95. On behalf of Jordan and myself, allow me, Mr. President, to express heartfelt felicitations and congratulations on the occasion of your election to the Presidency of the General Assembly, and on attaining this position of world-wide trust.
96. The cordial bonds between our two countries and our Arab and Afghan peoples have their roots in early history when you penetrated into the East, shouldering the task of spreading and propagating the ideals of Islam with faith, bravery and sacrifice. Your people have contributed greatly to the development of the Islamic civilization and to the service of the Koran language, and this has manifested itself in our many outstanding geniuses in the fields of Imamat, literature, philosophy and jurisprudence. And you have enriched us with Jamal Al Deen Al-Afghan, who established a new movement in the East which enlightened our minds and hearts and sharpened our creativity and became the vanguard of our first Islamic renaissance.
97. Our gratification at your Presidency is assured also by our recognition of your rare qualifications and experience. This Organization has known you as a capable, eminent and tactful diplomat with greatly appreciated contributions in various fields, especially those related to human rights and freedom of information and to the events in Viet-Nam. You, Mr. President, have distinguished yourself as the champion of justice and peace. The qualities of manliness, straight-forwardness and courage in righteousness and in justice of our brotherly Afghan people, are incarnated in the person of our President. Indeed, our Organization is fortunate to have you as President.
98. May I take this opportunity to welcome the return of our sister country Indonesia to the United Nations. Indonesia has always been the advocate of justice and has always defended our position in the United Nations with vigour and determination.
99. We also welcome the admission of Guyana, Botswana and Lesotho to the United Nations, which has brought the Organization closer to the implementation of the principle of universality. We are confident that Guyana, Botswana and Lesotho will join the procession of countries that uphold righteousness and defend justice, thereby playing an effective role in the International arena.
100. We have joined with all other countries in expressing our confidence in the Secretary-General, U Thant, and in his wisdom and ability and our desire that he should continue in office as Secretary-General. Our common endeavour is based on our firm belief in his dedication to the ideals and principles, both in the letter and the spirit, of the Charter. I should like to add here that U Thant cannot fulfil his mission unless each Member State of this Organization recognizes its obligation to work towards the achievement of the goals of the United Nations, and its responsibilities for any failure that concerns this Organization. U Thant cannot serve this Organization if the majority of the States which have the primary responsibility for the maintenance of peace are facing that responsibility with apathy and indifference. We nurture the hope that the stand of U Thant will shake the conscience of the United Nations, thus prompting it to play an effective role in resolving the problems that he has referred to, such as those of Viet-Nam and the financing of the Organization. This should go hand in hand with the strengthening of the Executive Office and other organs of the United Nations.
101. The subject of disarmament is an important issue that the General Assembly has to deal with at every session and we regret that the great Powers, which are primarily responsible for the maintenance of peace, have not reached a constructive agreement in regard to this important question. We recognize that disarmament amongst the great Powers cannot be attained except in an atmosphere of mutual confidence. It is unreasonable for those Powers to continue spending huge sums of money on armaments for the maintenance of peace, while spending meagrely for peace building. This matter is of primary importance to the developing countries. There is no doubt that the countries concerned bear a heavy responsibility in assuming this course of action, which leads to complications that are repugnant to the goals and aims of the Organization.
102. We must admit that our Organization has achieved some of its goals. I should like to underline the word "some", since the way ahead is still a long one, and since the goals that have not been achieved are still many,
103. The Organization has made significant strides in decolonization and has stressed the principle of self-determination, as is evidenced by the fact that the number of countries that had signed the Charter at the inception of the United Nations was only 51, and today that number has reached 121. This involves and increase of 70 new nations whose independence, sovereignty and membership in the United Nations have been recognized. Furthermore, the United Nations made valuable contributions in the cessation of hostilities in Cyprus, the Congo, the Dominican Republic, and between India and Pakistan. We do not minimize the magnitude of the success achieved by the United Nations in the development and social fields. It suffices here to point out the achievements in the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, the United Nations Industrial Development Organization and the United Nations Institute for Training and Research. The effect of all those achievements, if adequately implemented, would raise the standard of living and would bridge the gap between the developed and the developing countries. It is an imperative duty of the United Nations to reassess the media of information in the light of the significant modern discoveries such as Telstar.
104. Despite all this, the Organization faces many problems and issues that cannot be neglected, since their solution is a basic necessity and constitutes an integral part of the functions of the United Nations. Indeed, the United Nations has been created for this purpose.
105. Consequently, I cannot touch on each item on the agenda at this session. We reserve the right to express our views at the appropriate time when they are discussed in the various committees. However, at this juncture, I should like to outline the position of Jordan regarding some of these items.
106. We are deeply disturbed at the escalation of the war in Viet-Nam and the tremendous human and material losses of the people of Viet-Nam and the threat this poses to international peace. This has prompted us to support all endeavours and efforts leading to a cease-fire, and the attempts to find a peaceful settlement on the basis of the Geneva Agreements of 1954. We believe that the United Nations should play its part in bringing this war to an end on the basis of non-interference from any quarter. In addition to the most valuable efforts of the Secretary-General, it might be possible to encourage the International Control Commission to create an atmosphere conducive to negotiations among all the parties concerned. It has become evident that the problem of Viet-Nam cannot be solved by a military victory on one side, or a complete surrender on the other.
107. Our position regarding Kashmir is quite clear. We have supported the need to find a peaceful solution to this problem on the basis of self-determination. We wish to pay tribute to the USSR for its efforts in promoting the Tashkent Conference. In view of the fact that the implementation of the Tashkent Agreement has lately been facing some difficulties, we appeal to the parties concerned to resume negotiations in the spirit of that Agreement.
108. As to the Cyprus issue, we advocate a cordial agreement guaranteeing peace and tranquillity to the people of Cyprus and safeguarding the rights of the minority, and at the same time not ignoring the rights of the majority.
109. Our positions in the Security Council and in all the sessions of the General Assembly are clear. We oppose and condemn colonialism in all its forms, and we call for its final liquidation. We also absolutely condemn the policy of apartheid and our position in the Security Council has upheld the Africans' struggle against discrimination and their efforts for liberation.
110. We condemned the illegal seizure of authority by the Ian Smith regime in Rhodesia and we called for the establishment of a government representing all the peoples of that country. We have opposed strongly the domination of the majority by the minority, and we have confronted the United Kingdom with its responsibility. We hereby declare our regret that the measures taken so far have not been sufficient to put an end to the vicious minority rule in Rhodesia, and we further declare that there -is an urgent need to continue the efforts for abolishing the oppression of the majority of the people.
111. That was also our position with regard to the cases of South Africa, Angola and Mozambique. We are dismayed by the decision of the International Court of Justice on the question of Southwest Africa §/ and by the manner in which the case has handled. Therefore, we believe it is imperative that the General Assembly assume all its responsibilities towards that case. We also believe that the Mandate in South West Africa must come to an end, and that the United Nations must take the necessary measures to secure that Territory's independence, lest the catastrophe of the Mandate in Palestine he repeated. That Mandate over Palestine was meant to provide a transitory period towards achieving independence, but instead it was applied in the most vicious and savage manner, and systematically led to the liquidation of its Arab character and the disintegration of its identity, and the expulsion of its population. It is not strange, therefore, that Jordan does not distinguish between the manner in which it handles the cases of Angola, Rhodesia and South Africa, on one hand, and the Palestine question on the other, since all these cases are basically colonial issues which started with the emigration of a minority group and ended by expelling or oppressing the majority — or both — and depriving it of its most basic human and political rights.
112. The cases of Rhodesia, South Africa and Palestine constitute a challenge to the United Nations and its Charter and ideals. It is saddening to witness the great Powers encouraging such a challenge, either directly or by their indifference to their obligations or by their reluctance to halt aggression. It is the duty of all other countries candidly to urge the great Powers to exercise their responsibilities.
113. It is only natural for Jordan to be in the forefront of the countries which are calLing for the liberation of South Arabia, Aden and Oman, and to demand the evacuation of the British forces and the liquidation of British colonialism. This accords with our policy, which opposes colonialism wherever it exists, Furthermore, it is a response to the demand of the Arab nation.
114. The report of the Commissioner-General of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East [A/6313] is being presented today to the Special Political. Committee, where the Arab representatives will be engaged in a full discussion of the Palestine question. It is therefore my duty to declare the following from this international rostrum:
115. First, the tragedy of Palestine is more than a vicious colonialist catastrophe. It is more wicked than apartheid. It is more evil than oppression. It is more tragic than poverty. It is the liquidation of the indigenous people of Palestine through their oppression by, and the transplantation of, an invading alien people. It is the liquidation of an identity and the destruction of a homeland.
116. Second, Jordan will consider its independence incomplete and its security and peace in jeopardy so long as the rights of the Palestinians are usurped. The greatest responsibility for restoring their rights rests on Jordan, in view of the fact that the majority of the refugees are in Jordan.
117. Third, in spite of the fact that the case of Palestine is discussed as a marginal issue, to the UNRWA report, we solemnly declare that the Palestine case is not a refugee question that can be resolved by the provision of food, shelter and employment. In other words, it is not a case of food and shelter requested from others, but a case of usurped land and usurped rights. Its solution can be found only in the restoration of the homeland to its rightful owners. First and foremost, it is a political issue, directly and firmly linked with the soil and the homeland. The refugees will continue to be refugees until they return to their homeland and their land is restored to them. Nothing is more wrong than to imagine the solution to be in the nature of the provision of their food, shelter and compensation, while in fact it lies in the restoration of their rights and in their repatriation.
118. Fourth, as we have stated earlier, the case of the Palestinian refugees is not a case of the few cents which UNRWA distributes to them as alms and which do not sustain them. Although such assistance cannot compensate them for the loss of their country, nevertheless the responsibility of the United Nations — which was led by some of the great Powers at its very inception to ratify the catastrophe — in shouldering the burden of the refugees and their relief, is a legal, political and humanitarian responsibility which must continue until the refugees are repatriated. We consider the attempts to scale down the relief and services as foreshadowing a plan to liquidate the whole case. We shall resist any attempt of that kind and shall be on guard to keep the Palestine issue alive until the restoration of the usurped homeland to the refugees.
119. Fifth, the maintenance of peace is of primary importance to the United Nations. However, not every peace which is imposed at the expense of justice is a lasting peace. Such a peace carries within its womb the seeds of its own destruction. When oppression is associated with peace, that is a bad omen for peace. The indifference with which the United Nations has been facing the Palestine case, coupled with the feelings of the Palestinians that the gates of international justice are closed to them while opened to the frauds of others, prompts the Palestinians to think that the solution lies outside the United Nations. What can be expected of them when they see before their own eyes their farms and gardens and the fruit of their soil within their reach but being exploited by usurpers, while their only compensation is the few cents doled out to them? Their demand that their rights be protected and their dignity sustained, that they be spared the humiliation of international charity, through the appointment of a custodian for their property, so that it may be supervised and they may be compensated from the proceeds thereof, in place of the meagre assistance they are now receiving, has fallen on deaf ears. Some of the great Powers which were responsible for their catastrophe have been the most adamant in opposition to the appointment of such a custodian; they justify their opposition by the principle of sovereignty, when there is no sovereignty for a usurper.
120. It might be said that this sovereignty is a gift of the United Nations, or rather the gift of the thirty-two nations that approved the partition of Palestine, when the United Nations itself had no jurisdiction to bequeath a country to aliens. A few days ago I heard a representative of the authorities that usurped my country, confiscated the land of my forefathers, desecrated their graves and exiled my people, speaking about high ideals and ideologies, shedding crocodile tears over the Charter of the United Nations and calling for the creation of the post of United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights. If you were to ask him his opinion concerning the appointment of a custodian to protect the property and rights of the Palestinian refugees and to distribute the revenue therefrom among the rightful owners, he would be the first to object — as if those people were not human beings who had natural rights since their creation on this earth, and as if they did not have rights to their property. It seems that the people who cry most for human rights are the first to undermine them, and, similarly, the people who speak most about human Ideals are those who are the first to destroy them. Likewise, those who speak most about United Nations resolutions are the first to defy them. Their opposition to the repatriation of the refugees and the annexation of areas in addition to those given to them unjustly by the thirty-two nations has compounded the refugee calamity. The adoption of a policy of racial discrimination and their treatment of the Arab minority are just other manifestations of the intentions of the authorities that occupy my country.
121. Sixth, I would like to declare from this International rostrum that Jordan bears its full responsibility for the liberation of Palestine and refuses any appeasement that leads to its liquidation and it shares the view of the rest of the Arab countries in putting the question of Palestine above differences between one Arab country and another.
122. Seventh, in spite of the fact that most of the refugees are concentrated within Jordan, it does not consider itself alone in dealing with the question but considers that the responsibility of the Arabs in regard to it is joint and collective. Since all Arabs are concerned with the Palestine question, whether they are Algerians in the West or Iraqis in the East, we should like our friends here to know that their stand towards this issue will define to us their stand towards the rest of the Arab world. We have supported every liberation movement in this Organization and defended every legitimate right and associated ourselves with the oppressed until oppression has ceased. The same principles require others to take a similar stand towards our problems, a stand that Is predicated upon the principles of the Charter. Some of our friends have suggested in previous sessions that we undertake negotiations with the usurper authorities. We certainly hope that during this session they will not drift into such an attitude, and we hope that they will be aware that we absolutely refuse any appeasement or negotiations. We absolutely reject any substitute for our usurped rights. Therefore we were saddened to hear that some of our friends are opposed to the appointment of a custodian for the property of the refugees. We interpret that opposition as support for the acts of pillage committed by the usurpers and as willingness to perpetuate the humiliation and indignity inflicted on the refugees.
123. Eighth, I should like to declare that the passing of time. Indifference and decreased material assistance will not solve the problem of Palestine. On the contrary, they will only increase the complexity of the case and inflame it. We shall never forget Palestine. Those who have died in exile have charged their sons, before their death, with the duty of seeking revenge. It is in the interest of international peace to accord the Palestine case its due importance.
124. Finally, Jordan will continue to adhere to the principles of the United Nations and to insist on the implementation of its Charter. We shall always call for justice and support respect for human rights and international peace based on honourable justice.
125. When the day comes when the aggrieved and Innocent on this earth can call upon the United Nations and rely on it to redress their grievances and restore their rights, when this Organization truly believes in its mission to combat injustice and endeavours most earnestly to implement its goals, then — and only then — will it bestow on mankind and civilization a lofty ideal that will rise to a level close to those heavenly creeds that brought the peoples out of darkness into the light.