104. I should, first of all, like to convey to you my delegation's congratulations on your election to the high office of the Presidency of the General Assembly. The Assembly is indeed very fortunate in having as its President a statesman or world renown and a political philosopher in his own right. As my country has very good relations with Italy, which are continuing to expand in a number of fields, it gives me great pleasure today to greet Italy’s distinguished representative here.
105. I deem it opportune now to pay my delegation's tribute to the outgoing President of the General Assembly, Mr. Quaison-Sackey. During the tenure of his office he displayed remarkable patience, statesmanship and dedication to the cause of the United Nations and to the Members comprising it. In the face of heavy odds against him and at a time when the very existence of the Organization was threatened, he acted with resourcefulness, despatch and tenacity of purpose which won the admiration of all. But for his untiring efforts and unfailing hope and confidence in his mission, the twentieth regular session of the General Assembly would probably never have met. To this great son and patriot of Africa, we wish success in his appointment as Ghana's Minister for Foreign Affairs.
106. I also wish to welcome to our company the delegations of the Gambia, the Maldive Islands, and Singapore. Their admission to the United Nations marks yet another step in the universality of this world Organization. We hope that their admission will strengthen the United Nations further.
107. With regard to the United Nations, it is a fundamental aspect of the Kenya Government's policy that this Organization deserves unqualified support from all its Members to ensure its continued existence. Just a few weeks back it was gravely paralysed by financial difficulties and its fate hung in the balance. Many observers thought they would witness the end of this Organization in the fashion of the League of Nations. However, it is with a great sense of relief and gratification that I note the normal functioning of the General Assembly and the other organs of the United Nations during this session. Let no one be so optimistic as to believe that the problems of the Organization have all been permanently solved.
108. The stiffest test faced by the United Nations is the question of peace-keeping operations. This is indeed an exceedingly complex problem. My delegation believes that the recommendations contained in the report of the Special Committee on Peace-keeping Operations provide a useful basis for tackling this problem.
109. The Government of Kenya firmly believes that in order to maintain peace in the world all Members of the United Nations must be prepared to meet the costs involved. The fundamental reason for the existence of the United Nations is to maintain international peace and security. One effective way of fulfilling this objective is to create a permanent United Nations peace-keeping fund. The entire membership of the United Nations should be compulsorily assessed each year. If thereafter a Member feels that it has the capability and the willingness to make voluntary contributions in addition to the annual assessments, such voluntary contributions would be welcome. In this manner every Member must strive to uphold the basic objectives of the Charter, one of which is the maintenance of international peace and security.
110. My delegation feels that some Members rely far too rigidly on legal technicalities which have the effect of negating the very purpose for which the United Nations was founded. If the United Nations is to emerge as an effective force for peace in this struggle-torn world, if the Members wish it to fulfil the purposes and principles of the Charter, when it is imperative that such legalistic and narrow interpretations of the Charter should be avoided. Otherwise the United Nations will be a mere talking assembly used as a propaganda platform for the interests of embattled nations.
111. There is then the question of the right of veto, reserved to the five permanent members of the Security Council This needs to be revised drastically to enable the United Nations to act promptly in an emergency situation. The power of veto has been repeatedly used not for the furtherance of the aims and purposes of the Charter but as an offensive and defensive weapon for the promotion of the foreign policies of great Powers.
112. I also wish to comment briefly on the competence of the Security Council vis-à-vis the General Assembly to make executive decisions on peace-keeping operations. It is very clearly spelled out in the Charter that the Security Council has a primary responsibility for the maintenance of international peace and security. My delegation, however, believes that it is equally true that, if the Security Council is deadlocked by a veto, it is incumbent upon the General Assembly to act in an emergency situation which might, if unchecked, destroy the very basis of peace in this world. It is unbecoming to any permanent member of the Security Council to let a threat to world peace go by default just because the Security Council is paralysed by disagreement amongst the great Powers. In such a case it is a disservice to the cause of world peace to block effective United Nations action by the exercise of a veto and then to plead constitutional niceties as a justification for frustrating the United Nations peacekeeping action in areas where peace is threatened. It is precisely this type of attitude which has weakened the United Nations in the past. In order to meet effectively the blocking tactics of the permanent members of the Security Council, my delegation formally proposes the insertion of a new Chapter in the Charter to deal with this and the other problems I have just raised in the question of peace-keeping operations.
113. Time and again the great Powers have taken unilateral action in areas where peace was threatened. Ignoring the United Nations, ignoring the obligations assumed under it and acting on the principle of "might is right", they have taken punitive action in smaller countries. The case of the Dominican Republic, Viet-Nam and others instantly come to mind. It makes one wonder of what use is the United Nations as a guardian of peace if its authority is excluded for the pacific settlement of disputes — a purpose for which it was mainly founded.
114. I wish now to touch on the question of the restoration of the legal right of representation in the United Nations and its various organs to the People's Republic of China. It is a vast country with a population of over 700 million people, with a Government in full and effective control of the territory and recognized as such by a large number of countries in the world, including most of the major Powers. It is evident more than ever today that without the People's Republic of China no peace in South-East Asia can be secured. Without it the usefulness of the United Nations will always be limited. Participation of the People's Republic of China in the United Nations might, we believe, end its frustrations and make it accountable to the United Nations for its actions. If it persisted in taking very militant and aggressive action as a Member of the United Nations, it could be outvoted on specific issues. The risks of admitting China are negligible when compared to the usefulness of having it in the United Nations. While it is excluded from this Organization on the grounds that it has not and will not obey the Charter of the United Nations, it should be borne in mind that, denied participation in the United Nations, it is under no obligation to follow meticulously the provisions of the Charter. Its continued and artificially organized exclusion from the United Nations will always provide standing encouragement for some of the Organization's dissidents and critics to form rival organizations. Let all of us assembled here examine our conscience, especially the major Powers, and ask ourselves if we have always adhered meticulously to the provisions of the Charter.
115. The Government of Kenya believes that the United Nations, with all its imperfections, with all its inadequacies, is the best hope for mankind. The record of the United Nations in the past in solving the numerous post-war problems is commendable. The solution of many explosive political issues, acceleration of the process of independence for non-self-governing territories, promotion of human rights, and a host of other positive achievements stand to its credit. This is not to mention the splendid work it has done for the emergent nations in the technical fields through its many specialized agencies. It is therefore our ardent wish that the United Nations should continue to exist as a strong and effective body. In the final analysis, the United Nations will become what the Members want it to be. To all Members I address the appeal that they should demonstrate their adherence to the Charter of the Organization by faithfully observing its provisions and obligations assumed thereunder.
116. Permit me now to move on to the general world situation. The gathering storms in the present international arena seem to indicate that we are condemned to live in an age of crises, one following the other in rapid succession. Even when there is a semblance of peace, it is troubled with fears of war, hunger, ignorance and prejudice. The forces of cold war at play, both overt and covert, are deliberately geared to the achievement of ideological objectives. Such tendencies undermine the very concepts of international peace and progress through co-operation. They nullify the basic aims of peaceful world order and need to be eradicated once and for all in relations among States.
117. We cannot be blind to happenings which endanger the chances of world peace and, in the long run, the very survival of the human race. We can no longer afford to acquiesce in any challenge to peace, any threat to freedom or any attempt to sabotage international co-operation, no matter in what form such challenge is disguised or from what source it emanates.
118. The most urgent and pressing problem today is that of disarmament. My delegation believes that, so long as the conventional and nuclear armaments race between the great Powers continues, each vying to overtake the other regardless of costs and consequences to world peace, we shall be condemned to live in an era of uneasy peace which could be disrupted at any time by one of the many existing explosive situations. The arms race does not exist only in relation to the great Powers; it has been actively encouraged amongst the many lesser Powers, too. This has resulted in a multiplication of areas of tension, hostility, and conflict which is difficult to control.
119. The Government of Kenya, being fully conscious of these latent forces, appeals to the great Powers to work for general and total disarmament by stages with fool-proof systems of inspection under the aegis of the United Nations. It is time that the great Powers stopped stalling for time by talking all the way and doing very little to disarm. Total disarmament by stages under the control of a comprehensively worked out United Nations system will reduce world tension and release enormous amounts of money and effort that can be usefully diverted to constructive programmes in the service of humanity at large.
120. The monopoly of nuclear strength in the military field, formerly held by the United States and the Soviet Union, was used to maintain uneasy peace through a delicate balance of military power and the reciprocally accepted deterrent and destructive capability of nuclear weaponry. Today this balance has become dangerously disturbed by the proliferation of nuclear Powers. There is, therefore, all the greater urgency now to ban altogether the testing, production, and stockpiling of such weapons under a satisfactory international control. In this regard the Government of Kenya welcomes the recent partial nuclear test-ban Treaty. Although not a disarmament measure in itself, it is a useful preliminary step towards it. The Government of Kenya continues to hope that a much more comprehensive international treaty banning testing, production and stockpiling of nuclear weapons will finally be agreed to by the nuclear Powers including the People's Republic of China. This will spare the world the hazards of a nuclear holocaust.
121. Permit me to reiterate here that my delegation advocates in an unqualified manner the denuclearization of the entire African continent. I wish to record in the strongest possible terms the opposition of my delegation to the use of Africa as a nuclear testing ground by any country in the world. In fact, we are committed to this stand by a resolution of the Organization of African Unity.
122. There is then the related problem of nuclear energy for peaceful purposes. The Government of Kenya believes that the use of this remarkable source of energy for peaceful purposes is most desirable to effect accelerated economic growth of the emerging countries. My Government therefore urges the nuclear Powers to co-operate with the developing nations in disseminating practical knowledge on the peaceful uses of nuclear energy.
123. Having dealt at some length with the United Nations and the general world situation today, I should now like to discuss some specific political issues.
124. You will all agree with me that the most explosive problem today which threatens international peace is the undeclared Indian-Pakistani war over Kashmir. From the very beginning it was destined to be a fruitless and inconclusive war of attrition. Its continuance would clearly be detrimental to both sides. The Government of Kenya urges both sides to abide faithfully by the resolutions [209 (1965) and 210 (1965)] of the Security Council of 4 and 6 September respectively, as well as the subsequent ones. The United Nations should facilitate a peaceful settlement of the dispute without any threats or interference from outside. I, for one, do not believe that a point of no return has been reached. A negotiated political settlement, honourable, equitable, and acceptable to both sides, can be found through the good offices of the United Nations. Here I should like to pay my delegation's tribute to the magnificent work which the Secretary-General, U Thant, has done to control this dangerous conflict. His unselfish and unremitting service to the cause of peace will go down as a glorious example of the United Nations' effectiveness, based on the unanimous decision of the Security Council.
125. The other issue of grave concern to world peace is the Viet-Nam crisis. That divided country unfortunately finds itself in the stranglehold of the United States and its allies, including Britain, Australia and New Zealand. Here one tragedy follows another in endless succession. The Government of Kenya believes that the only lasting solution to the Viet-Nam crisis is a negotiated political settlement on the basis of the Geneva Agreements. The preliminary step in this regard is the cessation of hostilities to be followed by unconditional talks amongst the interested parties to solve the issue permanently. In this context, the Government of Kenya appeals to the United States to demonstrate concretely its oft-proclaimed desire for peace and friendly cooperation by ceasing forthwith its massive military offensive against North Viet-Nam and the National Liberation Front. My delegation also calls for a demonstration of good faith on the part of North Viet-Nam and the People's Republic of China so that the cessation of hostilities is facilitated, preparatory to unconditional talks. It is evident to the Government of Kenya that no solution of the Viet-Nam crisis can ever be satisfactory when based on the principle of might is right. It should also be clear to one and all that no solution of the crisis can be permanent which does not include the active participation of North Viet-Nam, the National Liberation Front, and the People's Republic of China. China's influence and interests in that part of Asia, its geographical proximity to Viet-Nam and concern for its own national security are factors of importance which necessitate its full participation in any move towards a settlement of the crisis.
126. My Government notes with regret that the Viet-Nam crisis has escalated dangerously close to a general war in South-East Asia by the United States intensified military interference and the regular devastation of the country through aerial bombardments and combat action on the ground. It is believed on good evidence that the United States is using Viet-Nam as a testing ground for newly devised American weapons of destruction. If the United States hopes to bring pressures to bear on North Viet-Nam to settle the crisis "peacefully'' by military offensive, it is certainly displaying a shortsighted policy. How can one talk of peace in one breath and carry out aggressive military activities in the next? How can one talk of peace and friendship with a gun in one's hand? How can one create an atmosphere conducive to peaceful negotiations when behind the back of intending negotiators deliberate and sustained attempts are made for the physical obliteration of the State apparatus of the so-called enemy?
127. The task of the tripartite International Commission comprised, under the Geneva Agreements, of India, Canada and Poland has been frustrated by the determined military action of the United States Government. This issue should be brought to the General Assembly and the Security Council for consideration and appropriate action. Otherwise what is the purpose of the United Nations if the United States feels that it can interfere in Viet-Nam unilaterally and determine the destiny of that country single-handed on the false assumption that its military might gives it a license to threaten world peace with impunity? In our opinion United States intervention in Viet-Nam is the greatest menace to international peace and security.
128. Permit me to say a few words about the Cypriot crisis which erupts intermittently. The Government of Kenya, in accordance with its policy of promoting self-determination of peoples, advocates the exercise of this right for the Cypriot people on a basis of majority rule, with constitutional guarantees, if necessary, for the minority groups. I do not believe it is either fair or practical to allow the minority to hold the majority ransom by demanding inconsiderate concessions. The best solution should be found by the Cypriot people themselves, not by outsiders who want a solution to their own advantage at the expense of the Cypriot people. It is not easy to spare from condemnation the imposed constitution and the Treaty of Guarantee under which condemnation the imposed constitution and the Treaty of Guarantee under which the right of intervention in Cypriot affairs is granted to the interested parties, including Britain, Greece, and Turkey. No country can countenance such intolerable restrictions on her sovereignty imposed by external forces.
129. Hitherto the principles of friendly relations and co-operation amongst States have been seriously breached. These principles are enshrined in the United Nations Charter and in almost all the other constitutional documents of other regional international organizations. In violation of these principles and the obligations arising therefrom, some countries like the United States have taken unilateral action with scant regard for the United Nations Charter. While it is well established that all States must refrain from the threat or use of force for the adjustment of disputes, the United States conveniently forgot this obligation in the Dominican Republic. In one breath the United States re-affirmed that no country can arrogate to itself the right to violate the political independence and integrity of States, and in the next ignored it repeatedly in Viet-Nam. The great Powers have accepted that one State should not interfere in matters within the domestic jurisdiction of another. In practice, however, the smaller nations continue to suffer from the grossest intervention of big Powers.
130. Foreign aid has been used repeatedly without any qualms for the corruption of political and trade union leaders, for subversion of popularly elected governments, and for a number of similarly despicable objectives. Large organizations are in existence with unlimited funds at their disposal to further the interests of the donor States. Violence and subversion are sometimes openly practised to secure the interests of such Powers. It is high time that such practices were eradicated and the cloak of foreign aid under which they operate exposed for the world to see.
131. Every State is duty bound to respect the sovereign equality of others and to uphold the principle of self-determination of peoples based on majority rule, but Britain has consistently evaded this principle in Southern Rhodesia, Aden and British Guiana. It is only through honest practice of these principles that an organized and harmonious international order can be built up. The widely stretched interpretation of these principles to suit the convenience of each State and its foreign policy has the effect of nullifying any usefulness that the principles can be expected to yield.
132. It is a well-known fact that international cartels which make fantastic profits in many of the new nations have an unrelaxing grip of the prices of commodities which are the mainstay of the economy of such States. By arbitrary fluctuations and control of prices of primary commodities they are in a position to hold the country's economy to ransom. Many of these international cartels are backed up by their Governments, and when such Governments give assistance to the developing countries it has a very limited impact on the development of the economy. In effect, this represents the classic example of giving with one hand and taking away with the other.
133. While I am still discussing some of the significant economic issues I should like to stress that it is my Government's policy that the recommendations of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development held in Geneva should be faithfully and speedily implemented in full. The system of trading created under GATT should also be radically modified to reflect the changed conditions of today and to accord with the decisions of the Geneva Conference. Development should be based more on trading than on foreign aid. Therefore, the developing nations must be allowed incentives for greater trading facilities on preferential terms in liberalized markets.
134. I should like to move on now to the African scene. Here we are committed at all costs to promote African unity, and this aim is not a mere slogan or sentiment. We fully realize that we cannot build African unity or slogans or pious expressions of hopes.
135. Unless we African countries are united, our future is fraught with dangerous consequences. African unity is vital for the eradication of existing outposts of colonialism. It is basic to the maintenance of African continental and also international peace. Without it, our efforts will fall pitiably short in combating decades and under-development and evils and injustices of colonial subjugation and external subversion. Friendly relations and co-operation at all levels amongst the African States would be greatly prejudiced if there were no unity and concerted action amongst them. The Organization of African Unity was established precisely for these reasons and the Government of Kenya is irrevocably committed to promote its aims and objectives.
136. Our greatest challenge in Africa is the total eradication of colonialist presence from our soil. We shall never abdicate the sacred trust to liberate our subjugated African brethren from minority, racist servitude, be it in South Africa, Rhodesia, Angola, Mozambique or elsewhere in Africa. We are fighting for freedom, for dignity, for human rights. That illustrious champion of freedom, Abraham Lincoln, once said:
"When the white man governs himself, that is self-government; but when he governs himself and also another man, that is more than self-government — that is despotism ... no man is good enough to govern another man, without that other's consent."
The implications of Abraham Lincoln's words apply with full force to the pressing and urgent issue of the independence of Rhodesia, to which subject I now turn my attention.
137. We shall never accept any compromise that will jeopardize the total freedom of the overwhelming majority of the Africans in Rhodesia. Our choice lies in either accepting the British Government's attitude of "wait and see" or facing the settler minority and recognizing all the implications of it — even armed conflict.
138. We hold the British Government legally and morally responsible for ensuring that the Africans are granted their independence. It is also the constitutional obligation of the British Government to guarantee and demonstrate by use of force, if necessary, that no rebellious act of unilateral independence by minority racists led by Ian Smith is attempted. If the British Government is afraid to exercise its authority over the present Rhodesian régime, it should allow the United Nations the opportunity to attempt to settle the dispute.
139. Failing either course, the Organization of African Unity is bound to seek the support of the African countries to intervene. Such intervention may amount to armed assistance to the Africans in Southern Rhodesia. Must the situation in Rhodesia therefore deteriorate into an armed conflict because of the inaction of Britain and the United Nations to take effective steps now to promote the interests of the majority?
140. Ian Smith has spared no efforts to entrench the whites in perpetual power, even to the extent of establishing an unholy alliance with South Africa and Portugal for this purpose. He used the recent affirmative voting of the chiefs in Rhodesia to hoodwink the world into believing that he has African support for European, supremacy. He held farcical elections to renew the mandate for his infamous régime under electoral laws which favoured only the whited, minority and totally excluded the African electorate. These manoeuvres were not and could never be an expression of the will of the African people. They were an unsuccessful ruse to deceive the world into legal acceptance of an unrepresentative order. In the face of all this, the British Government is impotent and stands utterly demoralized.
141. There are precedents in British colonial history where, in situations of this nature, ruthless and immediate steps were taken: imposition of a constitution in Aden, suspension of the constitution in British Guiana, and military action through the declaration of an emergency in Kenya, are some of the examples of British action in similar circumstances. Why can Britain not take such action today in Rhodesia?
142. Our memory is not so short as to make us oblivious to happenings in Kenya before our independence. We had a strong settler minority Government in power. Our repeated efforts for representation in the Government and demands for independence were met with nothing but evasions. Constitutional niceties and legal trivialities were the stock official answers of the United Kingdom Government for many years. When at last we were forced to take up arms against the settler Government of the day, the United Kingdom Government acted with haste and declared a state of emergency. Thousands of British troops were flown to Kenya to maintain so-called law and order. This time it was to enforce "law and order" among a "rebellious African population". Why does the British Government hesitate to maintain "law and order" among the rebellious white settler minority in Rhodesia?
143. At the recent Commonwealth Prime Ministers’ Conference in London, the British Government, under pressure, accepted the principle of majority rule in Rhodesia. It also agreed to call a constitutional conference within the earliest possible time. This is a definite commitment, a definite obligation to the Commonwealth and the world, which it must discharge at all costs in the name of justice and honour.
144. A short while ago I referred to the. rebellious white settler minority in Rhodesia. I can assure you that that is the official stand of the United Kingdom as set out in the statement of the British Government of 27 October 1964 regarding its views on the consequence of the proposed unilateral declaration of independence by the Rhodesian régime. That statement accepted in an unqualified manner that the "decision to grant independence rests entirely with the British Government and Parliament, and they have a solemn duty to be satisfied that, before granting independence, it would be acceptable to the people of the country as a whole". I repeat: "to the people of the country as a whole". In the same statement the British Government reaffirmed quite clearly that any step in the direction of a unilateral declaration of independence would be illegal and "an open act of defiance and rebellion and it would be treasonable to take steps to give effect to it".
145. It is surprising to find that the British Government, after having made such a clear and strong statement on the illegality and dangerous consequences of a unilateral declaration of independence, lacks the moral courage to enforce its solemn obligation to protect the rights of the Africans to majority rule. Is it because of a slender majority in Parliament that the present British Government lacks the moral courage to face Ian Smith and enforce its constitutional obligations in Rhodesia? We should prefer to see the present British Government fall and maintain its principles so that history would record that it went down honourably rather than succumb to the machinations of Ian Smith and his collaborators.
146. I wish to advise the settler minority who control the Rhodesian Government that, if the African leaders now languishing in prison are released and if the principle of universal adult franchise based on "one man one vote" is introduced to implement majority rule, they have nothing to fear under an African representative government. In Kenya, which was also intended to be settled by a white minority group, as in Rhodesia, we still have many ex-settlers. Many of them are now citizens of the country, enjoying equal rights and contributing constructively to the development of the country. Nor does this apply to Kenya alone. It is the general pattern in other countries in Africa which have now won their independence. Talking only of Kenya for the present, we are proud of the racial harmony and understanding that exists amongst the various racial groups. I extend an invitation to the settler leaders of Rhodesia to visit my country to see for themselves what the joint endeavours of different races can produce in an atmosphere of trust, confidence and understanding.
147. It is appropriate that I should now address myself directly to the United Nations on the question of Rhodesia. Resolutions have been passed, but beyond that very little seems to have been done. We have now come to the point where we are almost forced to conclude that resolutions are merely an evasion of the problem. Therefore the United Nations should be prepared to take strong action to meet Ian Smith's threat to declare independence unilaterally. Otherwise international peace and security will be endangered. We had pinned our hopes on the British Government's acting promptly in the eventuality of a unilateral declaration of independence, but it seems that it is waiting for Mr. Smith to seize independence before it can make up its mind to act. The United Nations must, therefore, take immediate and appropriate action now to meet the challenge.
148. While still on the question of African independence, I wish to address the Assembly on South Africa. Its unrepresentative régime is still the most telling symbol and embodiment of colonialist presence on African soil. This virulently hated order is sustained by the financial and military stakes on its tacit apologists who were yesterday colonial masters of most of Asia and Africa. They have never implemented United Nations resolutions on the boycott of South Africa. Trade flourishes and investments continue to flow, thus consolidating the illegitimate authority of the present régime. I regret to say that some Asian and African countries are also continuing to have trade relations with South Africa. Without fear of contradiction I can say that Japan has not yet ceased to trade with South Africa. In its case it seems that financial interests override moral considerations. All these collaborators and supporters of South Africa are consolidating an order which derives its strength and pleasure from persecution and pitiless brutality and from the insane philosophy of apartheid. They will soon have to account for paying lip service to the ideals of human freedom and dignity while actually sustaining an order whose official policies negate these ideals. We expect from them a more realistic and less hypocritical attitude and, need I say, a greater measure of honesty for the sake of humanity.
149. The policy of apartheid which South Africa is following with pathological persistence is not very different from what some of the American racists advocate. However, the United States Government has at least the courage to take legislative measures to secure civil rights for the Negroes. Although there is much to be desired in the United States legislation, it is nevertheless a step in the right direction and is commendable.
150. The Portuguese enslavement of Mozambique, Angola and so-called Portuguese Guinea is no less reprehensible. Having proved itself to be the most remarkable administrative and political failure in history, Portugal makes up for it by resorting to indescribable atrocities. Our stand regarding the self-determination of peoples in the little-mentioned and oft-forgotten Spanish colonies is the same. I often wonder how the fascist Portuguese and Spanish régimes are accepted within the orbit of Western democracies. We had always thought that democracy and fascism were incompatible. Perhaps the military and economic interests of the Western Powers in both Portugal and Spain outweigh human justice.
151. The status of South West Africa, deliberately obscured by South African expansionist ambitions, will soon be settled decisively by the International Court of Justice, which has been considering this issue for some time. My delegation hopes that it will be established beyond any shadow of doubt that South West Africa has always had the status of a trusteeship territory. When that decision is made, we expect the United Nations to take over the administration of that territory and prepare the African people for early independence.
152. I wish to emphasize that against all these colonial interests, we shall not be content until total liberation is won. For without it there is no guarantee of our own independence and security, without it the very survival of human rights is outrageously threatened in Africa. It was precisely in line with these sentiments that the Government of Kenya imposed a total and effective boycott of those régimes. We shall entertain no relations of any type with them until the colonialist order is reversed to make way for Africans to establish their legal and representative government.
153. Before I conclude my statement, I would say this. Members will have noted that the Government of Kenya believes in non-alignment, which has been developed into a practical and working policy. It permits us to take independent decisions on the merits of a particular issue. Non-alignment does not imply non-commitment. We fully commit ourselves to support that we believe to be right and just in international affairs. In pursuance of that policy we seek friendship with every nation that will return it. The establishment of such friendship will not entitle any friend to choose enemies for us. Here I could do no better than echo the sentiments of my President, Mzee Jomo Kenyatta, whom I quote:
"We welcome genuine friendship but we detest flattery. We welcome co-operation and assistance but we shall not be bought or blackmailed. We may be under-developed and our people may walk barefooted but we are a proud people — proud of our heritage, of our traditions and ancestry. What is more, we will not betray our children."