I should like to convey sincere congratulations
to Mr. Hollai on his election to the presidency
of the General Assembly at its thirty-seventh
session and to express our best wishes to him and
to the officers of the Assembly for success in
directing the work of the Assembly towards the
achievement of our goals. I should like to take
this opportunity to express our deep appreciation
of the great efforts made by the former
President, Mr. Kittani, during the thirty-sixth
session and of the skilful manner in which he
conducted its work and that of the General
Assembly throughout its successive sessions and
meetings this year.
151. The election of the new Secretary-General
has been a source of pleasure to us, considering
his outstanding position and wide experience in
the work of the Organization as well as the
respect and appreciation he has enjoyed for the
tasks he has performed. While expressing our
congratulations to Mr. Perez de Cuellar on his
election by acclamation to his post, we should
like to express our conviction that he is worthy
of this universal trust and to wish him success
in his important work and in realizing the hope
that he may achieve the important tasks entrusted
to him.
152. In reviewing the international situation
and events since the previous sessions, we must
unfortunately conclude that the picture is
gloomy. Most of the problems which we discussed
are becoming increasingly complicated. The views
and hopes which we expressed have to a great
extent not been realized. Many resolutions have
been neither respected nor implemented. Our hopes
for establishing good international relations
based on the principles of the Charter and
international law are still far from being
achieved, and the United Nations—as the
Secretary-General indicated in his report on the
work of the Organization—has not been able to
play its effective and decisive role as envisaged
in the Charter, thus frustrating the hope that
the Organization would be capable of maintaining
peace and security and serving as a forum for
negotiations. We must endeavour to put an end to
this deviation from the Charter, to adhere ,to it
and to its principles, and to revive the concepts
contained in it, which requires making a
collective effort towards establishing peace,
thereby strengthening the ability of the United
Nations to perform its basic, function.
153. The list of problems before the Assembly
at this session is, as usual, diverse,
complicated and long,, but we believe that such a
list should not lead us to despair or make us
give up endeavours towards the achievement of
what we believe is right and fair. We have ho
alternative but to continue our efforts and
co-operation towards achieving the objectives
that we set ourselves, including in particular
the establishment of peace based on justice.
154. As at previous sessions, the Middle East
problem, whose central issue is the Palestinian
question, is the most urgent problem before us.
We all know that the main obstacle to the
solution of this problem is not the lack of
efforts exerted within and outside the United
Nations to solve it, but, first and foremost, the
continued Israeli defiance of the will of the
international community, Israel's flouting of the
very principles governing the Organization.
155. This defiance of international public
opinion and flouting of the Charter and
resolutions is a serious matter, and the time has
come to deal with it. Otherwise, the law of the
jungle will prevail in international relations,
and the remnant of confidence and hope of finding
a peaceful solution to this problem, based on the
principles of international law and justice, will
collapse. This will also weaken the
Organization's ability to find peaceful and just
solutions to the disputes brought before it, as
the Secretary-General stressed in his report.
156. The Sultanate of Oman is an advocate of
peace, and the people of our region, who have
suffered war and instability for a long time,
look forward to an era of security and stability.
The peace that we seek is a peace based on
justice and on the principles adopted by the
Organization. We seek a just and lasting peace
that would put an end to the tragedy of the
Palestinian people and would realize their
legitimate rights to return to their home and to
self-determination. That is why we have
supported, and continue to support, all the
efforts aimed at establishing peace in the
region. The Twelfth Arab Summit Conference, in
which we participated, laid the basis and
provided the guidelines for a peaceful and just
solution to the Middle East problem. Furthermore,
the eight principles representing the Arab
framework for solving this problem not depart, in
general or in details, from the principles that
have already been approved by the United Nations.
157. The recent initiative of Mr. Reagan, the
President of the United States of America,
directed to solving the Middle East problem
contains positive points that might contribute to
the efforts being made to settle this problem.
158. The peace initiative of the Arab States
and President Reagan's initiative create together
a climate conducive to finding a permanent and
just settlement to the problem. We should take
advantage of it and develop it, and the negative
attitude of Israel should not be allowed to
undermine our efforts. However, the Israeli
persistence in frustrating all international
efforts and rejecting all proposals for forward
for solving the problem have led States to
believe in the inevitability of the use of force
in solving political problems involving Member
States. This is a very serious matter.
139. The Israeli aggression against the Arab
sister State of Lebanon, resulting in the
occupation of Lebanese territories and violation
of Lebanon's sovereignty, demonstrates to the
whole world that Israel believes only in the use
of force, and not in peacel Therefore, the
international community must once again censure
these brutall actions and demand that Israel
withdraw its forces from Lebanon immediately,
and, further, that it assist the Lebanese people
to realize their hopes of stability and security.
160. On 20 September 1982 the Ministry of
Foreign Affairs in Oman issued the following
statement about the events in Lebanon:
The Sultanate strongly denounces the barbaric
massacres which have been committed and are being
committed by Israel against unarmed Palestinian
refugees, men, women and children, in the Sabra
and Shatila camps in west Beirut.
These genocidal massacres are a flagrant
violation of international law and the Charter of
the United Nations. They are a dangerous
development, since they have contravened the
spirit of peace and escalated tension and
instability in the area. They recall the mass
slaughter of Palestinians committed at Deir
Yassin and Kafr Qasem by the Israeli authorities
in 1948.
Israel's invasion of west Beirut and its
massacre of defenceless Palestinian refugees, old
men, women and children, were part of a policy of
aggression and expansion which the Israeli
occupation authorities were implementing, with
civilians as their victims. Their actions have
defied all human values and international mores.
Oman calls on the leaders of the world and the
States which were responsible for the evacuation
of the Palestinian fighters from west Beirut, as
well as the international pubic and international
and humanitarian organizations, to shoulder their
responsibilities fully at this crucial stage so
as to stop the inhuman slaughter of Palestinian
refugees.
161. The withdrawal of Israel from the whole
of Lebanon should be carried out immediately in
accordance with the relevant Security Council
resolutions. We express our hope that the return
of the multinational peace-keeping force to
Lebanon after supervising the departure of the
Palestinian fighters will help the Lebanese
Government exercise sovereignty over the whole of
Lebanon.
162. The continuance of military conflict
between the two neighbouring States of Iraq and
the Islamic Republic of Iran is a source of
concern and instability for the entire Gulf
region and represents a threat to all the peoples
there, and indeed to world peace and security,
since it involves innumerable dangers and is
exhausting the greater part of the natural and
human resources of those two States, resources
which could be channelled into economic and
social development.
163. We cannot but associate ourselves with
those who have called for an immediate end to
such human and economic waste and urge that a
peaceful settlement between the two sister States
be brought about as quickly as possible.
164. We welcomed the declaration by Iraq,
within the framework of the League of Arab
States, that it would withdraw its forces from
Iranian territory to the international boundaries
and was; ready to enter into negotiations to end
the war. On the same principle and in the
interest of peace and stability in the Gulf
region, we urge the sister State of Iran to stop
the war and move towards a peace which will take
account of the legitimate rights of all the
people.
165. Despite the numerous United Nations
resolutions demanding the withdrawal of Soviet
troops from Afghanistan, the reiteration of the
same demand by the Islamic Conference and the
Conference of Ministers for Foreign Affairs of
Non-Aligned Countries, which was held at New
Delhi, and the insistence on respect for the
independence, sovereignty and non-aligned status
of Afghanistan, Soviet troops continue to occupy
Moslem non-aligned Afghanistan in complete
disregard of the resolutions of the United
Nations and other international and regional
organizations concerned with this matter.
166. We call once again from this rostrum for
a cessation of the Soviet aggression and the
immediate withdrawal of the Soviet troops so as
to enable the sister State of Afghanistan to
regain control over its destiny and to choose its
own political, economic and social system without
any foreign interference or coercion.
167. In the context of the problem of western
Asia we cannot ignore the deteriorating situation
in the adjacent region of South-East Asia,
namely, the continued occupation of Kampuchea by
Vietnamese troops. In this connection, we hope
that at this session the Assembly will stress the
need to respect the Charter and the principles
embodied in it and the need to find a speedy and
peaceful political solution based on the
principles of non-interference in the internal
affairs of sovereign States and the non-use of
force, as well as the necessity for the immediate
withdrawal of foreign troops, so that the
Kampuchean people may determine their own destiny
free from foreign interference and this region
may enjoy peace.
168. Oman has a historical relationship with
many of the countries and peoples of the African
continent. We therefore share the aspirations of
the peoples of the continent and their hope for a
solution to the grave problems in southern
Africa, particularly that of Namibia. We join the
Africans in denouncing racial discrimination and
we call for further efforts within and outside
the United Nations to ensure that the aspirations
of the African people to freedom and stability
are fulfilled.
169. Because of its geographical position the
Sultanate of Oman is directly concerned with
events in the Horn of Africa. It regrets the
continued attempts to interfere in the internal
affairs of the region. It condemns the acts of
aggression against the Somali sister State and
demands an end to foreign intervention in the
internal affairs of that region lest it should
fall victim to foreign expansionism and attempts
to propagate social systems imported from abroad;
foisting them upon the people of the area with a
view to exploiting their resources.
170. Our concern with events in the Horn of
Africa is closely associated with the security
and safety of the coastal States of the Indian
Ocean. The Sultanate of Oman, as one of those
countries, is concerned for the security of this
area and is therefore in favour of declaring it a
zone of peace, It calls for an end to the
competition between the super-Powers to establish
spheres of influence in the region. As a member
of the Ad Hoc Not Committee on the Indian Ocean,
Oman is anxious to promote the efforts to arrange
for the convening of the Conference on the Indian
Ocean, which is scheduled to be held in Colombo
in 1983, so that the goal of making the Indian
Ocean region a demilitarized zone of peace may be
achieved without further delay.
171. My delegation would like to express its
satisfaction at the adoption by the General
Assembly at its thirty-sixth session of the
Declaration on the Inadmissibility of
Intervention and Interference in the Internal
Affairs of States. It hopes that this
Declaration, which emphasizes respect for this
important principle, will be complied with, thus
guaranteeing the right of all peoples to shape
their own destinies and choose their systems of
government without any outside intervention,
pressure or threat.
172. Oman, like other peaceful States,
attached great hopes and importance to the second
special session devoted to disarmament. We had
entertained the hope that the negotiations and
deliberations conducted during that session would
be successful; but, as we all know, failure to
reconcile the different points of view made it
impossible to reach consensus on the major items
on the agenda of that session, in spite of the
preparatory meetings. We entertained the hope
that the second special session would put into
effect the Final Act of the Tenth Special Session
of the general Assembly, which was adopted by
consensus in 1978. In paragraph 126 of the
document the Members of the Organization
reaffirmed:
their determination to work for general and
complete disarmament and to make farther
collective efforts aimed at strengthening peace
and international security; eliminating the
threat of war, particularly nuclear war;
implementing practical measures aimed at halting
and reversing the arms race; strengthening the
procedures for the peaceful settlement of
disputes; and reducing military expenses and
utilizing the resources thus released in a manner
which will help to promote the well-being of all
peoples and to improve the economic conditions of
the developing countries/'
173. The failure of the negotiations at the
second special session and the subsequent
disappointment to many parties are deplorable and
regrettable. Nevertheless, we have to bear in
mind that the responsibility of the United
Nations in the field of disarmament is a basic
one which emanates^ as we indicated earlier, from
its purposes and principles: to establish , the
bases of peace and to save succeeding generations
from the scourge of war. The United Nations must
urgently continue to assume this responsibility
fully, without hesitation or despair. It is also
imperative to mobilize the collective will to
replace doubt with confidence, so that we can
achieve positive results in this domain.
174. In this connection I should like to
reiterate what the President of the second
special session of the
Assembly said. We should be ignoring reality if
we failed to observe that this session is being
convened at a turning point of the greatest
concern in the field of international relations.
Doubt, conflict, an increasing sense of
insecurity and a tendency to resort to force
still prevail.
173. It is imperative that the international
community now look seriously into the fabric of
relations among States in order to restore the
role of the principles of international law and
respect for the Charter of the United Nations,
for it will be impossible to achieve progress in
the field of disarmament without the fundamental
elements of confidence and respect.
176. Like many other countries of the world,
my country is aware of the increasing importance
of establishing a new international economic
order based on a fair balance between the prices
of raw materials and manufactured products,
taking into account the needs of developing
countries and the need to accelerate their
development. That is why my country continues to
support the decisions taken by the Group of 77
and the efforts made by the Group in this
connection ever since the beginning of global
negotiations on international economic
co-operation for development, endorsed by the
general Assembly at its thirty-fourth session we
should like to emphasize that it is not possible
to find any solution to such problems except on
the basis of a common, universally accepted
approach to the current global economic problems
involving all States, and through agreed
solutions regarded as permanent and fair by all.
177. Since then, to our regret, my delegation
has not seen any positive development in the
global economic negotiations. On the contrary, it
has witnessed a clear general deterioration in
the economic situation in many countries of the
world, and particularly in the developing
countries. The obvious decline in the developing
countries' terms of trade, the large increase in
the cost of capital, inadequate demand for those
countries' exports, frequent resort to the policy
of protectionism, continued application of
stringent and unfavourable terms for the transfer
of technology to those countries—all this has
weighed heavily on the economies of developing
countries, disrupted their economic growth and
led to a sharp increase in their balance-of
payments deficit and foreign indebtedness.
178. Like any other developing country, the
Sultanate of Oman feels the need for such
international economic co-operation and considers
it imperative that the developed countries
increase their aid to the developing countries in
order to raise the level of development in those
countries, relieve their foreign indebtedness,
and demonstrate increased flexibility and
seriousness in the negotiations on the subject.
The Sultanate of Oman feels that the
international community is more than ever in duty
bound to find a solution to the present economic
crisis by devoting every effort to achieving the
objectives and goals set forth in the
International Development Strategy for the Third
United Nations Development Decade. We hope that
we shall soon witness positive results in this
direction in response to the efforts of the
Secretary-General.
179. Oman participated in the adoption of the
final text of the United Nations Convention on
the Law of the Sea, in New York on 30 April, in
spite of the fact that the final text did not
include proposals and views put forward by Oman
during the deliberations of the United' Nations
Conference on the Law of the Sea during the past
few years. We did so out of our belief that the
Convention, in general, is fair to all and would
put an end to the chaotic situation with respect
to the seas—particularly as to exploration and
exploitation of the resources of the sea-bed—in a
way that would serve the interests of humanity at
large without prejudice to the basic rights of
the coastal States.
180. We hope that the States which could not,
for one reason or another, vote in favour of the
Convention will reconsider their positions,
because that Convention is the outcome of long
and continuous efforts exerted over the last 10
years, and it would be a waste of these efforts
not to adopt it. Otherwise, States will resort to
their former practices without any binding legal
restraint defining their rights and obligations
under the law of the sea.
181. Finally, I should like, with reference to
the report of the Secretary-General on the work
of the Organization to express my appreciation of
his account of the situation in the world in
general, and at the United Nations in particular.
It merits attention far beyond that given to
previous reports. It clearly and realistically
reflects our feelings, especially with respect to
the developing countries which, more than all the
others need to see that the United Nations
receives the necessary support to enable it to
fulfil the effective and decisive role clearly
envisaged for it in the Charter. We hope this
report will receive the attention it deserves and
that at the current session the Assembly will
explore effective means of eliminating the points
of weakness in the work of the Organization,
particularly during the last years, so that it
may regain the importance accorded it by the
peoples of the world at its inception.
182. We renew the pledge we made in the Preamble
to the Charter for a serious endeavour to save
succeeding generations from the scourge of war,
reaffirm our belief in fundamental human rights,
in the equality of the rights of men and women,
as well as of nations, large and small, and we
renew our commitment to the principles and
objectives enshrined in the Charter of the United
Nations.