I should like at the outset, on behalf of the
Indonesian delegation and on my own behalf, to
extend heartfelt con-gratulations to Mr. Hollai
on his election to the presidency of the
thirty-seventh session of the General Assembly.
His vast experience and the competence that he
has exhibited in the realm of multilateral
diplomacy give us the assurance that under hi
guidance solid and substantive progress will be
achieved during this crucial session.
206. With one regular session and no less than
four special and emergency sessions, the past
year has indeed been an exceedingly busy and
demanding one for the outgoing President, Mr.
2smat Kittani. He has discharged his manifold
responsibilities with great skill and patience
and has contributed substantially to what has
been achieved in difficult circumstances. We wish
to register our deep appreciation of his
leadership.
207. In the course of the past year the cause
of international peace and security has,
regrettably, suffered further serious setbacks.
Compounding this trend, the world economy
continues to deteriorate and global economic
co-operation has been stalemated, while the
United Nations itself has been repeatedly
bypassed. Resort to force to settle disputes,
despite the Charter provisions to the contrary,
has continued unabated and has even increased.
Detente, always fragile and too limited in scope
and substance to begin with, is now a shambles
and each local conflict now potentially poses a
greater threat to world peace than ever before.
In South-West Asia, South-East Asia, the Middle
East, Africa, Central and South America and other
regions people continue to suffer the
consequences of violence and conflict. Yet,
despite the devastation and hardship that are
visited upon both the victor and the vanquished
in war, States persist in their preparations for
military confrontation.
208. Local and regional conflicts have become
increasingly intractable owing to the marked
tendency of the major Powers to view those
conflicts from the perspective of their global
rivalries and to link eventual solutions to their
wider strategies of mutual containment. As a
result, the risk of the lesser Powers and the
countries of the third world being dragged into
the East-West polarization have grown
correspondingly.
209. It is manifest that in an increasingly
insecure and perilous world the present
international system has proved to be incapable
of dealing effectively with the multitude of
problems. Indeed, the international community has
long recognized this reality by calling for the
restructuring of the prevailing system and the
establishment of a new international order.
However, despite the new political realities in
the world and the growing consensus on change,
the present system is being perpetuated, to the
detriment of the newly emergent States. It is
only by recognizing the interests of the
developing countries and their vast potential for
contributing to a more peaceful and prosperous
world of genuine independence that we can begin
to address the global problems before us.
210. It is our deep conviction that as long as
the great Powers seek to enhance their security
in disregard of the interests of the smaller
Powers, the question of universal collective
security envisaged in the Charter will continue
to elude us. One of the cardinal features of the
new international system must be greater equality
and a greater voice in decision-making on vital
issues for all members of the international
community.
211. The multiple crises afflicting our world
today and the perception of a growing paralysis
on the part of the United Nations in the attempts
to find effective solutions to them have further
deepened the crisis of authority in which the
Organization has found itself for quite some time.
212. In this context, I should like to express
my delegation's great appreciation of the frank
and lucid report of the Secretary-General, which
highlighted the alarming erosion of the
Organization's influence over issues of world
peace and progress. My Government shares his
concern for whathe has rightly called the crisis
of the multilateral approach in coping with the
myriad of problems that confront us. It is only
through a renewed commitment and dedication to
the multilateral approach through the United
Nations, through dialogue and negotiation, that
we can reverse the dangerous drift towards global
disorder, heightened polarization and the revive
of blatant power politics.
213. It is imperative to restore the capacity
of the United Nations to fulfill its mission as
outlined by the Charter, and our first task must
necessarily be to ensure a strengthened role for
the Security Council in settling conflicts. One
essential component for such a strengthened role,
in our view, should be the establishment of
workable machinery for the conciliation of
disputes and the diffusion of crises before they
become full-blown wars. But for this and other
improvements in the operational procedures of the
Security Council to become possible, there should
first be a conscious readjustment in the nature
and extent of the commitment by Member States,
especially by the permanent members of the
Security Council, to the wider global
responsibilities inherent in our common
acceptance of the Charter.
214. In his report, the Secretary-General has
gone beyond analyzing the difficulties the
Organization is facing and has suggested a number
of pertinent ways in which Governments of Member
States could assist, in particular, in developing
a more viable system of collective security, in
strengthening United Nations peace keeping
operations and in enhancing the validity and
utility of United Nations organs as negotiating
forums. It is appropriate, therefore, that at
this critical juncture in the life of the
Organization we, the Member States, likewise move
beyond the perfunctory expression of praise and
support for the Secretary-General's initiative
and make active conceptual and concrete
contributions to the elaboration and the early
realization of the required reforms. As far as
Indonesia is concerned, it stands ready to extend
its full co-operation towards this end.
215. It cannot be said that the past year has
witnessed any impressive progress on the main
issues confronting us. Indeed, the lack of
progress is distinctly disappointing and is in
strong contrast to the obvious urgency of these
problems.
216. Among the central issues confronting the
international community, particularly in my own
region of South-East Asia, is the plight of
Kampuchea.
217. The situation in Kampuchea has not
changed substantially and remains a matter of
serious concern to all of us. Indeed, no
meaningful progress has been achieved in seeking
a political solution of the problem. Foreign
troops are still in Kampuchea, despite repeated
calls by the international community for their
total withdrawal. The United Nations supervised
election to enable the people of Kampuchea to
determine their own future has not taken place.
The efforts by the United Nations and the
International Conference on Kampuchea to seek a
political solution have yet to yield meaningful
results.
218. Despite the lack of progress, however,
the national forces of Kampuchea have formed the
Coalition Government of Democratic Kampuchea
under the leadership of Samdech Norodom Sihanouk,
which is a clear expression of the will and
determination of the Kampuchean people to regain
their sovereignty, independence and territorial
integrity. It is important to note that the
Coalition Government has pledged to work for the
implementation of all decisions of the United
Nations and the International Conference on
Kampuchea. It remains the sincere conviction of
my Government that it would be in the interest of
all the parties to seek a peaceful and negotiated
political solution to the Kampuchean problem and
that the United Nations and the International
Conference on Kampuchea provide the best forum to
seek the achievement of such a political solution.
219. The Association of South-East Asian
Nations is committed to seek a just political
solution to the conflict. Once the Kampuchean
question isresolved, we are confident that
suspicion and mistrust will be removed from the
area, thus paving the way for the resumption of a
meaningful dialogue and co-operative relations
among the States in the region. We could then
look forward with greater confidence to the
establishment of a zone of peace, freedom and
neutrality in South-East Asia, thereby fulfilling
the hopes and aspirations of all peoples in the
region for stability, progress and prosperity.
220. The crisis in Afghanistan has also
affected the process of detente. Indeed, it has
exacerbated tension and anxiety throughout the
world and has hindered the resolution of a number
of issues of world-wide concern. In line with
United Nations efforts, the non- aligned movement
and the Organization of the Islamic Conference
have reiterated the urgent need to seek a
comprehensive political solution to the problem
on the basis of the withdrawal of foreign troops
and respect for the independence, sovereignty,
territorial integrity and non-aligned status of
Afghanistan. The Secretary-General has also taken
constructive steps in seeking a solution of this
problem. We believe that any such solution should
ensure that the Afghan people wilt be able to
determine their own future, free from foreign
intervention and interference.
221. Since June 1982, the world has witnessed
with anger and dismay the Israeli invasion of
Lebanon. We were shocked at the toll in human
lives, especially all the Chilean population and
the incalculable deduction it has wreaked on
Lebanon. My Government has strongly condemned
Israel's aggression against the Lebanese and the
Palestinian peoples and demanded the restoration
of the sovereignty, territorial integrity and
political independence of Lebanon. In his
National Day speech on 17 August President
Soeharto reiterated.
'Our stand remains as clear and unambiguous as
before: that is, we continue to be on the side of
the Arab nation in its struggle against Israeli
aggression and stand should 2r to shoulder with
the Palestinian people in their legitimate quest
for self- determination and to regain their
homeland .'
222. The appalling massacre of the Palestinian
civilians in west Beirut, which is a direct
consequence of Israel's invasion, has evoked
universal condemnation. The resumption of the
seventh emergency special session last week and
the adoption by consensus of resolution ES-7/9,
in which the Assembly calls on the Security
Council to investigate the circumstances and
extent of the massacre, was a reflection of the
world's horror over the massacre, for which
Israel cannot evade responsibility.
223. It is clear that the aim of the Israeli
invasion was to destroy the national identity and
aspirations of the Palestinian people and their
sole and legitimate representative, the PLO, as
the standard bearer of Palestinian rights to
sovereignty and statehood. Israel cannot take
upon itself the function of a policeman in the
Middle East, violating as it pleases the
territorial sovereignty of its neighbors,
destroying the people of Palestine and imposing
its will on the Arab world. Israel's expansionism
and arrogance must be stopped.
224. My delegation believes that the only hope
for peace is for Israel to accept Palestinian
independence and sovereignty as called for and
supported by nearly all mankind. The question of
Palestine remains at the heart of the conflict in
the Middle East, and without a solution to this
problem no comprehensive settlement can ensure
peace in the region. The realization of a just
and lasting peace requires the unconditional
withdrawal of all Israeli forces from all
occupied Arab territories, including Jerusalem.
225. We commend the Twelfth Arab Summit
Conference, held Fez this month, which has
demonstrated the unified approach of the Arab
States to the problem of the Middle East. The
meeting enumerated /4/J7/6P6] serious and
reasonable proposals to achieve a solution of the
Palestinian question. On the other hand, as a
power which could restrain Israel's aggression,
intransigence and expansionism, we believe that
the United States should continue to insist on
Israel behaving in a more responsible and
peace-loving manner, befitting a Member of the
United Nations. It is our sincere hope that the
proposals of the Fez Summit will receive a
positive response from all the parties concerned
so that the long-standing conflict in this region
will soon be resolved, thereby inaugurating a
new era of peace for the region as a whole.
226. The second special session on disarmament
which was convened, with great expectations, to
follow up the decisions of the Final Document of
the Tenth Special Session of the general
Assembly, adopted in 1978, has become a casualty
of the present climate of distrust and tension
and has degenerated into a series of platitudes,
devoid of substantive commitments. The inability
to adopt a comprehensive program of disarmament
at the session, regarded by many States,
including my own, as crucial to our efforts for
an integrated approach, was a great
disappointment. It was, moreover, regrettable
that some of the leading Powers disregarded their
commitments undertaken in the 197% Final
Document and were unwilling to use the United
Nations as an instrument for genuine disarmament
effort. These developments have prevented
meaningful progress in stemming the tide of the
arms race.
227. Despite that failure, however, the
session has served as a focal point for
widespread expression of public concern about the
arms race, and in particular about the danger of
nuclear weapons. The proposals for a ban on the
use of nuclear weapons, and for a freeze on their
development and production, and the renewed call
for a comprehensive ban on nuclear- weapon tests,
fully reflected world opinion. It is our hope
that the bilateral talks between the United
States and the Soviet Union will be pursued with
a sense of urgency and lead to meaningful
limitations and significant reductions in nuclear
weapons. The nuclear Powers should, moreover,
recognize that it :s no less important to pursue
multilateral negotiations, by enabling the
Committee on Disarmament to discharge its
responsibilities and renew efforts to negotiate
on the priority issues.
228. There is a growing apprehension that the
region of the Indian Ocean is rapidly become the
focus of a new cold-war rivalry between the
super-Powers. As a littoral State, Indonesia is
convinced that the convening of the
International! Conference on the Indian Ocean is
ar\ essential step towards the establishment of a
zone of peace. We are fully aware of the
ramifications of the conflicts and tension that
engulf the region. It is precisely for this
reason that the Conference, as stipulated in
relevant General Assembly resolutions, should be
the forum to discuss all relevant issues, with a
view to opening the constructive dialogue that
heretofore has eluded us. It is a truism that the
convening of one conference might not suffice to
resolve all the problems pertaining to the Indian
Ocean. However, the Conference should be a first
step towards improving the political and security
climate in the region.
229. In recent months the international
community has witnessed renewed large-scale
military operations by South Africa against SWAPO
in a desperate attempt to eliminate the sole
authentic and internationally recognized
representative of the Namibian people. It should
be noted that there is nothing new in these South
African tactics. The racists in Pretoria have on
numerous occasions used their military forces to
thwart any progress in the negotiations to
implement Security Council resolution 435 (1978).
230. South Africa has clearly demonstrated
that it is prepared to use every maneuver, and to
exploit every opportunity to employ force, to
undercut all efforts towards a negotiated
settlement leading to the establishment of an
independent Namibia.
231. The most expeditious means to bring about
Namibian independence is contained in the Arusha
Declaration and Programme of Action on Namibia
adopted by the United Nations Council for Namibia
in May this year. It urged the Western contact
group to accept SWAPO's constructive proposal
for the early implementation of the United
Nations plan and to exert firm and genuine
pressure on South Africa. In this regard, my
delegation will firmly oppose any effort by South
Africa to impose any fraudulent electoral,
constitutional or political schemes, and any
pretext to link the solution of the Namibian
problem to any other issue that would be in
contravention of resolution 433 (1978), all of
which are designed to perpetuate South Africa's
domination of the Territory. Furthermore, at the
Arusha meeting my delegation endorsed the call
for a Geneva-type conference at which all
outstanding issues should be discussed and
resolved together in a comprehensive manner. The
early scheduling of such a conference may help
intensify current efforts to overcome South
Africa's intransigence. Despite the many
obstacles that continue to block the way to
securing Namibia's independence, the negotiating
process has shown some signs of progress, as
noted in the Secretary-General's report. Every
effort should be made, however, to compel South
Africa to negotiate in good faith and within the
guidelines established by resolution 435 (1978).
232. It is disturbing to all of us that,
despite the condemnation of the system of
apartheid by almost all Member States, South
Africa continues to ignore the repeated appeals
of the international community to end the
practice of
233. Guided by the important decisions adopted
at the International Conference on Sanctions
against South Africa, held in Paris in 1981, my
delegation is convinced that the international
community should intensify its solidarity with
the people of South Africa by maintaining and
strengthening the agreed set of sanctions
designed to isolate South Africa in all spheres
of international relations.
234. On 30 April 1982 the Third United Nations
Conference on the Law of the Sea adopted a
comprehensive Convention on the Law of the Sea.^
This was a monumental achievement in multilateral
negotiations under the auspices of the United
Nations. The fact that the draft Convention was
adopted by 130 countries and was opposed by only
4 indicates that each provision is acceptable to
the overwhelming majority of the States in the
world. It is conceivable that, taken separately,
all provisions of the Law of the Sea Convention
are not acceptable to a particular country. But
taken as a whole, being a compromise text in a
package, the text is obviously acceptable to the
world community. My delegation believes that the
Law of the Sea Convention is extremely important
to maintaining law and order in ocean affairs as
well as to promoting national development and
management of ocean uses and resources. My
delegation therefore would like to appeal to the
small number of countries which have not adopted
the Convention to reconsider their position, so
that the Law of the Sea Convention, being the
product of long years of negotiation, can become
truly universal in nature and application.
235. Concurrent with the continuing critical
climate in international politics, the
international economy has plunged to one of the
lowest depths in several decades.
236. Aggravating the situation is the serious
erosion of multilateral economic co-operation,
mainly through the regressive policies of some
developed countries, which run counter to the
basic goals and objectives of an increasingly
interdependent world.
237. The seemingly hopeful signs generated at
the Cancun and Versailles Economic Summits in
seeking a breakthrough in the stalemated global
negotiations have proved to be illusory. It has
to be acknowledged that there was indeed some
movement towards launching the global
negotiations through an enabling resolution.
However, the informal consultations so far have
regretfully not yielded any substantive
progress. My delegation endorses the search for
new initiatives to reach a consensus on some
crucial procedural issues. These efforts can be
successful only if some developed countries
demonstrate the political will to take positive
step towards an early launching of these
negotiations.
238. An important feature underlying the
economic system today is that of interdependence.
We believe that interdependence does not imply
only a mutuality of benefits for both the rich
and poor countries. It also means that the
self-sustained economic development of the
developing countries could contribute towards the
economic well-being of the developed countries.
239. We are pleased to note that there has
been a gradual increase of understanding by some
developed countries on the inevitability of
interdependence. It is our sincere hope that
these countries would be willing to undertake the
adjustments needed to achieve this concept.
240. We are convinced that piecemeal,
domestic- oriented and bilateral remedies for our
global problems are a futile exercise in a world
of increasing interdependence. Restructuring,
therefore, under the aegis of our universal body,
the United Nations, should no longer be deferred.
241. Having said that, I wish to emphasize
that this does not mean that the global
negotiations or the efforts to launch them should
in any way divert our attention from the ongoing
negotiations in other sectoral forums.
242. The restructuring of international trade
is a vital vehicle for achieving self-sustained
development. And above anything else, access to
markets is crucial. Regretfully, the escalation
of protectionist measures practiced by some
developed countries has seriously eroded the
efforts of the developing countries to expand
their exports. The sharp deterioration of their
terms of trade continues to aggravate their
already serious economic plight.
243. In this context, the forthcoming
ministerial meeting of GATT provides an excellent
opportunity and a historic turning point for the
establishment of fair international trading
practices. Such action is imperative for the
expansion of trade of the developing countries.
244. The sixth session of UNCTAD, scheduled
for late next spring at Belgrade, will, we
believe, be of crucial importance for remedying
the central problems and the current disruptions
in world trade and development which could lead
to the revival of the world economy. If, however,
the impasse continues with no concrete results
emerging from these important meetings, we will
once again be witnessing another lost chance in
which the international community will have
failed to grasp the opportunity for progress.
245. Given the slow pace of the North-South
negotiations, the measured progress of
collective self-reliance among developing
countries is more indispensable now than ever.
Indonesia is committed to this process, not only
because it is transforming the patterns of
development, but because it constitutes an
essential ingredient for the rapid advancement of
the developing countries.
246. In this connection, we endorse the
results of the meeting of the Intergovernmental
Follow-up and Co-ordination Committee on economic
co-operation among the developing countries held
in Manila in August. Its recommendation to start
negotiations on a global system of trade
preference among developing countries and the
development of food security reserves deserves
our particular attention. In our opinion, the
implementation of the global system of trade
preference, through a gradual approach, will
ultimately help the efforts for trade expansion
among developing countries.
247. In so far as co-operation on food
security reserves is concerned, we believe that
it can best be implemented through sub-regional
and regional arrangements, which could then be
extended on a world-wide scale. We in ASEAN have
initiated such an arrangement and are in the
process of trying to develop further the ASEAN
food security reserve co-operation.
230. Turning briefly now to some social aspects
of the United Nations activities, the
preparations for the International Youth Year in
1985, which are now in progress, are commendable.
An increased participation of non governmental
youth organizations in the International Youth
Year would greatly encourage them to share in the
responsibilities of solving global youth problems
and thereby help to promote world peace. Such an
exercise would also increase their ability to
participate in the national youth development
program. The Indonesian Government, therefore,
fully supports the Specific Programme of Measures
and Activities.
251. With reference to the status and role of
women, there is an increased recognition of their
contribution towards development as reflected in
the Mexico, World Plan of Action for the
Implementation of the Objectives of the
International Women-Year. This positive trend is
further stimulated by the adoption of the
Convention on the Elimination of AH Forms of
Discrimination against Women. We sincerely hone
that the 1985 World Conference on the United
Nations Decade for Women will be able to review
and appraise constructively the implementation of
the Plan of Action.
252. This year that has witnessed its abundant
share of world-wide turbulence and tragedy, and
the inca-pacity of the United Nations to prevent
them or to provide timely redress, and there is
always the temptation to lapse into cynicism and
disaffection. But the reforming impulse, the
hopes and yearnings of peoples everywhere for a
more peaceful, just and prosperous world order
based on the ideals and principles of the Charter
remain alive and cannot be quieted.
253. Indonesia remains convinced 'hat despite
its present inadequacies, the United Nations
still represents the best instrument to
transform these hopes into reality and to fashion
at least the minimum conditions for a better
life for all in the decades to come. Therefore,
if the Organization is to fulfill its role as the
focal point for the global management of the
critical problems of our time, it is imperative
that a new sense of purpose be instilled in its
mechanisms and procedures so as to prevent it
from degenerating into a sterile debating forum.
My delegation further believes that in this
effort the non-aligned movement to which
Indonesia belongs could and should make an
important contribution, both at the conceptual
level and in initiating concrete proposals, as it
has consistently done in the past on the global
issues of peace, security and international
economic co-operation.
254. In a rapidly changing world of disparate
interests and contending visions, the only
alternative to re-storing the United Nations as a
relevant organization capable of meeting the
challenges of our time is to allow an unmanaged
and uncontrollable slide into international chaos
and anarchy. As the Secretary-General has warned, we appear to be perilously close to that point.
255. Thus, for once, the task before us should
not be seen in terms of a demand by one side and
an act of generosity by the other. For it may not
be just our mutual interest that is at stake, but
our common survival, and none of us can afford to
evade this challenge and refuse to bear this
responsibility.