91. The Tunisian delegation has already had the opportunity, Mr. President, of offering you its congratulations on your election as President of the twenty-first session of the General Assembly. Nevertheless, I should like to express once again our satisfaction at seeing the General Assembly under your distinguished guidance. This choice is a recognition of your distinguished personal qualities, which we have had the privilege of appreciating many times in the past, and is a tribute to the great prestige in which you are held by the United Nations. It is also a just tribute to your country, Afghanistan, for the devotion it has always shown to the ideals of the United Nations. We rejoice all the more at your election because our two countries maintain particularly friendly relations; the honour extended to you falls at the same time on the entire Afro-Asian family. Your statement at the opening [1409th] meeting permits us to hope that, under your guidance, the work of the present session will make an effective contribution based on wisdom and reason, to the quest for solutions to the grave problems of our time.
92. I should like to express to Mr. Amintore Fanfani the deep appreciation of the delegation of Tunisia for the competence and distinction with which he directed the work of the twentieth session.
93. I should like also to pay a warm and friendly tribute to our Secretary-General, U Thant, who during the five years of his mandate has spared no effort that might help to put the United Nations in a position to play the full role assigned to it and fulfil the expectations of mankind. His self-denial, his devotion to the cause of the United Nations and his profound faith in the work he is doing have won him universal admiration and we wish to express to him our sincere gratitude for the outstanding service he has given to the United Nations and to the cause of world peace. His intentions not to accept a new term of office has aroused great distress in the world and, of course, in our own Organization. The reasons for his decision are cause for concern to all Member States of the United Nations. If he finds it possible to reconsider his decision, the delegation of Tunisia will be fully content. But whatever his final decision, he will always be entitled to our grateful friendship and respect.
94. This year the United Nations welcomes a new Member, Guyana, and I am happy to extend our greetings to it. We are sure that Guyana will not fail to make a substantial contribution to our work.
95. We welcome also Indonesia's decision to resume its participation in the activities of the United Nations this year. We are all the more glad of this because our two countries maintain very friendly relations and we are sure that the prestige of this Organization will be enhanced by Indonesia's co-operation.
96. Two African countries have recently acceded to independence: Botswana and Lesotho. We hope soon to see these two sister countries among us here and we are certain that the United Nations will not fail to extend to them its assistance and the protection which, unfortunately, they need in view of their geographical position.
97. The maintenance of peace is mankind's fundamental problem, as well as its most noble aspiration. As such, it remains the central aim of our Organization and the vocation of this Organization as an instrument of peace must be strengthened and set firmly on the foundation of an effective system. The Special Committee for Peace-keeping Operations, to which we pay a sincere tribute, has settled down to its duties conscientiously and self-sacrificingly. But the nature of its mission has been such that its work has not yielded great practical results and its efforts have so far nearly defined the obstacles.
98. Despite the various proposals that have been presented, the differences persist and the future of our Organization as an instrument of peace is, unhappily, still uncertain. Yet it is imperative that the United Nations be enabled to continue its peace-keeping operations as effectively as possible on a sound and healthy financial basis. Such a function is necessarily costly and cannot be accomplished if recourse to voluntary contributions becomes the rule.
99. In this connexion I must pay a deserved tribute to the Ad Hoc Committee of Experts instructed to examine the finances of the United Nations and of the specialized agencies. That Committee has presented a clear and full picture of our Organization's financial situation. Its report should dispel the doubts some of us have about the financial situation of the United Nations and should make it possible for peace-keeping operations to be conducted under favourable conditions, in other words, conditions in which they would be effective and swift.
100. Tunisia, despite its limited means and restricted resources, has never stinted its assistance to the United Nations. It has helped every time it has been asked to do so, every time it has been able to do so, whether in the form of financial contributions, restricted though they have necessarily been, or, when it was a question of paying with our own flesh and blood, in military terms.
101. Until such time as the General Assembly specifically determines the scale of future peacekeeping operations, it is paramount, in view of the conclusions of the Ad Hoc Committee of Experts, that reservations be put aside and the laggards finally decide to contribute towards re-establishing the financial balance of the United Nations. While there is equivocation and .incertitude on these matters our Organization will not be able to acquit itself effectively in its role of peace-keeper. It will, in particular, remain incapable of discouraging aggression and imposing the peaceful settlement of disputes.
102. Our concern to improve the functioning of our Organization makes it obligatory on us not to neglect any aspect of our activities in this Organization. I shall try not to be too prolix in touching on some of the problems which appear important to the delegation of Tunisia.
103. Although administrative problems are not among our chief concerns this year, I should like to lay stress on a question of interest to a great many of us, I refer to the use of French in the United Nations. In the last ten years or so the number of delegations daily using French as a working language, Tunisia among them, has steadily increased and it is becoming essential to authorize the effort necessary to enable those delegations to make a more effective contribution to the Organization's work.
104. The United Nations, if it is really to be a place where its Members' efforts towards common ends are concerted, must fulfil its vocation as a universal Organization. It can be effective as an instrument of international co-operation only in so far as it is at the disposal of all States. A reaffirmation of its universality is one of the conditions of success for our undertaking, one of the foundations on which the whole of our action must be based.
105. This universality requires that all States, without distinction, have the right of access to our Organization. It is in this spirit that we consider the question of the admission of the People's Republic of China to the United Nations. In our opinion, the participation of the People's Republic of China in our deliberations is a major condition for finding a solution to the great international problems before us and for bringing about peace in the world. We cannot indefinitely refuse to face up to the realities of the modern world and deny a quarter of the world's population the right to make its contribution to the building of a better society.
106. Whatever objections many of us may have to the principles propounded by the People's Republic of China, whatever opinion some of us may have of its behaviour, the Tunisian delegation believes it is high time to allow that country, which now ranks as a great Power, as well as a member of the "atomic club", and plays an important role in the world, to take its place among the Member States of the United Nations. The Government of the People's Republic of China, however, must also show a spirit of co-operation and not impose unrealistic conditions.
107. By enabling everyone to participate, we are sure we should be helping to remove a major obstacle to the attainment of peace and stability in the world and the improvement of international relations. A
world in which antagonistic groups, armed with the deadliest of weapons, are pitted against one another exposes mankind to a precarious peace which can only give rise to instability and insecurity. There have been many appeals from this rostrum for an end to this balance of terror to which the world is subjected and for every State to realize the necessity for fruitful co-operation in order to build a more stable and prosperous society. Unfortunately, the deterioration of relations between the nuclear Powers and the widespread conflicts raging in many parts of the world do not encourage any immediate hope: they represent so many obstacles in the way of a true detente and their evil influence continues to affect all attempts at improving international relations.
108. Disarmament negotiations, in which two nuclear Powers are not, unfortunately, participating, are suffering correspondingly and we cannot but record our disappointment in this connexion. Since 1963 these talks seem to have been trapped in an impasse. The promising beginning which the Moscow Treaty on the Partial Prohibition of Nuclear Tests marked in the field of disarmament at that time has not, unfortunately, been followed up, with the result that today we have neither a treaty prohibiting nuclear tests in general, nor any guarantees against the proliferation of atomic weapons. Yet these are measures without which any hope of stopping the headlong arms race, particularly the nuclear armaments race, is mere illusion. My Government is deeply concerned about this situation and, unhappily, it seems to me unrealistic to expect any progress whatsoever in the disarmament field in the near future.
109. What is essential in the immediate future is that we should combine our efforts towards improving international relations and restoring peace in the world, particularly in that area where peace is suffering the worst violation, Viet-Nam. For Viet-Nam is still a theatre of increasingly murderous operations. The conflict has been raging there for a long time, demanding vast sacrifices and sowing desolation in a country which has not known peace for a quarter of a century. Not only is there a danger that this situation could end in a major conflagration, with unforeseeable consequences: it is also having the most disastrous effect on the international situation. In view of the policy of interference practised by North Viet-Nam, encouraged and supported by the avowed expansionist policy of the People's Republic of China, we cannot honestly reproach South Viet-Nam for calling upon its friends to help maintain its integrity. It is in the interest of peace that a solution which respects the legitimate aspirations of the Viet-Nam people in its entirety be found in negotiation, not in war.
110. We have noted with satisfaction the declaration made from this rostrum by the representative of the United States of America [1412th meeting], who assured us that his country was quite prepared to negotiate. We hope soon to see these good intentions meet with sufficient response to result in a beneficial dialogue. No just solution to this conflict can be found through military means and it is to be hoped that the pointless bloodshed will convince all parties concerned that the resort to force, to the dialogue of arms, cannot solve the problem.
111. On this subject the highest authority in my country, President Hourguilm, has said the following:
"In the end the parties to the dispute will have to make contact with one another, when they realize that there (’an be no solution through arms, no victory on the military level. We learned that in Tunisia, in Algeria and in Viet-Nam twelve years ago. I hope that moment will come as soon as possible and that Viet-Nam will recover its unity and independence vis-a-vis all the great Powers now exerting pressure upon it. I wish to see the people of Viet-Nam, as soon as possible, no longer needing anyone's help in ensuring the security and integrity of their country."
112. Tunisia was among the seventeen countries which, at the Belgrade Conference of Heads of State and Government of Non-Aligned Countries, launched an appeal to the parties involved to let negotiation prevail and to find the path of peace. That appeal was doubtless premature. But today the appeals are more numerous, more .solemn, more anguished and more urgent, and I express the hope that the parties in dispute will listen to the voice of reason and try to find a satisfactory solution for this problem, in conformity with the principles of our Charter.
113. An important place has been reserved in our debates for the question of decolonization. We are happy to see our Organization unflaggingly continuing to work, despite the numerous obstacles it encounters, for the emancipation of peoples still under colonial domination. That activity has effectively strengthened the activity of the colonial peoples themselves and has made it possible for dozens of countries only recently under foreign domination to exercise their right to self-determination, regain their freedom and join the concert of sovereign and independent nations within the last decade.
114. While we have the happiness of seeing an ever increasing number of countries freed from the colonial era and joining our Organization, we must nevertheless not forget the agonizing fate of numerous peoples still suffering under the colonial yoke. The Charter of the United Nations places upon us the obligation of respecting and defending the inalienable right of peoples to decide their own destiny, and we regret to note that certain Powers, though Members of the United Nations, do not hesitate to dishonour their commitments and subject millions of human beings to the inhuman system of the exploitation of man by man. Neither the historic Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples, adopted by our Assembly six years ago [resolution 1514 (XV)], nor the decisions of the Security Council and the numerous resolutions of the General Assembly seem to have the slightest effect on these colonial Powers, which persist in following only their own anachronistic policy and in taking into account only the profits and advantages they derive, or hope still to derive, from their exploitation of colonial countries.
115. That attitude, which we shall never cease to condemn, cannot be tolerated indefinitely. It could give rise to a situation which, if continued, would undermine the authority of our Organization and thereby encourage the colonial Powers to pursue their policy and drive the colonial peoples to despair of international morality and seek to obtain their rights and the realization of their legitimate aspirations through violence. It would seem high time for the colonial Powers to put an end to such a situation by loyally opting for sincere co-operation with the United Nations and letting the idea of free co-operation among people prevail over the spirit of domination. They would be the first to gain thereby.
116. If, however, the colonial Powers cannot be brought to reason and to the speedy emancipation of colonial peoples, it would be useful to instruct the Special Committee to lay down some kind of calendar for decolonization. Our Organization cannot rely solely on the goodwill of the colonial Powers to hasten the process of emancipation and respond to the ever more insistent determination of the peoples to free themselves from the colonial yoke.
117. The Special Committee has done its best to discharge the difficult task entrusted to it. This year it has again held a meeting in Africa and has heard, in particular, the grievances of those still suffering the rigours of colonial law. The information it has given us is indeed alarming.
118. In Southern Rhodesia the situation becomes worse from day to day. Taking advantage of the passivity of the administering Power, the white settlers have usurped power for their own benefit and have imposed on the indigenous people a regime of oppression which is arousing world-wide indignation. Instead of implementing the resolutions of the Security Council and the General Assembly, instead of co-operating loyally with the United Nations in bringing this situation to an end and permitting the people of Southern Rhodesia freely to choose their own destiny, the administering Power has done nothing but repeat that the problems of that country lie within its competence alone. Neither the deterioration of the situation, nor the urgings of the United Nations, nor yet the stand taken by the African countries has brought the United Kingdom Government to recognize the wrong basis of its policy, adopt an attitude more in line with the wishes of the majority of the Organization's Members, employ more appropriate means to end the oppression in Southern Rhodesia and give the Rhodesian people the possibility of enjoying their legitimate rights and achieving their national aspirations. The economic and financial sanctions advocated by the United Kingdom seem not to have touched the political foundations of the Smith regime, non apparently, to have had any effect on the economic situation in Southern Rhodesia. There is still time for the United Kingdom to think again and resort to more appropriate measures for reestablishing power in Salisbury on a more legal, more democratic basis and rid Africa of a racialist regime which is an affront to the conscience of the world.
119. In the territories under Portuguese domination a national liberation war has been in progress for many long years. But instead of recognizing the right of those territories to self-determination and independence, Portugal spends its time intensifying the repression of the peoples it dominates. Probably encouraged by the rather accommodating or passive attitude adopted towards it by its friends, Portugal does not hesitate to defy the United Nations and flout international morality by pursuing a policy of inhuman repression.
120. Yet we know from experience that colonial Powers, whichever they may be, and no matter what means they use to repress the peoples under their domination, always end by resigning themselves to recognizing the inalienable rights of these peoples. The sooner such an attitude is adopted, the greater are the chances of establishing fruitful relations based on friendship and mutual respect with the former colonial territories. Portugal, unfortunately, does not seem to have started on that road and there is no indication of any change whatsoever in the policy it pursues in the territories under its administration.
121. We appeal to all States still giving financial assistance to Portugal to join in the effort at collective persuasion on which the other countries are engaged and to back that effort, if need be, with adequate measures capable of bringing the Lisbon Government to renounce its policy and grant the territories under its administration the right to self-determination and independence.
122. The situation in South West Africa is of the deepest concern to my Government. A few days ago, in the course of a debate specifically devoted to that question, the delegation of Tunisia put forward its point of view on this question [1431st meeting]. I hope that our Organization will be able to do what mankind expects of it and adopt the measures which are essential in order to save the people of South West Africa and enable them to enjoy their legitimate rights and fulfil their national aspirations in accordance with the General Assembly's Declaration in resolution 1514 (XV).
123. In South Africa a regime based on belief in the superiority of one race over another is keeping 13 million Africans in the condition of slaves in their own country. Although a Member of the United Nations, South Africa continues to ignore the decisions of the Security Council and the resolutions of the General Assembly. That attitude is an impermissible defiance of the United Nations and an affront to human conscience. Far from heeding our appeals and warnings, or even the advice of its friends, South Africa goes on reinforcing its military and police potential and practising, through its system of apartheid, a policy of brutal repression against the indigenous population. This situation must command our closest attention. Its full seriousness becomes clear if we consider the very close bonds which unite the regimes of Messrs. Salazar, Vorster and Smith and which are aimed at perpetuating their domination over the southern part of Africa. In view of the failure of all the peaceful attempts by the United Nations, it is high time to consider implementing more effective measures capable of putting an end to the apartheid policy practised by the Pretoria Government.
124. Only serious economic sanctions, seriously applied, are likely to persuade those responsible in Pretoria to show a little more wisdom and thereby to give Messrs. Smith and Salazar cause to reflect. The African countries have difficulty in understanding why certain great Powers hesitate to apply economic sanctions against South Africa. They understand even less how the same Powers can continue to supply South Africa with assistance which results only in consolidating the racialist regime of Pretoria and thereby reducing the chances of emancipation for the indigenous inhabitants.
125. Another problem arising from colonialism, the situation in Aden and in the south of the Arabian peninsula, continues to be a matter of concern to my Government. The cause of peace in that region would gain from a search for a lasting solution acceptable to the whole people and granting those territories effective exercise of their rights and fulfilment of their aspirations.
126. We were very happy to learn recently that the French Government intends to permit the people of French Somaliland to exercise its right to self- determination and independence before 1 July 1967. The solution proposed by the French Government does honour to France and we are convinced that, whatever the consequences of that decision, the two countries will go about consolidating their relations within a framework of free and fruitful co-operation founded on friendship, mutual respect and a clear awareness of common interests.
127. The Palestine tragedy, a permanent threat to peace in the Middle East, is still unsolved. Far from moving towards an equitable settlement, the situation in that region is deteriorating day by day. This is a human and political tragedy for which there are few precedents in history. The creation of a Zionist State in Palestine by force has obliged the people of that country, whether Muslim or Christian, to take refuge in neighbouring countries and to live on United Nations assistance, already inadequate and threatened with reduction every year, on the very borders of their own country. This situation has existed for nearly nineteen years; it has created in the region an atmosphere of insecurity which has repercussions on neighbouring States and threatens to degenerate into a grave crisis, the consequence of which we dare not predict. Time cannot justify the Zionist aggression nor quash the right of the Arab people of Palestine to its homeland. There is still time for our Organization to find the equitable solution which is imperative in accordance with the principles of the United Nations and in implementation of the decisions it has taken.
128. We are faced with a purely colonial problem, which it has not been possible to solve because of the obstinacy of an unscrupulous aggressor that pays scant respect to the decisions of the United Nations. But it is very dangerous to the prestige of our Organization and to international peace and security for Israel to flout United Nations resolutions with impunity and, by continuing to ignore decisions which do not suit its interests and intentions, to bar the way to any just settlement of the Palestinian problem. This defiance of our Organization is all the more insolent in that it emanates from a State that owes its very existence to the United Nations.
129. The United Nations has the obligation to put an end to such a practice, to take the necessary steps to make sure that its decisions are respected and to impose the solution which best meets the legitimate aspirations of the Arab people of Palestine.
130. The reluctance shown by the United Nations in making the colonial Powers respect the principles contained in the Charter has encouraged those Powers to pursue their policy and to flout the conscience of the world. This reluctance, moreover, encourages further dangerous ventures in the world. We are witnessing the development of a new form of interference in the affairs of third countries; I shall call it micro-imperialism. This form of interference is aimed at imposing a certain line of policy on weak, small, or even developing countries through intimidation, blackmail and slander, depriving, or trying to deprive them of all freedom of action and placing them under foreign hegemony.
131. It was in reaction against this unhappy trend that the Government of Tunisia found itself under the painful obligation of putting an end to what remained of the ties between Tunisia and Egypt, for Egypt, not content with trying to run the League of Arab States, nursing its claim to keep the Arab peoples under its wing and actually waging war in the Yemen, is arrogating to itself the right to conduct campaigns of denigration based on slanders and insults against any Head of State who, like President Bourguiba, refuses to follow the dictates of Cairo. No Arab Head of State has been spared. It is obvious that such a practice is incompatible with the maintenance of relations of any kind whatsoever. We are nevertheless anxious to make it clear that we shall spare no effort to maintain the ties of brotherhood which bind us to the Egyptian people, whatever attitudes their leaders may strike.
132. The world economic situation continues to be the constant concern of all States Members of the United Nations, particularly those engaged in the hard struggle against under-development. This concern is all the greater this year because the prospects do not seem to give much reason for optimism.
133. The report of the Economic and Social Council [A/6303] leaves the reader perplexed. No advance seems to be expected in the international economic situation. It looks an if the poor countries are becoming a little poorer and the rich countries much richer. The flow of capital towards the developing countries has scarcely quickened, the terms of trade have scarcely improved and the monetary situation in the countries of the Third World remains precarious. The forecasts for the United Nations Development Decade seem to be a long way from fulfilment and the enthusiasm aroused by the 1964 United Nations Conference on Trade and Development has given way to a certain bitterness. The hope of some day seeing the countries of the Third World integrated in a development process becomes less certain everyday. The needs of the developing countries are admittedly immense and diverse, but the efforts made so far are still inadequate to remedy this serious situation. Whether it be on the plane of commerce, of industry, or financial and technical assistance, many studies have been made, numerous formulae have been proposed, but we do not get beyond the stage of discussion and negotiations; necessary though these are, we sometimes wonder whether they have not been deliberately and interminably prolonged. International solidarity requires that all States, rich and poor, developed or under-developed, have the will to remedy a situation of imbalance which, in the long run, threatens to upset the balance and peace of the world.
134. For their part, the developing countries have mobilized all the human and material resources on which they can draw; they have imposed on themselves huge sacrifices in the satisfaction of their most elementary needs; they have reorganized their structures and sought to co-ordinate their activities both on the national and on the regional plane. But their efforts would be vain without the support and encouragement of the more developed countries within the framework both of bilateral and multilateral relations. Bilateral relations between developed and developing countries do not sufficiently take into account the situation of the developing countries.
135. Credits, for example, are difficult to obtain and, when obtained, are accompanied by many conditions. They are nearly always connected with the supply of equipment at costs which, if no speculative, are at least very high. In regard to trade, the flow of products from developing countries invariably comes up against customs barriers, quota barriers and competition, difficult to withstand, from the products of more developed countries. Within the framework of multilateral relations the good intentions of developed countries are not yet as much in evidence as they should be. The second United Nations Conference on Trade and Development will soon take place, without that body's having made noteworthy progress in implementing the recommendations of its first session.
136. I nevertheless dare to hope that this period has been devoted at least to setting up the necessary structures for the new organization and preparing studies and solutions which will enable the second Conference to make a new start. I express the hope that the developed countries will realize that it is less a question of finding palliatives than of redesigning the root structures of international economic relations on the commercial, industrial, financial and monetary levels.
137. Within this somewhat gloomy, negative picture I am nevertheless glad to be able to mention the efforts still being made, through the United Nations Development Programme, for the advantage of countries in need thereof. The amalgamation of the Special Fund and the Expanded Technical Assistance Programme, decided upon in 1965 [resolution 2029 (XX)], have made the new body more efficient. But here again the contributions announced have not made it possible to achieve the aim proposed.
138. Lastly, I should like to pay a tribute to the work of the Ad Hoc Committee on the United Nations Organization for Industrial Development, which has drawn up a constitution permitting that new organization, we are sure, to start functioning and to remedy the absence of the United Nations from the field which today is so important for countries seeking to develop and embark on industrialization.
139. The United Nations is thus setting up little by little the necessary structures for co-ordinating the development of world economy. It depends on all of us, particularly the developed countries, which are so far ahead of the others, to allow these bodies to function efficiently and accomplish their mission, which is, in accordance with the Charter, "to achieve international co-operation in solving international problems of an economic" and "social ... character" and "to be a centre for harmonizing the actions of nations".
140. Such are the considerations which my delegation wished to put forward today. In its participation in the work of this session my delegation will be guided by the earnest desire to make its modest contribution to the study and solution of the problems before the Assembly and to join its efforts with those Of other delegations with a view to establishing an era of peace and progress for everyone in the world.