106. Madam President, on behalf of the Yugoslav
Government and delegation I am very happy to extend to
you our warm and sincere congratulations on your election
to the Presidency of the twenty-fourth session of the
General Assembly. I am delighted to note that it expresses
our appreciation of Liberia and of Africa, whose
constructive influence upon world developments and upon the
promotion of international co-operation to secure equal
rights is constantly growing.
107. The past year has not given the world any greater
reason than its predecessors to feel tranquil and secure. It is
true that no danger of general catastrophe hovers over
every day as it did in the recent past. We are still, however,
far from the day when fear and uncertainty will have been
banished and the whole world will no longer live in danger
of being speedily and irrevocably engulfed in the flames of
war which are already devastating certain parts of the
world, or in some new conflagration.
108. The division of the world into blocs and antagonistic
military and political alliances is not the only rift of our
times. Behind the opposing blocs lie deeper and more
lasting sources of division.
109. Claims for national freedom and independence have
not discouraged policies of conquest, domination and
interference in the domestic affairs of other countries.
110. Immense scientific and technological progress has not
reduced the gap between wealth and poverty. On the
contrary, this continues to widen.
111. The increase in the number of newly liberated
countries and their ever more obvious readiness to participate
in world affairs have not made international relations
more democratic, or given the small and medium countries
an effective influence on the agreements or disputes
between the great and strong.
112. World stability is inconceivable without valid answers
to these questions that have been for so long posed to us by
humanity itself, by a humanity less and less willing to
reconcile itself to a passive acceptance of incomplete or
false answers. The division into blocs is not, of course, the
only source of all the evils in this imperfect world, but
neither does it provide the best formula for removing them.
We are aware that existing blocs cannot simply be abolished
nor the emergence of new blocs prevented. It is precisely
for that reason that we are endeavouring to establish such
international co-operation as will reduce the grounds for
the predominance of military and political blocs and their
antagonisms.
113. Opposition between strictly-delineated military and
political alliances, which has for years been identified with
opposition between different social and political systems, is
only one of the manifestations of those deeper divisions
which cannot be disguised for any length of time by
traditional political doctrines and deep-rooted ideological
prejudices.
114. I do not think I am mistaken when I say that the
emergence of the policy of non-alignment and its growing
prestige are not the only evidence of the crisis created by
the division of the world into blocs. The political philosophy
of non-alignment first took shape in an active
endeavour to lay a new groundwork for international
co-operation. Today it is no longer sufficient to answer the
question how to avoid war—paramount though that question
remains. Today it is essential to know how to achieve
peace that will guarantee equality of rights, economic
progress and human freedom.
115. Peace is not endangered by differences in social
systems. Experience has refuted the theory that countries
with identical systems are natural allies while those with
different systems are natural adversaries. Today disagreements
and conflicts among countries with similar systems,
and co-operation and friendship among countries with
different systems, are so many arguments invalidating the
numerous political dogmas upon which anti-communism,
iron curtains and unconditional bloc disciplines have
thriven for so many years. My country, which out of its
deepest conviction opted for socialism, is successfully
co-operating on all continents with many countries having
different social and political systems. Where no positive
result could be attained in this direction, the reasons were
entirely different.
116. Does all this not indicate that the search for new
grounds of international co-operation between all countries
and peoples of east and west, north and south, between
developed and developing, large and small countries, is an
imperative need engendered by the times in which we live.
117. In the prevailing circumstances major world problems
obviously cannot be solved without the participation of the
Great Powers. It is, however, equally true that lasting
solutions can only be based on the active and equal
participation of all countries and States, and on application
of the principles of active and peaceful coexistence,
irrespective of social systems and bloc membership.
118. My delegation notes with regret that efforts to solve
most of the acute international issues have come to a dead
stop.
119. We are seriously disturbed by the persistent deterioration
of the situation in the Middle East, which is still
made explosive by the intransigence of Israel. I do not feel
that I am over dramatizing the situation if I point out that
the conflict in this area could easily escape the control of
the Great Powers and the United Nations unless energetic
and effective steps are taken urgently. Israel has not even
now accepted Security Council resolution 242 (1967), has
not ceased to insist upon the annexation of occupied Arab
territories, and continues to treat the Palestinian population
with extreme severity. Should the United Nations fail to
prevent the aggressor from keeping the territories it has
acquired by force, there is a serious danger that in the
future our Organization will be even less capable of taking
any action in a similar case. By supporting—while this is still
possible—every action aimed at a political solution, my
delegation will insist categorically on the need to enforce
the Security Council’s resolution of 1967.
120. The cessation of the bombing of North Viet-Nam,
the beginning of the talks in Paris and the withdrawal of the
first contingents from South Viet-Nam raised hope that the
sufferings of the Viet-Namese people might be nearing an
end. However, the decisive turning-point towards peace in
Viet-Nam has evidently not yet been reached. Obviously
there are still illusions that the prolongation of the war will
make it possible to impose solutions that favour certain
narrow interests, though certainly not the interests of the
people of South Viet-Nam. Such mistaken thinking is the
main reason for the failure of the Paris negotiations so far.
121. The situation in Europe is not yet stable, although
there are signs of growing readiness to solve the outstanding
problems of that continent by co-operation and negotiation.
The most recent steps taken and proposals made by
some European countries will, we hope, create a more
favourable climate for resumption of the process of
furthering general European co-operation, the only course
conducive to security. It is common knowledge that bloc
divisions are the most pronounced in Europe, where bloc
policy has been most negative in both the distant and the
recent past. Therefore the development of European
co-operation based on respect for independence and sovereignty,
and the strengthening of European security on those
foundations, would be an effective contribution to settlement
of the problems of co-operation and security in other
parts of the world also.
122. In view of the enormous economic, scientific and
technological potential of the European continent, the
removal of obstacles to a more extensive development of
European co-operation would in our opinion enable Europe
to work even more effectively for the political and
economic progress of other regions of the world, primarily
the less developed. It gives me great pleasure to point out
that the most recent initiatives of the United Nations
Economic Commission for Europe are being directed
towards that end and therefore merit our full support.
123. I should like particularly to draw attention to the
increased role of the policy of non-alignment in international
relations. No one could regard this policy today as an
undefined political attitude amounting to passive neutralism,
or as a tactic against bloc alignments. The continuing
increase in the number of countries adopting the
policy of non-alignment confirms the growing need to lay
down new foundations for international co-operation, and
proves that the division of the world into blocs has no
future. The policy of non-alignment has far transcended the
limits of mere pronouncements against bloc policies. It has
become a positive political idea and act aimed at universal
application of the principles of active peaceful coexistence
among and of their similarities or differences.
124. The non-aligned countries are net directed merely
towards each other. They are turned towards the entire
world and exert an ever-growing moral and political force in
the struggle for a world based on equality of rights,
independence and accelerated development, and, by the
same token, for a world of peace.
125. Yugoslavia, for its part, as one of the participants in
the Consultative Meeting of the 51 non-aligned countries
held last July in Belgrade, wishes to point out that at that
meeting also the non-aligned countries emphasized that
their objectives were directly linked to the principles and
work of the United Nations.
126. No one can deny that during the period that has
expired the United Nations has acted to promote peace and
encourage international co-operation. It has, however,
failed to exercise any decisive influence towards resolution
of the most acute international crises or lasting stabilization
of international relations. A few of the larger and stronger
States mean to subordinate it to their own concerns and
conflicts. This greatly restricts the contribution of most of
the other Member States, which could otherwise be more
substantial and fruitful.
127. One of the frequently-cited weaknesses of our
Organization is its lack of universality. The absence of the
People’s Republic of China from the United Nations
increasingly hampers the settlement of major international
problems and conflicts in which China, simply because of
its importance and influence, is becoming more and more
involved.
128. At the current session the General Assembly has once
gain before it a long list of unsolved problems, the most
important being undoubtedly disarmament and collective
security. Without denying that in this area too the great
Powers have special responsibilities and obligations, I would
nevertheless emphasize that the entire international community
ought to be involved in the search for a solution to
this vital question. A system of collective security would be
meaningless unless it contained truly effective guarantees
against attack and aggression in every form, and unless it
not only prohibited the production and utilization of
nuclear weapons but also required reduction of conventional
armaments, with which thousands of people throughout
the world are killed every day in “local” wars.
129. In the opinion of my delegation the General Assembly
should assign specific tasks to the Committee on
Disarmament. We believe that the Committee could direct
most of its activity towards the complete prohibition of
underground nuclear tests for military purposes, the
demilitarization of the sea-bed and the ocean floor, and the
prohibition of chemical and bacteriological weapons.
Yugoslavia fully supports the draft agreement on the
prohibition of underground nuclear-weapon tests submitted
by Sweden to the Committee on Disarmament; for it is
firmly convinced that the acceptance of that treaty would
greatly encourage all other efforts towards disarmament.
We also stress the need for a moratorium on the deployment
of missile systems and the production of new
weapons of mass destruction, as a specific measure to slow
the arms race.
130. I shall not be saying anything new if I repeat that the
enormous expenditure on armaments is retarding economic
and social progress throughout the world and greatly
diminishing the prospects for the economic development of
the developing countries. Similarly, I am not revealing an
unknown truth in pointing out that, in existing international
economic relations, the new technological expansion
of the developed countries has not yet made it possible to
reduce economic and social differences in the world. The
reason is, regrettably, that the most developed section of
the international community is unwilling to contribute
towards the solution of this problem, which threatens to
become one of the most serious contradictions of our
times.
131. The process of abolishing colonialism has come
almost to a standstill. The remaining strongholds of
colonialism and racism, particularly in southern Africa, are
also tending to consolidate and perpetuate themselves, thus
threatening not only the colonial peoples but also the
independence and territorial integrity of many African
countries. I agree with those who have repeatedly insisted
that the eradication of colonialism does not concern only
the peoples suffering under the colonial yoke, but is a duty
of the whole international community. Southern Rhodesia,
Angola, Mozambique, so called Portuguese Guinea and
Namibia cannot be decolonized without decisive action by
our Organization and a change in the attitude of those
countries that maintain close political and economic relations
with the colonial régimes. Ten years ago we adopted
the Declaration on the Granting of Independence to
Colonial Countries and Peoples, thereby making an essential
contribution to the important process of decolonization
which succeeded it. Could we not now act decisively to
remove colonialism from the face of the earth without
delay, seeing that so few support and so very many
condemn it?
132. Next year the United Nations will celebrate the
twenty-fifth anniversary of its foundation. That anniversary
could well be marked by increased endeavours to reaffirm
the principles of the Charter and to strengthen the action of
the United Nations in the present-day world. In our opinion
it will be essential, at the present session and in the period
preceding the anniversary session, to settle at least some of
the more urgent questions that this Organization has been
discussing for so many years. I have in mind first of all the
drafting of a declaration on the principles governing
friendly relations between States, the formulation of an
international development strategy for the Second United
Nations Development Decade, and the preparation of a
programme of action for the abolition of colonialism. This
would be a way of giving our twenty-fifth anniversary its
proper significance. In addition to the problem of disarmament,
which remains as important and urgent as it is
complex, the problems I have just mentioned could be the
targets for our concerted action during the anniversary
period. The Yugoslav Government is ready to take a very
active part in those efforts.
133. The crucial questions of our time—peace or war,
enslavement or independence, backwardness or development
—are problems not only of governments and States but
of all mankind.
134. May I remind you that 20 years ago, in the first lines
of the Charter of this Organization—the most famed of all
world organizations-we undertook “to promote social
progress and better standards of life in larger freedom”, and
reaffirmed our “faith in fundamental human rights, in the
dignity and worth of the human person, in the equal rights
of men and women and of nations large and small“.
135. Need I say that I have chosen to quote the first lines
of the Charter on the eve of our twenty-fifth anniversary in
order to point out, not all that we have failed to achieve
but how much we still have to accomplish.