Mr. President, it is a pleasure for me first of all to offer to you, on my own behalf and on behalf of the Tunisian delegation, our warmest congratulations on your election to the presidency of the eighteenth session of the General Assembly. Venezuela, which you have so ably represented during the last few years, and with which Tunisia entertains the most friendly relations, is one of those Latin American countries which have always worked for international co-operation and have consistently supported the United Nations. Your personal qualities as a skilled diplomat, your devotion to the principles enshrined in the Charter and your respect for the rules of our Organization have earned you the goodwill and esteem of all delegations. In entrusting to you the heavy responsibility of presiding over the eighteenth session, we are convinced that your experience and talents will enable you to shoulder that responsibility with competence and dignity, ensuring the full success of our work.
62. The present session has undoubtedly begun under favourable auspices. The relaxation of international tension which has taken shape during 1963 has permitted the conclusion of the Moscow Treaty providing for a partial nuclear test ban. This is a possible avenue to peace without armaments that we must explore and widen, while continuing with energy and tenacity our march towards general and complete disarmament.
63. The cold war between the two military blocs has become considerably less intense. It must now be finally brought to an end, by establishing the necessary conditions for a truly peaceful coexistence founded on mutual respect and confidence.
64. Thus, hope is reviving. Nevertheless, the major problems which continue to confront us have yet to be solved. The delay in solving some of them has led to increasingly dangerous situations, which must be ended, urgently and decisively. What is more, the international tension of the past ten years has complicated certain problems and made their solution a delicate and difficult matter; it has also created others, which have badly shaken the foundations of the United Nations and still represent a dangerous threat to international peace and security.
65. For us, therefore, the eighteenth session will be a very important one. The task before it promises to be difficult and complex, requiring from us all a constant effort in the way of imagination and conciliation in the search for solutions consistent with the principles and the spirit of the Charter.
66. Tunisia, like other States, welcomed the conclusion by the three Powers principally concerned of the Moscow Treaty banning nuclear tests in the atmosphere and outer space, on the ground and under water. The Tunisian Government was among the first to accede to the Treaty, in order to demonstrate the importance it attached to that instrument as an initial act which presaged a series of agreements culminating in general and complete disarmament. We are above all aware that the simultaneous accession to the Treaty of about a hundred States lends it an indisputably international character and gives evidence of an irreversible trend towards disarmament and peace.
67. Nevertheless, the prohibitions contained in the Treaty are not enough. It is important that this first step be quickly followed by others, with a view to securing the abandonment of nuclear testing in all elements, the banning of the manufacture of nuclear weapons, and the destruction of existing stockpiles. Conventional weapons, too, must be reduced to an absolute minimum. A judicious system of effective international control must be established, so as to re-create the confidence that is so indispensable in this sphere.
68. The Moscow Treaty, which holds out the hope of these developments, was concluded thanks to the joint efforts of the Governments of the Soviet Union, the United States of America and the United Kingdom and thanks to their high sense of compromise and conciliation. But the part played by the United Nations in preparing an atmosphere favourable to this agreement must not be forgotten. Nor should we minimize the importance of the sometimes stormy discussions which took place in this very hall throughout many years, and latterly in the Disarmament Committee at Geneva. The active contribution of the small and medium-sized nations, particularly the non-aligned countries, to those discussions led to a lessening of antagonism and prepared the ground for a meeting of minds. It behoves us therefore, during the present session, to redouble our efforts and to maintain this momentum until our objective is finally achieved.
69. We are pleased to note, in this connexion, the goodwill shown by the President of the United States of America in his distinguished speech to the General Assembly of last Friday [1209th meeting], and in particular his reaffirmed willingness to seek common ground for understanding in the field of disarmament, and in many other fields, together with the other Powers concerned. His offer to co-operate with the Soviet Union in the joint exploration of outer space and in the organizing of a joint expedition to the moon is, in this context, a point which deserves to be stressed with satisfaction.
70. The good intentions that we have observed on both sides for some time now were confirmed, in our opinion, by the speech delivered in the General Assembly last Thursday [1208th meeting] by the Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Soviet Union. In our view, his proposal for the holding of a summit meeting with all the other members of the Disarmament Committee at Geneva is of particular interest and capable of facilitating the final settlement of the disarmament question, which is still the subject of greatest concern to all nations.
71. A year ago, the General Assembly for the first time unanimously adopted a declaration on the conversion to peaceful needs of the resources released by disarmament [resolution 1837 (XVII)], thereby inaugurating both within the Secretariat and at the level of national Governments a series of studies with a view to determining in what respects general and complete disarmament might affect or influence the rate of achievement of the economic and social objectives of national development plans. Such studies will in the near future lead the international community to prepare an economic programme for disarmament, thanks to which the objectives which we have set ourselves within the framework of the United Nations Development Decade will be attained and, let us hope, surpassed.
72. The Moscow Treaty on a partial nuclear test ban will, no doubt, provide the best possible stimulant for intensified research on the use, for purposes of economic and social development, of the human, financial and technological resources released by disarmament.
73. Yet another significant event, which the United Nations has made a sustained effort to help bring about, will take place next year —namely, the convening of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development.
74. For almost twenty years —more accurately, since the United Nations Conference on Trade and Employment, which gave birth to GATT— the prevailing international trade structure has seemed to be out of line with the growing needs of the developing countries.
75. How can we reconcile today the need for the uninterrupted commercial and economic expansion of the developing countries with the policy of regional protectionism in which certain industrial countries take isolated refuge, with the constant decline in the price of primary products exported by the developing countries, and with the self-sufficiency towards which economic or trade groups in the developed countries are increasingly gravitating?
76. It is certainly necessary to work out a new order of international trade that will guarantee to the developing countries remunerative prices for their exports and the best conditions as to price, quality and credit for their imports of capital goods, ensure for them an increasing share in world trade, and enable them to find the financial and technical resources needed for their economic growth.
77. An international trade order adapted to the needs of the developing countries can be neither entirely liberal nor entirely protectionist: it must be flexible enough to provide as many special solutions as there are specific situations.
78. It is a task for the forthcoming United Nations Conference on Trade and Development to lay down the basis of the new philosophy of international commercial and economic co-operation. The success of the Conference, to the preparation of which my country has devoted the greatest care, will determine the success of the United Nations Development Decade.
79. The industrialization of the developing countries is also in the forefront of our preoccupations. For some six years the United Nations, through the Special Fund, the Technical Assistance Board, the Industrial Development Centre and the efforts of the specialized agencies, has been conducting a noteworthy research and pre-investment campaign in regard to the industrialization of the developing countries.
80. The work of the recent United Nations Conference on the Application of Science and Technology for the Benefit of Less Developed Areas has enabled a vast amount of Information to be assembled, and the way to be prepared for the evolving of a satisfactory international policy, concerning the transfer of technological knowledge for the benefit of the developing countries.
81. Our continent of Africa, which at the recent Conference of Heads of African States and Governments clearly affirmed its intention to industrialize Itself, needs now more than ever the co-operation of the United Nations in the various spheres of industrial development. It is important that an increasing number of bilateral, regional and multilateral programmes for the industrialization of Africa should be evolved. This industrialization will be greatly assisted by the African Development Bank.
82. But because we believe in joint rather than in individual endeavour, because we also believe in the fullest utilization of existing resources, because, in a word, we believe in international co-operation, we have constantly stressed, here and elsewhere, the need for preparing industrial development plans or programmes that are regionally integrated and coordinated; in the specific field of industrialization, we successfully supported in the Committee for Industrial Development the plan for the establishment of a North African Centre for Industrial Studies, the purpose of which is precisely to conduct research in industrial integration among the Maghreb countries, thus preparing the way for a harmonized and coordinated North African economy.
83. As regards the flow of capital to the developing countries, I should like to stress the Inadequacy of the funds at the disposal of those countries. The establishment of a United Nations capital development fund would supplement the efforts and the valuable contribution made by the Special Fund. This year, we must seek flexible formulae to enable the industrialized countries to support a compromise project, extending the powers of the Special Fund beyond mere pre-investment. Given adequate financial means, the Special Fund should, for instance, be able to concern itself progressively with the partial financing of industrial investment in the developing countries.
84. United Nations action, both in the field of investment and in that of international trade, must encourage the developing peoples in their aspiration to well-being and progress.
85. In our view, human dignity requires that mankind should be freed once and for all from hunger, disease and ignorance. This noble purpose can be achieved only through the instituting of social justice, in both the national and the international domain, through the liberation of the peoples, and through the consolidation and exercise of their full sovereignty and their independence.
86. There is one sphere —in our opinion, of prime importance— in which the effects of the "detente" can reveal themselves most happily: that of decolonization. It is our profound belief that here, too, there now exist possibilities of imposing a final solution in conformity with the Charter and resolutions of the United Nations. The attenuation of the cold war should allow the great Powers to combine their efforts in giving full effect to the relevant resolutions of the Security Council and the General Assembly, and thus lead the colonial Powers to a final settlement of the problem. For it is by no means true that colonialism is simply an unpleasant memory which now belongs to history. In Africa, almost one third of the continent is still suffering from colonial domination, and this part of the continent which is still in subjection is neither the least rich nor the least hospitable. That is why colonial questions again, this year, occupy a large part —even, in our view, the most important part— of our Assembly's agenda.
87. It is now three years since the Declaration on the granting of independence to colonial countries and peoples [resolution 1514 (XV)] was adopted almost unanimously by the General Assembly. For the past two years a Special Committee has been at work reviewing the situation in those territories, yet in certain cases no definite results have been obtained. The hope which we have expressed, on several occasions, that the United Nations may by peaceful means achieve complete and rapid decolonization throughout the world is beginning to dwindle. Must we resign ourselves to counting essentially, for the permanent abolition of the colonial system, on the struggle carried on by the subject peoples themselves? The fact is that the colonial system is today still desperately resisting, especially in Africa. The Portuguese Government persists in denying the peoples' right to self-determination and refusing to negotiate with the true representatives of the peoples combating its domination. Even the United Kingdom Government, which in the still recent past gave us proof of its realism in matters of colonial policy, is stubbornly shirking its responsibilities and continuing to advocate for Southern Rhodesia an out-of-date policy consisting in excessive consideration for the interests of a European minority that is altogether too attached to its colonial conceptions and racial convictions.
88. This situation was of the utmost concern to the Heads of African States who met at Addis Ababa last May, and it led them to a number of decisions of great range and undeniable gravity. Thus it was decided that all the necessary assistance should be given to colonized peoples fighting for their countries' independence, and that every kind of action, diplomatic or other, should be taken to speed the progress of the colonized countries towards their liberation, which we should dearly like to see achieved in peace and amity. In connexion with those decisions, four Foreign Ministers were appointed by the Conference of Heads of African States to defend the cause of Africa before the Security Council. My colleagues and I have tried, dispassionately but firmly, to draw the attention of the United Nations and, through it, of world opinion to the situation existing in southern Africa. We also wished to draw the attention of the permanent members of the Security Council, on whom the Charter lays special responsibility for the maintenance of peace and security, to the seriousness of such a situation.
89. The two decisions adopted by the Council on the subject, on 31 July and on 7 August 1963, reinforced the decisions taken by the Heads of African States at Addis Ababa and the decisions arrived at two months later by their Foreign Ministers at Dakar.
90. Some of these resolutions have already been implemented. The Government of the Republic of Tunisia, for its part, has decided to break off diplomatic relations with Portugal and to recognize the Government of Angola in exile, presided over by Mr. Holden Roberto, who is today the undisputed leader of the Angolan people in their struggle.
91. Furthermore, the Tunisian Government maintains no relations whatsoever with the Government of the Republic of South Africa, at which the Addis Ababa decisions were also directed, both because of its colonialist policy in regard to South West Africa and because of its racist policy, judged by all to be shameful and revolting. Apartheid is not merely a violation of human rights; it is an affront to the dignity of Africa, and a challenge to our Organization. It is not enough to condemn South Africa's intolerable racism. The United Nations must take the measures provided for in the Charter to lead the Government of South Africa to a healthier conception of its responsibilities towards mankind and towards this Organization, in conformity with the Charter.
92. During this session we must define the policy which the Organization should pursue in order to put an end to apartheid in South Africa and gain independence for South West Africa. The time has come to liquidate the colonial system swiftly and finally, not only in Africa but also in South America, in Aden, in Oman and in every other place where it exists.
93. It is difficult to imagine that a country can support the United Nations and the principles of the Charter and yet can hesitate between friendship and the respect owed to those principles when certain vital problems such as that of decolonization are at issue.
94. Decolonization is certainly an essential preliminary to the establishment of a durable peace. The great Powers should take advantage of the favourable atmosphere which reigns at this session and make a definitive contribution to the work of decolonization, which continues to be the overriding concern of the majority of States Members of the United Nations.
95. The problem of the Arabs of Palestine, whom a foreign colony established on an essentially racist basis has maintained in the status of permanent refugees ever since 1948, should be given a rapid and final solution in accordance with the principles of right and justice. Considered objectively, this problem has undoubtedly the same racist and colonialist character as that of the problem which continues to confront the Africans in South Africa.
96. The situation in the Congo also deserves special attention. Thanks to the efforts made by the United Nations since the first Security Council resolution, dated 14 July 1960, the unity and territorial integrity of the Republic of the Congo have been preserved. A regular central Government has been set up, and today a certain stability has been achieved.
97. Nevertheless, the situation continues to be an anxious one. The Congolese National Army does not yet seem able to ensure the maintenance of order and respect for the law. Unfortunately the Congolese Government thought it necessary, in connexion with the reorganization of the army, to request assistance provided on a bilateral basis by countries belonging to a single bloc. This choice has naturally given rise to legitimate apprehension.
98. In his report to the Security Council the Secretary-General, faced with a lack of funds, has raised the question of the ending of United Nations action in that country on 31 December 1963. He has received a request from the central Government of the Congo for the maintenance of United Nations forces until the end of June 1964, so as to enable it to hold fresh elections early next year; the new Government resulting from those elections should be in a position to guarantee order and stability in the country.
99. From the outset, Tunisia has contributed in large measure to the success of the United Nations action in the Congo, placing its material, financial and human resources at the Organization's service. It would be sincerely sorry if, for want of financial means, the United Nations were obliged to put an untimely end to an action which, in spite of everything, has produced undoubted benefits both for the Congo and Africa and for the maintenance of international peace and security.
100. In recent years the admission of new States to the United Nations, and the new international problems which it is the Organization's duty to solve, have made it increasingly difficult for the General Assembly to complete its agenda during the three months usually allowed for its ordinary sessions. At the last session, moved by the desire to speed up the Assembly's debates and to improve the organization of its work, we proposed the inclusion in the Assembly's agenda of the question of the improvement of its methods of work. In our opinion such an improvement might result in greater effectiveness and a saving of time. The favourable response of the General Assembly to our appeal has caused us great satisfaction. The Ad Hoc Committee on the Improvement of the Methods of Work of the General Assembly has submitted a comprehensive report [A/5423] accompanied by specific proposals concerning steps that might be taken to improve the present organization of our Assembly's work. It seems to us that that Committee's final recommendations, while not infringing the fundamental democratic rules which should prevail in the General Assembly, contain proposals likely to help Presidents of the Assembly and Chairmen of Committees to interpret the rules of procedure more effectively. We earnestly hope that the report will be adopted unanimously.
101. Our Organization, which is a living and dynamic body, constantly and faithfully follows the evolution which is proceeding in the world. With a view to attaining the objectives laid down by the Charter, it must continually adapt itself to the changes which have taken place since 1945. Thus it should move in the direction of universality and admit every nation which can make a useful contribution to the consolidation of international peace, security and co-operation. Hence the People's Republic of China should not be perpetually excluded from the Organization. Furthermore, the structures of the United Nations should follow the pattern of its new composition, which has resulted from the developments of the past decade and is very different from what it was at the time of the Organization's establishment. The imbalance which affects its principal organs should be corrected. Today, for instance, there are thirty- two African Member States, whereas in 1945 only three African States were Members of the United Nations. The principle of equitable geographical distribution in the membership of the principal organs of our Organization is being completely disregarded, particularly so far as the Security Council and the Economic and Social Council are concerned. It is becoming increasingly urgent and necessary to enlarge those two principal organs. The relevant Articles of the Charter should consequently be changed.
102. We greatly regret that the necessary amendments cannot be adopted immediately. We hope, however, that by the time its twentieth anniversary is celebrated the United Nations will have made all the desirable adjustments in this respect. In the meantime it is urgently necessary to find a compromise solution at the present session which would give the African continent a permanent fair share of the seats filled by election in the Security Council and the Economic and Social Council.
103. We also hope that, when the twentieth anniversary has been reached, other adjustments will have been made regarding the. scope of the exercise of the right of veto in the Security Council. The possibility might be envisaged, for example, of giving certain General Assembly resolutions a binding character. Such resolutions, classified in advance as mandatory, would have to be adopted by a special procedure and would require a certain majority. Other interesting suggestions on the subject have been made from this rostrum by the Prime Minister of Canada [1208th meeting].
104. It is permissible to hope that the relaxation of international tension, already welcomed by us all, will encourage a search for formulae which will enable the United Nations to keep in step with the times and improve its methods of action.
105. Similarly, a satisfactory solution should be found at the present session for the problem of financing extraordinary expenditure by the United Nations —a solution leading to an honourable settlement which would render it possible, first to put an end to the present situation and to eliminate the deficit in the United Nations budget, and secondly to draw up an acceptable formula to ensure the financing of future peace-keeping operations. In the search for such a formula, consideration must be given to the special responsibility of the permanent members of the Security Council, to the particular situation of the States whose activities have necessitated the action decided upon by the Security Council and the General Assembly, and to the notion of international solidarity and the principle of the collective responsibility of all Members of the United Nations.
106. The United Nations must remain dynamic and progressive, not only in its structures and its methods of action, but also in its basic conceptions in relation to the principles which are laid down in the Charter and by which its activities are continually inspired. In the wording of the Charter the idea of an armed peace, which was previously accepted, has fortunately been replaced by that of a disarmed peace which we hope to establish on firm foundations and whose initiation we are welcoming at the opening of this session.
107. The idea of colonial peace under the sign of paternalism has yielded place to that of peaceful decolonization and the right of all peoples, without any distinction, to settle their own affairs. It is agreed nowadays that international peace and security are threatened not only when a Member State is the victim of armed attack by another Member State, but also when a colonial Power, stubbornly refusing to accept the principle of self-determination, forces a colonized people to fight for the recovery of its dignity and independence.
108. We note the same development with regard to the implementation of the principle of racial equality, which is recognized by the Charter. Respect for this principle, to which all Member States have subscribed under the Charter, cannot be regarded as a mere moral obligation when we are confronted by a State which makes racial supremacy a State dogma and segregation a fundamental principle of its policy.
109. The apartheid policy of the Government of South Africa not only constitutes a colonial problem; it disturbs the harmony between peoples and threatens international peace and security at the very moment when other Governments, including particularly that of the United States of America, are courageously striving —in the latter case, within the country itself— to put an end to the anachronism of racial discrimination.
110. Respect for the equality of rights of men and peoples, without any distinction of race, necessarily implies the need to regard the persistent violation of this principle by a Member State no longer as a matter within its domestic jurisdiction, but as a circumstance involving the responsibility of the United Nations with regard to the maintenance of international peace and security.
111. A welcome development in that direction, relating to the scope and consequences of certain principles laid down in the Charter, is taking place within the Organization. We hope that it may become more clearly defined, so as to reinforce the United Nations and strengthen the confidence placed in it by all nations.
112. Since our last session a new organization, which is in line with the spirit and the letter of the Charter, has come into being in Africa: I refer to the Organization of African Unity, whose charter was signed at Addis Ababa on 25 May 1963 by all the Heads of States and Governments of that continent. This is an important international event. It opens up wide prospects for African unity and constitutes joint recognition of Africa's internal problems and of the problems which face it in its relations with the rest of the world.
113. The purposes of the Organization of African Unity are to complete and consolidate the independence of the continent, to organize inter-African co-operation in the political, economic and social fields, and to promote and facilitate African development. It is also designed to maintain and develop co-operation with all countries, on a basis of friendship and mutual respect. The Organization of African Unity, which is profoundly devoted to the Purposes and Principles of the United Nations Charter, will, I am sure, make an effective contribution to the maintenance of international peace and security and to the progress of international co-operation on the basis of law and justice.
114. The eighteenth session has opened in a felicitous atmosphere of "détente" and of confidence regained. I hope that under your vigilant leadership it will be able to find positive and appropriate solutions for all the problems which appear on our agenda, solutions to which, even in their details, the Tunisian delegation will make a sincere and honest contribution.