5. Mr. President, permit me on behalf of the delegation of the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic to congratulate you on your election to the high office of President of the General Assembly during its twenty-third session, and to express the hope that under your guidance this session will by its work help the international situation to develop in the direction of strengthening universal peace.
6. The Ukrainian delegation associates itself with those who from this rostrum have addressed words of gratitude to the President of the General Assembly, Mr. Corneliu Manescu, the Minister for Foreign Affairs of Romania, during its last session.
7. The representatives of the States Members of the United Nations have come together at a regular session of the General Assembly in order to state their Governments’ views on current events, and to try to determine what further steps should be taken to settle urgent international problems.
8. The complex, contradictory and heterogeneous aspects of the current international situation are naturally reflected in the activities of the United Nations whose task it is to promote greater international peace and security and to help to solve the key political, economic and social problems of our time.
9. The Government of the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic consider it necessary to stress yet again the role and significance of the United Nations as an instrument for international contacts and for settling important questions of international life.
10. Owing to the persistent and determined efforts of the socialist and other peace-loving States, the ground has been prepared on a large number of major international problems for constructive action to reinforce international peace and security. Through all the zigzags resulting from the struggle of antagonistic forces, a certain turn for the better has emerged in the approach of many States to the solution of international problems, in the search for mutually acceptable methods of international co-operation based on the principle of peaceful co-existence between States with different social systems.
11. The imperialist forces are being increasingly isolated, and more and more people are becoming aware of the need to put an end to wars of aggression, to reach a political settlement, to ease the tension associated with potential conflicts in various parts of the world, to eradicate colonialism and racism once and for all, and to prevent the resurgence of Nazism.
12. In our delegation’s view, the essential task of the twenty-third session of the General Assembly is to use the authority of the United Nations to support healthy trends in international life and to counter the schemes of the anti-peace forces with constructive efforts to settle the most important and most pressing international problems. We are ready to do all we can to encourage the development of international relations along such lines.
13. In present circumstances, when huge stock-piles of conventional and nuclear weapons have been accumulated, disarmament has become the greatest problem confronting mankind. Many years’ experience of disarmament negotiations has shown that certain conditions make it impossible to settle simultaneously and at once all the problem relating to disarmament. Obviously, the United Nations acted correctly in entrusting to the Eighteen-Nation Committee the task of conducting negotiations on general and complete disarmament and at the same time deciding on partial arms control and disarmament measures.
14. Six years ago, the Soviet Union submitted to the Eighteen-Nation Committee a draft treaty on general and complete disarmament, containing the constructive elements required to settle this problem. In addition the Soviet Union and other socialist countries have on many occasions submitted proposals for partial measures.
15. After lengthy negotiations, in which nuclear and non-nuclear States took part, agreement was reached on the text of a Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons [resolution 2373(XXII)], which world opinion quite rightly saw as a great success for peace.
16. It has been argued that it would be inopportune for States to sign and ratify the Treaty at this stage, in view of mounting international tension. This is wrong. On the contrary, the greater tension and the increased activity of aggressive forces make it more imperative than ever that the Treaty should be concluded and the nuclear arms race checked. Those who are responsible for the foreign policy of States must surely appreciate the fundamental logic of this.
17. The Treaty puts a stop to the further proliferation of nuclear weapons and at the same time creates more favourable conditions for the application of effective measures for the prohibition and destruction of those weapons. General Assembly resolution 2373(XXII) calls for such measures expressing the conviction
"...that an agreement to prevent the further proliferation of nuclear weapons must be followed as soon as possible by effective measures on the cessation of the nuclear arms race and on nuclear disarmament...”.
18. This precisely is the purpose of the Soviet Government’s Memorandum concerning Urgent Measures to Stop the Arms Race and Achieve Disarmament [A/7134], which was sent to all States on 1 July 1968, and has been submitted for consideration at the current session of the General Assembly as an important and urgent question.
19. The Soviet memorandum contains a combination of proposals for the prohibition of the use of nuclear weapons, the cessation of production of such weapons and the reduction and elimination of stockpiles, and the restriction and subsequent reduction of vehicles for the delivery of strategic weapons. The world has reached the point where nuclear weapons must be outlawed. When in 1961 the General Assembly adopted the well-known Declaration on the Prohibition of the Use of Nuclear and Thermo-Nuclear Weapons [resolution 1653(XVI)], it proclaimed the use of such weapons contrary to the spirit, letter and aims of the United Nations and a crime against mankind. The time has come to take a second, entirely logical and timely step, namely to put that prohibition in treaty form, thus making
it mandatory international law, The Ukrainian delegation believes that a decision must promptly be taken on the question of convening an international conference to draft a special convention prohibiting the use of nuclear weapons. The conclusion of such a convention would mean an end to the political use of nuclear weapons and a step onwards to their physical destruction.
20. It is also high time to settle the question of the complete prohibition of underground nuclear tests.
21. The facts convincingly demonstrate that it is no longer possible to detonate nuclear weapons underground in secret. Underground explosions are being clearly and unmistakably identified by national detection devices. This means that immediate agreement could be reached on the prohibition of underground nuclear weapon tests.
22. The increasing frequency of accidents involving United States bombers carrying nuclear weapons beyond the limits of United States territory is causing serious concern among the peoples of the world. At the twenty-first session of the General Assembly, the Governments of Poland and the Ukraine drew the attention of the United Nations to these activities which are a threat to peace, and today our delegation considers it necessary without further delay to prohibit the flights of bombers carrying nuclear weapons beyond national frontiers and to limit the areas patrolled by missile-carrying submarines.
23. Over forty years ago, the Protocol prohibiting the use of chemical and bacteriological weapons was adopted at Geneva. Unfortunately, not all States have acceded to that important document, which has become an integral part of contemporary international law. Ways and means of ensuring that all States comply with the Geneva Protocol must be considered at the current session. To that end, a constructive start was made by the General Assembly when, at the initiative of Hungary, it examined that question at its twenty-first session.
24. The questions of the elimination of foreign military bases, of regional disarmament and of the use of the sea-bed and ocean floor exclusively for peaceful purposes should be examined as matters of urgency.
25. My delegation is deeply convinced that the Soviet Government’s memorandum is evidence of its concern about the fate of the world and the security of the peoples. Naturally, if these measures are to be successful, all States Members of the United Nations must demonstrate goodwill and a desire to co-operate.
26. For historical reasons the situation in Europe affects the interests of all States, however distant they may be from that part of the world. It is easy to understand why the peoples of Europe are particularly interested in the solution of the problem of the security of their continent. Need we speak of the vital interest in this matter of the Ukrainian people, to whom two world wars have brought untold victims and tremendous suffering and destruction? In the Second World War alone, we lost 4.5 million civilians. We, like the other peoples of the anti-Hitler coalition, did not make these enormous sacrifices solely to defeat the enemy on the field of battle. No, we were fighting for the future of peace in Europe and throughout the world. And that fight goes on today, when the problem of European security is as acute as ever.
27. For it is in Europe, on a relatively small territory, that the most powerful military machines of our times - NATO and the Warsaw Treaty Organization — are pitted against one another. In such circumstances, even a small local incident can have the most serious consequences.
28. In the centre of Europe there is a State — the Federal Republic of Germany — which is pursing a revenge-seeking, militaristic policy.
29. Let no one airily accuse us of conducing hostile propaganda against the Federal Republic of Germany, or of artificially inflaming passions. For us, German militarism and revanchism are not an abstraction but a historical fact which has brought our people so many misfortunes and has forced us to summon up all our physical and spiritual resources in order to persevere, to triumph and to bind up our wounds, together with all the peoples of the Soviet Union. It is the grim lesson of history that has taught us to be vigilant.
30. There is talk of Bonn’s new policy. But what is new about it, if we analyse it? It used to be said in Bonn that the West German Government’s objective was to restore the Reich of the 1937 boundaries. Now they talk about the need to “overcome the status quo”. What is the difference?
31. As in the past, West German policy is primarily based on non-acceptance of existing borders and revision of the results of the Second World War, claims to represent all Germans, non-recognition of the German Democratic Republic, illegal encroachment on West Berlin, and efforts to obtain nuclear weapons in one form or another.
32. It is also a fact that a neo-Nazi party — calling itself the National Democratic Party — is gaining ground in the Federal Republic of Germany. It is becoming a rallying-point for fascist diehards who dream of getting even for their lost war. Meanwhile, the ruling circles of the Federal Republic of Germany are preparing the ground for that Party. They even speak of the possibility of a coalition with it. All this is being done in order to frighten the peoples of the other States of Europe.
33. Those are the facts and not one Government, not one responsible statesman is entitled to forget them.
34. Such “forgetfulness” can be understood, though not excused, when shown by delegations representing countries that are far from Europe. But what we utterly fail to understand is how such short-sighted positions can be adopted by those whose countries have tasted through their own bitter experience the fruits of German revanchism and militarism. Evidently the ruling circles of those countries are so blinded by their selfish class interests that they are prepared to forget the tragic lessons of their countries’ recent past.
35. While realizing the danger to peace inherent in these political developments in Europe, we are, of course, not surrendering to pessimism. We are firmly convinced that even though the States of Europe may have different social systems, they share a common goal, namely to preserve and strengthen the foundations of peace on the European continent, where the fires of both world wars were kindled. This conviction of ours stems not only from an understanding of the vital interests and aspirations of the European peoples, but also from a realistic assessment of the forces opposing the policy of military adventurism and would-be aggression.
36. The foremost bastion of peace in central Europe is the German Democratic Republic. The existence of two German States is an indisputable fact, a reality, which does not depend on the willingness or unwillingness of particular countries or Governments to recognize the German Democratic Republic as a sovereign State. The facts of life will prevail over the obstacles on this path raised by the enemies of socialism and peace, and we are convinced that the time is not far off when everyone will realize that the problems of peace and security in Europe cannot be settled without the German Democratic Republic.
37. We contend that both German States, which occupy important positions in the system of international relations, should become full Members of the United Nations. The Ukrainian delegation is confident that the participation of the German Democratic Republic in the work of the United Nations would strengthen those forces in the Organization which advocate co-operation between States in the interests of peace and progress.
38. The Chairman of the Soviet delegation, A. A. Gromyko, Minister for Foreign Affairs of the USSR, stated from this rostrum that the Soviet Union was ready to co-operate with the Federal Republic of Germany in various fields (1679th meeting). The Ukrainian people and Government support that constructive approach, and express the hope that the Federal Republic of Germany, basing its policy on the real situation resulting from the Second World War, will find it possible to make its contribution to the strengthening of peace in Europe. In our view the question of convening a conference of all European States to discuss today’s problems of consolidating peace in Europe is a matter which is now ripe for consideration.
39. The community of socialist States, in which more than half the population of the European continent lives is an extremely important factor for peace in post-war Europe. The countries of that community are united by old ties of deep friendship, by common ideas, and by a common path; they have voluntarily assumed various obligations, including that of ensuring their mutual security. The socialist States, united in the Warsaw Treaty Defence Organization, are a reliable bulwark of peace in Europe.
40. Over the years of post-war relations between States, a regular pattern has emerged and become crystallized in the process of maintaining and strengthening peace in our time. It is characterized by the fact that with the existence of two socio-political systems—the world socialist system and the world capitalist system—the greatest threat to the general peace comes from the imperialist powers’ attempts to interfere in the internal affairs or the countries of the socialist community.
41. The socialist States are well aware of the subversive activities of the imperialist forces against the socialist world. They are determined to resist them; as dangerous to the peoples of the world, with all the means at their disposal. Let the imperialist circles not imagine that their plans to interfere in the affairs of the socialist States will be successful. The peoples of the socialist countries, united by the community of their lofty ideals and of their destiny, will themselves settle problems relating to their mutual relations, and no one can interfere in this matter in any way. To ignore this reality of our time, and to encroach upon the inviolability of the boundary of the socialist community of States constitutes premeditated sabotage of the very foundations of international peace and security.
42. Quite recently the forces of aggression and international reaction were dealt a rebuff, and an uncompromising rebuff, in Europe. This further served to strengthen the foundations of peace and European security. The whole world was enabled to realize that support, consolidation and production of the socialist achievements of peoples are the common international duty of the socialist States, that these are not words but a fact. The socialist States are fulfilling and will continue to fulfil this duty of theirs,
defending their vital interests to the last.
43. The international situation continues to hinge to a large extent on the question of Viet-Nam. The aggression of the United States against the people of Viet-Nam, which is a crime against international peace and security, is hampering the constructive efforts of States, creating tension in relations between them and inflaming the political atmosphere.
44. But now, for the first time, factors are emerging which may lead to a political settlement of the problem of Viet-Nam.
45. The heroic Vietnamese people have resisted the onslaughts of the aggressor and have demonstrated to the whole world their courage, patriotism and invincibility. No one can deny that this has been the main outcome of the war in Viet-Nam. The Ukrainian SSR, along with the other friends of Viet-Nam, is proud that its brotherly assistance and support have helped to strengthen the position of the Vietnamese people in their struggle against the United States aggressors. Appropriate assistance and support will be given to the people of Viet-Nam as long as may be necessary.
46. The course of the war in Viet-Nam, the military fiascos of the aggressor, have, in the United States itself, caused not only large sections of the public but also a growing number of political leaders to call for a political, and not a military, settlement of the problem of Viet-Nam.
47. In this connexion, it would be hard to overestimate the contribution made by the Government of the Democratic Republic of Viet-Nam in agreeing to establish contact with the United States side in Paris. We support the declaration of the Government of the Democratic Republic of Viet-Nam that is it is prepared to discuss all aspects of a settlement of the Viet-Namese question after a full and unconditional cessation of bombing and all other acts of war against the Democratic Republic of Viet-Nam. This is the key which alone can open the door to such negotiations.
48. The political basis for settling the Viet-Namese question is set forth in the well-known stand of the Government of the Democratic Republic of Viet-Nam and in the political programme of 1 September 1967 adopted by the National Liberation Front of South Viet-Nam. We fully support that basis — which is in accordance with the 1954 Geneva Agreements — for settling the Vietnamese question.
49. However, despite the emergence of a number of factors conducive to a cessation of the war in Viet-Nam, the United States Government does not appear over-anxious to take advantage of this opportunity. The constant assurances of the United States that it wants peace in Viet-Nam are words which are not matched by deeds. The American side is to blame for the continuing bloodshed in Viet-Nam.
50. Many States are increasingly supporting the demand for the unconditional cessation of all bombing of the territory of the Democratic Republic of Viet-Nam, and of all other acts of war against it. This is being demonstrated even by the present session of the General Assembly.
51. Another region in which dangerous tension still exists is the Middle East. The elimination of the consequences of Israel’s aggression against the Arab States is one of the basic problems before the United Nations. The Organization has taken certain steps in this regard: the Security Council has condemned Israel’s acts of aggression in a number of its resolutions; a programme for a political settlement in the Middle East was drafted and approved by the Security Council in its well-known resolution [242(1967)] of 22 November 1967; the tasks of facilitating the implementation of that resolution was entrusted to the Special Representative of the Secretary-General, Ambassador Jarring.
52. The Government of the United Arab Republic has put forward a constructive proposal for the implementation in stages of the Security Council resolution concerning conditions for a political settlement. This proposal has received wide support from States interested in establishing a lasting peace in the Middle East.
53. Who will venture to deny that lasting peace in the Middle East can be established only on the basis of the withdrawal of Israel troops from all the Arab territories they have seized, on the basis of the principal of the territorial integrity and the independence of every State in the Middle East.
54. But there is no peace in the Middle East. Israel troops are still the lords and masters of the areas of the United Arab Republic, Syria and Jordan which they have occupied. The Israel occupation authorities are subjecting the Arab populations to violent and high-handed treatment. The ruling circles of Israel make no attempt to conceal their intentions of annexing the conquered territories. Israel has not stopped committing acts of armed provocation against the neighbouring Arab States.
55. In refusing to comply with the Security Council resolution of 22 November 1967 on the settlement of the situation in the Middle East, the Israel Government is in fact acting in a way that will frustrate a political settlement and is trying from a position of strength to impose upon the Arabs conditions which are patently unacceptable to them and are incompatible with the sovereignty and security of the Arab States. This was reaffirmed once again in the statement made by the Minister for Foreign Affairs of Israel from this rostrum only a few days ago [1686th meeting]. The comments made on that statement by Mr. Riad, the Minister for Foreign Affairs of the United Arab Republic, [1689th meeting] were, in our view, well founded.
56. Israel dares to challenge the United Nations only because it is supported in its aggressive policy by the forces of imperialism, notably the United States of America. The United Nations General Assembly must therefore demand all the more strongly that the Israel aggressors and their patrons should stop this criminal toying with the destinies of the peoples of the Middle East and comply with the decisions of the Security Council.
57. The peoples of the world expect the United Nations General Assembly to take effective steps to strengthen peace in the Far East. If tension in that region is to be reduced, and if conditions conducive to the peaceful unification of Korea on democratic principles are to be created, United States and all other foreign forces must be withdrawn forthwith from the territory of South Korea. The main reason for the division of Korea is the gross intervention by the United States in the internal affairs of the Korean people, the United States policy of making South Korea a strategic springboard and a major military base aimed at the security of the peoples of Asia. The withdrawal of all foreign forces from South Korea and the dissolution of the United Nations Commission for the Reunification and Rehabilitation of Korea are the demands of our times. They have been put forward in the General Assembly by socialist and Afro-Asian States. The Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic, as one of the sponsors of the agenda item concerning the withdrawal of foreign forces [A/7184 and Add.1 and 2], hopes that at the twenty-third session of the General Assembly progress will finally be made in a solution.
58. The question of the implementation of the historic United Nations Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples [resolution 1514 (XV)] is on the agenda of the present session. Through the selfless struggle of the oppressed countries and peoples and the support they have received from the socialist and other freedom-loving countries, the overwhelming majority of former colonies have already acquired independent statehood. The delegation of the Ukrainian SSR warmly welcomes the delegation of the newly independent State of Swaziland, and wishes the people of that young African State all success.
59. The peoples of the world have won great victories in their fight against colonialism. But it would be a mistake to forget that a considerable part of the African continent, the southern part, is still under the heel of colonial régimes, racism and apartheid. Freedom is indivisible, just as peace is indivisible. So long as southern Africa remains in the grip of colonial exploitation and 50 million people remain in colonial bondage, honest people on this earth cannot feel at ease. This is a situation which also involves the authority and prestige of the United Nations. The Organization must resolutely continue the struggle for the complete and final abolition of colonialism in all its forms and manifestations. Through concerted international action the States Members of the United Nations can and must effectively promote the attainment by the peoples of Southern Rhodesia, Namibia and the Portuguese and other colonies of their right to freedom and independence.
60. The United Nations has now encountered a situation in which the South African and Southern Rhodesian racists, together with the Portuguese colonialists, have entered into a compact for the purpose of thwarting United Nations efforts to help in the speedy liberation of the peoples of southern Africa. The delegation of the Ukrainian SSR strongly denounces the reactionary activities of those régimes and would like to state quite categorically that without the military, economic and political support of monopolist forces, racism and colonialism in southern Africa would have long ceased to exist.
61. The Ukrainian people has always supported and will go on supporting the cause of speedy elimination of the vestiges of colonialism.
62. It as become the duty of all progressive forces of our time to support and assist the just national liberation struggle of the peoples, and to co-operate with the newly independent States. Declaratory statements on the equality of nations which are not backed up by constant and effective support for the anti-imperialist liberation struggle of the peoples are empty words.
63. The representatives of many Asian and African States have from this rostrum spoken with understandable concern of the economic and social needs of their States. We have full understanding for those needs and are doing our bit to assist the developing countries.
64. The responsibility for the difficulties being experienced by the peoples of the developing countries lies with those who have plundered their economy in the past and are continuing to do so by exporting capital and imposing terms of unequal international trade. That is the main reason why the development efforts of many countries are not yielding the expected results.
65. We share the attitude of those who demand that countries should receive a much larger share of the profits derived from the exploitation of their natural resources by foreign capital and that fair prices should be fixed for commodities and manufactures so that international trade can be profitable for the developing countries too.
66. Realities are forcing the liberated peoples to the conclusion that no matter how much foreign assistance they receive, successful economic development ultimately depends on their internal efforts, on radical social and economic changes.
67. The draft declaration on social development [A/7161], whose consideration by the General Assembly is to be completed at the present session may be of some assistance to many Member State. in solving the social problems they are facing.
68. Social inequality inevitably produces exploitation of man by man and leads to the violation of fundamental human rights and freedoms. Unfortunately, we are obliged to note, even in this year of 1968, which has been proclaimed the International Year for Human Rights the existence in certain parts of the world of the criminal policies of apartheid, racial discrimination, colonial bondage and genocide, and the revival and activation of neo-Nazism — the grossest outrages against the elementary rights of millions of people.
69. The representative of the Ukrainian SSR in the Committee on Human Rights and other United Nations bodies have on many occasions indignantly denounced these intolerable manifestations which flout the lofty ideals and noble principles of the United Nations, and have made constructive proposals for the speedy eradication of these blatant mass denials of human rights.
70. New problems arise in the world nearly every day, and many of them directly involve the United Nations. Its prestige depends on its success in handling those problems. And, of course, delays and indecision in considering them add nothing to its credit. It is more than high time to restore the lawful rights in the United Nations of the People’s Republic of China whose seat is being occupied by the Chiang Kai-shek clique.
71. The momentous problems before the United Nations are difficult problems. But they are not insoluble and they can be solved if we maintain and strengthen peace, if we expand fruitful co-operation among States and if we let human reason prevail.
72. In recent years a number of important international treaties and agreements have been concluded, some immediate problems settled, and further successes achieved in the struggle against colonialism. This is the result of the growing and strengthening influence on the world historical process of the forces of socialism, of the national liberation movement and of the movement of peoples for peace and social progress.
73. We Soviet people pay a high tribute to other countries and peoples for the contributions they have made to this cause. But we are proud that for over half a century now the peoples of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics have been bringing to mankind the ideas of freedom and independence, national and social renewal, peace and friendship — the ideas of the great Lenin, whose 100th birthday will be commemorated by the whole world in 1970.
74. The Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic, born in the glow of the Great October Socialist Revolution, has always fought for social progress and for peace among peoples and will continue to do so. Here, too, in the United Nations we try to do all we can to strengthen international peace and security through the efforts of all the peoples of the world.
75. Our delegation considers that this session of the General Assembly will be a success if all States Members of the United Nations show a willingness to work together to solve the problems confronting the Organization.