1. The delegation of the Rwandese Republic associates itself with previous speakers in congratulating the President on his election to preside over this twenty-second session of the General Assembly.
2. Our congratulations extend also to all those who have the honour of assisting him as Vice-Presidents in his arduous task.
3. With the wisdom and the diplomatic and political experience of its President behind it, the General Assembly will no doubt take a step forward in the search for a solution to the complex problems it will have to deal with.
4. My delegation likewise pays a very special tribute to Mr. Abdul Rahman Pazhwak, who presided with both skill and wisdom over the work of the twenty-first session and the two special sessions that followed it. It was a pleasure for my delegation to hold one of the Vice-Presidencies under the leadership of such a capable and experienced President.
5. My delegation would further like to pay a very special tribute to Secretary-General U Thant for his untiring dedication to the Organization and to the cause of peace.
6. Since its accession to independence and sovereignty as a nation just over five years ago, the Rwandese Republic has steered its international policy towards the attainment of the goals of the United Nations, namely co-operation among nations for peace and security in the world and the economic and social development of the less prosperous peoples.
7. We have always declared our faith in the principles governing the United Nations, and in the light of those principles we have taken our stand on the issues included on the agenda of the General Assembly; and we firmly believe that these issues can be settled only if all States Members of the Organization undertake to approach them in a spirit of co-operation and sincere solidarity.
8. For the past two years, and particularly during the twenty-first session and the two special sessions which followed it, we have detected an atmosphere of solidarity among certain Member States belonging to the same geographical or ideological blocs when dealing with situations involving their own interests. Thus in respect of the question of South West Africa or that of Rhodesia, economic and social interests have consolidated the Western bloc and caused the measures envisaged by the General Assembly and the Security Council to fail. We are convinced that if the Western bloc acted honestly in regard to these problems, southern Africa would recover its dignity.
9. The same attitude is displayed by these Powers in respect of colonialism in the countries where the Western Powers still practise the "art" of exploitation of man by man; I am referring to the anachronistic policy of the Government of Lisbon with regard to Angola, Mozambique, the Territory of Cabinda and Guinea (Bissau) cynically baptized Portuguese Guinea. I am referring also to the attitude of the United Kingdom on the question of Rhodesia.
10. I have said already, and I repeat: this attitude will remain suspect until the United Kingdom takes proper steps to deal with the situation created in Rhodesia under its very nose, if not with its complicity. I trust that the United Kingdom will keep the promises it made last week through its representative in the Fourth Committee [1683rd meeting].
11. The policy of Rwanda on racial and colonial matters has always been in favour of the, principle of equal rights for all peoples and sovereign choice in regard to their political regime and their leaders. As the head of the delegation of Rwanda said at the twenty-first session of the Assembly:
"As far as we are concerned, the sovereignty of States and their self-determination are sacred principles which must govern all international relations." [1428th meeting, para. 6.]
12. In the light of those principles the Government of Rwanda has never ceased to condemn the policy of apartheid practised by the Government of Pretoria and the racist policy applied by a white minority to the African people of Rhodesia. Our opposition to that policy is at the same time opposition to the foreign Powers which would turn the southern part of Africa into a land where the white man rules over the coloured population. We take this opportunity also to renew our support for the Zimbabwe peoples and for all our African and Asian brothers who are still the victims of the atrocities of the outdated system of colonialism. We regret that economic interests in Rhodesia, South Africa and South West Africa have blinded certain Western Powers to the point of making them unmindful of the principles of equality, liberty and fraternity which must govern relations between races.
13. I am no prophet; but if the Western white man insists on helping his fellow-white man in Africa or elsewhere to exploit the black man, it is the white man in general who will have to shoulder the responsibility in the eyes of history. We appeal urgently to the Powers which support the racist policy of South Africa, in the Republic of South Africa itself or in South West Africa, and the policy of the Rhodesian settlers, to cease playing this double game, which in the long run could jeopardize their own survival. At the present stage, what is needed in South West Africa and Rhodesia is not promises or pious declarations but positive acts.
14. I would add that as long as international relations are regarded by some Powers as a means of serving their political or economic ends, and the desire to set men free is not paramount in international relations, the world will continue to be torn by grave tension.
15. The partitioned countries constitute one of the most grievous problems of the day. Our position is in favour of reunification, whether it be Germany or China, Korea or Viet-Nam. In this we are guided by the principle that:
"... every people which through history has formed a single nation, which has participated in the creation of the same culture, must be given an opportunity to remain one nation indivisible, and any arbitrary division of its unity is an unpardonable crime" [ibid,, para. 27].
But, in the search for means of reunifying these countries, the principle of self-determination must be scrupulously respected.
16. The Rwandese Republic is happy about the good relations it enjoys with the Federal Republic of Germany, the Republic of China and the Republic of Korea. These three countries have proved their devotion to the principles of the United Nations Charter and have contributed to the development of a great many countries Members of the Organization. They have our encouragement on the road to progress and stability for their peoples.
17. To return to the question of China, we profoundly regret that the loaders in Peking have adopted an attitude which prevents a quarter of the human race from making an effective contribution to international peace and security. The argument of the rights of the majority has often been cited in this Assembly; but there is a tendency to forget that minorities also have their rights and that the majority does not always have the right on its side. It would be wrong to give up the fruits of freedom enjoyed by 13 million Chinese for the sake of the majority principle. One of the guiding principles of this Organization should be to protect and defend freedom and stability wherever they flourish.
18. A year ago, the head of the delegation of Rwanda, addressing the General Assembly, made the following statement:
"... the fact that People’s China represents one quarter of the population of the world does not give it the right to preach any alleged revolution in developing countries, or to support subversion in our countries by military training and arming of rebels" [ibid., para. 30].
Thus from this rostrum we condemn the policy of spreading armed conflict throughout the world, as practised by the authorities in Peking.
19. With regard to the question of admission of the People’s Republic of China to the United Nations, apart from the fact that my delegation has no reason to assume that the authorities in Peking really want to sit with us here and discuss the problems of international peace and security and the peaceful and harmonious development of nations, we have unequivocally stated our opposition to the theory of two Chinas, and therefore we cannot agree to have two representatives of one and the same people seated in the United Nations. Only the Chinese authorities which have proved their devotion to the principles of the Charter have the right to represent China in the Organization. We regret nevertheless that not all the Chinese people are able to have their voice heard in the United Nations.
20. We are greatly disturbed to learn that the People's Republic of China has embarked on the path of atomic weapons research and development. It gives us serious reason to fear for the security of the world in general and of Asia in particular. Hence we should like to remind China, as well as the great Powers which have set the example and the small countries that encourage China in that direction, that they have a great responsibility towards history and towards the human race.
21. Speaking of matters of concern to the Asian and African continents, the delegation of the Rwandese Republic cannot but reiterate its position in regard to the Middle East situation, a high priority item of the agenda of the present session. There can be no just and lasting solution to the problem unless it is examined without taking sides. Nothing could have prevented the outbreak of 5 June 1967 except respect for the principles of peaceful coexistence and good neighbourliness. But as you make your bed, so you must lie on it.
22. Any attempt to find a solution to the crisis must bear in mind the principles set forth in Articles 2 (3) and 2 [4) of the Charter, which read as follows:
"All Members shall settle their international disputes by peaceful means in such a manner that international peace and security, and justice, are not endangered.
"All Members shall refrain in their international relations from the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any State, or in any other manner inconsistent with the Purposes of the United Nations."
23. Rwanda finds it all the more difficult to depart from these principles inasmuch as most of the countries involved in the situation are attached to us by genuine ties. First of all, a number of Arab States are members of the Organization of African Unity like ourselves, and secondly Israel is a friendly nation with which Rwanda has for a long time had diplomatic relations and extremely cordial cooperation.
24. Thus, having pondered carefully on the problem of the Middle East, my delegation believes that there is only one way to put an end to the state of belligerency and to create the conditions for peaceful coexistence and good neighbourliness. The only way which seems to us realistic is for the United Nations to induce the States of the region to sit down at the same table to study and determine what conditions for the restoration of peace between them would be mutually acceptable. Any agreements emerging from such a gathering would be endorsed and guaranteed by the United Nations or by the four great Powers. My delegation believes that any other solution imposed from outside, even if by a majority in the United Nations, might fail to receive the unanimous agreement of the parties to the conflict and its implementation would thus be jeopardized.
25. I should like to add, moreover, that it would benefit the proposal for negotiations between the States in question — a proposal which my delegation supports — if those States were to give a strict undertaking here and now to renounce any spirit of belligerence, which would of course imply abandoning any aggressive attitude or threat, even verbal, to the security of the other party or parties.
26. Side by side with the situation in the Middle East, which seriously endangers the peace and stability of the world, there are other sources of disquiet confronting mankind. The case of Viet-Nam is most perturbing, and my delegation would like to see the parties to the conflict there show a more positive will to create the conditions for real peace. In this connexion, we are heartened by the statement made the day before yesterday by the new President of South Viet-Nam that he was proposing to seek a way to peace with North Viet-Nam. Since what the problem of Viet-Nam calls for is a political solution, we believe that bombings are not the best way of achieving it. A halt to the bombings would greatly benefit the search for a lasting peace.
27. The Government of the Rwandese Republic is particularly interested in the problem of disarmament, and we commend the efforts — slow but we hope sure - being made in that direction.
28. The Government of Rwanda especially welcomed the 1963 Treaty banning nuclear weapon tests, as being one of the main stages in the process of general and complete disarmament. My delegation would like to invite the great nuclear Powers to extend the Treaty to cover underground tests, which unfortunately are still being carried out. The Rwandese Republic was one of the first signatories of the Treaty of 27 January 1967 on the Exploration and Use of Outer Space and Celestial Bodies [resolution 2222 (XXI), annex], which is likewise a guarantee of peace and security to mankind on connexion with future developments in space science.
29. The Rwandese Republic welcomed the news of the agreement between the delegations of the Soviet Union and the United States at the Conference of the Eighteen-Nation Disarmament Committee on a draft treaty on the non-proliferation of nuclear weapons. However, my delegation regrets that far from providing an appropriate and final solution to the problem of the non-proliferation of nuclear weapons, the draft seems rather to crystallize the monopoly of what has been palled the nuclear club. Our representative in the First Committee made clear a year ago [1450th meeting] the views of the Government of Rwanda on this question of vital importance to world peace and stability.
30. The problem of non-proliferation of nuclear weapons should, in our view, be dealt with from two equally important angles. On the one hand, the nuclear Powers would undertake not to continue the production of nuclear weapons and not to propagate them; on the other hand, the non-nuclear Powers would undertake not to seek to produce or acquire such weapons. But we note that only the latter aspect is covered by the American-Soviet draft which the United Nations is being asked to endorse.
31. By a treaty on the non-proliferation of nuclear weapons we mean a treaty establishing a procedure for the progressive elimination of existing stockpiles and regulating the purely peaceful uses of the atomic material thus freed, a treaty embodying the ways and means of controlling its implementation, and providing adequate guarantees of security to the non-nuclear Powers — in short, a treaty ensuring that neither the great nor the small Powers would be playing a losing game.
32. Nevertheless, the agreement reached between the Soviet Union and the United States is at this juncture most gratifying, for the Rwandese Republic considers that a treaty touching on either aspect of the question of non-proliferation of nuclear weapons is of itself an important stage in the disarmament process, for each stage is individually important. But we would like to see the treaty regarded only as a partial treaty on the non-proliferation of nuclear weapons until such time as a new agreement is reached on the other aspect of the problem, the ban on the production of nuclear weapons. The door would thus be left open for further negotiations. My delegation at the same time trusts that the General Assembly, after endorsing the draft treaty we have called partial, will ask the eighteen States Members of the Disarmament Committee to continue their study of all aspects of the question.
33. The question of the non-proliferation of nuclear weapons must be considered as an integral part of disarmament. If, therefore, we are seeking disarmament of a genuinely general and complete kind, there must be prohibition of the manufacture and the propagation of atomic weapons. Last year in the First Committee we made the following statement:
“... in order to be effective, general disarmament will have to be carried out in stages, beginning with the progressive reduction of military budgets and, particularly, the budgets for the manufacture of atomic weapons.
"Furthermore, the treaty should contain certain elements which, in our view, are essential for the very effectiveness of the treaty. They are, among others:
"1. The parties should designate or recognize an authority (a) that would be entrusted with the task of drawing up an inventory of existing armaments and weapons to be destroyed; (b) that would ensure control over the destruction of such weapons, and (c) that would be recognized as a depository for fissile materials derived from the destruction of nuclear weapons.
"2. That authority, whether it be the International Atomic Energy Agency or any other, should undertake not to receive orders or instructions from either of the parties separately or without a mandate from the other parties.
"3. A definition would be given of the fields to which the fissile materials would be assigned by the agency designated to use those fissile materials for peaceful purposes.
”4. The question of the compatibility of the provisions of that treaty with national security measures, which we believe will continue to be necessary, even after the conclusion of a treaty on general and complete disarmament since - man being what he is — it is better to take minimum security measures."
34. Before leaving this subject I must express satisfaction on behalf of my delegation at the agreement concluded between the countries of Latin America on a treaty for the denuclearization of that region. We are equally happy to recall that Africa has been declared a "nuclear-free zone" [see resolution 2033 (XX)]. We hope that other regions in the world will be inspired by these two examples.
35. The armaments race is not the only threat to world peace and security; the independence and the development of the new nations are likewise threatened by subversion, which takes a variety of forms.
36. The delegation of Rwanda has branded year after year the attitudes of certain countries which spread subversion and unrest in other countries through refugees. Here the Organization should remind countries which shelter refugees of their obligation not only to treat them with humanity, but also to keep them out of harm's way, and hence not to place at their disposal part of their territory or weapons with which they can be trained for subversion.
37. We welcome the efforts male by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees to render assistance to refugees. He should spare no effort not only to relieve their wretchedness but also to promote the peaceful return to their countries of origin of those who wish to return. The High Commissioner should see to it that the aid he furnishes to refugees is not diverted from its proper ends and used to provide logistic support and supplies for subversive groups.
38. Another threat to the independence and security of Africa is the type of banditry and international subversion which, if I may coin a word, I shall call "mercenaryism". The problem of mercenaries must be examined in our institutions with the proper attention due to all problems bearing on world peace.
39. Countries or organizations aiding and abetting the recruitment and training of mercenaries call for the strongest condemnation from this Assembly; but the Security Council too should consider the application of the sanctions designed for use against those who seriously endanger international peace and security.
40. The United Nations should urge Member States to promulgate laws or regulations prohibiting all recruitment of mercenaries within their territories and penalizing any alien or national participating in "mercenaryism".
41. The General Assembly should likewise take over the resolution adopted by the fourth session of the Assembly of Heads of State and Government of the Organization of African Unity, held at Kinshasa last September — a resolution concerning mercenaries which seems to us to embody the basic points needed to cope with the danger.
42. Turning to the problem of development, allow me for a moment to recall the position of the Government of the Rwandese Republic regarding the use of funds freed by disarmament:
"The world economy could advance infinitely more rapidly if the vast resources diverted from economic channels towards sterile armaments were returned into those channels in a useful and dynamic form. Such reintegration should be effected, not only within national economic channels but also within the international economic system.
"The reintegration of these resources into national economic systems can be achieved by giving military establishments, even when considerably reduced in size, a more important social and economic role. Armies can be transformed increasingly into schools for general and technical training. They can also be called upon to a greater extent for carrying out national infrastructure projects. In the case of the developing countries, it is particularly in their interest, once the requirements of maintaining order and public safety have been met, to entrust civil engineering tasks to their troops.
"The reintegration of armament expenses into the international economic system could help to give the latter the balance which it now sorely lacks. The Geneva Conference on Trade and Development has shown that the international market, considered from the standpoint of trade between the industrialized countries and the developing countries, constitutes a highly inorganic circuit. The system of trade, as well as the international system of economic and social assistance, must be completely overhauled. This reform must obviously be undertaken as a matter of urgency, independently of the. slow negotiations towards disarmament. Disarmament, however, will provide timely means of assisting the rebirth for which the developing countries had been hoping for so long.
"...
"Two objections are generally raised to proposals for diverting a proportion of expenditure on armaments to assistance to the under-developed countries. The first objection is that any reduction of the armaments industries would result in the unemployment of many members of the national labour force. The second objection is that the financial aid which would be granted to the developing countries would endanger the balance of payments equilibrium. Those two objections may reasonably be raised in the present circumstances, but they can and must be overcome.
"The conversion of armaments industries to industries for the production of peaceful goods and the allocation of such goods as aid to the under-developed countries would provide a solution to each of the above-mentioned problems."
43. Thus the enormous sums of money, material resources and human energy squandered today on armaments should be used for the salvation of the two thirds of mankind threatened by hunger, disease, slum conditions and illiteracy. We have always said here, and we repeat today:
"For the rich countries there can be no salvation or progress without risk and without the great struggle which the world must now wage against hunger, disease and poverty among the less favoured nations."
44. We appeal to the great Powers to give more thought to the magnitude of their responsibility toward a world suffering from the threefold danger of perishing either by the sword, or from the aftermath of colonization, or from under-development.
45. My delegation notes with some concern that the development of the new nations is handicapped not only by the decline in world prices for primary commodities and the parallel rise in the prices of manufactured goods, but by the shortage of technically skilled personnel. Certain countries, and certain international organizations, seem to give preference to development aid for projects of a regional nature, and show little interest in projects of national character.
46. The Government of Rwanda recognizes that regional economic integration justifies this concern; nevertheless I believe that sound regional development presupposes national development, and hence to neglect the latter is the right way to impede and even to wreck the former. For this reason the Government of the Rwandese Republic considers that multilateral and bilateral aid are both necessary and complementary, and that national projects must not be pushed into the background in favour of regional projects; instead the resources and the attention given to each should be proportionate.
47. In any event, the organization of regional development calls for the modification of existing structures. For example, in the African countries, the communications network developed during the colonial era was designed to link the country's hinterland with the ocean, that is to say directly with the metropolitan country, so as to facilitate the flow of manufactured goods into the colony while the raw materials were drained off from the colony to the metropolitan country. Thus the economy of the African territories was closely bound up with that of the administering Power, so that the former had no independent existence. Here we see the source of many of today's difficulties.
48. The developing countries in one and the same region should today work together on their economic and social development with a view to specializing in this or that sector of industry. Thus regional cooperation machinery is indispensable for organizing production and creating markets of viable dimensions, Rwanda is prepared, for example, to co-operate in the development of the middle-African region, the region of the Great Lakes; and any aid for regional development in this area will be welcome.
49. Decided efforts have been made to improve the economic and social standards of living in the developing countries. But there is still a great deal to be done to cope with poverty, hunger, illiteracy, the population explosion and under-equipment.
50. We are hoping for a great deal from the conference at present being held at Algiers, and from the second session of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development to be held during the first quarter of next year at New Delhi.
51. The development of the new nations is greatly handicapped by the lack of technically skilled personnel. In this connexion my delegation would like to suggest that the appropriate services within the United Nations should consider the possibility of setting up an international technical assistance fund to enable all developing countries to engage technicians, the fund guaranteeing their salaries on the basis of their qualifications and experience.
52. Such a fund would obviate the developing countries' difficulties in finding sufficient technicians for want of adequate resources to guarantee their salaries; but it would also help to reduce certain risks inherent in the actual system of technical assistance, as for example the risk that in the countries where they are working technicians may play the political game of the countries or organizations supplying them.
53. In this connexion I should like to cite a passage from the Encyclical Populorum Progressio of Pope Paul VI. Speaking of technical assistance to countries in need, Pope Paul said:
"We are happy that experts are being sent in larger and larger numbers on development missions by institutions, whether international or bilateral or by private organizations: 'They ought not to conduct themselves in a lordly fashion, but as helpers and co-workers.'
"A people quickly perceives if those who come to help them do so with or without affection, whether they come merely to apply their techniques or recognize in man his full value.
"Their message is in danger of being rejected if it is not presented in the context of brotherly love."
54. While on the subject of the economic development of the new nations, I cannot end my statement without paying a public tribute from this rostrum to the various United Nations bodies, and to the Member States and Observer States, which have contributed or are still contributing to the economic and social development of my country, whether directly on a bilateral basis or indirectly through their participation in the development programmes of the United Nations and its specialized agencies.
55. The Government of the Rwandese Republic attaches paramount importance to international cooperation, being convinced that it is only in this way that the world will attain stability and peace.