1. It gives me great pleasure to join the previous speakers in extending to Mr. Arenales, from this rostrum, our sincere congratulations on his election to the Presidency of the General Assembly at its twenty-third session. His election is a high tribute to his country and a recognition of his high qualities as a Statesman.
2. I wish also to pay a tribute to Mr. Comeliu Manescu, the outgoing President, who conducted the work of the twenty-second session of the Assembly with great ability and distinction.
3. We also wish to take this opportunity to express our admiration and support to the Secretary-General for his untiring efforts in the cause of peace.
4. We welcome in our midst the new independent African State of Swaziland, and we extend to its people and Government our best wishes.
5. Once again we meet in an atmosphere filled with anxiety and foreboding. The sombre circumstances that prevailed at the opening of the previous session have become even darker and more ominous. As the Secretary-General said in the introduction to his annual report:
“In the period under review, I regret to have to report that little progress, if any, has been recorded towards the growth of international order based on law and justice” [A/7201/Add.1, para. 174].
He further said that the deterioration of the international situation “has continued throughout the past year".[Ibid., para.1]. And nowhere has that deterioration been more evident than in the Middle East.
6. In the view of the Government of Iraq, the primary cause of tension and conflict in the Middle East during the past twenty years has been, first, the failure to find a just solution to the Palestine question which would guarantee the inalienable right of self-determination of the people of Palestine to live in sovereign freedom and peace in their ancestral homeland; and second, the pursuance by Israel of aggressive and expansionist policies at the expense of the Arabs. If we really want to reduce tension in the area, we should never lose sight of the fact that we are dealing with the right of the Arab people of Palestine to survive as a distinct and homogeneous national community. A great deal has been said in the last year and a half about innocent passage through international waterways, about secure boundaries, about belligerency, territorial expansion by military force, negotiations, direct and indirect, and about what is called the crisis in the Middle East and the conflict between Israel and the Arab States. But not much has been heard about the people of Palestine, whose tragic fate is at the root of all the problems besetting our area. For can we forget that all those problems were created as a result of the onslaught of Zionism against the people of Palestine? Nothing will be settled, and nothing will endure, until and unless the consequences and implications of that aggression are recognized and fearlessly dealt with.
7. The one solid unalterable fact which will always live in the conscience of the Arab nation and indeed of world opinion is the refusal of the people of Palestine to disappear as a distinct national Arab entity and their determination to stay alive whatever the cost.
8. In addition to the provisions of the Charter of the United Nations and the principle of international law, Iraq’s foreign policy derives its inspiration from the unshakable belief of our people in the right of the people of Palestine to live as part of the Arab nation. Iraq will spare no effort and will employ all available means inside this Organization as well as outside it to render assistance to the people of Palestine in its struggle to uphold and exercise that right. For over twenty years, the people of Palestine have been cajoled, intimidated and subjected to all kinds of pressures and temptations to give up their claim to their homeland; but they resisted and will continue to resist however great are the sacrifices.
9. The people of Palestine have been the victims of an unparalleled racist colonial invasion. In their struggle to regain their rights and recover their lost freedom and usurped homeland, they are entitled to the understanding, sympathy and support of the other peoples of the world, especially those which only recently emerged from colonial rule.
10. During the general debate last year, there was virtual unanimity in upholding the Charter principles relating to the inadmissibility of territorial expansion by force. Implicit in this was a universal condemnation of Israel’s ill-concealed ambition to annex the Arab territories occupied as a result of its treacherous attack on the Arab countries in June 1967. A whole year has passed and Israeli occupation still continues. Israel annexed Arab Jerusalem in violation of the decisions of the General Assembly and of the Security Council. Numerous administrative steps have been taken to integrate the rest of the Western Bank, politically and economically, with Israel. In Gaza, Israel has continued its systematic campaign to drain it of its Arab population in preparation for its eventual annexation. The reign of terror and intimidation in the occupied territories continues unabated, violating all humanitarian principles and international conventions and reminiscent of the worst crimes committed in Europe under Nazi occupation. It was natural, therefore, that the International Conference on Human Rights in its resolution I, should denounce the violation of human rights in the occupied territories, where Israeli authorities continue to demolish homes and imprison thousands, inflicting upon them unspeakable degradations and torture. Hoping to hide these crimes Israel has refused to accept the Secretary-General’s proposal to send a special representative to look into the conditions of the civilian population in the areas it occupied in June 1967.
11. Not satisfied with the crimes committed in the occupied territories, Israel has extended its aggression to the Arab people of Jordan. During the past year, Israel has been twice condemned by the Security Council for wanton and unprovoked large-scale military attacks on many areas in Jordan. In the Suez Canal region, Israel has mercilessly bombarded the densely populated cities of Suez and Ismailia and has wilfully and arbitrarily obstructed all efforts to reopen the Suez Canal to international shipping and commerce. Israel’s behaviour during this past year is further proof of its lack of respect for the principles of international law and its utter disregard of the Charter. It also confirms Israel’s refusal to evacuate occupied Arab territory and its intention to annex those territories or at least to maintain indefinitely its control over them. The United Nations is thus again faced with a most serious challenge to one of the fundamental principles of the Charter, namely, the territorial integrity of States and the inadmissibility of territorial expansion by force. Failure to deal with this challenge will inevitably weaken faith and erode confidence in the Organization. The United Nations must demonstrate that its principles are applicable to all without discrimination, even though such an impartial application may not be to the liking of one of the great Powers.
12. I would not be revealing anything new if I said that Israel would not have dared to commit all those aggressive acts and would not have continued to violate all principles of international morality if it had not been sustained by its unholy alliance with the United States, which still ignores its responsibility as a permanent member of the Security Council to respect the Charter and uphold the principles of international justice. It is ready to sacrifice all these principles for reasons which I need not elucidate, since they are known to all those who are aware of the role played by the United States in creating Israel in the heart of the Arab world as a base to obstruct the Arab liberation movement and the struggle of the Arab nation for progress and development.
13. The decision of the United States Government, announced two days ago, to open negotiations with Israel for the sale of offensive supersonic Phantom jets provides incontrovertible proof of the complete bias of United States policy in Israel’s favour. This latest act of blatant favouritism will not fail to encourage Israel to continue its aggressive expansionist policy.
14. The Secretary-General in the introduction to his annual report last year stated the following:
“There is the immediate and urgently challenging issue of the withdrawal of the armed forces of Israel from the territory of neighbouring Arab States occupied during the recent war. There is near unanimity on this issue, in principle, because everyone agrees that there should be no territorial gains by military conquest. It would, in my view, lead to disastrous consequences if the United Nations were to abandon or compromise this fundamental principle".
This statement has lost none of its timeliness and significance today. The passage of time has not diminished its pertinence and urgency. More than ever, it provides the only guideline for action by the international community.
15. The situation which confronts the United Nations at present was not brought about by fortuitous circumstances but resulted inevitably from a comprehensive Israeli plan of action with well-defined political, strategic and territorial objectives. This is no longer a matter of opinion or conjecture. The declarations of the Israeli leaders and indeed their action with regard to Jerusalem, Gaza and the West Bank of the Jordan leave no room for doubt as to their real intentions. In the face of this blatantly expansionist design, there can be no retreat and no compromise. There can be no settlement, not even the beginning of a rational discussion of the underlying causes, before unconditional withdrawal from every inch of Arab territory is effected. Ultimately, the road to peace in the Middle East lies in the non-partisan study of the merits of the case, in the objective appraisal of the contributing factors, in the rigorous examination of former policies and the intellectual ability to distinguish cause from effect, the symptoms from the disease. And all this must be done on the basis of a balanced and compassionate sense of justice and not on the basis of the glib explanations uttered by Mr. Eban which, I am sure, any fair-minded person will repudiate with the scorn they deserve.
16. It is indeed strange that Mr. Eban should come before this Assembly and speak of peace, justice and respect for the United Nations Charter. World public opinion can no longer be easily deceived by Zionist propaganda which, despite its influence and recognized competence, is unable to conceal the crimes which have been and still are being committed by Israel in the occupied territories.
17. Any objective appraisal of the present situation must recognize that one party has been the victim of aggression. The aggressor and the victim cannot be put on the same level. The perpetuation of the present situation not only undermines fundamental Charter principles but will plunge the whole region into a general conflagration with incalculable consequences. If the present state of vacillation, apathy and deference to the aggressor continues, then the Arab nations, which has placed its confidence in this Organization, will have no alternative but to employ all means available to it in order to liberate the territories now under Israel’s occupation.
18. Before concluding this part of my statement, I wish to refer to the situation in Jerusalem. The illegal and arbitrary measures taken by Israel to annex the city and its continued desecration of Muslim and Christian holy places have been universally condemned. The ultimate aim of Israel’s policy is the destruction, through deliberate neglect and misuse, of the historic Christian and Muslim landmarks of the Holy City, the confiscation of the properties of its inhabitants, and the obliteration of its unique character as a focal point of three great religions. Israel has disregarded the resolutions of the General Assembly calling on it to rescind the measures taken to annex the city and the adjacent areas. The Assembly has twice declared those measures to be invalid. In view of Israel’s persistent refusal to implement these resolutions, the Security Council adopted last May resolution 252(1968) by which it affirmed the Assembly resolutions, deplored Israel’s failure to comply with them, and considered that all legislative and administrative measures which tended to change the legal status of Jerusalem were invalid and could not change that status. In view of Israel’s open and continued defiance, the resolute insistence on the implementation of these resolutions on Jerusalem is a matter of the highest importance and urgency.
19. In Asia, the people of Viet-Nam are victims of a vicious imperialist aggression. The United States, a permanent member of the Security Council, is employing its vast military power to humiliate and subdue a nation whose resistance has become a symbol for the struggle of peoples everywhere against oppression. We are confident that the people of Viet-Nam will be victorious in their battle against United States aggression which has transformed their country into a testing ground for new weapons for mass destruction.
20. We in the Arab world, who have been the victims of aggression, for which the United States must bear a large share of responsibility, are firmly convinced that no power on earth, however great its armies and means of mass destruction, can overcome the struggle of peoples to attain their legitimate rights. The United States aggression in Viet-Nam and the Israeli aggression against the people of Palestine and the neighbouring Arab countries are both the result of the pursuit of narrow, selfish interests at the expense of others. The people of Iraq, who have fought hard to liberate themselves from colonial rule, support the heroic struggle of the people of Viet-Nam for freedom and progress. The Republic of Iraq joins with others all over the world in demanding the immediate and unconditional cessation of bombing of the Democratic Republic of Viet-Nam as a prerequisite for settling the conflict and restoring peace to the area.
21. The Paris discussions have not yielded any results, and are not likely to until the United States ceases its bombing of the Democratic Republic of Viet-Nam. Any peaceful settlement of the conflict will have to be in accordance with the 1954 Geneva Agreements.
22. An issue which cannot be altogether divorced from the situation in Asia is the representation of China in the United Nations. Our position on this question is clear, and we shall continue to support the restoration of the rights of the People’s Republic of China in the Organization and welcome all initiatives to end the present anomalous situation.
23. Turning to the continent of Africa, we continue to deplore the unwillingness of the British Government to take resolute action to put an end to the rebellious and illegal régime of the racist minority in Rhodesia. It is quite clear that the half-hearted measures so far taken have nut created any impression on that régime and have given no relief to the oppressed African majority. It is far from certain whether mandatory sanctions, however comprehensive they may be, are sufficient to deal with the problem. My
delegation fully supports the African States in their demand that force be used to put an end to the racist minority rule in Rhodesia.
24. Portugal’s desperate efforts to maintain a foothold in Africa will no doubt crumble before the mighty tide of African nationalism. All Members of the United Nations, particularly those with special relations with Portugal, must shoulder their responsibilities in helping to bring about the speedy liquidation of the Portuguese colonial empire in Africa. South Africa continues to defy the United Nations and world opinion by its illegal occupation of Namibia and by its apartheid policies. My Government will do everything in its power to alleviate the suffering of the victims of apartheid and will support any action taken by the United Nations to ensure the compliance of the South African Government with the numerous resolutions adopted by the General Assembly in this regard. The refusal of South Africa to accept General Assembly resolution 2145(XXI) terminating its Mandate over Namibia constitutes a threat to international peace and security and a serious challenge to the authority of the Organization. Effective remedial
action is now necessary and should not be delayed.
25. In our Arab homeland, colonialism still persists and the struggle of our people continues, in order to eliminate the last vestiges of colonial rule. The question of Oman has been inscribed on the agenda of this session and will be discussed in its proper context as a colonial problem. My country will spare no effort until the last remnant of imperialism and foreign hegemony in the Arab homeland has been liquidated.
26. One of the few tangible successes in this past year has been in the field of disarmament. The conclusion of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons [see resolution 2373 (XXII)] after years of complex and arduous negotiation is an achievement of historic proportions and is undoubtedly the most important single development since the dawn of the nuclear age. My country has already signed the Treaty and it is our fervent hope that all nations will do likewise, especially those without whose signature and ratification the Treaty will never become a living reality. There is of course a great deal more to be done in the field of disarmament. A comprehensive test-ban treaty is urgently needed. The problem of increasing nuclear stockpiles must be faced. The far-reaching recent developments in offensive missile technology and anti-missile systems have increased both the dangers and challenges and underlined the urgent need to take effective
action on the international level.
27. In the economic and social field, there has been a most discouraging lack of progress. The second session of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development held in New Delhi in February and March 1968 has revealed the deep schism which still divides the developing and the developed countries and many of the fundamental issues of world trade remain unresolved.
28. The first United Nations Development Decade, which will be ending soon, has been a serious disappointment. In launching a new development decade, we must learn from the experiences of the last ten years. A far more realistic appraisal of the needs and available resources is necessary if we are to avoid the disappointments of the present Development Decade.
29. Twenty-three years have passed since the United Nations came into being, but the great hopes and expectations which accompanied its birth have not been fulfilled. Much greater efforts are therefore needed to put into effect and translate into living reality the lofty principles of the Charter so that we may secure a better life for our peoples and bequeath to succeeding generations a world of peace, justice and prosperity.