1. Mr. President, I wish to extend to you the warmest congratulations of my Government and myself on your election to the high office of President of the General Assembly. We welcome your election both on account of your eminent personal qualifications and for its political significance. The fact that for the first time in the history of the United Nations a representative of a socialist country of Eastern Europe now presides over the General Assembly, and the general approval that this choice has received, are encouraging signs of the continued improvement of the situation in Europe, where a relaxation of tensions has created conditions favourable for ever-growing co-operation among States representing different political, social and economic systems. Finland has consistently worked, and will continue to work, for the development of such cooperation, and we acknowledge the important contribution that your country and you yourself have made to that end.
2. The primary task of the United Nations is the maintenance of international peace and security. It is natural, therefore, that this should be the central theme of our annual general debate. The balance-sheet of the past twelve months is not encouraging. In spite of all the efforts, no essential improvement in the international situation has been achieved. This is due above all to the war in Viet-Nam. And though the Security Council, through its efforts, succeeded in stopping the fighting, the conflict in the Middle East has also caused wide damage to international relations and left us with a number of unsolved problems which create serious international tension.
3. The position of the Government of Finland on the burning issues of the present international situation is based not only on our well-known policy of neutrality, but also on the principles which we wish to apply to relations among States in all circumstances. Every nation must be free to order its own affairs without outside interference or pressure. Every State has the right to peace and security. All States must respect each other's territorial integrity and political independence. International disputes must be settled by peaceful means through negotiations. The use or threat of force in international relations must be rejected everywhere.
4. Accordingly, we in Finland have watched with growing concern the continued increase of the use of force and violence in Viet-Nam, where military operations have been intensified and extended to ever wider areas. Yet, as time goes on, it has become clearer than ever that no solution can be reached by military means and that their use presents a growing threat to world peace. Thus no arguments in our view can justify the continued destruction of Viet-Nam. The trend in Viet-Nam must be reversed in order to create conditions conducive to negotiations between all the parties to the conflict. The Government of Finland supports the proposals of our Secretary-General, U Thant, according to which the bombing of North Viet-Nam should be halted and all military activities reduced, so as to prepare the ground for a negotiated settlement.
5. As some of my Nordic colleagues have already stated in this debate, the Governments of the Nordic countries have directed their attention to the situation which will arise in Viet-Nam when peace finally has been brought to that devastated country. The rebuilding of Viet-Nam will demand immense efforts. A study group has been set up by the Nordic Governments to examine what our countries could do in giving humanitarian assistance. In our view, such a programme of aid must be designed to benefit all the people of Viet-Nam. Naturally, it must be based on the wishes of the Viet-Namese people themselves.
6. In the Middle East too the achievement of a lasting and just peace requires a solution of disputed problems through negotiations in a manner acceptable to all the parties. We all know how difficult it is to reach such solutions. But we also know that the international community in its own interest cannot afford to leave the problems of the Middle East once more to be settled by force of arms. In the brief war of last June, the leading Powers demonstrated by their actions that they regarded the containment and halting of the armed conflict to be in their common interest. They also have the primary responsibility for the pacification of the Middle East situation on a more stable basis, for without their co-operation the elimination of the consequences of the war can hardly be possible. In this sense I cannot refrain from expressing our disappointment at the fact that the Security Council has not even begun consideration of the problems of the Middle East.
7. Our task now is to establish the principles on which a solution of the problems of the Middle East can be based. The debate on this question in the fifth emergency special session last summer, as well as the statements made so far in the general debate of this session, has shown that there is wide agreement among Member States on these principles: on the one hand, that the legality of territorial conquest cannot be recognized, from which it follows that Israel must withdraw its forces from the areas it occupied in June; and, on the other hand, that all the States of the Middle Eastern area must have the right to live in peace and security.
8. The war in Viet-Nam and the Middle Eastern crisis both illustrate the role of this Organization in international life today — its limitations as well as its vital importance in the maintenance of peace and security. In the case of Viet-Nam, the United Nation has been rendered impotent for reasons that are known to all of us. It is unable to function as a "center for harmonizing the actions of nations", because not all the States concerned, first and foremost the biggest Power in Asia, are represented here. The Government of Finland has consistently held the view that the seat of China in the United Nations properly belongs to the representatives of the People’s Republic of China. We continue to hold that view. It is indeed tragic that the United Nations has been unable to solve the question of the representation of China in a manner that would take into account the reality of the situation.
9. Only as a truly universal Organization can the United Nations effectively fulfil its primary function as an instrument for the maintenance of international peace and security. Experience has shown that instability often occurs in areas where governments are not part of the system of international relations created by the United Nations. The Secretary-General in the Introduction to his Annual Report [A/670l/Add.1] has once again expressed his strong feeling that all countries, even those which for one reason or another have not yet become Member States, should be enabled to follow the work of the Organization more closely by maintaining observers at the Headquarters of the United Nations. As I stated last year in the general debate [1423rd meeting], my Government shares the views of the Secretary-General.
10. Our conviction that we should strive to make this Organization universal has been strengthened by the experiences of the Middle Eastern crisis. While the war has caused damage to the normal fabric of relations between States, the United Nations offers all the parties a forum for discussion and contact. The events in the Middle East have also demonstrated once again that the United Nations has become indispensable to the international community as an instrument for keeping the peace. In spite of all the setbacks that we have experienced in the field of peace-keeping and the disagreements that prevail on the principles involved, the United Nations last June was able to act speedily and effectively when its services were needed for the supervision of the cease-fire agreements. In this situation neutral countries, whose objectivity is accepted by all the parties to the dispute, have once again been called upon to provide personnel for United Nations operations.
11. Finland was among the Member States which, at the request of the Secretary-General, have sent observers to the Middle East. Finland's active and extensive participation in United Nations peace-keeping activities prompts me to lend our support to the suggestion of the Secretary-General that an effort be made to improve the practical capabilities of the United Nations to undertake necessary action in crisis situations. We on our part, together with the other Nordic countries, have already set up standby forces and regular training courses for United Nations service.
12. Although the Middle East crisis understandably has received high priority in this debate, we must continue to give undiminished attention to the problems of southern Africa. United Nations efforts to solve these problems must also be regarded as part of the maintenance of peace and security in the world, for if no progress can be achieved by peaceful international co-operation, the danger of a violent racial conflict will continue to grow. No country, however far from the scene, can afford to ignore that danger. The United Nations, by virtue of resolutions adopted by overwhelming majorities, has in fact set itself far-reaching goals with regard to southern Africa — majority rule in Rhodesia, self-determination and independence for South West Africa, and an end to the policy of apartheid in the Republic of South Africa. How shall we be able to achieve these goals? It must be admitted that what has been done so far has not brought concrete results. Economic sanctions have not yet at least visibly shaken the illegal régime in Rhodesia. The Republic of South Africa continues to practise apartheid. South West Africa remains in the hands of South Africa in defiance of the will of the United Nations. But we must continue our efforts to work towards our goals by peaceful means. And we should not minimize the importance of the fact that today world opinion understands, more widely and clearly than ever before, the threat to international relations inherent in the situation in southern Africa and condemns more vigorously than before racial discrimination in all its forms.
13. In the field of disarmament and arms control, this year has seen some encouraging achievements: the conclusion of the Treaty on the peaceful use of outer space [resolution 2222 (XXI)] and the creation of the Latin-American nuclear-free zone, the first of its kind in the whole world, by the Treaty for the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons In Latin America.
14. The negotiations in Geneva on the non-proliferation treaty have made substantial progress. There seems to he a reasonably good chance that a complete draft text of a treaty with an adequate article on safeguards may yet be ready in time for consideration by the General Assembly. The Finnish Government sincerely hopes that this Assembly will be able to take positive and definite action on it. The dangers inherent in any further spread of nuclear weapons are frightening. Furthermore, the treaty should be seen in the wider context of its impact on international relations in general. Its effect in reducing tensions and increasing confidence between the great Powers would be an essential prerequisite for any significant future progress in disarmament.
15. The non-proliferation treaty cannot be an end in itself. It should be a step in a continuing process of disarmament and arms control measures, especially in the field of nuclear arms. In this context the conclusion of a comprehensive test-ban treaty continues to have the highest priority. All efforts to facilitate its conclusion should therefore be pursued.
16. Recently, new developments in nuclear weapons techniques, mainly connected with the deployment of anti-ballistic missile systems, have given rise to widespread concern about their possible effects on disarmament and arms control efforts. We can only hope that the Powers principally concerned will make every effort to avert the possibility of these developments leading to a new and dangerous intensification of the nuclear arms race.
17. The problems of economic development are often obscured by acute and dramatic political conflicts and crises which attract our urgent attention. Yet it is today generally recognized that these economic problems, too, have a vital relevance also for world peace.
18. In less than four months the second session of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) will convene in New Delhi. The preparations for the Conference have established beyond any doubt that the gap between the industrialized countries and the developing countries, instead of diminishing, continues to grow. The time has indeed come for all of us to join our efforts in what the Secretary-General of UNCTAD has so appropriately described as the creation of a new global strategy for development. My Government will pursue its preparations for the New Delhi conference in this spirit.
19. The central role played by the United Nations in designing such a strategy for combating world want has been further emphasized in recent times. I have in mind, among other things, the creation of the United Nations Industrial Development Organization, which has now commenced its operative activities. I am sure that it will be a valuable instrument for development in diversifying the economies of developing countries. Industrialization is widely recognized as a key sector in improving standards of living. It is, however, only one of the key sectors. Recent developments in the world food situation call for much greater and much better concerted action. Even if we succeed in boosting food production it is unlikely that this alone will be enough in the not too distant future at the given rate of population increase. My Government has noted with gratification that this Organization is prepared to pay increased attention to the grave problems of the population increase. As long as the excessive growth of the world population cancels out the achievements in food production and other vital sectors of the economies we are trying to row upstream, making little progress in spite of great efforts.