Mr. President, allow me to congratulate you on
your election to your high office at this
thirty-seventh session of the General Assembly.
We are convinced that your election reflects both
an appreciation of your personal abilities and an
expres¬sion of the wide international prestige
enjoyed by the people of your country, whose
contribution to the strengthening of peace and
international security is well known. We wish you
and the Secretary- General full success in your
responsible work.
92. This is the second time in the last four
months that we have met to consider developments
throughout the world and seek ways of joining
forces as effectively as possible for the
implementation of the noble prin¬ciples of the
Charter. However, this time again it is with a
feeling of considerable concern that we are
forced to note that the current international
situation con¬tinues to be alarming and complex.
We are deeply convinced that this cooling of the
political climate did not have to occur at all.
There are not nor can there be any rational
grounds for it. The policy of detente, after all,
has asserted itself as a clearly demonstrable
historic achievement of nations.
93. Unfortunately, for certain circles of
imperialism and reaction the departure from such
a generally beneficial policy and attempts to
return to the practices of the cold war have
become virtually a line of policy. What
inventions they manage to come up with Just as in
the years of the witch hunts, today, again, their
agents are trying to resurrect the specter of
com¬munism, looking for its long arm in
everything bad; and, not unlike inquisitors, they
are accusing the socialist countries of all the
deadly sins, with the absurd intention of getting
them to the stake reserved for heretics. They are
doing their utmost to disrupt the
military-strategic balance—that basis of
stability in today's world—and to shift it to
their benefit. They are constantly launching new
rounds of the arms race. They are inventing
monstrous concepts of a preventive nuclear
strike, or the so-called limited or protracted
nuclear war, which they even assert can be - won.
They are also reviving the discredited policies
of embargoes, boycotts and sanctions. They are
using methods of pressure, blackmail, force,
aggression, barbarity and genocide wherever
circumstances still permit them to do so.
94. The deterioration of the international
situation is therefore not the result of forces
beyond our control. It is determined by quite
concrete deeds of quite concrete Governments, h
is consequently the duty of every Member of this
world Organization to do everything possible to
safeguard reliably and effec¬tively the most
fundamental human right—the right to life. The
possibilities in this respect are great and the
will of the peoples to live in peace is
indefatigable. That is why the policy of detente,
thanks to the deep and strong roots it has taken,
especially in Europe, can and must go on and must
continue to bear fruit. This assertion is
supported by demonstrable facts.
93. First, all the commitments embodied in the
Final Act of the Conference on Security and
Co-operation in Europe, signed at Helsinki in
1975, remain in force, and to their full extent.
They are in no sense archival documents, as some
might prefer. On the contrary, they continue to
serve as a living code, tested in practice, and
as a reliable compass for the policies of the
majority of European States.
96. Secondly, important bilateral and
multilateral agreements are being carried out.
These form a time- tested international legal
basis which is an irreplace¬able factor in the
construction of a peaceful Europe. Among them let
us in particular recall the treaties concluded by
the Soviet Union, Poland, the German Democratic
Republic and Czechoslovakia with the Federal
Republic of Germany, and the four-Power Agreement
on West Berlin.
97. Thirdly, the political dialogue between
East and West continues in an effort to
strengthen the infra¬structure of both European
and international detente. The mechanisms
established to seek a reduction of military
confrontation and to strengthen mutual
understanding and confidence in the interest of
more reliable stability and security continue to
function.
98. Fourthly, the wide-ranging and
time-tested mechanism of consultation on each
other's positions, which at first sight sometimes
are apparently irrecon¬cilable, is being
consolidated and expanded in order to preserve
and further activate the spirit and letter of the
Helsinki Final Act.
99. Fifthly, despite all artificial obstacles
and dis¬criminatory measures, Europe-wide
commercial and economic co-operation continues.
The implementation of the gas-pipeline contract,
the biggest project of this century tackling the
energy problems of Europe, is the latest example
of that co-operation.
100. Sixthly, the dialogue in the fields of
culture, education, information and human
contacts continues.
101. Seventhly, the anti-war and anti-nuclear
move¬ment is becoming a dynamic factor in the
European political climate.
102. It can thus be noted with satisfaction
that those who are trying to devalue detente have
not been successful and are not succeeding now.
This valuable asset can undoubtedly be further
enhanced qualita¬tively and expanded
geographically if responsible statesmen display
sufficient political will to do so.
103. The great profitability of the policy of
detente and the fact that it is beneficial for
all are, after all, best attested to by the
example of Europe, that obviously most stable
region of our uneasy planet. Thanks precisely to
detente, some remarkable and salubrious changes
have occurred in Central Europe, where
Czechoslovakia is located, in that ancient
critical area which has been the epicenter of two
destructive world wars. Above all, there is a new
awareness that, for the first time in European
history, the peoples of our continent have seized
the historic opportunity of creating practical
conditions for peace, security and peaceful
co-operation, and have done so despite all
existing political, economic, philosophical and
social differences.
104. Czechoslovakia, too, has contributed its
share to the creation of this accomplishment,
which histori¬cally is completely new. As was
already observed at the Helsinki Conference by
our President, Gustav Husak, it has helped to
create an important element of stability which is
in such sharp contrast to the pre-war history of
constant conflict and tension, in particular in
the central part of Europe.
105. The normalization achieved between
Czecho¬slovakia and the Federal Republic of
Germany and the continuing fruitful development
of mutually advantageous relations based on it
have become an important factor in the system of
European security. This is true also with respect
to the normalization of relations with Austria:
since pending questions have been resolved, a
rich structure of mutual con¬tacts, including
political contacts at the highest level, has been
created and peaceful co-operation on our
continent has thus been strengthened. Our
com¬prehensive co-operation with Finland
represents a logical implementation of the Final
Act. Our joint search with France for new ways of
developing relations also offers hope. Our
relations with Greece, the Republic of Cyprus and
Luxembourg are unde¬niably of benefit to detente.
106. After many years of negotiations with
other signatories to the Helsinki documents—the
United States and the United Kingdom—negotiations
began immediately after the Helsinki Conference,
the question of Czechoslovakia's monetary gold
has been resolved. Agreements were signed last
January between Czechoslovakia and the United
States and between Czechoslovakia and the United
Kingdom on compensation for claims and the
settlement of financial issues which had
encumbered our relations with those countries
since the end of the Second World War. In
February part of the 18.4 ton gold treasure
stolen during the occupation of Czechoslovakia by
the Hitlerites was returned by Washington and
London to Prague. Thus one of the last
outstanding issues remaining from the time of the
Second World War was resolved and a serious
obstacle removed from the path to the
normalization of our relations, in particular
with the United States. In this, too, we see
confirmation of the fact that, given good will on
both sides, there are no insoluble problems.
107. In the past we have constantly pointed
out the mutual benefits resulting from what we
have come to call the materialization of detente.
This is borne out by facts. Suffice it to mention
that there has been a more than six fold mutually
balanced increase in trade between the socialist
and the capitalist States in the last 10 years.
Czechoslovakia's share in this useful exchange
with advanced capitalist countries repre¬sented a
trade turnover last year of more than $6 billion.
108. A similar picture is to be seen in
cultural, educational and scientific contacts. We
have maintained from the very beginning that
progress in this field contributes to mutual
cultural enrichment and growing mutual
confidence. The number of these projects places
our country in the top ranks of the participants
in the Helsinki Final Act. In the last 10 years
our cultural exchanges have doubled in volume.
Last year, for instance, this represented 100,000
persons—55,000 of them travelling from
Czechoslovakia abroad and 45,000 foreigners
visiting Czechoslovakia on the basis of more than
70 existing cultural agreements. We have been
organizing numerous prestigious international
cultural projects in our country, such as the
"Days of Culture" of Finland, Belgium, Mexico and
Tunisia, or the recent successful "Days of
Culture of the Federal Republic of Germany in
Czechoslovakia"—the first such project in the
history of the two States—or the "Days of Culture
of Austria in Czechoslovakia" that are being
prepared for next year. In this way we can say
that virtually every day the culture of some of
the Western participants in the Helsinki
Conference is present in Czechoslovakia. Of
course, all those are but a few examples of the
viability and future- oriented nature of the
policy of detente.
109. In the conditions of the nuclear age
there is no other reasonable alternative to
peaceful coexistence in relations among States.
There can be no doubt about the truth of this
conclusion. A return to the cold war,
confrontation or a flight from the nuclear threat
into stone age caves are certainly not Mason-
able alternatives. This is the main motive of the
search for answers to the key questions of today
and tomorrow: How can war be eliminated from the
life of society? How can a nuclear catastrophe be
averted? How can we assert and develop what we
have in common and not what divides us? After
all, the high¬est values are at stake here, and
Hamlet's "To be or not to be" is appropriate, in
the sense of whether the most basic conditions
necessary for life on this planet will be
preserved. In the historic answer to these
questions we must not admit a shadow of doubt.
Let us therefore answer unequivocally,
definitively and resolutely.
110. As was said from the rostrum of the
Assembly at the twelfth special session, the
second special session devoted to disarmament,
the preparation of a nuclear war must be stepped.
We therefore fully support the commitment made by
the Soviet Union not to be the first to use
nuclear weapons, a commit¬ment contained in the
message of the highest Soviet representative,
Leonid Ilyich Brezhnev, addressed to the Assembly
at that recent session . We value this highly as
a truly historic deed which, if emulated by the
other nuclear Powers, would free the world from
the danger of the use of nuclear weapons. It is
this attitude to nuclear war which we consider to
be a decisive criterion when judging the degree
of responsibility with which individual States—4n
particular the countries in the North Atlantic
Treaty organization [NATO] and, above all, the
United States—approach the safeguarding of
peaceful life on our planet.
111. As for the allegation that this
obligation ignores conventional weapons, let us
recall that it is precisely the authors of these
objections who from the very beginning have been
blocking the conclusion of a world treaty on the
non-use of force in international relations, a
proposal which has been on the negotiating table
for a number of years.
112. Czechoslovakia is emphatically in favor of a
complete and definitive liquidation of nuclear
weapons, of eliminating without delay the causes
of the development of new types and systems of
such weapons. We are against their proliferation.
Figura¬tively speaking, to eliminate the causes
and thus to eliminate in time the risk of
destabilizing the strategic situation means in
practical terms to do away in the first place
with the testing of nuclear weapons. That is why
we welcome and fully support the proposal for the
speedy conclusion of a treaty on the complete and
general prohibition of nuclear weapon tests
sub¬mitted from this rostrum several days ago by
the Soviet Foreign Minister, Mr. Gromyko. The
conclusion of such a treaty would undoubtedly be
facilitated if all the nuclear Powers were now to
declare a moratorium on all nuclear explosions,
including peaceful ones.
113. We value equally highly yet another new
Soviet proposal for invigorating the efforts of
States to eliminate the threat of nuclear war and
safeguard the secure development of nuclear
energy. The General Assembly should qualify the
deliberate destruction of a peaceful nuclear
facility, even if carried out with conventional
weapons, as a nuclear attack and thus, in keeping
with the Declaration on the Prevention of Nuclear
Catastrophe this would be qualified as the
gravest crime against humanity.
114. We attach exceptional importance to the
successful conduct and positive outcome of
Soviet- American negotiations on the limitation
of nuclear weapons in Europe. As a central
European country directly threatened by
existing—and even more so by the Pentagon's
envisaged—nuclear missile systems for NATO we
believe that it is necessary to follow up the
sincere expressions of good will with which the
Soviet Union has so significantly encouraged the
talks so far.
115. We hold the view that the question of
whether progress will be achieved in nuclear
disarmament and whether peace can thus be
strengthened depends largely on whether
Soviet-American agreement is reached on the
limitation and reduction of strategic weapons.
That objective can be attained only on the basis
of full respect for the principles of equality
and equal security, while preserving everything
positive that has already been achieved by the
two sides in negotiations so far.
116. We are also profoundly disturbed by the
devel¬opment of binary and other types of
chemical weapons of mass destruction, as well as
by the unprecedented, plans of the United States
for their deployment in previously unheard-of
amounts to the west of the borders of our
Republic. The prompt achievement of a ban on
these dangerous weapons in the spirit of the
Soviet draft of the basic provisions of a
con¬vention on the prohibition of the
development, pro¬duction and stockpiling of
chemical weapons and on their destruction is, in
our opinion, one of the most urgent tasks of all.
117. We advocate the preparation without delay
of a convention prohibiting the deployment of any
weapons in outer space, and we fully support the
draft con¬vention submitted by the Soviet Union
last year/ Further, in the Geneva Committee on
Disarmament, negotiations should be intensified
on other disar¬mament issues, including the
prohibition of neutron and radiological weapons,
and agreement should be reached on further
concrete measures of disarmament.
118. Sincere and fruitful co-operation among
all States in the solution of disarmament
questions is today more necessary than ever
before. We therefore believe that the consistent
implementation of the Declaration on
International Co-operation for Disar¬mament,
adopted on the initiative of my country at the
thirty-fourth session of the General Assembly
remains highly timely and relevant. It is a
document which urges States to participate
actively in disarmament negotiations and to do so
constructively, with initiative, to demonstrate a
sincere political will to achieve tangible
results in such talks and, last but not least, to
conduct those talks on the basis of strict
respect for the principle of equality and equal
security, to refrain from developing new trends
in the arms race and not to misuse disarmament
negotiations as a screen behind which to add new
spirals to the arms race.
119. As a direct participant in the Vienna
Talks on Mutual Reduction of Forces, Armaments
and Associated Measures in Central Europe, we
have literally a vital interest in their
successful progress and, above all, tangible
results. We believe that the best way to achieve
progress is to proceed without delay with the
drafting of the text of the agreement. We are
convinced that the proposal submitted by the
socialist countries last February provides an
equitable basis for that task. We regret that our
Western part¬ners are frustrating our efforts by
persisting, even in their most recent proposal,
in the old so-called asymmetrical model of
reduction, which is motivated by an endeavor to
gain considerable unilateral military advantages
at the expense of the security of the Warsaw
Treaty States.
120. We expect that the forthcoming resumed
Madrid meeting of the Conference on Security and
Co-operation in Europe will also have important
things to say with regard to the solution of the
burning issues of disarmament and the reduction
of the danger of military confrontation. We wish
to emphasize from this rostrum our interest in
that meeting and our feeling that it should be
conducted in the spirit of a constructive
dialogue, should reaffirm the continuation of the
process of detente and should reach a success¬ful
conclusion as soon as possible by adopting a
substantive and balanced final document,
including a mandate for the convening of a
conference on confidence-building measures and
disarmament in Europe. We believe that a positive
role in that respect can be played by the
constructive proposals of the neutral and
non-aligned countries. We very much hope that the
results of the Madrid meeting will strengthen the
prerequisites for the continuous expansion and
creative development of the European initiative
in Helsinki.
121. However, we wish to express our concern
that the success of the meeting is being
jeopardized
by efforts to revive the policy of dealing with
the socialist countries from a position of
strength and of undermining the very foundations
of East-West economic co-operation by
heavy-handed and unscru¬pulous sanctions.
122. We have followed with great concern the
deterioration of the political climate in various
hotbeds of tension. Czechoslovakia firmly
denounces the further manifestations of Israeli
aggression in the Middle East which are shielded
by Washington's political, military and economic
support within the framework of the agreement on
so-called strategic co-operation.
123. We feel profoundly indignant at the gross
intervention against Lebanon which culminated in
the recent gory massacre of Palestinian and
Lebanese civilians in west Beirut. As one of the
members, along with Bolivia, Denmark, Panama and
the Philip¬pines, of the former United Nations
Commission on Palestine which was established by
resolution 181 (II) of 29 November 1947 and which
was called upon to supervise the termination of
the British Mandate in Palestine and the
establishment of independent Arab and Jewish
States on its territory—a resolution as yet
regrettably unimplemented—we state with the
utmost clarity that Israel must immediately and
unconditionally withdraw its troops beyond the
internationally recognized borders of Lebanon.
The sovereignty, territorial integrity, unity and
political independence of Lebanon must be
strictly respected, as is required by the
decision of the recently resumed seventh
emergency special session of the General Assembly.
124. As for the overall solution to the
situation, the only possible way to a just and
lasting peace in the Middle East is the
consistent observance of the prin¬ciples which
correspond to the general norms of international
law and the relevant resolutions of the Security
Council and the General Assembly. These demand
the return of all Arab territories occupied since
1967, including east Jerusalem, the
implemen¬tation of the inalienable right of the
Arab Palestinian people to self-determination and
the establishment of its own independent State on
the territory of Palestine, free from Israeli
occupation, on the West Bank of the Jordan and in
the Gaza Strip, the safe¬guarding of the right of
the Palestinian people to return to their homes
or to receive appropriate compensation for the
property which they have abandoned, the
safeguarding of the right of all States in the
region to a secure and independent existence and
to development, and the preparation and adoption
of international safeguards for the settlement,
which could be guaranteed by the permanent
members of the Security Council or by the Council
as a whole.
125. We note with satisfaction that this
position of ours is substantially in accord with
the conclusions of the Twelfth Arab Summit
Conference. These objectives, however, cannot be
attained through the compromised Camp David
deals, but only by multilateral collective
efforts, preferably by an international
conference on the peaceful settlement of the
situation in the region, with the participation
of all interested parties, including the PLO, the
sole legitimate repre¬sentative of the Arab
people of Palestine.
126. Our indignation continues to be aroused
by the anachronism of the policy of apartheid,
which has been repeatedly and unequivocally
condemned here, as well as by South Africa's
continuing acts of armed aggression against
Angola, Mozambique and other front-line States;
and furthermore by the attempts to hamper,
through neo-colonialist maneuvers, the
settle¬ment of the question of Namibia on the
basis of the full implementation of the relevant
United Nations resolutions. We express our
solidarity with the Namibian people in the
struggle they are waging under the leadership of
SWAPO for self-determination and independence.
127. The proposals of the Government of the
Democratic Republic of Afghanistan for a
political settlement of the situation around
Afghanistan are viewed by us as a constructive
contribution to a peaceful settlement of the
situation in that region. We also highly value
the efforts undertaken in this respect by the
Secretary-General. In addition, the set of
proposals by the Ministers for Foreign Affairs of
the People's Republic of Kampuchea, the Socialist
Republic of Viet Nam and the Lao People's
Demo¬cratic Republic, including the initiative
proposing the convening of an international
conference to consider the situation in
South-East Asia, constitute in our view an
important step towards changing South-East Asia
into a region of peace, stability and
co-operation.
128. We see the withdrawal of a part of the
Viet¬namese troops from the People's Republic of
Kampu¬chea as an expression of good will and a
desire to resolve the situation in that region by
peaceful means. We declare once again, most
resolutely, that the seat in this Organization
rightfully belongs to the legitimate
representatives of the People's Republic of
Kampuchea and to nobody else.
129. From the very beginning we have held the
view that the continuing senseless conflict
between Iraq and the Islamic Republic of Iran can
and must be terminated as soon as possible by
peaceful meant with respect for the legitimate
rights of both parties. We have on several
occasions expressed our position on the matter to
both sides. We support the peace mediation
efforts by the countries of the non-aligned
movement.
130. We hold unswervingly to the position that
the inalienable right of peoples to
self-determination and to decide independently on
their own fate must be fully respected in Central
America and the Caribbean region also. The
threats by American imperialism against Cuba,
Nicaragua, Grenada and other States of Central
America and the Caribbean, like the ruthless
suppression of the struggle of the patriotic
forces in El Salvador, have no other result than
the exacerba¬tion of tension and the endangering
of peace in those regions. We sympathize with the
efforts of the Carib¬bean States to transform the
region into a zone of peace, independence and
development.
131. We advocate the settlement of the
decoloniza¬tion problem which came to a head this
year in the South Atlantic—by means of
negotiations on the basis of United Nations
resolutions and of the deci¬sions adopted by the
non-aligned movement, parti¬cularly the
conclusions of the Ministerial Meeting of the
Co-ordinating Bureau of the Non-Aligned
Countries, held from 31 May to 5 June 1982 at
Havana .
132. We resolutely support the efforts of the
Govern¬ment of the People's Democratic Republic
of Korea for the peaceful reunification of Korea
and the with¬drawal of United States troops from
the southern part of the country.
133. We continue to favor the solution of the
question of Cyprus in the spirit of the
well-known United Nations resolutions on the
subject. That is the only way to ensure the
restoration of the sover¬eignty and territorial
integrity of the Republic of Cyprus, its
independence and non-aligned status.
134. We are in favor of settling existing
conflicts peacefully and averting potential
conflicts. In that context we support the Soviet
proposals for negotiations on confidence-building
measures in the Far East and the strengthening of
peace and security in Asia and the Persian Gulf,
and the proposal of the Mongolian People's
Republic for the conclusion by the States of Asia
and the Pacific of a convention on the mutual
non-use of force that applies also to the
proposals for effective measures to enhance
secu¬rity, particularly in the Mediterranean and
Indian Ocean regions. The timeliness of those
initiatives is underscored by the fact that they
are designed to restore health to the
international climate in these important regions
of the world and thus to strengthen peace in the
world as a whole.
133. Czechoslovakia values highly the activity of
the non-aligned movement against war and for
disar¬mament and social progress. We are
convinced that by proceeding consistently on the
basis of progressive, peaceful and
anti-imperialist positions the non-aligned
movement can play a significant positive role,
parti¬cularly in the current complex
international situation.
136. Proceeding from positions of principle,
we shall continue to extend our support to the
efforts of the developing countries aimed at
overcoming the con¬sequences of colonial and
neo-colonial rule and bringing about a
substantive restructuring of inter¬national
economic relations on an equitable, equal and
democratic basis.
137. Czechoslovakia, as a socialist State and
a member and a strong integral part of the
defense alliance of the socialist community of
States in the Warsaw Treaty Organization, remains
unswervingly faithful to the ideals of peace.
138. We are ready to co-operate with all
delegations to ensure that the thirty-seventh
session of the General Assembly fulfils the hopes
which humanity has placed in it and contributes
to finding ways of limiting the arms race,
halting the dangerous exacer¬bation of
international tension, developing detente and
building confidence among States with different
social systems. in this way alone will it be
possible to strengthen and enhance the role of
the United Nations in interactional relations and
enable it consistently to implement its ideals,
thus fulfilling its mandate and meeting the
expectations of nations.