98. Mr. President, I am happy to add Mexico's congratulations to those the President of the General Assembly — whom I have just had the honour to greet — has already received on his election. I wish him success in his difficult work for the good of our Organization.
99. I should, next like to repeat the views which the President of Mexico expressed recently when the Secretary-General visited my country. We feel that the spirit in which U Thant has served the United Nations during his term of office has been exemplary. We understand the considerations that prompted him to make his recent statement, but we still hope he will be able to continue to serve the United Nations in his present post. We say that not as a mere formality, but as an expression of our deepest conviction.
100. I wish to welcome Guyana as the newest Member of the United Nations. My delegation is certain that this new American State will make a valuable contribution to the work of the United Nations.
101. I do not intend to comment on all the many items on our agenda; I shall single out only those which my delegation feels are of the greatest interest and those on which I believe Mexico's voice should be heard.
102. Although the resolutions which the General Assembly adopted a year ago offered some ground for hope, the results of the work of the Eighteen-Nation Committee on Disarmament have been rather discouraging. Differences on the non-proliferation of nuclear weapons were not resolved, nor has any substantial progress been made on the cessation of underground testing. The question of general and complete disarmament has not really been studied, and the idea of holding a World Conference on Disarmament has as yet borne no fruit.
103. It is an undoubted fact that the final success of these endeavours depends on agreement between a few States, but it is no less a fact that the international community must shoulder all its responsibilities, for the dangers affect all peoples equally. In view of the meagre results achieved, it is the Assembly's bounden duty to redouble its efforts, not only by convening future meetings of the Eighteen-Nation Committee on Disarmament, but also by taking a more direct part in the work, either by thoroughly exploring the possibilities of new terms of settlement or, in the last resort, by confronting the individual attitudes of the various States with the supreme interest of mankind.
104. We need to determine, for example, whether the verification of underground testing is really the obstacle to the complete and final cessation of all nuclear tests. Our debates in the Assembly should throw some light on the diametrically opposed views regarding on-site inspection.
105. We believe it would be useful to discuss why the proposals of the non-aligned States have not been accepted. We should like the Powers concerned to make public their objections to — or, perhaps, their support of — proposals such as those relating to inspection by unilateral invitation and a seismological "detection club", presented by Sweden, and those relating to the prior formations of a panel of inspectors and agreement on a temporary voluntary moratorium on underground testing.
106. The treaty on the non-proliferation of nuclear weapons has had a similar fate, Resolution 2028 (XX), adopted last year, laid down five general principles on which that instrument should be based. Inasmuch as some of them have been so variously interpreted in the Committee on Disarmament, the General Assembly would do well now to define the meaning and scope of the resolution in more precise terms.
107. My delegation, like many others, last year supported the suggestion, originally made by the Nigerian delegation that the treaty should include an undertaking by the nuclear Powers not to use nuclear weapons and not to threaten to use them against states which do not have these instruments of destruction in their territories.
108. In our view that idea, besides having intrinsic merit, is consistent with our desire and intention of set up denuclearized zones. We believe that neither the idea itself nor the general principle of which it is a corollary — the principle that the treaty must establish an acceptable balance of mutual responsibilities and obligations as between nuclear and nonnuclear States — is a strictly technical matter and that both lend themselves well to thorough discussion in an organ such as the General Assembly. We should like to hear what fundamental objections there are to this proposal, if any exist.
109. Finally, we must insist that it is absolutely essential that the treaty on non-proliferation of nuclear weapons should be signed without delay, before it is too late, and before the number of States possessing these weapons grows and then multiplies.
110. In contrast to the meagre progress made at Geneva, Latin America presents an encouraging picture as regards the non-proliferation of nuclear weapons — a picture of continuous, dynamic progress destined to culminate in the conclusion of a Treaty on the Denuclearization of Latin America which will perpetuate the absence of nuclear weapons on that continent and, as the President of my country has said, to ensure that the atom's incalculable power is used in the interests of life rather than death.
111. Last year, speaking from this same rostrum [1346th meeting], I described the origin of the Preparatory Commission for the Denuclearization of Latin America — for which Mexico is honoured to serve as host country — and the results of its first two sessions, held in 1965.
112. Today, I am happy to add that 1966 saw another meeting of the preparatory Commission which was undoubtedly the most fruitful and constructive of those yet held. At that meeting we adopted a basic document, "Proposals for the Preparation of the Treaty on the Denuclearization of Latin America" [A/6328], which will certainly occupy the same place of honour in the Treaty's immediate prehistory as do the Dumbarton Oaks proposals in the history of the United Nations.
113. There is already general agreement on about 90 per cent of the Treaty's terms. As for the remaining 10 per cent, perhaps only one article, article 23, which deals with the conditions for the entry into force of the Treaty, presents difficulties — which, while they may seem serious are far from insurmountable.
114. As to the nature of the Agency for the Denuclearization of Latin America whose establishment is envisaged in the Proposals with a view to ensuring compliance with the obligations assumed by virtue of the Treaty, it should be pointed out that under the provisions already adopted on that subject the Agency will be an autonomous and essentially Latin American organ.
115. Another point on which I feel I should also comment is the co-operation which we expect from the nuclear Powers. The position of the Mexican Government on this subject has always been very clear: we feel that the Treaty on the Denuclearization of Latin America will fully enter into force from the very moment the States wishing to be parties to it have ratified it.
116. Hence, my delegation has never used the word "guarantee" —which might suggest a kind of tutelage — when referring to the co-operation we would like to have from the nuclear Powers. By co-operation, we mean only that those Powers should discharge a general obligation deriving from the United Nations Charter: the obligation to respect a treaty concluded by a group of States in the legitimate exercise of their sovereignty.
117. Hence, too, we were pleased to read the communications from the Governments of the United States, France and the United Kingdom informing the Preparatory Commission of their respective positions on this matter, which, I believe, correspond in substance with the position I have just outlined.
118. The Preparatory Commission for the Denuclearization of Latin America was to have held its fourth session starting on 30 August last. However, in compliance with the wishes expressed by some of its members, the Commission agreed to postpone its session until 31 January 1967. We trust it will then successfully complete its pressing work, from which the peoples of Latin America expect so much,
119. Three years ago, in a resolution adopted unanimously [1884 (XVIII)], the Assembly embodied a proposal which Mexico had the honour to present, to the effect that the nuclear Powers should refrain from orbiting nuclear weapons around the earth.
120. We are now happy to note that the major nuclear Powers seem willing to transform the moral obligation they assumed when they approved that resolution into a legal commitment, by subscribing to a treaty which my delegation hopes will be successfully completed in the near future.
121. The Government and people of Mexico are deeply concerned over the conflict in Viet-Nam, which undoubtedly constitutes the most serious threat to world peace since the Korean War in 1950. Unfortunately, for reasons known to all, the United Nations is not now in a position to take action to settle that conflict. Mexico is nevertheless ready to lend its moral support to any practical proposal that will enable the parties directly involved — and those whose participation might transform the conflict into a confrontation catastrophic for all mankind— to begin negotiations as soon as possible to end this war, in which the principal victims are the Viet-Namese people, who have been shedding their blood for years and years,
122. The conflicting forces, interests and ideologies are such that the co-operation which countries not involved in the conflict can offer, especially those without great military or material power, lies not so much in suggesting practical measures as in solemnly exhorting the Powers with major responsibility to keep open all channels of communication that may lead to a cessation of hostilities or at least prevent escalation.
123. The many serious crises that arose since the end of the Second World War were resolved, over a period of time which by now exceeds that between 1919 and 1939, through agreements that have saved the world from a general holocaust. There is therefore no reason, or at least there should be no reason, for failure now in Viet-Nam, when crises as serious as those of Berlin, Korea, Suez and of Cuba in October 1962, were settled. We live at a time when all of us, strong and weak alike, must show imagination, courage and prudence, prompted by the realization that there is no material, ideological, national or regional interest in the world pursuit of which can justify — in a tragic and incredible paradox - millions of innocent lives and much of what man has built up through centuries of sacrifice and toil being destroyed by the awesome technological advances of our era.
124. I should not like to go on to another topic without mentioning the Secretary-General's untiring and patient efforts in the Viet-Namese conflict. Although he has not yet achieved what we all desire, all men of goodwill are in debt to U Thant.
125. Mexico has always been in favour of peaceful settlement of international disputes. That is why we also attach particular importance to those United Nations activities which are known as peace-keeping operations, since they can do much to avert recourse to violence. We have participated zealously in the work of the Special Committee on Peace-Keeping Operations, and we feel that the results of its work this year, while not all we should have wished, have been useful. We hope that during the current General Assembly session the permanent members of the Security Council will reach an agreement on common guidelines which will enable the Special Committee to complete successfully its task, which is part of the primary purpose of the United Nations under the Charter as guardian of international peace and security.
126. As happens every year, economic questions occupy an important place on our agenda. The fact is, as has been repeatedly stated, that there is perhaps no greater threat to world peace than the widening gap between rich and poor countries. We must all band together to remedy this situation, or at least to prevent it from growing worse; therein lie both the greatest opportunity and the greatest challenge for the statesmen of our time.
127. We have passed the half-way point in the decade we have called the Development Decade. It would be unfair to ignore its positive achievements, particularly in identifying and studying the problems and even in tracing some solutions. The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development of 1964 would certainly not have been held without the stimulus provided by the United Nations.
128. We all know how difficult it is for any Government to adopt measures affecting the interests of some one of its social groups, particularly when, as in the case of countries producing raw materials, the group is usually the least well off.
129. Considering, however, that the major part of the exports of the developing countries consists of commodities, we who represent those countries must on every suitable occasion stress, as I am doing now, how important it is to comply with the Geneva recommendations.
130. While we are aware that such machinery is far from perfect, we still believe that international commodity agreements offer the best method to achieve price stability at reasonable levels through the equitable adjustment of production to consumption.
131. It should not be surprising that such agreements work better when all the producers are developing countries, and that the situation becomes much more complex when the highly industrialized countries also export such products in large quantities. The reason for this is clear: these latter countries not only have the technological wherewithal to reduce costs and increase productivity, but are also able, directly or indirectly, to use their great economic resources to absorb any loss they may incur in exporting such products.
132. In view of such a complex and unfavourable situation, I should like to recall once again the principle which a committee of experts appointed by the Secretary-General unanimously approved here in January 1961, namely, that it should be recognized as a rule of higher strategy that, since the export of commodities is undoubtedly the most difficult way to finance economic development, the highly developed countries should ease the burden by granting priority or preference for this type of trade to the poorer countries.
133. We also believe, as was agreed at Geneva, that in order to foster our countries' further industrial development the highly industrialized nations should consider preferences which would not divide the world into separate blocs. That is basically why Latin America continues to be concerned over the preferences which the European economic community has granted to certain countries, to the exclusion of others.
134. Although Mexico has had access, particularly in the past fifteen years, to a growing volume of foreign credit to supplement its internal resources — which have fundamentally financed its economic development — our solidarity with the great community of developing countries prompts us to point out that the total available resources for long-term financing have not increased during this decade as had been hoped. We therefore shall support in this forum and in any others — world-wide and regional — in which we take part, all efforts to increase the volume of those resources and to ensure that loans are granted on the most favourable and flexible terms as to purpose and amortization and interest rates.
135. In present circumstances, where some highly industrialized nations — which have been major suppliers of those funds through public and private channels — face balance-of-payments problems, it is all the more urgent to appeal to them to adopt such financial corrective measures as will not make it harder for the developing countries to satisfy their international financial needs within reasonable bounds.
136. I shall mention only one argument in support of this point of view. Direct and indirect investments in developing countries are not the cause of the balance-of-payments problems; away should therefore be found so that those countries will not suffer from the corrective measures just mentioned. The number of national and regional planning organizations has greatly increased and the highly industrialized nations need not fear that their resources will be wasted or misused. We expect much in this area from the United Nations Industrial Development Organization, which will begin its work very soon.
137. To conclude their brief comment on financing, I should like to say that in our geographical region, the Inter-American Development Bank — established after sporadic efforts covering nearly half a century, despite the scepticism of many — has in only five years become a vigorous, respectable and respected institution. We hope it will continue to grow in strength.
138. We support the Economic and Social Council resolution calling on this General Assembly to designate 1967 as International Tourist Year. Mexico sees in this not only an economic interest, but also, and most significant, an opportunity to make Governments and peoples increasingly aware of the need to foster mutual understanding in a world which, if it is to live in peace, must accommodate itself to different ideas, customs and ways of life.
139. I am speaking in the general debate at a time when the work of the General Assembly's twenty-first session is just beginning. It is at times such as this that we ask ourselves what this most representative United Nations organ will accomplish during its latest session to attain peace and help mankind. Certainly, the problems are many, and some are distressing, To solve them, we barely count on an Organization which has often been criticized as a mere debating forum. Rightly intent on accomplishing more, we sometimes overlook the good we have already achieved. For the United Nations, with all its shortcomings, brings us through common concern around the same table to solve the problems affecting us all. Is this not perhaps what we are trying to achieve in another realm, to transform a bitter and active conflict into the preface to a peaceful agreement?
140. I conclude, then, with an expression of faith and confidence in our Organization. We must search our conscience, concerned as we are with the major issues facing us, which the Secretary-General has reviewed in his report to the Assembly. But this searching must be affirmative, and it must be genuine: an international institution does not come into being every day, nor can its prestige be enhanced overnight. Let this be an opportunity to moderate our national policies in the general interest and to increase our efforts to make the United Nations a tempering force for relations among nations, as was planned when the Charter was adopted at San Francisco in 1945 and contemporary history began.