1. Mr. President, it is a pleasant duty for my delegation to add its warmest congratulations to those already extended to you, since the opening of the general debate, on your unanimous election to the Presidency of the Assembly. I am sure that your diplomatic skills and your talent for negotiation and dialogue will enable us to bring to a successful conclusion the work of this twenty-first session, which opens in an atmosphere of crisis and anxiety.
2. We also wish to congratulate Mr. Fanfani, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Italy, who presided over the twentieth session of the General Assembly with matchless competence.
3. Lastly, we would offer our best wishes to the delegation of Guyana upon its admission to the United Nations.
4. My delegation would also like most enthusiastically to welcome Indonesia's return to the United Nations. Our organization looks forward once again to the contribution which that' great country will be able to make.
5. It has now become the custom-for the Government of each State Member of the United Nations to make known each year, particularly in the General Assembly, Its views on the major problems of the day. These views reflect the international policies of each country, which are based on constant guiding principles. I should therefore like to begin by outlining the fundamental principles of our foreign policy.
6. This policy is founded upon solidarity among men and nations, which means that the goal of our international co-operation must be above all to contribute to world peace, the primary purpose of the United Nations, Peaceful coexistence and the settlement of disputes through negotiation are also leitmotivs of our policy. The Government and people of Rwanda firmly believe in friendly relations among nations based, as the United Nations Charter states, "on respect for the principle of equal rights and self-determination of peoples". We believe that the sovereignty and self- determination of States are sacred principles which should govern all international relations. Our foreign policy also seeks to encourage and facilitate the harmonious development of all countries of the world by helping, among other things, to promote and improve the system of foreign aid, thus participating in effective co-operation among nations.
7. Those, in brief, are the foundations and objectives of the Rwandese Republic's foreign policy. Guided by these objectives, what do we find one year after the twentieth session of the General Assembly? International tensions have only increased. Effective general disarmament has not been carried out. On the contrary, both nuclear and conventional weapons have grown considerably in number. As the Secretary-General stressed in the introduction to his annual report on the work of the Organization, a document which deserves serious study and deep thought:
"Generally speaking and as reflected by positions taken in the United Nations, the powerful nations have not during this period shown themselves able to rise above the suspicions, fears and mistrust that spring from their different ideologies and from their different conceptions of the best Interests of the rest of the world; nor the rich nations above their concern for the continuation of their own prosperity; nor the poor nations above the dead weight of their chronic poverty and their anachronistic social structures." [See A/6301/Add.1, p. 1.]
8. The war in Viet-Nam Is acquiring ever more disturbing proportions, and one wonders whether the world is not running the risk of a third world war. The Chinese people, the German people, the Korean people remain artificially divided.
9. With regard to decolonization, the hopes of African countries, and those of the Third World in general, have been dashed by the Indifference with which the United Kingdom has treated the unilateral declaration of Rhodesian Independence by Ian Smith's rebellious regime, and also by the decision of the International Court of Justice concerning South West Africa.
10. Two years after the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, no tangible progress has been made In trade between the wealthy nations and the developing countries. On the contrary, the gap between the developed and the less developed countries has grown increasingly wider.
11. The financial and institutional crisis of the United Nations has not been settled, and there is every reason to wonder whether the Organization will be able to continue its noble task of maintaining peace, international security and the well-being of mankind. Now, in addition to all this, comes the most regrettable decision of our Secretary-General not to seek another term of office.
12. Turning to the problem of general disarmament, my delegation wishes to reiterate its Government's position. The Rwandese Republic finds it intolerable that certain Powers should continue to manufacture weapons that can wipe out entire countries and peoples, and even continents. It hopes to make its modest contribution to ensuring that such a catastrophe never happens. My delegation would like to join all those who have expressed grave concern over the problem of disarmament. All reasonable men, all nations, must strive to reach our principal goal as soon as possible, that is, universal, general and controlled disarmament. Last year we supported the idea of a world conference in which all Powers, and particularly the atomic Powers, would participate. Such a conference should make concrete, realistic proposals for averting the dangers stemming from the arms race, particularly with regard to weapons of mass destruction, and for allocating the funds involved to better purposes. The results, unfortunately, are disappointing; for the will to examine these issues seriously is not equally strong and sincere on the part of all the atomic Powers.
13. The delegation of the Rwandese Republic, sickened at the dangers to which the proliferation of atomic weapons exposes mankind, would like to renew its appeal to the great atomic Powers to stop producing these weapons, to decrease their stockpiles progressively, and to refrain from transferring them to other Powers; to ensure the effectiveness of this decision, these Powers should accept international control. In addition, in order to achieve general and complete disarmament, an agreement banning underground nuclear tests must be signed as a follow-up to the Moscow Treaty.
14. The Rwandese Government believes, however, that no efforts to promote security, disarmament and effective weapons control will have any decisive and lasting success unless the causes of other world tensions are also eliminated. We feel that there can be no better token of a policy of peace than aid to the developing countries. That is why my delegation condemns the most absurd and distressing fact of our time, namely, the ridiculous amounts of money spent on armaments. It is regrettable that the political and military aspect of international relations is more and more taking precedence over their economic and commercial aspect.
15. With world opinion now convinced that arms budgets could be cut considerably; when, even at their armies' present level of power and efficiency, most of the nations in this Assembly could substantially reduce expenditures and at the same time make them more useful from the economic standpoint through a deliberate rationalization effort; and when the existence of nuclear deterrent forces makes the destructive effects of any war on a world-wide scale total and irreparable is it not tragic that nations should continue to amass ever more costly weapons, despite facts of which all mankind is aware?
16. Is it logical to recognize that the economic and social development of nations requires enormous human and financial resources and at the same time to go on expending those that are available on the manufacture of instruments of death? Is it not absurd that many of the world's engineers and technicians are employed in preparations for war, when their knowledge and experience could be used in the development of the less developed nations and thus in preparations for peace?
17. My Government has always believed that the conversion of war industries into peaceful industries and the use of the latter to help the less developed countries would give us new and more effective weapons against poverty, ignorance and hunger, which threaten two thirds of mankind.
18. With regard to the problem of Viet-Nam, the Rwandese Government would like first to express its keenest sympathy with the Viet-Namese people, who have been fighting bravely for over twenty years to defend their independence and freedom. We are deeply saddened by the fact that this courageous people is being used by the great Powers as a pawn and as the stage on which their antagonisms and their ignoble interests are enacted. The position of the Rwandese Government on this distressing problem is well known to all. We are firmly convinced that the issue will be resolved, not by force of arms, but by the appropriate political means. We agree with those who believe that all the parties involved should meet at the negotiating table and return to the Geneva Agreements of 1954 and 1962. In this connexion, my delegation is most grateful to our revered Secretary-General, U Thant- to whom my Government pays a resounding tribute - for his commendable efforts in the search fora negotiated solution. We should like to take this occasion to endorse the three points he has proposed: the cessation of the bombings in North Viet-Nam; the progressive reduction of military operations in South Viet-Nam, which alone can lead to a cease-fire; and the participation of the National Liberation Front in any peaceful settlement.
19. The Rwandese Republic also believes that the cessation of the bombings in the North, followed by a cease-fire throughout Viet-Nam, are prerequisites to any settlement. All the Powers involved should lay down their arms and thus create a propitious atmosphere for negotiations. In our opinion, the framework of the Geneva Conference is still best suited to bring an end to this murderous war which, as I stressed earlier, threatens to plunge us into a nuclear holocaust. We share the concern which the Secretary-General expressed in his statement of 1 September 1966:
"The cruelty of this war, and the suffering it has caused the people of Viet-Nam are a constant reproach to the conscience of humanity. Today it seems to me, as it has seemed for many months, that t 6 pressure of events is remorselessly leading toward a major war, while efforts to reverse that trend are lagging disastrously behind. In my view the tragic error is being repeated of relying on force and military means in a deceptive pursuit of peace. [See A/6400.]
20. My delegation would like, in particular, solemnly to appeal to the United States and the People's Republic of China to make special efforts to facilitate a peaceful settlement of the dispute between them. We beg both sides to show good will and to abandon rigid positions which can only jeopardize hopes for negotiation. We hope that this Assembly will clearly and vigorously express the conviction of the international community that the war in Viet-Nam must end in a negotiated settlement.
21. Our permanent representative stressed at the twentieth session that "any solution to this problem presupposes the dual principle of self-determination and non-interference by other countries in the internal affairs of Viet-Nam" [1360th meeting, para. 29], We maintain this position and remain fully convinced that the Viet-Namese people must be given the opportunity to express their wishes as to their future, through free and democratic elections, and should not have readymade solutions imposed on them from outside.
22. In addition to the distressing problems of Viet- Nam, of disarmament and of the non-proliferation of nuclear weapons, there are other problems which threaten world peace and security and give rise to serious tensions that may explode at any moment. The Rwandese Government has always most categorically denounced subversive activities promoted,., encouraged and fomented from outside national territory for the purpose of overthrowing, by sudden and violent change, the national institutions freely and lawfully chosen by peoples. We, the small countries which have other, more urgent problems to solve, desire above all that every nation should be free to determine what form of government is best suited to it in the light of the aspirations of its people. My Government continues to hope that the Declaration on the Inadmissibility of Intervention in the Domestic Affairs of States and the Protection of their Independence and Sovereignty, which was adopted almost unanimously at the twentieth session [resolution 2131 (XX)], will be applied by all countries.
23. I should like to remind you of my delegation's statement in the First Committee last year condemning the acts of certain Governments which presume to train or to tolerate within their territories armed bands or refugee groups plotting to overthrow the Governments of their countries of origin. The resources and energies wasted in encouraging such activities should be devoted to the national development of our new countries.
24. At this point, I should like to refer to the Conference of eleven Heads of State and Government held at Nairobi from 31 March to 2 April 1966, You will recall that the Nairobi Conference was gravely concerned at the problems created by refugees. It was noted that relations between neighbouring countries were often very seriously strained because of the activities of some refugees who used the host countries as a base for subversion and political agitation against their countries of origin or used the host countries for the purpose of obtaining financial and material aid from outside sources to support subversion.
25. We recognize the humanitarian reasons for which refugees are accepted in various countries, but we insist that these countries should make the refugees comply, inside their territories, with the obligations imposed on them by their refugee status. The authorities of the host country should, in particular, seek out and confiscate any arms in the possession of these refugees; they should prevent the granting to them of any material or moral assistance designed to enable them — or which would in fact enable them — to violate their obligations as refugees, including the obligation to refrain from any political activity, let alone subversive activities. The authorities should, in particular, make it impossible for these refugees to obtain military equipment or training in subversive activities from any source; they should in general prevent the refugees from exercising any political activity and from forming political associations or groups; they should bar the refugees from using the Press or radio of the country of refuge for purposes which are directly or indirectly political. The authorities should prohibit these political refugees or other foreign nationals declared persona non grata in their own country from holding any political posts in the Government or any administrative posts from which they could adversely affect not only the political, but also the economic relations between the two countries. They should prevent the settlement of any refugees near the frontier of their country of origin. In general, every country having refugees in its territory should take the strictest action against any who fail to comply with the obligations imposed on them by their refugee status and should even, if necessary, expel them.
26. The Rwandese Government, for its part, is pleased at the good neighbourly relations it already maintains with many adjacent countries. It has just signed a tripartite agreement with the Congo and Burundi and sincerely hopes that better co-operation will be established with the latter, in view of the fact that its new leaders stated clearly, as soon as they took office, that they wanted to improve and strengthen their relations with neighbouring countries. The Rwandese Republic will make every effort to bring about better collaboration and co-operation with its immediate neighbours.
27. On the question of artificially divided peoples, such as the two Chinas, the two Germanys and the two Koreas, the position of the Rwandese Republic is unequivocal; we believe that any people which throughout history has formed one nation and has shared in creating one culture should be allowed to remain one nation indivisible, and that any arbitrary division of its unity is an unpardonable crime. The Government of the Rwandese Republic believes that a genuine detente and genuine peace can be achieved and endure only if the unity of these nations is restored by peaceful means.
28. As to the problem of China, the Rwandese Government endorses the principle of one nation, one people, one China. There are some who wonder which Government is competent to represent the great Chinese people. I shall recall, first of all, that in recent years the General Assembly has considered the question of the representation of China in the United Nations in all its aspects and has always held this to be a most important question, stating that if it is to be considered we must adhere to the principle of a two- thirds majority of the members present and voting, in accordance with Article 18 of the Charter, The Rwandese Government will support this position, and my delegation will categorically oppose any attempt to change it.
29. I would add that my Government maintains friendly relations with the Government of the Republic of China, which has for long been providing its population with stability and harmonious development. Despite all kinds of difficulties, that country still manages to take part in the development programmes of a number of developing countries. Nevertheless, the Rwandese Government shares the regret that a part of the great Chinese people cannot contribute to international peace and security, the principle objective of the United Nations.
30. We have many times stressed from this rostrum that international peace and co-operation are the leit-motiv of our foreign policy. Since we became independent, our Government and people have chosen a policy of peaceful coexistence with all countries, even if they do not share our political views. Consequently, we should wish it to be noted that the fact that the People's Republic of China represents one fourth of the earth's population does not entitle it to preach what it calls revolution in the developing countries or to foster subversion in our countries through the military training and arming of rebels. My delegation would hope that this Assembly might call on those who have made themselves the leaders of this part of the Chinese people to respect the fundamental principles of the United Nations,
31. With regard to the problem: of the two Germanys, the Government of the Rwandese Republic fervently appeals to the nations represented here, and particularly to the Powers responsible for the division of this very brave and energetic people, to put an end to the tragic situation created by this arbitrary partition. The Rwandese Government firmly believes that the peace and stability of Europe, and consequently of the world, are entirely bound up with the peaceful settlement of this thorny problem. The great German people must be allowed to play its proper part in the maintenance of peace, security and international development. My Government is gratified that it already maintains friendly relations with the western part of Germany — the Federal Republic of Germany — and is pleased to note the German Government's firm desire to see its people reunited as soon as possible by peaceful means, We pledge to it our modest contribution and our full support.
32. The same considerations of unity must be taken into account with regard to the Korean people, who for long have legitimately aspired to reunification.
33. Turning to the question of decolonization, we note that the Judgment rendered by the International Court of Justice in July 1966 on the question of South West Africa was a challenge to the moral conscience of mankind and an unpardonable injustice to all Africa. This Judgment has revealed to us who our true friends are, and we express our profound gratitude to those who supported us. As for those who rejected the case of the African countries and preferred to align themselves with the cynical policies of apartheid of the Government of the Republic of South Africa, their crime will never be erased from history.
34. The Government of the Rwandese Republic did not hesitate to join the Afro-Asian countries and other friendly countries in categorically condemning the Judgment rendered by the International Court of Justice. We welcome the decision taken by the African States in requesting that the General Assembly should consider the question of South West Africa as a matter of priority. Indeed, my delegation eagerly sponsored this proposal [A/6386],
35. We continue to believe that the preliminary ruling of the International Court of Justice in December 1962, when the Court decided that it was competent to pass on the substance of the dispute," has not changed and is still completely valid as concerns the status of South West Africa. The decision of last July was, in our eyes, a surprising and disappointing contradiction, and we wonder whether one can place any further trust in the Court.
36. What the African countries expect of the Assembly is clearly stated in the memorandum from the African delegations to 'the Secretary-General of the United Nations. We request, in particular, that at this session the General Assembly should revoke South Africa's Mandate over South West Africa, that United Nations machinery should be set up to administer the country, and that free elections should be organized with a view to self-determination and independence for this African territory, We are counting on the support of friendly countries and firmly hope that our wishes will be granted and our call heeded.
37. With reference to the Rhodesian problem, we say again that the United Kingdom bears the grave responsibility for it. It is primarily for the United Kingdom to settle this crisis, in which we feel that It has been an accomplice. I would not dwell on this point, since we have had the opportunity to express our position and our indignation before various international bodies. We would simply make one final appeal to the United Kingdom to fulfil its responsibilities by immediately putting an end to Ian Smith's rebel government. The African majority absolutely must be allowed to manage its own affairs if we are to avoid an explosive situation in the southern part of Africa.
38. The latent tension in the south of our continent threatens to endanger international peace and security. Africans will not accept for much longer that their brethren in Angola, Mozambique and "Portuguese" Guinea should be subjected indefinitely to Portuguese exploitation and imperialism. In this connexion, we are particularly anxious to express our sympathy and solidarity with the Congolese Government and people. We fully support the case which that fellow Government has just brought before the Security Council. We hope that the Council, which has the task of maintaining international peace and security, will strongly denounce and condemn the presence and intervention of mercenaries in Africa.
39. Furthermore, the threats, acts of violence, arbitrary imprisonments, massacres and acts of brutality of all kinds to which the racist Government of South Africa subjects the black population must be unreservedly condemned. Through its inhuman policies of apartheid, the Republic of South Africa, despite the repeated appeals of the General Assembly and the Security Council, has challenged the conscience and opinion of the world. We recommend this Assembly to adopt the necessary effective measures to ensure that justice is done to the African majority, for so long a victim of the barbarous policies of the white racists of South Africa.
40. I have surveyed the several current political problems which must first be solved if we are to ensure peace and security on our planet; however, we believe that, in order to establish the necessary balance among nations, an adequate solution must also be found to the difficulties involved in the economic and social development of the developing countries. The development of fair and mutually profitable trade among all nations directly promotes their economic progress by raising the people's level of living and creating more employment in all sectors of production. Furthermore, we are convinced that, if all the countries of the world would lay greater emphasis on their trade relations than on their political and military relations, many of the problems that now arise in both economic and political relations between developed countries and what has come to be known as the Third World, and also among the developed countries themselves and among the developing countries, would be more easily solved.
41. However, while we must stress the special role which trade plays in development, we should not become obsessed with trade problems, especially where the developing countries are concerned. We believe that the difficulties involved in the development of the Third World are primarily problems of production, and of the rationalization of production, rather than trade problems. The main characteristic of the economies of most developing countries is the large share of the domestic product accounted for by agriculture. More than 60 per cent of the income of most developing countries comes from agriculture, but by and large, more than 80 per cent of this agriculture is of the subsistence type; the amount of agricultural production reaching the market is a very small proportion of total production. Thus, it is obvious that, in order to improve trade, we must first seek appropriate means of increasing the production of trade commodities. The appropriate means are those whereby agriculture may be taken off a subsistence basis and modernized.
42. This task, which requires much capital and many technicians, will never be successfully carried out by the developing countries alone. The developed countries have an essential part to play, for only they have enough capital and enough technicians. This being so, my delegation feels that the principle that trade should replace aid in relations between developed and developing countries ignores the real situation of the developing countries. The fact is that international trade itself can never develop without the generous aid of the well-to-do nations to those less fortunate. This is one of those rare cases in which generosity pays; for the developed countries have much to gain from doing all they can to promote the industrialization of the Third World.
43. In order to promote industrialization and thereby ensure a better distribution of production tasks, each developing country must be helped to organize the infrastructure of its economy. That is at present the best way to attract foreign capital. To accomplish this task, the developed countries should provide the developing countries, on the best terms possible, with equipment for constructing and maintaining their communication systems, drilling for water and installing water supply systems, with telecommunication equipment, with equipment for producing and distributing energy, with school supplies and with much other equipment which poorer countries cannot acquire without the help of the wealthier countries.
44. In connexion with the question of the industrialization of the developing countries, my delegation wishes to state its views before this Assembly, two years after the 1964 United Nations Conference on Trade and Development at Geneva, on the problem of investment. My delegation would like first to express its satisfaction that the Economic and Social Council has designated 1967 as International Tourist Year [Economic and Social Council resolution 1108 (XL)]. My country, whose touristic possibilities need no further proof, attaches very great importance to this point.
45. When one considers the pace at which the industrialization of the developing countries is proceeding, we cannot but doubt that these countries will ever be able to redress their balance of trade, unless strong measures are taken on a world-wide scale. These countries, the main producers of raw materials, which make up the major part of their export resources still hope that appropriate measures will be adopted to assure them of price stabilization at a suitable level and free them from the hazards of the frenzied competition which affects the present world market and too often places even developed countries in a dilemma. Consider, for example, the crisis which now threatens the textile industry, the coal industry, the steel industry in some of the developed countries.
46. My delegation wishes once again to state Rwanda's position regarding aid for the industrialization of developing countries. At the second session of the Governing Council of the United Nations Development Programme, held at Milan last June, the Rwandese delegation stressed the necessity of passing from the pre-investment stage to the direct investment stage. Among other things, we asked the administration of the United Nations Development Programme to increase the number and the financing of demonstration projects, or in other words pilot plants, in order to ensure the effective transition from pre-investment to investment proper. I would reiterate that wish from this rostrum.
47. In the same connexion, the Rwandese delegation mentioned the lack of an infrastructure in the developing countries, which prevents investors from investing their capital in those countries, We stressed then that the establishment of pilot plants could stimulate investments and enable the recipient countries to embark on a process of industrialization by setting up a working capital fund to ensure the operation and, as far as possible, the expansion of those plants.
48. I cannot conclude my statement without speaking briefly of a new factor, dear to the hearts of the developing countries, namely, foreign aid. Our desires in this area are on two rather different, but often complementary, planes. I am referring to technical assistance and financial assistance respectively.
49. As every one knows, many countries, including my own, do not yet have enough technicians; yet the development of these countries in all fields cannot wait until their national universities, or foreign universities, have provided the desired number of trained nationals. One country may need experts to conduct studies of projects which are clearly essential to the orderly development of its territory; another may need technicians to supervise and guide personnel in a certain sector. One country may need an expert for a given administrative or technical post until a national has completed his studies and can take over his responsibilities, while another may require a specialist to advise the competent authorities on how to organize and guide a certain sector of national life. In short, all these countries must turn to bilateral or multilateral foreign aid in the form of technicians, to meet all these needs.
50. The Rwandese Government believes, however, that certain basic requirements must be met in this sphere:
(a) Regarding the number of the technicians and their qualifications, the recipient Government must be guided not by considerations which are foreign to its country, but by the country's development, and its requests for technical assistance must reflect the real needs.
(b) In providing technical assistance, the donor Government or agency must not be motivated by the desire to reduce unemployment in its own country or to set up observation posts in other countries for its own benefit.
(c) Technical assistance personnel must have the necessary competence for the proposed task, a sincere desire to work for the development of the requesting country, and respect for the aspirations of the people they are called upon to serve. They must agree not to serve policies that do not conform to those of the country for which they are working and must..act in a manner consistent with the ideas of the Government of that country. They must be able to co-operate not only with their fellow citizens on the technical assistance staff, but also with technical assistance personnel from other countries and with the competent national officials with whom they must come into contact.
51. My delegation considers this area so obviously important that it ventures to suggest that the countries of the Third World should join forces to decide upon their common requirements and take adequate steps to remove from their technical assistance programmes any technicians who do not meet those requirements.
52. The other aspect of our wishes regarding foreign aid concerns financial assistance. This may come from politically divergent sources. I am referring to private investments in which owners of capital first consider their investment's profit potential. These private sources may enter into an agreement directly with the Governments concerned for the execution of a project in a certain sector of the economy, or they may act as intermediaries in co-operation between our Governments and the Governments of their own countries, but they may also set up operations as they would in their own country and work in complete freedom. Our countries want this capital and, as far as the Rwandese Republic is concerned, we guarantee its safety and have made suitable provisions for investors to co-operate as a matter of course in our development process, which we wish to be democratic.
53. In addition, however, there is governmental financial assistance or financial assistance from international agencies. This takes a number of forms, ranging from payment of the salaries of technical assistance personnel and various specific types of aid to support of the currency with foreign exchange and the financing of large-scale economic, educational or capital development projects.
54. The Rwandese Government hopes that the Governments of the richer countries will not place the emphasis on the lucrative aspect of assistance when making their decisions; nor should they base their decisions on the percentage of profit they expect to derive from their assistance. We believe that international co-operation should be established within the more realistic and humanitarian perspective of brotherhood between men and nations, world balance, peace and human freedom. We feel that such benefits are much more lofty and valuable than any uncertain monetary profit. We believe that the wealth accumulated in the richer countries belongs also, in a sense, to all their brethren in the poorer countries and that, at this point in history, it should be distributed within the context of international co-operation and mutual assistance. That is why the Rwandese Government believes that the present criteria for distribution should be reviewed; evaluation standards, particularly for resources channelled through the United Nations and its related agencies, should be flexible, so that they can be adapted to the situation and the real needs of each country.
55. It is necessary, for example, to make it possible to carry out a vast construction programme in a country such as ours, where the building shortage in general, and the housing shortage in particular, now constitutes a real "bottle-neck" which is hampering our development. Assistance agencies criticize us for not submitting economically feasible projects to be financed, but to draw up such projects we need foreign experts. We can obtain these experts only if we can house them and provide them with offices, and we cannot do this on our own.
56. The same is true of the contributions which our Governments are required to make towards project implementation. This sharing of the cost is at present- an obstacle for some countries that would like to take advantage of certain sources of available aid. My delegation hopes that the General Assembly may adopt a resolution requesting the Secretary-General to review the allocation standards as they relate to the United Nations.
57. I should not like to conclude my statement on a pessimistic note; I wish merely to express our most fervent wishes to the Organization at a time when it is going through one of the most difficult crises in its history. At a time when the cruel war in Viet-Nam is at its height, this noble institution, which was created to maintain international peace and security by encouraging and developing friendly relations among nations, will have to deal in a few months with the problem of electing a new Secretary-General.
58. My delegation is pleased to express here the great esteem in which our President and our Government hold U Thant, an admirable man who is totally dedicated to peace and to the cause of the United Nations. We in Rwanda respect his decision, which we are sure was made with great wisdom and after much thought. The responsibility for this decision lies with the Members of the United Nations, and particularly with the great Powers which have not eased his task with respect to the solution of the major world problems of the day. We should take this opportunity to meditate seriously upon this decision, upon its meaning and upon its possible consequences.
59. In conclusion, on behalf of the Government and people of Rwanda, my delegation would like to express its sincere and profound understanding, and also its full support in the event that U Thant should reconsider his decision. Otherwise, my delegation will be guided, in the election of a new Secretary-General, by the overriding interests of the United Nations. We shall support any candidate whose goal will be to serve the United Nations independently of partisan interests and who will be able to remain aloof from the political or ideological blocs into which the world is today divided.