248. Allow me, Mr. President, to join, together with all my delegation, in the many congratulations that have been offered to you on the occasion of your splendid election. In elevating you to this high-office, the General Assembly is fully aware of the responsibilities it is entrusting to you. Your distinguished qualities, which are universally known, have certainly guided this choice. May God give you the strength and will necessary to accomplish your onerous and delicate mission.
249. It is a pleasure for me to state here how happy my delegation and I are to receive into the great international family the brother States of Rwanda, Burundi, Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago, and Algeria. We respectfully salute the birth of each new State. Our joy on the occasion of this exceptionally important event is intensified by the knowledge that the number of colonies is becoming ever smaller. The representatives of these States will assuredly be determined to work not only for the well-being of their people but also for the whole of mankind.
250. I should also like to take this opportunity to hail the end of the hostilities in Algeria. It is here more than anywhere, else that a tribute should be paid to the Algerian people, whose peerless courage has enabled them to attain today the goal of seven years of harsh and difficult struggle. The happy outcome of the Evian talks strengthens us in our conviction that, whatever the differences between nations or individuals, free and direct negotiations can and even must make it possible to arrive at a compromise reconciling apparently incompatible views.
251. It is a pleasure for me, on behalf of my delegation, to salute the first Government of free and independent Algeria, and it is our sincerest, desire that this dazzling victory should be the prelude to other, no less important victories in every field.
252. I Cannot leave this topic without warmly congratulating the French Head of State, General de Gaulle, who, in spite of all opposition, was able, with the agreement of the Algerian leaders, to put a halt to this unjust war while there was still time and to salvage the friendship and co-operation of the two countries.
253. I am in duty bound to reaffirm openly my country's unshakable attachment to the ideal and the principles of the United Nations Charter. Respect for that Charter, which we consider to be a sacred duty of all Members, cannot but be the best moral support for the prestige of the Organization, which seems like providence itself to the newly liberated countries and the tens of millions of men who are impatiently awaiting their liberation. This explains our profound indignation every time some Power deliberately violates one of these sacred principles to which we cling as to the apple of our eye. For us, the United Nations is a great moral force in which nations great and small have freely placed their trust. It goes without saying that we are entirely in favour of strengthening the powers of the United Nations, and that is why we have been and will always be against the "troika", which in our view would impede the smooth working of the Secretariat.
254. Since his appointment last year, the Acting Secretary-General has expended great efforts in the search for appropriate solutions to distressing problems like those, of Laos and the Congo, where, thanks to a compromise solution, the test of strength has been halted and hundreds of thousands of lives, have in consequence been spared.
255. Faithful to the principle of self-determination and in accordance with the spirit of the Charter, we would have like the Papuan people to be consulted beforehand on their future in the west Irian question. In the Congo, the acceptance of the U Thant plan by the Central Government at Leopoldville and the Elisabethville Government allows us to hope for a return to normal life in a unified Congo. That is why the Government and the people of the Niger unreservedly support this happy initiative.
256. In order to achieve success in the exceedingly delicate task which he has undertaken, the Acting Secretary-General must have the unanimous support of the United, Nations. That is why the Niger, for its part, wants to reiterate its, confidence in U Thant.
257. I should like now to say a few words on what have come to be called the uncommitted nations. We of the uncommitted nations are aware of our weaknesses and our under-development. But these weaknesses added together would amount to a great force which would give others cause to reflect and make its weight felt in the world balance, so true is it that unity is strength. The survival of mankind depends partly on the cohesion of the uncommitted nations, which will stay more than one criminal hand. It is our right and our duty to say no to collective murder.
258. This brings me quite naturally to speak of general and complete disarmament. For some years, we have been powerless onlookers in a frenzied arms race. Man’s ingenuity is being taxed to find the most inhuman means of mass destruction, and every year certain Powers spend hundreds of millions of dollars for the eventuality of war, scorning the problems of under-development and human misery. No longer trusting one another, these Powers attribute aggressive intentions to each other. This situation, which to say the least is alarming, is daily aggravated by a fear psychosis skilfully orchestrated and sustained by criminal propaganda.
259. It was therefore out of its concern to reduce international tension that my delegation was led to vote against the inclusion in the agenda of that bone of contention between East and West, the question of Hungary.
260. This, of course, also leads us to condemn nuclear tests in any shape or form. In the absence of trust between the great Powers, any disarmament, to be effective, must be accompanied by international control.
261. Another problem which threatens peace in Africa and in the world is the senseless policy of some nations. Decolonization, although only initiated a few years ago, is proceeding faster than has been realized, but it is a surprise only to those who have dreamt of keeping others under their domination indefinitely. The mighty wind of freedom blowing over Africa will overcome all obstacles deliberately set up in its path. In Angola, Mozambique and so-called Portuguese Guinea, the Portuguese Government is launching its troops against peaceful populations which have committed no other crime than that of wanting a little more freedom and a slightly better life. By doing this, Portugal is dangerously compromising any possibility of fruitful co-operation between it and the future States of Angola, Mozambique and so-called Portuguese Guinea. It is therefore in Portugal's interest to enter into talks with the nationalists of these countries so that together they may, while there is still time; seek a just solution to the problems which set them apart.
262. The Government and people of the Niger express their sympathy for the valiant peoples of Angola, Mozambique and so-called Portuguese Guinea, who are fighting for liberation from the Portuguese colonial yoke, and they bow respectfully before the victims who have fallen on the field of honour.
263. May I now touch on the agonizing problem of apartheid, practised in South Africa and South West Africa. My Government's position has been defined many times in numerous discussions on this problem. The Government and people of the Niger are prepared, as always, to join in any initiative to root out this cancer from the flesh of Africa. It is truly revolting, for countries like my own, to find that South Africa, one of the founding Members of the United Nations, deliberately continues to violate the sacred principles of the Charter, to which it freely acceded.
264. Another hotbed of disturbances, Southern Rhodesia, where a minority clings to its power by the use of force and terror, urgently awaits a just solution. The latest development in the situation in that country has aroused general indignation. My delegation will therefore support with all its strength any effort that is designed to reduce tension in that corner of Africa.
265. I now come to the complex problem of the economic development of the uncommitted nations, which is one of the most urgent problems facing our Organization at the present time. Most of these countries are producers of raw materials, the prices of which, fixed outside their borders, are often subject to world-wide fluctuations. This dramatic situation has not escaped our Acting Secretary-General, who has given the following warning: "The present division of the world into rich and poor countries is much more real and much more serious, and ultimately much more explosive, than the division of the world on ideological grounds." [A/5201/Add.l, p. 3.]
266. The gravity of this situation does not escape any leader who has the higher interests of his country in mind. That is the reason which led my Government, together with eleven other African and Malagasy partners, to form the Association of African and Malagasy Economic Co-operation and Development, since we are convinced that in this divided and torn world only large economic groupings are viable and effective in striving for a constant improvement in the level of living of our people.
267. Our free association with the Common Market has no other purpose.
268. In my Government's view, honest economic co-operation. must be the mainspring of African unity. We have, all of us, been colonized for more than half a century; we suffer from a lack of trained personnel and from under development; and, finally, we share a common culture. All these common links cannot fail to overcome our selfishness and pride. We have quickly felt and understood the overriding need to pool our efforts so as to present a united front to our many and important problems, which are similar in every way. This common heritage has contributed greatly to creating a situation more favourable than ever for bringing us together again after the fever of the first days. We are convinced, moreover, that African unity will be, built upon a programme of economic co-operation and not around one man or State.
269. This idea is illustrated by the following passage from the joint Niger-Guinea communiqué signed at Conakry on 7 June 1962 by the President of the Republic of Guinea Mr. Sékou Touré, and the President of the Republic of the Niger, Mr. Hamani Diori: "They (the two Presidents) also expressed the view that the achievement of African unity” should begin with a minimum common programme and with if close co-operation between the various African States in all fields. With this end in view, they have decided to increase exchanges between the two countries; exchanges between national organizations, youth and women's movements, and government and trade-union personnel. "The two, Presidents were agreed on the need for a common front among African States in order to support their expert products."Is that not a striking example of the will to achieve fruitful co-operation and human solidarity?
270. I could not end this statement without making special mention of the international solidarity which must be developed for the greater good of all mankind, I should like, on behalf of the Government and people of the Niger, to thank the Governments and peoples of France, the United States, the Federal Republic of Germany, Czechoslovakia and Israel for their kindness in providing us with material and technical aid during the latest epidemic of cerebro-spinal meningitis, which plunged my country into grievous mourning.
271. I remain convinced that despite the grave conflicts of interest which stand between the Powers, human reason will finally triumph over selfishness and pride and that peace will be safeguarded in the World.