The Moroccan delegation wishes first of all to express its great satisfaction at the fact that the General Assembly has entrusted the conduct of its proceedings to a man whose distinguished efforts in the international arena on behalf of peace and justice have been made unremittingly for many years. The cause of freedom in general and of the enslaved peoples in particular has always found in him its finest champion. I should like from this rostrum to express to Mr. Muhammad Zafrulla Khan, both on my own behalf and on behalf of my country, my gratitude and recognition for the special sympathy and ever valuable support he has given unreservedly to the Moroccan cause and to the men who have striven to bring about its triumph.
180. It is from the bottom of my heart, therefore, that I extend to the President my warmest congratulations on his election, which crowns a career filled with devotion and sacrifice and is a source of pride both for him and for the people of Pakistan.
181. At this seventeenth session of the General Assembly we have seen the United Nations family increased by the admission of four new Members which have recently attained international sovereignty. We greet the entry of Rwanda, Burundi, Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago into the United Nations with special pleasure as their presence among us confirms the irresistible advance of the movement of all peoples towards liberation and heralds the day when, in the very near future, we hope, the universality or our Organization will be complete.
182. However, the ban which continues to be placed on certain countries constitutes a serious obstacle to the attainment of that universality. In this connexion, the absence of the People's Republic of China is a fact that we continue to deplore. The heroic struggle of the Algerian people, which has won the admiration of the whole world, has had the happy outcome that we all know. While we wait to welcome the representatives of the new Algeria to this Assembly in the immediate future, Morocco wishes to greet with pride, and with all the solemnity which this rostrum confers, the independence of that country, whose struggle it has always considered as its own and whose anxieties and hopes it has shared for many years.
183. On 2 July 1962, in an address to the people, His Majesty, the King of Morocco declared: "In congratulating the sister people of Algeria, we are congratulating ourselves for, without the independence and liberation of Algeria, with which we share the same language, the same religion, the same history and the same struggle, our own independence and territorial unity would not have been complete."
184. Later, the Sovereign added: "If we have been united in the days of the struggle for the freedom and independence of Algeria, that independence now achieved demands more than ever before that we remain united so that we may build and consolidate it."
185. Morocco will therefore continue to work side by side with Algeria in the phase of construction as it did in the phase of combat.
186. The Algerian people and their leaders have demonstrated a great awareness of their responsibilities and a maturity equal to all trials. That is why we remain firmly convinced that together they will win further victories on their march towards the building of a free and prosperous Algerian State.
187. We take particular pleasure on this occasion not only in expressing our delight at the happy results obtained by the peaceful method of negotiation, to which we are firmly attached, but also in extending our warmest congratulations to the French leaders whose praiseworthy efforts made it possible to remove the serious difficulties that were preventing the courageous solution hoped for by all the peoples of the world.
188. However, those happy results must not make us forget that today there are still countries struggling for independence, sovereignty and unity and that others are waging the same struggle to prevent foreign intervention in their affairs.
189. Since 1956, the date of the proclamation of its independence, my country has not ceased calling on the Powers concerned to restore its territorial integrity and to give back all the parts of its national territory which remain under various statutes outside its sovereignty.
190. Nevertheless, we do not despair of Morocco, which has justice and right on its side, ultimately obtaining a rapid solution of the problems still outstanding, thanks to mutual understanding.
191. Our country is firmly attached to the principle of peaceful settlement of all disputes through negotiation, to the right of self-determination of peoples and to all the principles of the United Nations Charter.
192. Furthermore, Morocco has adopted the policy of non-alignment which requires it to remain vigilant and particularly active with regard to reducing international tension and eliminating all the causes of anxiety and centres of disturbance which continue to imperil the peace and security of the world.
193. Those are the guiding principles which will inspire, my delegation when in due course we come to speak in the appropriate Committees of the United Nations on the various problems which preoccupy the international community at the present time. Among these I shall mention in particular the questions of Angola, South West Africa, the Congo, Oman, apartheid, the end of colonialism, and, on another plane, the problems of Cuba and Berlin and that of the cessation of nuclear tests.
194. I should like, however, to refer particularly to a problem which concerns my country very deeply — the problem of the distress of the Arab peoples of Palestine unjustly driven from their homes. This is a tragic problem to which the international conscience cannot remain insensitive. The United Nations should delay no longer in carrying out the decisions already taken in this matter,
195. I must express my country's satisfaction at seeing prevail in Laos and West Irian a principle which, as I have already said, is dear to us, namely the principle of solving problems by the peaceful method of negotiation.
196. These extremely heartening results indicate to us beyond dispute the spirit and the method which we consider should prevail in international relations in order to lead mankind rapidly towards the achievement of the fruitful peace and co-operation to which it aspires.
197. This spirit and this method have not always triumphed in the consideration of certain other difficult questions which are tending, unfortunately, to become chronic. The acute crises which these questions periodically provoke inevitably become enmeshed in the controversies already raging on fundamental problems, such as the problem of disarmament.
198. We have repeatedly stated here and elsewhere that although our country is not directly concerned in this controversy, it nevertheless considers disarmament as a vital condition for the broad international co-operation which we all wish to establish.
199. In the United Nations and at international conferences, Morocco has maintained an unwavering attitude on this question. It has taken an active part in all efforts and has joined in all appeals which would call on the great Powers to embark on a loyal and realistic attempt to reach agreement on this matter.
200. At the fifteenth session of the General Assembly [886th meeting, paras. 144 to 149], His Majesty the King of Morocco, then Prince Moulay Hassan, supported the proposals of the five neutral countries that the Disarmament Commission should be enlarged and assigned a role of arbitration and good offices which would permit more effective discussion. That procedure was adopted and has been followed in the Commission's debates in Geneva.
201. The ideas which were worked out at Belgrade last year and which were defended at Geneva by several delegations, including those of Brazil, India and Ethiopia, helped in the formulation of juridical and technical formulas which, objectively, could bring the positions of the great Powers considerably closer together and facilitate a resumption of negotiations between them.
202. We have followed all these efforts with particular attention and the peace-loving peoples have considered them to be encouraging. We propose, in the debates in the First Committee on this problem, to work towards the consolidation of these hopes and the prospects for the conclusion of a treaty on general and complete disarmament.
203. Whatever the opposing arguments, there is unanimity with regard to the prospects that the solution of the problem of disarmament offers in relation to the exalting task of achieving economic and social advances for the benefit of the entire international community and especially for the developing countries.
204. If the great Powers proclaim in all their declarations that the ending of the arms race would allow them to devote immense sums to the economic development of the under-developed regions of the world, the countries directly concerned in the real location of these vast resources undoubtedly hope to see the advent of this long-awaited era of broad economic co-operation and also, and above all, a return of confidence and peace.
205. At Belgrade, His Majesty the King of Morocco said: "We are concerned, as are all other peoples, for the peace of the world. The fate of humanity ought not to depend exclusively upon the great Powers. The international tension disturbs us to the highest degree ... What our own peoples and world public opinion expect from us is that we should lay the foundations and outline partial solutions on which a peaceful and serene world may be rebuilt."
206. For many countries, the attainment of independence and sovereignty proved insufficient to enable them to achieve a better future, for they immediately encountered difficulties out of all proportion to their existing possibilities and the modesty of their means. In order to integrate themselves harmoniously into the international community and contribute to its stability, they need to reduce as much as possible the differences of level which separate them from the highly developed countries, the solidity of whose structures has depended essentially on their economic and social progress.
207. One of the conclusions immediately drawn by the leaders of the developing countries was that there is a vast difference between the responsibilities flowing from independence and the difficulties of effective decolonization. On the one hand, the legal and political attributes of independence are not of themselves sufficient guarantee of national sovereignty and, on the other hand, the restoration of political equality at the international level does not remove the other inequalities which under-development threatens to perpetuate for certain countries as compared with others. Awareness of this fact and the realities that it forces us to face make our task infinitely more difficult and, in almost all cases, impossible without outside aid and assistance.
208. With regard to decolonization, most of the countries concerned have had first of all to deal with the problems inherent in the creation of the machinery of government and of legislative and administrative institutions. Others have had to adapt existing structures to the new needs of the State and the new conditions of the people. Parallel with this task — which is fundamental in that it determines the framework for and the means of all other action — these countries have also had to create, in conditions which were sometimes more difficult, adequate economic and social structures to serve as effective instruments for action by the State to carry out development programmes.
209. While in some cases the economic potential of these countries provides grounds for optimism, the shortage of trained personnel remains a major obstacle to their development and the harnessing of their resources in the direction that will best further their national objectives.
210. The greatest possible attention should be given to this aspect of the inadequacy of our means. On this plane also and in this general perspective we should like others to join us in seeking suitable technical and financial means of assisting us effectively.
211. One of the most undisputed merits of the United Nations is that it has concentrated its action on the furnishing of specific assistance conceived in terms of economic objectives, defined as to their nature, the means to be devoted to them and the period in which they are to be achieved, taking into account the general conception of the national economy concerned. This method of giving aid and assistance is indeed the best for ensuring a country's free development and is one of the surest ways of completing the decolonization stage. It must also be admitted, however, that there can be no real development if it is not first and foremost the work of the country concerned. Outside assistance, however extensive, has no telling effect unless it is integrated into a plan in which the national effort preponderates. Similarly, a country which remains dependent on others for technicians and trained personnel can only promote its development partially and insecurely.
212. The assistance that was given to certain stricken areas after the Second World War would have achieved nothing if the recipient countries had not mobilized their own resources and capabilities in a remarkable effort.
213. It is facts such as these and the lesson we have drawn from this example that have guided our action in Morocco.
214. From the very first years of our independence we endeavoured to correct those two fundamental weaknesses that are characteristic of under-development-paucity of equipment and shortage of trained personnel. The planning we undertook for this purpose was based on a very realistic inventory of our country's means and resources, so that we might at once draw up a programme of priorities.
215. This programme of action was itself undertaken on three planes. The first was the intensification of vocational training and the training of technicians of all categories; side by side with the universities, a number of institutes were established or are in process of establishment with international assistance; a large number of young technicians are already providing the trained personnel for the country's new industrial and agricultural structures. On the second, agricultural, plane, expansion has been based both on the intensive modernization of equipment and on the transformation of the way of life in the rural communities, in particular by extensive construction of schools and by the supply of modern equipment and facilities to the communities by the State; a comprehensive programme of dam construction and irrigation works is also being carried out. This plan, incidentally, has been well received by the United Nations Special Fund and the World Bank. Lastly, in regard to industry, our policy is in the direction of greater integration with the other sectors of economic activity and our efforts are aimed during this stage at upgrading our country's raw materials which until recently were exported in their raw state, and at establishing, with funds obtained from these resources, basic industries which are to form the hub of industrial complexes and, In particular, iron and steel and chemical processing plants.
216. In order to provide for this development a method of financing based as widely as possible on national effort, we have adapted or created a banking system with specialized organs and have instituted a credit policy extending to all sectors of economic activity. This policy ties in with and supplements the objectives of the national investment fund and forms an integral part of the general mobilization of all national resources and energies.
217. A few moments ago I said that there could be no real development if it was not first and foremost the work of the country concerned and that by itself international assistance was merely a palliative which provided no lasting solution for the real problem. If it is conceived of as assistance to a country which does nothing to help itself, International aid cannot attain any worthwhile economic objectives or have any political influence in the. direction of stability or the consolidation of independence.
218. Morocco has always supported these ideas, and, last year, at Belgrade, His Majesty King Hassan II said; "Financial aid, on however large a scale, will never produce the desired results unless it is accompanied by technical assistance aimed essentially at the training of national skilled personnel who will take over and help to consolidate political independence. So true is this that, more than economic needs, it is the lack of technical and administrative staff that accounts for the gravity of the problems confronting the developing countries."
219. Whereas the Belgrade Conference defined the nature of political non-alignment and the role of the non-aligned countries in the quest for world peace, the recent Cairo Conference of developing countries [A/5162] examined the problem of underdevelopment and attempted to outline a programme of national, regional and world-wide action to harmonize economic activity within the framework of international co-operation free from the play of antagonistic forces in which many under-developed countries are still involved.
220. All continents were represented at that Conference, proving that the problems peculiar to underdevelopment are in the forefront of men's minds all over the world at the present time.
221. In fact, the conclusions of that important Conference are of interest not only to the under-developed countries; they also brought out the dangers of underdevelopment for the economically and technically advanced countries, so that the world economic situation as a whole should be examined without delay in a new perspective. This situation has already prompted a most encouraging initiative. In welcoming the plan for a United Nations Development Decade, my delegation would like to express to the Acting Secretary-General its sincere congratulations for having distinguished this initial period of his responsibilities by an undertaking of vast scope and significance which accords with our profound preoccupations.
222. However, in order to reflect correctly the nature and the scale of the new problems, it should be more than just international assistance and should seek rather to restore harmony to the world economic situation, so as to avert the consequences which the establishment of powerful economic blocs will inevitably produce in their relations with the underdeveloped regions.
223. It was in order to find a common denominator for the new and contradictory facts of the present situation that the Cairo Conference called earnestly for the convening of an international economic conference [see A/5162]. It must of course not be expected to produce solutions to all present and future trade problems, but it will surely help to indicate the basis for world co-operation in equity and solidarity.
224. The international situation and its projection into the future throw special light on the nature of the new problems confronting the United Nations and establish a new scale of values and a new system or priorities. Along with a will to win and consolidate their freedom, the peoples of the whole world are at grips with economic and social problems on which depend the stability of each country and the balance of the entire international community.
225. The United Nations is aware of this and is daily showing increasing interest in the study and solution of these problems. But if it is to be able to carry this new action through successfully, it will have to review some of its structures and in particular to adapt its economic and social machinery and make it an instrument better able to cope with these new conditions. Until just recently, the characteristic feature of the international situation was an imbalance between dominating Powers and dominated countries; its characteristic feature today is an imbalance between highly developed Powers and developing countries.
226. The United Nations has experienced some grave crises because it did not always foresee the consequences of maintaining political inequalities. We would tend to have greater hope for the future if the new interest which the Organization is now showing in these new problems and the efforts being made to solve them had the support of all peoples in close co-operation.