82. It is with profound dismay that the delegation of Gabon has learnt of the indisposition of Mr. Fanfani following an unfortunate accident. We would ask you, Mr. Vice-President, to be good enough to convey to him our sincere wishes for a speedy recovery together with our hearty congratulations on his election as the President of the General Assembly at its twentieth session. We already welcome the fact that his experience and sense of moderation will make their positive contribution to our debates, just as the enthusiasm, courage and skill of his eminent predecessor, Mr. Quaison-Sackey, were indispensable during the last session.
83. The admission of the States of Singapore, the Maldive Islands and the Gambia to our Organization is a great comfort and a source of hope for the peoples still under foreign domination who are striving so vigorously to gain freedom.
84. In this connexion I wish to draw attention to the welcome progress towards independence made by Equatorial Guinea, a neighbour and sister State of Gabon. The referendum of 1963, the various elections of 1964, the appointment of the Governing Council and the appointment of the President of the Governing Council, each event marking a stage on the path towards self-determination, have proceeded in absolute freedom and order which do honour to our neighbour and to the administering Power. The Process of decolonization initiated by Spain is being followed closely by the Gabonese Government, which wishes to congratulate the Spanish Government once more on its realistic and civilized policy towards a brother people, who we hope will soon take their place among us.
85. Spain's wise policy should serve as an example to all the other Governments which have established their rule over overseas territories. In Africa there are still many peoples living under the harsh law of colonialism. Portugal, despite all the resolutions adopted by the United Nations, despite the many appeals made from this rostrum, stubbornly refuses to listen to the voice of reason and continues to deny millions of human beings the right to live in freedom and independence. This country, lost in a conquistador's dream, a prisoner of the past, is seeking to preserve a colonial empire in Africa. Against the wishes of the indigenous people, it seeks to impose its will by force; since those people have no choice but to meet violence with violence, large Portuguese armed forces have been stationed in the territories in revolt, in order to carry out a murderous campaign of suppression. The theory that Portugal's overseas possessions are provinces of Portugal cannot deceive anyone. It is a negation of the principle of self-determination, a right to which the Gabonese Republic is passionately devoted.
86. Angola, Mozambique, so-called Portuguese Guinea, the Cape Verde Islands and the islands of Principe and São Tomé will be freed, whatever ridiculous theories are manufactured by the Portuguese Government. On this point, we can state that time is on our side, on the African side, whatever the Portuguese Government may think. That Government, by establishing diplomatic relations with a country such as Southern Rhodesia, which has not yet gained international sovereignty, has given proof of its unthinking and unrealistic attitude.
87. Gabon will therefore vote systematically in favour of any resolution likely to hasten the end of Portuguese colonialism, particularly by means of economic sanctions, which, unfortunately, are not applied by some of those who voted in favour of them. The only explanation is that they are waiting for more solid arguments of impatience or despair to be put forward and to create a serious threat to peace.
88. In South Africa, Mr. Verwoerd's policy of apartheid is becoming more and more inhuman. Arbitrary laws on segregation, court sentences, concentration camps, executions — these are the means used by the rulers of South Africa to deprive the indigenous people of their right to free existence. The Pretoria Government, disregarding fundamental human rights, excludes from the life of the nation millions of beings, to whom it denies any human value.
89. Deaf to warnings and, like Portugal, ignoring the resolutions adopted by the United Nations, it continues to defy world opinion, encouraged, it is true, by certain Powers which give it effective though concealed support and by others which refuse to apply the sanctions adopted against it. Yet it has been said over and over again that, since South Africa is not economically self-sufficient, the way to sway its policy is to apply economic sanctions.
90. Here again, Gabon, which has introduced radical boycott measures by forbidding any aircraft or ship belonging to South Africa or, of course, Portugal, to fly over, land in or enter its territory, is regretfully obliged to note the non-application of sanctions by some of those who voted in favour of them.
91. On this same African continent, it is distressing to find that in Southern Rhodesia a foreign minority which holds power is on the point of succeeding in its manoeuvres to have independence declared for its benefit alone, thus depriving more than 3.5 million inhabitants, the indigenous majority, of their legitimate right to self-government. Gabon firmly hopes that the United Kingdom, the administering Power, will not let itself be duped by the machinations of the Rhodesian settlers and that it will continue to oppose them by promoting free general elections. The responsibility and prestige of the United Kingdom in Africa are deeply involved in this matter, although, in other respects, it is to be congratulated on its progressive decolonization policy. Secret agreements have just been concluded at Lisbon between Portugal, Southern Rhodesia and South Africa on the use of all possible means to maintain the supremacy of the racist white minority in what they call the southern part of the African continent. On this point, we declare that, as long as some countries insist on moving against the tide of history, there will be no peace in Africa or in the world.
92. But there are other causes of tension threatening world stability and equilibrium. Among them I shall refer in particular to the problem of divided nations. For some of these countries the question of their very existence has become doubtful. It is unthinkable that in our time highly civilized nations with ancient cultures, which for centuries have given proof of their political maturity, should be condemned to live divided and outside the ranks of our Organization. Germany, Korea and Viet-Nam are among the countries suffering from this situation, which it behoves us to bring to an end.
93. Since the right of self-determination is one of the fundamental principles of our Charter, a principle to which, I repeat, we are passionately devoted, Gabon considers it unjust that the German nation should be kept in a state of division imposed on it from outside. Only a free consultation of the whole German people will make it possible to find the basis for an agreement ending the division, reuniting the country, restoring its capital to it and reconciling the two sections of the population.
94. Convinced as we are that discussion is the only means of settling disputes, we also consider that it is our Organization's duty to put an end to the territorial claims which are at the root of the dispute between Israel and its Arab neighbours, a dispute which the Gabonese Government considers can be settled only by negotiation, like the problem of the Palestine refugees.
95. If the use of force to settle disputes is to be condemned without qualification, the same is true of subversion. The Gabonese Government, faithful to the spirit of the Charter of the United Nations and to the principles of the Organization of African Unity and the Inter-African and Malagasy States Organization, strongly condemns any interference in the internal affairs of other States and subversive activities conducted against other States, whether neighbours or not.
96. In this connexion, Gabon approves of Madagascar's request [see A/5937] and the General Committee's agreement that the agenda of the twentieth session should include an item on ''Observance by Member States of the principles relating to the sovereignty of States, their territorial integrity, non-interference in their domestic affairs, the peaceful settlement of disputes and the condemnation of subversive activities" (item 94). Madagascar had earlier submitted a draft resolution on this subject. Gabon will associate itself with any declaration condemning failure to observe those principles.
97. As regards the problem of the representation of China in the United. Nations, the Gabonese Government will continue to support the Republic of China, a founding Member of the Organization. The Gabonese Government, moreover, like everyone here present, cannot but consider this question to be of the highest importance and one requiring a special procedure under Article 18 of the Charter. Before we reach that point, it must be said that the recent statements of policy by the Peking rulers are no encouragement to those who for various reasons and on various bases, want the People's China to be admitted to the United Nations.
98. A great step was taken in the direction of an international detente by the conclusion in 1963 between the main nuclear Powers of a treaty prohibiting most atomic explosions but unfortunately excluding underground tests. The Republic of Gabon was one of the first to sign this treaty. In doing so and in co-sponsoring a declaration on the denuclearization of Africa [A/5975], it has sought to show how much its people love peace and how fervently they welcome and encourage all initiatives that may lead to this goal. But this is only a first step. While Gabon unequivocally condemns the use and testing of nuclear weapons, it also opposes the production and dissemination of all other weapons of mass destruction, even if they are called "conventional".
99. The real problem, however, remains that of disarmament. We feel that it is a problem which concerns all States and hence the responsibility of all States is fully committed to its solution. It is easy to imagine the halting of nuclear tests and the prohibition of the use of nuclear and thermonuclear weapons. But what will happen to the enormous stocks of conventional weapons accumulated by all countries? The destructive power of these weapons is obvious. These are the weapons that are being used in India, Kashmir, Viet-Nam, on the frontiers of Israel, in the Congo (Leopoldville) and so on. All States possess them and can use them at any time for non-defensive purposes. They undoubtedly constitute a permanent threat to peace. While some States are increasing their stocks of atomic bombs and rockets, others are equipping themselves with so-called conventional weapons. These conventional weapons threaten international security as much as and perhaps more than nuclear weapons.
100. The Heads of State or Government meeting at the Conferences of Belgrade (1961) and Cairo (1964) were right to call for a world disarmament conference to which all States should be invited, whether or not they are Members of the United Nations. Gabon, for its part, considers that, generally speaking, the voice of Africa should be heard, whatever the level of the discussion.
101. In a world where more than two-thirds of mankind suffer from hunger and from diseases which modern medical science could cure if the material means were available, it is sad and discouraging to note that large and smaller countries alike devote a large part of their power and resources to the manufacture or acquisition of armaments.
102. Would not these resources, this labour, this intelligence be better employed to feed the hungry, to care for the sick and to provide work for the rising generations of our developing countries? Like others, we note with concern that the gulf which separates the developed from the under-developed countries is growing greater. The prices of raw materials are constantly fluctuating, each time threatening the stability of modest national budgets. The negotiations now being held within the framework of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development must at all costs take into account the vulnerability of the exports of the under-developed countries. Once again we appeal to human solidarity for economic and financial co-operation that is really effective.
103. In this connexion, Gabon would be completely in favour of the consolidation of the Special Fund and the Expanded Programme of Technical Assistance into a United Nations Development Programme. Nevertheless, in our view the main consideration is that there should be a minimum of trust among the wealthiest States regarding the objectives to be attained, regardless of ideological considerations.
104. Since I am dealing with a problem of reorganization, I take this opportunity to state that Gabon feels as do many other Member States, that the United Nations does not fully respond to present-day demands and that it needs to be reformed. While almost everyone agrees in principle that the Charter must be revised, opinions differ on the type of amendments to be made to it. Gabon, for its part, has adopted a purely pragmatic attitude. It feels that a realistic approach would consist in drawing up a kind of inventory of the methods applied so far, so that they may be appraised in the light of the results achieved. This would make it possible to select and perfect the procedures and processes which have shown themselves to be effective and to eliminate those which have shown themselves to be impracticable or dangerous.
105. However that may be, I must assure the Assembly that Gabon remains firmly attached to the spirit and fundamental principles of the Charter of our Organization. The President of the Republic of Gabon, Mr. Léon Mba, stated on the occasion of the twentieth anniversary of the founding of the United Nations:
"The United Nations reflects international life and is an essential part of it. For this reason, I solemnly proclaim the unconditional attachment of Gabon to the United Nations Charter, our hope that the Organization will assume even greater prestige and authority, and our resolve to uphold and if necessary defend it by all the means in our power."
106. This confidence in the United Nations was demonstrated again recently in striking fashion by the determination with which the Security Council requested and then demanded an effective cease-fire between India and Pakistan, two countries of the non-aligned world unfortunately pitted against one another in a bloody fratricidal conflict. We hope that the spirit of non-violence and wisdom of both countries will spare the peoples of India and Pakistan the horrors of destruction and desolation. Gabon is aware of the highly laudable efforts exerted by the Secretary-General, to whom I am pleased to pay a resounding tribute. Gabon will assess the contribution of certain Members in the light of the negotiations to come. Gabon appeals to all Members of the Organization to do everything in their power to extinguish the flames that light up the sky and the earth of Asia and the world. We are convinced that this is an urgent duty deriving from the spirit and letter of the United Nations Charter. We are convinced that this is the meaning of the words, so wise and so profound, spoken from this rostrum exactly a week ago [1347th meeting] by His Holiness Pope Paul VI.