2. Before giving this Assembly my Government’s views on the specific problems which are causing concern to the United Nations, I should first like to join previous speakers from this rostrum in extending warmest congratulations to Mr. Emilio Arenales on his election as President of this session of the General Assembly. His personal qualities and the high standing of his country in the United Nations fully justify his being chosen. No one can doubt that under his enlightened guidance the twenty-third session of our General Assembly will be a success. My delegation offers its sincere good wishes to Mr. Arenales for his speedy and complete recovery.
3. I must also pay a special tribute to his predecessor, Mr. Corneliu Manescu, the Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Socialist Republic of Romania; we had an opportunity of appreciating his great kindness, tact and skill when he presided over the twenty-second session.
4. I cannot pass over in silence the untiring efforts of U Thant, the Secretary-General of the United Nations, in the cause of world peace. I should like to assure him of the high esteem in which my Government holds him.
5. I should like to take this opportunity of thanking the delegations present for the signal honour done to my country by electing it one of the Vice-Presidents of this session. The delegation of Togo will not fail to make its modest contribution in the search for solutions to the many problems on the agenda of this Assembly.
6. In the name of the people and Government of Togo, I welcome our brother country, Swaziland, which has just taken its place in the great United Nations family. At a time when the Organization of African Unity has decided to intensify the struggle against the enemies of the total liberation of our continent, Togo is proud of this new victory over colonialism.
7. One of the primary objectives of the United Nations is to lead peoples towards self-determination. Yet in Angola, in Mozambique and in so-called Portuguese Guinea, millions of Africans are still living under foreign domination, despite the many resolutions adopted here with a view to putting an end to this shameful and anachronistic practice. In Rhodesia, the white minority continues to impose its will on the black majority, and so offers a contemptuous challenge to the United Nations. In South Africa apartheid is being carried to more dangerous lengths. The Pretoria authorities still deny to the United Nations the right to lead Namibia to self-determination. Such situations can only endanger the peace which the world needs so much. For this reason my Government appeals urgently to the great Powers to contribute more effectively to the solution of these problems.
8. The situation in Nigeria continues to cause great concern in my country. At a time when every African State should be working for the unity of their continent, it is inconceivable that internal divisions should appear in those States whose national unity is a prerequisite for the unity of Africa as a whole. For this reason my Government is opposed to secession in any African country. We are, of course, aware that there is a human side to this war. But war being what it is, the best way to putting an end to it is for those who caused it to renounce it and to seek a peaceful solution to their problem. The recent resolution [AHE/Res. 54(v)] passed by the Organization of African Unity at Algiers should induce the secessionist province to seek a compromise with the Federal Government. In any case, the unity of Nigeria must be preserved.
9. My Government is not unmindful of the other international problems.
10. It is becoming urgently necessary to find a definitive solution to the Middle East problem. The parties engaged in this conflict are at present taking advantage of the cease-fire to obtain more arms, and it is to be feared that there will be a further clash as soon as they have replenished the stocks which were destroyed. The great Powers who are supplying arms to the States concerned should use their good offices to ensure that Security Council resolution 242 (1967) is put into effect, thus bringing about “a just and lasting peace" in the Middle East.
11. The war in Viet-Nam, with all its slaughter and misery, continues to be a subject of concern. Last year my country advocated a complete cessation of bombing followed by negotiations. Although we are glad to see that negotiations between the two sides have begun in Paris, we deplore the continuation of bombing, even on a reduced scale, when a total halt could have contributed to the success of these negotiations. We can only renew our appeal to both sides to ensure that these long-awaited negotiations lead to satisfactory results.
12. Recent events in Central Europe have been universally condemned. In my Government’s view a sovereign country has a right to choose its own line of political development. Failure to recognize this important attribute of sovereignty is a blow to the very principle of self-determination, the essential basis of the United Nations Charter.
13. The German problem is still a source of concern to my Government; for historical reasons it could not be otherwise. My Government reaffirms that this painful problem can be solved only through self-determination for the German people as a whole.
14. With regard to disarmament, my Government welcomes the conclusion of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons [resolution 2373 (XXII)]. My Government feels that this Treaty, despite its shortcomings, is a step towards general and complete disarmament, the indispensable guarantee of world peace.
15. Another equally important requirement for peace is the close economic co-operation that should exist between the Member countries of the United Nations.
16. The main concern of new States like my own on achieving independence is development. We welcomed the idea and the proclaiming of the United Nations Development Decade all the more because it showed that the developed countries had become aware of our manifold and complex development problems, and demonstrated their desire to help us to solve them. The decade is drawing to a close, but we are bound to admit that the results have been far short of what it had been hoped to achieve.
17. The New Delhi Conference, which had awakened so many hopes, was also a disappointment to the developing countries. The developed countries did not show in sufficient measure the understanding and political will which are essential for the specific commitments which should result from such an important conference. Nothing was done to improve our countries’ share of world trade, to give them better access to world markets, or to stabilize those markets. No positive steps were planned for increasing commercial aid and promoting the conclusion of commodity agreements, which are a decisive factor in the development of most of the poorer countries. The 1968 International Coffee Agreement certainly played an important part in stabilizing prices for this commodity, but we regret that, so far, it has proved impossible to conclude a similar agreement on cocoa owing to the lack of a spirit of co-operation among the main consuming countries. All these disappointments are due solely to the fact that the rich countries do not do all they could to come to the aid of the Third World.
18. Yet it is not right that within this great family of nations the richer members should leave other countries, which are not entirely responsible for the difficulties confronting them, to their fate. However, we should not dwell too much on these crippling disappointments; in the last analysis, they should encourage us to seek better means of arriving at more fruitful international co-operation.
19. The lessons learned from the first Development Decade, and a realistic assessment of the situation at the national or regional economic level, should help us to evolve a global development strategy with more chance of success. We think that it is also essential to take all necessary steps to protect the interests of the developing countries and to normalize world trade in the spirit of the principles adopted by the first conference at Geneva in 1964.
20. The problem of hunger throughout the world is closely linked to the problems of development. Malnutrition, whose distressing effects are felt over vast areas of the earth, causes us to share the deep concern of the Organization at the serious world protein problem. It is because my country is aware of this problem that it has sponsored the draft resolution [A/7405, para. 15] in which the General Assembly calls for an increase in the production and use of edible protein. My Government hopes that the Secretary-General will give careful attention to this problem with a view to bringing about very close co-operation between Governments and the various specialized agencies. Togo, for its part, is ready to co-operate in any measures which might lead to the elimination of the danger caused by the world protein problem.
21. The problems submitted to the United Nations are numerous and complex. They cannot be solved unless Member States can endow the Organization with all the authority it needs to solve them. The United Nations will be what its Member States make it. It is therefore important that all countries, large and small, rich and poor, should do everything possible to strengthen its authority.
22. You may rest assured that Togo, as always, will contribute to this joint effort.