96. Before I proceed with the statement of my delegation, I should like to convey to the President and through him to the representatives here the greetings and good wishes of my august Sovereign, His Majesty King Mahendra Bir Bikram Shah Deva, for the success of the twenty-third session of the General Assembly.
97. My delegation is happy to find an illustrious representative of a Central American republic as President of the Assembly at the present session. In his election, not only the common aspirations of the developing countries are represented, but the basic principle of the Charter — that of the sovereign equality of States — is also reflected. Under his capable guidance we are assured of the successful outcome of the present session. Through him, I wish to salute the brotherly countries of Central and Latin America.
98. If the election of the Foreign Minister of Romania, His Excellency Mr. Manescu, as President of the Assembly at its twenty-second session, symbolized a general relaxation of East-West tension, his Presidency must be credited with ably contributing to closer understanding between the East and the West. The successful endorsement of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons [see resolution 2373(XXII)], under the Presidency of His Excellency Mr. Manescu, has further manifested hi: capacity to build bridges between diverse interests.
99. My delegation wishes to extend its hearty welcome to Swaziland, the newest Member in this comity of nations. We hope that the parts of Africa still under crude colonial domination will also attain freedom and independence and will join us as common partners in international brotherhood and understanding. With the granting of independence to Swaziland, the British colonial era in Africa has almost come to a close. I wish to pay a tribute to the statesmanship of the British Government for withdrawing gracefully from its colonial possessions.
100. We are fortunate to have in U Thant, our Secretary-General, a great conscientious servant of peace, and I take this opportunity to express our sincere good wishes for the success of his endeavour for world peace.
101. My country has a deep and profound faith in the ideals of the United Nations. An unequivocal affirmation of this before the General Assembly has come from no less a person than my august Sovereign, His Majesty King Mahendra Bir Bikram Shah Deva, who was invited to address this world body on 6 November last year [1595th meeting]. In today’s world, which is full of heavy stresses and strains, we feel the best and only way for the small and developing countries to ensure their independence and security against the might of an aggressor is through the collective efforts of this Organization. The United Nations, ever since its birth, has been successful in averting the development into full-scale war of many armed conflicts in different parts of the world, including Korea, Kashmir, Cyprus and the Middle East. This indeed is no small measure of success for the United Nations, for which our generation owes it deep gratitude. But for the vigilance of this world body, the developing countries of the world would not have had the time and resources, however inadequate, so essential for their development.
102. It is for this reason that we have pledged cur support to the United Nations and want to see it gain greater strength and universality. Nepal not only has faithfully carried out the decisions of the United Nations on various issues but also has been fulfilling all its obligations towards the Organization. And now, imbued with a desire to serve the Organization still more actively, it has decided to seek election to the Security Council this year. While that decision of my country signifies the deep faith it has in the ideals and the effectiveness of the United Nations, it also indicates our willingness to work honestly for the Organization’s success. I am happy to note that our sincerity and devotion to the ideals of the United Nations has been appreciated by a large number of countries from Asia and other continents.
103. Despite great protestations by the peace-loving peoples all the world over, the tragic war in Viet-Nam is still continuing. That war, which has taken a heavy toll of human lives and contributed to the mounting of tension in the world, is an example of how big-Power interests bear hard on a small and poor country even to the extent of dividing it against the will of its people, subjecting them to untold misery and great sufferings. This has naturally caused the greatest concern among all peace-loving peoples everywhere, and particularly in our continent.
104. It is indeed very unfortunate that that war, which is a burden on the conscience of humanity, should continue so long, despite the United Nations, which symbolizes the common desire of mankind to live in peace. Dedicated servant of peace that he is, the Secretary-General has taken the initiative and suggested certain reasonable measures for the cessation of hostilities in Viet-Nam. The suggestions of the Secretary-General are practical and they have our support.
105. His Majesty’s Government of Nepal holds that any solution to the Viet-Nam crisis, in order to be lasting, must take into consideration the desire of the Viet-Namese people. The Viet-Namese people have an inalienable right to independence and sovereignty. It is their right to live in peace and unity; this must be scrupulously respected by all.
106. The Geneva Agreement of 1954 has a judicious basis in that it accepts the right of the Viet-Namese people to unite and live as a sovereign independent nation. Besides, it looks at the problem from a political angle, in contrast to the military angle, and seeks to solve it politically. His Majesty’s Government therefore believes that it is still possible to find a political solution to the Viet-Namese crisis on the basis of the Geneva Agreement.
107. The Paris peace talks, which started this summer, once again kindled the hope that the Viet-Nam tragedy might once and for all be solved. The peace talks are still going on and are becoming protracted; so far they have failed to produce any constructive result. His Majesty’s Government welcomes any move which seeks to solve the problem anywhere except on the battlefield and has therefore welcomed the Paris talks too. But, first of all, in our opinion, there must be a complete cessation of the bombing of North Viet-Nam in order to create a suitable atmosphere for any meaningful negotiation.
108. While the tragedy of Viet-Nam continues in the face of world opinion, a new element of great tension was only recently introduced in Czechoslovakia. The Czechoslovakian régime seemed to be adjusting itself to the new changes in the society which had been brought about by years of socialist construction. Just at that time, very suddenly, Soviet troops as well as the troops of four other socialist countries crossed the frontier and entered Czechoslovakia. Naturally there was great concern and anxiety all over the world. It seemed that the clock had been moved backward. When the Czechoslovak and Soviet leaders met in Moscow to arrive at an understanding we all waited with bated breath. The Czechoslovak people have won the admiration of all by their unity and discipline. His Majesty’s Government hopes that, as a result of the talks between the Soviet Union and Czechoslovakia, and further talks if necessary, the Czechoslovak and Soviet leaders will so develop their understanding as to arrive at a mutually acceptable solution which would permit the Czech people to conduct themselves according to their own wishes.
109. The eruption of armed conflict between the Arab States and Israel in the Middle East in June 1967 came as a great shock to the world. Fortunately the armed conflict has stopped, thanks to the timely steps taken by the United Nations. Bat the root causes of the conflict are far from removed. Arab-Israel hostility is based on their long-established and rigidly held views about each other, backed by strong emotions. This has been further aggravated by the interests of the super-Powers. While the United Nations efforts for peace-keeping in the area were able to maintain an uneasy truce in the past, there has been no positive development towards ending the permanent state of belligerency and creating a basis for a stable peace in the area.
110. Although it is easy to understand the difficult problem of survival faced by Israel, refusal to withdraw its armed forces from the occupied Arab territories cannot be justified. Territorial gains by military conquest, in any circumstances whatsoever, are contrary to the objectives of the United Nations Charter and the norms of international behaviour. It is therefore necessary that Israel should withdraw all its armed forces from Arab territories, including the old city of Jerusalem, occupied by it during
the last armed conflict, as a first step towards an accepted solution.
111. His Majesty’s Government of Nepal understands the sentiments of the Arab States, as it understands the difficulties of Israel for survival. But it is high time that both sides cast off their old prejudices and suspicions and recognized the truth that Israel exists and that no peace is possible unless Israel withdraws its forces from Arab territory. In the improved circumstances, the Secretary-General’s Special Representative can play a more useful role for fulfilment of his mission. His Majesty’s Government has lent its full support to Security Council resolution 242(1967) of 22 November last year, which provides a most sensible basis for a lasting political solution of the question of the Middle East.
112. While talking of the role of the United Nations in the Middle East crisis, our attention is drawn to the problems of the United Nations peace-keeping operations. It is true that the activities of the United Nations which are generally described as peace-keeping operations are only attempts to prevent a particular situation from deteriorating further by maintaining a truce and supervising cease-fire arrangements. They are not an attempt to provide a permanent solution to the problem. Nevertheless, they are very useful activities. So long as there are uneasy truces in different parts of the world, the usefulness of the peace-keeping activities cannot be questioned. On the contrary, we believe that, in the absence of total elimination of the possibility of conflicts between countries — an objective whose achievement is rather doubtful in the present circumstance — inability on the part of the United Nations to conduct its peace-keeping operations, for any reason whatsoever, will take away the effectiveness of the world body and it will not inspire the same degree of confidence from the smaller nations it has been inspiring up till now. It is very unfortunate that the political and constitutional aspects of the peace-keeping question are still far from resolved. It is our earnest hope that a better appreciation of this question by all Members, especially the super-Powers, will ultimately provide a solution and save the United Nations from its present crisis.
113. His Majesty’s Government has, from the very beginning, been firmly and consistently giving its most emphatic support to the banning and complete liquidation of the weapons of mass annihilation and to general and complete disarmament. We have been doing so for idealistic as well as practical reasons. When the 1963 partial nuclear test-ban Treaty and the agreement not to launch objects of mass destruction into outer space [see resolution 1884 (XVII)] were arrived at a few years ago, Nepal welcomed those steps as helpful for the achievement of the final goal of disarmament.
114. One of the most significant achievements of the United Nations this year has been the signing of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, which has closed the door of the nuclear club to new entrants and put a ban on nuclear proliferation. The Eighteen-Nation Committee on Disarmament, and especially its two co-Chairmen, the United States of America and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, deserve special tribute for their work.
115. I am happy to say that Nepal was one of the several countries which signed the Treaty on the very day it was opened for signature. We commend the Treaty for its noble, though limited objectives, as well as for its happy augury for peaceful co-operation between the super-Powers. This kind of peaceful co-operation between the super-Powers is a good sign for the future. His Majesty’s Government has completed arrangements for the ratification of the Treaty, and we urge signatory States, particularly the nuclear Powers that took a lead in the conclusion of the Treaty, to ratify it at an early date.
116. The Treaty, as I have said, is inspired by a very noble ideal but, probably for realistic and practical considerations, it could not have more than a limited objective which falls short of complete and general disarmament. It may be pointed out that, while the Treaty does rule out an increase in the numerical strength of the nuclear-weapon States, it does not prohibit production and stockpiling of nuclear armaments by the nuclear-weapon States. It is therefore generally feared that it does not provide for a matching balance of mutual obligations and responsibilities between the nuclear-weapon States and the non-nuclear States. However, limited measures of disarmament such as this Treaty are desirable, because further proliferation of nuclear weapons is not conductive to national and international security. Non-proliferation should have actually started with those who possess nuclear weapons, rather than with others. But, showing great concern for peace, the vast majority of non-nuclear-weapon States, in the present case, have agreed on non-proliferation. This has, in our opinion, placed the nuclear Powers under a moral obligation to adopt more positive measures towards disarmament.
117. In our opinion, as the Treaty has vested the nuclear countries with special power by recognizing their sole right to remain nuclear, it is for them to do something in order to allay the fear of non-nuclear-weapon States about the lack of matching obligations. In this respect, his Majesty’s Government does not view with favour a security guarantee by the nuclear-weapon States as this, in stead of paving the way for nuclear disarmament, presupposes the continuous protection by the nuclear Powers with the same nuclear weapons which we wish to see totally destroyed. His Majesty’s Government, therefore, sincerely urges the nuclear Powers and other members of the Eighteen-Nation Committee on Disarmament to work out further measures of arms control and disarmament leading to the final goal of complete disarmament, both nuclear and conventional. In this respect they will be well-advised to give their most serious consideration to the recommendations of the recent Conference of Non-Nuclear-Weapon States [A/7277]. We should also like to emphasize here the particular significance of the development of nuclear energy for peaceful purposes and international co-operation in this field and pay tribute to the work done by the International Atomic Energy Agency.
118. His Majesty’s Government has welcomed the recent agreement reached between the United States and the Soviet Union on an exchange of views regarding limitation and reduction of strategic nuclear weapon delivery vehicles, both offensive and defensive, including anti-missile weapons. While we eagerly await the beginning of such talks, we welcome the memorandum of the Soviet Union concerning urgent measures to stop the arms race and achieve disarmament, which in our view merits serious consideration by the present session. The agenda item entitled “One day of war for peace”, proposed by Cambodia, Gabon and Madagascar, would, in our opinion, provide an opportunity for useful discussion concerning the slowing down of expenditures on armaments.
119. My delegation is of the strong conviction that no question affecting war and peace in general can be solved without the active participation of the People’s Republic of China in the United Nations. China, the most populous country in the world, is not only an ancient nation which has contributed much to human civilization and knowledge, but also a modern nation which has achieved tremendous progress in every walk of life and established itself as a nuclear Power. To refuse to recognize the existence of China is to refuse to see reason, and that is exactly what a section of the membership of the United Nations has in effect been doing, blatantly and deliberately, ever since the People’s Republic of China came to be established as the lawful Government of the land nearly two decades ago. Such an attitude of intransigence has certainly done more harm than good to the cause of peace.
120. Nepal has a profound faith in the Charter as well as in the system of the United Nations and nothing gives it more satisfaction than that it be given more strength and universality. It is with this desire as well as with the desire to see the wrong done to a close and friendly neighbour duly redressed that my delegation has been consistently supporting the restoration of the lawful rights of the People’s Republic of China in the United Nations.
121. My delegation earnestly desires that countries like Germany, Korea and Viet-Nam, which are divided against their will, should have the right to live in unity and peace without outside interference. The sooner these nations take their rightful places in the United Nations, the better it will be for the United Nations, for them and for the rest of the world.
122. The policy of racial discrimination and segregation pursued by the Government of South Africa is still continuing, to the great chagrin of the civilized world. My delegation strongly believes that this policy of racial segregation, apartheid as it is called, is a relic of primitive barbarism and is in gross violation of human rights, fundamental freedoms and all that the United Nations Charter stands for.
123. The South African Government, in utter defiance of world opinion, is now, moreover, trying to fortify itself further through unholy alliances with other reactionary forces in the world. The United Nations resolutions urging a trade boycott have not been effective either, as they have failed to receive a full response from the major trading partners of the Republic of South Africa. My delegation would like to urge the permanent members of the Security Council and the main trading partners of the Republic of South Africa to take sterner measures to force the racist minority Government in Pretoria to give up this wicked policy.
124. South Africa’s continued occupation of the territory of Namibia is a further affront to the United Nations. The United Nations Council for Namibia has our full support, but it is our belief that, in order for it to be able to discharge its function in accordance with the relevant General Assembly resolutions, it should receive the co-operation of the permanent members of the Security Council which, unfortunately, has been lacking till now. It is in the interest of peace that these Powers should lend their support because we must not overlook the risk of violent racial conflict in southern Africa over the question of Namibia.
125. My delegation also supports strongly the right of the people of Southern Rhodesia to democratic government based on the principle of "one man, one vote”. We hope that the United Kingdom, which, as the administering Power, has a moral responsibility for the African majority, and the other big Powers will willingly co-operate for the effective implementation of the mandatory sanctions imposed by the Security Council against the illegal white minority régime established in open defiance of the administering Power and in utter disregard of the wishes of the African majority in Southern Rhodesia.
126. Another source of grave international anxiety is the continued presence of colonialism in certain other parts of the world. A large number of people are still suffering under the ruthless exploitation of the colonial Powers, whose repressive and retrogressive policies are incompatible with the United Nations Charter and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The worst type of colonialism is practised by Portugal in such African territories as Mozambique. Angola and so-called Portuguese Guinea. The denial of the fundamental right of freedom and self-rule to those colonial people is also an impediment to world peace and co-operation.
127. The world today stands sharply divided not only politically and ideologically, but also economically. My delegation is of the opinion that economic disparity is the cause rather than the effect of political and ideological differences and therefore is a matter of greater concern. The United Nations, working through its different organs, specialized agencies and organizations, has been, able to bring about a growing awareness among Member States that their individual efforts to eradicate poverty, ignorance and disease from their respective territories are but parts of a world-wide concerted move to put up a strong fight against these evils. Although there is now a realization of the intensity and magnitude of the problem, actually only a little progress has been made in the direction of finding a solution to the problem. The economic gap between the developed and the developing countries far from being abridged, is becoming wider and wider. Nepal, being among the least developed of the developing countries, is also painfully aware of the ever-increasing economic disparity among the developing countries themselves which are at various stages of development.
128. The target for development set for the United Nations Development Decade is still far from being achieved although the Decade itself is nearing an end. Most of the developing countries have failed to register the minimum 5 per cent growth in their economies which was the target for the Development Decade. This failure can be attributed mainly to a slower flow of international financial resources.
129. In the field of international trade, it is vitally important for the developing countries that the prices of and demand for primary commodities are stabilized and that a liberal policy is followed with regard to the free flow of manufactured goods from the developing to the developed countries. This and other related problems of commodity trade and preferences were discussed at length at the Second Session held in New Delhi this year. The outcome of the conference, however, was seriously compromised on account of the differences between the developed and the developing countries as well as among the developing countries themselves.
130. For Nepal and many other countries, being landlocked is a permanent handicap to development. The 1965 Convention on Transit Trade of Land-Locked Countries, which was approved by the United Nations Conference on Transit Trade of Land-Locked Countries, recognizes the right of land-locked countries: to free and unrestricted transit of goods to and from third countries through the territory of a costal State. This convention, after having being ratified by the requisite number of States, came into force as of June 1967. It is, however, yet to be ratified by certain States. Nepal strongly believes that it is in the common interest of both the developing and the developed countries that prosperity be equally shared by all. For this, a new liberal framework for trade and international assistance has got to be created. In this context, whereas it is necessary that the developed countries show a reasonable degree of accommodation and understanding towards the developing countries, it is equally important that the latter also do the same in respect of the least developed among themselves.
131. I have briefly dealt with the main problems facing the world today. In the field of international relations, Nepal pursues a policy of non-alignment and peaceful co-existence. Our outlook and attitudes towards these problems are mainly governed by these principles, which we have adopted not because of any considerations of expediency but because they constitute an article of faith for us. Similarly, we have deep confidence in the principles and purposes of the United Nations Charter. It is our strong conviction that the future of mankind can be secure only through the concerted and unified efforts of all in the United Nations. Let us all unite in this objective and co-operate with each other to make the United Nations an effective instrument of peace and world prosperity.