1. It gives me great pleasure to convey to the General Assembly my country's expression of esteem and respect and to extend to you, Mr. President, my heartiest congratulations upon your unanimous election as our President. Your election has come as a tribute to your brilliant qualities as an experienced diplomat and to your country, one with which we entertain the most cordial and brotherly relations. We, as fellow Africans, take pride in your election. We rejoice to see for the second time an African receiving the honour of the presidency of this Assembly. This is a high recognition and does much credit to the many Members who are relatively new amongst us. I am quite confident, Mr. President, that through your wise guidance the work of the nineteenth session will be conducted in that spirit of understanding, tolerance and co-operation which will help to further the success of our Assembly.
2. I avail myself of this opportunity to convey through you, Mr. President, my delegation's greetings and gratitude to your distinguished predecessor, Mr. Carlos Sosa Rodriguez, for the brilliant and efficient way he presided over our deliberations.
3. Three newly independent countries have joined us in this session, and my delegation is particularly happy to welcome these States: Malawi, Malta and Zambia. They, we feel assured, will undoubtedly contribute to world peace and will stand firmly by the principles of the United Nations Charter. With each of these States, Libya entertains friendly and close relations and will spare no effort to co-operate with them to this end.
4. Since the foundation of our great Organization, the world has been through crises that have seriously threatened the future of mankind, but fortunately many of them found their solution through this great body. This has opened a new page in the history of mankind bringing about new international attitudes and transforming our reaction to political events. Men's fear of a third destructive war has created in all nations — irrespective of their size and strength — a tremendous desire for peace, for understanding and collaboration, and a firm belief in the importance of the implementation of the principles of the Charter.
5. We give credit to the United Nations for its great efforts and achievements in changing preparations for war into peace and disarmament conferences, and for transforming policies of colonialism and exploitation into movements of liberation and co-operation.
6. The undignified policy of classifying human beings into grades, making one race more eligible than another, is collapsing because the principle of equality among men, regardless of race, creed and colour, has enormous moral strength. As a result of this new approach, the ghost of colonialism is disappearing from most parts of the world. More than fifty States have emerged and become Members of our Organization since its founding, and they are now participating in shaping our new world.
7. The principles of the Charter which are expressed in many resolutions adopted by the General Assembly in political, economic and social fields reflect the desire of mankind to regard the United Nations as the effective force for the preservation of peace and security in the world and as a means for the promotion of collaboration among men. In spite of the defiant attitude of some Member States which decline to cooperate with the United Nations and refuse to implement its resolutions, the record of our Organization shows positive and constructive accomplishments.
8. The financial crisis threatening to paralyse the United Nations is a matter of concern to all of us. Our world cannot live in peace and stability without the United Nations. We sincerely hope that a wise and lasting solution will be speedily found for this crisis, so that the existence of our Organization may not be jeopardized by clashes and rivalries between the big Powers.
9. I should like here to express the appreciation of my delegation for the efforts exerted by the Secretary- General and all those co-operating with him in finding an acceptable solution to this problem.
10. It is heartening to Libya to realize that next year we shall be commemorating the twentieth anniversary of the establishment of the United Nations. In welcoming this event, we trust that 1965 will see the fulfilment of the aspirations of all those who do not yet enjoy basic rights and fundamental liberties.
11. The last session of the General Assembly witnessed a turning-point in our quest for peace when more than 100 States Members of the United Nations agreed to the treaty banning nuclear weapons tests in the atmosphere, outer space and under water. This encouraging achievement prompted the General Assembly at its last session to request [resolution 1908 (XVIII)] the Eighteen-Nation Committee on Disarmament to resume its negotiations with urgency and determination on general and complete disarmament under effective international control. Although the Eighteen-Nation Committee met in Geneva for about six months, it did not register any substantial progress, and this despite the efforts made by the neutral countries there represented to reconcile the viewpoints of the great Powers.
12. While we are aware of the difficulties facing all negotiators in reaching agreement on this important subject, we strongly believe that the gradual elimination of nuclear weapons is a vital prerequisite to general and complete disarmament. It is now, more than ever before, essential to conclude an agreement that will lead to the banning of all nuclear tests, the prevention of dissemination of nuclear weapons and the stopping of the armaments race.
13. When the conference of non-aligned nations convened at Cairo, it expressed the conviction that the holding of a world disarmament conference under the auspices of the United Nations — to which all countries should be invited — would provide powerful support to the efforts being made to set in motion the process of disarmament. Furthermore, the African summit conference, also held at Cairo last July, declared the readiness of the African States to adhere to an international treaty, to be concluded under the auspices of the United Nations, to prevent the manufacture or acquisition of control of nuclear weapons.
14. The Libyan delegation, aware that any delay in concluding such agreements will increase the present difficulties because of the growing number of States possessing nuclear weapons, requests the General Assembly to approve the African summit conference declarations and convene an international conference with a view to concluding an international treaty to this effect. It is important, in our view, that such a conference should include all countries possessing nuclear weapons. My delegation affirms its conviction that atomic power, if used for peaceful purposes, will contribute greatly to the happiness and welfare of mankind.
15. At a time when the energies of the United Nations are directed to the liberation of countries from colonialism, and we see them gradually attain their independence and come in our midst, we regret to note that there are people still fighting for their basic rights. Among these we witness the Arab people of Palestine, who after being subjected to injustice, aggression and eviction from their sacred land, were forced into exile and miserably dispersed.
16. The question of Palestine and the tragedy of its people is amply recorded in the documents of this Organization. We come again now to discuss it for the seventeenth time. During this lapse of time, many nations have gained their independence, but the displaced Palestinians are still reiterating their rightful demands and asking the United Nations to alleviate the injustices they have suffered.
17. The plight of the Arab people of Palestine, which constitutes a painful and embarrassing chapter in the history of mankind, should not remain unrelieved any longer. As unfailing efforts are being made by this Organization to restore subjugated peoples to their national dignity, we must not forget that we are morally bound to help effect the return of the Palestinians to their homeland. By freeing them from their moral and material miseries we will cancel from modern history a shameful page that weighs heavily on the human conscience. If we do not hasten to find a just solution to this problem, tension and instability will always prevail in that area, causing a dangerous threat to peace and security.
18. We are not discussing at this session the case of refugees alone, but the fate of an entire population brutally expelled from their homeland by a new kind of colonialism emerging in the twentieth century. This is Zionist imperialism, represented by foreign adventurers gathered from many parts of the world in Palestine, under the pretext of a divine faith which carries no responsibility for their atrocious crimes. They have eradicated the legitimate inhabitants of Palestine, robbed them of their properties and belongings, and dispersed them from their lands.
19. It is not necessary for me to review to this Assembly the details of this tragedy, but I would like to stress the fact that 1,200,000 human beings living in the worst possible conditions on international charity are calling upon us for help and justice. The Report of the Commissioner General of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees submitted to the General Assembly states the following: "... it is clear that a large part of the refugee community is still living today in dire poverty, often under pathetic and in some cases appalling conditions. Despite the sustained efforts of UNRWA and of the host Governments and other collaborating agencies, there are families who still live in dwellings which are unfit for human habitation: some in dank cellars, others in crumbling tenements, others in grossly overcrowded barracks and shacks" [A/ 5813, para. 9], This paragraph shows one aspect of the misery of this people, it reveals the material sufferings they are enduring, but their moral anguish in looking helplessly at their lands, homes and properties occupied by intruders is left to us all to imagine.
20. We do not believe that there has ever existed a tragedy suffered by any nation greater or more terrible than that of the Arab people of Palestine. And they hold our Organization responsible for their condition.
21. We cannot ignore the fact that 200,000 children were born in refugee camps, and that they will be brought up in deprivation and misery. Whatever the United Nations relief agency provides for them it will not be able—as long as they remain banned from their homeland — to relieve their bitterness, hatred and animosity towards those who have caused them so much pain and suffering. How can we ask this new generation to believe and eventually stand by the principles of the Charter when the United Nations has, until now, failed to restore to them their legal rights?
22. The Palestine Liberation Organize n, formed this year, embodies the expression and determination of the Palestinians to defend their rights. This organization is the rightful spokesman on their behalf, and its formation refutes the charges of international Zionism that the Palestine problem does not exist; to the contrary, it exists, and Palestinians are determined to realize their national aspirations.
23. An important development has taken place this year as a result of the resolution passed by the conference of non-aligned States concerning Palestine. The resolution reads: "The Conference condemns the imperialistic policy pursued in the Middle East and, in conformity with the Charter of the United Nations, decides to: "1. Endorse the full restoration of all the rights of the Arab people of Palestine to their homeland, and their inalienable right to self-determination. "2. Declare their full support to the Arab people of Palestine in their struggle for liberation from colonialism and racism" [A/5763, section I].
24. This unequivocal support given by a group of nations amounting to about half the number of our Organization is of particular importance, especially since it reveals that their number is higher than that of the countries in 1948 which endorsed the unjust resolution condemning the Palestinians. From this we deduce the fact that had the United Nations of 1948 had the representation existing today, no such resolution would have been passed because no nation enjoying a hardly won freedom would have consented to the infliction of such a judgement on an entire people.
25. It is the sincere hope of my delegation that this Assembly will find inspiration from the resolution adopted by the non-aligned nations and stand up to the expectations of the dispersed Palestinians by restoring to them their rights to their homeland and granting them self-determination.
26. My country strongly believes that freedom is fundamentally a vested right belonging to all mankind, irrespective of colour and faith. Any negation of this right is a breach of the principles guaranteed by the United Nations Charter. Yet it is regrettable to witness a Member State, which likes to be identified as one of the co-founders of our Organization, persistently and with impunity violating this sacred principle.
27. It is most unfortunate that, by practising the abhorrent policies of apartheid and racial discrimination, the South African Government has repeatedly refused to implement the resolutions of the General Assembly and the Security Council by pursuing measures of suppression against the majority of the population. In fact, African nationalists opposed to its policy of apartheid are arrested, given a fake trial and eventually condemned to the death penalty. When the plight of these innocent people aroused the concern of world opinion, the Government of South Africa did not respond to the pathetic appeals addressed by the Secretary-General of the United Nations and by world leaders to save their lives. The execution of these nationalists was ruthlessly carried out.
28. My delegation feels that unless more effective and positive measures are taken against that Government, to force it to desist from its insensate policies, more crimes will be perpetrated and a more explosive situation in South Africa will occur, thus endangering peace and security in the continent of Africa. We firmly believe that the recommendations of the group of experts set up by the Security Council resolution of 4 December 1963 and the recommendations [see A/5692 and A/5707] of the Special Committee on the Policies of Apartheid of the Government of the Republic of South Africa, will facilitate the task of the General Assembly in finding a just solution to this problem.
29. The situation in Southern Rhodesia is a source of anxiety in Africa, and elsewhere, as a result of the attempt by the government of the European settlers to declare the independence of the territory unilaterally. It is most regrettable that the rulers in Salisbury still believe themselves able to perpetuate their supremacy over the African majority for the obvious purpose of exploiting them for their own selfish economic interests. By doing so, they are offering a flagrant challenge to the United Nations, which by its various resolutions has always reaffirmed the principle of rule by the majority.
30. The Libyan delegation would like to put on record its satisfaction and appreciation for the statements issued lately by the British and other Governments concerned condemning the Government of Southern Rhodesia for its threat to declare independence unilaterally. My delegation, in appealing to the United Nations to adopt a firm stand against the rulers in Salisbury, in order to avert a unilateral declaration of independence, hopes that a constitutional conference, to be attended by all parties in Southern Rhodesia, will be convened to draft a constitution based on the principle or one man-one vote.
31. While oi*r Organization has repeatedly reaffirmed in its numerous resolutions that the subjugation of peoples to foreign rule and exploitation is contrary to the Universal Declaration on Human Rights and the United Nations Charter, and constitutes an obstacle to peace and stability in the world, it is most regrettable to note that some colonial Powers still openly defy such resolutions. They are determined to keep peoples in Africa, Asia and elsewhere under their domination and are ready to use all means of repression to suffocate any liberation movement in their colonies.
32. The banner-bearer of these colonial Powers is Portugal, which is waging a war of extermination in Angola, Mozambique and so-called Portuguese Guinea. Libya hails the heroic struggle of the liberation movements in those territories, and supports them. It is most unfortunate that Portugal does not want to desist from its colonial policy and remains completely deaf to the voice of reason and justice. This is in defiance of the resolutions of the General Assembly and the Security Council.
33. The situation in the territories under Portuguese administration is deteriorating, and we feel that it has become imperative that more effective and drastic measures to be taken by our Organization to force Portugal to implement General Assembly resolution 1514 (XV) so that, in freedom, Angola, Mozambique and the other regions may be able to join us soon as Member Staten.
34. Turning now to the question of Southwest Africa, a mandated territory, one is led to wonder how long its unfortunate population will remain isolated from the rest of the world. My delegation feels that South Africa has persistently violated the trust of a mandatory Power having the duty and responsibility of leading the inhabitants of the mandated territory towards self-determination and independence. Therefore, Libya earnestly hopes that the people of South West Africa will soon be liberated from the yoke of colonialism and be aided by the United Nations in the attainment of their national aspirations.
35. The problem of Aden is causing great anxiety and concern and requires an urgent solution which would bring about the fulfilment of the wishes of the inhabitants of that region for self-determination and independence. While Libya strongly supports the right of the people of Aden to freedom and independence, it is hopeful that the United Nations will take positive steps that will guarantee the realization of their national aspirations.
36. In regard to the question of Oman, which has been on the agenda of the General Assembly or the Security Council since 1957, we regret that no progress has been achieved towards an equitable solution of the problem. On the other hand, the Omani people are looking to the United Nations for justice to enable them to exercise their right of self-determination. It is the greatest hope of my delegation that this nineteenth session will give this matter serious consideration in order to fulfil the hopes and expectations of the Omani people.
37. Libya is following with great anxiety the regrettable events which are taking place in Cyprus, where Cypriots have clashed with one another. My delegation whole-heartedly hopes that the animosity between Cypriot brothers will soon cease and that a peaceful solution will be found through the good offices of the United Nations, enabling the inhabitants of the island to return to a life of peace and harmony and to work for the progress and prosperity of their country.
38. The Libyan delegation would like to express its great appreciation and deep gratitude to the United Nations for the just resolution adopted by the General Assembly at its last session concerning the increase in the number of seats in the Security Council and the Economic and Social Council [resolutions 1991 A and B (XVIII)]. The aim of this resolution is an equitable redistribution of the seats in the two bodies which will enable the continents of Africa and Asia to play their important role in the affairs of the world.
39. It is, however, regrettable that many States have not yet ratified this amendment to the Charter. The Libyan delegation hopes, therefore, that those Member States which have not yet ratified it will hasten to do so. In this connexion, we appeal to the great Powers, the permanent members of the Security Council, to take the lead in ratifying it at the earliest possible date.
40. The stability of international peace calls for a new basis for trade and economic relations between the various countries of the world. Its aim should be to diminish and eliminate the widening gap in the standards of living and income in both the developing and the industrially advanced countries. Such a view took shape in Geneva during the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, and was considered an important historic turning-point in the sphere of international co-operation. The conference gained the full support of the developing countries ‘n regional and international fields. The resolutions and recommendations adopted made it clear that the economic objectives of the United Nations Charter should be realized by a new programme for international economic co-operation. This programme should aim at the acceleration of economic development and the maintenance of the principle of equality in the enjoyment of the benefits of such co-operation.
41. The results achieved by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development were not up to the expectations of the developing countries, although they considered those results a step forward in instituting a basis for new economic relations between the peoples of the world. They will contribute in this way to solving the problems of trade and development in a more effective and rapid manner.
42. Concluding, I have the pleasure to express to the representatives of the Member States the best wishes of my august Sovereign and of the people and Government of Libya that your deliberations be crowned with the fullest success. I earnestly hope that this session will be marked by a greater effort towards the realization of understanding and co-operation among all nations. This goal will undoubtedly help in overcoming all the difficulties that might confront us. It will also be a determining factor in finding just solutions to the problems which will be tackled by the Assembly and enable us to strengthen our Organization in its endeavours to build a better world for mankind, where peace, collaboration, happiness and prosperity will always prevail.