90. It gives me great pleasure to begin my statement by extending to you, Mr. President, the heartfelt congratulations of my Government and myself. You certainly have deserved this high office, through your unselfish and patient efforts to reconcile conflicting views and settle differences. Your experience and skill assure us that the General Assembly will successfully carry out its tasks.
91. Let me take this opportunity also to reaffirm the complete support of the Finnish Government for our Secretary-General, U Thant. We have on several occasions expressed our hope that he would continue to serve this Organization as its Secretary-General. If he should decide to agree to this, he can be sure of our continued full confidence.
92. The world looks to this Assembly for decisions on many urgent problems. Such problems are the racial conflicts in the southern part of Africa, disarmament and the control of arms, questions relating to economic development, the principles governing United Nations peace-keeping activities — to mention only some of the most prominent. Without in any way belittling the importance of such questions, it can be
said, however, that uppermost in the minds of all of us is one overriding issue: that is the war in Viet-Nam.
93. In the past twelve months military activities and violence in Viet-Nam have been intensified. The American bombing raids against North Viet-Nam have increased, and the selection of targets has been widened. The sufferings of the people of Viet-Nam in both parts of the country have become ever more severe.
94. In accordance with its policy of neutrality, Finland refrains from taking sides in political issues dividing the great Powers. This does not, however, prevent us from actively following international developments and from voicing our strong opposition to the use of military means and violence in Viet-Nam, or anywhere else, and from expressing our conviction that all conflicts between nations must be solved by peaceful means. Only a negotiated settlement on the basis of the Geneva Agreements can provide a solution that will enable the people of Viet-Nam to settle their future without interference or pressure from outside. But before conditions favourable for negotiations can be expected to emerge, the trend of events in Viet-Nam must be reversed, for no solution can be expected to be reached by military means. So long as the war in Viet-Nam continues, severe tension in international relations will prevail, not only in Asia but everywhere in the world, and this cannot but hamper our efforts here to achieve co-operation in other fields. And yet we must recognize the fact that it is not possible in the framework of the United Nations to attempt to solve the Viet-Nam conflict. Our Organization has been shunted off to a sidetrack in this matter. An important reason for this is that our Organization has not yet achieved universality.
95. The Government of Finland has consistently held the view that the seat of China in the United Nations belongs to the representatives of the People's Republic of China. We are deeply convinced that the continued isolation of the People's Republic of China from the international community in the long run contains greater dangers than co-operation with it would involve.
96. In this connexion, I should like to refer to the statement in the Secretary-General's introduction to his annual report on the work of the Organization in which he expressed the hope that all countries, even those which for one reason or another are not yet Members of the United Nations, should be given the opportunity to follow more closely the activities of the United Nations. There are such countries in Europe, as well as in Asia. It would no doubt be useful if they could, in case they are interested, maintain observers at United Nations Headquarters and regional offices.
97. Only through open-minded and ever-increasing co-operation across ideological frontiers can we create the conditions for a stable peace. Finland's own experiences have shown this convincingly. On the basis of these experiences, at the twentieth session of the General Assembly we joined several other European States in sponsoring a resolution [resolution 2129 (XX)] recommending the further development of peaceful co-operation among European States
having different social and political systems. We can now note with satisfaction that continued progress has been made in this regard. Relations between European States have further improved. Largely thanks to this, the situation in Europe, generally speaking, has remained peaceful and stable.
98. The continued improvement in co-operation between East and West in Europe creates a favourable basis for the negotiations on disarmament and arms control, in particular with a view to preventing the further proliferation of nuclear weapons. Finland has participated in the scientific co-operation aimed at improving the means of identifying seismic phenomena, and in our view it should now be possible to reach agreement on the banning of all nuclear tests, including underground tests. We are also convinced that it should now at last be possible to agree on the prevention of further proliferation of nuclear weapons on the basis of the principles which were adopted almost unanimously at the twentieth session of the General Assembly. Although primary responsibility for disarmament and, in particular, nuclear disarmament lies with the great Powers which have nuclear weapons in their possession, it is now generally recognized that no country can afford to view this question with indifference. Disarmament and arms control today are for all of us literally questions of existence,
99. It is also ever more widely recognized that race conflicts affect us all. They are not only African problems; they are universal problems on which everyone of us must take a stand. The time has come to consider new international measures to combat race discrimination. The General Assembly time and again has condemned the policy of apartheid practised in the Republic of South Africa and some other parts of southern Africa. This has not had any effect. In the Republic of South Africa, the policy of apartheid has been, if possible, intensified. The same inhuman policy, is being followed in South West Africa. It is also practised in Rhodesia, which, in spite of economic sanctions voluntarily adopted by most Member States, continues to challenge the will of the United Nations. It is understandable that African nations and all others who condemn race discrimination impatiently demand effective action to change the situation. The responsibility for carrying out the will of the General Assembly in this regard lies with the Security Council, as is provided by the Charter of the United Nations, for it is a fact that enforcement action against a State can have practical meaning only in the event that the permanent members of the Security Council, along with all other Member States, unanimously take part in carrying it out.
100. The primary responsibility of the Security Council for the maintenance of international peace and security has been generally recognized also in the debate on United Nations peace-keeping activities. It is regrettable, however, that differences still exist on the principles and methods to be followed in peace-keeping operations. But, as I pointed out in my statement in the general debate a year ago, in the view of the Finnish Government differences over principles have not in fact prevented the United Nations from continuing to carry out important peace-keeping operations in different parts of the world, and this practical achievement should not be underestimated.
101. Finland's will and ability to participate in full measure in United Nations peace-keeping activities is known. The most recent example of this is the appointment of a Finnish general to command the United Nations Force in Cyprus. The continued presence of this Force has no doubt been necessary in order to maintain peace on the island, but it must be made clear that the United Nations Force cannot be expected to remain there permanently. The parties to the dispute must be urged to make a fresh effort to settle their differences through negotiations so that normal conditions can be restored in Cyprus.
102. The peace-keeping function of the United Nations is closely linked with the financial problems of the Organization. Finland is one of the relatively few Member States which have responded to the appeal of the Secretary-General and, in accordance with the consensus achieved at the end of the nineteenth session of the General Assembly, made substantial voluntary contributions. We have noted with satisfaction the recent statement of the Secretary-General [see A/6400] according to which he has good hopes that now that the Committee of Fourteen has completed its task, other Member States will soon make their voluntary contribution.
103. I have touched briefly on some of the most important political issues before the General Assembly. No less important are the problems relating to economic development. As has been pointed out by the Secretary-General, among others, the goals set for the Development Decade are far from being reached. The gap between the industrial and developing countries continues to widen. Not only our duty, but also our own self-interest commands us to increase our joint efforts in this field. The Finnish Government for its part intends to increase its contribution to the United Nations Development Fund by a substantial proportion.
104. Even more important for economic growth is the promotion of trade and economic co-operation in general between industrialized and developing countries. One way to this is to reduce trade barriers with regard to products of special interest to developing countries. The Finnish Government is prepared to negotiate within the framework of GATT the removal of customs duties on about thirty tropical products, and we hope that the "Kennedy Round' of negotiations will produce results that will stimulate trade with developing countries. As another measure designed to promote economic co-operation with developing countries, the Finnish Government has joined the Asian Development Bank.
105. Finland has given its full, open, and unreserved support to the United Nations as the primary instrument for the maintenance of international peace and security and co-operation between nations. Let me assure you, Mr. President, that we shall continue to support this Organization with all the means at our disposal. Indeed, this is a cornerstone of our foreign policy.