53. Mr. President, for the second time in a few years I have the honour and the satisfaction of addressing this Assembly under the Presidency of an eminent personality who speaks my own tongue and who comes from one of the countries of the community to which Spain is proud to belong. Therefore, after expressing our appreciation to Mr. Corneliu Manescu, Foreign Minister of Romania, for the wisdom he showed when presiding over the last session of the General Assembly, I wish to extend my warmest congratulations to our new President, whose absence due to illness I deeply regret. The election by the Assembly of the Foreign Minister of Guatemala, Mr. Emilio Arenales, fills me with deep satisfaction. His mature youthfulness, moulded in the great Guatemalan university of San Carlos — with its three centuries of tradition — and his political and diplomatic experience are the guarantee of the success I know he will have in this difficult task.
54. As a Spaniard, I cannot continue without first addressing a few words to our President, Foreign Minister Arenales, straight from the heart. Because Spain carries in its memory all the names of Spanish America, I cannot forget the name of his own country, Guatemala. For us, his is not only a marvellous land of lakes and volcanoes, the mysterious “ancient Empire” of the Mayas, astronomers, architects and poets; the fantastic landscape that Diego Garcia del Palacio described with wonder in his letter to Philip II; the deep jungle that Pedro de Alvarado or Bartolome de las Cases crossed; or the rather phantasmagorical ruins of La Antigua, the capital of the old Spanish Audiencia that one day peacefully separated, without hatred or violence, from its mother country.
55. Guatemala is also the four-and-a-half million Guatemalans of today, with their problems and their hopes, their sorrows and their joys. Guatemala, on the isthmus between the two continents, fulfils, together with its sister Central American countries, that mission of unification to which it was destined by virtue of its geography and its history. A living being, not merely a nostalgic memory of the past, Guatemala represents that Spanish America which today struggles for the development of its peoples, for justice in its societies and for the place to which it is fully entitled in the concept of nations.
56. To speak of Latin America is, in a way, to speak of the most crucial problems of the world today, for there they all appear in acute form. The recent, deeply stirring visit of Pope Paul VI to Colombia has brought this great question to the attention of the entire world, with dramatic force and spiritual feeling. Latin America is still virtually unknown to those who, although they should be most aware of its problems, seem to ignore the fact that in their solution lies the key to many of the important events we are destined to witness. Hand-in-hand with the Latin American question, therefore, I shall now enter upon a discussion of the most burning questions of our day. I could not possibly cover them all here, but I would like to say that, in my opinion, beneath the great crises of the world today, about which I do not wish to sound gloomy but rather hopeful and positive, lie the four great problems of our time, namely, development, decolonization, disarmament and human rights. I shall refer to them, although only to the extent that they affect our direct interests or are of obvious concern to us all.
57. To begin with, I shall refer to the burning question of development in Latin America. Although it does not treat lightly the problem of development throughout the world generally — as has been proved by its economic and technical co-operation with the Afro-Asian countries and its position at the second United Nations Conference on Trade and Development in New Delhi — Spain does wish to draw your attention to the pressing development needs of Latin America, whose problems and hopes are of great concern to all of us.
58. Something has been done, it is true, to remedy those problems. I have not forgotten that worthy effort called the Alliance for Progress. But we all know — eighteen Presidents of Latin American Republics said so in Punta del Este in 1967 and several Foreign Ministers of those countries have repeated it from this very platform — that the effort has fallen a long way short of its target.
59. In the difficult and arduous process of Latin American development, we can distinguish three headings under which the generosity and foresight that, would have provided three levers rather than three obstacles to progress have been lacking, namely, foreign financing, international trade and technological assistance. In the first case, no solution has been found to the distressing problem of the growing discrepancy between foreign capital contributions and interest and amortization payments, which have led the
intended beneficiaries deeper and deeper in debt. In the second case, the result has been excessive profits for the rich and serious losses for the poor. And as for technical assistance, it has been inadequate and has not taken into account the Latin American capacity to assimilate new technology.
60. Within its modest means, Spain has tried to see that these vital aspects of development operate positively rather than negatively. As regards financing, in 1967 alone some $100 million were loaned to Latin America. This figure includes subscriptions to International Bank for Reconstruction and Development and Inter-American Development bonds.
61. In the field of international trade, we have endeavoured to make sure that our relations with Latin America do not, as happens in other cases, turn out to be a subtle form of exploitation. Since 1960 Spanish imports from Latin America have multiplied five and a half times, and in 1967 they accounted for 25 per cent of the trade between the countries belonging to the Latin American Free Trade Association. The features of this influx of Latin American exports to the Spanish market have been Latin America’s increasingly favourable balance and the market contrast between Spain’s cash payments for imports and the credit facilities Spain grants for exports.
62. Spain’s attitude to this problem, which it hopes will help to increase the value of Latin American products through profitable trade, must also be judged in the light of the alarming drop in the over-all export figures for Latin America as a percentage of world trade: from 10.6 per cent in 1960 to 6 per cent in 1966 and even less in 1967.
63. In the field of technological assistance, we have worked intensely along two main lines: receiving students in our centres of higher education and sending technical missions to Latin America, either to teach or to carry out specific projects. Today there are some 12,000 Latin American students in Spain, more than in all the rest of Europe. These students are assisted in one way or another by the Spanish Government, and anyone who is aware of the budgetary cost of providing and maintaining a single higher education post will appreciate the size of the economic burden that represents. The organization of specialized training courses and the growing number of Spanish technicians in Latin America complete this picture of the Spanish contribution to the training of administrators and the development of the enormous economic potential of the Latin American continent.
64. I realize, however, that Spain’s effort, which I have mentioned more as an illustration of its attitude than as a decisive factor, is really quite modest. Spain feels that all outside contributions to Latin America should be co-ordinated in a collective effort — with the participation of the interested parties as well as of the contributing countries and organizations — in order to allow for a frank exchange of views, on an equal footing, regarding the possible effect cf each action on the common objective of Latin American development.
65. As a matter of fact, the Foreign Minister of Colombia, Mr. Alfonso Lopez Michelsen, recently told us from this very platform [1692nd meeting], in a speech of great wisdom and clarity, that only multilateral action, perhaps through some foreign aid fund administered by the United Nations, can redress the evils caused by so-called unilateral assistance. This assistance is being transformed, through the selfish inertia of the great Powers, into a means for putting pressure on other countries, promoting the lenders’ exports,
gaining political and economic advantages in areas where they wish to exercise influence, and creating economic dependencies that destroy the true freedom of the country receiving aid to use the aid as it thinks best. And all this, as Mr. Lopez Michelsen says, just as in the case of peace, without the United Nations doing much more than act as a notary public and place on record what others have decided.
66. In view of the situation I have just described, let us not forget that the chronic under-development of vast regions between the Rio Grande and Tierra del Fuego is not only an intolerable injustice but also a danger to the world in general. If development is — as it has been said — the new name for peace, then it is precisely in this area that peace is in danger. Let us not forget this.
67. But I have already said that I did not take a gloomy view of the crises of our times. I wish to proclaim here that Spain has high hopes for Latin America. Its immense vitality, its cultural tradition, its vast natural resources, its human values and, above all, what we might call its Bolivarian ideal of unity - a residue perhaps of the community ideal left by Spain which is slowly but surely winning the minds of all Latin Americans — are the guarantee of the bright future that we can already glimpse.
68. Mr. President, the disturbing subject of development, which so closely affects many countries of the world and which I, for obvious reasons, have touched on in connexion with Latin America, leads me to another subject, that of decolonization, which more than any other will give my words a certain symbolic value which I am sure you will perceive. I do not wish to be in any way rhetorical about this. But we have just celebrated — on 12 October — the 476th anniversary of the discovery of America by Spain, a simple but immense event to which is due the existence of twenty Spanish-speaking countries represented in this Assembly. And on that same recent date we witnessed the birth — that is to say, another discovery — of a new country that speaks our own language and comes to enrich our community.
69. Exactly five years ago, in addressing the eighteenth session of the General Assembly [1213th meeting] from this same platform, I announced that Spain, believing in the principle of the self-determination of peoples, was going to act on this principle, giving it direction and reality. Spain has kept its word. And so we have recently witnessed the accession to independence of Equatorial Guinea. I believe, Mr. President, that you will understand me full well if I say, simply but proudly, that Spain has once again lived up to its tradition as a founder of nations.
70. It has been said that the independence of Guinea may set a precedent as a model of co-operation between the United Nations and each of its Members. This was stressed in the many speeches in the Fourth Committee and at the plenary meetings of the General Assembly, where Equatorial Guinea and Spain were congratulated on the event. To all those friends who have spoken of their “homage” to Spain, I wish to express my deepest gratitude. Their words are the best witness to Spain’s fidelity to the principles of the Charter. Indeed, loyally following the guidelines of the Organization and complying exactly with the Assembly resolutions, we embarked on the talks on decolonization to which we were called, we provided the information requested of us, we invited and received several United Nations missions that travelled through Guinea with complete freedom and the fullest access to information. We held a constitutional conference, a referendum on the text is produced, general elections and, finally — just a few days ago — we transferred all the powers of the Spanish State to the newly born sovereign entity. And all without any violence, without the shedding of a single drop of blood, without hatred or bitterness, in a climate of friendship and complete freedom. Guinea gained its independence, “as a single entity in conditions of peace and harmony”, as the Organization desired and Spain wished, as our Secretary-General, U Thant, points in the interesting and valuable introduction to his Annual Report [A/7201/Add.1, para, 155].
71. But I cannot conclude my remarks on the subject of decolonization without mentioning another matter that affects us. I refer to the Spanish Territory of Ifni which, as you well know, is not a real country but simply an enclave
within Morocco, of which geographically it forms part.
72. Our present rights over Ifni, which derive from centuries of Spanish presence in the area, were confirmed by Morocco in the Treaty of 1860, before Morocco had come under any protectorate, and again after it had recovered its independence in 1956. We therefore have no doubt as to the legitimacy and validity of our title to that territory. But we also realize that the world has changed and that the reasons that at one time induced Morocco to cede the territory to us are now out of date. Spain is fully aware of this fact. And although its rights over the territory are complete and perpetual, it has no intention of clinging to them and disregarding — as some others do — the evident evolution of the international community. As a consequence — and following the guidelines of the United Nations resolutions—the diplomatic negotiations with Morocco, which were referred to here by the Moroccan Foreign Minister, Mr. Laraki [1683rd meeting, paragraph 133] have reached an advanced stage, and trust will soon lead to a satisfactory conclusion.
73. I have just explained to you how Spain is complying with its obligations with respect to that great problem of our time, decolonization. But at the same time I am obliged to tell you that my country is the only one in the world which, while itself decolonizing, still has to endure the colonization of a part of its own national territory.
74. I refer, as you will imagine, to Gibraltar, a piece of Spanish soil that Great Britain occupied by force and transformed into a military base, where it subsequently established a colony — the only one in Europe — that has destroyed the territorial integrity and national unity of my country.
75. On the problem of Gibraltar, there are also obligations still unfulfilled and guidelines laid down by the United Nations. For five years, the United Nations has been working on the problem of Gibraltar, five years of studies and deliberations in the course of which every aspect of the problem has been ventilated and every interested party has been heard. Slowly, deliberately and progressively, the United Nations has been working out a formula to solve the problem. The way has been marked by a series of resolutions culminating in the final one: General Assembly resolution 2353 (XXII) adopted on 19 December 1967. This resolution is not, therefore, an improvisation; it is. not a formula devised or thought up on the spur of the moment in an emergency, under the pressure of acts of war or similar crisis. It is a mature product; it is a piece of doctrine carefully constructed by the United Nations and not just approved — although that in itself would place it beyond dispute — but approved overwhelmingly by the great majority of the Members of the Organization, in successive votes in the Special Committee on the Situation with regard to the Implementation of the Declaration of the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples, the Fourth Committee and plenary meetings of the General Assembly. I do not understand, therefore, how anyone can say that the resolution is impracticable, a danger to the Organization or contrary to the principles of the Charter. I would like to know by what objective procedure — other than a majority vote — we can adopt resolutions in this Assembly. It seems to me that, in any case, we cannot be guided merely by the opinion of one of the parties directly concerned.
76. Let us now see what this resolution recommends. That the territory of Gibraltar should be returned to Spain, thus restoring the territorial integrity and the national unity of my country.
77. Let us remember that respect for the territorial integrity and the national unity of Member States is one of the fundamental principles of the United Nations Charter and is repeated in paragraph 6 of resolution 1514 (XV), which is the Magna Charta of decolonization. How could the General Assembly have recommended a formula for putting an end to the colonial situation in Gibraltar that ignored this principle and would have perpetuated the division of Spanish territory? In his speech on the 14th of this month, my colleague the British Secretary of State, Mr. Stewart, forgot this principle, and instead only told us that when we are dealing with colonial or former colonial questions, the interests of the inhabitants should be paramount [2693rd meeting, paragraph 106]. But resolution 2353 (XXII), in addition to the principle of territorial integrity, did not overlook the present population of Gibraltar, but states that their interests should be safeguarded upon the termination of the colonial situation. And may I point out that in so doing the General Assembly took note of and endorsed a Spanish offer, which is still open and to which I would now like to refer, because it proves that Spain has not forgotten the present population of Gibraltar either.
78. But first I must remind you that, after the occupation of the fortress of Gibraltar by the English in 1704 — when our two countries were not at war—and the signing of the Treaty of Utrecht, the Spanish population was expelled. The vacuum thus produced was gradually filled by a heterogeneous population imported to supply the needs of the British military garrison. England never allowed my countrymen to return to Gibraltar to settle there. It used them as labourers, but obliged and still obliges them to return every night to their homes in the neighbouring villages outside the fortress. They have continued to live in this way, despite this exploitation, because when all is said and done that is their land, they had had their work there for generations before the British occupation, and by staying there and putting up with colonialist discrimination, they are doing no more than affirming the complete Spanishness of the entire territory up to the last square inch. It is they then who are the real victims of colonization, they and the 32 million Spaniards in whose territory the British colony has been planted.
79. When a territory is decolonized, it is the occupied population that have to be considered, but not the occupiers, and the present inhabitants of Gibraltar are mere British civilians serving a base which is also British, and therefore simply occupiers. Despite this, and despite the fact that British policy tries to portray the interests of the present population of Gibraltar as conflicting.with those of Spain, as soon as this problem was taken up by the United Nations, my country publicly announced that it had no
wish either to see the inhabitants of the Rock suffer in the decolonization process or to disregard their legitimate rights.
80. On 18 May 1966 I explained this to my British colleague, Mr. Stewart, and I trust he remembers it, although the day before yesterday he seemed to have forgotten it. I offered to negotiate and sign an agreement in which the interests of the Gibraltarians would be recognized and safeguarded, not by any colonial “status” backed by British troops as heretofore, but by Spain, by the United Kingdom itself and by the United Nations, where the agreement would be registered.
81. Spain’s offer was rejected. Instead — in a delaying manoeuvre, a diversionary action — the United Kingdom proposed that the question be submitted to the International Court of Justice. But as it is purely colonial, and therefore essentially a political question, it is only right that it should be dealt with by this Organization and not by the Court, which deals with legal questions. It is as though Spain, instead of opening talks with Morocco on Ifni, had tried to submit to the International Court of Justice the question of the validity of its title, instead of agreeing to settle the question on political lines.
82. Later on, the United Kingdom rejected [resolution 2353 (XXII)] and broke off negotiations with my country finally. What reasons has the London Government adduced to justify this? Essentially that the interests of the population of Gibraltar must come before any other consideration, including the unity of Spain.
83. This is an argument that Spain cannot accept, because it could lead to the future of Gibraltar being decided by the present inhabitants, which would be completely unjust, since the’ present population is made up of British civilians serving a military base that is also British. As the eminent Spanish liberal writer, Salvador Madariaga, who lives in England and is well known and respected by the British, has so rightly said:
“...the base cannot possibly be justified by the interests of a few Gibraltarians, for whom the base is their own sole justification".
Spain, however, is and always has been willing, once the principle of territorial integrity is accepted, to ensure that the legitimate interests of the inhabitants of the Rock are safeguarded, thereby adhering strictly to United Nations doctrine.
84. The United Kingdom insists that in every political situation human interests are paramount. Spain is not attempting to ignore that fact and I must add that, if this were really the British Government’s first concern, both countries would long since have been negotiating over the personal status that my Government offered the Gibraltarians, for their interests cannot be protected or guaranteed by the British alone, without the benevolent co-operation of Spain, since Gibraltar—less than five square kilometres of steep rock—has no geographical, political or economic base to make it self-supporting. And let me once more make it absolutely clear that Spain has not the slightest desire to absorb these people or deprive them of their British nationality.
85. The truth is that the United Kingdom, in confronting the Gibraltarians with Spain, is placing its military concerns and its old dreams of imperial power before the specific interests of the present civilian inhabitants of the fortress of Gibraltar.
86. For what can the Gibraltarians logically aspire to? Respect for their municipal organization, their legal institutions, their nationality, their freedoms, their jobs and their economic resources, their educational system; in other words, for their way and style of life. Very well, then, Spain, in return for the restoration of its territorial integrity, in conformity with the United Nations resolution, is prepared to respect all that and, furthermore, to guarantee for its part that the present situation evolves
normally towards a promising future. This we have affirmed on countless occasions, but the British do not seem to have paid any attention.
87. What does England want instead? The truth is — and everyone knows this very well — that what it wants is to maintain a military presence in the Mediterranean, even though its coasts are not washed by the Mediterranean, on the pretext of a supposed threat from the East. As a consequence, England demands the active cooperation of its allies, at the cost of keeping our territory divided and our national unity and territorial sovereignty mediatized.
88. But what is more, Great Britain’s military presence is not merely a vestige of imperialism, it is the only case of aggressive colonialism in the world today, for, incredible though it may seem, in these times, Great Britain is trying to extend its dominion by land, sea and air, in disregard of Spanish sovereignty. This I feel is a situation that cannot be allowed to continue.
89. I repeat, at its last session the General Assembly pointed out a reasonable way to a Spanish-English understanding on this question. Not only did England not follow that way, it took a radically different course, so much so that only ten days after the condemnation by the Special Committee of Twenty-Four — on 1 September 1967 — of a British plan to hold a referendum in Gibraltar, it held the referendum on terms which, instead of inviting the Gibraltarians to decide their individual and collective destiny, actually invited them to decide the future of a territory that does not belong to them. And to emphasize further its refusal to talk with Spain, it now proposes to promulgate a constitution for Gibraltar, which, by disguising the territory in a false cloak of autonomy, would keep it firmly attached to Great Britain.
90. I feel that England’s obstinacy in refusing to start talks with Spain, as requested by the United Nations, augurs ill for the United Nations. We reprove England’s attitude not only because it is gravely prejudicial to our interests, but also because — by clinging to its position as a colonial power — it undermines the very foundations of this Organization, in which we sincerely believe, as we believe that in its prestige and efficacy lies the best, perhaps the only, hope for peace in the world. Indeed a few days ago, in a clarity of phrase that should give us pause, the Chilean Minister for Foreign Affairs, Mr. Gabriel Valdes, defined the United Nations as “our last hope” [1685th meeting, paragraph 56].
91. But I will not confine my examples to cases that most directly concern Spain. Every violation of the principle of decolonization is also a violation of the basic principles of the United Nations. And not only because we Spaniards regard every example of colonialism imposed on the Hispanic nations as an encroachment on our own territory, but also because objectively they are flagrant cases of disrespect for those principles, Spain wishes to declare its support for Argentina’s claim to the Falkland Islands, Guatemala’s claim to Belize, and Venezuela’s claim to Essequiban Guyana. All these sister countries of Spain have, because of their love of peace, renounced the use of force in the pursuit of their just claims. The United Nations, when required to do so, should pay a tribute to such behaviour. In this connexion, it is a pleasure to note that we have also had some good examples recently from an occupying Power. I would remind you of the just manner in which the United States settled Mexico’s claim to the territory of Chamizal and of its positive attitude in its negotiations with Honduras over that country’s legitimate claim to the Swan Islands.
92. Our faith in the future of the United Nations does not, absolve us from the duty of admitting in all sincerity that it has reached a serious crisis that threatens to paralyze it. In a few brief words, I should like to give you an outline analysis of this situation.
93. I believe that not a few Member States agree with me in the view that the present crisis of the United Nations is due, in the main, to three factors.
94. First, to the fact that the great problems of international peace, whose solution was the primary aim of the United Nations at its birth, are in practice dealt with outside the United Nations, behind the scenes of the world stage, where the great Powers that decide these issues prefer to act.
95. Secondly, we note the extremely limited part played by the small medium States in the decisions of the great Powers.
96. And finally, we must in all honesty recognize the practical inability of the United Nations to ensure compliance with its resolutions.
97. Spain does not wish to be unrealistic in its survey of the world scene. We are aware that the international community has a de facto structure in which the great Powers have acquired such strength that inevitably the responsibility for many decisions of universal scope also lies with them. We have to face this reality. But we must also — because otherwise we should fall under the tyranny. of the powerful or return to the law of the jungle — we must also keep alive and operative the ideal that all countries should play an ever increasing part in the great decisions. We must strive continually to narrow the gap between reality and this ideal. We must never forsake this endeavour. It must be our daily inspiration and aim if we wish the United Nations truly to fulfil its mission. Precisely in order to narrow that gap, the United Nations must set itself the immediate task of preserving its most precious quality, namely, the quality that enables countries which are not powerful to take part in important decisions, What I mean is that its resolutions should be implemented strictly and faithfully and that no one should be able to flout them, particularly by reason of its predominant power, since that would cut away the Organization’s very foundations. It is neither logical nor honest to demand obedience from the less powerful countries, which can, in the last resort, be punished, coerced and even obliged to fulfil their obligations, when the great Powers, because of their strength, can avoid complying with the obligations imposed on them.
98. While our spirit of realism prompts us to hope that the great Powers will reach an understanding among themselves, our spirit of justice and our instinct for self-preservation impel us to request them never to do so at the expense of others. Strict observance of United Nations resolutions is, in our view, the best guarantee against the crisis which threatens.
99. I have said that another of the issues of the moment is disarmament. The arms race is bringing such tension into the world and so much scepticism about the possibilities of a peaceful settlement that in the end such a settlement may prove to be unobtainable.
100. While some progress has been made in the attempts at world-wide disarmament, especially in the prohibition of nuclear tests — and Spain played its part in this both here and in Geneva — the fact remains that nothing has been done to impose any effective restraint on the increase in conventional armaments, and the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons contains an essentially negative element for countries like my own, in that it fails to provide proper safeguards in the event of war and impedes development in the field of nuclear technology for peaceful purposes.
101. Last of all, in the background of this panorama of today’s problems, we find as man himself always finds in life, human rights, the ultimate essence and raison d’être of the United Nations. In this respect, my country, which has solemnly commemorated International Human Rights Year proclaimed by General Assembly resolution 1961 (XVIII), will continue, as it has always done, to lend its unswerving support, to any agreement designed to eliminate any form of religious or racial intolerance, and to defend the other
fundamental freedoms contained in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, whose twentieth anniversary we are now celebrating.
102. I cannot mention the subject of man without thinking of those millions of human beings who are now suffering from the scourge of war or armed occupation. Let us not forget this terrible reality even for a moment. Let us not rest until we have removed it. Let us not forget those who are responsible for it, the aggressors, those who have disrupted the peace.
103. But among all the examples of this sorry condition of our present-day world, I should like to refer specifically to one question, which, regretfully, has been on our agenda for many years, as a witness to the impotence that threatens the United Nations, namely, the question of the Palestine refugees, the bitter fruit of the endless conflict in the Middle East. Still fresh in the memory of all of us is the attack unleashed by a Member State of this Organization on other Member States, large parts of whose territory it subsequently retained. it is natural that a Spaniard, a friend of the Arab peoples for profound and unforgettable reasons of geography and common history, should be especially moved by situations such as this and should feel, with heartfelt solidarity, all the sufferings and deprivations of those friendly countries. Spain, aware of certain realities of the situation which has come about in the Near East and anxious that no people should be denied its right to live, fervently desires that an end be put to a situation maintained by force of arms alone, that peace be restored, that justice be rendered to certain countries, and in short, that this crisis of immobility and impotence which is inflicting grave hardship upon great masses of people subjected to the hazards of war, expatriation and uncertainty, and which is threatening our Organization, be overcome.
104. These are, in essence, our thoughts on the situation confronting the United Nations and on a number of other problems which are either of importance to the international community or affect us directly and immediately as Spaniards. I have attempted merely to outline our policies on those questions and at the same time to express Spain’s most valuable contribution to the world, its fervent desire for peace and solidarity between all men.
105. I believe that my country has given ample proof that it does not pay mere lip-service to this ideal. For a long time now Spain has renounced all violence, although it has had to defend itself energetically against violence which has been used and is still being used against it, such as the permanent violence entailed in maintaining on our soil the only colony in Europe. Being concerned to safeguard our national security, we have not participated in the political game of opposing blocs and threats of war, either hot or cold. We believe in the possibilities of peaceful co-existence between countries with different political and social systems and we support a détente between the great nuclear Powers, although, on the other hand, we energetically reject any interference in our domestic policies. We have always proclaimed our European vocation, which we have made the keystone of our policy, although at the same time we cannot help experiencing a feeling of fraternal unity with the Latin American countries and the Philippines, and with our good Arab friends and the peoples of Africa, our neighbouring continent to which we are linked by geography and in which, to our great satisfaction, the new State of Equatorial Guinea has just been born. Finally, we have loyally followed the guidelines laid down by this Organization, as I have just shown.
106. For these reasons, both here in the United Nations and in bilateral relations, all who choose as their guiding principle justice among peoples, freedom for men of any race, country or religion, economic co-operation and the coexistence of all nations on a basis of equality, that is to say, all who are sincerely working for peace, will find Spain at their side.