1. Mr. President, since Rome has been the keynote of our Assembly every since your election, it will not be inappropriate for me to recall that our two countries have known one another for a very long time with varying fortunes—to be exact, since the Punic wars led to an exchange, first of ambassadors, and then of blows delivered by two great generals, Hannibal on the one side and Scipio on the other, who achieved some successes in the course of a "secular dialogue". Then the Pax Romana found in our granaries the wheat it needed. Later it was Sicily’s turn to be visited by us, and the vicissitudes of history served only to bind our two countries and our peoples ever closer together. You can well imagine, therefore, that your election to the presidency of the General Assembly at its twentieth session gives the Tunisian delegation cause for special satisfaction.
2. The great honour the Assembly has done you is a tribute to your eminent personal qualities, to your great experience in international affairs and to your dedication to the principles of the United Nations Charter — all virtues which I have had the honour to observe in person during an all too brief visit to Italy. Lastly it is a well-deserved homage which we all pay to your country for the dedication it has always shown to the ideals of the United Nations. Allow me therefore to offer my most sincere congratulations on this happy occasion, and to express the firm conviction that you will guide our debates with distinction and authority and thus enable the United Nations to live up to mankind's expectations at this session.
3. I should also like to express to His Excellency Mr. Quaison-Sackey, President of the General Assembly at its nineteenth session, the deep appreciation of the Tunisian delegation for the wisdom and competence with which he presided over the deliberations of a particularly difficult session.
4. May I also be permitted to welcome three new States — the Gambia, the Maldive Islands and Singapore, which have just been admitted to membership in the Organization. I am sure that these three countries will bring fruitful co-operation and a useful contribution to the work of the United Nations.
5. We have always maintained that if the Organization wished to retain its dynamism and accomplish its historic task successfully, its structure would have to be adapted to the changes that have taken place in the world since the birth of the United Nations in 1945.
6. It is therefore with genuine satisfaction that we welcome the important new step that has been taken in the desired direction — the increase in the membership of the Security Council and the Economic and Social Council. Our satisfaction is all the greater since the adoption of that measure accords with the wishes of the small States and especially those of Africa and Asia. Indeed, the members of the Afro-Asian family first suggested this step in 1959 and have been campaigning for it for years. Thanks to their efforts, and thanks to the spirit of co-operation shown by Member States, it has been possible to take an important decision, to make an important change in our structure, which has helped to remedy a kind of injustice and especially to give the African continent a legitimate place in the great family of nations.
7. A crisis which could have proved fatal to the Organization has abated, and it is a great relief to see the United Nations emerge at last, invigorated by the struggle and tempered by its difficulties, after a period of hesitation and pessimism.
8. It is a pleasant task for me to pay a tribute to the efforts made by the Secretary-General, as well as by the Special Committee on Peace-keeping Operations, to facilitate the resumption of our work in a more serene and confident atmosphere and to restore the necessary basis for sincere and fruitful co-operation among Member States.
9. The Committee was also able to reach agreement on some of the questions confronting it and to find a proper solution to our immediate problems, thanks to the dedication of its members to the cause of the United Nations and certainly thanks to the co-operation of all Member States and their devotion to the cause of peace. I would mention in particular the permanent members of the Security Council. Realizing that the Organization had a leading role to play in a world anxious that the United Nations should possess the vitality to meet new needs and live up to its calling, they say that the survival of our civilization is infinitely more important than narrow considerations of national prestige and that the strengthening of the Organization is the best protection against any danger of a collapse of international ethics or disintegration of the order which we wish to make universal. They were thus able to transcend their differences and overcome their prejudices for the good of the United Nations.
10. It is comforting to see that the faith of Member States in the United Nations is general and that, far from having impaired it, the temporary crisis has made it the corner-stone of an order based on stability and dignity. It is thus acknowledged that the United Nations should be able progressively to provide effective means of maintaining peace and to play a leading role in that field.
11. Admittedly, there is still some disagreement about the sharing of responsibilities among the various United Nations bodies so that, taking account of past difficulties and future needs, they may fulfil their undisputed vocation in this very important matter of peace-keeping.
12. My country has been unstinting in its support for the Organization in this area. Despite its limited resources and the demands of the fierce struggle it is waging to promote human, economic and social welfare, it has contributed — whenever requested and whenever possible — to all the regular and exceptional activities of the United Nations, both financially and at the military level. Now, as in the past, it is continuing to work for the strengthening of the Organization and the attainment of the principles of the Charter. And from this rostrum it reiterates its profession of faith: Tunisia is at the disposal of the United Nations.
13. We therefore hope that at this session, the General Assembly will give serious attention to the question of peace-keeping operations and will clearly lay down the guidelines for this particular activity, in the light of past experience, taking account of the special position of the great Powers in the political situation of our present-day world and also of the special circumstances of States which have made action by the Security Council necessary, and of the principle of international solidarity and even collective responsibility of all Members of this Organization.
14. Several proposals deserving of careful study have been submitted to the General Assembly. In our opinion it would be useful for the Assembly to establish a committee to consider this problem and to seek satisfactory solutions, bearing in mind that this question must be settled by a formula which receives the unanimous support of Member States. Only at this price can the Organization continue to be an effective collective instrument for strengthening peace and security throughout the world, for maintaining them or — God forbid! — for restoring them.
15. The supreme goal of the United Nations is still the building of a world order capable of serving as the foundation of a world rid of hatred, prejudice and fear. This universality which we hope to achieve makes it our duty to take account of the right of all peoples to participate in our deliberations and to make a contribution to the consolidation of peace
and the development of international co-operation. Prohibitions and exclusiveness in international relations can only prejudice the attainment of our goals. We therefore greatly hope to see all countries, without discrimination, gain access to the Organization, enjoy the rights proclaimed in the Charter and undertake the obligations which membership in the United Nations imposes on all Member States. Only at this price will the United Nations be able effectively to exercise its authority and will we be able to deal seriously and, above all, realistically with all the questions which affect the fate of mankind.
16. Viewed from the standpoint of universality, the admission of the People's Republic of China to the United Nations is, in our view, justified beyond all doubt. Whatever reservations many of us may entertain about some of its actions, and whatever others may feel about its behaviour at the international level, it is nevertheless high time that we allowed this country, which plays an important role in the world and which has attained the status of a nuclear Power, to take its rightful place among Member States.
17. It is obvious that the absence of the People's Republic of China deprives us of the useful contribution which that country could make to the strengthening of world peace and security. Its absence confronts us, moreover, with the risk that some United Nations decisions may prove totally ineffective because that country has not subscribed to the obligations of the Charter, does not take part in our deliberations and thus does not feel bound by them. We had a striking, if subtle, illustration of this several days ago in the tragic events which stained the Indo-Pakistan subcontinent.
18. The considerable advances made in science and technology, the continual improvement of conventional weapons and the stockpiling of nuclear weapons have changed the political climate of our age by subjecting the world to a kind of latent tension which may degenerate at any moment into an international crisis with consequences which we would not like to foresee. The situation is all the more serious inasmuch as there is no reason not to expect that, sooner or later, the number of countries possessing nuclear weapons will increase.
I9. Disarmament is certainly one of the urgent tasks before us if we wish to save our peoples from fear and allow them to devote themselves in peace and stability to increasing the prosperity and well-being of mankind. The great hopes raised by the signing of the Moscow Treaty and by the subsequent adoption of unilateral and reciprocal measures are unfortunately beginning to fade. The Eighteen-Nation Committee, despite the recommendations of the Assembly and the efforts which were exerted, has not been able to achieve positive results. Nevertheless, we fervently hope that the great Powers will silence their prejudices and their mutual distrust and together make new progress towards disarmament and the reduction of tension.
20. I think it is essential at present for us to work together to implement the two resolutions adopted by the Disarmament Commission at its last meeting. These two resolutions are the result of several weeks of deliberations during which it became clear that there was an urgent need to put an end to the arms race and halt the serious threat which nuclear weapons represent for the future of mankind.
21. It is clear that the convening of a world conference, as envisaged in the first resolution, might speed up the disarmament process and help us to progress towards a relaxation of international tension. Such a conference would also have the advantage of bringing together all the countries of the world without distinction and would allow them to express their views and take part in the formulation of any decisions which might be made.
22. In his statement at the opening of the Conference of the 54th Inter-Parliamentary Union, the Secretary-General said:
"It seems to me essential therefore, that when the world disarmament conference is held, it should take place under conditions which would make it possible for all countries, if they so wished, to participate in its deliberations. This would be, in my view, a very significant step forward in the relaxation of international tension and the reduction of the feeling of insecurity which prevails in various parts of the world."
Those were the words of the Secretary-General of the United Nations. We therefore have high hopes that the Assembly will respond to the wishes of the Disarmament Commission and will ensure that a world conference is held as soon as is reasonably possible.
23. The conclusion of a treaty on the non-proliferation of nuclear weapons and an agreement banning all nuclear tests, with which the second resolution adopted by the Disarmament Commission is concerned, is also a matter of urgency. It is essential that these two agreements should be concluded as soon as possible if we are to contain the evil and make real progress towards disarmament. Unfortunately time is not always on our side. The longer we put off concluding such agreements, the greater the risk of seeing the number of nuclear Powers increase and the chances of achieving general and complete disarmament — which remains our supreme objective - decrease.
24. Although it did not achieve any appreciable results, the Eighteen-Nation Committee has earned our gratitude. Its virtue has been to maintain and continue to maintain the dialogue between the nuclear Powers and to prepare the conditions which are necessary for any discussion to be fruitful and to lead to happy initiatives in the field of disarmament.
25. I should not like to let pass without comment the grave events now taking place in Asia.
26. The war in Viet-Nam is growing and becoming increasingly deadly. Tunisia was one of the seventeen countries which, at Belgrade, addressed an appeal to the parties concerned in an effort to make them accept negotiation and return to the paths Of peace. Unfortunately, all appeals have thus far been in vain. I must stress, among others, the appeal made by the President of the United States, Mr. Johnson, on the occasion of the twentieth anniversary of the United Nations. It is high time for all the parties concerned to return to their senses and remember that what Viet-Nam needs above all is peace.
27. Since 1945 this country has been devastated, first by a murderous war of liberation. The conditions prevailing in 1954 at the time of the Geneva Conference brought about the division of the country which was, in principle, to be provisional. However, the attitude of the party in the north precluded the establishment of a real peace. A policy of intervention, encouraged and sustained by the expansionism of the People's Republic of China, baptized this genuine war of conquest in South-East Asia, with the catchword "liberation" — which, I might add, had already been achieved. Can the Viet-Namese Government really be criticized for having called on any of its friends willing to share its concern and its desire to maintain its integrity?
28. I sincerely hope that the parties concerned will soon heed the voice of reason, and by means of negotiation, will find a satisfactory solution to this agonizing problem, a solution that is in conformity with the principles of the Charter.
29. My delegation would like to pay a tribute to our Secretary-General for his many endeavours, and his untiring efforts to restore peace in Viet-Nam. We owe him a great deal.
30. In the same part of the world, a real war has divided two sister nations of Asia: India and Pakistan. We deeply deplore this situation which, despite the appeals of the Security Council and the intervention of the Secretary-General, deteriorated steadily until just recently, and we have the impression that it is not all over yet. However, while we may be gratified at the Security Council's prompt reaction and at the firmness of its decisions, while it is urgently necessary to contain the evil and put an end to the hostilities which can do nothing but harm to both countries, and while it is important for the present to ensure that the cease fire is respected, it is no less important to. seek, in the root causes of this crisis, for a just solution; for that is the only solution there can be.
31. The Security Council examined the subject of this dispute sixteen years ago and advocated that the people of Kashmir should be allowed to exercise the right of self-determination. It is regrettable that this decision has still not been implemented.
32. We are convinced that it is not too late to remedy this situation and believe that the law of the United Nations must again assert its authority and serve as a basis for the settlement of a dispute which, if it continues, can no longer involve only India and Pakistan; quite the contrary, as the recent developments have shown, the road would be wide open for interference and intervention that would gravely imperil the harmony and stability of South-East Asia.
33. Relying on its ties of friendship with both India and Pakistan, Tunisia earnestly appeals to both these States to end their dialogue of the deaf and resume the close relations dictated by their common destiny.
34. The Tunisian Government would like to express its gratitude to the Secretary-General for his stubborn optimism and his persistent efforts which have again served to demonstrate that this Organization is the sanctuary of peace.
35. Despite the seriousness and the urgency of some current international problems which are threatening world peace and sometimes the very future of mankind, it is our duty not to lose sight of the pitiful lot of the peoples who are still under colonial domination.
36. When we joined the United Nations, we all undertook an obligation to respect the inalienable right of peoples to self-determination. There can be no delay of or exception to the exercise of this right. My country did not shrink from taking up arms in the defence of that inalienable right when persuasion and peaceful negotiation showed themselves to be fruitless and hopeless. Since its independence, Tunisia has striven by every possible means to make that right prevail throughout the world and has given unstinting and unconditional support to all those who are fighting to recover their dignity and their freedom.
37. While we welcome with great joy and satisfaction the inclusion in the membership of the United Nations of an every-increasing number of countries liberated from the colonial era, we are nevertheless obliged to note that millions of persons are still the victims of suffering from the oppression and restrictions of foreign rule and are awaiting, with increasingly demanding impatience, the day when they will be able to join us and participate in building a universal community of free and sovereign nations.
38. We regret to note that some colonial Powers have not yet succeeded in ridding themselves of an outmoded outlook and still maintain beneath their yoke oppressed peoples who are exploited in the interests of those Powers. Five years after the Assembly's adoption of its historic Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples [resolution 1514 (XV)], the decisions of the Special Committee on decolonization and the resolutions of the General Assembly have still not yet been heeded by the colonial Powers and the latter are simply ignoring them. We deeply deplore this fact. Any rapid implementation of the provisions of the Declaration, which was to open an era of sincere and hopeful co-operation, has been rejected by these colonial Powers which, with manifold excuses, refuse to give their full cooperation to the Organization and still postpone until a distant and even uncertain tomorrow the emancipation of the territories under their domination.
39. The time has come, we feel, since no rapid liberation of the colonial territories is taking place, to allow the Special Committee to draw up, as it were, a definitive time-table for decolonization so that mankind may rid himself quickly and finally of this stigma.
40. However, it must be recognized that, in spite of the opposition and inertia with which it is faced, the Committee has done its best to fulfil its mandate. This year, the Committee of Twenty-Four even travelled to the heart of Africa to hear the grievances of those who are still suffering the rigours of foreign domination.
41. It is the bounden duty of all Member States to co-operate with the United Nations in its peaceful efforts aimed at the liberation of peoples. In this connexion, what was done in the case of the Cook Islands, despite the reservations voiced concerning the procedure followed in consulting the population, might be held up to those colonial Powers which remain deaf to all our appeals, as an example of goodwill and co-operation.
42. On the other hand, in spite of the constitutional arrangements providing for their independence, the peoples of Bechuanaland, Basutoland and Swaziland remain in a precarious and unstable situation because they are exposed to the threat of annexation to South Africa.
43. Moreover, the administering Power in Southern Rhodesia, while it has made many statements, has thus far evaded the Assembly's calls for the convening of a constitutional conference in which, in our opinion, all the political leaders of the Territory should participate. It says it is unable to guarantee the rights of the African majority and it has allowed a racist minority to strengthen its hold over more than 3.5 million Africans. Encouraged by the administering Powers's passive attitude, the de facto authorities in Southern Rhodesia, reflecting the attitude of their South African mentors, have continued to threaten and defy that Power, with the encouragement of the Portuguese Government, who believe that they can turn the situation to account. We believe there is still time for the United Kingdom to pull itself together and use its prerogatives to restore power in Salisbury to a healthier and more democratic level, thus avoiding a conflagration with unpredictable consequences for the peace of Africa and the world.
44. In another area, the situation in Aden and the southern part of the Arabian peninsula continues to be of concern to my Government. There would be more peace in that area if a final solution could be found under which those territories were allowed to effectively exercise their rights in practice and to achieve their legitimate aspirations.
45. For many years, a struggle for national liberation has been waged in most territories under Portuguese domination. There again, the Lisbon Government's blindness and obstinacy are without limit. In pursuing its colonialist policy, Portugal has placed itself beyond the pale of the international community. In a great number of the United Nations bodies, its presence is already barely tolerated. Not only does Portugal not recognize the right of our fellow Africans of Angola, Mozambique, so-called Portuguese Guinea and the Cape Verde Islands to self-determination and independence; it is also systematically oppressing the populations under its administration, inhumanly exploiting their labour and their country’s wealth, and is maintaining them in a social and economic condition which is alarming, to say the least.
46. We appeal to all States — and particularly those which are still giving financial assistance to these colonial régimes — to join us in this joint effort at persuasion which must, if necessary, be reinforced by measures such as will lead the Lisbon and Pretoria Governments to abandon their policy of defiance and grant all peoples under their administration the right to self-determination and independence. Portugal and South Africa would be the first to benefit from this.
47. The situation in South West Africa is also causing my Government profound concern. It is all the more alarming because Pretoria’s racist measures are being continually strengthened. There too, the South African Government's attitude is one of continued defiance of our Organization, its resolutions and its decisions. In this case, where a dishonest administering Power has arrogated to itself the right to dispose of a people, we trust that justice may be heard, thus preventing the outbreak of a struggle whose effects will be felt beyond the limits of South African territory. The Assembly's discussion of this question warrants all our attention and our efforts and should lead to a solution worthy of the United Nations.
48. The efforts of the Special Committee on Apartheid, the information it has supplied and the reports it has submitted, demonstrate a praiseworthy perseverance and patience. Not a day passes, in fact, that we do not hear of new racial laws, further repressive measures and fresh persecutions of a racist nature. The Pretoria régime has reacted with ill-tempered defiance to every decision of the General Assembly and the Security Council. Far from listening to our appeals, our warnings or even the advice of its friends, it has continued to increase and strengthen its military and police potential, and to plot against the security of its neighbours with the assistance of its loyal customers. Recently, exceeding even what might be termed the unholy alliance between the Salazar, Verwoerd and Smith régimes, a tripartite agreement has apparently been entered into to dominate the southern part of Africa, at the expense of the neighbouring territories.
49. We believe the time for discussions and academic statements is now past. For more than two years we have continually repeated that, in view of the failure of all peaceful efforts, we must envisage effective measures to deal with the mentality of the Pretoria leaders, a mentality which endangers peace and security in Africa and therefore in the entire world.
50. Those who preach patience and advise moderation but do not offer any alternative solution should have realized, however, that Africa can no longer tolerate a situation in which, with the support of some and the complacency of others, the Pretoria régime holds 40 million Africans in slavery. Economic sanctions alone can thwart the forces of evil in South Africa and thereby discourage its neighbours over the border, who are increasingly hopeful of establishing some day a fundamentally racist régime. Economic sanctions alone can lead Mr. Verwoerd to a more decent policy and can lessen the threat he constitutes to peace in Africa.
51. World conscience has been revolted by the apartheid policy and finds it difficult to understand the reluctance of the great Powers to apply economic sanctions, which alone are capable of making the Pretoria Government adopt a wiser course. It is even less able to understand why these same Powers - through their extensive trading and investment — should provide aid and assistance which can only result in consolidating the fascist régime of Pretoria and increasing the misery of the people of South Africa.
52. Nearly eighteen years after the trial of strength which shook the Holy Land of Palestine and replaced the indigenous population with a colony of settlers from the four corners of the world, the situation in that area, far from leading to an equitable settlement, is daily deteriorating. The plundered Arab population, driven out of the land of its ancestors, is still living in hope, its eyes turned sadly towards paradise lost. The people lie sunk in misery and continue to eke out an existence thanks to international charity. As the years go by, their condition is deteriorating because of the usurper’s obstinate refusal to heed the Organization's resolutions on the subject and, because of the consequent impossibility of finding a lawful and equitable solution to their tragic problem.
53. Time cannot extinguish the right of the Arab people of Palestine to their country, nor can it justify aggression or plundering in the eyes of the world. Everyone is aware, unfortunately, of the facts of this tragedy, which demonstrates the triumph of brute force, aggression and flagrant violation of the law of the United Nations, a law which we would all like to see prevail. To see United Nations decisions flouted by the one nation which, since it owes its existence to the United Nations, should be most anxious to carry them out, is dangerous indeed. The Organization must cease compromising and must abandon its passive attitude, for if that attitude became permanent it would be fatal to the Organization's mission and to the cause of peace in the entire area.
54. At this time when the Organization is waging an unceasing struggle against all forms of racial discrimination and is endeavouring to overcome the bastions of colonialism, is it pot paradoxical to see the people of Palestine, the victims of injustice, living as exiles at their own doorstep, because of the obstinacy of an unscrupulous aggressor who pays scant heed to the decisions of the United Nations? The Organization is threatened by a disease which will prove fatal if this inertia bordering on complacency continues: the precarious balance in the area will be upset and will give place to armed conflict, and chaos. The recent fighting between India and Pakistan are a distressing proof of this.
55. In recalling the principles of the Charter and the decisions of the United Nations, the Tunisian delegation is not merely doing its duty as a Member of the United Nations family; it is convinced that it is showing a sense of practical justice and of equity towards the people and the institutions involved.
56. The world economic situation is still a matter of constant concern to all Member States and particularly to those countries which, like my own, are engaged in the hard struggle to develop. The young nations which have achieved independence in the last ten years have had to cope with the numerous and complex problems of the war against poverty, ignorance and hunger, in short, with the problems of under-development. This painful situation, in which millions of human beings find themselves, presents a problem of international solidarity which has not been overlooked by the Organization.
57. In pursuance of the purposes and principles of the Charter, the General Assembly adopted, at its sixteenth session, resolution 1710 (XVI) entitled "United Nations Development Decade"; it established a framework for carrying out the measures required
"to accelerate progress towards self-sustaining growth of the economy of the individual nations and their social advancement so as to attain in each
under-developed country a substantial increase in the rate of growth, with each country setting its own target, taking as the objective a minimum annual
rate of growth of aggregate national income of 5 per cent at the end of the Decade."
58. Since that time, the Organization has not failed to implement those provisions of the resolution which concerned it. As an indication of the magnitude of the tasks performed, it is sufficient to mention the convening of the United Nations Conference on Science and Technology, the work done by the regional commissions, the increasing number of projects financed by the Special Fund, the development of technical assistance programmes and, even more recently, the establishment of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development.
59. On examining the results achieved, now that we have almost reached the end of the first half of the Decade, we are compelled to note with deep
concern that, barring a miracle, the 5 per cent rate of growth of national income of developing countries, which had been set as the target for the end of the Decade, will be only partially attained. Indeed, the World Economic Survey, 1964 submitted by the Secretary-General to the last session of the Economic and Social Council, reveals that in spite of progress in the main sectors, many developing countries have not succeeded, or have succeeded only in very small measure, in overcoming the serious economic difficulties in 1964. Unfortunately, the outlook for 1965 does not seem any brighter.
60. The root causes of this situation spring from the many and various bottle-necks with which we are confronted nationally and internationally every time we launch a development project. They include such factors as the population explosion, the rising demand for consumer goods, the chronic balance of payments deficit resulting from the fall in export prices and the concomitant rise in import costs due to the very fact of increased structural investments, the consequent dwindling of our financial resources, inflation and so forth.
61. All these difficulties were examined by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development. The outlines of solutions are set forth in the many recommendations and resolutions to be found in the Final Act of the Conference which constitutes, for us in the smaller countries, a veritable charter for harmonious and — we hope — rapid development.
62. Unfortunately, the richer and more highly developed countries — admittedly, they did not approve all the resolutions — do not seem to be making the necessary efforts to overcome all the obstacles which hinder the implementation of those recommendations and to adopt all the measures likely to assist the developing countries in their march towards progress and some degree of well-being.
63. We dare to hope that when the report of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development is under consideration by the Assembly, the representatives of the richer, industrialized and highly developed countries will show a greater sense of realism and solidarity which alone, in our opinion, can buttress the international co-operation underpinning world security and peace.
64. What the Assembly has to do is not to go back on decisions that have been taken nor to reconsider all the questions for which the Conference, we believe, has already suggested solutions but rather to determine the means for the attainment of the desired ends in a spirit of mutual understanding of the interests involved. By so doing, we shall have acted to consolidate our new trade organization and enable its work to be carried forward with maximum efficiency and chances of success.
65. Other economic problems will be considered by the Assembly at the present session. My country has followed with the greatest attention the efforts of the United Nations and, in particular, the Committee on Industrial Development, the Special Fund and the specialized agencies to promote the industrialization of the developing countries.
66. While it is true that all initiatives taken in this field are still in the exploratory and survey stage, it is nevertheless remarkable that this idea which until recently seemed absurd and unworkable because of its implications for the economies of the industrialized countries, has gained acceptance now as an effective means of rapid and harmonious development.
67. It is important, therefore, that these efforts should continue and that they should be more effectively co-ordinated in a specialized agency so that they may result as rapidly as possible in national and regional industrialization programmes which take into account the resources and possibilities of each of the countries concerned as well as the absorptive capacities of local and world markets.
68. It was in the light of such considerations that four North African countries (Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia and Libya), conscious of the need for joint action, decided to co-ordinate and harmonize their economic efforts particularly in the field of industrialization which is foremost in the plans of their four Governments. The four-year plan which my country has launched this year is a token of the magnitude of the tasks to which we have addressed ourselves and of the serious and realistic manner in which we are trying to get this great region of Africa moving in the direction of development.
69. We hope that the United Nations and the specialized agencies will take our efforts, which sometimes exceed our means, into consideration and will give to our programmes the particular attention they deserve in order that international co-operation may be able to play the proper role assigned to it under the Charter.
70. I would not like to end this not every systematic review of economic questions without paying a tribute to the work accomplished by the Special Fund and by the Expanded Programme of Technical Assistance in the fields of pre-investment, training and research. My Government has warmly welcomed Economic and Social Council resolution 1020 (XXXVII), which was based on the relevant proposals of the Secretary-General for the consolidation of the two programmes into a single United Nations Development Programme. In the view of my delegation, this resolution, which could not be considered at the nineteenth session because of the crisis which paralysed our work, should be given high priority in this Assembly in order to enable the management of the two programmes to make their arrangements as early as possible. The Members of the United Nations have already had an opportunity to express their views on this question and there seems to be general agreement on the desirability of such consolidation, on the reasons for it and on the objectives that we have set ourselves. All that remains, therefore, is to rationalize the activities of the two programmes, to simplify organizational arrangements and procedures and to facilitate over-all planning and the necessary co-ordination of the various types of assistance.
71. My delegation believes that the draft resolution [see A/5755] submitted to the Assembly by the Economic and Social Council will be adopted within the next few days in fulfilment of the wishes of all the developing countries and of the hopes expressed by the Secretary-General.
72. Those are some of the ideas which my delegation wished to put forward today while reserving the right to make its modest contribution during the course of this session.
73. A few weeks ago we celebrated at San Francisco the twentieth anniversary of the United Nations. Twenty years! An age for bold and generous action. Let us ensure that the United Nations, in its anxiety to show somewhat greater maturity and wisdom, does not fall into the more serious error of adopting a sceptical or world-weary attitude leading to indifference toward such urgent problems as peacekeeping and to such lofty aims as the fulfilment of man's vocation.