55. The delegation of the Niger was very grieved to learn this morning of Mr. Fanfani’s accident. Since it is our turn to speak, we should like to take this opportunity to express to Mr. Fanfani our sympathy, best wishes for a speedy recovery and hope that he will very soon resume his functions as President.
56. After the serious difficulties which obstructed the normal course of work at the nineteenth session, our hopes of achieving good results in the work of the present session are all the higher in that they are based on Mr. Fanfani's tried qualities of statesmanship and his profound knowledge of international problems.
57. My delegation has enthusiastically and warmly welcomed the admission to our Organization of three States — Gambia, Singapore and the Maldive Islands. Since we ourselves have suffered enslavement and humiliation under the despicable régime of colonialism, our satisfaction each time foreign domination beats a retreat can be easily imagined. We are fully convinced that these new Members will shoulder their international responsibilities and will be able to make an effective contribution to the further strengthening of the policy of peace and security which remains one of the principal objectives of the Organization.
58. It is not appropriate to cast a quick glance over the Organization's twenty years of activity and draw up a balance-sheet — even a summary one — showing on the credit side some of its most spectacular achievements? Africa, for its part, is not altogether rid of the invaders but, thanks to the decisive action of the Organization, there has been a way of emancipation all over the continent during this period, with the happy result of an increase in the number of Member States and more and more extensive international co-operation. Despite the extraordinary efforts that have been made, the United Nations is more than ever at grips with serious problems of international peace and security, without which it is illusory to speak of the full development of mankind.
59. Among these serious problems, the interest of mankind dictates that the highest priority should be given to disarmament, the economic and social factors threatening the world balance, and decolonization, to mention only a few.
60. Today the bomb is more threatening than ever for the future of mankind. There have always been vague ideas about the end of the world. Now, however, we are faced with the real possibility of such an end. There has been all too much talk, in this forum, about disarmament, destruction of nuclear vehicles, control, etc., without any good solution being found. The question concerns the weak nations as much as the strong, because the very existence of all life on earth is involved. We, for our part, think that the whole responsibility lies with the great Powers alone; it is they which manufacture and possess these weapons and they refuse to eliminate them unconditionally. In fact, this attitude simple means that, in circumstances which may arise from one day to the next, nuclear weapons are bound to come into use. This is why we rightly consider that universal peace is at the moment resting on a volcano. It is therefore, in our opinion, the urgent duty of the United Nations to make the great Powers change their nuclear policy for the benefit of a world of peace, economic and social development and international security.
61. My delegation listened with special attention to the appeal for peace made from this rostrum by His Holiness Pope Paul VI [1347th meeting]. This solemn appeal, which the Assembly heard with emotion, is the finest contribution made to the work of the twentieth session. May the nations of the world, and particularly the Powers responsible for the international tension, appreciate its full scope and henceforth devote their efforts to building a new society, imbued with justice and brotherhood.
62. Because of the stiffening in the attitude of certain colonial Powers, which still regard our continent as their "goose that lays the golden eggs", the political situation in Africa is becoming increasingly alarming, to the extent that it constitutes a serious danger to international peace. I am thinking more particularly of the mad venture planned, with the complicity of their country of origin, by the colonialists who have settled in Southern Rhodesia, where the indigenous inhabitants, numbering more than 3.5 million, are living in a hell on earth. I add the voice of the Niger to those which have already tried to make the guardian Power — a country which is a friend and whose decolonization efforts we greatly appreciate — see reason. The United Kingdom must reconsider its attitude towards the Rhodesian people, in order to consolidate the deep friendship it has won in Africa. In the opinion of my delegation, the way to salvation in Southern Rhodesia can be none other than the immediate convening of a roundtable conference of all political parties for a valid discussion of a new constitution based on the legitimate wishes of the majority of the population and, of course, guaranteeing the rights of the minority.
63. South Africa, with its régime which is horribly reminiscent of Hitlerite cruelty, is each day the focus of the indignant attention of a large majority of Member States which, with no political trickery, believe in human rights and defend them ardently and with conviction. Faced with the morbid obstinacy with which the stateless persons installed in this part of Africa are pursuing with increasing barbarity their iniquitous policy of apartheid, the Assembly should no longer be content with adopting resolutions that remain pious wishes. It should formally declare that apartheid is incompatible with membership of the United Nations. In the opinion of my delegation, action along these lines would be no more or less than scrupulous respect for the relevant provisions of the Charter. When one reads the Charter, one is glad to see that the principles with which it begins are majestic. A clear idea emerges: belief in human rights and in the dignity and worth of the human person, desire for tolerance and peaceful coexistence among neighbours — in short, justice for all. None of these principles is applied by South Africa. Today there is a hot war in Viet-Nam, in South-East Asia, seriously aggravated by interventions of all kinds; tomorrow, unless care is taken while there is still just time, it will no doubt be the turn of this country of the Bantu, Then speakers will come to this same rostrum helplessly, shedding crocodile's tears, to deplore the war of extermination which the stateless persons will have unleashed against the defenceless people. The alarm has been sounded: it is the duty of the Organization to face the heavy responsibilities which it bears.
64. Too many words have been spoken in this hall and in the Security Council about South West Africa. There is a danger that the United Nations, whose decisions are deliberately flouted by a State which claims the status of Member State, may in the end bear the heavy historic responsibility of having lacked determination and effectiveness. It is high time to put an end to this state of affairs. My delegation considers that it is the duty of the General Assembly to withdraw from South Africa its privilege of being an administering Power and do everything possible to prepare the people to exercise their right to self-determination and accelerate the process which is to lead them to full sovereignty.
65. While we welcome the status granted to the Territories of Bechuanaland, Swaziland and Basutoland on their way to complete sovereignty, we are afraid, after the painful experience of South West Africa, that these people may be in bondage to their neighbour, like a lamb within the reach of a hungry wolf.
66. Portugal's shameless policy of exploitation in Africa is just as alarming as the policy of its ally, the Africa of apartheid, because of the danger it presents to international peace and security. We adjure the partners of these countries, blinded as they are by their base interests, to reconsider their short-sighted policy of support and assistance, before all Africa resolutely plunges into a struggle to liberate the last bastion of dying colonialism.
67. Africa has suffered a great deal from the so-called "barter" economy; it therefore has a very special interest in General Assembly resolution 1995 (XIX) establishing a United Nations organ for trade and development. We are glad to see in this resolution the reaffirmed resolve of the United Nations actively to pursue, within the framework of the United Nations Development Decade, all its efforts to enable the countries suffering from economic stagnation to achieve greater expansion. We in the Niger think that for this purpose a policy of harmonizing development plans in the various regions of the developing world is essential. This is why in Africa our Head of State, President El Hadj Diori Hamani, stated with conviction in July 1962 at the first Conference on Harmonization of Industrial Development in West Africa, held at Niamey:
"You see, immediately after the independence of all young States the most urgent problem for them all is the problem of development. These States each try to solve it in their own way, but we in the Niger think that for this problem, since the ill is the same, the same remedy should be sought in common. We shall gain much time, we shall move in the direction of history, we shall move towards raising the levels of living of our people, if we pool our experiences and ideas for the good of our peoples. Industrialization should be a way of co-ordinating and creating better conditions for the attainment of African unity."
68. We also think that in the present state of affairs the establishment of a more just and equitable system of relations with regard to world economic resources is essential. While capital investment is one of the factors necessary for economic growth, those who provide the funds should not only refrain from attaching political conditions to their loans but should agree to allocate a certain percentage of their contributions for vocational training. In this connexion, we wish to pay a well-deserved tribute to the institutions of the United Nations, both the technical assistance bodies and the Special Fund.
69. As a convinced believer in non-interference in the affairs of other States, the Niger has always been among those countries which scrupulously respect this principle as a factor of primary importance for peace and security. No durable construction worthy of the name, no exchange of healthy ideas among the nations in this tormented world can exist without this spirit of tolerance and fraternity. Speaking in this same Assembly about a year ago, I tried to draw attention to the danger presented by this delicate problem. A welcome initiative had been taken by Madagascar on the eve of the nineteenth session. Today we should like to repeat once more our delegation's unqualified support for the proposal put forward by our sister country relating to the "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".
70. More or less everywhere in the world, there arise conflicts of greater or lesser violence which are due, most of the time, to nothing but inordinate ambition or stupid intrigue. The sooner the Assembly finds solutions to the problems of non-interference — which are mentioned in the Preamble to the Charter — the more will it strengthen its authority in the world by restoring mankind's confidence.
71. The problem of subversion is undoubtedly one of the most serious facing the under-developed countries. My country has been the victim of foreign interference, from which it has suffered a great deal. At the fifth extraordinary session of the Council of Ministers of the Organization of African Unity, held at Lagos in June 1965, the delegation of the Niger made a full analysis of the problem of subversion. I do not want to reopen this vast question here, but let me remind you of what was said on this subject by our Head of State, El Hadj Diori Hamani:
"The OAU, in its charter, is explicit: it condemns interference by one State in the affairs of another, it condemns political assassination as a means of seizing power. We are therefore waiting to see how far certain States will go in their anti-African policies subsidized by the Peking Chinese, whom we do not intend to meet at Algiers. That is, moreover, the basic reason for our refusal to attend the Algiers Conference, for we consider that there are not only imperialists of the right, there are also Red imperialists, who, under the cover of a false anti-imperialism, put themselves forward as the champions of African independence."
72. Without wishing to disappoint those who have preceded me at this rostrum and have enthusiastically expressed their views on the question of the admission of the People's Republic of China to the United Nations, I should like very briefly to express my delegation's opinion on the subject.
73. There is no need to cite here the great principles stated in the Preamble of the Charter. We all know them very well. It is not by encouraging troublemakers, by cold-heartedly teaching them the art of subversion in our young countries, by providing them with criminal arms, by inciting brother to rise up against brother, by interfering directly or indirectly in the affairs of other States in order to jeopardize their hard-won progress, it is not, I say, by engaging in such practices that one can show one's allegiance to the United Nations or that one proves oneself worthy to be admitted to the Organization, even if one prides oneself on representing one third of the world's population.
74. As long as the People's China continues to ignore the elementary rules of peaceful coexistence, as long as it refuses to respect and apply the sacred principles of the Charter, as long as the People's China continues to interfere in other countries' affairs, my country cannot unconditionally support its admission to the Organization.
75. There are also certain problems of exceptional gravity which occupy the attention of the Assembly every year. I speak of the German people, the problems of Viet-Nam, Korea, Palestine, Cyprus, Kashmir and so on.
76. The German problem in the very heart of Europe, is one of those which call for an immediate solution. Such a solution, the most sensible there could be, has been repeatedly advocated in resolutions which, alas, have remained a dead letter. What do we want, if not to allow the great German people to exercise freely their right of self-determination?
77. My delegation appeals urgently to the consciences of the great Powers responsible for this tragic situation to find a human solution to it which will meet the unanimous wishes of the German people. My country would be glad, once German unity is restored, to see this great people make their contribution to the work of the Organization.
78. Like the German problem, Viet-Nam, Palestine, Korea and Cyprus are burning questions which are much in the mind of my delegation. We consider that everything possible should be done to bring about a peaceful settlement of the disputes between the parties.
79. As far as the dispute between India and Pakistan is concerned, my delegation wishes to pay a special tribute to the Security Council and the Secretary-General, U Thant, whose persistent efforts to bring about a reconciliation have led to a cease-fire, which, we hope, will really be a step towards a final solution of the problem.
80. Those are the few observations which the delegation of the Niger thought it necessary to make as a contribution to the study of some of the problems before the Assembly at its twentieth session. The factors to which attention has been drawn by one speaker or another show as clearly as can be desired the direction to be given to our work and the objectives to be achieved, in the interests of all, for the greater good of mankind.
81. The Niger, for its part, being profoundly attached to the principles enshrined in the Charter, is more than ever resolved to give its total support to the Organization, whose existence is, for the underdeveloped countries, a sure guarantee of peace and security in their efforts to bring about economic and social development.