Mr. President, in congratulating you and the Assembly upon your election to preside over our deliberations, the thought of your brilliant and most distinguished service to the United Nations and to international law comes readily to mind. May I wish you all the success you deserve.
126. Today being the first time that I come to this rostrum since the election of U Thant as Acting Secretary-General of the United Nations, it is my pleasant duty, too, to greet him and once again wish him well, and to express my Government's appreciation of the excellent work which he has already done in this capacity and which, it is confidently expected, will be a prelude to more of his endeavours in devoted and enlightened service to the United Nations.
127. As we look ahead at the present session of the General Assembly, we may conceive of it as dealing mainly with disarmament, decolonization and economic development. Although it cannot be reasonable expected to tackle with finality these vast aspects of human evolution, let us hope and so exert ourselves that it may make notable steps forward in relation to these and other weighty matters on our agenda.
128. Disarmament is so far a mere word, a dream or a vision. Alas, it is not yet a reality, or even the beginning of one. Rarely has a word been more firmly confined within the bounds of language than has this word "disarmament". Millions of other words have been translated into reality, have stepped at will into fact. But so far fact and reality remain out of bounds to this one world, and disarmament remains, for all practical purposes, an abstraction waiting painfully in the anteroom of realization.
129. We are, however, encouraged — even if mildly — by the glimmer of hope looming over the current negotiations, which may, if successful, achieve an agreement on the cessation of nuclear arms experiments. Such an agreement, in addition to its own obvious great importance in terms of human, economic and political values, would serve as a stepping-stone to wider successes in the quest for general and complete disarmament.
130. My Government, with many others, supports the proposal, originally made by the Mexican representative at the Conference of the Eighteen-Nation Disarmament Committee, that a target date, 1 January 1963, he set for the cessation of all tests. I recall here that this date has been accepted in principle by the Governments of the United States, the United Kingdom and the Soviet Union, and I share with the Secretary of State for External Affairs of Canada the wish that the date for the cessation of all tests could be earlier.
131. Meanwhile, our concern over the dangers to humanity's health and future posed by the continuance of nuclear arms experiments is unfortunately confirmed by the report of the United Nations Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation [A/5216], which has been submitted to this session of the Assembly. A parallel economic report on the effect of those experiments would vie with this health report in cheerlessness. Other speakers have enlarged — and I am sure that still others will enlarge — on these topics and put in clear outline the relevant facts and figures showing how very high are the heights which human folly has reached in the field of armament and the feverish competition for a so-called supremacy in arms.
132. The gateway to the vast field of disarmament seems at present to be an agreement on the cessation of nuclear arms tests. The recent disarmament negotiations in Geneva, in which for the first time non-aligned countries took part, have almost led to such an agreement. That we have fallen short of that goal does not hide the fact that the gap between the Eastern and Western positions in this connexion is at present narrower than it has ever been before. That gap may not be as easily bridgeable as a casual look would tend to suggest. But that is one more reason why we should all redouble our efforts to produce forthwith that vital agreement which the world is looking forward to with extreme eagerness and anxiety and which has been called for by the various resolutions of this Assembly exhorting the States concerned to refrain from further test explosions.
133. Most closely linked with the cessation of nuclear arms experiments are the prohibition of the dissemination of such weapons and the consideration of Africa as a denuclearized zone. It will be recalled that the Assembly dealt with these two aspects of disarmament and adopted resolutions concerning them. These resolutions have not been well heeded in relation to the prohibition of the dissemination of nuclear arms and were disregarded, until Algeria's independence, in relation to the denuclearization of Africa which, now that Africa is becoming a continent of independent States, has a better prospect of becoming effective.
134. A few words may not be out of place here concerning the role of the non-aligned countries in the disarmament negotiations. Referring particularly to the eight countries which have joined these negotiations in Geneva, several speakers have pointed out that these countries are a cross-section of the present-day world and that their presence reflects the fact that disarmament is the concern, not exclusively of the big Powers, but of all countries, large and small. It was said, further, that these non-aligned countries bring a fresh perspective to the negotiations and may play a useful role in breaking the stalemate which has been obstructing serious progress on the road to agreement.
135. As previously stated by my Government's delegation in Geneva, our concept of the role of the eight non-aligned members of the Eighteen-Nation Committee on Disarmament is that they, by joining the other members, have become part of a team and should play together in mutual understanding and according to the rules of the game.
136. It is gratifying to note that the non-aligned members of the Committee have in their turn contributed, even if modestly, to the progress of the disarmament negotiations and that their proposals are considered by many to be widely acceptable as a basis for negotiations and eventual agreement.
137. Before closing my delegation's brief comment on disarmament, I should like to mention the parallelism between it and the use of outer space, and the bearing which each has on the other.
138. My Government is a member of the Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space and has submitted to it a proposal outlining a code for international cooperation in the peaceful uses of outer space. The Committee referred this proposal to the General Assembly for consideration [A/5181], and we hope that the General Assembly will give it its unanimous support.
139. We meet this year in an atmosphere of mixed augury.
140. I have just submitted a brief comment on disarmament and the armaments race and have expressed my Government's deep concern over the present dim prospect for real and substantial progress on the road to that general and complete disarmament, under strict international control, for which we are all striving with utmost determination but so far with little success.
141. Furthermore, the Berlin situation remains fraught with danger, despite the laudable and continuous efforts to keep it from bursting into flames.
142. The situation around Cuba is a source of concern to many lovers of peace and of the rule of law in international relations. We trust that such concern will eventually prove to have been unwarranted and that the principle of non-intervention by any country, whichever country it may be, in any other country's internal affairs will be steadily and soberly honoured and respected by all concerned.
143. Recent developments in Yemen also call for a similar reminder that there should be no foreign intervention whatsoever by any country in Yemen's internal affairs.
144. The independence of Oman is still disregarded by the United Kingdom. The southern part of the Arabian peninsula continues to be the victim of both British domination and British scheming.
145. The situation in the Congo continues to defy all endeavours for a definitive solution. Among other things, we were told a few days ago, by the United Nations Officer-in-charge there, that Katanga continues to recruit foreign mercenaries and receive foreign military supplies. These charges cannot be lightly brushed aside by Mr. Tshombe's describing them as being like the stories of sea serpents or the abominable snowman. They show further that foreign imperialist intervention is still very active in the Congo, as is co-operation and support for secessionist Katanga in defiance of United Nations resolutions upholding the real independence and integrity of the Congo. Unless we all decide — and respect the decision — to abide by these resolutions, the Congo question will remain both unsolved and explosive. The responsibility for all this should be laid at the door of the countries which, by their direct or indirect intervention, are to blame.
146. Racial discrimination in South Africa is being maintained and even made worse as we were assured by South Africa's disdainful Minister for Foreign Affairs here a few days ago,
147. An extension of this attitude of defiance of the United Nations and world public opinion by the Government of South Africa is that Government's position and action in relation to South West Africa.
148. Still another extension is the treatment and the denial of rights, including independence, which are suffered by the original inhabitants of Southern Rhodesia, and from which the Government of the United Kingdom cannot exonerate itself, as it remains principally responsible in this regard.
149. Parallel to all this, a most ominous situation arises from the fact that the Palestine question remains unsolved.
150. On the other hand, Laos, West Irian and Algeria are luminous names on the map and are medals of honour to statesmanship — wise, patient and determined statesmanship.
151. In this connexion, we give credit to all those to whom credit is due — most particularly the people of Algeria, who unwaveringly kept faith with freedom, and whose sons, in hundreds of thousands, have died willingly so that freedom may live.
152. Algeria today, still pale and haggard from the trials and ravages of a battle, marches forward carrying with her stirring memories of a recent past and new hopes for a future full of promise. The world owes her help in the healing of her wounds and in making up for the bitterness and the moral and material havoc of an irretrievable past.
153. A great debt is particularly owed by all the Arab people to the people of Algeria who, immune from the treachery which has bedevilled Palestine, have been able, as well as most willing, to fight bravely and honourably for liberty and their rights, and who have thus contributed in abundance towards the redemption and rehabilitation of the name of all the Arabs.
154. Will Palestine's turn come for a decent and, by now, long overdue solution which would fully restore to the Arabs of Palestine all their rights? Or shall we go on from year to year throwing these people, as refugees, on the mercy of a reluctant world and, for those of them who are in Israel, allowing them to be treated there, in their own country, as worse than third-rate citizens, as has been amply demonstrated on previous occasions by my delegation and many other delegations?
155. The United Nations has been unable to solve the questions of Palestine, not because it cannot be solved, but because of a shockingly persistent unwillingness by many to face this question squarely and make in regard to it the only honest choice between right and wrong, justice and injustice, morality and immorality.
156. This year of grace 1962 marks the fifteenth anniversary of the partition and dismemberment of Palestine in the year of disgrace 1947. Fifteen years are an eternity when they mean, as do these fifteen years, an era of intolerable suffering and humiliation to a whole nation, in this case the Arab nation of Palestine. But they shall not make the just and righteous forget or forgo the sacred rights of this or any other nation.
157. I beg leave to comment at this point on certain related developments which have taken place and which have been announced during the past few days. I refer to the recent decision by the Government of the United States of America to start negotiations with Israel for supplying it with missiles, a matter which is inevitably of a nature to prompt it to more aggressiveness and more hostility.
158. The record of Israel aggression should have served as a reminder of that country's real personality and of the evil policies behind its creation which give it continuous and most undeserved support. We have, for years, been told — and they who told us practised what they preached — that Israel must have and maintain equality in arms with all the Arab States combined. That position has been persisted in, in close and provoking conjunction with the long series of Israel aggressions which have been condemned many times by the United Nations, and which included participation in the tripartite adventure of 1956.
159. I do not need to belabour the view that such a position is untenable. Would those who adopt it, who activate it, accept a parallel position and a similar practice relating to one of their neighbours, even if that neighbour has never committed an aggression? Would they, further, accept it, and practise it, if that neighbour is an incorrigible aggressor and is even a usurper of the country it occupies? I merely ask the question and leave everyone to derive his own conclusions.
160. The position of my Government relating to Palestine is firmly based on the inalienable rights of the Arab nation of Palestine. My country, which has borne the brunt and by far the main sacrifices of supporting the Palestinian Arabs in the struggle for the restoration of these rights, will unflinchingly continue to give unstinted support to the Arab brothers and sisters of Palestine and resist most strongly any attempt, openly or by devious means, to surround their rights with equivocation, detract from them or fritter them away. Thus, and to the utmost of our ability and our means, shall we in the United Arab Republic be, as ever, taking the only stand in this regard in which we believe and for which we shall strive until right is done and wrong is thoroughly undone.
161. I have referred previously to decolonization as one of the main features of the present session of the Assembly. The process of decolonization is taking its course, as witness the many new and most welcome Members of the United Nations and the many others which are expected to join it in future.
162. While we greet the new Members, Burundi, Jamaica, Rwanda and Trinidad and Tobago, and are sure that their presence in this Organization will make it richer and more powerful, we deeply regret and resent the persistent colonialism of Portugal and several other Powers which, in Africa alone, obstructs the independence of no less than twenty-four countries.
163. There are, moreover, two remarks which are of special relevance here. The first is that too little attention has been paid to the fact that what world political Zionism did and is doing to Palestine and its Arab people is distinctly the worst expression of colonialism which history and our present generation have ever known. The usual procedure by colonialists has been to get hold of the reins of power in some other countries, while the local people remain there, and invariably to state and repeat that the intention is to prepare them for independence, for home rule or self-government, as it was alternatively said. Through struggle and sacrifices, or through a residue of goodwill and foresight, independence would actually be attained in due course.
164. But in the case of Palestine we are facing an outright invasion which has entrenched itself in the country, declared it to be its own, and which has deracinated and supplanted the lawful Arab people and replaced them by a flow, that still continues, of imported and motley segments of misled Jewry, while claiming loudly that there is no room for the return of the Arabs to their homes. Moreover, Israel which lives on outside charity and alms-giving extends so-called financial and economic aid to numerous countries in Asia and Africa as a bait and a spider's web. This, in its turn, is contradictory. But it falls, nevertheless, into the same pattern of political Zionist action which has set Israel as a spearhead of colonialism in its ugliest and most ferocious form.
165. The second remark to which I referred as relevant here relates to the recurrence of colonialism and foreign domination in new forms which, no matter what they are, does not make them less reprehensible. Honesty and foresight will not permit us, on the one hand, to live under the illusion that colonialism is over and done with while, on the other, we allow its return.
166. A basic approach to this problem is economic development, which is distinctly among the most effective means of bolstering and safeguarding the newly acquired independence of many countries, and of guaranteeing world peace and prosperity. World economy should not and cannot continue safely on the has is that most countries produce mainly primary materials and get for them prices which are often lower than the cost of production, while a few other countries produce manufactured goods and get exorbitant prices for them which are out of proportion to the prices of primary materials. With the exception of a few years before 1955, the prices of primary materials have for many decades been actually below the cost of production, as I have already submitted. This is a fact which is both painful and indisputable, especially if we take into account the actual return or capital outlay and the actual wages in the countries producing primary materials, compared with the fair returns and wages which should prevail. Indeed, the return on capital outlay in these countries has been almost nil and wages have been much below what is fair and necessary even for mere reasonable sustenance.
167. One principal and well-known result is that the rich nations get richer and the poor get poorer. Another result, which also should serve as a warning and a strong reminder, is that the highly industrialized countries would go on producing more goods without there being any real prospect for those goods finding adequate markets throughout the world.
168. A Western writer paraphrased this situation correctly as follows: "The basic fact is that the world will not be a safe place if hungry nations are not given an opportunity to pay for their own development by selling their goods to the West. More than that, Europe's future is increasingly going to depend on development of overseas markets for the export of industrial goods. Where else will Europe find those markets except in the under-developed world? And how can those markets grow if the poor nations are denied their fair share of world trade?"
169. On 26 September 1962 the President of Pakistan reminded us here that the Acting Secretary-General had expressed the view that the present division of the world into rich and poor countries was much more real, much more serious, and ultimately much more explosive than the division of the world on ideological grounds. The President then told us: "... 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." [1133rd meeting, para. 19.] The President of Pakistan continued: "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. "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 furnished goods. If this were to happen, it would amount to re-establishing imperialism of the worst kind, which may well lead to disastrous consequences. "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." [Ibid., paras. 20-22.]
170. I ask leave to refer now to the Conference on the Problems of Economic Development which was held in Cairo during the month of July this year and attended by thirty-six countries from Asia, Africa, Latin America and Europe. Addressing the Conference at its opening meeting, the President of the United Arab Republic said: "This conference represents hope for progress and for peace. The conference realizes that these two great hopes cannot be reached without widespread international co-operation, the scope of which would not only embrace the participating States, but would extend beyond that sphere to encompass the whole world, in the profound belief that progress is for all mankind and peace their right, transcending all frontiers." The President of the United Arab Republic added: "The Conference does not represent an alliance of nations aspiring to development while bearing a grudge against those States which have gone ahead or being envious of what they have achieved. "The Conference in this sense represents a new kind of international endeavour. "The word 'against' is not listed in its agenda. "The word 'for' is in every line of its agenda. "We are all for progress and for peace."
171. The Conference summed up the result of its deliberations in a declaration made on 18 July 1962, which dealt principally with internal problems of development, co-operation among developing countries, problems of international trade, regional economic groupings, economic aid for development, international technical assistance, and United Nations development activities. The Cairo Declaration of Developing Countries has been submitted to the General Assembly as an item for consideration at the present session [see A/5162].
172. In the meantime, the United Arab Republic, for its part, is setting out as speedily as possible on the road of development. The High Dam project on the Nile continues to be carried out with utmost diligence; industrialization is proceeding at a rapid pace, agricultural reform gives increasingly its encouraging returns, and the Suez Canal renders its ever improved services to international navigation and goodwill. By these and similar endeavours the United Arab Republic is trying to contribute its share in the process of transforming the big part of international economy, which has been one of imperialism and foreign exploitation, to an economy of independence and service to all peoples.
173. Clearly, the world to which we all aspire and for which we strive, a world which is within our reach through determination, goodwill and common sense, is one where international peace and security are maintained, with, as the Charter states, the least possible diversion, for armaments, of human and economic resources, while modern science and enlightened foresight make the rich among us richer and the poor less poor, pending the day when the world will, as it can, abound with riches for all, and dignity and happiness for our human race.