120. On behalf of my Government, my delegation and myself, it is with the sincere pleasure that I convey to you, Mr. President, our warmest congratulations on your election to preside over the deliberations of the twentieth session of the General Assembly. We view this election both as a tribute paid to your great country, which is bound to mine by strong and immutable ties of friendship, and as a proof of the general confidence placed in you because of your outstanding personal qualities.
121. This Assembly is beginning at a time when our troubled world is faced with serious threats to the peace. These threats are most ominous in the continent of Asia. In these circumstances, our most urgent collective task is to offer our complete co-operation loyally and unreservedly and to pledge our best and strongest efforts to work together in common accord until we find the formulae which will avert those threats and re-establish the peace that has been shattered. On the maintenance and preservation of peace depends our ability to continue our ceaseless task of bringing within reach of the great masses of humanity and the great majority of Member States those levels of living and that social progress which so far have been enjoyed in practice only by a small number of countries.
122. The continent I mentioned is now faced with the growing dangers of a conflagration in which an unforeseeable number of other States may easily become involved. At this critical juncture, we reaffirm our faith and confidence that those two great Members of the United Nations, India and Pakistan, will be able to find through their own efforts and with the help of our Organization ways and means of resolving their differences peacefully, that is to say, not on blood-drenched battlefields but through reasonable and fruitful discussions.
123. On this same continent of Asia we are witnessing another war which is a typical war of aggression. If the universally accepted principles and the postulates which constitute the basis of relations between States were loyally and consistently observed by all countries, a war such as this would not have occurred and the Republic of Viet-Nam would have been able by its own efforts to follow the path of development without outside interference. However, although it is painful to say so, we must recognize that these standards of international coexistence which are respected by most countries are for others merely a dead letter. In this particular case, I refer especially to the People's Republic of China which has made threats, aggression and violence the very basis of its international policy.
124. Attacked from outside by the forces of subversion, the Republic of Viet-Nam has fortunately not found itself left alone to defend itself. Other countries stand beside it, some giving material and others moral support. Here again, and in spite of the apparent lateness of the hour, we are confident that justice will prevail and that the sincere and repeated offers to bring outstanding questions to the negotiating table will find a favourable response among those Governments which so far have been so unwilling to listen to the voice of reason.
125. During this year, a sister nation in the Western hemisphere, the Dominican Republic, dear to our hearts, like all the members of the great American family, underwent a grave crisis that might have shattered the foundations of its Christian and democratic political organization. In this case, the regional organization adopted decisions of the greatest importance whose constructive results may already be appreciated and which have allowed the Dominican Republic to weather the crisis. It is now returning to normal, having kept its institutions intact and, above all, having spared the blood of its children which, at one time, seemed destined to be spilled in a fratricidal civil war of enormous proportions.
126. We must admit that such decisions were opposed by certain members of the regional organization. For our part, we readily accept the possibility of dissident or opposing views, for these are typical of free societies and in no way jeopardize the amicable mutual relationships between their members.
127. In this Assembly we may all congratulate ourselves, both those of us who hold governmental responsibilities in our respective countries and men of goodwill throughout the world, that his Holiness Pope Paul VI is coming here to address to us a message of pure love and dedication to the service of mankind. We are absolutely certain that few messages will be so carefully listened to by such a vast audience as that which will be delivered by the Supreme Pontiff within a few days and in this very hall.
128. At this session our Assembly must take up a large number of items most of which have been postponed for a whole year because, for obvious reasons, the nineteenth session could not follow its normal course. I shall not refer to these reasons, which are only too well known to all Member States, but I do wish to stress that, in spite of the difficulties, the previous Assembly adopted one of its most important decisions for many years in establishing the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development as an organ of the General Assembly [resolution 1995 (XIX)].
129. In this new body, and above all in the effectiveness of its action, reside the hopes of those States which form the group of developing countries and which constitute not only the majority of our Organization but also the majority of the world's population. We hope, with the impatience born of frustration, that the time will soon come when there will be a fairer and more rational distribution of wealth and its benefits, which will satisfy our legitimate rights as developing peoples and allow us truly to enjoy without restrictions what the Charter calls "social progress and better standards of life in larger freedom".
130. Even at the risk of excessive repetition, we wish to reaffirm once more our conviction that within this new organization the unity of the developing countries will be the best guarantee of fruitful action and that we must combine our efforts to strengthen and consolidate that unity if our collective activities are to be successful.
131. In my delegation's view, our Organization is emerging from the nineteenth session and from the crisis which prevented its normal functioning with a clear desire to reaffirm the essential need for international solidarity in considering old and new questions objectively and reasonably. We feel that each and every Member State, convinced that the United Nations is the most effective international organization for solving the great problems which affect us all equally in tills essentially interdependent world, is determined, perhaps more strongly than twenty years ago, to keep it alive and to enhance its opportunities to act.
132. We stated clearly at the previous session our position as regards the dispute which divided the United Nations, and the principles which we said we supported then are as valid today as they were a year ago. We are therefore glad that this Assembly can now resume the continuous action expected of it, without prejudice to the individual positions of States.
133. A rapid glance at the Assembly's agenda is the best reminder of the way in which certain items keep coming up every year. Among these items, and always enjoying top priority because of their importance, are those concerning the maintenance of peace and security, general and complete disarmament under effective international control, and the urgent need to halt the proliferation of nuclear weapons. On each and every one of these items and on others that are closely linked with them our opinions are well known. To reiterate a point rather than add something new, in spite of the meagre progress achieved so far, we can interpret each positive step as an advance towards a goal that mankind hope one day to reach, and these items are obviously so important that no frustration will exhaust our patience in the search for satisfactory solutions.
134. Inspired by feelings of continental unity, the countries of Latin America are continuing their efforts to conclude a treaty that will ensure the effective denuclearization of this region. The intensity of these efforts reassures us that we shall achieve positive results which may well serve as an example to other regions and other States.
135. Whether we admit it or not, the fact is that vestiges of colonialism still remain. Although in the recent past this colonialism cast its shadow over large areas of the world, we must recognize that, since the advent of the United Nations, this shadow has been rapidly disappearing. Although the once dominated peoples in growing and impressive numbers have succeeded, in their victorious struggles, in becoming masters of their own sovereign destinies, it is no less certain that colonialism still exists in many continents. In the past we have fought unflaggingly, as we shall continue to fight in the future to achieve the complete eradication of this colonialism.
136. Similarly, we are fighting and shall continue to fight with equal tenacity to eradicate neocolonialism, which manifests itself most crudely in the attempt to impose economic domination, I do not need to dwell on these and other subjects, because in these cases too my country's position has been repeatedly explained, both in the Assembly and in the Main Committees.
137. The General Assembly is, of course, the organ which gives each delegation the widest scope for the expression of its opinions and points of view on each agenda item, particularly during the exhaustive debates that take place, occasionally in the plenary meetings but usually in the Main Committees. During the general debate, held before the Assembly gets down to its business, each State should confine itself to outlining its general policy and philosophy. That does not prevent us, however, from mentioning certain problems of a specific or regional nature, in order tor bring them to the attention of Member States with the aim of awakening the spirit of understanding and international solidarity. We all have an unquestionable right to do this when reason is on one side and our cause is based on legitimate rights. I shall refer to some of these specific problems later.
138. In the meantime, we note with gratification the constant increase in the Organization's membership. Soon after the opening of this session, three new sovereign States were admitted by acclamation. We extend a warm and cordial welcome to the peoples of the Gambia, the Maldive Islands and Singapore, and to their representatives in this Assembly; we are sure that they will make a most valuable contribution to the work of our Organization.
139. At previous sessions we expressed our conviction that coexistence on the same planet and social and economic interdependence among nations make international solidarity imperative. International solidarity is a source of reciprocal rights and duties: it makes it impossible for some countries to be comfortable and happy while others, near or far, are hard pressed and impoverished; it makes it impossible for the developed countries to remain calm and contented while elsewhere there are countries which are less developed or under-developed; above all, it makes it impossible for some countries to be happy because they have all that is needed for happiness and can be sure of obtaining the benefits of justice for themselves, as long as there are countries elsewhere in the world which, enjoy few or none of the benefits of law and international justice or are begrudged them.
140. It is for this reason that our representatives have considered it their duty to inform the Assembly briefly every year of Paraguay's progress, for the well-being of our Organization depends on the wellbeing of all its Members.
141. During the year between the nineteenth and twentieth session of the General Assembly, Paraguay's progress and development have been very striking in every way. In the political sphere, the democratic system that characterizes its form of government has ensured peace, employment and well-being for the whole population. Surveillance of the Government's actions by the opposition parties and wide freedom of the Press have created a stable and equitable legal system with all its benefits.
142. In the economic sphere, Paraguay has maintained the stability of its currency since 1957 and will resolutely continue to do so. Furthermore, thanks to its favourable balance of payments its monetary reserves have grown, enabling it recently to increase its contribution to the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development and to buy bonds from it. Paraguay has made notable progress in building roads, schools, hospitals, in other public works and in the establishment of new industries, etc.
143. In the social sphere, the benefits of social security have been extended progressively to additional groups of workers, while land reform, carried out without expropriation or fanfare, is extending the benefits of land ownership to agricultural workers. I must, however, point out to this illustrious Assembly that this unique effort by the entire Paraguayan nation, by its admirable people and by its Government, is not matched by deeds and attitudes on the rest of the continent which are based on the selfish exploitation of geographical positions and de facto situations. I do not intend to refer on this occasion to the injustice inherent in the contrast between the paltry price paid for agricultural products and the steadily rising prices of manufactured goods, an injustice which daily deepens and widens the gap between the developed countries and the underdeveloped countries. The grievances of the agricultural and stock-raising countries must be settled in a way that is equitable for all the peoples of the world.
144. I do, however, intend to refer to the unfair discrimination to which ships flying the Paraguayan flag are subjected when sailing on international rivers In order to reach the sea, or world markets, carrying the fruit of the Paraguayan peoples' labour.
145. Paraguay is not only a relatively underdeveloped country, which other, more developed countries, motivated by a spirit of solidarity or even by enlightened self-interest should help or at least not harm; it is also a country which as a result of geographical and historical factors is situated in the middle of a continent, without a coast, far from the natural resources of the sea-in short, a landlocked country.
146. In an unprecedented effort, the Paraguayan Government has built and is continuing to build and improve approximately 2,000 kilometres of road, designed to link our country to its neighbours. Furthermore, Paraguay has contracted for and has had built a fleet of over thirty modern, specially designed cargo ships and auxiliary vessels, which is already in operation.
147. On the Parana, an international river flowing through Paraguay and constituting its only water link with the sea, ships flying the Paraguayan flag have to comply with unreasonable requirements and are subjected to abuses of sovereign jurisdictional power and especially to discriminatory treatment which is unjust and much more onerous than the more favourable treatment accorded to powerful nations with extensive seaboards.
148. In order to reach world markets, Paraguayan goods must travel down 1,600 kilometres of international rivers in shallow-draft vessels to the sea before they can compete with similar goods from countries with seaboards, and, as if that were not enough of a disadvantage, ships flying the Paraguayan flag are still subjected to discriminatory treatment and conditions which compare unfavourably with those applied to ships flying other flags.
149. We are not asking for any favours, privileges or special concessions. We are not trying to arouse pity, and our national dignity would make us reject those who might seek to set themselves up as our benefactors or protectors. We are seeking justice; we need equality; we want our right to free navigation on the international rivers which flow through our land to be properly recognized and respected, in the same way that that right is recognized and respected in the case of ships of other countries sailing on those same rivers.
150. I deeply regret that in this era of interplanetary travel it should be necessary for me to draw the Assembly's attention to a problem concerning the right to free navigation on international rivers, aright which was referred to in the French National Convention's Decree of 16 November 1792 and is clearly recognized in international law as established in the Treaty of Paris (1814), at the Congresses of Vienna (1815), Berlin (1885), Barcelona (1921), and Lima (1847-48), and various inter-American conferences, in the definitions of the Inter-American Juridical Committee and the Inter-American Council of Jurists and in many bilateral treaties.
151. No matter how incredibly anachronistic it may seem, however, it is an indisputable fact that Paraguay's right to free navigation on an international river which flows through its territory and which constitutes its only water link with the sea is being denied and curtailed.
152. My Government hopes that this situation will be rectified as soon as possible for it is firmly convinced that the happiness of peoples and harmony among nations cannot be built on injustice, inequality and discrimination.
153. In conclusion, I wish to express the sincere hope that the work of this Assembly will be crowned with success.