180. It is an honour and a pleasant duty, on behalf of the delegation of Liberia and myself, as well as on behalf of the President, the Government and the people of Liberia, to extend to you, Mr. President, sincere and fraternal felicitations on your election by acclamation to the presidency of the nineteenth session of the General Assembly.
181. Over the past few years you have contributed many of your talents to the United Nations as a permanent representative, and you have assisted in shaping new and meaningful concepts of the realities of our world. Today, you have been chosen to place your training, your wisdom, your capabilities and your experience at the service of this world body; and we are confident that you will capably direct the affairs of this Assembly. As you commence your new, challenging and difficult assignment, all Africa is with you and wishes you well. Liberia gladly pledges its whole-hearted support and fullest co-operation.
182. I should like to extend a hearty welcome and greetings to Africa's thirty-fourth and thirty-fifth independent States, Malawi and Zambia, which were admitted to full membership a few days ago. Both were born as a triumph against a federation created without the consent of the majority of their people, and built on alien minority rule. We hope that before long Southern Rhodesia, the last remaining portion of that federation, will soon enjoy the blessings of freedom under majority rule, thus representing an important victory in the African freedom struggle.
183. We are happy that Malawi and Zambia have now joined their sister African States to give additional support to this international body in its efforts to assist- in the total liberation of Africa and to strive for peace. We also greet and welcome into the Organization the new State of Malta, which has a gallant history.
184. We meet at a momentous and trying period of history. There has been a regrettable addition to the "nuclear club". We must not forget the perennial problems which beset developing countries — poverty, ignorance and disease — for which some solution must be found if these areas are not to become a cauldron of violence and hatred. All of these have added to the complexity of the problems affecting the peace and stability of the world.
185. Political developments in South-East Asia and certain areas of the eastern Mediterranean have given cause for some concern since our last session. There also exists at the present time a difficult financial crisis which raises doubts about the future effectiveness of our Organization. It is the hope of my delegation that we shall be able to tackle the roots of these problems with a view to finding some permanent solution at this session.
186. The financial crisis facing the United Nations presents a formidable challenge to us. The effectiveness and even the survival of the Organization seem to be threatened. The complexity of this question has been brought into clear focus, and we have sought to avoid controversial questions in the first stage of the Assembly's work.
187. We wish to urge that each Member State should uphold the principle that peace-keeping operations are one of the essential objectives of the United Nations and, therefore, the financing of such operations is the collective responsibility of all Member States. It is encouraging to observe that all Members of the United Nations have expressed their desire to strengthen the Organization. Each one of us, then, has an obligation to lend our best efforts to remove the obstacles impeding the solution of this critical and vital issue.
188. A significant achievement in the improvement of relations between East and West was the partial nuclear test ban treaty, achieved on 5 August 1963, which has since been adhered to by over 100 States. But in spite of this achievement, disarmament continues to be the world's greatest and most urgent problem.
189. At no time in world history has an arms race brought security. While it has made the nations participating in such a race more powerful militarily, it has increased their anxieties, nurtured their suspicions and made them feel more insecure. The only rational solution left to be tried is the one that the world has always rejected. That solution, albeit a political one, is disarmament through a reduction of arms and control of armaments. In this age, when the overwhelming destruction with which we are threatened because of nuclear and thermo-nuclear weapons is hardly imaginable, and when the arms race fosters an enormous waste of resources in a world where the majority of its people are ill-housed, ill-clad, hungry and poverty-stricken, let us not delude ourselves or commit the reckless folly of putting our hopes for security in more and better arms. Instead, let us strive more intensely to put into effect the practical and only solution: disarmament.
190. At the second conference of the Organization of African Unity in Cairo in July of this year, our Heads of State and Government adopted a resolution in which they expressed their grave concern for the safety of Africa and of the world in the light of the increasing development of nuclear weapons and the disastrous effects which might result from their proliferation.
191. It is unfortunate that more countries have joined the "nuclear club" in spite of our having obtained agreement among 100 States on a partial nuclear test ban treaty. A continuation will surely have grave consequences.
192. The recent atomic explosion does not contribute to the peace and security of the world. It is indeed disheartening and disturbing that there should be a resumption of the pollution of the atmosphere. My Government is against explosions of nuclear or thermonuclear weapons, whether in Africa or Australia, in America or Russia, in the Pacific or the Atlantic, in Asia or Europe. We therefore deplore this new and unfortunate development.
193. The nuclear Powers and those close to joining the "nuclear club" cannot afford to disregard the survival of the world and the future of the human race. They can display a sense of responsibility if they divert the astronomical amounts now used on arms to a productive cause, that of permitting mankind to cross the frontiers of hope free from fear, poverty, ignorance and disease.
194. I wish to make a brief comment on the work of the United Nations Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space.
195. At its eighteenth session, the General Assembly urged that a solution be found, and suggested guidelines for the future work of the committee in its quest for a code of space law. My Government is happy that, along the lines of resolution 1962 (XVIII), the major Powers have agreed to respect the principles enunciated in the declaration, and to continue to work for the elimination of the dangers likely to result from the destructive uses of outer space. It would seem to be propitious also to develop a convention to regulate the use of outer space.
196. Because the pace for the achievement of disarmament has been very slow, my delegation feels that the General Assembly should again take a decision along the lines of resolution 1653 (XVI), in which we reaffirmed that the use of nuclear and thermonuclear weapons was contrary to the United Nations Charter, to international law and to the law of humanity,
197. Pursuant to that resolution, the Secretary- General obtained the views of Member States on whether a conference should now be convened for the purpose of signing a convention prohibiting the use of nuclear weapons. More than seventy countries endorsed the idea. My delegation feels that the small countries should seize the initiative on this question and move the nuclear Powers away from a meaningless centre.
198. My delegation's position is motivated partly by the report of the Secretary-General to the seventeenth session of the General Assembly on the economic and social consequences of disarmament, in view of the fact that the position of the primary producing countries would be improved if resources now being allocated to armaments were applied to peaceful ends, and of the fact that the great Powers have been urged by people from all over the world to take new and urgent steps towards achieving general and complete disarmament under strict and effective international control.
199. The Chinese nuclear - explosion seems to have strengthened the belief of many States that the People's Republic of China should be a participant in any and all discussions on disarmament, international peace and security.
200. It is in that context that I believe that the suggestion of the Secretary-General for a meeting of the five nuclear Powers holds promise and has merits.
201. The problem of refugees, which has plagued the United Nations, has now become a serious matter in certain areas of the African continent. My Government has always tried to co-operate in this Organization in seeking a solution to the problem.
202. The Council of Ministers of the Organization of African Unity, at its second ordinary session in Lagos in February 1964, set up a commission consisting of ten African States to examine the refugee problem in Africa. Recommendations to the Assembly of Heads of State In July of this year specified that the African Member States should seek the help of their Asian and other friends in getting the United Nations to give Increased assistance for the solution of the problem on the continent. It is the feeling of my delegation that a decision at this session should make It possible for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees to maintain an even closer co-ordination of efforts with the Commission for Refugees in Africa.
203. After months of preparation and sustained struggle by the developing countries, the historic United Nations Conference on Trade and Development was convened. The decisions and recommendations of that conference have made it plain that changes in the policies of the developed countries in regard to international economic co-operation are Indispensable, and have indicated the direction In which those changes should be made.
204. The developing nations should work for the establishment of a broadly based international economic machinery as an integral part of the United Nations. Such machinery should be capable of Influencing and applying new international economic policies to trade, especially in its relationship to development, so as to contribute to the acceleration of economic growth and development in the developing States, The action of the developing States at this session should seek to make concrete the Initiative taken last March In Geneva, and broaden its perspective.
205. That the developing countries should seek unity among themselves, especially in regard to the problem of trade and development, seems tome a desirable thing, and should meet with the approbation of all. The developing countries are In part united by economic and other ties. Such unity of the developing countries in trying to negotiate most favourable solutions for themselves should not produce rigid attitudes in the developed countries.
206. I am certain that the developing countries are anxious, in a spirit of fairness and understanding, to seek healthy compromises satisfactory to all, but they ask also for more sympathetic understanding from the developed countries.
207. As I mentioned earlier, a substantial portion of the people of this world live under terribly substandard conditions. It is clear that the present patterns of trade favour the developed countries. I doubt that anyone in the developing countries wants things handed out on a silver platter, but as our terms of trade deteriorate, our exports of primary commodities earn less for us, while the prices of manufactured goods continue to soar and we see ourselves getting poorer. It is reasonable that we should seek measures to reverse the trend by removing obstacles to the expansion of our export earnings.
208. Let us bear in mind that a dangerous situation will exist if the gap between rich and poor widens. It is in the long-range interests of all that the gap be bridged as quickly as possible.
209. The abominable and iniquitous policy of apartheid practised by the Republic, of South Africa remains a cruel and stubborn problem and a cancerous blight on the continent of Africa. African States will not relent in their efforts to bring about the end of this repressive system.
210. I do not recall any time in history when there has been such a persistent and systematic use of laws by a minority to deny and exclude the majority from all basic and fundamental rights, the only offence committed by the majority being the possession of a different skin pigmentation. But what has really surprised me has been the apparently callous indifference shown toward that problem by those who claim to be the most civilized peoples in the most civilized nations. The injustice, pain, misery, suffering and death inflicted on innocent Africans by a horrible system which is Indirectly supported and strengthened by the policies of some Members of this Organization are bound to have serious repercussions.
211. At the summit conference of the Organization of African Unity held in Cairo in July 1964, our Heads of State and Government called for economic sanctions, especially on oil and petroleum products, against South Africa and asked the co-operation of all countries and, in particular, the major trading partners of South Africa.
212. In less than two years, the African States have on three occassions brought before the Security Council the question of apartheid and its effects on international peace and security. That has been done solely because we are increasingly concerned at the continuous repression of the African majority In that country, and because of our love of Justice, our dedication to the freedom of the Individual and our desire to safeguard human dignity.
213. The Security Council on 4 December 1963 unanimously adopted a resolution in which it appealed to all States to comply with its resolution of 7 August 1963; urgently requested the South African Government to cease the imposition of discriminatory and repressive measures; condemned the non-compliance of South Africa with appeals made by the General Assembly and the Security Council; called upon that Government to liberate all persons subject to restriction for having opposed apartheid; and solemnly called upon all States to cease forthwith the sale and shipment of equipment and ammunition to South Africa.
214. In that same resolution, the Council requested the Secretary-General to create a small group of recognized experts to examine methods of resolving the situation. That group was headed by Mrs. Myrdal. The report which the group of experts presented to the Secretary-General, and which he submitted on 20 April 1964, is available to all Members. I shall restate only three main points.
215. It was the view of the United Nations group of experts, stated in the introduction to the report, that "a primary principle of first importance" was that the future of South Africa should be settled by all the people of South Africa, and in an atmosphere of free discussion. The report asserts, again in the introduction: "There can be no settlement and no peace while the great majority of the people are denied the fundamental freedom to participate in decisions on the future of their country. We are convinced that a continuation of the present position, including a denial of just representation, must lead to violent conflict and tragedy for all the people of South Africa. We wish, therefore, to emphasize the first and basic principle that all the people of South Africa should be brought into consultation and should thus be enabled to decide the future of their country at the national level."
216. In order to achieve that, the experts recommended that efforts should be directed towards the establishment of a national convention fully representative of the entire population of South Africa, in the hope of establishing a new course for the future of that country; and world opinion and the growing insistence on positive action should now be directed towards the achievement of that purpose.
217. The report reminded the Security Council that the Organization of African Unity had come to the most painful conclusion that, in as much as the Government of South Africa had disregarded all peaceful efforts to secure the abandonment of its apartheid policy, total sanctions represented the only sure means of peacefully resolving the situation.
218. It was in that context that the Council of Ministers of the Organization of African Unity and the first session of the Assembly of Heads of State and Government of the Organization of African Unity called upon and subsequently entreated the trading partners of South Africa to desist from the encouragement they were giving to the policy of apartheid through their investment and trade relations with the Government in Pretoria, and requested them to cease their supply of oil and petroleum products to that Government.
219. But those appeals have not decreased the trade and economic intercourse between South Africa and those countries. Foreign reserves in South Africa have more than tripled since 1961, and so have its gold reserves. My delegation feels that, with this increased economic vigour, the dangers of race conflict in South Africa are being encouraged.
220. On 6 November 1962, by its resolution 1761 (XVII), the General Assembly called upon Member States to impose economic sanctions against South Africa. More than two thirds of the Member States supported that resolution.
221. Opposition to its implementation developed in some Member countries on the grounds that sanctions would be illegal, that they would be impracticable or that they would hurt those whom they were intended to benefit. But, as I had the occasion to explain to the Security Council on 8 June 1964 [1127th meeting], when this subject was raised, economic sanctions are legal because apartheid as practised In South Africa has indeed become a threat to international peace and security. That this threat does in fact exist was clearly implied in the resolutions of the Security Council on August and December 1963, and by a resolution of the Council in June 1964, when the Council resolved itself into a committee to study "measures" that might be effectively taken on this matter.
222. That sanctions are impracticable can be answered by the report prepared at the recent International Conference on Economic Sanctions against South Africa, which was held in London last April [see A/5707]. It was shown in that report that, whilst there would be economic loss suffered by the individual countries involved in trade with South Africa, "a campaign of total economic sanctions would be very small compared with the loss inevitably accruing if South Africa exploded into full-scale racial war". The Conference noted that such sanctions would require the full and active participation of certain Members of the United Nations and other trading States, so as to prevent South Africa from evading the effects of sanctions by diverting its trade.
223. The programme of economic sanctions is not intended to destroy South Africa. It is intended to be maintained until South Africa's repressive policy of apartheid has been ended. Our objective is only to induce a healthy change in the Government of South Africa.
224. Finally, it has been argued that the effect of economic sanctions would hurt those that sanctions are calculated to benefit. That is hardly convincing. The Africans have suffered and continue to exist under the most extreme form of privation. Any further hardship would make very little difference. They have asked for sanctions and are of the opinion that a relatively short, if hard, sacrifice is preferable to an indefinite period of suffering. We are all agreed that sanctions will hurt, but this is a fact often and frankly expressed by those people whose interests in South Africa never seem to extend beyond opposing all important measures intended to change the inhuman policy of that country.
225. The Government of the United States of America announced that at the end of 1963 its trade in military equipment with South Africa would come to an end. This is a move in the right direction, deserving full implementation.
226. My Government has greeted with much appreciation the decision of the Government of the United Kingdom to impose an arms embargo on military supplies and weapons to South Africa. We are happy that principles have finally prevailed over purely economic considerations. This action now brings the policy of the Government of the United Kingdom into line with the resolutions of the United Nations.
227. My delegation is inclined to the feeling that the other countries involved in the arms trade with South Africa will take the bold decision without delay, to prevent that country from circumventing the arms embargo that has been imposed by the Security Council.
228. At the second conference of non-aligned States held in Cairo in October 1964, forty-seven States agreed to take certain political and economic actions against the Government of South Africa, as well as against Portugal, which still refuses to adhere to United Nations resolutions on its colonial territories, while striving to maintain its decadent colonial policies by force. These actions, we feel, should amount to an economic embargo against these two professed enemies of Africa. My delegation is hopeful, therefore, that the United Nations will debate these problems created in Africa by the policies of these two States, and that Member States will give their definitive support to a final solution.
229. My delegation is unequivocally opposed to any illegal and unilateral declaration of independence secured by a limited referendum of African chiefs and headmen by the present Government in Southern Rhodesia, which is a minority racist government. Consultations with tribal chiefs holding office and exercising authority under the power and control of that Government could hardly reflect the true opinion of the majority of the people of that country.
230. My Government was pleased about the manner in which the present Government of the United Kingdom pronounced itself on this matter, but it needs to go further. I call upon the Government of the United Kingdom to take the necessary actions that would bring about a constitutional change, in order to effect a rule by the majority.
231. Since last I had the occasion to address the General Assembly, the African States, through the Governments of Ethiopia and Liberia, have not relented in their efforts to obtain for the people of South West Africa what is rightly theirs. We have sponsored and vigorously prosecuted the South West African case almost through the pleading stage. With the filing of the rejoinder by the Government of South Africa on 20 December 1964, it is our hope that the International Court of Justice will proceed to hear oral arguments on the case early next year, and that the final decision of the Court in the case will be before you when the twentieth session of the Assembly begins next September.
232. Our efforts in that direction, however, have not been without difficulties, as the racist Government of Prime Minister Verwoerd continues to do everything it can to delay the case. As you are well aware, this case represents the efforts of a united Africa to ensure that South Africa does not further extend its racial policies to a helpless and defenceless people. For these are the same policies which you and I and everybody in the world have on so many occasions condemned as inhuman, degrading and in direct violation of all the basic and fundamental elements of human rights.
233. Consequently, we call upon all Members of the United Nations to stand firm in their determination to resist any attempt by the South African Government to undermine whatever decision the International Court of Justice may see fit to give.
234. The irresistible surge of dependent peoples to freedom and independence is a movement which all freedom-loving and peace-loving people must support. We hope it will not be long before we see our brothers in Angola, Mozambique and other parts of Africa, as well as in the rest of the world, take their rightful places in the international community.
235. I should like to egress agreement with our Secretary-General who, in the introduction to his annual report in reference to the Congo, said: "In responding to it, the United Nations served the interests of the peace of Africa and of the world, as well as those of the Congo, by preventing a power vacuum in the very heart of Africa which would have been extremely grave, with the inevitable risk of East-West confrontation as well as inter-African rivalry and conflict" [A/580l/Add.l, p. 6],
236. Regrettably, however, there seems to be a reappearance of all these dangers and the Congo seems to be a victim again. All Members of the United Nations should resolve to adhere to the principle of non-interference in Congolese affairs, so that the people of the Congo may solve their own problems and live together in peace.
237. It may be necessary to draw the attention of Member States to resolutions 1991 A and B (XVIII), Those resolutions called for the expansion of both the Security Council and the Economic and Social Council, and requested Member States to ratify the amendment of the Charter by 1 September 1965. However, there is some surprise that up to the present not one of the five permanent members of the Security Council has ratified them, although the arguments advanced over the years to show that amendments to the Charter were impracticable have very largely been overcome. My delegation feels that the permanent members, seemingly ever conscious of their responsibility for the maintenance of international peace and security, ought also to be very conscious of their responsibility for fair play and justice, and will therefore take the leading role to ensure equitable representation of Africa, Asia and Latin America on the main bodies of the United Nations.
238. It will be recalled that, in 1962, the Economic and Social Council requested the Secretary-General to study the desirability of merging all, or at least some, of the United Nations technical assistance programmes, My Government accepted the recommendation of the Secretary-General on this matter, I believe the Special Fund and the Expanded Programme for Technical Assistance should be combined in a single operation for greater efficiency.
239. Liberia has consistently supported the efforts of the United Nations to fulfil its noble objectives because of our abiding conviction that the Organization represents mankind's greatest and best hope for human survival and peace. Our faith in it remains unshaken, and my delegation will spare no efforts in trying to ensure that its lofty principles find acceptance throughout the world.
240. We have the important task before us of trying to improve the international climate through the reduction of tensions, the finding of solutions to difficult problems and the strengthening of the United Nations.
241. Difficult as are the problems before us, they are not insurmountable. We must accept the hardship and personal sacrifices which the solution to our problems imposes. Progress towards peace will be long and costly. If we are wise in the progress toward the achievement of this goal we may minimize the cost; but if we are imprudent no one can predict the dangerous results that may occur.
242. The United Nations should be here to stay for the benefit of all nations, large and small. Our task must be to nurse it along and, by taking small but concrete steps, lead it ultimately to its Ideals through moral strength, courage and faith in human destiny.
243. If we now rededicate ourselves whole-heartedly to these tasks, history may record that our deliberations contributed to enhancing international peace and security and that mankind benefited.
244. In achieving this end, Mr. President, I assure you that the Liberian delegation offers its fullest co-operation.