147. Mr. President, Mr. Secretary-General, distinguished representatives, I am grateful to you for according me the high honour of addressing this great Assembly. May I take this opportunity to congratulate you, Sir, on your election to the distinguished office of President of the General Assembly. It is a fitting tribute to Guatemala and to your own personal qualities. I wish you success.
148. I have just come from an instructive and stimulating visit to a number of countries in Latin America and the Caribbean. This enabled me to see the earnest strivings of the peoples of that great continent for social progress and better standards of living.
149. I should like to pay a special tribute to the Secretary-General. Where others might have been overwhelmed by heart-break, U Thant has persevered, undaunted, in his great work with rare faith, devotion and detachment. It is up to all of us to give him our fullest support.
150. The United Nations is the trustee of the world’s peace and represents tie hopes of mankind. Its very existence gives a feeling of assurance that the justice of true causes can be brought fearlessly before the world. This Assembly and the agencies of the United Nations should, in all that they do, sustain those hopes and promote the causes of peace.
151. Seven years ago, India’s first Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, addressed this Assembly. He was a believer in seeking areas‘ of agreement and co-operation, and in enlarging them. He advocated before this Assembly a “new approach to co-operation and the furtherance of the co-operative effort”. The Assembly accepted his suggestion of an International Co-operation Year. The United Nations also launched a development decade to promote greater economic co-operation between the rich and the poor nations. Two major international conferences on trade and development were held.
152. The interest shown by Member States in these moves aroused great expectations among the developing countries. We did not seek to share the power of the big Powers. We did not ask that they deny any of their own people their needs in order to fulfil ours. We, who have had twenty years or less of freedom to work for our progress, did not expect miracles of sudden transformation. Only too well do we know how long and hard is the path of development. What we do expect is understanding of the intangible yearnings of people who have long been under foreign domination.
153. Unfortunately, economic co-operation has little progress to show. Nor has there been any notable advance in international co-operation in the political sphere. The reasons for this failure are obvious and many: Economic and military power continue to dominate politics. The carving out of spheres of influence still motivates policies and actions. The desire to mould other nations in the image of one’s own inspires propaganda, sowing seeds of mistrust. Nations continue to place narrow national ends above the larger purposes of peace and universal security.
154. In India, we have been powerfully conditioned by Mahatma Gandhi. We believe that the evolution of individuals and societies depends on the extent to which they exercise self-restraint and abjure the use of force. Jawaharlal Nehru, who combined in himself modern political thought and the basic teaching of Mahatma Gandhi, strove to bring about a new system of relations among nations. He was tireless in advocating peaceful coexistence. He believed that in a world rent by conflict, freedom not fear, faith not doubt, confidence not suspicion would lead to friendship amongst nations.
155. The concept was evoking some response among statesmen and nations, and there was a growing recognition that, howsoever difficult it might seem, peaceful coexistence alone could enable the post-war world to solve its disputes rationally. But this trend has received severe jolts.
156. Every now and then violence erupts. Sheer power seemingly prevails over principles, seeking obedience and demanding respect instead of commanding it. Indeed, those who have attempted to eschew the use of force have had to pay the price of restraint. And yet, the world is changing. Implicit faith in the efficacy of and unquestioning dependence on military alliances, as well as the rigidities of the bipolar world, are in a state of flux. Every nation, regardless of size, is endeavouring to establish its own identity. This encourages the'-hope that despite obstacles the United Nations will be able to help all nations to live in peace and independence.
157. While there is search for a more equitable and humane world order, force continues to be used to attain political ends and to promote national or global interests. It is not my intention to deal with specific issues. Our views have been stated in this Assembly and elsewhere. But there are some which cannot be ignored. The continuance of the tragic conflict in Viet-Nam is a source of constant anxiety. We fervently hope that conditions will be created to enable the discussions to become more purposeful. The Viet-Namese people must be assured of their inherent right to shape their destiny peacefully and without outside interference. We believe that the key to the next step still lies in the total cessation of the bombing of North Viet-Nam. In advocating this we are not actuated by a partisan spirit but by our sincere desire for peace and stability.
158. Another source of anxiety, the west Asian crisis, also needs to be resolved by political means. There is every opportunity for doing so, if it is recognized that the security, sovereignty and territorial integrity of the States in this part of the world cannot be based on the redrawing of State frontiers by force or on the basis of permanent hostility.
159. Essential for a peaceful settlement is the withdrawal of foreign forces from all Arab territories occupied in June last year. The process of the restoration of peace can begin and Ambassador Jarring’s mission be fruitful only with the clear affirmation of this.
160. Equally explosive is the continued denial of basic human rights on grounds of race. The consciousness of tie world community must be aroused not only against South Africa where racial discrimination. has been elevated to the level of State policy, but against the emergence of racialism in any form in other areas. We must also firmly resist the last vestiges of colonialism. Our freedom and independence will not be complete so long as the people of South West Africa, Angola, Mozambique and Portuguese Guinea are denied theirs.
161. Recent events in Czechoslovakia have cast yet another shadow on the fragile structure for a new world order. The principles of non-interference by one State in the internal affairs of another, of scrupulous respect for the sovereignty, territorial integrity and political independence of all States are essential to the principle of peaceful coexistence. It is of the utmost importance that normal conditions should be restored without delay in Czechoslovakia.
162. If the use of force in international affairs is not renounced, and the rights of nations and the equality of races are not respected, how can tensions be reduced or the dangers of conflicts avoided? The world is caught in a vicious circle, because of which any viable international machinery to regulate relations between States is being progressively undermined and faces the danger of eventual collapse.
163. Nuclear weapons today represent the ultimate in force. Thus any attempt to eliminate force as the determining factor in international relations must begin with practical steps towards disarmament. But the nuclear menace has become an accepted fact of life and the world has developed a certain insensitivity to the nature of the threat. Despite every solemn resolution adopted by this Assembly, States continue to enlarge their capacity for
nuclear war. The arms race and the search for more sophisticated weapons have rendered meaningless the concept of balance of power. Yet, every advance in military technology is accompanied by an effort to maintain a balance of terror. This encourages local wars and undermines the established political authority in States which are struggling to protect their freedom.
164. It is by restricting, reducing and eventually eliminating the growing nuclear menace that firm foundations of peace can be laid. The limited achievement of the partial test-ban Treaty has been offset by the refusal of States to halt the testing of nuclear weapons. The problems of insecurity cannot be solved by imposing arbitrary restrictions on those who do not possess nuclear weapons, without any corresponding steps to deal with the basic problem of limiting stockpiles in the hands of a few Powers. How can the urge to acquire nuclear status be controlled so long as this imbalance persists? Unless the Powers which possess these weapons are prepared to exercise some self-restraint, collective efforts to rid the world of the nuclear menace cannot bear fruit.
165. We yearn for peace, not merely because it is good in itself, but because, without peace, there can be no improvement in the lives of the vast majority of the world’s peoples. Development must receive the first priority and must be based on self-reliance. Our peoples expect their governments to build, in a generation, the apparatus of production and distribution which took the present advanced nations many centuries to install. Progress in technology and the acceleration of the processes of history will certainly help the developing nations to telescope the stages of their economic growth. But this acceleration works even more dramatically in favour of the affluent. The chasm between the rich and the poor nations, which is already a source of tension and bitterness in the world, is not decreasing but growing. This situation is fraught with danger for the future well-being of our world. It is natural that we in the developing countries should be more aware of the peril than those who live in the affluent countries. The peril is on our doorstep, but it is not too far from theirs.
166. The world has changed, the membership of the United Nations has changed, but attitudes of mind have not. The representatives who are gathered here come from countries with distinct personalities. They have had great civilizations in the past — some known and some yet to be discovered. In the old colonial days, history, geography, culture and civilization were all viewed from a particular perspective. Even today to be civilized is held to be synonymous with being westernized. Advanced countries devote large resources to formulating and spreading ideas and doctrines and they tend to impose on the developing nations their own norms and methods. The pattern of the classical acquisitive society with its deliberate multiplication of wants not only is unsuited to conditions in our countries but is positively harmful.
167. Developing nations have their special problems, and there is much scope for co-operation amongst themselves. Some problems are common, but the conditions in each country differ, and the same remedy cannot be prescribed for all. Those who seek to advise us seldom realize that we need new and different answers to our problems. We need solutions which are suited to our conditions, not imitative theories or techniques grafted from outside. We must make our own analysis of developments and how to deal with them. International forums such as this Assembly and the specialized agencies of the United Nations give us the opportunity to place our views before the world. But of what avail is this if we cannot forge the solidarity which would command attention?
168. Our problems are such as did not confront the advanced nations when they were at a similar stage of economic development. Freedom awakens hope. It generates consciousness of economic, social and political rights. As literacy spreads, as modern communications and close contacts grow with affluent countries, new expectations and tensions are created.
169. In India, our effort has been to build democracy and to develop a technologically mature society. Each in itself is a formidable endeavour in a country of our size. Demands grow much faster than the means to fulfil them, but changes do not come about easily. Every step forward meets with impediments created by the forces of the status quo. Every step forward, even though intended to end inequality, leads to a phase where inequality becomes more obvious or new equalities come into existence. Let me give an example. We have introduced universal primary education and expanded higher education. We have done so because education is the key to the ending of existing disparities; because it is the greatest influence for modernization and because it gives full scope to the flowering of the human personality. However, certain groups and regions which are already comparatively better off are able to take greater advantage of the new facilities: for example, the urban areas more than the rural, the rich farmers more than the poor peasants.
170. The affluence of the industrialized nations itself attracts and exerts a certain pull on the more fortunate sections in the developing countries, further sharpening the difference between aspirations and their fulfilment. This in turn leads to the alienation of the élite from the rest of society, because they are attracted by the glamour of catching up with their opposites in the advanced countries, while their own society cries out for bread.
171. We are not unaware of the important developments taking shape within the affluent countries themselves, where increasing numbers have begun to question the purpose of their lives. Poverty and want must be eradicated, for they degrade the human personality. On the other hand, the affluent society, as it has emerged, seems to have become entangled in its instruments. Dazzled by its own glitter, it has lost sight of the goals it set out to achieve. It is natural, therefore, that societies which have stressed the importance of material possessions should anxiously seek a balance between spiritual and material values. This is still an intellectual groping which lacks articulation, but one can sense it in the restlessness of younger people and students, in the various forms of protest against traditional or established authority. There is a desire to assert individuality in technological societies which are becoming more uniform and more impersonal. Abundance without commitment to ideals will sow the seeds of discontent and invite its own disruption. Prosperity must be integrated with a higher purpose, and it should be the endeavour of all nations — it certainly is ours in India — to, achieve harmony between progress and the timeless values of the spirit. We are human and do not always succeed; but, as Mahatma Gandhi said, “Satisfaction lies in the effort, not in the attainment”.
172. The individual is no longer content to entrust to others the shaping of his destiny; he wants to be the master of his fate. So also with nations, which, while co-operating with others, wish to develop and progress according to their own genius and tradition. The question is vital for developing nations, which still have time to chart their course. The methods they use, the directions they take, will determine their goals.
173. We welcome any genuine form of international co-operation for the development of under-developed areas. At its best, foreign aid represents such an endeavour. But can it not also be legitimately described as a form of enlightened self-interest on the part of aid-giving countries, especially when it is tied with the purchase of equipment and of know-how from donor countries? In India, aid accounts for only a fifth of our total investment in development. Economic progress is not possible without investment. Not all the investment for Europe’s progress came from the sweated labour of European workers and farmers. It came also from the peoples of Asia, Africa and South America who were denied a fair return for their work and their produce. Empires have ended, but the colonial pattern of economy remains with us in one form or another. As exporters of primary agricultural produce and minerals, we know to our cost how the terms of trade have steadily gone against us. Aid is only partial recompense for what the superior economic power of the advanced countries denies us through trade. Trade has the further advantage of placing greater responsibility on the developing nations, leading them towards self-reliance. I urge the nations assembled here to give their fullest support to the work initiated by the two United Nations Conferences on Trade and Development and to persuade the strong to
dismantle the economic walls which they have built to defend themselves from the weak. In so doing they will be fortifying the defences of peace before it is too late.
174. These are the factors which cause tensions and bitterness, which divide society and lead it away from co-operation and the paths of peace. Fear grips large parts of the world. Sages in my land exhorted us to be free from that which made us afraid, anticipating by thirty centuries those famous words of our own times, that there is nothing to fear but fear itself. No people were so cowed down as my countrymen before Mahatma Gandhi came on the scene. India was able to wrest freedom because he taught us to overcome fear and hatred and to be absorbed in a cause which was greater than ourselves.
175. We in India are attuned to the idea that the paths to truth are many and various. An attempt to remake the world in any one image will not be countenanced by the majority of mankind. Our age has been called the space age, but I would call it the age of the people. Revolutionaries, liberators and political leaders have always talked of the people, but for the first time now, “we the people” does not mean a few representing the many, but the masses, themselves, each of whom is poignantly conscious of his individuality, each one of whom is seeking to assert his rights and to voice his demands.
176. Through the ages, man has struggled against vastly superior forces. The one constant has been his indomitable spirit. He has pitted his puny frame against nature. He has fought against tremendous odds for freedom, for his beliefs, for an idea or an ideal. Endowed with such a spirit, will man abdicate in favour of the machine or bow to the dominance of tyranny in new garbs? Men have been tortured, men have been killed, but the idea has prevailed.
177. Two years hence, in 1970, the United Nations will complete twenty-five years. Can we make it a year of peace? A starting point of a united endeavour to give mankind the blessings of a durable peace? To this end let us devote ourselves.
178. One of our ancient prayers says:
“Common be your prayer;
“Common be your end;
“Common be your purpose;
“Common be your deliberation;
“Common be your desires;
“Unified be your hearts;
“United be your intentions;
“Perfect be the union among you.”
1. I should like at the outset to add my own tribute to that of the Prime Minister of India and offer Mr. Arenales my felicitations on his election to the high office of President of the United Nations General Assembly at its twenty-third session. This Assembly is meeting once again in regular session in a continuing effort to deal with issues that trouble mankind and try to overcome forces which frustrate the achievement of the noble objectives enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations. It seems appropriate that the deliberations of the Assembly this year should be presided over by a distinguished statesman from Latin America. I am deeply aware of the important contribution which the countries of Latin America have made to the development of the United Nations as an effective instrument for the preservation of peace and the promotion of international co-operation. I have no doubt that under our President’s wise leadership and guidance this Assembly will take significant decisions aimed at strengthening peace and security and the further development of international co-operation and friendly relations among nations and peoples.
2. I should also like to pay my own warm tribute to our distinguished Secretary-General. It has been a matter of great satisfaction to us that in these trying times we have been fortunate enough to have U Thant as the Secretary-General of the United Nations. I am sure I speak for all when I say that his total dedication to the furtherance of the objectives of the world Organization, his sensitive and impartial handling of the various problems with which it has been faced and his high sense of integrity and devotion to duty have amply justified the confidence Member States have reposed in him.
3. It was over two decades ago that the United Nations came into being as an abiding expression of man’s determination to rid the world of war and want. The optimism and hope of the founders of the United Nations have unfortunately not been borne out in the quarter of a century that has elapsed since the Charter was adopted in San Francisco. The obligations then assumed by Member States had led us to hope that the high standards of international behaviour implicit in the Charter would be maintained and there would follow an era of co-operation and dedication to peace. But the expectation that disputes and conflicts would be resolved exclusively by peaceful means has proved to be wrong. Nations and peoples have failed to subordinate the attainment of narrow national ends to the larger interests of orderly relations between States and peace and security for all. In the process, the new world order we have struggled to establish has been undermined and the prospects of peace remain uncertain.
4. The reason for this sharp deterioration in the climate for peace and progress is not far to seek. It lies in the deliberate and callous disregard for the principle of the inadmissibility of the use of force ii relations between States. It has been our view, as indeed that of many others, that only the practical application of the principles of peaceful coexistence would enable the hopes of the post-war world to be realized. The non-aligned nations of the world which have struggled hard to promote the principles of peaceful coexistence have always intended that the concept should represent something more positive and constructive than the old stratagem for maintaining peace between opposing armed camps. The peoples of the world had begun to hope that peaceful coexistence would become a meaningful way of international life and would facilitate the elimination of the causes. of conflicts and disputes, so that conditions could be created for genuine peace, freedom and justice. Nations and peoples had shown an increasing willingness to understand and co-operate with one another and this had resulted in a noticeable reduction in international tension. But this trend has unhappily received a severe setback.
5. The reason for this retrograde development has been that nations have not hesitated to use force to secure national interests in violation of all objective standards of international morality. Wars have been waged or pressures have been exercised ostensibly in the name of freedom, in the name of security, in the name of ideology or in the name of religion. The consequences of this state of affairs are serious. Relations between States are being increasingly based on respect for the power they wield, or can be expected to wield, rather than on their adherence to established rules of international behaviour. As a result, the faith of the weak is dwindling in the protection afforded by the Charter of the United Nations. Tragically, it is those of us who seek to order our actions in strict conformity with the code of international conduct and eschew the use of force that pay the price.
6. Advances in military technology have brought about an intricate interplay between military and political actions calculated to maintain the so-called balance of power. These actions are unfortunately based less on considerations of ensuring security than on the urge to consolidate and extend political and economic control beyond the limits of national sovereignty. Reversion to the concept of spheres of influence would be the natural result of this development.
7. Persistent and irresponsible efforts are also being made by some to disturb peace and stability in pursuit of their ambitions, ideological or religious. This particular phenomenon manifests itself in insidious attempts to foster local wars and to undermine established political authority in States struggling to protect their freedom and independence.
8. The aggravation of these tendencies is bound to undermine any established international machinery for ordering relations between States. However, the moral imperatives of this very situation have produced a state of uncertainty in international relationships which are undergoing transformation. The compulsions of technological advance and the inevitable movement towards one world have given the interdependence of States a new urgency. Therefore, the situation calls for more determined efforts to evolve relations between States based on mutual respect and sovereign equality. It also calls for mutual accommodation and endeavour in seeking peaceful solutions to international disputes and conflicts. The United Nations still represents the only means by which nations, large or small, can ensure their security and live together in peace and friendship. We hope that this Organization will not accept as permanent its present inability to apply the established code of conduct for nations.
9. Among the issues before this Assembly, the unresolved situation in West Asia is of grave concern to us. Twenty years and three wars after the partition of Palestine there is no light at the end of the tunnel. Is it possible that even after this harrowing experience the belief persists that peace can be imposed by the use of force or that aspirations of vast masses of people can be set aside? The core of the problem is the rehabilitation of people uprooted from their homes and separated from their children. Unless the international community which continues to share the blame and the responsibility comes up with a viable solution taking into account the fundamental rights of these people, the precarious nature of their existence will continue to impinge on the situation in West Asia.
10. Almost a year ago, the Security Council unanimously adopted a resolution [242 (1967)] to provide ways and means for bringing peace to West Asia within the framework of certain fundamental principles. My Government fully supports that resolution in all its parts. It is our belief that lasting peace can be brought about in that region only on the basis of the recognition of the just rights of all the States in the area. However, I should like to underline again what my Prime Minister said to this Assembly on 14 October 1968:
“Essential for a peaceful settlement is the withdrawal of foreign forces from all Arab territories occupied in June last year. The process of the restoration of peace can begin and Ambassador Jarring’s mission be fruitful only with the clear affirmation of this.” [1693rd meeting, para, 159.]
11. South-East Asia is another neighbouring region which still continues to be tormented by strife and thus causes serious concern to us. Since my Prime Minister’s address to the General Assembly we have been encouraged by the efforts that are being made to find the way to start a peaceful and negotiated settlement of the conflict in Viet-Nam. We fervently hope that those efforts will succeed and lead to the fulfilment of the Geneva Agreements. In this context it is relevant to refer to the anxiety that has been expressed that the possible peaceful settlement of the Viet-Nam conflict and the withdrawal of extra-regional forces from that area would create a vacuum which must be filled by one Power or another. It is true that that area has been the cockpit of international rivalry. But any solution for the problems of the region can be based only on the clear recognition of nationalist urges and the political and economic viability of the States of South-East Asia. In short, the so-called vacuum has to be filled by those nations themselves, whose sovereignty, territorial integrity and independence should be respected by all. This can be made possible by bringing about intense and durable regional co-operation in both the political and economic fields. In our view, the answer does not lie in inviting extra-regional Powers to become protectors. This is not to say that extra-regional assistance is not welcome. But it does mean that such assistance should be for the purpose of augmenting the resources of the region and not supplanting them.
12. The acceleration of the arms race in the post-war period has been one of the principal contributory factors to the aggravation of international tensions. The growing dimension of the nuclear weapons system has come to be accepted as a fact of life. This is a matter which must be of grave concern to all of us, The spiralling arms race has undermined the concept of peaceful co-existence. The great Powers continue to augment their overkill capacity for nuclear destruction. There is a certain evil dynamism in this competition, since its logical conclusion is that peace can be maintained only through a balance of terror.
13. The question of preventing the proliferation of nuclear weapons has attracted world-wide attention in the recent past. Unfortunately, there is a continuing refusal to deal with the heart of this problem. My Government has repeatedly urged that problems of insecurity cannot be solved only by the arbitrary imposition of restrictions on those who do not possess nuclear weapons, without any corresponding steps to limit and reduce the stockpiles of these weapons of mass destruction in the hands of a few Powers. We realize that that is a difficult task. Progress towards disarmament has necessarily to be a slow and at times a painful process. However, that process can be set in motion if the States which possess nuclear weapons are prepared to undertake serious negotiations on the limitation, reduction and eventual elimination of nuclear armaments. As far as India is concerned we have repeatedly declared our intention to use nuclear energy exclusively for peaceful purposes. We will continue to develop our knowledge and capacity for the utilization of nuclear energy for peaceful purposes because it is essential to our economic development. Without the development of this and other branches of modern science and technology we could not hope to fulfil the aspirations of our people in a relatively short period.
14. The adoption of the Charter of the United Nations reflected the determination of mankind to shift its attention from war, and preparations for war, to the promotion of better standards of life for all. In the promotion of this objective there has been increasing awareness of the community of interest among countries at different stages of economic growth and having different socio-economic systems. This has pointed to the conclusion that prosperity, like peace, is indivisible and that the only way of fulfilling the objectives of the Charter is to reduce disparities among nations and peoples by mutual co-operation.
15. Despite general acceptance of these principles, it is an unfortunate fact that the vast majority of the human race is still haunted by want and poverty. It is ironical that such a state of affairs should exist during a period of unprecedented scientific and technological advance which has furnished unlimited possibilities for accelerating growth and eliminating social and economic disabilities. Events have in fact moved in the opposite direction. Technological advance has only further widened the gulf separating the rich and the poor nations of the world.
16. It is generally realized that development must be based primarily on self-reliance. There is, in fact, no other choice if the developing countries are to preserve their hard-won independence. However, if development is to take place solely on the basis of national efforts, it will require the mobilization of domestic resources on a more rigorous basis. The consequent severe restrictions on the already low consumption standards are not only socially undesirable but politically impracticable in a democratic society. Development becomes the common responsibility of the world community because it is only within this framework that the inequality and injustice which have characterized the world trading system and the international economic relationship since the colonial days can be eliminated.
17. The prevailing climate in the field of development appears to be one of fatigue and frustration. Much was expected from the second session of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, to which my Government had the honour to play host. The somewhat limited results of the Conference failed to measure up to the expectations of the world community. Various explanations have been offered for the failure of that Conference. We are asked, for example, to wait for a more favourable international economic climate. There will always be difficulties and problems, but the lot of the developing countries is such that they cannot afford to wait upon better times in affluent countries. The only way to overcome present frustration is to rekindle hope; the only remedy for disenchantment is the reaffirmation of our faith in more purposeful and effective international co-operation. As in the political field, so also in the economic field international co-operation involves a deliberate process of accommodation and adjustment. It is only by a collective effort to shoulder these responsibilities that lasting foundations for a secure peace can be laid.
18. As evidence of our determination to discharge these responsibilities, we should agree on at least the following objectives to be fulfilled during the current and next United Nations Development Decade.
19. First, we should agree on a target for the economic growth of developing countries which will enable them to bring about a perceptible change in the living conditions of their peoples.
20. Second, to impart a practical meaning to that target, a firm commitment should be given by all developed countries to accept and implement the target of flow of financial assistance equivalent to one per cent net of gross national product to developing countries.
21. Third, continuity of aid flow should be ensured and a time dimension should be imparted to the aid target by all developed countries, emulating the commendable initiatives taken by some of them.
22. Fourth, the confidence in the ability of international institutions to discharge their basic minimum responsibilities towards developing countries should be restored by fulfilling before 1970 the resources targets set for those organizations.
23. Fifth, a more determined effort should be made to prevent the erosion of the real value of aid by giving up the practice of aid being tied to sources of procurement and to specific projects.
24. Sixth, ways and means should be found to alleviate the mounting and oppressive debt-servicing burdens of the developing countries.
25. Seventh, as an important element of international development policy, we should agree on a package of trade measures which will enable the developing countries to cover a substantial part of their resources gap by an increase in their export earnings.
26. Eighth, correspondingly, the developing countries should redouble their efforts for the mobilization of domestic resources, by increasing agricultural productivity, implementing appropriate population programmes, developing indigenous technology, and intensifying economic co-operation among themselves.
27. Preoccupation with issues of war and peace, and the persistence of conflict and injustice in the world, have inevitably led to a lowering of values and to diminishing respect for the dignity and worth of the human person. In many parts of the world, practices of racial discrimination prevail and serious economic imbalances inhibit the enjoyment of economic and social rights, with adverse repercussions on the exercise of civic and political freedoms. Despite all the valiant efforts of the United Nations, it is unfortunate that these deplorable situations have not been remedied. This cannot but be a matter of general concern, since the implications of this state of affairs.are far wider than may appear at first sight.
28. Respect for the dignity of man is not a narrow sociological concept. Recognition and faithful application of this principle constitutes the very foundation not only of the international order we seek to establish, but of world peace itself. The problem we face cannot be solved by pious declarations, however sincere they may be. They call for urgent and resolute action. The urgent and important problem in this field is the elimination of racial discrimination, and, in particular, the abandonment of the pernicious policy of apartheid, which represents the most flagrant violation of human rights and fundamental freedoms. The danger of the outbreak of massive racial conflict is both real and imminent. Unless its root causes are eradicated firmly and soon, we shall be faced with a holocaust of far wider dimensions than the religious and ideological conflicts which have disturbed the peace of the world in the past. We have a serious responsibility to avert that catastrophe.
29. There are also, unfortunately, other fields in which a refusal to recognize and respect the dignity of the human person still persists. Though the frontiers of freedom are gradually being extended and newly independent countries are taking their rightful place in the community of nations, the cancer of colonial subjugation eats into the vitals of the world community. Despite the-concerted efforts of the United Nations and the pressure of world public opinion, the pace of decolonization has slackened and in many areas is depressingly slow. This problem is most acute in southern Africa. The peoples of that area have been victims of the most flagrant mass violation of human rights and fundamental freedoms. The efforts of the United Nations to mitigate these problems have met with the strongest resistance.
30. South Africa continues to maintain its illegal control over Namibia. The people of that Territory continue to be subjected to blatant indignities and to the application of pernicious forms of the policy of apartheid. The situation in Zimbabwe is no better. None of the steps adopted by the United Nations has led to progress towards majority rule and a just society free from discrimination. The illegal Smith régime becomes more intransigent as each day passes. Atrocities are committed; freedom fighters are repressed; executions are carried out without any legal authority whatsoever. As far as the Portuguese colonies are concerned, Portugal has persistently refused to decolonize the territories under its administration and has, in fact, been resorting to brutal military operations against the people of those territories. Those are but a few examples of the rule of force being applied with scant respect for the just aspirations of the peoples to whom those territories rightfully belong. Obdurate refusal to accept peaceful solutions will inevitably breed violence.
31. My Prime Minister surveyed the prospects of peace against a broad perspective and set out the basic approach of my Government in dealing with the many intricate problems and issues that face the world community. The conclusion which emerges is that a fresh and serious effort has to be made to lay firmer foundations for peace and to eradicate the root causes of tension and conflict. This would involve a reaffirmation of faith in the principles of coexistence and non-use of force, the sovereignty, integrity and independence of States, the elimination of glaring economic disparities, and full respect for the dignity of man and for fundamental human rights and freedoms. The most appropriate machinery available to us for the achievement of those objectives is the United Nations itself. It is only by stricter and more dedicated adherence to the purposes and principles of the Charter that we can lay the foundations for peace. It is not beyond our collective capacity to join together in a dedicated co-operative effort to build a new world order calculated to stabilize peace and to promote prosperity. As my Prime Minister indicated in her statement, we shall begin the second United Nations Development Decade two years hence, in 1970. We have another year in which to suspend the hostilities of today and lay the foundations of peace for tomorrow. Let 1970, as suggested by my Prime Minister, be the “starting point of a united endeavour to give mankind the blessings of a durable peace” [1693rd meeting, para. 177].