Lebanon

166. The Lebanese delegation is gratified at Mr. Arenales’ election to the Presidency of the General Assembly and has pleasure in welcoming him as an outstanding representative of the Latin American countries with which Lebanon has always enjoyed the most cordial relations. I am certain that, thanks to his vast experience, our discussions will be guided with the authority and impartiality that are inherent in his high functions. 167. I should also like to pay tribute to his predecessor, Mr. Corneliu Manescu, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Romania, for the wisdom and skill with which he guided the discussions of the twenty-second session of the General Assembly in especially delicate circumstances. 168. This year, the United Nations celebrates the twentieth anniversary of the Declaration of Human Rights. Thus the Organization, as a whole, and each Member State, in particular, has an opportunity to consider the results of the last twenty years, and take stock of the international situation. 169. True, we have reason to be gratified at the general spread of democracy that has taken place since the end of the last world war. The movement has taken concrete shape notably in the gradual disappearance of the colonial system; in the progress and in the practices of international and human solidarity, in the liberalization of the domestic laws of a great many countries, and in the enormous growth of social legislation for the benefit of the weaker and more deprived elements. On the other hand, human rights are still unfortunately disregarded, sometimes even flouted, in too many instances. 170. We cannot but be sad when we think of the sufferings that mankind still has to endure wherever war rages or racial discrimination is practised, wherever the last vestiges of the colonial system have not yet been eradicated, wherever hunger, poverty and disease determine the fate of hundreds of millions of human beings. 171. In the Middle East, the region to which my country belongs, nearly two million Arabs have been forced to abandon their native land and their homes, driven out by war and persecution. The occupying forces, in violation of resolutions adopted by the highest United Nations organs, refuse to recognize their right of return, indeed they even deny them any rights. How can we fail to denounce the reign of terror being imposed on those who have remained behind, the deportations, the mass arrests, the arbitrary expulsions, the massive destruction of villages and of whole residential areas? 172. The International Conference on Human Rights, meeting at Teheran, adopted a resolution dated 7 May 1968 that records the violations of human rights in the territories occupied by Israel and invites that State to respect the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the Geneva Convention of 12 August 1949 relative to the protection of civilian populations in time of war. Also, no response has been forthcoming to that appeal by the international community. What is more, notwithstanding the decisions of the Security Council, the Israeli authorities do not hesitate to harden their attitude and to oppose any investigation into their treatment of the populations of the occupied territories. 173. At the opening of the twenty-third session of the General Assembly, a number of serious political problems await the attention of our Organization and put its efficacy to the test. Since the essential aims of the United Nations as set out in the Charter are the preservation of peace and the prevention of disputes or their settlement by peaceful means, how can we help but acknowledge that it is, unfortunately, very far from achieving those aims? How can we fail to be struck by that general feeling of disillusionment and alienation over its work and its de-liberations, a feeling that is only aggravated by its present immobility? 174. True, the United Nations has made laudable efforts, and can take credit for several achievements, mainly thanks to the untiring efforts of its Secretary-General, U Thant, who selflessly labours to remain faithful to his ideals, and to those of the Charter, efforts to which I take pleasure in paying public tribute. Some conflicts have been, if not entirely prevented, at least limited, some international conventions of obvious value have been concluded, among which we must mention the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons [resolution 2373 (XXII)]; free discussion has been started and is continuing within the United Nations, enabling every shade of opinion to be expressed and every point of view to be put forward; finally, the specialized agencies can take pride in considerable accomplishments. 175. However, how can we not be disturbed when we contrast what has been achieved with what should have been achieved? 176. The war in Viet-Nam, that continues to the accompaniment of human suffering and material destruction, appears to have eluded United Nations control up to now. The Paris talks are at a standstill. In the field of disarmament, with the exception of the measures adopted to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons, no real progress has been made. Arms manufacture proceeds apace; stocks of nuclear and conventional weapons increase on all sides. The United Nations Development Decade is drawing to a close, and still no far-reaching action has been undertaken to reduce the dangerous gap which divides the industrialized countries from the developing countries. The UNCTAD session that was held this year at New Delhi disappointed the hopes that had been placed in it. And above all, international peace and security have seldom been so seriously threatened. The world has perhaps been saved from a new, general holocaust only by the balance of terror. But apart from its negative aspect, that balance is unstable and precarious. A few attempts, timorous enough, have been made to attack the root of the evil; but no progress has been made in applying the provisions of the Charter for the peaceful settlement of international disputes. Military power is still divided between opposing blocs based on bilateral or multilateral alliances; the foreign policy of States is determined, and often cynically, by their selfish interests, regardless of the principles of law, of the general interests of the international community, and of the principles of the Charter. 177. In drawing this picture it is not my purpose either to create despondency or to discredit the United Nations. The United Nations is what its Members wish it to be. Each member bears its share of responsibility, but in proportion to its means, in other words, in proportion to its power. 178. Lebanon, a small, peaceful country devoted to justice, has constantly proclaimed its allegiance to the United Nations and its devotion to the principles of the Charter. It is prepared to do everything in its power to strengthen the Organization, because it sees it as the best instrument for international justice, peace and security. Lebanon’s most heartfelt wish is that the Organization should prove itself equal to its responsibilities, and that can only be if the Powers, and principally the greatest Powers, set the example by basing their behaviour on the ideals of the Charter. 179. Those responsibilities are especially clear when we consider one of the most agonizing problems of our age, that of the Middle East. 180. Bearing as it does the initial responsibility for the creation of Israel, the United Nations has for twenty years been intensely concerned with the conflicts provoked by its creation and its expansionist policy. But it is hard to refrain from pointing out that United Nations intervention, which was the decisive factor in the birth of Israel, has lost some of its force and efficacy whenever there has been a question of putting a stop to its abuses. Even today, as it has for months, Israel is still putting all sorts of obstacles in the way of the Secretary-General’s Special Representative in the Middle East, Mr. Jarring. 181. There is no need to review here the background of a problem that has so frequently been analysed from every angle and that everyone knows in detail: the tragedy of the Palestinian people which is entitled to the right of self-determination and which Israel intends to deprive of every right; the long series of decisions by United Nations bodies since 1948, which Israel openly disregards. Much might be said on that subject, but I shall confine myself here to a consideration of the problem only in its latest stage, and in its essential elements. 182. Since the aggression of June 1967, Israeli troops have been occupying territories belonging to three United Nations Member States. In deliberate violation of Charter provisions, and especially of Article 2, paragraph 4, which forbids “the use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any State, or in any other manner inconsistent with the Purposes of the United Nations”, Israel refuses to withdraw from those territories. The steps it has taken lead us to believe that it intends to stay there. Among those steps are the instigation of a mass exodus of the population (nearly half a million Arabs have had to leave the recently occupied territories); the creation of new settlements; the appeal for immigrants; the destruction of villages and entire urban areas; pillaging; the annexation of the City of Jerusalem; and the official statements by many leaders that the present “frontiers” are more satisfactory than those that existed prior to 5 June 1967. 183. The General Assembly had adopted resolutions protecting the status of the City of Jerusalem and the rights of the Arab population. Israel paid them no heed whatsoever. Its leaders have gone so far as to state that even if the evacuation of Jerusalem were voted by a majority of 121 to one, they would refuse to withdraw their troops. In turn, the Security Council on 22 November 1967 took a unanimous decision [resolution 242 (1967)] that was intended to provide the basis for an over-all political settlement. Israel, under the most specious pretexts, has ignored that decision and refused to abide by it, whereas the Arab countries most directly concerned have undertaken to accept it and to implement it. 184. The tactics being employed consist in attempting to compel the Arab countries by moral force to enter into direct negotiations that will give Israel territorial advantages through the conclusion of peace treaties in due and proper form. But, as many speakers have proclaimed from this very platform, there are a number of objections to that procedure which render it invalid. 185. To begin with, at the discussions on the resolution of 22 November 1967, the Security Council realized that the fundamental condition for the acceptance of that resolution and for its implementation was that under no pretext should anything be added to the draft, the preparation of which had demanded so much care and effort, lest its balance be destroyed and lest the general agreement it had attracted be compromised. Furthermore, the regional context, and Israel’s actions, make it quite impossible to comply with such demands. Finally, we cannot help but note in passing Israel’s casual attitude towards the problems of the refugees and of Jerusalem, whenever it feels that they will serve its propaganda purposes, which are none the less at the heart of the resolution of 22 November 1967. 186. Let there be no mistake: if those are really Israel’s conditions, then it has deliberately decided to undermine any chances of a peaceful settlement to the dispute by concealing its aims behind the facade of a propaganda scheme on which agreement is no more possible today than it was in November 1967. Those pure propaganda statements, which Israel’s actions contradict, are inapplicable and outside the scope of the resolution of 22 November 1967. As for the Arab countries, they would accept a political settlement on the basis of that resolution, within the framework of the United Nations, including in particular the total withdrawal of the occupying forces and the settlement of the refugee problem. 187. Unless it is to fail in its most sacred mission and be condemned to impotence and discredit, the international community can no longer tolerate Israel’s policy of trickery, force and conquest in the Middle East. Today, thanks to the concessions agreed to by the Arab countries, there is a chance to reach a settlement that will safeguard the essentials of what can reasonably be safeguarded and promote the economic, social and cultural recovery of the countries of the region. It would be useless, even dangerous, to try to work out any other solution, even on the pretext that it would be an improvement, for in my opinion that could lead to stifling any practical and effective opportunity for action. The international community, particularly those States that enjoy a special status in the Security Council, would be making a fatal mistake if they let this opportunity slip. The need for immediate firm and just action is obvious. Tomorrow may be too late. 188. Indeed, the situation in the Middle East is deteriorating daily, to such an extent that the possibility of a renewed outbreak of hostilities cannot be discounted. Israel is remaining in the occupied territories, thereby continuing its aggression and daily perpetrating further aggressions. Its aim is to destroy the Arab States’ power to resist in order to force them to submit to its will. 189. It is utterly deplorable that at the same time one of the very great Powers, one with a responsibility for international security and a guarantor of the Charter principles, should feel itself bound to augment Israel’s military power by providing it with highly sophisticated weapons. Such action increases the risks of escalation and puts a premium - it is useless to deny it — on occupation. 190. In truth — and the truth must be told, even if it goes against the most deeply engrained prejudices — Israel is, by its constitution, its nature and its ultimate aims, a warlike and expansionist State. 191. Is it not proposing to establish there, in the next few years, three million new immigrants, whose pressure will inevitably burst all boundaries, aggravate tensions and stoke the most unbridled ambitions? Have not nearly two million Arabs been hounded from their homes, and are not a thousand ingenious methods being devised to oust others? Are not specific designs being publicly proclaimed against neighbouring territories, in virtue of an alleged right that expired 2,000 years ago and in contempt of intangible rights that have been uninterruptedly enjoyed ever since? 192. Lebanon has not been spared Israel’s greed any more than its other Arab neighbours. The incidents provoked on the Lebanese border, of which the Security Council has been continually informed, are eloquent proof of that. 193. In the critical circumstances of today’s world, and especially in the Middle East, all eyes are turned to the United Nations and, through it, to the main Powers that carry the heaviest responsibilities. Vigorous action is needed without delay, both in the Organization and in every sphere of political action, in order to ensure the implementation of the decision taken by the Security Council on 22 November 1967. In our opinion, there are two choices open to us: either to ensure the success of Mr. Jarring in his official mission, or to leave everything to chance. The choice no longer depends on the Arab countries. 194. May its Member States not disappoint the hopes that a large part of mankind still places in the United Nations.