Guinea

 2. The sixteenth session, like the three preceding sessions in which the delegation of the Republic of Guinea has taken part, will once again, and to a very significant degree, bear the imprint of Africa and its problems — the problems of decolonialization, and therefore also the problems of peace. 3. The first election of an African as President of the General Assembly of our Organization indisputably marks another turning point in the life of the United Nations. For all those who have fought, for all those who have sacrificed, and for all those who continue to fight, to toil unremittingly and to sacrifice, for the full emancipation of our peoples, for the affirmation of the African personality, and for the restoration to the States of Africa and Asia of their legitimate places and their proper roles in the concert of nations, for all these architects of our independent future the election of an African to the highest office in the United Nations is more than a test and more than a confirmation. It is the pledge given by initial success that farther, and more significant, successes must surely follow. It is our hope, and the hope of all the peoples of Africa and Asia, that this Presidential term, opening at a time of very delicate problems, will stand out, in the stormy history of our Organization, by virtue of the peculiar stamp of Africa and Asia, and that all our peoples, tomorrow, will have reason only to rejoice because, in 1961, one of their own acceded to the high office of President of the General Assembly of the United Nations. 4. To the many causes of international tension has now been added the death Ox' Secretary-General Hammarskjold, which adds a further important factor to an already sombre international situation that is causing grave concern to all peoples and all States. 5. The African-Asian group could not remain indifferent to the tragic circumstances in which the sixteenth session of the General Assembly opens. More than any other spiritual family, more than any other political group in the United Nations, the African-Asians have cause to evidence their grief and concern at the sudden loss of the executive head of our Organization. They have done so, as it were, almost spontaneously. At a meeting held a few hours after the announcement of the Secretary-General's passing, the African-Asian group expressed the keen emotion, the sense of profound shock, the deep concern and the grave forebodings that filled all its members at the news of the tragic death of the Secretary- General and his colleagues. Our group also stressed the urgent need for an immediate, detailed and complete investigation to establish the full facts and determine responsibility. 6. In the opinion of our delegation, as the Foreign Minister of Ghana has already said on our behalf [1010th plenary meeting], there can be no doubt: Secretary-General Hammarskjold died a victim of the same colonialist and racist forces whose united front, organized and financed in broad daylight, assassinated Patrice Lumumba and his associates, and is now striving at all costs to prevent the inevitable decolonization of Central and East Africa. These are the same forces now surrounding the Congo, Angola, Southwest Africa, South Africa, Rhodesia, Rwanda-Urundi, Uganda, Kenya, Nyasaland, Mozambique and all the other dismembered parts of that region of our beloved continent with a ring of blood and flame. 7. May the gravity of the situation so created at least open the eyes and ears of those who fly in the face of all the evidence, and persist in remaining deaf and blind to all our warnings and cries of alarm. In any event, this last crime once again confirms our deep-rooted conviction that decolonization is the key problem upon which, more than on any other, the maintenance of international peace and security, and therefore the realization of the major aims of the United Nations Charter depend. It is true that decolonization must, as it were, be initiated where colonization exists in Africa and Asia. But we must proclaim from this rostrum the necessity of extending decolonization principal organs of the United Nations. This could be wherever it may be required, particularly in the very structure of the United Nations itself. 8. In this connexion a few dates, a few figures and a few facts will indicate, more eloquently than any speech could possibly do, the vital urgency of adapting the structure of the United Nations to present day realities, and, in particular, the urgency of giving Africa and Asia the places they are entitled to demand, as of right, in the major organs and specialized agencies of the United Nations. 9. In 1945, Africa was represented on the international scene in a purely symbolic manner. Only three African States took part in framing the United Nations Charter at the San Francisco Conference. With the recent admission of Sierra Leone, there are now twenty-six independent African States in the United Nations, which make up more than a quarter of its total membership; and who knows what these figures will be by the close of the sixteenth session of the General Assembly? 10. The proportions for Asia are about the same. It goes without saying that this numerical importance is not the only factor that must be taken into account. 11. The last three sessions have devoted most of their deliberations to the problems posed, for various reasons and in various forms, by the political, economic, and cultural decolonialization of Africa and Asia. A mere reading of the agenda just adopted indicates clearly that the sixteenth session, in turn, will have to give prolonged consideration to these same problems. 12. The thirteenth, fourteenth and fifteenth sessions of the General Assembly, were quite rightly referred to as the "African sessions", all of them being dominated by the growing importance of Africa in the life and preoccupations, we would even say the trials, of the United Nations. We regret to note, however, that this importance of Africa and Asia is, in a way, confined to the precincts of the General Assembly. 13. We are still almost unrepresented in the principal organs, where the decisions of our Organization are really worked out and implemented. Even when they are admitted, Africans and Asians have the impression that they are not fully accepted. They will no longer be content merely to speak; they ask now to be associated, in the principal organs and specialized agencies, with the real life of the United Nations. There are, we "know, many different obstacles to the satisfaction of this legitimate demand. All of these, however, are connected with the question of amending or revising the United Nations Charter. On this point, as is our practice, we shall be quite frank and perfectly clear. 14. Originally conceived as a compromise, under conditions which have now disappeared, the Charter today is regarded by all as no longer adapted in its conception, organization and functioning to the realities of the present day. 15. This lag lies at the very root of the difficulties under which our Organization labours today — difficulties connected precisely with the question of the executive of the United Nations, one with which we are all concerned. Who, today, would venture to doubt the inadequacy of the provisions of the Charter — a Charter which has provided neither temporary measures nor any legal solution to the difficulties arising from the sudden death of the Secretary-General? Yet this lacuna is but a single aspect of the general inadequacy and inconsistency of the Charter. Nevertheless, it throws into sharp relief the urgent need to adapt this basic instrument to the new international situation which differs to completely from that prevailing in 1945. 16. For all these reasons the delegation of the Republic of Guinea very sincerely regrets the further record of inaction of the Committee on arrangements for a conference for the purpose of reviewing the Charter (A/4877). 17. We realize that such a review cannot be undertaken without the consent of the permanent Members of the Security Council, but we must quite frankly bring those permanent Members face to face with their responsibilities in this vitally important matter. We must urge them rapidly to find that minimum common ground that is essential if these urgently needed reforms are to be accomplished. 18. As regards the Secretariat, the Government of the Republic of Guinea did not wait until the present situation had arisen to make known its views. From this rostrum, at the fifteenth session [896th plenary meeting] President Toure expressed a clear preference for a single Secretary-General, who would, however, be assisted by an advisory committee of three Assistant Secretaries-General representing the three great political forces of the world. 19. That suggestion was inspired by the need to maintain an effective executive, and also to guard against the errors and inadequacies that, from time to time, we have had to deplore and denounce from this rostrum, as well as in Africa. 20. There does not appear to be any new factor justifying a modification of our fundamental position, for, discarding the narrow sectarian view, we believe sincerely that such a proposal could reconcile all the interests involved and enable the Executive of our Organization to face with honour, effectiveness, impartiality and loyalty the immense tasks of implementation which are assigned to him. 21. Our desire is, without unnecessary delay, to give our Organization such an effective and impartial Executive. The best means to that end, and the only one acceptable to us, is negotiation, based exclusively on the interests of our Organization. We should choose a completely independent candidate, of absolute integrity and competence. Such a candidate must, of necessity, come from a country that is genuinely independent and practices a true policy of nonalignment. In this connexion, we make it clearly known that we shall oppose, openly fight and formally denounce any candidacy submitted within the framework or in the context of the cold war, even if it should involve an African or Asian willing to play the game of the blocs that confront each other in our Organization. Genuine independence true non-alignment — that is the criterion which our delegation proposes for the choice of the executive head of the United Nations. 22. But, in addition to the question of the Secretariat, we must quickly tackle the substantive problems of amendment and revision of the United Nations Charter. 23. First of all, as far as necessary amendments are concerned, we say that it is vital to ensure equitable representation of Africa and Asia in the Security Council, the Economic and Social Council and all those achieved by two methods which we consider complementary: by redistributing the existing seats — this can be done at any election — and by increasing the membership of those organs. Such an increase would of course require amendment of the Charter as provided in Article 108. This redistribution and increase in membership appear to us to be essential. Justice and dignity require them. All the formulas now used to give Africa and Asia token representation in the principal organs of our Organization are the result of compromises and devices, all of which deliberately ignore the personality of Africa and Asia. The fact of the matter is for example, that Africa, as such, has no seat at all, in either the Security Council or the Economic and Social Council. It is true that several African representatives have been or still are members for the Near East, or for the Commonwealth, or under some similar formula. What we seek, however, Is true, autonomous representation of Africa and Asia, as such, in the specialized agencies and in all organs of the United Nations, including the Secretariat, This can be achieved merely by amending the Charter, just as a redistribution of the existing seats could be effected amicably by a modification — following new negotiations — of the gentleman's agreement concluded in London in 1946. 24. However, if Africa and Asia are to make their fullest contribution to the activities of the United Nations, a fundamental revision of the Charter would of course be necessary. Such a revision would have to take into account emergence of numerous States from the ruins of the old empires, the existence and vitality of the Socialist countries, and the great awakening of a large number of States that are non-aligned but are fully dedicated to the realization of the noble aims of justice, equity, and co-operation, which are the essential basis for the maintenance of international peace and security. In this connexion we should rid our Organization once and for all of all the machinery set up in 1945 to deal with the colonies and Trust Territories, machinery that was created or maintained by the colonial Powers for the purpose of dragging the United Nations into their colonial adventure*?. More specifically, the trusteeship system should simply be abolished, since in practice it has proved less conducive to the rapid emancipation of subject peoples than has the classical system of colonization by individual Powers. In any case, the implementation of the Declaration on the granting of independence to colonial countries and peoples (General Assembly resolution 1514 (XV)) postulated the end of trusteeship in all its forms. On this point the sixteenth session should formally proclaim this fundamental step forward. In due course our delegation will submit a specific resolution to that end. 25. However, the revision we call for involves the conception, organization and functions of the United Nations. With regard to its conception, we must at all costs discard th© 1945 spirit of compromise between opposing' camps, a spirit that sacrificed the interests of the small Powers, and instead build an Organization based exclusively on the needs and interests of the peoples. In that Organization, as we have already said, all bodies of a colonial or semi-colonial nature must be abolished, and all continents and all great political and spiritual forces of the world must enjdy equitable representation in all its organs. In that connexion, after the abolition of the Trusteeship Council and the Fourth Committee, a new organization for cooperation and for the elimination of the underdevelopment inherited from the colonial systems might well take their place. 26. As regards the Security Council, account should be taken of the fact that the concept of greatness, as it was defined in 1945, is now to some extent obsolete. It is well known that, at that time, certain countries were considered great mainly on account of their colonial empires, which have since collapsed. This is a fact that should be recognized. Moreover, the total absence of Africa and the partial absence of Asia from the great Power club of permanent members of the Security' Council is another artificial situation that has seen its day. If the veto must be preserved, then Africa and Asia must be made full associates, so that they can bring their votes and the immense weight of their intact moral authority to bear on the settlement of major international questions. We reject, in advance, any great Power club in which Africa and Asia are not reasonably and equitably represented. 27. With regard to the functioning of the Organization, it is extremely important that Africa and Asia should have equitable representation in the Secretariat, and that the latter, in order to play its full part should at all costs cease to be at the service of any bloc, any group of Powers, or any particular policy within the Organization. Naturally, this involves the responsibility of all Members of the Organization, and of the Security Council and the General Assembly in particular. 28. We are fully aware of juridical and political obstacles that stand in the way of the realization of these our legitimate aspirations. However, inspired by the firm will of our peoples, by the feelings of solidarity that link Africa and Asia together, and by the deep desire for genuine independence, that is shared by the non-aligned countries, our delegation firmly resolves to co-operate seriously and effectively towards the achievement of these major objectives. Our basic concern still is to see a real strengthening of that irreplaceable instrument of international cooperation that is the United Nations. 29. Colonialism, as the Republic of Guinea has stated, and again repeats, is nothing more than the right of sheer force. Indeed, you will find nowhere, in all Africa or Asia, any country that has ever asked to be colonized. Here, colonization has been imposed by force of arms. There, the trust of the indigenous inhabitants hias been abused, and the man to whom hospitality was generously shown soon usurped the place of the master of the house. Everywhere, all will to national resistance has been overcome by banishment, summary executions, cruelty and maltreatment of every kind, and the colonialist has arrogated to himself the right to think and to act in the place and stead of the colonized people. 30. In the light of these facts which some, for obvious reasons, deliberately deny in the face of world opinion, it is utterly disheartening to hear it claimed that such and such a part of Africa is really an integral part, of such and such a metropolitan country, or a province of such and such another, for a proverb of my country teaches us that, no matter how long apiece of wood stays in the water, it will never become a crocodile. This, incidentally, explains the failure of all the measures of assimilation that have been attempted in various places by the colonialists. In order to give , weight to their claims, moreover, some of them, with the stubbornness of blinkered mules and the tenacity of half-starved leeches, proclaim from this high rostrum the existence of constitutions tying them to their colonies, while others voice their indignation, in the name of human rights and the United Nations Charter, that their seizures of lands and their extreme racism, which they label apartheid, should be universally regarded as acts to be condemned, acts for which mankind itself demands reparation. 31. San Francisco was a radiant sun that rose for all the peoples that regained or preserved their freedom at the outcome of the Second World War. It is both paradoxical and deplorable that the representatives of those very same peoples should have failed, o4 that occasion, definitely to condemn the colonial system. The veil of humanitarianism in which they cloaked themselves was in fact lifted by the impetuous wind of freedom that swept away nazism, unmasking racial discrimination, obscurantism, under-development and its train of miseries, all of them practices which enabled the colonialists to go on living in undisturbed peace and quiet, jealously guarding the immense wealth hidden underground and waiting for the right moment in order to derive enormous profits from it when the mineral resources of old Europe become depleted owing to the rapid advances of technology. 32. In order to prepare for this age of super-profits, a colonial economic policy would be scientifically worked out in parallel with the system of administration, so that there would be no industrialization, no modernization of agricultural methods and no training of technicians. 33. It is all these misdeeds of colonialism that worthy sons of Asia and Africa have denounced before the world, at the risk of being devoured by those insatiable wolves, the colonialists and imperialists. 34. Valiant patriots are still shedding their blood in Algeria, Angola, the Congo, Rhodesia, Kenya, so- called Portuguese Guinea and elsewhere, in order that the machinations of these modern buccaneers may cease. The war-mongers are using these countries as areas in which to test the weapons and techniques they use to gain their evil ends. 35. this Organization was founded at San Francisco, to prevent war and to ensure conditions permitting normal peaceful life and fruitful international cooperation. 36. This is why the anti-colonialist countries will continue to trust the United Nations, as long as it contributes effectively to the total liquidation of the colonial system and to the complete decolonization of the countries of Asia and Africa. 37. In this connexion, the Republic of Guinea is glad that the United Nations has moved in that direction by adopting resolution 1514 (XV) of 14 December 1960. It notes with some bitterness however, that, since that historic date for the colonial countries, only one territory, Sierra Leone has become independent. We welcome Sierra Leone's admission to the United Nations with enthusiasm, pride and satisfaction, since we are convinced that this brother country is fully committed, like the other independent African countries to the task of restoring the dignity of the black man, which the colonizers, to gain their own sordid ends, have scorned. Some of the colonial Powers still claim from this rostrum that colonial countries must serve their apprenticeship before they can gain independence. 38. This paternalism is simply shameful, since, I repeat, no country asked for colonial rule. When adventurers from the coasts of Europe braved the stormy ocean in their sailing-ships, they did so, not in order to organize communities in Africa ol' Asia, but to bring back spices, gold, and ivory from those continents and to carry on the despicable trade in Negro slaves. This incapacity for self-government, which is gratuitously attributed to the colonized countries, is an insult to mankind and a sign of intolerable racialism, 39. Since colonialism must be ended, the delegation of the Republic of Guinea considers it its duty to lay stress on items 27, 79,82 and88 of the agenda adopted by this Assembly, which relate to the colonial policy of Portugal. 40. Our delegation regards it as deplorable that this State should for so long deliberately have committed many blatant acts of indiscipline, which are inconsistent with the obligations of Member States. Our delegation fully agrees with those which ask that exemplary political, diplomatic and economic sanctions should be taken against Portugal. 41. That a small under-developed country like Portugal should have the courage to go against the decisions of the United Nations calls for some comment, at least of which is that no country would be so rash unless it were certain of impunity. This must be for one of two reasons: either the United Nations can impose no sanctions, in which case our delegation considers it essential to revise the Charter; or Portugal relies on some hidden protection, which explains the means available to it for the repression of African nationalism. 42. Portugal, is running the risk of a very rude awakening from its legendary lethargy, because the wind of independence will undoubtedly sweep away all the last vestiges of the conquistadores, from the Cape Verde Islands to Timor and its dependencies, through Principe Island and Mozambique. It is, in this respect, a little behind the other colonial Powers. Having been the first country to possess colonies, it presumably intends to cling to the tatters of a past which it imagines to have been glorious. . 43. This does not mean that the Republic of Guinea is satisfied when one more flag flies under the Asian or African sky, or when it hears echoing the strains of new national anthems. What it asks of this Assembly is the decolonization of administrative, economic, social and cultural structures, in order that the personalities of the colonial peoples may be fully affirmed and that the Asian and African, having regained their dignity, may be able to contribute effectively to a better future for all mankind. It is most unfortunate that, for certain Members of this Assembly, only tile white man's dignity counts. In that regard the Republic of South Africa distinguishes itself shamefully, and the Guinean delegation hopes that the debate on agenda items 75 and 76 will lead this Assembly to take the necessary steps to make that country understand that its senseless policy of apartheid has lasted far too long. 4G. We claim, that the colonial system has hindered the historical development of the colonized countries. Indigenous forms of government had superimposed on them an alien system designed to protect interests incompatible with those of the inhabitants who were subjected to the new institutions. This duality led to the various nationalist movements in Africa and Asia, which were brutally repressed by the colonial Powers 47. The peoples should therefore be permitted freely to express their will. Wherever they have enjoyed this freedom fully, they have entrusted their destiny to their worthiest sons, the very men the colonial powers tried to exclude from positions of national responsibility. The Republic of Guinea is glad, for instance, that the nationalists of Nyasaland have won the latest election. Our country is convinced that any people is able at any moment to take its destiny effectively into its own hands. 48. The Republic of Guinea is convinced, however, and with good reason, that colonialism is not dead. Events have caused it to make a mere tactical withdrawal. Its strategy is to stir up plots here and there. The world knows of the plots which Guinea has escaped, thanks to the political maturity and awareness of its people. Colonialism, then, is very healthy, since ithas very cunningly disguised itself in the mantle of neocolonialism. 49. Two years ago, when the great majority of African States were still under colonial domination, the Guinean Head of State, President Sekou Toure, made apathetic appeal to the colonial Powers to free Africa in a gesture of wisdom and reason, in accordance with the Purposes and Principles of the Charter and for the sake of peace, progress and liberty throughout the world. Today, when the majority of African States have recovered their independence, we can only renew in the same spirit of conviction and faith, this appeal to the United Kingdom, France, Portugal, Spain, Belgium, the Netherlands and the supporters of apartheid. 50. We say to France that self-determination in Algeria has already made its impact and that the Algerian people have already won their independence. We say to France that it should recognize this obvious fact and transfer all the powers it holds in Algeria to the provisional government of the Algerian republic, which alone will decide what kind of relations it should establish between Algeria and all the other countries in the world, including France. 51. We say to Portugal that it should learn from the lessons of history and put an end to the needless massacres in the territories which it means to integrate against the clearly expressed wishes of their inhabitants. Portugal must evacuate the Cape Verde Archipelago, so-called Portuguese Guinea, Cabinda, Sao Tome, Angola, Mozambique, Goa etc. Let Portugal heed our words, or it will be responsible for the catastrophe it is now preparing, which is likely to cost it more than any other country. There are many examples that might inspire Portugal to transfer immediately all the powers which it still holds by force of arms to the peoples it has so unjustly enslaved, peoples who can no longer bear the intolerable exploitation that has been imposed upon them for centuries. 52. As for Belgium, it should need only to recall the tragedy it caused in the very heart of Africa, in the Congo to realize that it should withdraw from Ruanda- Urundi with discretion, if that is still possible for a country that has almost plunged Africa into a fratricidal war without precedent. 53. To the United Kingdom we say that displaying the list of decolonization honours is not sufficient to make us forget that our brothers in Bechuanaland; the Rhodesias, Nyasaland, Kenya and elsewhere are still bowed down under the colonial yoke. What we expect of the United Kingdom is that it should give without delay to the remainder of its colonial empire, the freedom to which the peoples, of those countries have as much right as those already represented in our Organization. 54. To South Africa we merely say that it is in the interest of its European population to adopt a racial policy of non-discrimination; otherwise it will have to bear full responsibility for the tragedy which the democratic revolution will certainly unleash upon that inhuman system. The Southwest African Mandate acquired through the intermediary of the British Crown, must simply be revoked, in order to allow the accession of this martyred territory to independence. Meanwhile we request that economic, political and diplomatic sanctions should be taken against the so-called Republic of South Africa and its accomplice Portugal, which have instantly challenged the conscience of humanity. They must be made to see reason in the interest of world peace. 55. Also, the United Nations must do everything in its power to bring about a settlement of the distressing Palestine problem, through the implementation of the various resolutions adopted at previous sessions. 56. Declarations of intention, appeals to so-called reason, or honeyed words will no longer-satisfy us. After the adoption by the General Assembly, at its fifteenth session, of the historic Declaration on the granting of independence to colonial countries and peoples, the time for prayers has passed. That resolution must be fully implemented forthwith; all enslaved peoples must be freed and the friends of freedom and independence must be counted by the attitude they adopt towards the colonialist countries. Africa, for its part, has engaged in a struggle for rapid and unrestricted liberation with the object of creating a universal society free from indignity, irresponsibility and enslavement, in which exploiters and exploited will not exist. 57. Our delegation will return to all these points in greater detail when they are discussed in Committee, 58. Another problem of concern to all mankind, the solution of which depends to a great extent on decolonization, is the problem of general and complete disarmament. At its fourteenth session, the General Assembly unanimously adopted resolution 1378 (XIV) in which it expressed the hope: "...that measures leading towards the goal of general and complete disarmament under effective international control will be worked out in detail and agreed upon in the shortest possible time". That resolution marked a turning point in the history of the United Nations and made the question of disarmament the most urgent, the most important and the most universal of all the problems which how concern the world. All the Member States which supported the resolution on disarmament wished thereby to show that the problem concerned them directly and hence that they were conscious of the role they had to play in seeking a satisfactory and final solution that would free humanity from the scourge of war. 59. It should be noted that it is unanimously recognized that the great Powers now engaged in the arms race must endeavour to halt the increase in the forces of destruction created by the ever constant perfection of weapons and stocks of nuclear and ballistic devices, and to end all preparations for war. W 60. Despite the serious differences which still exist between the great Powers and their allies, it would be dangerous to minimize the active role which the non- aligned forces can play in the quest for possible solutions to the present difficulties. 61. Thus, the first contribution which cm be made towards solving the disarmament problem is to view it in its true light and recognize its universal nature. Disarmament cannot be a matter only for the two great Powers and their allies, for the issue of peace or war in our time may directly affect the survival or the end of the whole of humanity. 62. In the debate, my delegation will present what it believes to be the point of view of the inhabitants of a continent which is on the move, which sees what is needed for its development and which considers the maintenance of peace as its basic objective. 63. If distrust is the primary cause of the arms race, there can be no disarmament so long as distrust persists. Unfortunately, distrust is not the only cause of the arms race, for it cannot be denied that certain Powers are still determined to substitute the argument of force for the force of law. It would be native to think that general and complete disarmament can be achieved while there still exists a spirit of domination, generally expressed in the violation of elementary human rights and the sacred rules of relations between peoples. That spirit of domination is at the root of all the conflicts that have put the world into mourning, the most serious of which was the last world war. Even if the East and the West decide to abolish war as a means of settling disputes and to contemplate disarmament through the elimination of armed forces and the destruction of all existing stocks of weapons, this will not be disarmament in the universal conception of the word so long as the spirit of conquest and exploitation continues to exist in relations between men and peoples. 64. We therefore consider it essential to bear in mind that the problems now confronting the African continent are directly linked to the question of disarmament. 65. In fact, the question of independence for colonial peoples, the question of the best means of promoting the harmonious development of Africa, which is going through a critical phase of its history, and the question of assistance to all under-developed countries chiefly those of Asia, Africa and Latin America, have a direct bearing upon the disarmament problem. It is the special role of Africa, apart of which still lives under the shadow of foreign rule and of all other peoples that have suffered a long period of deprivation of freedom, to lay stress upon the permanent causes of conflict between States. 66. It is impossible, therefore, to over emphasize the moral weight carried by the group of non-allied Powers, that includes a number of former African and Asian colonies which speak on behalf of peoples that yearn for peace and are deeply convinced not only of the dangers of war and of its material and moral con-sequences, but also of the futility of war as a means of bringing peoples to accept ideas they do not share. War today is not only unable to assure the greatness of any nation, it could not even guarantee it any real advantage or ultimate superiority. 67. For the African delegations, as for all delegations which attach due importance to the struggle of the colonial peoples for national independence, the problem of imperialism and colonialism is intimately bound up with the problem of disarmament; that is to say, the solution of one is impossible without the solution of the other. No universally acceptable disarmament programme can be devised and put into effect unless the fundamental problem of imperialism and colonialism is also resolved. It is therefore proper to recognize the special responsibility certain Western colonial Powers bear in the search for an equitable solution to the disarmament problem. No one would think today of asking the Algerian people to renounce its armed struggle for its inalienable right to independence, when more than half a million foreign soldiers are violently opposing the expression of its will, 68. What faith can we have, however, in a Power which takes part in negotiations on general and complete disarmament yet at the same time uses not only its own armed forces and military equipment but also those of its allies in order to keep a peaceful people under its yoke? There cannot be any happy means between disarmament and domination. As long as there is a desire to exploit by force the wealth of defenceless peoples, it will be impossible to tackle the problem of disarmament sincerely and fully, for these peoples would find no protection in a disarmament that still tolerated imperialist intrigues. 69. The conflict that now confronts the United Nations in the Congo reveals the direct impact of the national liberation problem on world security, and it would be idle to deny that the efforts of the imperialists to stave off the fatal day of reckoning are not only endangering the peaceful development and the security of the young States of Africa and Asia, but are also a direct threat to world peace. 70. We must deplore, incidentally, our Organization's inaction in the woeful drama of the Congo. Is it not the complaisance of the United Nations that is allowing Katanga daily to consolidate its secession? The Katangese secession has not been dealt with as it should and has just inflicted a shameful defeat on the United Nations, adding the name of the Secretary-General to the long list of victims of the colonialist and imperialist elements which are in league in the Congo. 71. I turn now to the People's Republic of China, a country which, alone, has almost a third of the world's population. We really wonder whether those who deem it possible to ignore the views and social aspirations of that great people are really moved by a sincere desire to reach a lasting solution of the present problems. It is not merely the absence of China that is to be deplored, but the lack of realism oh which that discrimination is based. It is simple enough to under stand that there can be no peace without the participation and adherence of all peoples without exception. The United Nations must obviously link the problem of restoring its seat to the People's Republic of China, with any rational solution of the disarmament problem. 72. The representative of the non-aligned countries, as parties and not as umpires, and the representatives of the People's Republic of China, as a great Asian Power, are missing from the group gathered about the round-table of disarmament negotiations. The presence of the neutral countries and of the People's Republic at that table, would give all peoples a feeling of direct participation in the quest for a stable and truly universal peace. 73. We cannot conceal our profound disappointment at the frenzied resumption of nuclear testing. Disregarding the alarming increase in those weapons of mass destruction, we shall confine ourselves to emphasizing the Effects of radioactive fall-out, which are a dread cause of concern to the peaceful and hardworking peoples of the Soviet Union,»the United States of America, Africa and other parts of the world. We resolutely and unreservedly condemn all nuclear testing. We appeal solemnly to the Governments of the Soviet Union, the United States of America and France to heed the concern of all peoples, to stop nuclear tests of all kinds forthwith, and to work actively, in collaboration with the United Kingdom for the conclusion of a definitive treaty banning nuclear tests. 74. Another factor of war, which should be regarded as aggression, and as a means of perpetuating intolerable rule, is the interference of any dominating country in the internal affairs of a former colony. For example, the maintenance of military bases on foreign soil constitutes one of the most brutal forms of interference in the internal affairs of the country in which they are located. They constitute a permanent threat to international peace. 75. On the question of Berlin, where the cold war has reached its peak, I have only one comment to make. If the Soviet Union and the United States of America really wished it, the Berlin problem would end this very day. We appeal to their consciences. 76. We also appeal to our Organization not to let the Berlin problem, important as it is, make it lose sight of the atrocious colonial repressions that are taking place at this very moment in Algeria, in Angola, in South West Africa, in Ruanda-Urundi, in so-called "Portuguese" Guinea, in Rhodesia, in South Africa and elsewhere, against peoples who are demanding their legitimate right to freedom. It is that infamous wrong, that the United Nations first should set right. 77. Economic and financial problems, as well as the political considerations which are the motive force behind colonial and imperialist activities, will claim our earnest attention during this session. The systematic decolonization of our economies makes it necessary for us, the underdeveloped countries, to seek permanent solutions based on our practical situation, which must be conducive to the happiness, of our peoples. It is to that end that we adopt an unequivocal policy of non-alignment on the economic problems of co-operation and technical assistance. 78. Our common will to liberate our economies from the various forms of external pressure is a necessary consequence of our determination to consolidate the political independence of our States, an independence that must serve the freedom and unity of all Africa and benefit all its peoples. 79. Foreign domination constrained our peoples to productive efforts that have made Africa one of the principal suppliers of raw-materials to the world markets. No one dreams of denying that the profits from exploitation of our resources have been used to satisfy foreign interests, against the interests of our own peoples. 80. In spite of the immense wealth taken from Africa, wealth which nourishes one part of the world and ensures its economic prosperity, our populations are still unjustly subjected to the tragic consequences of under-nourishment, disease and ignorance. Our community of mankind therefore, must not make the economic development of our countries an end in itself. The development we seek is one which will provide a means of satisfying the many social needs of our peoples, and of fulfilling their legitimate aspirations. That, is why we are opposed to having neo-colonialism succeed colonialism. That is why we are striving to make our political freedom everywhere and at all times the effective instrument of our human liberation. 81. This is the theme that mobilizes and inspires our peoples in their struggle against under-development, their struggle for the complete reconstruction of the African economy. 82. By resolutely refusing to barter away our freedom and our sovereignty in exchange for a few acts of generosity, we denounced the crude snare laid for us by the forces of domination, by the foreign economic and financial Powers that still hope to keep us in their thrall. 83. We regard with grave concern this double-dealing by the neo-colonialists who, under the guise of paternalism, are exerting every effort in our recently liberated States to control our political freedom by making us economically and militarily dependent on them. 84. The numerous efforts of the imperialist Powers to establish economic communities, monetary zones or military alliances do not tend towards real solidarity or to sincere association between equal and free partners. They tend rather to bind the poor man to his poverty and the slave to his chain, while, of course, they continue to let the colonial trusts maintain and suck the life blood of our national economies. 85. After decades of domination and exploitation, it is difficult to believe in these sudden mutations that in sober fact, disguise all the forms of association that are being thought up. The bond linking the forces operating in Algeria, in the Congo, in Angola, in Rhodesia and in South Africa, is the very same bond that unites financial circles and general staffs in opposition to the unconditional freedom and real sovereignty of all peoples. 86. We shall be unable to derive the slightest benefit from the exercise of our sovereignty if we are to remain a reservoir of raw materials and manpower to feed the prosperity of the colonialist and imperialist Powers — prosperity they have attained at our expense. In the economic, financial, military, and even in the cultural fields neo-colonialism is attempting to keep our peoples' legitimate interests subject to its selfish control. 87. At Bandung, at Accra, at Cairo, at Casablanca, at Conakry, and only recently at Belgrade, as at all the various conferences which have been held both here and at those places, the political guide-lines adopted for the purpose of smashing alien domination were formulated in the light of those practical realities. 88. We of the Republic of Guinea have affirmed that our economic situation does not permit us a choice between the various means that might be used to hasten our development. We intend to use every type of aid offered to us, on the one condition that our sovereignty and independence are scrupulously respected. 89. Extending this general condition to all the underdeveloped countries, we may state that the principal means of development are in the hands of the peoples of these countries themselves, for our material produce, while it holds an important place in the world, is achieved by methods which are often quite rudimentary. 90. It is on the basis of these practical factors, which are at once positive and negative, that we must seek out the most suitable formulas for economic self- development, formulas which will eventually be supplemented by other means of material growth. 91. The forces of colonial reconquest, the imperialist Powers, resort to methods of economic and military conspiracy, to tactics of division and diversion. This is why the under-developed countries must remain ever on guard against anything that might threaten their unity, anything that might imperil their solidarity, anything that might jeopardize their cohesion. 92. These countries have already paid enough to the world of opulence and feudalism and have been too long the victims of a reign of injustice and exploitation not to use all their resources and all their means to build up a world of justice. 93. It is our intention that the management of Africa's affairs should revert to the peoples of Africa, that there should be no constraint nor any substitution of authority in any area of our political or economic, financial or military, social or cultural affairs. 94. Anything that may be regarded as favourable in the political prospects of our common struggle for the independence and unity of the African peoples will aid substantially in accelerating the true emancipation of our peoples and promoting the rapid progress of the African continent, a continent which is entering world affairs with the openly stated desire to be an instrument of world co-operation, a factor for peace and harmony throughout the world. 95. It is precisely in order to promote effective action in the interest of the happiness of peoples and universal harmony that we vigorously subscribe to the policy of non-alignment., 96. Let me say immediately that non-alignment cannot be another negative attitude with regard to questionable interests, for it would then serve only to aggravate the harmful effects of the cold war. Our attitude towards different problems is determined solely in the light of the high objectives we have set ourselves. 97. Our societies, which necessarily and productively vary from region to region and manifesto rich differentiation in space, are now for the most part experiencing changes in the dimension of time, changes which alone allow the advent of freedom of independence. Each nation, while profiting from the experience of others, develops in its own way and establishes and broadens its relations with other nations and with its own geographical "milieu". That isto say that each people and each nation has its own ideas, its own qualities, its own pace and its own path to follow. The efforts of peoples to bring their interests into greater harmony and to achieve a constant betterment of their conditions of life will always find support in societies whose primary concern is human happiness. 98. Thus, our policy in world affairs is to decry coalitions and to extol the manifestation of the personalities of peoples and nations, and their efforts freely to express themselves in accordance with their own practical conditions. Among the basic tenets of non- alignment are the right of every nation to choose freely the political and economic system which it finds most suitable and refusal to countenance the subordination of one people to the interests of another. 99. Non-alignment is a Highly active principle because it is founded on the constant pursuit of the well-being of peoples. 100. To quote President Toure, I would say that the policy of non-alignment is a committed and' positive policy: "Committed because we are interested in all the phenomena which surround us and which have a direct or indirect bearing on the freedom of peoples on democracy and on world peace. It is positive' because we never resolve upon a negative course. Our police is an affirmative one based on constructive thinking with a view to fulfilling our desire for progress, for better relations among peoples and for lasting peace. It is motivated by our will to create a fairer and happier life. "Our policy is therefore not directed against any particular people, or regime, or country or individual. "The motive of our political action, is not to destroy but to build. It follows logically, therefore, that we should state our preferences in a positive light and not in terms of the negative consequences which they necessarily entail." 101. The policy of non-alignment leads us to condemn one of the most paralysing aspects of the United Nations, namely, the formation of mechanical majorities or of groups with a single incentive — entities which are always and invariably opposed — one might say allergic — to each other. 102. The non-aligned countries will have followed their true vocation if they act fully in their role of stabilizing factor and contribute objectively to the solution of all problems by throwing their full weight behind the endeavour to carry mankind along the straight and narrow path of truth in the quest for peace and happiness for all. 103. Every country represented here must be convinced of its own full sovereignty and must accordingly decide that no other country, however friendly, will think or act for it in the full and independent exercise of its sovereignty. This is a matter of vital importance for the world community as a whole and, more particularly, for the world community's instrument for co-operation — the United Nations. 104. We make a special appeal to the countries of Africa and Asia, which have so long been plundered, which have felt the, heavy weight of slavery and know the full meaning of freedom that has been lost and won again. Those countries, which yesterday were the pawns of ruthlessly exploiting colonizers, today remain the pawns of those who formerly occupied them and who now wish to involve them in mechanical majorities or turn them into voting machines in the various bodies, or who want to ensnare them in the hypocrisy of neo-colonialism so as to retain a status which history has already taken from them. 105. To conclude, like every delegation here we are fully conscious of the importance of this session of the General Assembly, and like many others we ask ourselves the anguishing question: will this sixteenth session be one of peace or one of war? This is, indeed, the dilemma we face today. 106. Those who want war may pursue without restraint their vain attempts to maintain themselves by force in Algeria, in Angola, in so-called Portuguese Guinea, in Mozambique, in South West Africa, in Kenya, in the Congo, in Rhodesia, or in South Africa. They may continue the mad arms race» intensify the testing of nuclear weapons, pursue the policy of intimidation, attempt to spark the Berlin powder-keg and persist in dominating and exploiting other peoples through deception or corruption. 107. The camp of peace and progress, on the other hand, conscious of the imperative needs of the hour, will declare itself for full decolonization in Africa and Asia, for general and complete disarmament under effective international control, for peaceful coexistence and competition among States having different social systems, for unconditional respect for the aspirations of peoples and for their sovereign and exclusive right to live under the system of their choice and, finally, for sincere, loyal and effective international co-operation. 108. This is the dilemma we face, and the choice seems both simple and unavoidable. For us, this choice has already been made. Fully assuming our responsibilities, we shall stand resolutely at the side of those who fight for universal freedom and progress, at the side of the true anti-colonialists, at the side of those who have faith in man and in his radiant future, at the side of all those who work for peace and the survival of mankind. These are the stirring objectives which will determine the attitude and the voting position of the Guinean delegation and the manner in which it will vote during the sixteenth session of the General Assembly.