62. Mr. President, allow me first of all to offer you my delegation's sincere congratulations on your election as President of the General Assembly at its seventeenth session. Our Assembly has gained in stature by selecting, as its guide and arbiter, a man of high moral and intellectual standing. Of all the high offices you have held in the course of a brilliant career, I shall only mention that of judge at the International Court of Justice. To this office you brought not only your undisputed legal knowledge but a keen sense of duty and the profound conviction that right and justice, and not might, should be the supreme law-of the world.
63. As an eminent Asian you will carry on the tradition of that great African, Mongi Slim, who presided over our deliberations at the sixteenth session with discernment and distinction and whose election was a source of legitimate pride to all Africans.
64. I am also happy to welcome the admission to the United Nations of five new Members: Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago, Rwanda, Burundi and Algeria. In a few days' time we shall, no doubt, be extending an equally warm welcome to Uganda, which will bring the number of our Members up to 110. We offer them our hearty congratulations and we hope that they will work in peace, harmony and wisdom for the good of their peoples.
65. Rwanda and Burundi have a special place in our affections because it was the United Nations that decided that they were ready for independence. They gave proof of their maturity in the weeks following their liberation and, eager to demonstrate their interest in the African and Malagasy Union, that joined us at the Conference held recently at Libreville.
66. We must also congratulate the United Kingdom, Belgium and France, which have given this proof of their devotion to the ideals of tile United Nations Charter.
67. As for Algeria, it is with deep emotion that my country welcomes this proud and heroic people to the community of nations. The fighting has now ceased after seven years of bloodshed and sacrifice. The "peace of the brave" for which General de Gaulle hoped has come to pass.
68. Once again France has reminded the world that since 1789 it has been the cradle of liberty; in less than eight years, it has given eighteen African countries their freedom and its prestige has never stood so high; moreover it is still providing disinterested aid to some of these countries. As a great journalist wrote recently, "It is now drawing dividends from its generosity"
69. The improvement in the political situation in the Congo is a source of great satisfaction to us. We sincerely hope that the plan drawn up by Secretary-General U Thant, of federalist lines will succeed, in ending the present difficulties and that this country can be reunified as soon as possible. Our friends in the African and Malagasy Union and we ourselves feel that Katanga is an integral and inseparable part of the Congo. We appeal to the wisdom of the Congolese leaders and people to ensure that reunification is achieved without there being any need to resort to coercive measures. My Government, for its part, considers that the matter should be settled by the Congolese between the Congolese.
70. In four days' time the Malagasy Republic will be celebrating the third anniversary of its foundation. Throughout this crucial period of its history, there has been no disturbance of law and order and our democratic institutions have functioned smoothly: a National Assembly, freely elected by universal suffrage shortly after the proclamation of independence; a Senate; a Government based on a parliamentary majority and, at the highest-level, a Head of State, President Philibert Tsiranana, who was the son of a cowherd, as he himself likes to recall, and rose, step by step, to become the chosen and respected leader of his country. Under his guidance we achieved independence peacefully and soberly. In our country, all the fundamental freedoms are safeguarded and our people live in peace and calm. The opposition freely exercises its rights and all opinions are expressed openly, without fear.
71. I should like to remind you that Madagascar is a mosaic of various ethnic groups, whose eighteen tribes have none the less learnt to live together in harmony and perfect friendship, on a tiny continent where everything breathes calm, industry and happiness. I only give you this background because it serves far better than any long speeches to convey my country's attitude towards the grave and sometimes dramatic problems which will be discussed by this Assembly.
72. Upon its admission to the United Nations the Malagasy Republic affirmed its faith in the principles of the Charter and its firm determination to do all in its power to ensure that they are respected.
73. We are convinced of the need to uphold the authority of the Secretary-General, who, now that he has the services of his own hand-picked staff, should be free to take on his own initiative, necessary steps to apply the decisions of our Assembly. My delegation would like to pay a tribute to the efforts made by the Secretary-General, whose competence and courage it commends. It hopes that he will be unanimously reelected to office and is confident that he will intensify his efforts to give the new Member States an opportunity for greater participation in the administration of our Organization, in particular by arranging for an increasingly equitable distribution of posts in the Secretariat.
74. One of the principles of the Charter to which my country is particularly attached, is the right of peoples to independence through self-determination. In all circumstances my delegation will subordinate its actions to this principle, which it will place above all other considerations. It was for that reason that it was faced with the painful duty of withholding its support from the Agreement which decided the fate of West Irian [See A/5170, annex], for it felt that the right of the 700,000 inhabitants of this country freely to decide their future was not adequately safeguarded in should have been exercised immediately upon the completion of the United Nations mandate. A large part of my country's population is of the same origin as the people of Indonesia; my country can therefore have none but fraternal feelings towards the latter. Now that a majority of me Assembly has ratified the Agreement, my delegation earnestly appeals to the Indonesian Government and people and to the United Nations to regard it as their duty, when the time comes to respect the inalienable and sacred right of the people of West Irian freely to decide their own future.
75. We want to see the right of self-determination accorded to all the peoples whom the events of the past twenty-five years have cruelly and unjustly divided: Germany, Berlin, Korea, Tibet and Viet-Nam. And above all we want that right for all our African brethren who are still tinder foreign rule. We ask it, we demand it, for Angola, Mozambique, the enclave of Cabinda, Northern and Southern Rhodesia, South West Africa and Nyasaland. We shall go on with the work that has been done in the Committee of Seventeen, on which we have the honour to serve. We consider that, in future, only those States which recognize the right of the peoples at present under their rule to self-determination and independence should be entitled to a seat in this Assembly. We are also resolutely opposed to the policy of racial discrimination practised in such places as South Africa, which is an intolerable violation of the most sacred rights of the human being.
76. In this, we shall be faithful to our undertaking to respect the spirit of the Charter and we know that we are expressing the profound conviction of all Africans when we say that their independence will not be fully and finally assured until all African peoples, free or freed, take their place in this Assembly.
77. The Malagasy Republic is convinced that the Union of all the African States is essential if this aim is to be achieved. This union can only be brought about in respect for the integrity and independence of each country. Casting aside vague and dangerous illusions, the Malagasy Republic feels that it would be unrealistic and even hazardous to try to rush matters and to strive immediately for a form of union that would not respect these principles and for which, in any case, neither the people or the leaders are yet ready,
78. The first step is to achieve agreement on certain broad principles and general courses of action and, to borrow an inspired phrase used by the Minister for Foreign Affairs of Cameroon, to proceed by means of large concentric circles.
79. Taking this realistic approach, the Malagasy Republic and eleven African States, dominated by the same ideal of peace through wisdom, formed the African and Malagasy Union and the African and Malagasy Organization for Economic Co-operation Broadening this firm basis for union still further, the Malagasy Republic joined the so-called Monrovia group, which at the Conference recently held at Lagos decided to co-ordinate the efforts of twenty-one African countries and Madagascar so that we shall all work together for the maintenance, of peace on our continent and for the betterment of our peoples. No one is debarred from these group. They are open to all who uphold the same principles and they are prepared to give a fraternal welcome to anyone who wants to sit down with them and discuss all matters of interest to Africa and the rest of the World.
80. My Government feels, however, that in view of the pressing political and, above all, economic problems which face us, no group of countries, however powerful; can live in a vacuum. Consequently, ever since France, as a result-of freely conducted negotiations, granted us independence and international sovereignty, the Malagasy Republic has endeavoured to maintain and even to strengthen the ties of trust and affection which have formed between our two countries over the years. Genuine co-operation, safeguarding the sovereignty of each State has been initiated. Furthermore, in circumstances conducive to both freedom and dignity, my country acceded to the Treaty of Rome, which has enabled trade relations to be established between the six European countries and the associated, African countries, for the benefit of all parties concerned. I should emphasize here that there is nothing, absolutely nothing, in these agreements that can impair our independence or dignity, that they could never stand in the way of our Industrialization and that they in no way prevent us from trading freely with any other country in the world, regardless of any such consideration as the political allegiance of the country concerned.
81. Pursuing both in the economic and the political spheres, a realistic policy based on peaceful coexistence, Madagascar intends to maintain friendly relations of mutual trust with all countries without exception. The only condition on which we absolutely insist is that these relations must never entail any interference in our domestic affairs.
82. The developing countries enthusiastically welcomed the generous initiative which led to the historic decision to institute the United Nations Development Decade [resolution 1710. (XVI) ]. The excellent survey carried out by Secretary-General U Thant and his staff provides us with a solid and realistic basis and we hope that the various stages envisaged will be completed promptly so that the enormous gap — whose dangerous and explosive potentialities have been stressed by many speakers — between standards of living among the different sections of the world’s population may be diminished.
83. Spurred on by its Head of State and by an energetic Government, my country for its part has resolutely set out on the arduous road to economic independence. Proceeding with the plan which he described to the Second Committee in November 1959, President Tsiranana is steering our economy, which is still basically agricultural, towards industrialization.
84. A radical policy for progress and development was initiated three years ago. While broader achievements and large-scale programmes are not being neglected, a considerable proportion of this action is directed towards giving each peasant direct assistance and raising his level of living. Co-operative activities have been greatly intensified. While leaving scope for private initiative, emulation and free competition, its purpose is to establish large groups of producers, farmers and craftsmen, to control the profits of middlemen and, in short, to ensure that the producer receives the optimum remuneration for his labour and his efforts.
85. In the social field, there have been important achievements. Technical training has proceeded apace so that our country may be equipped with the necessary cadres. The University of Tananarive, or "Charles de Gaulle Foundation" as it is called, will shortly become a focal point for the dissemination of culture and learning throughout the whole area of the Indian Ocean. Primary and secondary education are making rapid progress; in 1962, 7,955 classes will be providing 500,000 Malagasy children with an education. A nation-wide drive to promote co-operation, initiated by the Government, has resulted in concerted action for the complete eradication of illiteracy, even in the remotest corners of the Malagasy bush.
86. In the matter of public health, the more serious tropical endemic diseases are dying out and, in some areas, malaria and leprosy have been completely eradicated. Madagascar is grateful for the valuable assistance provided by the World Health Organization. But the demographic curve of our population, which is one of the highest in the world, presents increasingly acute social problems every year.
87. Although it is now concentrating on weighty problems of internal reorganization, the Malagasy Republic cannot remain indifferent to the international issues confronting our Organization, on some of which our very survival depends. Foremost among these problems are, disarmament and the elimination of atomic weapons,
88. My country, which is firmly in favour of simultaneous and controlled disarmament, hopes that the great Powers will agree without delay to discontinue tests of nuclear and thermo-nuclear weapons, as a first decisive step towards the total abolition of these monstrous weapons. We entreat them to heed the anguished appeal of world public opinion. The discontinuance of these tests is to be sought not for Africa alone but throughout the entire world.
89. As many speakers have pointed out, the vast sums that would be released as a result of the reduction and subsequent abolition of armaments could be used to transform the face of our planet and to banish hunger, poverty and the problem of under-development.
90. Since the sixteenth session, we have all been admiring the conquests made in the realm of outer space, which have considerably broadened the dimensions of the world in which man is evolving. We heartily congratulate the Soviet and American astronauts and scientists on their exploits and hope that the United Nations will promote agreements that will prevent these admirable achievements from becoming instruments of war and destruction.
91. I should now like to say a few words on matters relating to the internal functioning of our Organization. As nearly all speakers have pointed out, the increase in membership calls for structural reforms and improvements in methods. It is essential that the principal organs, such as the Security Council and the Economic and Social Council, should be enlarged, so that the new Members may have an opportunity of expressing their views.
92. As regards the methods of work of the General Assembly, my delegation welcomes the commendable initiative taken by President Mongi Slim, who has submitted a constructive plan [see A/5123]. No one is better qualified than this eminent specialist to suggest the necessary improvements and alterations, and my delegation hopes that before we conclude our session we shall have drawn up a set of provisions that will expedite our work and make it more fruitful. The General Assembly might well decide that a study of the Mongi Slim plan should be undertaken, either by the General Committee or by a small ad hoc subcommittee. This is a field in which politics have no place, so let us leave it to the experts.
93. The year 1962 has been one of anxiety and uncertainty for the world. But although the atmosphere is still constrained, we can at least note with relief that no new armed conflict has broken out in any part of the globe and that, on the contrary, the fighting that was still going on at the beginning of 1962 has come to an end in the Congo, in Laos and, above all, in Algeria. Let us thank God and hope that, at least until the eighteenth session, the guns will be silent and all disputes will be settled peacefully with the help of the United Nations, which embodies the conscience of the world.
94. Let us seek to dispel the suspicions and mistrust which still divide the world into two groups so that they may settle their differences in peace at the conference table, by means of free negotiations undertaken in good faith and in a sincere desire to allay the anxieties of millions of men, women and children who are deeply concerned about the fate of the world. This is the hope which my country, its leader and Government cherish at the outset of the seventeenth session.