1. It is again my privilege this year to address the President and the Members of the General Assembly at its twenty-third session on behalf of my country, the Republic of Malawi. Indeed, I consider it an honour to be able to participate in the general debate, which also gives me an opportunity of acquainting the General Assembly with the views of my Government on some of the issues that confront the international community today and to which this world body will be giving its attention during the current session.
2. To begin with I should like to congratulate the President on my own behalf and on behalf of my country upon his election to the presidency of this session. His election to this high office represents the trust that the Members have in him and I am confident that his personal qualities will not fail him in discharging the challenging duties of this office to the satisfaction of us all.
3. Let me also take this opportunity of paying a tribute to the President of the twenty-second session for his outstanding performance. His patience, his tact and his impartiality made him a most fitting person for the job, and we were happy that we were privileged to be guided by such a distinguished diplomat as His Excellency Mr. Manescu.
4. Finally I wish to pay a tribute to those who have already addressed this Assembly for their contributions. I am sure that those contributions will go a long way in assisting us in our search for peace — and peace is the primary objective of this world body. Admittedly the speeches made at this Assembly do at times reveal the existence of a wide divergence of opinions among States on different issues, but perhaps this helps us to understand one
another better.
5. I do not have much to say that is new on this occasion. I believe that the speech made by my President in 1964, when Malawi was being admitted as a Member of the United Nations, and those delivered in subsequent years by my delegation on similar occasions must have given a clear picture of our stand on many of the issues that come before this Assembly year after year. Therefore, I shall simply reiterate the views of my Government on those matters on which my delegation feels it necessary to do so.
6. In this connexion I shall first deal with the situation in the Middle East. My delegation holds the same views that it clearly expressed in this Assembly at the twenty-second session.
7. .These views are that it is negative for any Member of this Organization to dispute the existence of a State which is not only a Member of the United Nations but is also its own creation. The existence of Israel as a Member, and an equal Member, of the community of nations is a fact of life and the sooner this is acknowledged by all Member States, the better chances there will be for peace in the Middle East.
8. Some delegations have accused Israel in this Assembly and the Security Council of aggression. We do not accept these accusations, because no nation can afford to remain idle in the face of threats of extinction. Israel has a right to defend itself against such external threats to its existence and to the lives of its people, threats it has faced in the past and continues to face. This right extends to the destruction of the very tools and implements which are used for aggressive objects.
9. For any Member States to harbour, equip or encourage subversive elements whose sole purpose is to terrorize, to kill and to disrupt the normal way of life of citizens of another Member nation of this world body is contrary to its Charter and its principles. I submit that if the United Nations is not able to safeguard the safety of a Member State against outside aggression, then it becomes necessary for that State to defend itself. This, in the view of my country, is just what Israel is doing.
10. Last year I repeated here the views of my President that no lasting peace can be achieved by force of arms and that any victory won by this method is short lived; it is a victory that represents a temporary solution and the problems it purports to solve will emerge again sooner or later. Malawi, therefore, considers negotiations to be the answer to settling disputes and once again calls upon the parties to the Middle East dispute to get to the conference table and discuss their differences and see if they cannot reach a solution acceptable to both parties without resorting to force of arms. Such a course of action is the only one that can bring peace and security to that region that has known war and hatred for such a long time.
11. We are strongly convinced that with good will on both sides the Israelis and the Arabs ought to be able to live side by side happily. In this respect I am glad to say that recently my President paid a State visit to Israel and that he was able to see with his own eyes that this can be achieved. There is no reason, therefore, why Israel as a State should not live in peace with its Arab neighbours. All that is required on the part of the latter is to be realistic enough to accept historical facts and face up to the reality of Israel’s existence and, of course, to make a genuine effort to promote good will.
12. The other matter on which I should like to restate the position of my country is the question of admitting the People’s Republic of China to the United Nations. My Government has always stated that the existence of such a large geographical area with the largest population on earth cannot be disregarded. We should like to see the Chinese of the mainland take part, as a full Member, in the deliberations of this world body. However, we have said that in order to give favourable consideration to this matter three conditions have to be fulfilled.
13. Firstly, the admission or otherwise of the People’s Republic of China should be regarded as “an important question”, requiring a two-thirds majority decision. Secondly, the admission of the People’s Republic of China should not in any way affect membership of the Republic of China, a founding Member of the United Nations. Thirdly, the People’s Republic of China should: “demonstrate a genuine change of heart in its attitude towards armed combat, its open interference in the affairs of other nations, and her outspoken antipathy to the United Nations itself, coupled with a genuine willingness ... to respect and abide by the basic principles of the United Nations” [1591st meeting].
14. I regret that my Government does not feel that the People’s Republic of China has yet met any of the requirements of the third condition, and it feels inclined to deny that country the esteemed membership of this world
Organization.
15. I now wish to say a few words on an issue which has emerged since we met here last year and which has caused peace-loving nations of the world considerable distress. I refer to the hijacking of aircraft.
16. My Government views the recent development of hijacking of commercial aircraft with apprehension. The hijacking of a commercial airliner not engaged in bellicose activities is contrary to the fundamental principles of international law and practice, as much as is piracy against ships on the open sea, and must therefore not be condoned but condemned outright.
17. As a land-locked country which is dependent in large part on commercial air transport for its communication with the world community, Malawi cannot help but look with concern on any State or States which give overt or tacit support to such practices. It is for this reason that we are forced to mention the recent activities of this nature which have occurred concerning planes within United States territory which have been hijacked and: diverted to Cuba, and concerning planes flying over the open seas which were diverted from their courses to the territory of the State of Algeria.
18. Malawi considers it absolutely necessary for international public order that the principle of non-interference with civil air transport should be maintained, subject to the generally accepted standards laid down in the relevant international agreements and conventions.
19. Should any State find that its territory, through no fault of its own, becomes involved in such an incident initiated by a foreign Government or a non-governmental group, that State has the obligation promptly and immediately to rectify the situation and to do all within its power to preserve the safety of the foreign nationals who are victims of such an illegal act. It must permit the passengers and crew to continue their journey as soon as practicable and must return the aircraft and its cargo to the persons lawfully entitled to possession. Further, that State has the obligation to do everything possible to assist in bringing the persons responsible for such acts to justice within its own judicial system or to assist the aggrieved State to do so.
20. Malawi was, therefore, understandably, most disturbed by recent events in Algeria concerning the hijacking of a commercial civilian air liner en route to Israel which was forcibly diverted to Algeria by members of a terrorist group. Although Algeria promptly made arrangements for all women and children and male passengers of nonIsraeli nationality to continue their journey by another route, and is to be commended for doing so, the detention of the crew, the male Israeli passengers and the aircraft itself for thirty-nine days, plus the refusal of the Algerian Government to condemn the act in forthright terms or to bring the perpetrators to justice, leads to the justifiable inference that Algeria condoned and approved this act after the fact. Although Algeria might have had no previous knowledge that such an act would be committed, it subsequently became an accomplice of the outlaws by allowing its territory to be used for their purposes. This is highly regrettable behaviour which is manifestly not in the best interests of the world community.
21. The Algerian action is further to be regretted because the upholding of international law with regard to this incident would have provided a unique opportunity to reduce tensions in the Middle East and to demonstrate to the world the sincerity of the desire of the Arab States, or at least of Algeria, for peace.
22. As in previous years, I should like to express by Government’s appreciation and gratitude for the assistance that my country receives from the United Nations and its specialized agencies. I also wish to emphasize what I have said before: that this assistance is of the greatest value to my country in its efforts to achieve economic viability. Our gratitude also goes to donor States for their generous contributions in this respect.
23. While on the subject of United Nations assistance, I am gratified to note that there has been included in the agenda of the present session an item concerning increase in the production and use of edible proteins. The protein problem is so important that it can no longer be dealt with in any light manner and calls for the urgent attention of this Organization.
24. In conclusion, I should like, on behalf of my country, to extend a warm welcome to Swaziland and to congratulate it upon its admission to this world Organization. It is perhaps pertinent to mention that Swaziland and Malawi share common problems and common difficulties stemming from our geographical positions.