168. In the first place, Mr. President, allow me to congratulate you upon your election to the Presidency of the seventeenth session of the General Assembly of the United Nations. This is, indeed, an election which reflects your outstanding qualities for this most important position, and one which brings satisfaction to your many friends in the international field. The Somali delegation, in particular, welcomes your appointment, being aware of the singular role which you played when the question of my country's independence was under discussion at the United Nations. We are confident that your talents and wide experience in international and diplomatic affairs will be of great value to this world body. Your appointment, too, is a tribute to our sister nation of Pakistan, with which my country shares the closest relations.
169. It is also most appropriate that my delegation should extend a cordial welcome to the newly independent States of Rwanda, Burundi, Jamaica, and, Trinidad and Tobago, on their-admission to this Organization. My delegation is confident that they will contribute significantly to the achievement of the objectives to which all of us here have dedicated, ourselves.
170. As a co-sponsor of the resolution supporting the admission of Algeria into this Assembly, it is appropriate that my delegation should pay tribute to the valiant and heroic struggle of the Algerian people for independence. This struggle, which continued for seven and a half years against superior forces, was a graphic example of the determination of a people to be free from alien rule and to be allowed to live and govern their own lives. The struggle pointed to other morals too. It showed that colonialism is moribund, and that, no matter how, fierce a stand colonialists may take to maintain their grip over another people, the will of the latter, in the last analysis, is the paramount and deciding factor, The struggle also proved that colonialism cannot be maintained at gun-point and that there are no forces in this world which can prevent the inexorable march of a united people towards the goals of freedom and independence.
171. Of course, we must not lose sight of the equally heroic part played by those French leaders, led by President Charles de Gaulle, who acted against considerable opposition to prove to the French people; and indeed to the world, that the supreme test in democratic government is the upholding of the rule of law and the practical application of the cardinal principle of the right to self-determination.
172. Furthermore, it gives my delegation great joy and deep satisfaction to welcome the presence of Uganda in the community of free and independent nations.
173. With the independence of Uganda there “now remain only two, countries in East Africa which are still, struggling for their liberation; They are our neighbouring and sister; countries of Kenya and Zanzibar. It is our hope that the attitude of the United Kingdom towards these two territories will be characterized by the same liberal and enlightened policies which have freed, so many other countries in recent years. In this respect. we ask the United Kingdom to take immediate measures to grant the African peoples of Kenya and Zanzibar their freedom without further delay.
174. If it has been our good fortune today to share the happiness and joy which has followed the successful solution of the Algerian problem, and if we today have greeted the independence of Rwanda, Burundi, Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago, and our most recent independent sister State of Uganda, we must not relax our efforts to ensure that the many other African people who are still under colonial bondage are given the same opportunity of exercising their right to self-determination. I have in mind Angola, Mozambique, South West Africa, the Rhodesias and Nyasaland and other African territories.
175. In the African territories of Angola and Mozambique we are witnessing a colonialist war of aggression of the most brutal type. Here modern armaments, are being openly employed by Portugal to suppress the demand of the local inhabitants for independence. Practical measures must be taken to induce Portugal to accept the resolution adopted by the General Assembly last year calling upon the country to undertake reforms in Angola without further delay and to transfer all powers to the Angolan people. Meanwhile, the atrocities which the Portuguese authorities are inflicting on innocent African peoples, both in Angola and in Mozambique, must be brought to an early end.
176. On the question of Southern Rhodesia the action which must be taken is summarized in two resolutions, both sponsored by the African-Asian group and supported by the vast majority of the representatives at the, United Nations — General Assembly resolution 1747 (XVI) and the draft resolution submitted to the Assembly by the Fourth Committee [A/5256 and Corr.1, para. 17] — which in all earnestness call for: (a) the convening of a constitutional conference, in which all political parties should take part, to ensure, among other things, the rights of the majority of the people, on the basis of one man, one vote, and at the same time the "repeal of the constitution of December 1961, which did not provide justice to the indigenous people of Southern Rhodesia; (b) the immediate release of Joshua Nkomo, President of the Zimbabwe African Peoples Union, and other nationalist leaders who have been restricted, detained or imprisoned; (c) the lifting of the ban on the Zimbabwe African Peoples Union.
177. Resolutions, however, cannot change the situation if certain Member States do not act with responsibility, foresight and co-operation. The keystone to the solution of the problem in Southern Rhodesia lies in the hands of the United Kingdom Government, which must discharge its responsibilities in accordance with the wishes and welfare of the African people inhabiting the territory.
178. In any discussion on colonialism one cannot avoid discussing the problem of' South West Africa, mainly for two reasons. Firstly, it is unique in that the country being a mandated territory is an inescapable responsibility of the United Nations. Secondly, it presents the unique example of a country being the victim of the most vicious form of colonialism and being compelled to suffer in this-condition despite the sympathy of the whole world.
179. My country, being a member of the Special Committee for South West Africa, is most concerned about events which involve not only the condition of the indigenous peoples there, but also the visit of the United Nations representatives to that territory in May of this year.
180. An eye-witness account by the Chairman and Vice-Chairman of the United Nations Special Committee for South West Africa confirms that the administration of the territory continues to be pervaded by the rigorous application of apartheid in all aspects of the life of the African population. It is evident not only that they are being racially segregated and discriminated, against, but that their paramount interests are being subordinated to those of a small minority of Europeans.
181. The same United Nations representatives are convinced that the objective followed by the South African Government in its administration of the mandated territory has consistently been, and continues to be, in utter contradiction to the principles and purposes of the mandate, the Charter of the United Nations, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and the enlightened conscience of mankind.
182. It is pertinent to mention here that the report of the Chairman and the Vice-Chairman of the Special Committee [A/5212, part II], which shed light on the situation in South West Africa, has been endorsed by the United Nations Special Committee for that Territory. Their conclusions and recommendations have, in turn, been adopted by the Committee of seventeen members.
183. The Special Committee for South West Africa is, to use its own words, convinced that "unless an early and satisfactory settlement of the question is made, the situation could result in a serious political disaster with far-reaching consequences". This being so the matter is indeed a serious one.
184. The Somali delegation has already accepted the advisory opinion of the International Court of Justice stating that the political status of South West Africa is that of a mandated territory, and that responsibility for its affairs falls within the competence of the United Nations. We are also watching with interest the efforts of Liberia and Ethiopia on behalf of the African countries, in their case against South Africa before the same judicial body.
185. If is clear that the invitation which was extended by South Africa to the Chairman and Vice-Chairman of the Special Committee on South West Africa was not motivated by genuine intentions, but that its sole object was to deceive them as subsequent events have so vividly demonstrated.
186. It is important, therefore, that speedy and effective action be taken by the General Assembly to renew its efforts to send another team of United Nations representatives to South West Africa so that General Assembly resolution 1702 (XVI) is fully implemented. In this connexion my delegation will, at the appropriate time and place, move concrete proposals concerning the representative body of the United Nations which we feel should carry out the important tasks set out in the resolution.
187. However, should South Africa refuse to cooperate with this world Organization in accepting the United Nations authority over the mandated territory of South West Africa, my delegation will have no alternative but to endorse fully that part of the Special Committee’s recommendation which suggests the ultimate revocation of the mandate and the simultaneous take-over of administrative responsibilities of South West Africa by the United Nations.
188. Colonialism, undoubtedly, presents a real threat to world peace in that the tense situation prevailing in the above-mentioned territories, as well as in some other parts of Africa, provides all the ingredients for conflict and strife. No compromise can be made with regard to the legitimate and inherent right of every people to exercise freely the right to self-determination. It is, therefore, incumbent on the United Nations to secure the conditions under which this fundamental principle of its Charter can be implemented. My country has, time and again, voiced the opinion that the solution to many of the political problems which beset this troubled world, in particular colonial problems, can be found by applying this basic right unreservedly, within the spirit and letter of the Charter.
189. In my speech to this Assembly last year [1027th meeting, para, 145], I was impelled to draw attention to the unhappy and menacing situation which exists in the Horn of Africa and which has been caused by the brutal partitioning of the Somali people and its land by colonial Powers during the latter part of the nineteenth Century. I use the term unhappy because the artificial boundaries which have been drawn across the Somali lands divide brother from brother, impede normal social and economic development and perpetuate the subjection of a large number of Somali people to political institutions and governments which are completely alien to them in character, in purpose and in form.
190. The Somali Republic, which was formed in July 1960, is at present the only part of the Somali territories which is ruled by an independent Somali Government. The other parts are still under the colonial rule of the United Kingdom, France and Ethiopia; and it is in these, areas that the Somali people demand that they be set free, and accorded the right to determine their own destiny. In two of the three remaining portions still under colonial administration there are signs that the problem may be equitably settled by allowing the inhabitants the chance of self-determination.
191. In fact, the British Government has pledged that a special commission will soon visit Kenya to ascertain the wishes of the Somalis inhabiting the Northern Province of that territory. This is in accordance with their, publicly expressed desire of seeking independence and reuniting themselves with their mother-land.
192. In French-administered Somaliland there is hope that the French Government will speed up political development in that territory and prepare the way for the local people to decide their own future. Now that the valiant people of Algeria have been granted their independence, French Somaliland represents the fast vestige of French colonial rule in Africa. It is to be expected, therefore, that the spirit of emancipation which has characterized French policy toward their former African possessions will be applied to no less degree to our brothers in French Somaliland.
193. It is unfortunate, however, that while the prospects for freedom have improved for our brothers under British and French rule, there should be so much reluctance and so great opposition by the Ethiopian Government to grant the same rights of self-determination to the Somali people living in their jurisdiction. Recent events demonstrate that Ethiopia is determined to prolong its colonialist grip over the large portion of Somali territory which it illegally seized, or which was illegally handed over to it at the time when other colonial Powers invaded the Horn of Africa.
194. I do not wish to enter here into the historical aspects of the question, but those who have studied it know that the attempted Ethiopian measures to extend control over the Somali people, with the object eventually of subjugating the coastal lowlands of the Horn of Africa, is an interesting example of latter-day non-European imperialism.
195. Ethnically and ecologically, the Somalis form one of Africa’s largest homogeneous groups; they are primarily pastoralists and their characteristic social pattern is that they move seasonally with their livestock for grazing. Our main interest, therefore; is that the areas which have belonged to the Somalis since time immemorial, and which they share together, should be reunited under a single Somali Government chosen by the Somalis themselves.
196. In recent times relations between Ethiopia and the Somali Republic have reach a serious stage. Two factors continue to aggravate the situation.
197. One is the contemptible and arbitrary action by the United Kingdom Government of transferring to Ethiopia in February 1955 no less than 25,000 squire miles of territory known as the Reserved Areas and the Haud, and exclusively occupied by the Somali people, This shabby deal was concluded without the knowledge and consent of the Somali inhabitants.
198. Secondly, the reprehensible action taken by the United Kingdom Government to appease Ethiopia in 1950 when, on the transfer of Somalia to United Nations trusteeship, it arbitrarily imposed a provisional boundary of over 1,000 kilometres in length between Somalia and Ethiopia. This boundary problem remains unsettled to this day and is a constant source of fraction between these two neighbouring African States.
199. In the ten years of United Nations trusteeship administration repeated efforts were made to solve the question of the boundary, and each year during e this period the matter appeared on the agenda of the General Assembly of the United Nations, for this reason my Government wishes that this matter might still be considered as an outstanding problem and it reserves the right to raise this issue when the occasion becomes opportune.
200. The tensions which have been created by the continued occupation of a vast portion of Somali territory by Ethiopia have been further intensified by the aggressive and hostile policies of that country toward the Somali Republic.
201. Large contingents of fully armed Ethiopian military units continue their provocative activities along the frontier and in the grazing areas, while harsh administrative measures have been instituted against Somali nomads by the local Ethiopian authorities in an effort to obtain their complete subjection to the colonialist and expansionist policies of Ethiopia. In support of these activities, the Ethiopian Government press and radio have carried out a pernicious propaganda designed to mislead world opinion about prevailing conditions in the Somali Republic.
202. In April this year Ethiopia propaganda and activities became so hostile and aggressive that it was necessary for the Somali Government to bring the matter to the personal attention of the Secretary-General of the United Nations. In an era when so much is being preached about respect for human rights, the principle of self-determination, good neighbourly relations, peaceful coexistence and the like, it is extremely difficult to reach anything but a sad conclusion about the motives underlying Ethiopian policy toward the Somali people.
203. In addition to these provocative policies, the Ethiopian Government has now taken the deplorable and unprecedented step of challenging the nationality of an accredited Somali diplomat who has been posted for the past one and a half years in the Somali Embassy at Addis Ababa, and who has served for six months as our Chargé d'affairs there during the absence of the Ambassador. The Ethiopian Government has deprived him and his family of diplomatic immunity and privileges and has refused the family permission to leave the country.
204. The diplomat, his wife and three children are in possession of valid diplomatic passports which have been endorsed for entry into, and exit from, Ethiopia by the appropriate Ethiopian consular authorities. Yet despite these documents and the diplomatic status, which they, hold, the whole family has been obliged to seek refuge in the residence of the Somali Ambassador where large numbers of armed Ethiopian security police continue to maintain a twenty-four hour vigilance. All Embassy vehicles are searched at pistol pointy by police as soon as they venture outside the Embassy premises and its employees have been subjected to threats and maltreatment.
205. These latest series of provocations by Ethiopia constitute a flagrant breach of accepted international practices governing the privileges and immunities of diplomatic missions and their staff. It is well known that when a diplomat becomes unacceptable to a host government it is normal practice to declare him persona non grata and to request his immediate removal from the country. It is most unusual, however, to treat accredited diplomats in the manner in which the Ethiopians have treated the Somali diplomat in question.
206. Moreover, I cannot refrain from mentioning another unusual departure from diplomatic practice by the Ethiopian authorities in apprehending, recently, a uniformed member of the Somali Embassy in Addis Ababa while he was on duty and carrying an official telegram to the Embassy. He was detained for a week, maltreated and questioned about matters which were not the proper concern of the Ethiopian authorities. With careless disregard for diplomatic procedure, the telegram just referred to was withheld by the Ethiopian Government for ten days.
207. I feel obliged to state here that the Somali Government will take all steps consistent with its responsibilities to secure the protection and well-being of its citizens.
208. Before I close I must inform the Assembly of the gravest charge of all that my country has, regrettable, to make against Ethiopia. I refer to the arrest last month at Hargeisa, in the northern region of the Somali Republic, of agents from Ethiopia who were found in possession of hand grenades at a time when the President of the Republic was about to visit the centre. After being arrested the agents voluntarily confessed before a magistrate that they were plotting to assassinate the President on the instructions of the Ethiopian Governor of Jigjiga. This most cowardly and sinister threat to the life of the head of my State will, I am sure, be deplored by every Member of the Assembly.
209. I regret the necessity to recount to the Assembly, in some detail, these aspects, of a menacing situation which has developed in the Horn of Africa. I have felt duty bound to do so because the continued existence of colonialism in this region and the unnatural division of the Somali territories have given rise to, local conflicts and constitute a potential threat to the peace and stability of this part of East Africa. The consequences will become grave indeed if Ethiopia continues to act with impunity against the vital interests of the Somali nation.
210. I should like now to turn to the problem of racial discrimination.
211. In spite of the many General Assembly resolutions condemning policies of racial discrimination, it is most disturbing that South Africa should be allowed to flout world opinion by continuing its policy of apartheid and practising the outmoded concept of absolute "white supremacy". Racial discrimination is contradictory to the objectives which we here have set ourselves, and it is vital that sterner measures be taken by the United Nations against South Africa to ensure that it conforms to the general will of the peoples of the world. Such measures could well include the expulsion of South Africa from this Organization and the application of diplomatic and economic sanctions by Member Spates collectively.
212. Once again the people of the world are witnessing with anxiety the resumption of nuclear tests by both the Soviet Union and the United States. Every explosion fills our minds with fresh fears and un-certainty for we know that one accidental or intentional explosion could spell doom for mankind.
213. Speakers who have preceded me on this rostrum have all expressed, in different ways, their concern, their disappointment and their fears over the manner in which the armaments race is developing. All appear to agree that the situation today is due primarily to the lack of sincerity and, trust on the part of the nuclear Powers to reach a modus vivendi. if not a full agreement, on the whole problem of nuclear tests and disarmament.
214. My country fully supports the proposal for a phased disarmament programme and, as a preliminary to such a step. We consider it imperative that the nuclear Powers be urged to reach an agreement for the immediate suspension of all kinds of nuclear and thermo-nuclear tests.
215. In the past, my delegation has voiced on several occasions its strong opposition to any nation carrying out nuclear tests on the continent of Africa and elsewhere in the world. Enough poison has been spread around the world by these tests to endanger the life of mankind for many generations to come, and world opinion trust be mobilized to ensure that maximum pressure is brought upon the nuclear nations to persuade them to desist from their lethal experiments. Furthermore, it is important that the continent of Africa should be declared a nuclear free zone so as to prevent it from becoming involved in the ideological Struggles between the nuclear Powers,
216. The abolition of foreign military bases abroad and the speedy solution of outstanding political issues, such as the question of the Congo and Berlin, would certainly ease the tension which we have been experiencing ever since the end of the Second World War.
217. In the case of the Congo, my delegation is confident that the United Nations will take, all the necessary measures to bring about the restoration of peace, unity and stability to that African Territory.
218. As regards the crucial case of Berlin, my delegation wishes to repeat its opinion on tills issue. We subscribe to the view that it is morally wrong for a homogeneous nation like Germany to be divided by the imposition of artificial political boundaries. In issues of this nature it must be left to the German people directly concerned to decide their own destiny In accordance with the principle of self-determination.
219. In an organization like the United Nations it is most important that representatives of all nations be admitted to its membership. This is particularly so in the case of the People's Republic of China with its population of over 600 million inhabitants. Their membership is important because they are the effective Government of that great country. Many issues which are being discussed here cannot have any real meaning if they do not take into consideration the views of this world Power.
220. It is gratifying to note that practical proposals are envisaged under the United Nations economic and technical assistance programme for the implementation of a number of projects aimed at improving substantially the standard of living in Africa and other developing countries elsewhere. What is even more encouraging is that the programmes of economic development needed by the developing countries are worked out in a way that are acceptable to both "donors" and "receivers" owing to the complete absence of political strings.
221. However, I should like to point out that the pressing problems of unemployment, the growth of effective demand, the technical training and placement of workers, investment policies and flow of private capital in developing countries throughout the world, deserve to be dealt with speedily and effectively. The earlier they are solved the sooner we can start an effective international co-operation programme in the economic field based on mutual interest.
222. This matter brings me to the end of my address which, as you may have observed, has been primarily devoted to some of the problems of the African world. I have! felt it; necessary to deal at length with these problems because their continued existence is jeopardizing the welfare of millions of inhabitants, and threatens to turn this emerging continent into turmoil.