64. Allow me, Mr. President, to congratulate you in the name of the delegation of Dahomey on your election as a Vice-President of the General Assembly of the United Nations at its twenty-third session. Through you, I should also like to address my very sincere congratulations, on behalf of Dahomey, to H. E. Mr. Emilio Arenales on his election as President of the Assembly. I find this is particularly gratifying, not only because his election is proof of the growing importance and role of that part of the world commonly called the third world, but also and chiefly because he is the representative of one of those "little" countries which, like Dahomey, are deeply attached to peace. There is no doubt that, thanks to his outstanding qualities, the present session will pursue a harmonious and positive course.
65. I also take this opportunity to pay a well-deserved tribute to H. E. Mr. Corneliu Manescu, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Romania, who conducted the work of the twenty-second session with a vivacity, tact and impartiality matched only by his exquisite courtesy.
66. Since our last session, the international community has been shaken — and, alas, is still shaken — by numerous crises which can make the most optimistic among us rightly entertain doubts regarding the achievement of one of the fundamental purposes of our Organization, namely the maintenance of international peace and security.
67. In the view of the delegation of Dahomey, the essential cause of these crises resides in the disregard, if not the open violation, of the principles which are the very foundation of the United Nations. Under cover of alleged “higher interests", the principle of the sovereign equality of States and that of non-intervention in the domestic affairs of States, have been flouted with impunity. This represents a retrograde trend, which, if we are not careful, will take us back to the law of the jungle. Like many others, my
delegation therefore wonders anxiously what fate will sooner or later befall the small weak States if the international community fails to return, while there is still time, to a concept of international relations which is more consistent with morality and law.
68. Recent events in Czechoslovakia and the invasion of that country by foreign troops have justifiably aroused strong feelings throughout the world, particularly in the people and Government of the Republic of Dahomey.
69. True to its foreign policy which is based, among other principles, on resolute hostilities to all forms of subjection and domination of one people by another, Dahomey, on 22 August last, reaffirmed with respect to the events in Czechoslovakia its position on strict respect for the sovereignty and integrity of all States, non-intervention in their domestic affairs and their right to self-determination.
70. Dahomey can only deplore the fact that these principles, which should be sacrosanct in the interests of world peace, are now being so gravely violated in Czechoslovakia.
71. This is the place for the delegation of Dahomey solemnly to reaffirm, if this is still necessary, its devotion to the purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations. It is deeply convinced that only strict observance of, and respect for, these principles will make possible the peaceful and fruitful coexistence between nations with different’ political, economic, social and cultural régimes and the peace which we all so ardently desire.
72. The constant concern to safeguard peace which must be that of all Members of our Organization requires that they should do all in their power to ensure that the universal mission that the authors of the Charter rightly conferred upon the United Nations can be fully achieved. The admission to the United Nations of a new Member State, Swaziland, and the forthcoming admission of Equatorial Guinea should give us cause for rejoicing because these two new Members will strengthen the universal character of the United Nations. It is with real pleasure that the delegation of Dahomey extends its greetings and congratulations to Swaziland, which it welcomes to membership in our Organization, and also to Equatorial Guinea which has just achieved independence and which we hope will soon take a seat in our midst. We take this opportunity publicly to express our satisfaction at the co-operative and progressive attitude at present displayed by Spain with regard to decolonization, an attitude which contrasts so markedly with the reactionary obstinacy of its neighbour, Portugal.
73. In speaking of the universal mission of the United Nations, we are inevitably led to note the absence of certain countries from our ranks, an absence which impairs our Organization’s ability to accomplish the fundamental purposes of the Charter—particularly the maintenance of peace — the most striking absentee being the People’s Republic of China.
74. The daily life of the international community provides ample evidence that it is unrealistic to try to ignore a nation of 700 million people, a nuclear Power moreover, whose tight to be associated with and participate in all discussions for the establishment of true peace in the world we do not dispute. Although my Government does not share the philosophical or ideological views of Peking, it believes that the People’s Republic of China should be admitted to our Organization if it so wishes and if it intends to abide by the principles of the Charter. However, this admission should not involve the eviction of Nationalist China.
75. The Viet-Nam conflict has entered a new phase and although the clash of arms has not yet been silenced, it is with profound satisfaction that the Government of Dahomey learned of the positive decision of the parties to the conflict to sit down together around the table of hope which is, par excellence, that of negotiations. True, the Paris talks have not yet produced any concrete results, but they constitute, we are all convinced, an important first step in the search for peace in South-East Asia. We hope that the people of Viet-Nam, who have been so sorely tried for many years, may at last be able, in the tranquillity of peace, to devote themselves fully and without hindrance to their economic and social development.
76. Since the tragic events of June 1967, tension has persisted in the Middle East, and little progress has been made towards an adequate settlement of the crisis. The cease-fire is being jeopardized by the multiplication and repetition of bloody incidents whose continuance may delay the search for a fair and lasting solution. Dahomey, for its part, considers that the cessation of hostilities, both direct and indirect, would favour the examination and settlement of general problems in that region with the help of the great Powers. It is therefore desirable that the Security Council resolution [242(1967)] of 22 November 1967 should be effectively and fully applied. The delegation of Dahomey takes this opportunity to pay a tribute to Mr. Jarring, whose untiring and commendable efforts it fully supports.
77. Africa, too, is affected by this reality of a still precarious and constantly threatened peace. On our continent, the appalling tragedy which is shaking the foundations of Nigeria, Dahomey’s great neighbour, is causing us the gravest concern. It is Dahomey’s earnest hope that there will be an early end to this distressing conflict and that the law of force give way to the voice of reason, leading to a solution that is fair and just to all the parties concerned and enabling Nigeria to regain that unity and cohesion which commanded our admiration and pride. It is high time that the sound of destructive weapons should be stilled and that millions of human beings should be saved from death, famine and hardships of all kinds. We urge this vital objective on our brothers, racked by this tragedy which troubles our conscience.
78. In Africa again, though many States have achieved full national sovereignty during the last few years, it is nevertheless shocking to note that there are still some bastions of anachronistic colonialism which flout with impunity the right of peoples to self-determination. In Angola, Mozambique, and in Guinea (Bissau), under the false pretext of pursuing a civilizing mission and of defending a certain civilization, the Lisbon Government is conducting a systematic policy of exploitation and oppression, denying the peoples of these regions their national identity.
79. In Southern Rhodesia, the racist government of Ian Smith, after unilaterally declaring independence, continues to defy the international community. It is high time that the United Kingdom Government faced up to its responsibilities. Economic sanctions having failed lamentably through the complicity of certain States, it becomes necessary to resort to armed force. This is all the more obvious since the repeated efforts at negotiation made by the United Kingdom Government with a view to bringing the rebel régime
in Rhodesia to its senses have invariably — and once more only recently — ended in failure, a fact from which a lesson should be drawn.
80. The Republic of South Africa, for its part, in spite of universal reprobation, pursues its criminal policy of apartheid and daily strengthens its apparatus for the subjugation of millions of Africans. The friends of Pretoria and those who, motivated by sordid interests, indulge in a pharisaical attitude, will bear a heavy responsibility in the eyes of
future generations and of history for having fostered the bloody clashes which lie ahead. The racist minority in power at Pretoria is not content to govern within the boundaries of the Republic of South Africa. It extends its régime of oppression to the territory of Namibia, in flagrant violation of international principles. Despite the resolutions of the United Nations, South Africa continues to exercise its domination over Namibia and the international community looked on, powerless, astounded and dismayed, when Pretoria refused last March to allow the United Nations Council for Namibia to proceed to Windhoek. In this way, South Africa reaffirmed, once again and unequivocally, its unchanging policy of contempt for our Organization. Dahomey considers that it is high time for all Member States, big or small, strong or weak, to abide by the principles which constitute the foundation of our Organization and inspire its action, by respecting its decisions, if they wish to preserve the raison d’être and the moral authority of the United Nations.
81. Though Africa is at present the scene of the greatest tragedies of colonialism, certain problems of decolonization also arise in other parts of the world.
82. These last months of 1968 are an appropriate time to remind the international community of the fate of West New Guinea, or West Irian, whose future will be determined in 1969. The United Nations, in endorsing the 1962 Agreement between the Netherlands and Indonesia, guaranteed the right of the population freely to determine its own future in 1969. We hope that adequate steps will be taken in co-operation with the administering Power to ensure the strict application of the Agreement and an impartial consultation of the Papuan people during the coming year.
83. Despite the persistence of centres of tension, it is encouraging to note that our world is sometimes illuminated by a glimmer of hope. The Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons [resolution 2373(XXII)] which was adopted by the General Assembly last June and of which Dahomey is a signatory, is the culmination of two years work by the Eighteen-Nation Committee. While paying a tribute to that Committee, whose task was far from easy, our concern for realism and objectivity compels us to recognize that this treaty represents a positive achievement, it is true, but one which is very limited. We shall not dwell on its inadequacies and limitations, which were amply stressed by the representative of Dahomey when this question was discussed in the First Committee [1568th meeting]. It is enough to recall, for example, that although the Treaty contains provisions aimed at restricting the number of States possessing nuclear weapons, one can search in vain for a provision prohibiting the present nuclear Powers from multiplying their own nuclear weapons. This is an important omission since the real danger lies in the constant build-up of nuclear stockpiles by the super-Powers. For this reason, Dahomey considers that renewed efforts must be made “towards the achievement of general and complete disarmament and, more particularly, nuclear disarmament”, in accordance with General Assembly resolution 2028 (XX). These efforts should be specifically directed towards obtaining a precise and unequivocal undertaking from the countries possessing nuclear weapons to take concrete steps as soon as possible to bring about the cessation of the manufacture of nuclear weapons and the reduction and destruction of nuclear weapons and their delivery vehicles. This is, in our opinion, the minimum undertaking that can be demanded of the nuclear States in exchange for a formal undertaking by the non-nuclear States — and especially those which already have or will soon have nuclear capacity — not to acquire nuclear weapons.
84. The peace towards which all the efforts of the international community should be directed is closely connected with economic and social development and with the reduction, if not the elimination, of the tragic imbalance which is evident in this field.
85. Ever since the first session of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, it has been constantly repeated that the terms of trade are deteriorating dangerously. The upheavals in the world show us in every case that the excessive poverty of some represents a source of anxiety and perhaps even a threat to others. And yet do we not find that those who could make the necessary efforts are not always willing to do so with good grace?
86. Four years after the first United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, there was reason to hope that the meeting at New Delhi would open a new era. It did nothing of the sort. The third world was profoundly disappointed. But is it enough to denounce the selfishness of some and to bewail our misfortune? Of course, it is not. The time has come to draw the lesson from the meagre results achieved at New Delhi, results which were particularly disappointing since a certain number of studies were known to be sufficiently advanced to be the subject of sincere negotiations leading to concrete decisions.
87. In view of the generally unjustified fluctuations in commodity prices, the only effective safeguard would be to give priority to market organization and to the fixing of a minimum agricultural wage that would give some meaning to our farmers’ efforts to increase production. We, for our part, have consistently followed the advice so far given to us. It is obvious that the growth of our agricultural resources is not sufficient to enrich us. Whether we sell our raw materials or buy manufactured products, the prices are
dictated to us in both cases, and invariably to our disadvantage.
88. For the third world, the Charter of Algiers represents a positive step. But we must undoubtedly go farther because what matters today is what the developing countries can do among themselves, although this does not mean that they should retreat into isolation.
89. The desire to associate bilateral and multilateral aid with our own efforts comes into the category of co-operation and mutual aid, not charity or begging. Bilateral and multilateral assistance should be proportional to the needs of each of us.
90. There are industrious peoples living in hostile natural environments where the soil is arid and poor. If the aid offered to them were to be commensurate with wealth and not needs, there would certainly be little chance of the gap between rich and poor disappearing.
91. The effort which will be required tomorrow of the rich nations will inevitably be greater than the effort which they could freely make today. This is so true, that instead of the figure of 1 per cent per annum of national income mentioned at the end of the Geneva meeting, it is now 1 per cent of the gross national product which they should devote to aid to the under-developed countries.
92. From 1961 to 1966, aid to the developing countries remained stationary while the gross national product of the rich countries increased by nearly 300,000 million dollars.
93. This ratio speaks for itself. It continues to trouble the consciences of some because, although the search for a reasonable balance is primarily an economic question, it undoubtedly has moral implications.
94. After the slow and patient search for solutions and after the disappointment of most of its hopes, does nothing but anguish lie ahead for the third world? It is not my intention to paint a sombre picture of apocalyptic catastrophes. There is still time for us to save each other. Yes, war with the new and powerful means of destruction placed at its disposal is, to a large extent, the source of misery in the world. And yet, paradoxical as it is, enormous sums are being devoted year after year to that which engenders hatred and misery, while at the same time there is a refusal to do the minimum required to provide a little more happiness for those who need it. In this connexion, the idea of "One day of war for peace” put forward by an eminent man [agenda item 92 — see document A/7183 and Add.1] merits our attention because of its symbolic value. By putting a brake on the frightening arms race, the international community could concentrate on more constructive tasks such as the joint exploitation of the resources of the seas and oceans for the development of the third world. For the wealthy nations, it is a question of consenting to help the less well-endowed nations to create the conditions that are essential to the full development of mankind. For all nations, it is a question of resolutely committing themselves to undertake, here and now, the inspiring task of our century: the creation of a world from which despair and misery have been banished forever.
95. Before concluding, we should like once more to pay a well-deserved tribute to U Thani, our Secretary-General, for his untiring efforts in the service of the international community for the building and safeguarding of peace, and also to reaffirm Dahomey’s attachment to the United Nations, to its ideals and to the purposes contained in its Charter. Dahomey is determined, as in the past, and especially in this International Year for Human Rights to join its efforts, to the full extent of its resources with those of other Member States not only to ensure the success of the work of the present session, but also to bring a little more peace, justice and solidarity to the world.