Pakistan

Mr. President, for Pakistan it is a matter of special satisfaction and pride that this august Assembly of the nations of the world has honoured one of its distinguished citizens and devoted servants by electing you to the high office of President of the General Assembly. I am confident that, in conducting its proceedings, you will be guided by that impartiality, judicious spirit and high sense of duty for which you are known so well. 3. In 1945, when this Organization was established, its founders made a conscious attempt to eliminate from the new structure the weaknesses which had led to the failure of the League of Nations as an instrument of international peace and security. The Charter of the United Nations undoubtedly provided a firmer foundation for the Organization than the Covenant had done for its predecessor. 4. However, even at the time when the United Nations was being established, the victorious Powers were already showing signs of drifting apart. The built-in system of veto in the Security Council, the purely deliberative powers of the General Assembly, the greatly restricted jurisdiction of the International Court of Justice and the merely exhortatory provisions relating to the other procedures of peaceful settlement were but the reflections of the political realities of 1945. This was the maximum area of agreement that could be reached between the great Powers. 5. The Charter envisages sanctions against aggression and a universal collective security system based on armed forces to be placed at the disposal of the Security Council. The capacity of the Security Council to act effectively was, however, predicated on the continuing solidarity of the great Powers in 6. The authority of the General Assembly has to some extent been strengthened by the Uniting for peace resolution [377 (V)] and by the admission of newly independent nations. Nevertheless, it remains a regrettable fact that the will of the Assembly can be thwarted by States which choose not to accept its resolutions. 7. In spite of these limitations, the Organization has a measure of success to its credit in resolving, or in bringing about, an adjustment of international situations constituting actual or potential threats to the peace. Many would assess the role of the United Nations in accelerating the historical process of the liberation of dependent peoples from the bondage of colonialism and the democratization of international relations as a result of their emergences as equal sovereign States, as perhaps its greatest achievement. 8. In the political field, the Organization has broken new ground by embarking upon peace-keeping operations in the Middle East and in the heart of Africa, that vibrant continent which has entered into such vigorous participation in international affairs. Now, for the first time in its history, the United Nations assumes executive authority in West Irian. This precedent may well turn out to be an event of significance for the future. 9. Without detracting from my admiration for the many achievements of the United Nations, particularly in the economic field, I must remind the distinguished representatives here assembled of the questions which remain on the agenda of the Security Council and of this Assembly as a challenge to their combined wisdom and collective statesmanship. Their number is legion. Disarmament, the cessation of nuclear weapons tests, apartheid, Palestine and Kashmir are but a few of these unresolved burning problems. 10. First and foremost, all the attempts of the United Nations for the last seventeen years to achieve disarmament — whether total or partial — have not yet succeeded. Mankind seems condemned to an existence in the shadow of nuclear annihilation — sudden, swift and complete. 11. I am a soldier. I shudder to reflect that carriers hover over this planet every instant, that invisible rockets from under the earth and the sea — and also perhaps from outer space — are ready at any moment to launch nuclear and thermo-nuclear death, in a war of extermination against humanity, at but a single word of command from those who hold awesome power, in their hands. This is the fate that threatens all of us. This fate is not ordained by God. It has been contrived by man. My reason bids me hope that the fatal command will not be given. But it is a melancholy fact that life is not always ordered by reason. History bears witness to the somber fact that power can sometimes fall into the hands of megalomaniacs. Even if this should not happen again, human nature is not infallible. The chance of nuclear war by miscalculation or accident, remains an ever-present danger to human existence. 12. In the existing conditions of the dizzy acceleration of the race in nuclear weapons, no country, great or small, can feel secure. We are appalled by this deadly competition in the production of nuclear weapons. As a nation, we add our voice to the demand for an end to nuclear testing. We are convinced that the cessation of nuclear testing is an essential step towards nuclear disarmament. 13. The Geneva negotiations have revealed that the elements of an agreement between the nuclear Powers on a permanent cessation of nuclear testing are now in existence. There is no reason to delay further a ban on nuclear tests in the atmosphere, in outer space and under water, without inspection, pending a reconciliation of the differences which prevent the conclusion of a comprehensive treaty that will also end underground explosions. 14. In regard to the question of general and complete disarmament, the Geneva negotiations have not made any substantial progress. This is all the more disappointing as agreement had been reached last year between the United States and the Soviet Union on principles within the framework of which disarmament negotiations were to take place. 15. I am not oblivious of the host of difficulties that must be surmounted, including those of inspection and control. I am aware that the barriers to their removal lie largely in the deep-seated distrust that conditions the approach of the East and the West to the imperative necessity of disarmament. I appeal to you not to be discouraged. When the survival of humanity itself is at stake, the quest for peace through disarmament cannot be abandoned. 16. An aspect of disarmament which is of deep concern to Pakistan is the clear and present danger of the spread of nuclear weapons and the knowledge of their technology to States which do not now possess them. The General Assembly is aware of this danger. Permit me to observe that the mere adoption of resolutions against the dissemination of nuclear weapons and in favour of the establishment of a non-nuclear club, will not remove this danger. Unless the United Nations takes effective and urgent action in this direction, the race in nuclear armaments is bound to overtake other parts of the world in the immediate future. 17. This imminent peril demands that the General Assembly give urgent consideration to the conclusion of a treaty to outlaw the further spread of nuclear weapons and the knowledge of their manufacture, whether by acquisition from the present nuclear Powers or by any other means. The conclusion of such a treaty cannot wait until agreement is reached on other measures of disarmament. 18. The question of disarmament involves the question of man's physical survival. It is also a condition of his economic emancipation. Two years ago Pakistan was privileged to propose a study by the United Nations of the economic and social consequences of disarmament. In pursuance thereof, experts have submitted a report setting forth their unanimous conclusion that the "achievement of general and complete disarmament would be an unqualified blessing to all mankind". This conclusion, I have no doubt, will have a far-reaching impact on the thinking of the Governments and peoples of the world. 19. The Acting Secretary-General has expressed the view that the present division of the world into rich and poor countries is much more real, much more serious, and ultimately much more explosive than the division of the world on ideological grounds. This indeed is a patent truth and the sooner the more powerful and more prosperous nations of the world recognize it, the better for the well-being of mankind. 20. Even if the most modest targets of the United Nations Development Decade are to be attained, improved access to world markets for the exports of developing countries must be assured. Without this, those countries could not reach the necessary stage of self-sustaining economic growth. 21. The prospects of improved access to export markets, however, are getting dimmer with the increasing trend towards the formation of common markets of continental proportions. It is indeed a grave prospect for developing countries like Pakistan. The time has come for the Western world to decide whether it will make a viable place for the developing countries, or whether it intends to turn itself into a powerful international cartel denying to our manufacturers access to their markets and forcing us to remain primary producers to feed their factories, dictating the terms of our trade and compelling us to pay several times more for their finished goods. If this were to happen it would amount to re-establishing imperialism of the worst kind, which may well lead to disastrous consequences. 22. Let me say unambiguously that just as you cannot have abject poverty alongside affluence within a country, so also you cannot expect friendly coexistence between those countries that are forced to remain backward and the ones that are overflowing with wealth. 23. The less developed countries of the world are facing a situation which is of crucial importance to their future. This challenge must be met. The time has come to convene an international economic and trade conference under the aegis of the United Nations, to examine the entire range of relations between the industrialized and the less developed countries in the light of the present historical trends. 24. The real problem of world trade cannot be solved by one group of countries acting alone, whether they belong to the European Common Market, the Commonwealth or those which took part in the Cairo Conference on the Problems of Economic Development. It will be necessary to approach these problems in a world perspective and to work through all the various organizations, such as the specialized agencies concerned, GATT and the regional economic organizations, to achieve a reasonable system of world trade which will satisfy the needs of developing nations. 25. One of the most important problems still remaining before the United Nations is that of carrying to its final conclusion the historical process of decolonization, now approaching its consummation. 26. It gives me deep satisfaction that this year the representatives of four new nations have taken their seats in this Assembly of sovereign States. I extend my greetings to the representatives of Rwanda, Burundi, Jamaica, and Trinidad and Tobago and wish them Godspeed in the great adventure of independence. 27. I salute the heroic people of Algeria whose sacrifices in their struggle for independence have been unparalleled. Their war of independence has ended in victory with honour, both for Algeria and for France. 28. I also extend my felicitations to the Government of the United Kingdom for Implementing the right of Jamaica and of Trinidad and Tobago to independence and Commonwealth status. 29. There still remain a number of Non-Self-Governing and other Territories where the process of decolonization has not yet been set in motion and the colonial Powers concerned refuse to implement the historic Declaration of the General Assembly on the granting of independence to colonial countries and peoples [resolution 1514 (XV)]. This Assembly will be giving its earnest attention to the present status of the implementation of the Declaration. I pledge Pakistan's continued and fullest support to all practical steps that may be proposed to bring the blessings of independence, in the shortest possible time, to the peoples of Africa and elsewhere still under colonial rule. 30. In this context, Pakistan feels constrained to express its profoundest regret that the inalienable right of self-determination continues to be denied to the people of Kashmir despite an international agreement to which the United Nations itself is a party. 31. The prolongation of alien rule against the wishes of those over whom it is exercised is incompatible with the Principles and Purposes of the United Nations Charter and an obstacle to the emergence of a world order toward which mankind must move. 32. Equally incompatible and obstructive are policies and practices based on racial discrimination which are pursued in certain Non-Self-Governing Territories and elsewhere and of which apartheid is a most glaring example. This Assembly must do all in its power, while there is still time, to avert the grave consequences which will inevitably follow if such policies are not abandoned. 33. The United Nations continues to be deeply Involved in the Republic of the Congo. The honour, the prestige, and the resources of the Organization are all committed to the preservation of the political independence, unity and territorial integrity of that country. 34. In this context, it is fitting that I should pay a tribute to the memory of the late Secretary-General Dag Hammarskjold. No statesman strove so nobly, so heroically and with such single-minded devotion to uphold the high principles of the United Nations as he did. 35. The Acting Secretary-General has presented a bold and realistic plan to end the secession of Katanga and the Congo crisis. It merits the sustained support of all Member States and more especially of those who are in a position to lend their weight to it so that prompt and decisive measures may be taken to end the agony of the Congolese people by the reunification and rehabilitation of their country. 36. The financial position of the United Nations is a cause of grave concern to us. We should be equally concerned about the ability of the Organization to carry to a successful conclusion its peace-keeping and security operations in the heart of Africa and in the Middle East. 37. Pakistan, in common with other small States of the world, has a vested interest in sustaining and strengthening the peace-making role of the United Nations. The great Powers may be able to do without the Organization. It is the small States, as the late Secretary-General said on a memorable occasion, that need its protection. They cannot afford to see it fail for lack of the necessary financial support. Neither can they contemplate with equanimity that the Organization which they have made their own should be mortgaged to one or another great Power, or that it should become dependent on its subsidies. The obligation of the poorest Member State to pay its assessed share is no less than that of the wealthiest one. 38. It is clear that the United Nations operations in the Congo and in the Middle East have been undertaken in accordance with the express and reiterated authority of both the Security Council and the General Assembly and that the expenditures incurred in consequence constitute, in the light of the recent advisory opinion of the International Court of Justice [A/5161 ], expenses of the Organization. As such they must be defrayed by Member States, as binding obligations. 39. The sixteenth session of the General Assembly opened in the shadow of the tragic death of the late Secretary-General while engaged on a mission of peace in the Congo, Crisis and disaster loomed on the horizon. If the present session has opened under less ominous circumstances, the credit must go to the collective wisdom of Member States and to the choice they made in the person of the Acting Secretary-General. During the year that has passed, he has proved himself fully equal to the challenge of his great office and has given proof of integrity and statesmanship of a very high order. His successful mediation in the dispute between Indonesia and the Netherlands over West Irian and his patient, courageous and constructive efforts to end the Congo crisis have demonstrated his stature. 40. Pakistan considers it a privilege to have been called upon to assist in the task of maintaining order and security in West Irian during the period of transition from Netherlands to Indonesian administration. We thank the two countries for the confidence that they have reposed in us and assure them of the faithful discharge of our duties. 41. In conclusion, I wish to say this: The world is in the throes of a political, economic and technological transformation of profound significance to its future. The historical epoch of imperialism and colonialism is passing away. The era of political hegemony of a concert of Powers has yielded place to a more democratic international order in which small States are able to play an important collective role in world affairs. The traditional institution of war as a means of attaining national ends has become meaningless in an age of thermo-nuclear weapons and space exploration. The centres of power today have shifted to countries with economies of continental proportions based on great home markets. Remote nations have become close neighbours, Independence is being increasingly superseded by interdependence. 42. While, therefore, the world is becoming one world, it is unfortunate that relations between States are becoming increasingly out of step with this transformation in the facts of international life. The United Nations, as an instrument of co-operation between nations, is proving inadequate as a means for the attainment of common ends. The promise of a system of universal collective security remains a distant goal. There is little sense of urgency in the efforts to establish a Peace Force to prevent aggression and threats to the peace. Nations are unwilling to subject their sovereignty to the supremacy of international law. The trend towards increasing disparity between rich and poor countries is not being reversed. No effective machinery exists for the peaceful settlement of international disputes, Small nations continue to live in fear of their large neighbours. Thus, a response is lacking to the historical challenge of a world order which is the imperative of our times. 43. The increasing scales of destructive power of nuclear weapons have made the balance of terror between the two great Power blocs so delicate and precarious that neither State can now exert a decisive influence in world affairs. This power balance is a matter of concern to all the smaller countries which live under the lowering shadow of constant terror. Real and lasting security lies not in this kind of equilibrium, but in working for the achievement of a world order in which all countries, great and small, can live without fear. We believe that this world order can be attained through the United Nations. That is why we reiterate our faith in this Organization here today. 44. It has been rightly said that the principles of the Charter are, by far, greater than the Organization in which they are embodied, and the aims which they are to safeguard are holier than the policies of any single nation or people. The task before us, then, is to unite our efforts to make the United Nations a more perfect union of States and a true mirror of its principles, to the end that its aims may prevail over the policies of any single nation or group of nations. In this great task, may not the peoples of the world look to the solidarity of small Member States to transform the Organization into an instrument for the progressive realization of a true world order of peace, freedom and justice? Theirs was the chorus for peace in the Suez crisis of 1956. Theirs has been the vote for freedom in the decolonization of the world. Theirs has been the voice of conscience when justice has been at stake. 45. Man has embarked upon the mission to reach out for distant planets. His greatest mission remains here, on earth — this earth — to live in peace and be just to his fellowmen. If those things happen, thus shall suffering humanity attain that greater measure of peace for which it has yearned throughout the ages. 46. I thank you again, Mr. President, and all the representatives in the General Assembly who have given me this opportunity to address the Assembly today. The Pakistan delegation is of the view that the most important question before the Assembly is the speedy achievement of general and complete disarmament. The Geneva negotiations have made little progress. It is a matter of some satisfaction, however, that all the complex problems of disarmament are being examined in depth and the approaches of the two sides are becoming increasingly clarified. 164. The main problems remain what they have been, namely, the preservation of the military balance in the phasing of successive disarmament measures and the question of inspection of the armaments retained after the agreed reductions have been carried out. While a strict and comprehensive system of inspection and control must form an integral and indivisible part of any disarmament treaty, it would be vain to look for a perfect system. The aim must be to reduce to the minimum the risks of evasion of any control measures that may be devised, and then to make an act of faith in the honest intentions of the other party. This margin of risk must be accepted as inevitable, or else it would be humanly impossible to achieve the desired objective. In short, it must be emphasized that no disarmament treaty could be without loopholes. This fact must be recognized by both sides. As President Kennedy said here last year: "The risks inherent in disarmament pale in comparison to the risks inherent in an unlimited arms race." [1013th meeting, para. 52.] 165. The President of Pakistan, Mohammad Ayub Khan, in his address to this Assembly [ 1133rd meeting], has set forth the firmly held view of the Government of Pakistan as to the urgent necessity of a permanent end to nuclear weapons tests. In this context, my delegation would like to pay tribute to the contribution that the eight-Power memorandum of 16 April 1962 has made to narrowing the gap in the positions of the Soviet Union and the two Western nuclear Powers. 166. In regard to the clear and present danger of the dissemination of nuclear weapons and the knowledge of their manufacture to States which do not now possess them, the President of Pakistan urged the General Assembly to give urgent consideration to the conclusion of a treaty to meet this grave situation without awaiting agreement on the other measures on disarmament. 167. We owe our gratitude to the Foreign Minister of Ireland, Mr. Aiken, who first alerted this Assembly [890th meeting] to the threat of an intensification of the arms race and to the increasing difficulties of avoiding nuclear war with every increase in the number of those countries which possess nuclear weapons and the knowledge of their manufacture. The Foreign Minister of Sweden, Mr. Unden, carried this line of thought a stage further, in bringing forcefully to the attention of the General Assembly in the First Committee last year [1178th meeting], the important part that non-nuclear Powers could play in the preparation and implementation of measures to prevent a further spread of nuclear weapons by entering into specific undertakings to refrain from the manufacture, or acquisition by other means, of such weapons and by refusing to receive them, in the future, in their territories on behalf of any other country, 168. The Pakistan delegation is aware that the question of preventing a wider dissemination of nuclear weapons is included in the first stage of both the Soviet draft treaty on general and complete disarmament under strict international control, as well as the United States draft programme for general and complete disarmament in a peaceful world. However, the question of concluding an agreement in regard to the prevention of a further spread of nuclear weapons forms part of the whole complex of the much wider problem of general and complete disarmament as envisaged in the two draft plans. Therefore, its implementation will be dependent on the implementation of general and complete disarmament. 169. At present there is no reason to warrant the hope that this consummation can be achieved quickly. On the contrary, it is likely to take many years. In the meantime, non-nuclear States have the fullest freedom and opportunity to become possessors of nuclear weapons, thus compounding the danger of nuclear war, 170. It is, therefore, necessary that the Disarmament Committee should be instructed, without prejudice to the disarmament programme, to accord the highest priority to the conclusion of a convention to outlaw the further spread of nuclear weapons and the knowledge of their manufacture and the implementation of such a treaty should not be made dependent on an agreement on the disarmament question. The Assembly will recall that this was precisely the procedure adopted in regard to negotiations to end nuclear weapons tests under effective control. 171. The Pakistan delegation believes that this suggestion is in full conformity with paragraph 8 of the "Joint Statement of Agreed Principles for Disarmament Negotiations" of the United States and the Soviet Union issued last year which states that: "...efforts to ensure early agreement on and implementation of measures of disarmament should be undertaken without prejudicing progress on agreement on the total programme and in such a way that these measures would facilitate and form part of that programme." 172. The first essential step to outlaw the spread of nuclear weapons is for the nuclear Powers to reach the necessary agreement among themselves and they should then submit it for the approval of the United Nations and the accession of the non-nuclear Powers. 173. Great Powers and affluent nations spend, year after year, colossal amounts on the manufacture and stockpiling of Infernal machines and weapons of destruction. The statistics of the armaments race in terms of appropriation of national resources for building up military striking power stagger the mind. The world today is spending approximately 120 million dollars annually for war purposes, or half of the total gross capital formation throughout the world. This figure is at least two-thirds of, or is of the order of the same magnitude as, the entire national income of the underdeveloped countries. The diversion of even a part of this expenditure to peaceful purposes could generate a social revolution and an economic upsurge which, in the course of but a few years, could put an end to the sub-standard level of existence of more than half of the human race. 174. The gap between the have and have-not nations is not being narrowed. It is being widened. For example, in the last decade, the rate of increase of per caput income in the industrialized countries was ten times greater than that in the developing countries. The less developed countries can now only purchase from the exports of their raw materials four-fifths of the manufactured goods, compared with the situation that existed eight years ago, and only two-thirds as compared with that of eleven years ago. The progressive worsening of the terms of trade against the developing countries would have made the task of their economic development a hopeless one but for the flow of foreign capital in their direction and the extension of economic assistance by the richer members of the world community. However, this flow has barely compensated for the decrease in export earnings of the developing countries resulting from the fall in prices of primary commodities, and a rise in those of manufactured and capital goods. The imbalance is further aggravated by the high rate of growth of population in the developing countries. 175. I cannot let this occasion pass without expressing our sincere appreciation for the continuing concern of the United Nations over the grave problem of growing disparity in the division of wealth between the nations of the world. Two of the resolutions recently adopted by the General Assembly envisage, to my mind, timely steps aimed at accelerating the economic growth of the Less developed countries in the interests of world peace and prosperity. The first [resolution 1710 (XVI)] designates the nineteen-sixties as the United Nations Development Decade and calls for intensified efforts to accelerate progress towards self-sustaining growth of the economies of individual nations so as to attain in each under-developed country a minimum annual rate of growth of national income of 5 per cent at the end of the decade. The second [resolution 1711 (XVI)] expresses the hope that the flow of international assistance and capital for development, which at present is less than 1 per cent of the combined national incomes of the economically advanced countries, should be raised approximately to 1 per cent, 176. The emphasis placed by the Secretary-General on the development process, as one with many facets and one to be based principally on industrial development and a highly productive agriculture, is in accord with the inflexible determination of the developing countries to do away, in the course of the current decade if possible, with the legacy of colonialism which had turned them into exporters of raw materials to feed the growing industries of the colonial Powers and then to provide markets for the manufactured goods. The prospects for the attainment of an annual rate of growth of 5 per cent by 1970 will, however, hinge largely on the rate of growth of population in the developing countries. 177. The annual rate of increase of Pakistan's population is 2 per cent per annum. We consider this figure to be too high, and have therefore launched a programme of family planning. Success in that direction can only come slowly as traditional attitudes towards social values cannot be expected to change in the course of a few years. 178. Pakistan shares the serious concern of the developing countries of Asia, Africa and Latin America at the emergence of trading blocs which may well pose a threat to the goals of the United Nations Development Decade. As the President of Pakistan stated in his address to this Assembly, the historical trend towards regional economic integration is an event fraught with such profound consequences to the future of world trade that the problems posed by it can only be approached in a world perspective. We believe that the time has come to meet this new challenge by concerted action within the framework of the United Nations on the vital questions relating to international trade and the entire range of economic relations between the Industrialized and the developing countries. 179. Mr. Spaak, the Foreign Minister of Belgium, in his address to the Assembly [1138th meeting], has clarified the purposes and principles of the European Economic Community. The question before the less developed countries, however, is whether major transformations in the pattern of world trade, which as yet we cannot visualize, are to be set in motion exclusively by the European Common Market or whether the entire world community, acting under the aegis of the United Nations, should also influence that process. 180. The question of holding an international conference on trade problems and the Cairo Declaration of Developing Countries [A/5162] will be discussed at this session. The Second Committee will no doubt also discuss the timing of convening the trade conference. In this regard, it is necessary to keep in view the fact that the European Common Market and the Council for Mutual Economic Assistance are still in their formative stages. International efforts to induce them to adopt outward-looking and liberal trade policies are likely to bear fruit only if they are exerted before these blocs are fully formed and assume final, shape. For this reason the projected world trade conference should be held as early as practicable. In our opinion, the date for convening it could well be set about the middle of next year by which time it should be possible to complete the necessary preparatory work, if top priority is accorded to this matter. 181. The Economic and Social Council has decided to convene, in the spring of 1963, a preparatory committee of experts designated by Governments represented on the Council, to consider the agenda and documentation of the United Nations conference on trade. Should the suggestion to convene this conference by the middle of next year commend itself to the Assembly, it would follow that the preparatory committee should meet much earlier than the spring of 1963, in order that Governments may be afforded adequate time to prepare themselves for the conference in the light of the committee's recommendations. Furthermore, the membership of the preparatory committee must be enlarged in order to give more adequate expression to the principle of equitable geographical representation. 182. While it is for the preparatory committee to prepare the agenda and documentation of the conference, it remains the responsibility of the General Assembly to formulate terms of reference for the guidance of the preparatory committee. In our view, the terms of reference should take into account the major trade problems facing the under-developed countries, including the following (a) The need to ensure markets for exports of primary commodities and simple manufactures of the developing countries, with a view to the promotion of international trade as the primary instrument for their economic development; (b) To devise compensatory financing measures, in order to mitigate the efforts of short-term fluctuations in export earnings of primary exporting countries and to integrate them with measures for remedying the adverse long-term trend in the export earnings of the countries and the deterioration in their terms of trade; (c) To enlarge and strengthen the scope and functions of GATT, with a view to making it a more effective organization for the removal of barriers to international trade, especially the trade of the less developed countries. 183. The role of the United Nations in the sphere of its economic activities, particularly in the economic development of less developed countries, has been a constructive one. The growth in the scope and depth of its programmes in the fields of pre-investment survey and technical assistance and, more recently, of industrialization, has greatly benefited a large number of Member States. The United Nations family of organizations has extended substantial assistance in their efforts to alleviate hunger, to reduce illiteracy, and to overcome disease. The agencies which provide special assistance to stateless refugees and underprivileged children throughout the world are rendering valuable service to humanity. 184. I shall now turn briefly to some of the other problems before the General Assembly which are of direct or special concern to Pakistan. One of these, in the field of human rights, is entitled "Manifestations of racial prejudice and national and religious intolerance". In this context, I am constrained to refer to an issue which impairs friendly relations between Pakistan and its great neighbour, India, and which, of late, has assumed serious proportions. This is the mass expulsion of Muslims from India to Pakistan. 185. According to a Press release issued by the Government of India itself, about 90,000 Muslims have been deported from the three Indian states of West Bengal, Assam and Tripura during the last ten years. These evictions have been greatly stepped up since July of this year. Within a period of ten days in that month alone, 9,000 Muslims were expelled from the State of Tripura. They were driven out of their homes and thrown bodily across the Indian border in a state of utter destitution. In most cases, no notices were served on them, no enquiries made, In regard to the legality or otherwise of their status. 186. It is the contention of the Government of India that all the tens of thousands of Muslims who have been so harshly evicted were Pakistan citizens who had entered India illegally. Even if this were a fact, which it is not, the Government of India should have had recourse to the procedure laid down in the agreement between Pakistan and India which deals with the specific problem of illegal immigrants from one country into the other. The method chosen by India not only violates this agreement, but is contrary to the rules of civilized behaviour. 187. The expulsion of Muslims in such large numbers and in such a cruel manner has naturally caused great indignation in Pakistan and intensified the existing tension between the two countries. 188. Only last week a body of Indian troops crossed into East Pakistan and have taken up positions in two different places within our territory. In order to avoid exacerbation of an already tense situation, the Pakistan Government has shown great self-restraint and has so far refrained from taking military action to eject the intruders. We are lodging a protest with the Government of India and we hope that its troops will be withdrawn immediately. 189. It is in the interest of both India and Pakistan, and indeed of the region in which they are situated, that they should compose their differences in an amicable manner and cease to wage a bitter and distracting cold war. 190. The great obstacle in the way of the creation of friendly relations between India and Pakistan has been and continues to be the unresolved question of Kashmir. Kashmir is not a simple boundary dispute between two neighbours, nor a territorial dispute in the usual sense of the word. It involves the question of the right of self-determination of four million people. 191. The history of the dispute shows that while India has appeared as the champion of self-dtermination all over the world and has paid lip-service to the United Nations resolutions conceding the same right to the people of Kashmir, in actual fact it has not only sought to avoid the implementation of these resolutions on one pretext or the other, but has been pursuing a course designed to bring about the complete absorption into India of the portion of the State occupied by it. 192. In the last few months, a movement has been initiated in India with the object of abolishing even the allegedly, special status the puppet regime in Kashmir has enjoyed up till now. Bakhski Ghulam Mohammad, the head of that regime and the main prop of the Indian occupation, was himself constrained to observe the other day that if such a thing happened, "Indian capitalists would easily buy and own the whole of Kashmir". 193. Friendly relations cannot be established between India and Pakistan, nor can peace be secure in that region, if India continues to trample underfoot the right of the people of Kashmir to decide their own future, in defiance of the principle of self-determination enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations, in violation of its own word of honour and in disregard of the international agreement undertaken by it in all solemnity. 194. The veto may bring the proceedings of the Security Council to a halt. It cannot silence the voice of a people determined to be free. We can only hope that respect for the law, the dictates of reason and considerations of self-interest, will prevail over false notions of vanity and national prestige and persuade India to follow a policy of co-operation and friendly coexistence with its neighbours. There can be no better way to begin a year for international co-operation than for countries to settle their disputes, in accordance with the peaceful procedures laid down in the Charter of the United Nations and in fulfilment of their international obligations. We want to live in friendship with India, we want to be friends with India, if only it can be done on honourable terms. 195. Much has been done by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency to help alleviate the plight of Palestine refugees. Its efforts deserve our praise and support. This year the General Assembly will be called upon to consider the renewal of its mandate. We are strongly of the view that the Agency should continue in existence, until such time as the Palestine refugees have been enabled to stand on their own feet. This is the least that the international community can do to mitigate the tragic consequences of its decision to partition Palestine. The only lasting solution of the problem of Arab refugees lies in their return to the ancestral homes from which they were forcibly and violently ejected. This was recognized in paragraph 11 of General Assembly resolution 194 (III), but that provision has not been implemented to this day. A solution of the problem of Arab refugees must be sought if peace- is to be restored to that troubled part of the world. It is our duty to bend all our efforts in order to find a solution on the basis of justice and human rights. 196. Tremendous strides have been made, particularly in the last few years, by resurgent peoples in Africa and Asia in liberating themselves from the yoke of colonialism. We see the manifestation of this evidence in the hall of this Assembly. This year, four former colonies, Rwanda, Burundi, Jamaica, and Trinidad and Tobago, have joined us as fellow Members of this Organization. We extend our greetings to them and to the Governments of the United Kingdom and Belgium for their wisdom and foresight in bringing these territories to freedom in a peaceful and orderly manner. 197. Unfortunately, colonialism still continues to hold sway in many parts of the globe. In Africa, in particular, the territories that remain under foreign rule present perhaps the greatest challenge to the collective wisdom of this Assembly and of the administering Powers. It is by now obvious to all, and admitted by most, that the days of colonialism are numbered. It should be abundantly clear to those who try to postpone its inevitable end that rear-guard struggles to maintain an anachronistic order can only exacerbate the situation and render more difficult the establishment of friendship and co-operation between peoples and nations. The whole process of decolonization has now gathered such momentum that the mood of the colonized peoples will not permit any feet-dragging or go- slow policy in the granting of freedom by the colonial Powers. Whether it be in Angola or in Southern Rhodesia, the will of the people to be master in their own home is inexorable. To resist this swelling tide of national self-expression is to invite disaster. The true interest of the administering countries themselves requires that they cease to take shelter behind special pretexts, and transform the existing relationship of master and subject; tutor and pupil; mother and child; or whatever other fatuous descriptions may have been used, into a relationship between friends and equals. 198. The efforts made in the United Nations in this matter have undoubtedly assisted and encouraged the struggles of the colonial peoples. If the whole spirit underlying the Charter of the Organization is to have any significance and meaning, and if the provisions relating to self-determination and the equality of men and nations are to be given life and purpose, then the General Assembly cannot shirk its responsibility towards the struggles of peoples to be free from foreign rule. In recent years and in particular after the adoption of the historic Declaration on the granting of independence to colonial countries and peoples [resolution 1514 (XV)], the efforts of the United Nations have been greatly intensified. The Special Committee of Seventeen on the implementation of that Declaration deserves our praise for the conscientious and painstaking work done by it in the short period of its existence. It is a tribute also to the good sense and sincerity of all its members that the Committee has performed its difficult work in a businesslike and harmonious manner. 199. Let me now turn to a subject which the Assembly might be called upon to discuss. It is a subject which transcends all other matters since it concerns the dignity of man. An important aspect of this subject was presented to the Assembly, at the 1128th meeting, by the Foreign Minister of South Africa from his point of view, a point of view which is utterly untenable and wholly repugnant to the very concept of man as the vicegerent of God upon earth. 200. The Foreign Minister of South Africa, Mr. Louw, began by deploring the record of the world outside South Africa, as exhibited during the last year. He pointed out that in forty-five countries there had been revolutions, coups d’état, revolts, border clashes, internal unrest, riots and violence, serious racial clashes between whites and non-whites, and states of emergency. He appeared to take pride in the fact that the Republic of South Africa had been free from disturbances and unrest and that political calm in that country had been accompanied by conditions of financial stability and exceptional economic progress. 201. I will not question his statement as it stands, though, of course, it is subject to many qualifications and is utterly incapable of supporting the conclusion that the Foreign Minister of South Africa sought to draw from it. I shall make only a brief comment. The forty-five countries which he had in mind, and many others, are in ferment, which means that they are alive. They are striving to go forward. There is an effort to correct inequalities, injustices, discriminations, shortcomings and the like. The method chosen in each case may not be wise or appropriate, but the struggle towards freedom and better conditions continues. In South Africa there is none of this. Everything is, for the moment, static and frozen. According to the Foreign Minister, while there is disturbance in the rest of the world, there is peace in South Africa. But that disturbance is the effervescence of life. The peace in South Africa is the peace of the grave. 202. The Foreign Minister of South Africa then referred to the general international situation and to the United Nations and found the position in those spheres also discouraging. He referred to the increasing membership of the Organization and threw down the challenge; "...will anybody be so bold as to say that the increased membership has brought fresh life and saner counsels to the Organization?" [1128th meeting, para. 7.] Sanity and wisdom are largely matters of the angle of vision. What may appear to be wisdom to the lion is pure savagery and brutality to the lamb. Nobody, however, would be so bold as to deny that the United Nations is much more alive today than it was fifteen years ago. Today it is within sight of universality. The very fact that Mr. Louw was compelled to advance his ill-conceived and ill-directed arguments with so much vigour and skill bears eloquent testimony to the fact that the United Nations is today vibrant with life, and is not a moribund organization as he would have the world believe. 203. The Foreign Minister then went on to complain that the United Nations has continued to interfere in South Africa's domestic affairs in increasing measure and that lately it has begun to interfere in the domestic affairs of one of South Africa's neighbours, namely Southern Rhodesia. It is easy to understand the relationship between South Africa and Southern Rhodesia and to appreciate the anxiety of the Foreign Minister of South Africa concerning Southern Rhodesia. His particular complaint, however, is that his country"... has been singled out for calumny and vilification, in many cases by delegations whose own Governments are guilty of discriminatory practices and the oppression of large sections of their own populations" [ibid., para. 72]. In putting the matter in that juxtaposition, he gives away his whole case. In effect, he complains that the kettle has no right to call the pot black. This does not, however, prove that both are not equally black. 204. Mr. Louw then sought to take credit for, and find comfort in, South Africa’s record with regard to the fulfilment of some of its obligations to the United Nations, particularly in the matter of contributions. This does not, however, carry him very far. A well-to-do member of a club, who pays his dues punctually, but misbehaves in a manner utterly unbecoming to a member and inconsistent with his moral obligations, cannot derive much comfort from the fact that he is not in arrears with respect to his contributions. He tried to show that certain elements in the Western countries, and even certain Governments, are not completely satisfied with the United Nations. That is merely proof that the United Nations is seeking to achieve worth-while results in the service of humanity. If every Member of the United Nations were satisfied with it, it would be a condemnation of the United Nations as having utterly failed in its purposes and having degenerated into a well-run social and debating club. 205. There is too much of a tendency in certain quarters to condemn the United Nations and to predict its dissolution just because, with regard to some particular problem or other, the majority of the Members do not accept the views or policies of certain Members. That is an utterly untenable position. If the Organization is to be "a centre for harmonizing the actions of nations in the attainment of the common ends", which are set out in the first three paragraphs of Article 1 of the Charter, and is to include "... promoting and encouraging respect for human rights and for fundamental freedoms for all without distinction as to race, sex, language or religion", all its decisions and activities cannot be in accord with the views of every Member State. In some cases it is bound to press — and on occasion, heavily — upon delicate spots. Criticism of the United Nations in respect of such activities is another proof that it is seeking to pursue actively its purposes as set out in the Charter. 206. Again, one often hears and reads criticism of the United Nations which amounts, in effect, to the claim that he who pays the piper must be able to call the tune. The United Nations was not set up to become the instrument of the policies of any particular State or group of States, whatever may be their contribution towards its operation. It was set up to serve humanity and to secure the achievement of its purposes for the benefit of all mankind, not only certain sections of it. 207. We must recognize the truth that the United Nations, imperfect as it is and often as it meets with frustration in its progress towards the achievement of its ends, nevertheless stands between order and chaos and is the only international organization available for the pursuit and fulfilment of our common purposes. 208. Therefore, criticism of the kind to which the Foreign Minister of South Africa made reference in his speech, far from proving his case, furnishes proof that the Organization has not mortgaged its soul to any particular Power or group of Powers. 209. The Foreign Minister made only a very brief reference to what he described as "South Africa's policy of separate development, also known as apartheid", and that only for the purpose of emphasizing his plea that this is "essentially a domestic affair governed by Article 2, paragraph 7, of the Charter". The Assembly has, however, uniformly, with overwhelming majorities, rejected that plea on the ground that the disregard of fundamental human rights on a vast scale by a Member State is a matter appropriately falling within the authority of the United Nations and is not excluded by Article 2, paragraph 7 of the Charter. 210. Mr. Louw again sought to take shelter behind a plea of extenuation on the ground that "some of the sharpest attacks come from the Members and from political leaders of countries where racial discrimination is openly practised and where serious clashes between whites and non-whites frequently take place". As has been rightly pointed out during the course of the general debate, States where such conditions still persist recognize the evil and are strenuously engaged in adopting measures for its eradication. They do not, as in the case of South Africa, claim these conditions as a virtue. South Africa glories in them as the concluding words of the Foreign Minister once more proclaimed. He stated: "Let me assure the Assembly that South Africa will not be deterred by criticism and vilification, or by threats and intimidation, from moving forward on the road — let us say, to our 'New Frontier' — which it firmly believes is in the interests of all sections of our peoples." [Ibid., para. 111.] In other words, the Foreign Minister proclaims that South Africa will not listen to the voice of reason nor pay heed to considerations of fairness, justice and humanity. It is determined to persist in its course and to take the consequences. History shows what the consequences are bound to be. 211. An attempt to divide humanity into sections is in effect a denial of the unity of the Creator. Those who act as if men are not equal in effect deny the fundamental premise that we are all creatures and servants of one God, the All-Knowing, the All-Hearing, the Almighty. His laws and His decrees are supreme. They may be contravened and defied for a time, but persistence in such defiance attracts inevitable consequences and penalties which are also part of the law of God. 212. In South Africa and in some of its neighbouring territories a section of the population, comparative newcomers to those lands, have set up the doctrine and have adopted practices which divide men into superiors and inferiors, the privileged and the unprivileged, the favourites and those out of favour, the strong and the weak, the oppressors and the oppressed. If these doctrines and practices are not speedily set right the inevitable must follow. Those who exercise power and authority in these territories today must take heed of the stirring and the ferment in the rest of that continent. Humanity is on the march, in Africa as elsewhere. It will not be stayed; whatever and whoever seeks to halt it will be swept away. This is not a new phenomenon, history furnishes many illustrations of it and one of the most striking was enacted more than three thousand years ago, at the other extremity of the continent of Africa. The outlines of that tremendous event are common knowledge. I shall draw attention to only one aspect of it, which is thus described in the Koran: "We rehearse unto you a portion of the history of Moses and Pharaoh with truth, for the benefit of a people who would believe. "Verily, Pharaoh behaved arrogantly in the land, and divided the people thereof into sections. He sought to weaken one section of them, slaying their sons and sparing their women. Certainly, he was of the oppressors. But we desire to show favour unto those who are considered weak in the earth, and desire to make them leaders and to make them inheritors of our favours and to establish them in the earth. Thus we desired to show to Pharaoh and Haman and their hosts that which they feared from them." 213. It is the divine purpose that those who are deliberately reduced to a position of weakness in the earth shall be uplifted; they will become the recipients of God's favour, they will become leaders in their territories and God will make them inheritors of His favours. Let him who has ears hear and let him who has eyes see and take heed.