1. Mr. President, the Venezuelan delegation was gratified by your election to the presidency of the twenty-second session of the General Assembly.
2. It is fitting to mention that Venezuela has recently established diplomatic relations with your country, the Socialist Republic of Romania, and we have no doubt that this will redound to the benefit of both States.
3. In your inaugural statement, you described the Organization as an instrument for strengthening world peace, and you expressed a sincere desire to contribute to the creation of a climate propitious for the settlement of the great international problems. Your abilities equip you, I am sure, for the noble task which you have set yourself. We must also pay a tribute to the skilful manner in which Mr. Pazhwak of Afghanistan conducted the proceedings of the previous session.
4. I should also like to say a word of appreciation to the Secretary-General, who in his interesting annual report to the General Assembly of [A/6701] has given a very lucid account of the work of the United Nations.
5. An analysis of the events of the past year certainly gives no grounds for optimism. The same conflicts continue; some of them have worsened; and new conflicts have broken out. Perhaps the only encouraging sign is that the countries have reaffirmed their will to avoid at all costs any final confrontation. We must all be of one accord in strengthening the Organization and endowing it with effective means of keeping the peace. Yet some important nations cling to views which make this impossible; for example, the Committee of Thirty-Three, despite its efforts, has still not attained its objectives.
6. It is no exaggeration to say that the problem of Viet-Nam is a matter of the utmost concern to the entire world. The fact that not all the countries directly involved in the conflict are represented in the United Nations reduces the chances of finding a solution to it. As has been said and repeated time and time again, the solution can be only a political one. Only the countries involved in the situation are capable of settling it. The rest of us can but express our concern and our fervent hope that the situation will shortly be restored to normal.
7. The General Assembly is once again faced with the question of the Middle East. When this matter was discussed at the emergency special session of the General Assembly the prevailing atmosphere was not the most propitious imaginable for a real solution. Fortunately, the Security Council had previously arranged a cease-fire. We believe that a new effort during the present session, in full awareness of the urgency but in a calmer atmosphere, will offer a better chance of success. There can be no doubt that the present situation demands a political solution to the problem. A satisfactory end to the conflict must be sought which at the same time will preserve the prestige of the United Nations.
8. The problem of the Middle East, which the United Nations has had to face in varied and at times dramatic circumstances, is one of world-wide significance because of its vast and complex repercussions. Every one of the Member States can help towards its solution. The greatest responsibility, however, lies with the countries directly concerned, and they must be prepared to adopt a reasonable solution satisfactory to all parties in its essential elements. The General Assembly nevertheless cannot be expected to bring about a final settlement in one move. We must proceed by stages, never losing sight of the ultimate goal, namely the establishment of conditions in which a lasting peace can be achieved.
9. The Venezuelan delegation, inspired by the attitude of the Latin American delegations at the fifth emergency special session of the General Assembly, considers that the measures calculated to create a climate propitious for a final settlement should begin first and foremost with the withdrawal of Israel troops from the occupied territories. At the same time, the parties to the conflict would have to refrain from any belligerent attitude that might lead to acts of war and behave in a manner in keeping with the provisions of the Charter. We shall have come no nearer to settling the conflict unless such a change of heart is forthcoming.
10. Israel's concern to have its frontiers guaranteed is perfectly legitimate, and it is equally obvious that such a guarantee must extend to the neighbouring States also. Similarly, the obligations inherent in any agreement will have to be freely accepted; in fact otherwise any results which might be achieved would be short-lived. Of particular importance among the other points that should be taken into account in the search for a solution are the right of all nations to freedom of navigation through International waters, particularly the Gulf of Aqaba; the acute problem of the refugees, which far from improving has worsened; and the status of Jerusalem, bearing in mind that the city is the meeting point of three of the world's great religions.
11. On the question of decolonization, the line taken by Venezuela is quite clear. Everyone is aware of my country's solidarity with those struggling for self-determination and independence; it has always been and still is based simply and solely on our adherence to the principle of freedom for men and for peoples. We have the courage of our convictions.
12. The Venezuelan Government continues to regard with concern the problem of South West Africa as well as the practice of the policy of apartheid and the question of Rhodesia. The first two are directly concerned with South Africa, and all of them are survivals of the colonial period.
13. Once again we must state with pride that Latin America has been first in the field in concluding a treaty for regional denuclearization. Apart from its intrinsic value, the Treaty of Tlatelolco, signed in Mexico in February 1967, serves as encouragement for continuing the negotiations for world disarmament. Another important step in this connexion will betaken when the Treaty on Principles Governing the Activities of States in the Exploration and Use of Outer Space, including the Moon and Other Celestial Bodies [Resolution 2222 (XXI) and Annex] comes into force shortly.
14. As a step towards the control of nuclear weapons, we can point to the draft treaties prepared by the United States and the Soviet Union on the nonproliferation of such weapons. We are all awaiting with interest the report shortly to be submitted by the Secretary-General on nuclear weapons; we have no doubt that it will bring up new points for consideration in regard to this important programme.
15. In the treaty on denuclearization already referred to, Latin America proclaims that:
"... general and complete disarmament under effective international control is a vital matter which all the peoples of the world equally demand". [A/6663, p. 13].
16. Venezuela respects the principle of self-determination for all peoples. This principle, together with that of non-intervention, constitutes the basis of coexistence among nations. My country embarked on independent statehood with that unwavering attitude which embodies respect for the sovereignty of other States and the vigilant defence of its own. Venezuelan troops have gone beyond the frontiers of our country only to contribute to the emancipation movements of other neighbouring States.
17. The attitude of the Cuban Government has twice forced us to have recourse to the Organization of American States. On the second occasion, at the Meeting of Consultation of Ministers of Foreign Affairs which ended in Washington last week, it was unanimously decided to ask the countries members of OAS — which are also Member States of this Organization — to submit to the United Nations the problem threatening peace as a result of the Cuban Government's acts, which openly and publicly flout the provisions of General Assembly resolution 2131 (XX). This places the Cuban problem in a political context in keeping with its true international proportions.
18. This decision represents the unanimous will of the American States and voices the grave concern of all the Latin American countries, which we wish to convey to this Assembly. We are sure that the prestige of Latin America, which consistently champions the just causes of oppressed peoples, fully warrants the position we have adopted.
19. The United Nations came into being twenty-two years ago for the essential purpose of promoting the social, political and economic progress of mankind in an atmosphere of freedom, peace and security. Until the Second World War, colonialism and nationalism were the predominant themes. The problem of development and the concept of economic integration appeared only recently, and there is a certain degree of interdependence between the two. Economic development must go hand-in-hand with independence in the economic relations of the country or community. Integration, in its turn, seeks the expansion of markets within a region comprising independent economies. Later came the idea of international co-operation as a direct means of speeding up the development process of the economically less prosperous countries.
20. A cause of concern for the United Nations has been the implementation of economic development plans, which have not come up to expectations. It has been found not only that the results achieved by the United Nations Development Decade have fallen short of the minimum targets, but that even the levels attained previously have not been reached. This situation calls for serious thought and the application of the appropriate corrective measures. It might quite well be shown that, within the current world economic framework, it is impossible to achieve the desired level of economic development without removing the limitations imposed by national economies. In his search for well-being, man tends to establish economic systems on a broader basis than that of the national State, and it has been said that international co-operation is inadequate as a means of achieving development.
21. If we agree that within present-day possibilities economic integration is the most direct means of promoting development, and if we recognize that one of the basic aims of the United Nations is to ensure that mankind achieves a state of well-being, then the Organization must be expected to help to further the process of economic integration in the various geographical regions and zones of the international community. Thus we deem it wise to begin the study and planning of any changes and adjustments needed to adapt the existing machinery to the technical and financial assistance requirements of integration programmes submitted to the United Nations organs for consideration.
22. Economic integration raises a series of problems so wide and complex that it requires the co-operation of all the various sectors, public and private, in the countries of the integrated area. At government level, fiscal and economic policy measures are called for. The private sector should view integration as an advanced form of international trade. Economic integration offers the entrepreneur an expansion of markets and the chance to raise his productive capacity to the maximum. It also ensures basic stability in the production process and rapid and secure marketing of products.
23. When my country became a member of the Latin American Free Trade Association (LAFTA), I had the opportunity to express the views of the Venezuelan Government on the problem of regional economic integration. In my statement I stressed the need to take decisions which would represent firm and positive steps towards the creation of an economic area large enough to ensure our development. Venezuela is aware of the need to translate into concrete facts all the studies undertaken and the views expressed on the subject; for that reason, we whole-heartedly support the projects aimed at establishing a system of planned tariff reform and a common external tariff, and the proposals for subregional and area agreements within LAFTA. We must make a valiant effort to put an end to internal economic imbalances which lead to persistent migration from the rural areas to the towns, with the consequent emergence of a marginal sector of the population; to foster bold reforms of the tax systems, which are often inequitable and archaic; to form rational plans for improving standards of living, while trying to prevent this from becoming a mere attempt to prevent population growth; in short, to carry out national integration at all levels. This is the way, in which each nation taking a reasonably objective view of its own economic structure, should help to strengthen and harmonize the main regional economic policies.
24. It has been said that the growth of interest in economic integration among the less developed countries seemed to be due more to a desire to emulate the European Common Market than to a conscious desire to promote their own development. The fact is that it is an economic concept of universal validity, antedating the European experiment; furthermore, in the case of the Latin American countries, there was the concern at the possibility of losing their European markets, as well as the overriding need to establish a regional organization to promote the development of Latin America. Thus integration has become a "must" among developing countries throughout the world.
25. Within our continent, the American Chiefs of State, meeting at Punta del Este in April this year, proclaimed at the highest political level the need for the total economic integration of Latin America as the only means of ensuring the harmonious development of the countries of the continent.
26. The Ministerial Meeting of the Group of Seventy-Seven which will take place at Algiers in a few days' time emphasizes the need for all the developing countries to review, within the context of their own national economies, the degree of co-operation received from the industrialized countries.
27. The problems confronting the developing countries call for capital investment on a scale which the countries themselves cannot supply owing to the weakness of their economic structure, The flow of capital from the developed to the developing countries has been at a standstill for the past five years, despite the fact that the earnings of the developed countries have risen considerably. There is every reason to think that the situation will become more acute in the next few years unless there is a considerable change in the policy adopted by the industrialized nations.
28. The vital problem confronting us as developing countries is, and will continue to be for some time, the conditions governing the marketing of our basic export products and, in general, the terms of trade.
29. The main achievement thus far is the creation of an awareness of this problem in the international community, for little progress has been made in actually achieving the desired objectives. The Second United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, which will take place at New Delhi in 1968, offers a new opportunity for realistic and effective planning of measures that should be adopted within the framework of UNCTAD in the next few years. That occasion will be a crucial test of the readiness of the more developed countries to face the need to contribute all they can to the solution of one of the world's serious problems: the widening economic and social gap between their countries and ours. In this connexion, the views expressed by the Secretary-General on the United Nations Development Decade In his Annual Report [A/6701J merits our full support.
30. Although Venezuela has achieved the goal of progress set for that period, we realize that our development will not give us a firm foothold in world economic affairs until a clear-cut trade policy favourable to all developing peoples has been devised and implemented. It has been said that prosperity, like peace, is indivisible. Among the developing countries, this is an incontrovertible truth. Apparently, however, it has gained no currency in the industrialized countries' attitude.
31. The concept of free trade without reciprocity must be put into practice on a world scale as soon as possible; otherwise vertical trade flows will crystallize and develop in a way which would be far from beneficial to the developing countries, whose economies would become more and more dependent upon particular States. Similarly, the raw material exporting countries must obtain, within the framework of UNCTAD, more favourable conditions for tackling the problems created by the steady deterioration in commodity prices coupled with the constant price increases of the manufactures those same countries are importing in growing quantities.
32. Unless specific agreements within UNCTAD are forthcoming soon, the only alternative will be agreements, several examples of which already exist, among exporting countries.
33. My country is proud to state before this Assembly that it has at no time been stinting in its efforts to contribute to the achievement of international harmony. We shall continue so to act in the future, for we are convinced that well-being and prosperity will appear on man's horizon the day we decide genuinely to unite our efforts to achieve the essential objective, namely, the improvement of the standard of living of all mankind.