Mauritania

It is a great pleasure to extend congratulations, on behalf of the delegation of the Islamic Republic of Mauritania, to the President on his unanimous election to guide this thirty-seventh session of the General Assembly. This honour is undoubtedly due to his personal qualities as a statesman and diplomat, and is also a tribute to his country, Hungary. In discharging these high functions he may be assured of the availability of our delegation and its constant desire to co-operate with him. I should also like to thank his predecessor, Mr. Kittani, for the exemplary way, displaying constant tact and objectivity, in which he conducted the thirty-sixth session of the General Assembly and the subsequent special sessions. To the Secretary-General the Mauritanian delegation and I personally would like to extend the sincere expression of our esteem. The report on the work of the Organization which he has submitted bears witness to his great qualities of courage, frankness and far-sightedness. The picture of our universe today is a terrifying one. It is not worthy of mankind which has come of age and should therefore be united and be responsible. What is our verdict? Admittedly, there has been agreement on the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, but with the abstention of the majority of the developed countries, in defiance of our ideology; it has proved impossible to make even a timid first step towards the global negotiations; there has been a general reduction in aid and development; the special session on disarmament ended in a notable failure which may have sinister consequences; the conflicts in Palestine and the Middle East, in southern Africa and Western Sahara; have developed in a most dangerous way; localized conflicts have continued in the Gulf, in Afghanistan and in Kampuchea, and other centres of tension have emerged. In several respects the international situation before us is even more gloomy and alarming than what we faced just a year ago. We are all too familiar with the disastrous effects of the crisis which for some years has been characteristic of international economic relations for the developing countries. They include imported inflation, a sharp rise in interest rates, with a disastrous effect on the debt burden, an unprecedented fall in commodity prices, and increasingly restricted access to capital markets. The conclusions in the World Economy clearly show that the recession in the industrialized countries, far from receding has broadened and extended to all groups of countries. That study also concluded that the decline in general economic growth was more widespread in 1981 than at any other time since the Second World War. Thus world trade has remained in a state of stagnation for the second consecutive year. In the field of aid for development we have seen a considerable decrease in the share of this aid allocated through multilateral channels. The practical measures which were drawn up at the United Nations Conference on Science and Technology for Development, held at Vienna in 1979, and the United Nations Conference on New and Renewable Sources of Energy, held at Nairobi in 1981, have remained a dead letter through the lack of funds. In a word, the development process in the world has come to a halt, as the Committee for Development. Planning pointed out in its most recent report. Everything indicates that the implementation of the aims of the International Development Strategy for the Third United Nations Development Decade it is in a state of disarray. Such a finding makes even clearer the urgent need to seek just and equitable global solutions for the serious problems which threaten all parts of the international community. The proposal by the Sixth Conference of Heads of State or Government of Non-Aligned Countries for the launching of global negotiations on co-operation and development, which has been before us Car three years now, is, in our opinion, both methodologically speaking, and because of its context, the only effective way to bring about such solutions. While welcoming the positive attitude of most of the developed countries towards the most recent proposals made by the Group of 77, we cannot disguise our disappointment at seeing that these proposals have encountered stubborn resistance from those who, for good or bad reasons, still refuse to recognize the wisdom, the moderation, the practical and pragmatic nature of the formula proposed. The interdependence of national economies, and the repercussions of policies of a particular country or region on the world economy, no longer need to be demonstrated. Fully aware of this reality, and in view of the fact that the North-South dialogue seems to be more and more bogged down in the meanderings of procedure, the developing countries have conceived and implemented an outline for multifarious cooperation among themselves. In this connection, we are very pleased that the application of the great Caracas Plan of Action seems to be along the right lines. Economic co-operation among the developing countries, however, should in no case be regarded as an alternative to North-South co-operation. Nor should it serve as a pretext for the developed countries to shirk their responsibilities. 10. After a decade of hard work, negotiations on the law of the sea have finally been completed and have resulted in the conclusion of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea,' which was adopted here this year. Major hopes are now placed in this Convention which, because of the patience which has been shown and the mutual concessions which have been made during its drafting, is an encouraging example of what global negotiations can be, if the self-same determination to succeed and the necessary political will were to motivate the great Powers concerned. 11. The Islamic Republic of Mauritania attaches particular interest to the action of the United Nations and the specialized agencies in the fields of food and agriculture. This interest arises from the predominance in our economy of activities linked with the rural sector, which employs approximately 80 per cent of our population, and which therefore is given absolute priority, and is absorbing an ever-growing share of the financial resources of the country. Faithful to the spirit of the Lagos Plan which made food self-sufficiency for any viable development, my country has drawn up, and is trying to implement, with the help of friendly countries and international institutions, a national policy based essentially on an increase in production. The relative improvement which has been observed this year in the world food situation, because of the abundant harvests in certain developed countries, should not blind us to another reality which is even more grievous, and that is that in a number of developing countries food production has increased much more slowly than the demand for these products. Similarly, we favour the proposal which was put forward at the last session of the World Food Council that a food reserve stock should be set up belonging to the developing countries, with the aim of stabilizing the grain market. Finally, in this connection I should like to recall that the Permanent Inter-State Committee on Drought Control in the Sahel, of which my country is a member, has just drawn up a programme, in co-operation with FAO, designed to set up a cereal reserve for the Sahelian region. In my diagnosis I have referred to the causes of the deterioration in the international economic situation and the considerable decline in aid for development which is chanelled through multilateral institutions. No institution has suffered more from the general lack of support for the multilateral system of financing than the International Development Association and UNDP. The attitude of the donor countries is particularly regrettable, since it is precisely the action of these two bodies which is most in harmony with and best adapted to the development efforts of the third world. The reconstitution of the International Development Association resources at previously agreed levels is therefore an immediate and imperativeneed. The financial situation of UNDP is all the more disquieting, since this is the most important multilateral programme of the United Nations system. The stagnation of UNDP resources in 1980 and their decline in 1981 will, according to all projections, have a disastrous impact on the economies of developing countries, where the programme plays a vital financing and technical assistance role. However, we have no doubt that, aware of the extreme seriousness of the consequences of such a situation not only for the developing countries but also for the international community as a whole, those who are financially able to do so will spare no effort or measure to bring UNDP out of this crisis. In this connection the forthcoming pledging conference for operational activities will undoubtedly provide a test of political will. 15. I do not wish to conclude my country's statement on economic problems without referring briefly to the disturbing aspect of the phenomenon of desertification in our national territory and our efforts to try to limit its catastrophic effects. In my country, after many years of drought, encroachment of the desert is taking on increasingly alarming proportions. Thus, the fertile areas of our national territory have been reduced considerably because of the disastrous results of a persisting drought. Consequently, grain production has decreased from 100,000 to 26,000 tons. Of the 108 million hectares which comprise our territory 15 million had been classified as non-desert territory, of which 93 per cent have now been desertification in the course of the last 20 years. In order to face up to such a situation, the Mauritanian authorities have adopted severe regulations for protecting the fauna and flora and, in 1981 set up a National Committee to combat desertification and declared a National Arbor Day. 16. Of course, in the Islamic Republic of Mauritania, we are relying first and foremost on the sense of sacrifice of our people and its willingness to pursue faithfully the goals we have set for ourselves. Nevertheless, the financial and technical means required for achieving this national programme satisfactorily are well beyond our own possibilities. 17. In this connection we have benefited from the valued assistance of friendly countries and certain international organizations. I avail myself of this opportunity to express our gratitude to these friends —too numerous to be mentioned by name here—who have demonstrated to us their constant readiness to provide valuable assistance. Our appreciation also goes to the United Nations Sudano-Sahelian Office, which has in our country played a primary role in our national mobilization for the struggle against the phenomenon of desertification and other natural disasters. 18. At a time when all hopes for optimism have been dashed by international economic relations that are characterized by the growing gap between the rich and poor countries and by the obvious lack of political will to establish the new international economic order in the near future, the special session of the General Assembly devoted to disarmament, held from 7 June to 9 July this year, further heightened our disappointment and frustration in this field which is so vital for the security, if not the survival, of our species. The fact that the session proved unsuccessful should not, however, deflect us from the objectives pursued by our peoples for genuine and progressive disarmament both in the nuclear field and in conventional weapons. This vital objective would not only ensure preservation of mankind's many gains but also make available for the economic and social progress of all peoples the enormous financial resources at present devoted to the machinery of death and destruction which is linked to the industrial infrastructure and the environment. 19. Still in this area, the Islamic Republic of Mauritania would like to see the creation of denuclearized zones in Africa and the Middle East. We should particularly like to draw attention to the policies of nuclear armament of Israel and South Africa and the growing co-operation between these two racist entities. 20. Our country supports the demands of the coastal countries of the Mediterranean and the Indian Ocean for these two regions to be transformed into zones of peace. 21. In 1981 we stated in this Hall that as far as the Zionist entity was concerned the whole world was wrong and Israel alone was right. Despite our long experience of the practices, falsifications and bad faith of the Zionist usurper, we did not think that we would be so accurate. Israel's suicidal folly, its arrogance, its contempt for international legality and the impunity it continues to enjoy have strengthened its regime in the little heed it pays to international public opinion, particularly the United Nations, which is the conscience and repository of the values of mankind and its aspirations for peace and justice. 22. We shall not review the tragic events which were visited upon our Lebanese and Palestinian brothers in Lebanon. Nor shall we go into the details of the long suffering of innocent populations, witnessed by all mankind that remained powerless but whose indignation was aroused, and which ended with the indescribable massacres of our brothers in Shatila and Sabra. 23. We should simply like to recall the facts which confirm the striking resemblance between the methods of the Nazi murderers and those of an entity which claims to be the successor of the victims of the holocausts and pogroms. Indeed, in the Middle East, the Zionist entity is emulating the Fascist regimes of days gone by and applying, in all their horror, the universally condemned practices of nazism in the form of so-called preventive wars of aggression; the crossing of international boundaries under the pretext of defence; the methodical destruction and the siege of the capital of a sovereign country and the indiscriminate blockade imposed on civilian populations through collective punishment; the blind massacre of civilian populations by the thousands and the bringing about of general insecurity in the name of security for its own citizens; and the genocide of an entire people both on its usurped land in all its havens of refuge. 24. This is an occasion to pay a tribute to the courage of the fighters of the Palestine Liberation Organization and to bow our heads in memory of all the martyrs of the Palestinian resistance. 25. Israel's disproportionate deployment of brute force, its rejection of all moral codes and its arrogant display of racial contempt and religious fanaticism have demonstrated to the entire membership of the Organization the real purposes of the entity whose ideology can easily be mistaken for exacerbated chauvinism, the oppression of others and the denial of their rights. Israel's stubborn refusal to bring about peace in the Middle East unless it be on its own conditions by legalizing its hegemony in the region, which is the consistent policy of Zionism, is today the subject of universal condemnation. The pursuit of the plan undertaken half a century ago for the physical elimination of the Palestinian people and the usurpation of its land shows that the goal of Zionist implantation is to blot out all traces of its crime by a "final solution" of sorry memory. 26. It goes without saying that neither the Arab nation, the victim of this ongoing aggression, nor the international community as a whole can accept this diktat on the part of the Zionist entity and the repeated challenges to any global consensus and the relevant resolutions that have time and again been adopted by the Security Council and the General Assembly. 27. As has always been the case, genuine and lasting peace in the Middle East and real security for all must necessarily be based upon the unconditional and complete withdrawal of Israeli occupying forces from all occupied Arab territories, including the Holy City of Al Quds and the recovery by the Palestinian people, under the leadership of its sole legitimate representative, the PLO, of its inalienable rights, particularly its sacred right to set up its own sovereign State on the land of its ancestors. 28. Any other approach would be to reward arrogance, aggression and blackmail in that region and would engender a new cycle of violence that would endanger the stability of the entire Middle East and peace throughout the world. Despite the desire for peace which has undeniably been shown on a number of occasions by the Arab nation, the Zionist enemy persists in its constant refusal to envisage any policies which do not endorse its own tremendous territorial appetite and its determination to annex permanently the Syrian Golan Heights and the Palestinian territories, as well as its senseless dream of exercising tutelage over the destinies of the peoples of the Arab east. 29. As we said last year, the Organization must take the enforcement measures contained in the Charter and make Israel abide by the rules of international law and our repeated decisions. It is for the United States of America, which gives Israel massive military and financial aid and sustained political assistance, to assume the very special responsibilities conferred upon it as a permanent member of the Security Council, and fulfil as soon as possible the weighty duty which derives from its dual role as a friend and ally of the Zionist entity, by exerting the necessary pressure on Israel to ensure that it abides by the rules of ethics and international legality. 30. We should like to reiterate to our brother people of Lebanon the expression of our solidarity with it in achieving its objectives—to liberate its homeland, preserve its territorial integrity and bring about the unity of its people in the context of the global strategy of the whole Arab nation. We appeal to friendly and fraternal States and to the international community as a whole to redouble their efforts to ensure that Lebanon receives all necessary support in reconstructing its country and ensuring the immediate and unconditional withdrawal of Israeli troops from its soil. 31. In southern Africa, another area of major concern for our country, we deplore the delay in Namibia's liberation and the increased aggressiveness of the South African regime, both inside the country, and also outside where it is directed against the front-line States. The Namibian problem remains unchanged. In the opinion of our delegation, the only realistic basis for re-establishing international legality and ending the usurpation of at Territory is Security Council resolution 435 (1978). 32. We take note of the fact that the contact group of Western States has reaffirmed its commitment concerning the expeditious implementation of that resolution so that the Namibian people can exercise its right to self-determination. While welcoming the praiseworthy efforts made by the five Western countries in order to bring about a friendly settlement of the Namibian crisis, we cannot share either their optimism or all their concerns. Indeed, it is not at all obvious to the free peoples of Africa that there is any real desire in Pretoria to resolve the existing conflict peacefully, legally and democratically. Furthermore, while we respect the rights of all the ethnic communities in Namibia, we refuse to recognize that the minority which is of European origin has special exclusive rights, and, in particular, an exaggerated right of veto. 33. So far as the principle of security is concerned, we are amazed that the only concerns which seem to prevail in certain Western circles relate to South Africa's security, like the security of Israel. In our opinion, this is putting the cart before the horse. In the eyes of the Islamic Republic of Mauritania the security that is being denied and violated is that of the African people. Our country would like once again to reaffirm that the only conceivable security for all is in the speedy establishment of the State of Namibia by the implementation of Security Council resolution 435 (1978) in full association with the South West Africa People's Organization, the sole, legitimate representative of the people of the Territory. Within the frontiers of South Africa, and despite the so-called improvement in racial segregation—as if there could be such a thing—the apartheid regime remains fundamentally as it always has been—contemptuous, inhumane, exploitative and repulsive. 34. This is, an occasion to pay a well-deserved tribute to our brothers in the African National Congress who, by their passive and active opposition to this barbaric regime, have reinforced the faith of the oppressed millions in the possibility of a multiracial and egalitarian South African society. 35. following the same path as Zionism, applies its criminal laws against African patriots and outside the country acts as the policeman by its almost permanent occupation of a part of the sister Republic of Angola and its periodic incursions against Angola, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Zambia and the other countries in southern Africa. This is an opportunity to express our solidarity with those brother countries, victims of the indescribable acts of aggression perpetrated by the racist regime of South Africa. We also reaffirm our total commitment to stand side by side with these front-line countries. 36. Quite apart from these anachronistic attempts at colonization, in the Arab east and in southern Africa in the twilight of classical colonialism, new embers of tension have begun to smoulder in recent years in various parts of the world. Of all those armed conflicts, which for the people and Government of Mauritania are subjects of deep concern, that in Western Sahara is the one which most closely affects my country. Indeed, for practically seven years now Western Sahara has been fighting a difficult war to ensure national survival and to be able to give expression to its inalienable right to self-determination and independence. 37. We make an urgent appeal that this ruinous and useless war should be brought to an end, a war which has pitted against each other two fraternal peoples, which is taking place very close to our frontiers, and which entails the certain danger of engulfing the whole region and leading to an international conflict. The Islamic Republic of Mauritania, which sees the admission of the Sahraoui Arab Democratic Republic to the Organization of African Unity as a positive factor, will give its sincere support to any practical solutions accepted by the two parties concerned, the Moroccans and the Sahraouis, which could put an end to their fratricidal confrontation. 38. Nevertheless, as we have repeatedly stated, our country remains convinced that the only possible means of achieving genuine peace, then the necessary reconciliation, and finally a natural co-operation, requires the opening of a constructive dialogue directed to beginning the direct negotiations which are an indispensable prerequisite to the conclusion of a peace agreement. As we see it, that agreement should lead eventually to the self-determination and complete independence of the Sahraoui people, thus removing any obstacles and constraints of an administrative or military nature. That would remove the final obstacle to the building of a fraternal, egalitarian and closely united Arab Maghreb. 39. This cursory survey of the burning problems in our continent reminds us that Africa, which in the past suffered the terrible exploitation of its human and material resources, and which is now the target of imperialist appetites and intervention, needs, more than ever before, the cohesion of all the countries which make it up. 40. The OAU, which was created in 1963 and is based on the common aspiration of our peoples to achieve fully political and economic liberation of all its members and of all colonial territories, will, in spite of everything, be able to preserve its essential unity and its firm faith in its charter and its fundamental principles. 41. The Islamic Republic of Mauritania, a country ideally suited to meetings and exchanges among all the members of the African family, is firmly convinced that our continental organization will once again surmount its temporary difficulties by closing ranks, while at the same time avoiding the sacrifice of thesacred principles of pan-Africanism, namely, the equal right that all enjoy to self-determination and their inalienable right to national independence. 42. In the Gulf area, two countries that are both members, as are we of the Islamic Ummah and the non-aligned movement, have been confronting each other for more than two years in a devastating war, at enormous cost both in human lives and in the destruction of a valuable economic infrastructure. The Islamic Republic of Mauritania would like to reiterate its heartfelt appeal for the cessation of hostilities between our brothers in Iraq and the Islamic Republic of Iran and for negotiations to be opened between them to reach a permanent solution to their differences. 43. Another equally unfortunate conflict is continuing in Afghanistan as a result of the invasion of that country in violation of its sovereignty. Once again, we appeal for the complete and unconditional withdrawal of all foreign troops from the national territory of Afghanistan and for respect for the sovereignty of that country, for the integrity of its national territory and for the sovereign right of its people to seek their own progress in accordance with their historic heritage and their socio-cultural values. 44. The same is true with regard to the Member nation, which has also been the victim of fashion and prolonged military occupation. In this connection, we would like to welcome the constitution of a national front under the leadership of Samdech Norodom Sihanouk, and we appeal for the withdrawal of foreign troops from the national territory of Democratic Kampuchea. 45. We reaffirm our adherence to the Declaration of the International Conference on Kampuchea of July 19816 and to all the resolutions of the Organization calling for respect for the sovereignty of Kampuchea and for an end to foreign interference in its internal affairs and respect for its people's sovereign right to organize their own national life in a democratic manner without any outside interference. 46. In general terms, we condemn the claims of Powers, whether large, medium-sized or small, to arrogate to themselves the right to modify by force the regime of a neighbouring country if they judge it to be hostile. 47. A secure world of nations joined together in independence and solidarity and determined to shoulder the noble responsibility incumbent on mankind cannot, obviously, live by the anachronisms of the past and by social and political injustice. There can be no other way to satisfy the rights of peoples to national differentiation and the realization of their aspirations to freedom and progress, than by banishing all hegemonistic trends. There can be no other way to achieve the rights of every man to a life in dignity than through the triumph of fundamental freedoms. There can be no other way to redress on a global scale of all the damaging economic relations that result from subjection or from structural imbalances than by setting up an equitable world economy. 48. A world for tomorrow, one that man can live in—all men, equally—must be built on justice and equality or it cannot be built at all. Let us liberate those peoples still under domination, the victims of those who would deny them their identity and their right to a homeland and a name. Let us destroy the barriers that prevent men from achieving their dream of a life worthy of being lived in freedom and from satisfying their basic social and cultural needs. Let us put an end to the unjust heritage of an outrageous colonialism and to the further deprivations caused by an ill-adapted world economy suitable neither to equity nor to the aspirations and interests of all men, in North and South alike. 49. Let us, in other words, work devotedly to ensure the emergence of a new international order worthy of this end of the twentieth century that should witness the triumph of a united civilization brought together not around the values of a single continent or spiritual family, but imbued with a common heritage rich in its very diversity, 50. We will thereby have undoubtedly laid the groundwork for a new equilibrium that will be more realistic, more peaceful, more stable and more human. Indeed, we will have opened the way towards the realization of one of the noblest wishes of the drafters of the Charter of the United Nations, who stages three years after one of the most fearsome catastrophes of our time, their determination "to saw succeeding generations from the scourge of war".