42. My delegation would like first of all to offer Mr. Fanfani our congratulations on his election as President of the twentieth session of the General Assembly and our best wishes for his early recovery. His brilliant record and the ability which he has shown in public office, notably as head of the Government and Minister for Foreign Affairs of his country, justified the almost unanimous vote of this Assembly.
43. Mr. Fanfani succeeds another great President, our brother Alex Quaison-Sackey who, throughout a session paralysed by the great Powers divergent interpretations of Article 19 of the United Nations Charter, displayed his remarkable statesmanship. By exemplary patience and finesse he succeeded in preventing a confrontation which would have spelt the doom of the United Nations.
44. My delegation also wishes to commend the diligence and efficiency of our eminent Secretary-General who, throughout 1964 and to this very day, has spared no effort to maintain the peace or to restore it wherever it has been threatened.
45. Lastly, it is with deep satisfaction that my delegation, like others, welcomes to this great family three new Members: Singapore, the Gambia and the Maldive Islands. I am sure these States will strive to strengthen our Organization so that its-voice may resound with greater firmness and authority.
46. I referred earlier to Article 19 of the Charter. My country felt at the very outset that the cost of the Congo operations could not, without the prior consent of the Security Council, be considered as regular expenditure devolving automatically on all Member States. Moreover, my country, which is intensely peace-loving, did not endorse the military measures adopted by the United Nations in the Congo.
47. Our position has been Stated on many occasions by Malagasy representatives speaking from this rostrum. Nevertheless my country has not turned a deaf ear to the appeals that have been addressed to all Member States to help the United Nations overcome its grave financial difficulties. Without departing from its juridical position, my Government decided to pay its assessments voluntarily and it hopes that all Member States, rich and poor, large and small, will help to ease the Organization's financial position.
48. The past twelve months have witnessed, in Madagascar, a series of elections which enabled the entire population to vote in complete freedom and independence. The municipal elections were followed first by the election of a President of the Republic for a seven-year term. By an overwhelming majority, Mr. Philibert Tsirarana was re-elected to the Presidency. Next, there were elections for the complete renewal of the National Assembly and the six General Councils. These elections gave the Government and the party in power a larger majority which will enable them during the next five years to work in a serene atmosphere towards the solution of the important economic problems which, in Madagascar, as in all developing countries, are becoming more acute each year owing to rapid population growth.
49. On the international scene, at any rate, we are not faced with political difficulties. We have no territorial claims against our neighbours and none to fear from them. Perfect political stability, the normal functioning of our institutions, constant and friendly
collaboration between the public and the Government — these are the main features of life in Madagascar. My country intends to show the world that freedom does not mean anarchy and that in Africa democracy and law and order can exist perfectly well side by side.
50. While my country has no special problems of an international character, it is well aware of its responsibilities towards the world in which we live and intends to play its role in the solution of great international questions and in the efforts being made on all sides to restore peace wherever it is disturbed.
51. Throughout the world there are many breeding grounds of disorder and we all have a duty to eliminate them patiently and firmly. Whenever, as is often unfortunately the case, conflicts break out between peoples of the same blood, the first efforts at pacification should be made within their ethnic group. In my delegation's view, this is an easier way of persuading the antagonists that better mutual understanding is essential for the restoration of peace. Have we not beheld the sad spectacle of conflicts between brothers, Asians fighting against Asians, Africans against Africans? And have we not had to stand by powerless while the cold war among Europeans continues undiminished in scope and violence over the years? Peaceful solutions to those conflicts might be sought through negotiations within the ethnic groups concerned.
52. International tension has, of course, other aspects attributable to different causes. I shall mention just a few. First of all, there is the lack of understanding shown by certain Powers which refuse to remove the yoke of their domination from other peoples, whatever their race and colour may be, as is the case in Mozambique, Angola and Southern Rhodesia. Then there are the arbitrarily divided countries such as Germany and Korea.
53. Here we must affirm the primary function of the United Nations which is to give to all peoples desiring independence their right to freedom and self-determination.
54. My delegation's position remains unchanged on the admission of mainland China, an item which has been on our agenda for several years. We are not in favour of its admission which, to judge from its recent obstreperous statements and its activities against peace, such as its attempts, at subversion throughout the world and particularly in Africa, is not what that country itself seeks. For my Government only the delegation of the Republic of China, a founding Member of the United Nations and one which has always been a loyal and active Member, represents the great Chinese people.
55. Several speakers have spoken at this rostrum about the widening gap between living levels in the industrialized countries and those in the developing countries. It is time that specific measures were studied by the specialized agencies with a view to narrowing the gap between the two groups. Madagascar, which has played an active part in the various conferences of the last twelve months, considers that greater efforts should be made by the countries of the first group in order to assist the developing countries to industrialize and to guarantee them reasonable and sufficiently remunerative prices for their raw materials.
56. My country attaches very great importance to the latter issue and believes that consideration should be given to the establishment of a fixed relationship between the prices of manufactured goods and those of raw materials so that any variation in one of the terms of the equation would automatically affect the other. In my delegation's view, this is the way to go to the very root of the problem. At the present time, in calculating the selling price of manufactured goods, the price of raw materials from the developing countries continues to be the variable and fluctuating element whereas it should be calculated so as to ensure at all times a substantial return for the producers. In other words, as one of the chief elements of the selling price, it should be kept stable and constant. In this way the producing countries would not have to live in perpetual fear of price fluctuations in distant markets over which they have no control. A fall of a few points in the price of coffee or sugar, to cite only these two commodities, immediately cancels out months and even years of hard-won recovery. The producing countries would be able, if such a reform were carried out, to establish longterm development plans and to promote the well-being of their people at home through that "grass roots" policy on which our President, Philibert Tsiranana, has based the economic policies of our country.
57. The industrialized countries have a great role to play here. We can turn to them and say: "Help us to build up our resources in independence and dignity so as to put an end to our poverty. Help us to increase our production so that we can cope with our growing population, build schools, maternity clinics, hospitals, dispensaries and libraries. Help us to build up an infrastructure of harbours, roads and railways and local industries without which we will be doomed to impotence and mediocrity."
58. The nineteenth session of the General Assembly was completely paralysed as a result of circumstances which have been referred to and commented upon in the statements of those speakers who preceded me. The impotence felt by Member States in this crisis was a bitter pill to swallow. It now seems that after a year of anxiety we can look forward to better days ahead. The majority required by the Charter has been obtained for ratification of the institutional changes which were approved in 1963 to expand the membership of the Security Council and of the Economic and Social Council. Africa will thus be better able to make its voice heard in those important organs.
59. The celebration at San Francisco of the twentieth anniversary of the foundation of the United Nations took place in an atmosphere of anxiety and pessimism Nevertheless, it enabled the major States to reaffirm their determination not to allow the United Nations to perish.
60. On 4 October 1965 [1347th meeting], a great and moving ceremony was held in this hall. His Holiness Pope Paul VI, in a very impressive speech, appealed to all peoples to unite to banish war forever and to tackle disarmament in a resolute manner through the abandonment of offensive weapons. His appeal to the conscience of the world for an "internal renewal" will, I am sure, have a profound and lasting effect. In this year of international co-operation, the Pope's appeal for an increase in the assistance given by the great Powers to the developing countries will not, I am sure, go unheeded.
61. The Malagasy Republic has requested the inclusion in the agenda of an item entitled "Observance by Member States of the principles relating to the sovereignty of States, their territorial integrity, noninterference in their domestic affairs, the peaceful settlement of disputes and the condemnation of subversive activities" (agenda item 94) [see A/5937]. I shall not speak at length on the draft resolution the aim of which is to codify principles already recognized by all but which, alas, are sometimes forgotten when selfish interests are at stake. Our draft is not directed against any State and is free of political motive. We appeal rather to law, reason and wisdom.
62. Whereas 1964 was a relatively calm year, we now find that fighting has broken out again, territorial claims are being raised and the integrity and even the existence of other States are seriously threatened. The United Nations must not shrink from a lucid and bold investigation of all conflicts whether latent or open. It would be a mistake to imagine that it can always settle disputes by giving satisfaction to all the parties involved. In our opinion, the United Nations will grow in stature through such peaceful confrontations within the framework of the Charter.
63. While dark clouds may yet cover the horizon, there is a ray of hope that our efforts here to promote peace, social justice, the liberation of peoples who are still enslaved and better living standards for the developing countries will not go unrewarded.