23. I want to start by congratulating the distinguished Foreign Minister of Guatemala on being elected President of the General Assembly and its twenty-third session. We are very sorry to learn of his illness and we wish him a speedy recovery. I should also like to express thanks to the outgoing President for the work he did for this Assembly.
24. We in Africa understand the meaning of what it is to gain independence and to be free from colonialism. Last month, in Algiers, we were happy to admit Mauritius and Swaziland to the membership of the Organization of African Unity. We are equally happy to see Equatorial Guinea gain its independence from Spain. The accession to independence of the States I have referred to is a significant and positive step in the area of decolonization. It is a process that goes to fulfil one of the fundamental objectives of the Organization of African Unity and the United Nations: that is, to fight colonialism and to help all the peoples of the world to become independent.
25. You may recall that the representative of the United Kingdom, while sponsoring the candidature of Swaziland for membership of this Organization, claimed that Swaziland was its last colony in Africa, thus deliberately forgetting that Rhodesia is a British colony. We in Uganda cannot accept that contention and in my statement I will spend some time discussing this burning issue.
26. Uganda continues to be disturbed by the situation in Rhodesia. The fact that three years have passed since the unilateral declaration of independence is a challenge to the United Nations. The result of the United Kingdom’s refusal to use force is clear to all of us. The experiment with economic sanctions has lasted long enough and has failed. The United Nations should not be so preoccupied with sanctions that it loses sight of the desired end. Out goal is to see a free independent Zimbabwe under majority rule. This goal must determine the nature of the measures that we adopt. The comprehensive mandatory sanctions imposed by the Security Council have failed to bring down the illegal régime in Rhodesia. On the contrary, in the absence of more effective measures Smith and his racist régime have grown from strength to strength and he now talks with even greater confidence. Uganda still believes that the United Kingdom has no excuse whatsoever for not using force to crush the rebellion. We call on her to remember that the fulfilment of her pledge to the people of Zimbabwe is a responsibility she must not shirk. Britain is committed to the principle of no independence before majority African rule and this pledge should be fulfilled immediately by any means, including the use of force.
27. Our apprehension with regard to the United Kingdom’s attitude towards her responsibilities to the African people of Zimbabwe has been confirmed particularly by the recent talks between Mr. Wilson and Smith on the Fearless. In those talks, serious issues of principle were in question. During those talks certain proposals were made by Britain to Smith. Smith has now indicated that these proposals are generally acceptable to his régime. We now know also that these proposals amount to very serious concessions of principle by Britain. First, the cardinal principle of no independence before majority African rule is being cast overboard. Secondly, what has all along been known to be a rebellion is now being systematically legalized. We say that these are the two matters at issue which can be sacrificed only with serious consequences. We see now that Britain is going step by step to repeat once more what she did in 1910 when she callously sealed the fate of millions of Africans in South Africa under dubious pledges and thus created the situation that has given rise to apartheid and all the problems we now face in southern Africa. We hear of pledges, including the requirement to refer any constitutional changes in Rhodesia to the Privy Council. In a similar way pledges were made in 1910 and all of us know what happened to them. The pledges now being given are not worth the paper they are written on. The principle that must be upheld is one of no independence before majority African rule. Without that, all the other pledges are worthless and cannot save the Africans from perpetual servitude under apartheid. Since the unilateral declaration of independence, legislation in Rhodesia has shown quite clearly that the Smith régime is determined to go the apartheid way. I wish to reiterate that we in Uganda can never accept any solution of the Rhodesian problem which is not based on majority African rule. We consider that the developments arising from the talks on the Fearless warrant immediate re-examination of the Rhodesian question by the Security Council.
28. Looking at the map of Africa, it is now quite evident that the real confrontation between independent Africa and the forces of colonialism is about to start. We have stated time and again and we now wish to reiterate that the situation in southern Africa is deteriorating very fast and constitutes a threat to international peace and security. The apartheid policy of South Africa, the colonial régime of Portugal and the racist minority régime in Rhodesia, all of which are backed by deadly conventional weapons, clearly demonstrate the danger the neighbouring independent African States are facing. The threat to peace in Africa is real. There is new and concrete evidence of a determined thrust northwards by those in the unholy alliance in southern Africa. The border areas of independent African States are being bombed, people are being kidnapped and threats are being made to invade independent Africa. The Stage is being prepared for a racial war which will have disastrous consequences for the continent. We call upon the Security Council, therefore, to act to remove this threat.
29. Apart from colonialism, Africa’s other, twin preoccupation is economic development. We are striving to raise the standards of living of our people and in this task we are accelerating the pace of industrial development and diversifying our agriculture. We also believe strongly in regional co-operation and we are pleased to say that the East African Community, which was formed last year, is becoming stronger and is already yielding benefits to partner States. Furthermore our neighbours have expressed interest in this challenging experiment and some have applied to join. We welcome this development and hope that the negotiations which are already in progress will be fruitful, to the mutual benefit of us all.
30. In spite of our efforts, however, the world economic situation is such that numerous obstacles hinder our development. It is disappointing to note that there has been hardly any progress made by UNCTAD to remove the trade
barriers and to improve the terms of trade of the developing countries. High protective tariffs militate against our exports. Discriminatory policies against our manufactures still exist. Commodity agreements for primary products such as coffee are not working to the full advantage of the producer countries, because the interests of the consumer developed countries take precedence.
31. The flow of capital to the developing countries is still inadequate, and the conditions under which it is procured place burdens on the economies of the recipient countries. Furthermore, the insistence of donor countries that recipient countries should use the funds which they obtain to import goods from the former raises the costs of projects, discourages local industries, and also results in the abandonment or postponement of some priority projects which may have a high local cost element. It distorts priorities and nullifies the whole rationale of our planning. The debt burden weighs heavily upon the economies of recipient countries. Moreover, interests on loans are inequitably high and repayment terms are unfavourable. The matter is further aggravated by the anomalies that exist in the technical assistance which we receive.
32. Many of the experts sent to us have little knowledge of our problems and come with preconceived ideas on how best to deal with them. The work that these experts carry out in our countries is also often unnecessarily academic and it does not take into account the reality and urgency of our needs. In order to attain our goals, therefore, it is necessary to change what has always been a donor-centred arrangement into one in which the interests of the recipient countries are paramount.
33. Our needs are a greater flow of capital on more equitable terms, an improved world market, remunerative terms of trade and technical experts who understand and sympathize with our aspirations. All these needs can be fulfilled only if the international institutions which operate in these fields are reoriented and given a new and meaningful mandate. I have dealt at some length with the most urgent problems facing Africa and I now wish to make some reference to the other matters of world concern which previous speakers have touched upon. My delegation will cover these subjects more extensively in the Committees.
34. I should like now to turn to the situation in the Middle East. My Government deeply regrets that no permanent solution has as yet been found to the problem in that area. The situation is still explosive and a full-scale war could erupt at any moment. We have always believed, and we should like to restate, that no progress will be possible unless and until the parties concerned are prepared to change the policies governing their relationship with each other. We believe that as a first step to a lasting solution Israel should withdraw from occupied territories, as called for by the Security Council resolution of 22 November 1967 [242 (1967)]. We must also restate the principle that the territorial integrity of all countries in the area must be respected. We welcome the efforts so far made in this direction by the Secretary-General’s envoy, Ambassador Jarring. We urge, therefore, that no effort should be spared in the search for a permanent solution.
35. Once more I wish to refer to the Viet-Nam conflict. The war in Viet-Nam must come to an end if international peace is to be preserved. This war has led not only to the destruction of life and property in Viet-Nam, but also to the unnecessary waste of valuable resources which could have been utilized for peaceful economic development to the advantage of mankind. While we welcome the talks in Paris as a step in the right direction, we regret that, so far, no breakthrough is in sight. A sense of urgency must be brought to bear on the negotiations. We still hope that these deliberations will yield a lasting solution to the Viet-Nam tragedy.
36. As in the past, we are still convinced that the People’s Republic of China should take its rightful place in this Organization. Without the representation of the People’s Republic of China in this Organization, there cannot be a solution to the problem of disarmament, without which there cannot be lasting peace.
37. The question of disarmament has been the subject of intense discussion both here and in Geneva. In these negotiations the interests of the non-nuclear Powers have not been adequately covered. This was one of the major drawbacks of the Treaty on non-proliferation. Moreover, disarmament negotiations have centred on nuclear weapons without paying enough attention to the very grave danger posed by conventional weapons. The question of security guarantees, in our view, should be considered in relation to both nuclear and conventional weapons.