On behalf of the people and Government of the
Federal Republic of Nigeria, I extend to Mr.
Hollai our warmest congratulations on his
election to and assumption of the office of
President of the thirty-seventh session of the
General Assembly. His election is eloquent
testimony to his admirable personal qualities as
well as an honour to the Hungarian People's
Republic, with which, happily, my country,
Nigeria, enjoys very cordial relations. I am
quite confident that under his able and wise
guidance, our deliberations at this session will
be resoundingly successful. I assure him of the
full co-operation of my delegation in the
discharge of the heavy responsibilities of his
office. May I also pay a tribute to his
predecessor in office, Mr. Kittani of Iraq, who
presided over the thirty-sixth session of the
General Assembly with great dedication and
distinction. The able manner in which he guided
the proceedings of the thirty-sixth session when
grave issues of war and peace were at stake is a
credit to him and to his country, Iraq. I also
wish to congratulate Mr. Perez de Cuellar on his
well-deserved election to the exalted post of
Secretary-General. His election is thoroughly
deserved. It is not only a personal achievement
for him and for his country, but one in which we
of the third world can collectively take
justifiable pride. In the short time he has been
in office, Mr. Perez de Cuellar has already shown
great courage and a strong commitment to the
principles of the Charter of the United Nations.
We are indeed fortunate to have the services of
such a distinguished and accomplished
international statesman. He has assumed office at
a most difficult period in the life of the United
Nations, when confrontation has replaced detente
in relations between the super-Powers, when the
world economy is sinking into depression and when
naked aggression rather than peaceful coexistence
and respect for sovereignty has become the order
of the day in international relations. I pledge
to him the full support of my delegation in the
execution of the onerous task placed on his
shoulders.
The rapid and seemingly inexorable deterioration
in international relations is of great concern to
my delegation. Many of the global issues that
have plagued the Organization for many years have
persisted in the unwholesome atmosphere of
confrontation and repeated aggression. There is
no doubt that the great majority of nations are
dedicated to peace. Nevertheless, one is left
with the sad feeling that all our efforts are an
exercise in futility since none of the major
issues of our time appears to have been resolved.
The litany of political and economic crises which
now plague the world is formidable and spans
every region of the world.
Detente between the super-Powers has suffered a
severe setback. There has been a resurgence of
cold war attitudesóa situation which has been
further aggravated by the virtual state of
collapse of the international economic system.
The spirit of internationalism and the
interdependence of nations of the world have been
gravely impaired. Nations, particularly the big
Powers, are now resorting increasingly to the use
or threat of use of force in defense of what they
perceive to be their national interests. The
provisions of the Charter on the settlement of
international disputes and on the maintenance of
international peace and security are being
brushed aside and ignored by the big Powers in
pursuit of their narrow interests.
In this present climate of uncertainty, the
Secretary-General, in his report on the work of
the Organization, called Car measures to
strengthen the peace-keeping machinery of the
United Nations system and to develop the United
Nations as a more effective and viable instrument
for resolving disputes among States. He has
called our attention to the propensity of the big
Powers to bypass the United Nations whenever it
suits them and to the necessity to return to the
United Nations as the primary international
negotiating forum. His warnings are timely and
should be heeded by all Member States.
We are gravely concerned in particular about the
areas of tension which continue to exist in
Africa. We attach the utmost importance to peace
and stability in Africa, without which our
efforts to develop our countries will continue to
be frustrated. We are concerned about the
continued intervention in African affairs of the
big Powers and their attempt to turn Africa into
a cold-war theatre. Africa's efforts to solve its
problems in Western Sahara and the Horn of Africa
continue to be undermined by the intervention of
the big Powers. We deplore and view with
resentment these unwarranted interventions in our
internal affairs and the consequent
intensification of intra-African disputes.
Whenever it has seemed we are close to a peaceful
settlement of disputes among African States, the
process of peace has been gravely weakened and
undermined by the intervention of extra-African
Powers. Weapons of mass destruction continue to
find their way into our continent in the guise of
foreign military assistance. In order to maintain
their hegemony in Africa, the big Powers have
resorted to so- called military assistance, which
has increased sharply over all other forms of aid
in recent years. In addition, there has been an
insidious attempt by external forces to weaken
and destroy our continental organization, the
OAU, which they regard as inimical to their
dominant influence in our continent. The fact is
the OAU, now facing a serious assault by our
detractors, has contributed immensely to the
maintenance of peace and stability in the region.
By bringing Africa together and forging bonds of
unity within the continent, the OAU has
contributed to the fulfilment of provisions of
the Charter of the United Nations on the role of
regional organizations in resolving regional
disputes.
Let me assure our detractors now plotting daily
the demise of our organization that we will
emerge from our present crisis stronger than
ever. In the past our continental organization
has demonstrated its resilience and capacity by
withstanding several serious internal crises.
Africa remains committed to the maintenance and
continued stability of its continental
organization, and collectively we are determined
to repair the damage and the setback which it has
recently suffered.
My delegation is extremely disturbed and
distressed by the stalemate in the negotiations
on the independence of Namibia. I believe that we
have shown the utmost restraint and understanding
in the negotiations with the contact group. It is
not necessary to go over the ground covered in
those negotiations. However, it is necessary to
remind the Assembly that apartheid, South
Africa's Mandate over Namibia, has been
terminated by the United Nations and the
international Court of Justice. South Africa's
continued occupation of Namibia is illegal and in
defiance of the unanimous decision of the
Assembly, which gives protection to all nations.
The greatest threat to the survival of the United
Nations is the absolute disregard of its
decisions by a few recalcitrant nations. The
saddest aspect of the tragedy being played out in
the southern African region is that the apartheid
regime draws comfort, solace and support from the
same countries as arrogate to themselves the role
of defender of democratic freedoms. How can those
Western countries explain to the world why, in
spite of resolution 435 (1978), sponsored by the
contact group, adopted by the Security Council
and unanimously endorsed by the General Assembly,
effective pressure cannot be brought to bear on
South Africa to withdraw from Namibia as a
prelude to the implementation of the United
Nations peace plan for Namibia?
Last year the impression was created that the
Namibia issue was very near solution. It is now
crystal clear to all that a peaceful solution of
the Namibian problem is as far away as ever. It
is now obvious to us that the strategy is to wear
us down to a point where we shall throw up our
hands and say: "We have tried. Let Namibia fend
for itself." This strategy fails to take account
of the tide of history, of our resolve to rid our
continent of the last lingering vestiges of
colonialism and oppression, and of our rendezvous
with destiny.
A tenuous effort is being made to predicate the
independence of Namibia on the withdrawal of
Cuban troops from Angola. This is unfortunate,
and we reject this unwarranted and arrogant
demand; it has nothing to do with the legitimate
right of Namibia to self-determination. Right now
South Africa is occupying by force a portion of
the territory of the independent State of Angola,
which the foreign forces are there to protect.
But for the decision which Angola took, in the
exercise of its sovereignty, to invite the
foreign forces, South Africa would have
recolonized it. We call upon the Western Powers
to support the principle of self-determination
for Namibia as a demonstration of their
sincerity. We maintain that South Africa's
occupation of Namibia is illegal, as well as
contemptuous of the United Nations. We believe
that the people of Namibia, under the leadership
of SWAPO, are entitled to their freedom and the
pursuit of happiness. We shall persist in this
belief and we shall continue to fight for this
belief until our brothers in Namibia are free.
Inside South Africa the racist regime has
intensified its reign of terror against the
blacks of that country, who are still being
denied their basic freedoms. Repression and
suppression of the blacks have continued with
unabated rigour. We have warned often enough that
the racist policies of the apartheid regime
represent a grave danger to peace and stability,
not only in Africa but throughout the world; for
peace and freedom are indivisible. The world
cannot be truly free and peaceful when parts of
it remain in bondage. Africa is committed to the
eradication of racism in South Africa. Nor will
it be deterred by the attempts of the racist
regime to destabilize and undermine the
independence of its neighbours. We call on the
Assembly to redouble its efforts and bring the
necessary pressure to bear on the apartheid
regime by imposing economic sanctions on it. Each
time we call for economic sanctions against South
Africa certain Western countries demur on the
ground that sanctions do not work. When, however,
the vital interests of the West are at stake
sanctions are invoked, as they have been over
Afghanistan, Poland and the Falkland Islands.
The present parlous state of the world economy is
a vindication of the warning that many developing
countries have issued for many years from this
rostrum. Today, in every country of the world,
the term "depression" is very well understood. At
this time last year we were describing the
economic phenomenon that we were experiencing as
recession. This year we call it depression. Very
few countries have registered any appreciable
growth in their economic activities during the
past year; as a matter of fact, the economies of
most countries have been badly ravaged. The
consequences of this decline in economic activity
are massive unemployment, incredibly high levels
of global inflation, high debt-servicing ratio
for many developing countries, sharp falls in
commodity prices, unstable exchange rates and
protectionism in international trade. The
slow-down in economic activity is global. The
present state of the world economy provides ample
proof that our economies are interdependent.
Agriculture has all but collapsed in many parts
of Africa, due in part to drought and, of course,
to the unreasonably low commodity prices,
including the high cost of agricultural
machinery. The fact is that many countries in
Africa spend a significant portion of their
meagre foreign exchange earnings on massive food
importations to stave off hunger. Very few
developing countries can afford, after paying for
food imports, to buy capital goods for
industries. The net result is that developed
countries are able to market only a small
proportion of their manufactured goods in these
countries, and so the vicious economic circle
persists.
The reluctance of the developed countries to
embrace the new international economic order so
necessary for combatting the global economic
crisis is deeply regrettable.
We are convinced that the present negative trends
in the world economy can be reversed. Since they
affect all countries, action should be taken
collectively to resolve them. It is therefore a
matter of deep regret that the prevailing mood in
the developed economies today is a negative one,
as illustrated by declines in the flow of
official development assistance, a clearly
expressed preference for bilateralism over
multilateralism which has seriously undermined
the integrity of the multilateral institutions of
the United Nations and, of course, the lack of
encouraging progress in negotiations on various
questions relating to international economic
co-operation for development. These trends
undermine the development process of developing
countries, but events have also shown that the
short-sighted and unilateral policies pursued by
certain developed countries are self-defeating
even for those countries.
Without losing sight of the need for a
fundamental restructuring of the world economy,
my delegation would like to join in the call
already made for reviving the waning spirit of
international economic co-operation in the
interest of steady global development and in
particular the accelerated development of
developing countries. My delegation is of the
view that opportunities for further enhancing
international economic relations still exist. It
is auspicious that two international meetings on
trade and development are scheduled to take place
within the next few months, namely, the GATT
Ministerial Meeting next November and the sixth
session of UNCTAD in mid- 1983. My delegation
believes that these meetings can contribute
immensely to the reactivation of international
trade and improved trading prospects for
developing countries, if the countries of the
North will show a more positive attitude
regarding the evident need to make the necessary
structural adjustments.
Similarly, the present structure of international
monetary and financial institutions leaves much
to be desired and calls for urgent reforms. My
delegation does not underestimate the
contribution being, made by international
financial institutions, such as the World Bank
group, to the development of developing
countries; but there are also many areas
requiring a better response by these institutions
to the special needs of developing countries. The
very stiff conditionally of International
Monetary Fund lending, for instance, is resented
by developing countries. While we are not
suggesting that the principles of sound financial
management should be compromised, we can see no
advantage in the application of medicine which
leaves the patient either worse off than before
or dead.
With the present credit squeeze unlikely to ease
immediately, the need for expanding the capital
base of the World Bank has become more urgent. It
is also timely to underline the inadequacy of
present development aid, as the performance of
donor countries has not gone beyond one half of
the target of 0.7 per cent of gross national
product solemnly agreed to in the International
Development Strategy for the Third United Nations
Development Decade. We urge them, therefore, not
only to step up official assistance to the poorer
nations but also to ensure that an increasing
proportion of that assistance flows through the
development organizations of the United Nations
system, which are currently experiencing critical
resources problems.
The development problems which confront the
international community today call for prompt and
equitable solutions. Important initiatives need
to be taken with a view to alleviating the
critical food shortages in several developing
countries, the slow pace of their
industrialization, and the low level of
technological attainment, for which the speedy
conclusion of negotiations for the international
code of conduct on the transfer of technology and
the establishment of long-term arrangements of
the United Nations financing system for science
and technology for development acquire special
significance.
A feeling of despair and despondency must be
avoided, despite the present mood. We should not,
in fact, overlook the bright spots in
international cooperation which, happily, have
resulted from certain efforts by the developing
countries.
Last year, much was said about the epoch- making
event of establishing a systematic framework for
the promotion of economic co-operation among
developing countries, through the adoption of the
Caracas Programme of Action. My delegation is
gratified to note that that initiative has been
further consolidated over the past few months,
through concrete action aimed at the mutual
economic advancement of States members of the
Group of 77. We believe that this process will
contribute to the strengthening of the individual
and collective self-reliance of developing
countries.
All countries, developed and developing, must
show a positive determination to grapple with the
present economic problems in a global and
concerted manner. In this connection my
delegation recognizes the need for ongoing
negotiations in various international forums to
proceed unhindered and with the requisite good
will and understanding, particularly by the
industrialized countries. We hope it will be
possible to launch global negotiations at this
session of the General Assembly, especially as
much precious time has been lost over peripheral
issues, apparently to gain certain advantages,
when what is needed is for every party to go to
the negotiating table with an open mind. Now, my
delegation hopes that with the flexibility and
spirit of compromise shown by the Group of 77
through the proposal submitted last June, our
partners will be more forthcoming on the question
of launching the global negotiations without
further delay. Three years after the adoption of
General Assembly resolution 34/138, it is surely
time the international community took that
long-awaited step for laying the basis for a more
just system of international economic relations,
capable of supporting the steady growth of the
world economy and particularly the accelerated
and self-reliant development of developing
countries.
In June this year Nigeria participated in the
deliberations of the second special session of
the General Assembly devoted to disarmament, in
the hope that ways and means could be found to
halt and reverse the extremely costly and
dangerous arms race. After five weeks of
intensive negotiations we discovered to our utter
disappointment that the nuclear-weapon States, in
particular, were neither willing nor ready to
listen to the voice of reason and sanity. We
recall the massive demonstration last June in New
York against the immense danger which nuclear
weapons pose to human survival. We listened to
representatives of innumerable non-governmental
organizations voicing their fears that the
current trend of the arms race might result in
nuclear war by accident, miscalculation or even
design. We should not be insensitive to those
justified fears of humanity.
Yet what did we achieve after five weeks of
debate and negotiations? We have neither halted
the arms race nor set in motion a single
disarmament measure. It is true that at the
second special session devoted to disarmament the
General Assembly launched the World Disarmament
Campaign and increased the United Nations
Fellowship Programme on Disarmament from 20
annual awards to 25. Those modest achievements
scarcely touched the heart of the matter. Year
after year, we helplessly watch the world's
military budget leap to higher and higher levels.
It is now of the order of $US 650 billion
annually. Not one nuclear Power believes that its
nuclear and conventional stockpile of arms has
attained the optimum level necessary to guarantee
its security. It is obvious that the more
sophisticated and enormous the quantum of
armaments at the disposal of each State, the less
secure the State possessing such arms feels. What
purpose is there in pursuing at such colossal
cost an unattainable mirage? The world feels more
insecure today than at any other time in the past.
The increasing reliance of nations on force rather than on negotiations
and the good offices of the United Nations for
the peaceful settlement of disputes is the root
cause of our feelings of insecurity, coupled with
the economic disaster, which has afflicted all
nations. While the world spends more than $US 650
billion yearly on armaments, mass unemployment,
hunger, disease and ignorance take a heavy toll
on two thirds of the world's population. It is a
great indictment of our sense of social justice
that our fellow human beings in the third world
should die of hunger and of disease that we could
wipe out at minimal cost, just because our
misplaced sense of security compels us to spend
billions of dollars on armaments which breed more
fear and insecurity.
If those vast sums of money currently ploughed
into the unproductive arms race were channelled
into the economic and social sectors, their
multiplier effect would result in vast social and
economic activities that would provide millions
of jobs, demolish protectionism in trade, expand
demand and bring back prosperity to all parts of
the world.
Is it not grossly immoral for the nuclear Powers
to destroy us in a war intended to expand their
spheres of influence? Our greatest desire is for
peace in the world, especially on the part of
peace-loving peoples who have no expansionist
ambitions or designs. As we are firmly convinced
that it is impossible to limit a nuclear war or
to win it, we affirm that the only realistic
option is to prevent it. That is why we have
repeatedly advocated a nuclear freeze as a first
step towards significant nuclear disarmament. We
are motivated by the desire to halt the dangerous
arms race that is inexorably dragging the world
towards self-extinction. We are inclined to
believe that a measure of parity has been
achieved in the destructive power of the two
blocs and that neither side, fully aware of the
fact that it cannot win a nuclear war, will be so
propelled by a death-wish as to launch a nuclear
attack. My delegation therefore calls upon the
super-Powers to agree to a freeze, followed by a
verifiable comprehensive test ban leading to
talks on arms reduction. With good will and faith
neither side will find this process detrimental
to its national interests.
While we were busy deliberating on the great
threat to our survival posed by the rapid buildup
of lethal weapons, the devastating war machine of
Israel was reducing large areas of Lebanon to
rubble with disastrous consequences for the lives
of innocent human beings unfortunate enough to
reside in that region of the Middle East. The
Israelis, in an arrogant display of power,
callously ignored the pleas of the Organization
for a halt to that butchery. For four long
months, the Israelis laid waste the sovereign
State of Lebanon in utter contempt of the
resolutions of the Security Council calling for a
cease-fire. In historical perspective, that
barbaric act of Israel's is reminiscent of the
Nazi "final solution of the Jewish question". The
expansionist propensity of Israel and its
penchant for settling disputes by force are
inconsistent with the letter and spirit of the
Charter of the United Nations. The horror of the
massacre at Sabra and Shatila sends chills down
the spine. For a people that has gone through the
horrible crucible of a genocide to be associated,
even in a distant way, with the pogrom of Sabra
and Shatila is a sad irony of history.
We believe that the Israelis are entitled to
secure borders within the State of Israel.
However, Israel's persistent refusal to realize
that it cannot continue to enjoy legitimacy and
rights based on the Organization's Partition Plan
for Palestine and, at the same time, deny
corresponding legitimacy and rights of nationhood
under the same plan to the Palestinians is the
greatest obstacle to any lasting peace in the
Middle East. The Palestinian Arabs must and
should be enabled to have their own independent
sovereign State. Nigeria firmly supports the
legitimate right of the Palestinians to a
homeland of their own.
It is a matter tor regret that the fratricidal
and unnecessary war between Iraq and the Islamic Republic
of Iran, two non-aligned States, still lingers on
in spite of the efforts of the United Nations and
the Organization of the Islamic Conference to put
an end to it. We once again call upon our friends
in Iran and Iraq to throw aside the weapons of
war and strive to settle their differences by
peaceful means. . We are also gravely concerned
over the intensification of other local and
regional conflicts in Latin America and Asia and
the immense suffering imposed on the peoples of
those regions by the conflicts. As a non-aligned
country, Nigeria condemns all foreign
intervention in the internal affairs of the
States in those regions. We support fully the
efforts of the countries of Latin America and the
Caribbean to consolidate their national
sovereignty and to develop their political and
economic systems, without undue foreign
intervention or pressure on them.
In conclusion, let us resolve to adhere to the
provisions of the Charter by faithfully abiding
by the decisions of all organs of the United
Nations. Let us resolve to eschew force in the
settlement of our disputes. Let us strive to be
open and candid in our bilateral and multilateral
relations, so as to create an atmosphere of trust
in which peace will reign supreme and the
Organization will blossom.