119. Mr. President, I should like to take this opportunity to express to you the congratulations of the delegation of the United Republic of Tanzania on your unanimous election as President of the twenty-second session of the General Assembly. This is a fitting tribute to your wise statesmanship. It is also fitting since we share, during this month, the pride and joy of our socialist friends on the fiftieth anniversary of the great October Revolution. It is the hope of my delegation that with your wise leadership and tested experience the General Assembly at its current session will be able to consider seriously the grave problems on its agenda.
120. The General Assembly ended its twenty-first session on a note of cautious optimism. That it was able to do so was due in large measure to the wise guidance of His Excellency Ambassador Pazhwak of Afghanistan. I think that it would not really be farfetched to say that many delegations, particularly those from Africa, Asia and Latin America, shared this optimism. We had reasons for that attitude. In the course of its three months' session, the Assembly had made laudable progress in various fields of great importance to the welfare and security of mankind. By its resolution 2222 (XXI) of 19 December 1966, it unanimously commended the Treaty on Principles Governing the Activities of States in the Exploration and Use of Outer Space, including the Moon and Other Celestial Bodies to Member States for their signature and ratification, In the field of social, humanitarian and cultural affairs, the Assembly, by its resolution 2200 (XXI) of 16 December 1966, adopted and opened for signature, ratification and accession, the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. In the field of colonialism and racialism, the most important and perhaps the most far-reaching step taken was the decision to terminate the South African Mandate over South West Africa.
121. There were many more important and encouraging steps taken by the Assembly, such as the establishment of the United Nations Industrial Development Organization and the decision to convene the Second United Nations Conference on Trade and Development at New Delhi in 1968. All these actions were, and still are, a good testimony to one inescapable fact, namely, that given the necessary co-operation of all Member States, the United Nations can be effective in matters of security, human rights and the fight against colonialism, racialism and aggression. But effectiveness depends upon co-operation by Member States. If that is not forthcoming, then the United Nations cannot play its proper and necessary role in world affairs. And the sad truth is that all too often Member States treat the United Nations as if it were merely an adjunct to their own policies—something which it is useful to have on your side but which can otherwise be Ignored. Thus we have resolutions passed after long consideration and then ignored by affected Member States; we see clear cases of aggression and the United Nations being made powerless to arrest that aggression, because its Members refuse to abide by the principles on which it was established. It is actions of this kind which have caused the cautious optimism of last year to change slowly but steadily into an atmosphere of frustration and disappointment.
122. There have been two session of the Assembly since the last regular session. I do not want to give the impression that the Tanzanian delegation regarded the outcome of those two intervening sessions as completely fruitless. Nevertheless, Tanzania and, I believe, many other progressive countries found their outcome painfully retrogressive. For in the special and emergency special sessions the United Nations shied away from its responsibilities, both as regards the Middle East crisis and as regards the question of South West Africa. This happened because a number of Member States, including those that bear primary responsibility for the maintenance of international peace and security, employed their economic and political strength in order to nullify the effectiveness of the United Nations in the fight against aggression, colonialism and racialism.
123. The question of the Middle East has been inscribed on the agenda of the Assembly for discussion during its current session. The Assembly has agreed to treat this question as one of high priority and my delegation is pleased that the Assembly has accorded to the item the priority it deserves. The grave consequences arising out of the recent war in the Middle East must be a matter of serious concern to all peace-loving Members of this Organization. Indeed, that war is a clear example of how an explosive situation, left unresolved, and, aggravated by outside Powers, can inflict untold misery upon millions of innocent people.
124. Tanzania has made its position quite clear. We will never condone aggression. We have stated, and we state it again, that Tanzania will not recognize territorial aggrandizement arising out of wars of aggression. We recognize the State of Israel and we hope that it will so behave that we can live in peace with the people of Israel. Tanzania, like many other Member States of this Organization, is aware that the people of Israel belong to a group of people who have endured torture, agony and persecution from one century to another. For this reason, they have our sympathy. But we cannot accept the suggestion that these facts justify the developments in the situation in the Middle East since 1948. We believe that the unquestioning support given to Israel by some former persecutors of the Jews is a supreme example of the political cynicism which constitutes the gravest threat to all the ideals of this Organization.
125. Israel and all those who unquestioningly champion its policies towards its Arab neighbours must realize that the Arab people have a case — a very strong case indeed. The creation of Israel was, in the eyes of many peoples of the world, an act of injustice. All the subsequent acts and behaviour of the Arab people towards Israel must, if they are to be understood with sympathy, be viewed in relation to their attitude to the original decision to partition Palestine. But the United Nations condoned and accepted that original act of partition, if only to atone for the long history of Jewish suffering.
126. My delegation would like to make it quite clear that Tanzania cannot accept and recognize boundaries of Israel which are a result of continual conflicts subsequent to the establishment of Israel. The record speaks for itself. The boundaries of the State of Israel provided for in part II of the Plan of Partition with Economic Union recommended in resolution 181 (II) of 29 November 1947, were not the boundaries claimed by the State of Israel in 1956. The Armistice Agreements which were signed at the end of the 1948 Palestine war left Israel in control of a share of the former Mandated Territory larger than that recommended by the United Nations. Again, one of the claims advanced by Israel, particularly after the 1948 war, is that the Strait of Tiran is an international waterway. After the recent war, various statements reported to have been made by officials of the Government of Israel give the impression that Israel is moving slowly towards an illegal integration of all the Arab territories which it now occupies. In fact, the first step has already been taken. The Government of Israel has announced that it will settle Israeli settlers in Jordanian territories under its occupation. Tanzania views this with grave concern and condemns this annexation of Arab territories. Indeed, this step exposes Israel as a country pursuing an expansionist policy at the expense of its Arab neighbours.
127. Israel must, therefore, withdraw from all the Arab territories under its occupation. For, unless Israel is made to withdraw from these territories, a dangerous precedent will be set and other nations may well be encouraged to commit similar acts elsewhere. What is at stake here is not only thousands of square miles of Arab lands and the misery of millions of Arab people. All these things are at stake. But more and even graver issues are involved. The basic principle of the inviolability of the boundaries of sovereign States as recognized in international law and custom is one of them; the usefulness of the United Nations as an instrument capable of preventing aggression is another. The entire system of collective security through the United Nations is endangered. Indeed, the effective survival of the United Nations as an instrument for world peace has to be considered in relation to this question, much as the Italian aggression against Ethiopia involved the future of the League of Nations. It is the sincere desire of Tanzania that this Organization should not suffer the same fate as its predecessor.
128. As we turn our attention to the problems of decolonization and apartheid, we are saddened to note the continued frustration of the legitimate aspirations of many millions of people in so many territories in different parts of the world. As the Secretary-General was constrained to remark in the introduction to his annual report on the work of the Organization, a change of attitude on the part of the Powers administering such territories and the adoption of policies in keeping with the objectives of the Charter "would not only be in the interests of the dependent peoples concerned, but also of all Member States, including the administering Powers" [A/670l/Add.1, para. 135].
129. It is now almost seven years since this Assembly, in a moment of high idealism and lofty enthusiasm, expressed, in the Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples, the abhorrence felt by all men of decent conscience at the continuance in the present age of the denial of human rights and fundamental freedoms.
130. In the twilight zones outside of Europe and North America, since the end of the Second World War, more than a million victims have fallen in colonial wars. Indeed, a great part of this number have fallen in one African country alone. Today, while peace, progress and security reign in the serene areas of the northern world, the tree of liberty continues to be watered by the blood of martyrs in vast areas of the southern world. From Mozambique, Angola, Aden and other areas of colonial domination, the world's press continues to bring us sickening reports of tyranny, repression and not-so-subtle forms of genocide.
131. I should like now to make a few remarks on Rhodesia. On 11 November 1965 a group of racists in the British colony of Rhodesia declared that colony to be independent and themselves the Government. The British Government — the legal sovereign authority - termed the action of Ian Smith and his followers an act of treason against the British Crown, and stated that Her Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom would have nothing to do with the rebels in Rhodesia. With the stated objective of ending this rebellion, the British Government took various political, economic and diplomatic measures against Rhodesia. Africa has supported these measures, but has continually called for stronger action because events in that country are of direct concern to the security of African States and the freedom and dignity of African peoples. But both before and after the rebellion, Her Majesty's Government assured every one of us that it was a matter for the British Government to deal with. In January 1966 it even told us that its measures against Rhodesia would be successful within a matter of weeks.
132. It is now nearly two years since the illegal declaration of independence. Ian Smith and his rebel followers are still in power. And to make matters worse, Ian Smith has consolidated his power; he has strengthened the oppressive measures directed against the African people of that colony, has legislated for more apartheid, and has now begun to threaten the neighbouring independent country of Zambia.
133. What went wrong with these British forecasts? The answer is not far to seek. For the simple truth about the whole Rhodesian problem is that the four million African people in that colony have been deceived; Africa has been deceived; the Commonwealth has been deceived; and the United Nations and the world as a whole have been fooled.
134. It is not Ian Smith who has done all this cheating and fooling. He made his position crystal-clear long before 11 November 1965. It is the British Government which has been guilty of this deceit before the world and before this Organization. It has been consistent in only one thing, that is, the dishonesty and trickery with which it has treated the whole Rhodesian question. Britain called Smith a rebel, but Britain has treated Smith like a member of Her Majesty's loyal opposition in a British parliament. Britain said it would not deal with a treasonable régime; but Her Majesty's Government has proceeded to negotiate with the rebels in Rhodesia. Britain says it is in favour of majority rule in Rhodesia; but no evidence is provided to support this statement. Indeed, one of the most cynical statements yet made is that given by the British Prime Minister on 20 December 1966. Mr. Wilson stated that because Smith had rejected the "Tiger" constitution, which was designed to give independence to Rhodesia on the basis of minority rule, then paragraph 10 of the Commonwealth Prime Ministers' communique on Rhodesia would apply; in other words, all past offers of settlement had been withdrawn and no legal independence would be given to Rhodesia before majority rule. Yet, a few months ago [June, 1967] the British Prime Minister sent Lord Alport to see Ian Smith to find out what amendments to this "Tiger” constitution were necessary before the rebel régime could accept it. Mr. Wilson and Ian Smith are now engaged in secret negotiations on this matter.
135. Tanzania has always been deeply concerned about the British position on this issue. In 1964, and again in 1965 — before the unilateral declaration of independence — Tanzania had asked the British Government to declare that independence would not be granted to Rhodesia before majority rule. The British Government refused to do so. After the unilateral declaration of independence, Tanzania insisted, and still insists, that real and effective action, including the use of force, should be used against Rhodesia; we demanded that the concerted power of the whole of the Commonwealth should be invoked and that the United Nations should be asked to impose total mandatory sanctions against Rhodesia under Chapter VII of the Charter. We warned that unless all these measures were taken, Smith would succeed in his rebellion. The British Government has declared at different times that the sanctions it had imposed on Rhodesia at that moment were enough. Now it is clear that Tanzania was right and the British Government was wrong. We find no satisfaction in that position. But what is more disturbing now is the fact that the British Government has proceeded, and is now proceeding, slowly but surely to a legalization of what it originally called treason.
136. Britain has failed to end the rebellion. The course to be followed in Rhodesia is therefore clear. The limited mandatory sanctions which Britain asked the Security Council to impose on Rhodesia have failed. The United Nations should, therefore, be given complete co-operation in handling the crisis by imposing total mandatory sanctions against Rhodesia. The failure of the sanctions against Southern Rhodesia does not need a detailed analysis. All the evidence and data at our disposal as well as the evidence collected by the Committee of Twenty-Four shows clearly that sanctions have failed basically because certain countries have deliberately subverted them by continuing their lucrative trade with Rhodesia.
137. This Organization, therefore, has a great moral responsibility with regard to the defeat of the illegal régime. Total mandatory sanctions against Rhodesia must be applied, and these sanctions must be applied by all States.
138. This Assembly must specifically call upon South Africa and Portugal to comply with such sanctions without delay, failing which the Security Council should be requested to declare their involvement with Rhodesia to be a threat to world peace, requiring action against those States in accordance with Chapter VII of the Charter. South Africa and Portugal, together with their racist allies in Rhodesia, must be made to respect the decisions of this international Organization. For it must be realized that Portugal and South Africa have allied themselves with Rhodesia to fight together against the basic human rights of millions in the Portuguese colonies of Mozambique and Angola and in Zimbabwe, South West Africa, and South Africa itself.
139. It is a matter of great regret to the Tanzanian delegation that up to this time Portugal still has not recognized the rights of the African peoples under its domination to self-determination, freedom and independence. Peace cannot come to these areas until the African peoples are accorded human dignity and a chance to develop their countries in accordance with the wishes of the majority. This unholy alliance of white racists must be defeated. The United Nations cannot fail to be involved and the sooner it recognizes its active responsibilities, the sooner and the less violently will the problems be solved.
140. Let me now make a few remarks in respect of the particular question of South West Africa. As will be remembered, and as we have earlier observed, this Organization has revoked the Mandate over South West Africa and transferred to the United Nations authority over the Territory of South West Africa. However, to this day the régime in Pretoria has consistently refused to recognize the authority of this Organization and is continuing, with impunity, to carry out illegal activities against the people and Territory of South West Africa in contravention of all international norms of conduct and behaviour; for instance, the measures announced by South Africa with regard to Ovamboland, and the illegal arrest, which amounts to abduction, of thirty-seven African nationals of South West Africa. These are acts in contravention of the decision and authority of this Organization and have already been condemned by some organs of the United Nations.
141. It is our hope that the General Assembly will take at the present session the necessary measures to enforce the authority of the United Nations Council for South West Africa. With regard to the communication from the Foreign Minister of South Africa to the Secretary-General dated 26 September 1967 [A/6822], my Government was not really surprised either by its impertinent tone or by its negative character. Tanzania categorically rejects the contents and implications of this communication. The Tanzanian delegation will make its full views known when this subject comes up for discussion later in this session.
142. The situation in South-East Asia has worsened since the Assembly last met in regular session. The vicious and terrible war in Viet-Nam is slowly bringing us closer to another disastrous world war which will involve every one of our States. The international community cannot continue to ignore this question. Responsibility for the present danger, and for the present sufferings of the Viet-Namese people, lies squarely upon the shoulders of all those who are continuing their active intervention in the affairs of this South-East Asian nation. Tanzania believes that the only practical solution is that the people of Viet-Nam should be left alone to settle their own affairs. That means the withdrawal of all foreign troops and the termination of all foreign interference in the affairs of Viet-Nam. A first step should be the immediate and unconditional cessation of the bombing of North Viet- Nam. It is only then that it will be possible to settle the problem of Viet-Nam on the basis provided for in the 1954 Geneva Agreements.
143. Yet when in this Assembly one speaks of the situation in South-East Asia, the absence of the representatives of the People's Republic of China becomes even more ludicrously obvious than usual. Apart from being the most populous nation on earth, China is one of the most powerful. Whether one likes its political system or not, the facts cannot be altered. My delegation is aware that there are those who have been spending enormous sums of money in order to prevent the People's Republic of China from taking its place in this Assembly and in the councils of this Organization. But sooner or later this deplorable attempt must fail if the United Nations is to be in a position to tackle many of the real problems of world peace and progress.
144. Tanzania has called for, and will continue to demand, that the lawful rights of the People's Republic of China in this Organization be restored. This must be without any conditions. Taiwan cannot claim to represent the wishes of the 700 million people of China. The truth of this fact must be faced. The United Nations makes itself ridiculous by pretending that Taiwan is China. In the view of the Tanzanian delegation there is only one China and that is the People's Republic of China; and Taiwan is a part of it. The restoration of the lawful rights of the People's Republic of China in this Organization cannot be regarded as a privilege to be dangled before the eyes of that sovereign State and with intolerable conditions attached.
145. When we consider the problems of economic and social development, we are faced with the situation in which a small handful of States overflowing with wealth and strong in industrial power deploy their vast resources with scant regard for any considerations other than the maintenance and, if possible, expansion of their affluent condition. Is it any wonder that, lacking any more inspiring concepts of man's transcendental nature, many strata of futility and frustration widen and deepen in the fabric of their societies?
146. Although this Organization solemnly accepted in 1960 a programme of interdependence and co-operation, the underlying principles of this programme have not been implemented by more than a few Members of this Organization. The resultant halting progress — and in some cases even stagnation — in social development is all too often taken as a confirmation of the inadequacy of a State's social or political structure, when the fault lies equally in the selfish or anachronistic policies of other Members of the international community. No honest review of the world's economic situation provides my Government with any occasion for rejoicing. The uneven balance of trade between the developed countries of the North and the developing countries of the South continues to deteriorate. The notorious trade gap of $20,000 million grows wider and wider. Prices for industrial goods continue to rise, whilst prices for agricultural and primary products stand still or fall. This fact has been amply emphasized by the Secretary-General in referring to the failure of the United Nations Development Decade, The terms of trade show annually an adverse trend against the developing countries and this appears to constitute an unchanging pattern.
147. What is the answer to this phenomenon? No doubt there may be many answers, but two answers seem to be abundantly clear. The first one is that there must be a new psychological disposition and a more realistic political commitment on the part of the developed countries to improve their terms of trade with the developing countries. They must be committed to the proposition that it is morally wrong, and potentially dangerous, for developing countries to dwell in poverty due to their unfair terms of trade with the industrial countries; that it is always dangerous to have islands of poverty in the midst of a sea of plenty; that there must be preparedness, on the part of the richer countries, to increase the prices they offer for the raw materials coming from the developing countries; and that their markets must be so organized as to guarantee fixed prices for these raw materials. There must be, too, the commitment to look favourably upon the proposal to extend preferential treatment to the developing countries without demanding reciprocity. The proposal of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development dealing with compensatory financing and the Horowitz proposal are two recommendations which should engage the serious attention of the industrially advanced countries.
148. These are some of the questions which we hope to discuss, agree upon, and conclude at the second United Nations Conference on Trade and Development at New Delhi next year. We hope that at the New Delhi trade and development conversations an attempt will be made to establish a new era in international trade relations for the developing countries. We hope, in fact, that the New Delhi talks will provide for the developing countries what the Kennedy Round of GATT provided for the industrial countries. But we hope, above all, that the second United Nations Conference on Trade and Development will proceed on the basis of meaningful and concrete negotiations, resulting in firm commitments on the part of all the participants to do something positive. This is how we in Tanzania reflect upon the nature of the second United Nations Conference on Trade and Development.
149. But there is another possible answer to the unevenness in the terms of international trade. That answer is to be found in the attitudes of the developing countries themselves. My Government has always advocated that there must be a greater degree of self-reliance, self-respect and horizontal collaboration within the developing countries themselves. There must be less dependence upon degrading hand-outs and loans or gifts from the richer countries and far more reliance upon self-help, hard work and co-operative enterprise. The rewards to be gained from these factors of development are high and commendable. This is not to reject the benefits of meaningful and unrestrictive assistance from abroad, but the emphasis should be upon the sweat of our own brows.
150. It is in this light that we must look at the contribution yet to be made to our development through multilateral aid by the United Nations Industrial Development Organization and the United Nations Capital Development Fund. With copious contributions and the proper use of resources, we feel sure that both these organizations can assist developing countries in their march towards economic development.
151. Finally, I should like to say a few words on the problems of disarmament and the menace of nuclear weapons. Earlier I made reference to the conclusion of the Treaty on Principles Governing the Activities of States in the Exploration and Use of Outer Space, including the Moon and Other Celestial Bodies, which was commended to Member States by this Assembly at its twenty-first session. This Treaty and the 1963 partial test ban treaty cannot be regarded as providing security for mankind against the horrors of a nuclear war. They may be a beginning, but it would be disastrous for us to become complacent.
152. The present attempts to produce some meaningful and concrete results at the Geneva disarmament negotiations must be pursued with greater vigour. These talks have been going on for a long time now, and if there has been any progress at all it has been painfully slow. What is more disturbing is the fact that while these talks go on, the great Powers continue to increase their nuclear arsenals. Also, the negotiations are taking place without the participation of an important Member of the United Nations, and another nuclear Power, namely, the People's Republic of China, is absent because of its deliberate exclusion from participation in the work of this Organization. These things mean that the effectiveness of the disarmament negotiations, and, indeed, the effectiveness of any treaty on nuclear weapons will be compromised.
153. It is urgently necessary that we, the United Nations, should exert ourselves to obtain positive results from these discussions on disarmament and nuclear weapons. And it is certainly Tanzania's hope that the big Powers, which continue to increase the number and the effectiveness of their deadly nuclear weapons, will yet see reason. They must realize the stark and naked truth of one inescapable fact, namely, that security cannot be achieved through actions based on insecurity and fear. If we human beings do not soon face up to the real problems of poverty and misery in this world, instead of spending our resources on the instruments of national suicide then the outlook for all of us will be bleak indeed.
154. As the passing years rush us into the closing decades of what was hailed as the century of the common man, we are moved to ask ourselves: "With bow many of the injustices, the anomalies, and the brutalities of the present century shall we enter into the third millennium of our calendar, if indeed we enter at all?"
155. And will our heirs and successors, if they are spared the most tragic consequences of our activities and efforts, even while benefiting from our breathtaking scientific and technological developments, bless us for our vision and courage, or curse us for our blindness, our greed and our apathy?
156. All the lessons of the past, all the portents of the future, warn and exhort us that the choice of civilized man must be to live in mutual dependence and harmony under the collective discipline of the rule of law, or not to live at all.