as it may be the prelude to general and complete disarmament.
38. The notable advances achieved by modern science and technology are such that the destiny of mankind is at the mercy of physical forces of a scale never before known in history which can only be described as terrifying when one considers that they may even outstrip the will of man. To harmonize and control these forces in the interest of peace and of better living conditions for mankind as a whole is the prime objective of the United Nations. Disarmament is certainly the most immediate and most urgent aspect of this task. The steps taken since the conclusion of the Moscow Treaty, although not decisive, nevertheless show a common desire on the part of the great Powers to continue to seek further progress towards the relaxation of tension. They allow us to hope that they will be followed by other equally important, or even more important, steps towards disarmament.
39. If we are to reduce international tension, to increase trust between States and to eliminate the danger of war, we must move towards a total prohibition of nuclear weapons and towards general and complete disarmament. It is true that the experience of the League of Nations offers no support for this statement, but we may still hope that reason will prevail among men. The mass accession of States to the Moscow Treaty would certainly appear to be a positive step in that direction. Any further progress which can be made in that respect will certainly help to clear the international atmosphere and will unquestionably reduce cold-war risks.
40. The great Powers have as great a responsibility in the liquidation of colonialism as they have with respect to disarmament.
41. The right of peoples to self-determination is one of the pillars of the United Nations Charter. Unfortunately, its application is still somewhat restricted. Millions of human beings throughout the world, in every clime, are still suffering under colonial domination and exploitation.
42. My country, which has always supported peoples fighting for their liberation, will likewise always condemn intolerance and oppression whatever their form and whatever the reasons invoked to justify them.
43. The survival of colonialism in our time is an anachronism and, most of all, a challenge to the principles of the United Nations and a blow to its prestige. It is a matter of constant concern to those who have dedicated themselves to building a healthy and prosperous community of nations.
44. This hall still echoes to the General Assembly resolutions proclaiming the right of oppressed peoples to recover their dignity and freedom forthwith and the necessity of bringing colonialism in all its manifestations to an end. Moving appeals have been addressed to the colonial Powers from this rostrum and many approaches have been made to them with praiseworthy persistence, but mankind has still not been liberated from this evil,
45. In 1960, the General Assembly, in its historic Declaration on the granting of independence to colonial countries and peoples, solemnly proclaimed "the necessity of bringing to a speedy and unconditional end colonialism in all its forms and manifestations"; and declared that: "Immediate steps shall be taken, in Trust and Non-Self-Governing Territories or all other territories which have not yet attained independence, to transfer all powers to the peoples of those territories, without any conditions or reservations, in accordance with their freely expressed will and desire, without any distinction as to race, creed or colour, in order to enable them to enjoy complete independence and freedom." [Resolution 1514 (XV).]
46. A Special Committee, of which my country has the honour to be a member, has been made responsible for implementing the Declaration. Three years have elapsed since the Committee was established and, although it has not as yet been able to achieve the objectives assigned to it by the General Assembly, that is certainly not due to a lack of conscientiousness or of a sense of responsibility, or to a lack of enthusiasm for the task. The forces of inertia and obstruction have been such that, unfortunately, colonialism is today still rampant in vast areas of Africa and elsewhere and the principles of the Charter and the ideas of freedom and dignity still, to our great shame, remain for millions of human beings, distant ideals which are difficult to attain.
47. This deplorable situation has been a subject of constant concern to all the African peoples. Special attention was devoted to it by the African Heads of State and Government who met at the Cairo Assembly. It was also the subject of discussion at the Conference of Non-Aligned Countries. These African Heads of State and these Heads of State of non-aligned countries were all agreed on the danger inherent in the existence or continuance of such a state of affairs and on the threat which it constituted for the future of the subjugated countries and also, perhaps, for that of already liberated countries which suffer on account of their proximity to nations still not freed, even if only from the repercussions of events which occur there. These Heads of State recommended a number of measures designed to put an end to oppression in all its forms. My country subscribes, fully and without reservation, to the decisions taken at these two conferences. It also associates itself with any measures taken to eliminate the threat which colonialism represents to the political stability and economic development of Africa.
48. It rests with the colonial Powers alone to ensure that the transfer of power takes place by peaceful means through a process of evolution, without violence or resentment, and that every opportunity for fruitful co-operation and harmonious coexistence is safeguarded in the future.
49. United Nations resolutions on decolonization, both those of the General Assembly and those of the Security Council, must be implemented by the administering Powers in good faith and all States must co-operate fully in putting them into effect. Thus a source of permanent tension and threat to international peace and security can be eliminated and the authority of the United Nations may be preserved and strengthened. On this basis, all States can unite in helping to build a society conforming with the principles of the Charter and the aspirations of mankind.
50. Portugal keeps our African brothers under its domination and does not appear ready to acknowledge the right of the peoples of Angola, Mozambique, so- called Portuguese Guinea and the Cape Verde Islands freely to decide their own destiny. We ask Portugal not to remain blind to the demands of our age and to understand, before it is too late, that its own interests as well as those of peace would be better served by a wise and realistic policy, which would have as its objective the immediate satisfaction of the legitimate aspirations of the inhabitants of those territories. Portugal's present policy, which aims to perpetuate Portuguese rule in Africa by means of repression and persecution, it not only contrary to the United Nations Charter but also seriously compromises any chance of a negotiated solution.
51. We look to the United Kingdom to do what it has already done for Malta, Malawi and Zambia, to mention only the countries most recently admitted to our Organization, that is, to bring the peoples of Southern Rhodesia, Aden, Oman, Bechuanaland, Basutoland and Swaziland to self-determination and independence on the principle of "one man one vote", which would be no great innovation since it is the very basis of democracy.
52. It is in the United Kingdom's own interest to live up to its responsibilities by pursuing a realistic policy in Southern Rhodesia and to discontinue its support of the misguided interests of a racist minority. The conditions which allowed the establishment in Southern Rhodesia of a Government that represents only a heterogeneous minority must be eliminated. We would hope that the independence of Southern. Rhodesia will be accompanied by the establishment of a Government which will truly represent all the people of that country. In this way, the United Kingdom can carry out, strictly but fully, its obligations towards that country and avoid, with the wisdom which we have come to expect from it, the unleashing of the forces of violence and confusion.
53. South West Africa, which is the subject of the annexationist designs of an unscrupulous administering Power, must be removed from South African domination and regain its freedom of self-determination and its independence.
54. Our Organization must act vigorously to accelerate the process of granting independence to peoples and must assume its responsibilities under the Charter in order to put an end to the colonial system, which represents not only a denial of fundamental human rights, but a threat to the cause of international peace and co-operation.
55. In the view of my delegation the survival of this intolerable and anachronistic system carries within it the seeds of destruction which would destroy any far-reaching action we might envisage or undertake and it jeopardizes any chance of fruitful co-operation. If the United Nations is to survive and to assert its authority, it can no longer tolerate the continuance of such a situation, which represents a challenge to its own authority and to the very principles of the Charter by which it lives.
56. Although they are so acute, the problems which I have just described and which the Assembly must take up at this session must in no way distract us from the human tragedy which continues to unfold, not on the borders of South Africa, but within South Africa itself. The question of apartheid has for many years been on the agenda of our Assembly; but the debate on the subject, which is now becoming a tradition, unfortunately in no way diminishes the present reality of the problem and cannot make us overlook its extreme urgency or the odious nature of apartheid.
57. To all the recommendations of the General Assembly and the Security Council, to all the resolutions of the regional organizations and to all the appeals by statesmen and world public opinion, the Pretoria Government continues to reply with a cynical and stubborn refusal. What is more, since the last session, the Pretoria authorities have steadily intensified their repressive measures against the black population and against all internal opposition to the implementation of the race laws.
58. The recent execution of three Africans whose only crime was to have rebelled against the unjust and inhuman racial segregation laws, shows once again that the blindness of the South African Government is total and appears, unfortunately, to be without remedy.
59. Faced with such a situation, we no longer think that it is permissible to live on hope and to continue to believe in the virtue of patience and in counsels of moderation. We are convinced that the only way remaining open to us is no longer that of intervention and diplomatic "demarches, but that already recommended by the African Heads of State and Government, as well as by the Heads of State and Government of Non-Aligned Countries, and confirmed by the experts and economists at the International Conference on Economic Sanctions against South Africa. it is regrettable that the objective findings and important recommendations of this Conference were not followed up, as the African countries and no doubt other countries wished, during the debate in the Security Council last June.
60. However, I should like to pay tribute to the important work done by the Special Committee which recommended in its conclusions the application of economic sanctions against South Africa.
61. Now, when our Organization needs more than ever before to recover the prestige and authority necessary to maintain peace and security, it is high time for it to undertake to rid the world qf this cancer of racism and to apply without delay effective economic sanctions. We do not consider these to be the final cure for this evil. However, since advice is of no avail, it will certainly give pause to a Government, which prefers to turn a deaf ear to the voice of reason.
62. There is another tragedy in which colonialism appears no better than racism and for which, unfortunately, no immediate peaceful solution can be foreseen: the Arab people of Palestine, who are the victims of injustice and aggression and have been expelled from their land, remain scattered in poverty in the neighbouring countries. The Zionist invader has made of these people wandering refugees who live on the relief and charity provided by the United Nations and on the hospitality of the neighbouring countries.
63. The daily drama of more than a million Palestinian refugees is a painful chapter in the history of mankind; it also represents a present and permanent threat to the peace and stability of the entire region. Such a situation, which is as abnormal as it is inhuman, cannot be prolonged indefinitely. The Arab people of Palestine have no intention of renouncing their rights to the land of their fathers nor of continuing to pay for the crimes of others. They are at the end of their patience and if they were to lose their hope in the United Nations, no other alternative would be left to them but to resort to the use of force in order to recover their rights.
64. We believe that everything possible must be done, while there is still time, to avoid plunging Palestine, that Holy Land consecrated to tolerance and to the brotherhood of mankind, into misfortune, bloodshed and disorder.
65. In the economic field,, the work of the United Nations during 1964 has been mainly dominated by the meeting in Geneva of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development. This Conference, held within the framework of the United Nations Development Decade, proved to be of historic importance not only by virtue of the number of States represented at it and the complexity of the problems it considered, but particularly because it in fact defined a new order, better adapted to the development needs of the world of today.
66. International trade is still largely governed by principles laid down by the major trading Powers at the Havana Conference following the Second World War. Those principles took little account of the interests of the countries dominated by colonialism or living in its orbit and the colonialists were not much concerned with the social and economic development of those areas.
67. All the African and Asian countries which have achieved independence over the last few years have immediately found themselves at grips with the countless problems of development. The present trends of international trade are particularly unfavourable to them and, if not soon altered, may impede the economic and social development of those countries. In the interests of all nations, suitable solutions must obviously be found, through international co-operation, to the problems of world trade and, particularly, to the urgent trade and growth problems of the underdeveloped or developing countries, as they are euphemistically called.
68. The United Nations, the specialized agencies and certain better-equipped countries have admittedly made praiseworthy efforts to assist the developing countries. However, the magnitude of the task, the immensity of the areas to be developed, the total population involved, whose growth only makes the burden daily more real, representing as it does more than two thirds of mankind requiring improvement of their standard of living, all call for an urgent reexamination of the economic situation throughout the world, practical solutions based on a better distribution of wealth and more effective combined international action.
69. That was why the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development was convened at Geneva; Although the resolutions adopted at the conclusion of that Conference do not offer any immediate solutions to these problems, they do at least indicate the direction in which changes must be made.
70. My delegation hopes that the Assembly will give its full attention to the recommendations contained in the Final Act of the Conference and, in particular, that it will adopt the provisions regarding the constitution of the new Trade and Development Board, which should begin work as soon as possible in view of the immensity of the task awaiting it and the urgency of the measures to be taken if the hopes of developing countries are not to be frustrated.
71. I cannot conclude this part of my statement devoted to economic problems — a field which cannot readily be reviewed in a systematic manner, without expressing my Government's great satisfaction at the decision regarding the merger of the Special Fund and the Expanded Programme of Technical Assistance. My delegation believes that the combined action of these two important United Nations agencies will contribute appreciably to the efforts of the developing countries. My delegation pays special tribute to the work done by both programmes and expresses the hope that all States will continue to co-operate increasingly with them in view of the great needs which still have to be met.
72. Lastly, my delegation wishes to pay a well- deserved tribute to the Economic Commission for Africa. We only have to take a look at the list of its accomplishments during its first five years to realize how much progress has been made in the fields of research, study and training — the training of cadres, the shortage of which constitutes one of the most serious problems afflicting the developing countries. The establishment of a number of agencies such as the African Institute for Economic Development and Planning and the African Development Bank, and the many useful statistical and economic studies made by ECA bear witness to its efforts in the field of regional integration and harmonization of the economic and social development plans of the African countries, particularly in the industrial sector. Within the framework of the activities undertaken since the beginning of this year by the sub-regional office at Tangier, the representatives of Tunisia, Algeria, Morocco and Libya have asked ECA to carry out a series of studies, analyses and research projects in order to pinpoint the sectors in which a harmonious development policy may be followed and to ascertain the best methods of achieving this.
73. I should not fail to emphasize here the scope of this initiative taken by our Governments and the hopes placed by our brothers in Algeria, Libya, Morocco and Tunisia in a harmonized economic development of the countries of the Arab Maghreb. The Protocol signed at Tangier on 26 November 1964 has been rightly said to form the nucleus of the Maghreb Community. A permanent Advisory Committee had already been set up on 1 October last at Tunis to serve as a permanent liaison body and as a centre to provide the impetus and research for preparing future programmes in co-operation with ECA. The Tangier Protocol of 26 November delineates the fields in which the four countries will combine their efforts. These fields are very extensive indeed: co-ordination of development plans and of energy, trade and manpower policies, co-ordination of industrialization efforts, of transport and of telecommunications, cooperation in the field of tourism, financing of the expansion of tourism and of development in general. This is a very ambitious programme, but even modest achievements require great ambition.
74. This effort affecting all fields of economic activity falls quite naturally within the framework of international economic co-operation so that it must of necessity arouse the interest and encouragement of the United Nations. We are counting particularly on the assistance of the Special Fund in setting up a Centre of Industrial Studies, the need for which is being increasingly felt. We are of course counting on the co-operation of ECA, which is already taking part with us in an exciting experiment — one that we are resolved shall succeed in order to build a peaceful and prosperous Maghreb.
75. Tunisia voices the fervent hope that the twentieth anniversary of the United Nations will mark the end of colonialism and of all forms of oppression. Twenty years represent a milestone and we hope that this twentieth anniversary will herald the dawn of a new era for mankind, emancipated at last, and will see the freeing of all peoples from the yoke of colonialism and the indignities of racism.
76. We shall thus be able to embark upon an era of honest and fruitful international co-operation and devote ourselves freely to the next step: the elimination of misery, poverty, hunger and ignorance and the economic and social advancement of the formerly enslaved or subjugated peoples. Any steps taken which do not take into account the mission we have assigned ourselves will prove sterile and will provide no real answer to the world's quest for peace.