147. Although circumstances beyond my will have deprived me of the privilege of being among the first to welcome Ambassador Pazhwak on the occasion of his unanimous election to the high office of the President of the General Assembly, I nevertheless wish to be considered as ranking among the first in appreciation of his great qualities not only as a diplomat and statesman but also as a man of heart and intellect. In him I salute a beloved brother.
148. Two of my colleagues have already had the opportunity of recalling here the exceptional ties which bind our peoples and our common roots of language and history. It is therefore with a sense of particular pride that I am moved on behalf of my delegation and myself to offer Ambassador Pazhwak my most sincere congratulations on his new dignity. We are convinced that under his wise and able leadership the delicate work of this session of the Assembly will be marked by success. Before turning to the matters before us, I must give expression to my appreciation of the distinguished services rendered by his eminent predecessor, the Foreign Minister of Italy, Signor Fanfani, who presided over the twentieth session of the Assembly with such distinction.
149. At this late stage of the general debate, when so many have already dealt at length with the international situation in its many aspects, I prefer to limit my observations to comment on the major elements which emerge from the statements already made here.
150. Without exception all delegations have expressed the gravest concern over the situation of the world in general and over the prospects of the United Nations in particular.
151. At the very time when the economic problems of the world multiply and almost two billions of our fellow men struggle desperately against the ancient enemies of hunger, disease, ignorance and fear, political and military dangers are pressing harder upon the peace and security of men. The search for solutions of a truly lasting character to some of the problems which the world has faced since the founding
of the United Nations has, so far, been fruitless, and time is running out. In Africa, the judgement of the world continues to be challenged with impunity in such areas as South Africa, South West Africa, Southern Rhodesia and the territories occupied by Portugal, in all of which racist practices and ultra-colonialist policies have built up an explosive situation.
152. In the Middle East, fratricidal wars are being waged in some areas; in others, major trouble lies hardly concealed under the surface. In Kashmir, despite United Nations resolutions and the recent Tashkent Agreement, the basic elements of the dispute remain intractable. In Cyprus. a shaky truce papers over the persisting basic divisive problem. I need hardly say that our attitude toward these two questions is well known: it remains the same.
153. Most urgent of all, war continues to devastate the unhappy land of Viet-Nam, and to pose a dire threat to world peace and security.
154. On the wider scene of international relations, unhappily, the declarations of intent of the Great Powers made outside or inside the United Nations have yet to bear fruit in bringing us nearer to the indispensable conditions of a lasting peace, namely, the realization of the first concrete steps towards disarmament.
155. Most disturbing is the progressive disability of the United Nations in coping with the common danger. I use the word "disability" rather than "inability" of set purpose to indicate my continued faith in the ability of the Organization to serve the cause of peace, in the present crisis, as in earlier ones, were it not disabled by the failure of those on whom primary responsibility rests to respect the requirements of the Charter. What appeared in the guise of a financial crisis, capable of solution through the exercise of goodwill and wisdom, seems to have developed today into a crisis of much greater magnitude reflecting the major political and economic contradictions of our time.
156. The many aspects of this crisis are stated in the letter of 1 September 1966 from the Secretary-General to the Security Council [A/6400], in which he set out the fundamental reasons that finally led him to the decision not to offer himself for a second term as Secretary-General. Let me say at once that I consider this to be a most significant document, for it reflects some of the basic challenges of contemporary history as seen through the eyes of a man whose character and office give his observations and evaluation of the situation unique weight. They therefore require our closest consideration.
157. To what has been said by all the speakers who preceded me in appreciation of the Secretary-General, I wish to join the voice of the Government and the people of Iran and to pay tribute to U Thant for his five years in office, during which he has rendered valiant service in furthering the cause of peace and the United Nations. We are grateful to him for so clearly lighting the way we must go. We respect him for his decision and the reasons which moved him to make it, but it is our earnest hope that he will give serious consideration to the wishes which have been expressed here and, indeed, throughout the world.
The Iranian delegation would welcome his continuation in office most whole-heartedly.
158. Turning to the considerations set forth in the Secretary-General’s letter, I think it evident that dedication to the objectives of the Charter means, among other things, fully supporting the Secretary-General in the performance of his duties — based on the principles of the Charter — in the service of peace, removing the divisions which have disabled the Organization, and restoring the capacity of the United Nations to act truly as a "potent force for peace”.
159. The chief cause of the present critical situation and of the debility of the United Nations in the face of the major problems of the world, is, as the Secretary-General has said, "the tragic error ... of relying on force and military means in a deceptive pursuit of peace". [see A/6400.]
160. The great Powers, instead of letting themselves be guided by the rule of international law and responding affirmatively to the "conscience of mankind", as reflected in the views of the General Assembly, have often appeared to prefer to act independently of both in major matters. This policy of the Great Powers has, more than anything else, weakened the United Nations and dimmed its light. The necessary respect for the Organization will be restored only when such respect marks the policies of the great Powers. Respect for the Charter signifies not ignoring the Organization even when national interests are deemed better served outside; it means also giving up the tendency to come to the Organization only to serve one's own interests.
161. There should be no need to read a lesson on the true meaning of "interest" in a world which daily grows more interdependent, yet the evidence on every hand that no nation is an island, goes unheeded. It serves no purpose to join in fervent calls on the Secretary-General not to give up the struggle, if the conduct of national policies continues to belie the authority of the Organization on whose behalf he acts. How is it possible for him to fully perform the responsibilities of his office, if the Organization is deprived of authority and of the means to carry out the tasks with which we have charged him in the Charter? This is the question which the Secretary-General has posed. It merits a sincere and convincing response in deeds, rather than words. The most urgent priority must, therefore, be given to restoring the strength of the United Nations as an effective instrument of peace, and this will be done by restoring respect for the common opinion of mankind.
162. The grave concern of my Government over the situation in Viet-Nam, and its basic position on the issues involved, have both been given public expression. We hold the opinion, which is generally shared, that the situation in South-East Asia constitutes a formidable danger to world peace. The right of the people of Viet-Nam freely to decide their own future, without interference from outside, admits of no question. We hold that it is our duty to help the people of Viet-Nam to realize their aim of independence free of all external pressures. The war causes the people of Viet-Nam untold suffering. It threatens to escalate and spread its horrors. Our anxiety is only too well justified.
163. It is acknowledged that there can be no military solution of the Viet-Nam question — and, in any case, none which can endure. Any answer to the problem, therefore, can only be of a political nature. The basis for such a solution already exists in the Geneva Agreements of 1954. A peaceful solution of the conflict requires, first of all, that ways be found to bring the parties concerned to sit round the conference table. The prerequisites to this indispensable step are those which have been stated by the Secretary-General. In our view, it is above all in this supremely important aspect of the matter that we must follow his efforts. My delegation concurs in the ideas underlying his proposals for bringing the parties together. Agreement along these lines seems the right way to achieve a constructive result.
164. The universality of our membership is a matter which we cannot much longer evade, if the United Nations is properly to reflect the great changes which have occurred in the world. Without taking account of those changes in this forum, the United Nations cannot hope to realize its purposes and function effectively as an instrument for the peaceful resolution of conflicts, and for the harmonization of policies. The time seems already upon us for new steps towards the attainment of the goal of universality, in conformity with the Purposes and Principles of the Charter.
165. While On the subject of universality, I am glad, on behalf of my Government, to welcome the newest Member of our Organization, the State of Guyana, and, with equal satisfaction, Indonesia's resumption of her place in our midst. It presages a restoration to us, particularly needed now, of her ability to make a strong contribution to the realization of our common objectives.
166. I have already noted that not the least injurious effect of the political crisis has been to divert us from the single-minded search for ways out of our economic dilemmas. The gravity of these is recognized on every hand. The last session of the Economic and Social Council and the reports of the Secretary-General have provided us with new elements of concern.
167. While, in 1965, the gross national product of capital-exporting countries was climbing to an unprecedented $1,300 billion, allowing them to waste some $150 billion per year in military expenditure, the difficulties facing the developing countries were becoming ever greater. To old, unsolved, long-term problems, new ones had been added, growing in part from the inadequacy of the remedies devised for our chronic ills. The burden of debt-servicing, in particular, has come to outweigh the benefits of capital inflow in many cases; food is in short supply, aggravated by problems of over-population, while the deterioration in terms of trade eats away the national substance. Above all, the momentum of international aid has slackened. This has been recognized as one of the most serious problems of the past year.
168. To be sure, efforts continue to be made, within and outside the developing countries, to deal with the great economic difficulties of our time. The developing peoples are making efforts which have been described as heroic. International aid, although it does not yet exceed 0.65 per cent of the gross national product of the developed countries, is nearing the level of $10 billion per year. United Nations plans and resources for assistance have also improved. However, if the outcome of these efforts gives no promise of ever being adequate, the reason, in the opinion of my delegation, is that there has not yet been a global approach to the problem of under-development, and that an approach has indeed not been made in terms corresponding to the long-range needs of a stable and affluent world economy.
169. The tendency is still strong in the developed countries to take a parochial view of the objectives of the fight against under-development. They do not aim to bring the so-called developing regions into the main economic currents of our time; they limit themselves to a frustrating process of bailing out a leaky craft, partly by bilateral aid, partly by the traditional unequal methods of exchange. As long as this narrow and faulty notion of the possibilities of development prevails, the programme offered will necessarily have the limited and temporary nature of emergency aid. Only by changing the aim of our common endeavours to the creation of a new economic order, and to the foundation of a dynamic and expanding world economy can the diverging economic destinies of the peoples of the world be reconciled in the interest of all, whatever their degree of development.
170. Here again, if the need to lay the foundations of an expanding and balanced world economy should meet with continued lack of understanding on the part of the developed countries, this could indeed constitute a serious danger to the cause of international cooperation.
171. In a vast area of our Asian continent, a line of economic action, based on the concept of "going it alone" — called "self-reliance" — already prevails. It is construed by some as a reaction of despair against some of the fruitless and frustrating outcomes of the present structures of international co-operation. If this attitude were to gain ground and win new converts among the increasing number of developing countries which are losing faith in the present world economic order, the result would be to imperil the ideas of harmony which constitute the very basis of our action within the framework of the United Nations Charter.
172. It is more important than ever that the world community should accept the objectives of the seventy-seven developing countries for a better economic world order as no mere defence of their selfish interests. It has been pointed out often enough that they seek neither charity nor narrow advantage, but justice. Their action within the United Nations family, as outside it, aims at breaking out of the restrictive vicious circle of global under-development to wider mutually beneficial participation in economic activity on a world-wide plane, creating a system of economic rules and relations which hold promise of prosperity for all the peoples of the world.
173. It is in this spirit, and in accordance with these principles, that Iran will continue to manifest its solidarity with the other developing countries. We still hope that, at its second conference, UNCTAD may yet prove a milestone on the road to a healthy and balanced economic order.
174. While stressing the importance of a new order in world trade and a new philosophy in foreign assistance, I must add that in breaking the barriers to prosperity the paramount factor is the determination of a people to burst their bonds and their readiness to pay the cost in hard work and self-help.
175. We believe that development requires attack on all fronts: the mobilization of resources and the renovation of institutions at home, joint efforts at the regional level and close economic co-operation with all the nations of the world. I am pleased to state here what we, for our part, have done in this respect. On the home front, the mobilization of resources, both human and material, has gone hand in hand with the institutional changes initiated by His Imperial Majesty the Shahinshah in the renovation of our society. Land reform has released the energies of three quarters of our population, has created in them the motivation to work for a better future, and has given them ever-brightening prospects of social justice. Administrative reform is instilling a new sense of values in the civil service. Overhaul of the governmental organization is bringing into being more effective machinery for the talks of development. The creation of a Literacy, Health and Development Corps of educated conscripts has brought the services of teachers, doctors, civil engineers and agricultural experts to the remotest parts of the country. Thus our defence system serves us twice — first, to protect the national patrimony and, second, to help protect it.
176. It is with pleasure and pride that I point to last year's rise of 12 per cent in our gross national product, as some measure of the results of Iran's revolution for progress. If the way to peace lies through social and economic development, ignorance is a difficult barrier to those who seek to travel that road. For this reason my Government assigns exceptional importance to the national campaign for literacy and education, believing that thereby not only can the task of development be made easier, but even world understanding improved as men's horizons are broadened.
177. As a correlative to our campaign against mass illiteracy at home, we seek to further the world campaign against mass illiteracy, and at the same time to contribute to an eventual reduction of the world burden of armaments. His Imperial Majesty the Shahinshah took the initiative in the course of this year of urging Member nations to contribute to UNESCO the monetary equivalent of one day's military expenditure and so establish a fund from which to assist in the eradication of mass illiteracy. Iran itself has already allocated a total of $700,000 from its military budget to UNESCO for this purpose. We are gratified that Mali and the Ivory Coast, and now Tunisia, have joined us in this constructive measure. Others have expressed enthusiastic support of the idea. The distinguished Secretary for Foreign Affairs of the United Kingdom, the Right Honourable George Brown, stated the other day [1436th meeting] that about 250 million children of school age in the world get no education at all but he gave no indication of what should be done about it. We think that a more affirmative attitude, preferably expressed in actions like ours, is needed to educate these 250 million children. No less important are the 700 million adults who cannot read or write. It is estimated that a world programme for the eradication of illiteracy would require $4,000 to $5,000 million. To win this battle, the necessary tools and funds must be provided, not only on the national level by the countries concerned, but also on a world scale through a great international endeavour.
178. In every forum of the United Nations stress is placed, and rightly so, on the importance of regional cooperation as a means of coordinating and eventually integrating the efforts of countries to accelerate economic development. In this connexion, I would mention the establishment in 1964 of the Regional Co-operation for Development by Iran, Pakistan and Turkey. It has enabled them to expand their economic co-operation and to achieve results which have proved most beneficial to the entire region. The Regional Co-operation for Development, which is not a closed organization, has not only laid the foundation for accelerating the economic growth and welfare of 160 million people of the three countries bound by historic ties of amity, but has brought about closer co-operation in other fields also.
179. Thanks to an enlightened leadership and, as a result of the unprecedented stability it has created in the country, Iran has been able in the past year to develop relations of constructive co-operation with other peace-loving nations of the world, regardless of their social and political systems. The object of the State visits of the Shahinshah to foreign countries has been to give positive meaning to our basic concept of active international co-operation on the basis of non-interference in the internal affairs of other States and mutual respect for national sovereignty. These visits and the establishment of personal contacts between the Shahinshah and the leaders of these countries have been most useful inasmuch as they have enabled us to extend deeper our relations with the other Members of the United Nations.
180. I should like here to indicate briefly the elements of Iran's foreign policy as they were set forth by the Shahinshah a few days ago, in an address to the Joint Houses of Parliament. His Imperial Majesty observed that Iran's international policy rests upon the basis of independence in national policy, respect for the Charter of the United Nations, the quest for peace, coexistence and co-operation with nations and States regardless of their forms of government.
181. Iran firmly supports guaranteed complete disarmament, the non-proliferation of nuclear weapons, and the creation of zones free of nuclear weapons. Iran holds firmly that the way to the fulfilment of the country's real interests is the way of understanding and fruitful co-operation with all nations of the world, on the basis of respect for national sovereignty. Iran's position is that peace and international understanding are the fundamental and necessary requisites for its society's progress, as well as for the advancement of all societies of the world.
182. We have sought as well as we could to contribute to the peaceful settlement of disputes, especially in our part of the world. This has been a constant concern of Iran. While on this matter, I should like to respond appreciatively to the kind words of the distinguished representatives of Pakistan and Malaysia concerning the mediatory effort undertaken by my august Sovereign. It is indeed gratifying to find that these efforts contributed to the re-establishment of diplomatic relations between two Moslem States.
183. Because of the importance we attach to the promotion of human rights and out of a desire to further that cause by concrete action, we have offered to act as hosts to the International Conference on Human Rights to be convened in 1968 in accordance with the call issued by the General Assembly at its last session, in resolution 2081 (XX) of 20 December 1965. We anticipate that the Conference will mark a further step to the attainment of our common objective of promoting respect for human rights.
184. In conclusion, let me warn against taking a discouraged or despairing view of the present difficulties of the world, deep though they go. In the first two decades of our Organization's life the prophets of pessimism have been confounded more than once by the ability of the world in times of stress to redeem the common pledge to preserve the ideals of the Charter of the United Nations.
185. In some ways, the most encouraging fact of our time is the growing awareness among all peoples of their solidarity. This finds expression in the almost instinctive reactions of strong and spontaneous support which we have given our Organization whenever it has been confronted with a major crisis. It is because of this and because of our conviction that the future of the human race is bound up with its solidarity that we share with the Secretary-General his abiding and unshakable faith in the ultimate success of our Organization. We believe that the entire membership should intensify its efforts to develop the United Nations as an indispensable instrument for the attainment of a peaceful and just world order.
186. Despite the crisis that our Organization is facing, we abide in the faith that the deliberations of this Assembly will enable us, once again, to find a means of surmounting present difficulties and thereby of clearing the way to the two great goals of this Organization: to keep the peace in our time and to build lasting structures of peace for the future.