31. Let my first words pay a well-deserved tribute to
the memory of Mr. Emilio Arenales, who presided with
wisdom and dedication over the work of the twenty-third
session of the United Nations General Assembly, and whose
untimely death has deprived us of his enlightened counsel
in the work of international understanding entrusted to him
by the community of nations. At the same time, I wish to
express our appreciation of the honour conferred on
Dr. Luis Alvarado of completing the duties of the Presidency.
32. And now on behalf of my Government, and personally
as well, Madam President, I am happy to offer you our
sincerest congratulations on your election as President of
this Assembly. It is, indeed, a source of satisfaction that a
lady of your worth has been elected to discharge so high an
office, and we are confident that you will bring to it all the
impartiality, judgement and tact vouchsafed by your past
accomplishments.
33. At the same time, I feel it is incumbent upon me to
make particular reference to the activities of our Secretary-General,
U Thant, who has striven valiantly and indefatigably to solve the difficult and complex problems submitted to him.
34. This is also a suitable occasion for expressing our
congratulations to the International Labour Organisation,
which is now celebrating its fiftieth anniversary in the
search for social justice, and to its Director, Mr. David A.
Morse, whose unstinting devotion to the service of that
organization has deservedly received the unanimous
acknowledgement of workers, employers and Governments.
35. I also wish to express the satisfaction of the Government
and the delegation of Peru at the recent admission of
new Member States to the United Nations. With that step
the legitimate aspirations of their peoples have reached
their culmination. At the same time, we are drawing ever
closer to the full implementation of the principle of the
universality of the Organization and widening the possibilities
of strengthening it with the contribution of new
initiatives to achieve international co-operation and solidarity.
36. On behalf of the Revolutionary Government of Peru, I
bring the message and the hopes of a people earnestly
engaged in the achievement of integration and brotherhood,
regarded as the only just and desirable basis for peace and
general well-being.
37. I have not come to this Assembly merely as a
formality but to speak to you with absolute frankness
about what is being thought and done in my country with
regard to both national and universal problems which not
only interest us but also affect us. I must begin by saying
that at home we feel a deep sense of disappointment—and
at the same time a clear awareness of our responsibilities as
a Government—at the lack of any international concerted
effort to put an end to the confrontations and sufferings
which still afflict the majority of the world’s peoples.
38. Most ordinary people view with scepticism, if not
exasperation, the repetition of speeches that no one listens
to, lyrical but unimplemented resolutions on peace, the
independence of States, human rights and international
co-operation, while men are dying on the battlefield,
countries still labour under colonial régimes or under
pressure from more powerful nations, all sorts of practices
flourish that violate the dignity of persons and the
aspirations of peoples, and selfishness and injustice continue
to hold sway in economic relations between the various nations.
39. The exploit that scarcely two months ago carried the
first men to alight on the moon is undoubtedly the greatest
triumph of science and technology of our time. We all
followed it enthusiastically and joined, either publicly
privately, in the satisfaction of the United States Government
and people at the success of an undertaking which,
apart from its own great merits, has also strengthened the
faith of humanity in the achievement of new conquests as
yet undreamed of.
40. I must confess, however, that we are less optimistic
about the problems still besetting us on our own planet,
among countries separated by much shorter distances, but
much deeper divergencies—I would even say sometimes by
abysses—when we compare the wealth, progress and happiness
of some with the wretchedness, backwardness and anxiety of the rest.
41. Today, as yesterday, the challenge and crucial task of
our generation must still be that of achieving peace,
security and the welfare of all nations, so that we may
eradicate the causes of tension and conflict, of hegemony
and dependence, of rivalry and hatred, and be able to live
together in a more just and worthy order, in which
freedom, equality and fraternity will no longer be mere
slogans of frustrated ideals, but facts that all human beings
can experience.
42. It is to this endeavour that all Governments and
peoples are dedicated, both those that have attained a high
standard of living and those still subsisting in sub-human
conditions, because the difference between them is not the
result of chance, nor of the intrinsic superiority of some
and inferiority of others, but of a series of circumstances in
which social factors—wherein exploitation and abuse have
not been unknown—have played a part.
43. The Peruvian revolution, which began scarcely 11
months ago, was born as a response to the deepest needs of
our people. From the outset, it has obeyed an exclusively
independent conception, which seeks to draw from the
reality of Peru itself the inspiration and the drive which will
weld together the efforts of an entire country in one
creative undertaking and help to forge a truly just and truly
free social order.
44. The Conquistadors, who arrived over 400 years ago in
what is now Peru, tried to transplant the forms of an old
society into a new world that was already peopled by an
extraordinarily gifted indigenous population. Three centuries
later, political independence had still not brought
about any fundamental change in the economic, social and
cultural structure that had been established during colonial days.
45. During the century and a half of republican life that
followed, the disparity between the wealthy few and the
mass of the population remained unchanged, when it did
not actually increase. Apart from the cases of a few
exceptionally able or ambitious men, power, great estates
and businesses were all retained effortlessly in the hands of
the dominant group, while employees, workers and
especially the peasants lived in dismal circumstances and
with little or no hope of improvement, due to the economic
and cultural limitations imposed upon them by the society
of that time.
46. The passage from a stratified structure of closed social
groups to one of more mobile components was thus clearly
impossible until the last decade. It is obvious, in the light of
this situation, of which I have drawn only the merest
outline, that radical changes and urgent reforms were
needed to transform the structure of Peruvian society.
47. This was the aim of the revolution, to clear for our
people the way to true social justice, and we are carrying
our revolution through in order to shatter forever the
traditional patterns of a basically unjust social and economic
system. We are fighting to complete the independence of our
country and to free it from its situation as
an under-developed country. Under-development and
dependence, which is its corollary, have been the dominant
features of the structure of Peru’s economy. It is against
these that the revolution is directed, because we are
convinced that so long as they continue to exist, our people
will continue to be the victims of exploitation and
ignorance, because we have seen that both these factors
lead to the concentration of power in the hands of small
privileged groups, while other vast sectors remain on the
fringe of society and, finally, because we know full well
that so long as we remain under-developed and dependent,
we shall never be masters of our own destiny as a free and
fully sovereign nation.
48. Thus the essential features of our revolution can be
summed up in two words: what is taking place in Peru is a
nationalist revolution. The status quo is being shaken to its
very roots. We are changing the face and the traditional
structure of Peru; but we are doing so by creating, not
importing solutions, by proclaiming the right, the responsibility
and the duty to decide, by and for ourselves, the
direction and the means of this beneficial change. Peru will
never again be the country it was prior to the revolution. Of
what we were and of our past, we shall preserve whatever
will be of help in the building of our future. But we shall
abandon—indeed we are already doing so—all that is useless
dead weight in the salvage operation to make our country a
new and better country for ail Peruvians.
49. While we are nationalists, we are also humanists,
because we are imbued with a profound social feeling. We
believe that the first duty of the State is to ensure the
sovereignty and development of the nation, but that the
final goal is man, not one group, one sector or one class.
50. The keystones of our revolutionary ideal are independence and structural transformation, and these two concepts constitute an emotional binomial through which development becomes the most perfect synonym of social peace. We aim for development not as a mere instrument of prosperity, improvement or modernization of the present
social order, since that might lead us to industrial capitalism, but as an instrument to eliminate inequalities and social injustice and to establish a new democratic system with no room for privileges based on class or on political, economic or religious factors.
51. Our nationalism represents an intention to achieve the
effective social cohesion of the country, an effort to bolster
political unity, to strengthen the economy and to complete
our independence. It finds sustenance in the moral and
spiritual resources of our people, in all that is positive in
our collective characteristics and in the imperative need to
preserve and strengthen them. We aim at social and
economic development but without sacrificing our truly
national traditions and institutions.
52. Therefore, to those who often ask us about the nature
of the process or, without asking, try to identify us with
political movements in other countries, we must clearly
explain that we are pursuing a Peruvian policy, free from
foreign trammels and orientations. We are nationalists and
revolutionaries: we seek Peruvian solutions to the problems
and needs of Peru.
53. We are struggling to consolidate our sovereignty, to
defend our legitimate interests and to enable our people to
achieve better standards of life, in keeping with the dignity
of the human person. We are firmly convinced that this
struggle will strengthen a national awareness that will allow
us to lay the foundations of a truly free and independent
society, one ready to achieve its objectives by its own
efforts, free from the shackles of conformity or foreign
dependence; a society in which man is both the beginning
and the end, the cause and the effect of our action, for
there would be no sense in advocating revolutionary change
unless it were for the direct and full advantage of Peruvian
citizens.
54. Revolutionary transformation, which is the very
essence of the new Peruvian policy, has taken the shape of
acts to reform the organic and essential features of the
country.
55. The first of these acts was not strictly a reform, but
rather the exercise of national sovereignty in confrontation
with a foreign oil company which, through its own
economic power and the protection accorded to it, had for
many years enjoyed a position of singular privilege,
contrary to our law. By this act in strict conformity with
existing laws that, in the past, had not been enforced
through fear of international pressure, a long-standing claim
for justice was redressed, and a need for legitimate
reparation was met, while at the same time a clear and
conclusive response was given to one of the vital economic
needs of the country, a need that the Government was
determined to satisfy.
56. The Peruvian position in this case involved decisions
inherent in the full exercise of State sovereignty, but this
exercise was not arbitrary. On the contrary, it confined
itself strictly to classic Peruvian law which, in accordance
with the tenets of almost all nations of the world,
condemns usurpation and monopolies—especially in the
case of mineral resources, which belong to the whole
people. This was the situation to which Peru, juridically and
in full exercise of its sovereignty, has put an end. Our
decision is supported by international obligations derived
from the Charter of the United Nations itself, and
repeatedly acknowledged in this Assembly, not only concerning
the recognition of the right of every State to
administer and exploit its own natural resources, but also
forbidding other States to interfere in such administration.
57. The international order repudiates all forms of intervention.
When the latter takes the form of economic pressure or sanctions, it becomes a form of aggression that is all the more unethical and unjust when directed against a people that is peacefully endeavouring to overcome the obstacles to its own under-development.
In these circumstances, what is most incumbent upon any great
industrialized nation, and in general upon all those enjoying the
benefits of exploiting the world’s riches, is, as a basic duty,
to co-operate unconditionally with those countries which,
by their own free decision and assuming inevitable risks,
undertake the historical task of trying to expedite their
progress and carry through a profound and rational structural change.
58. The decrees promulgated by the Peruvian Government
in reclaiming the nation’s oil, which constitutes its main
energy resource, are, therefore, sovereign decisions, both
legal and necessary. They are sovereign, because they come
from an independent State, a Member of this world
Organization; they are legal because they are based on
custom and legal provisions which have been in force since
the days of the Incas and on laws which govern Peru today
within a system similar to that of the majority of States;
and they are necessary, because they are indispensable if we
are to forge ahead and really overcome our national
under-development.
59. Such a strong position notwithstanding, the Peruvian
ordinance offers the widest guarantees under which, in
defence of its interests, any firm may have recourse either
to the administrative authorities or to the courts of the
land. Of course, this is not a system which we ourselves
have devised, since it is to be found in almost all countries,
but it allows both employees and companies the opportunity
of various stages of recourse to the government, as was the
case with Peruvian oil, or of a series of applications
and appeals to the Peruvian courts.
60. We therefore consider that any measure of pressure or
sanction against Peru for defending its public oil heritage
and its new energy policy would be tantamount to open
intervention and economic aggression in violation of international undertakings which were considered to have
replaced the old system of diplomatic protection so
abusively used in the past to shield financial interests. But
that system, of which so much could be said by the
developing countries, is one which we are putting an end to
once and for all, since it bespoke a form of intervention
which Peru has always rejected; and we are rejecting it again
from this rostrum, since we regard it as not only an attack
on the independence of States, but also as totally contrary
to the noble principles of the United Nations.
61. In order to achieve the fundamental aim of the
Revolutionary Government—that is, to promote higher
standards of living, compatible with human dignity, in the
less privileged sectors of the population—and to do so in
accordance with the recommendations of the Punta del
Este Meeting of American Presidents of the Papal
Encyclicals and of the United Nations, my country has
embarked on a genuine agrarian reform, which has received
the unanimous support of our people and the fullest
international endorsement. The new law has not only done
away with archaic privileges but, by radically changing the
traditional structure of the Peruvian system of land tenure,
has laid the groundwork for a total economic reconstruction
of the country. The agrarian reform constitutes the
most complete structural transformation ever undertaken in
our country. Its repercussions on all aspects of national life
will be enormous and it will open the way to social justice
by encouraging the emergence and strengthening of middle
and proletarian sectors of the population who, with ever
increasing awareness of their interests, will provide the
leaders which the country needs to consolidate the new
ordering of society.
62. Peru has always depended on its mineral wealth and,
today, this wealth appears as the one resource whose
exploitation is the key to the economic future of the
country. The vast mining potential of Peru is, and will be,
the basic element in the foreign trade sector of our
economy and its development will to a large extent
determine the rate of growth of the country. Accordingly,
the Government has, with all the desired urgency, adopted
measures to ensure the immediate exploitation of these
resources in order to correct the huge disparity between the
present levels of production and the estimated and known
reserves and mining potential of the country.
63. The aforementioned measures in no way alter the
policy of the Revolutionary Government to encourage and
help investors, from wherever they may come, so long as
they are ready to work within the spirit and the letter of
the laws of the Republic. In the mining sector we offer
investors opportunities which are undoubtedly among the
best to be found.
64. I also wish to mention the reform in regard to business
undertakings which will be carried out in due course in
Peru. Inaccurate reports about this have been circulated
which may tend to create an adverse picture both within
the country and abroad. It should be made quite clear, as
the President of the Republic recently stated, that:
“The Revolutionary Government will not turn private
undertakings in co-operatives, except in those cases
provided for in the recent agrarian reform law. The
measures envisaged do not disavow the legitimate rights
stemming from ownership of the means of production; on
the contrary, they will be devised to encourage investment
and industrial modernization and, consequently, to
stimulate development.”
65. The reform in regard to business undertakings, therefore,
is in no way intended to prejudice the interests of
business owners, but to bring them into harmony with
those of the workers, strictly within the bounds of justice.
In all this change, the State is playing a dynamic and
encouraging role, and for this purpose we have revised its
organization so as to give it the necessary capacity and
vitality as well as the legal and functional instruments by
which to carry out its activities effectively in conjunction
with the efforts of groups of businessmen imbued with the
same intentions of ensuring development for the national
good.
66. All these achievements are being secured without the
violence that has usually accompanied such radical changes
elsewhere, This bloodless revolution, this profound and
peaceful change that is being accomplished in Peru, is an
unparalleled experience that fits into none of the patterns,
blueprints or models of the past.
67. Those of us who have initiated this nationalist
revolution will not see the best of its fruits; they will be for
future generations. The revolution has no other beneficiary
but the people of Peru themselves. It was initiated for them
and for them it is being carried through. Our children will
inherit a very different and a better country than we
received from our forefathers.
68. This is the picture of the Peru of today, a Peru in
which the co-ordinates of the revolution lie in the dialectics
of development and the humanism of a social democracy
and in which our historic destiny is at stake and will be won
or lost in the next few years.
69. The features and objectives of the process—briefly
described above-—through which Peruvian society is at
present passing are reflected in the external sphere and
correspond to a conception of international society and of
the part to be played in it by Peru.
70. The distinguishing feature—we might almost say the
phenomenon—that particularly characterizes the world of
today, has been the concentration of the power of nations
around two poles, each of which is organized within its own
system. In addition to these two groups, which constitute
vast economic areas and co-ordinated political complexes,
there is the group of non-aligned nations, uncommitted to
the struggle between the dominant great Powers. Within
some of these three sectors or on their periphery, there is a
large category of nations which, although at different levels,
possess the common denominator of under-development
and a limited capacity to produce what they need.
71. Like the majority of the countries of Latin America,
Peru faces a slow rate of economic and social progress, a
dependent economy, backward structures, obstacles to
national integration and low educational and technological
levels, the effect of all this being aggravated by the urgent
needs resulting from very rapid population growth. These
facts make us one with the developing world. Yet we
cannot refrain from feeling that there are other factors
which single us out from many such countries: our political
development over 150 years of independent life; our
cultural background, rooted in ancient indigenous civilizations,
yet strongly marked, too, by the imprint of Western civilization.
72. Our affinities with the whole of the developing world
are identical, and we can therefore expect them to be a new
creative dimension in the pursuit of peace and well-being.
On the other hand, our links with the sphere of world
power in which we move do not always offer the same
encouraging perspectives. In that relationship, there are
contradictory tendencies at work that hamper, if they do
not cancel out, more fruitful possibilities of co-operation.
This seriously impedes any harmonious movement forward
towards progress and even jeopardizes international
security, since the thwarting of the legitimate aspirations of
a developing people must create a dangerous distortion in
its thinking. If, for argument’s sake, we take a society like
that of Peru as an example, we would have to start from the
very simple fact that, as far as it is concerned, only some
positive and lasting achievement in the sphere of welfare
could justify an effort and give meaning to national
security, to say nothing of making it feel that it forms an
integral part of a system of collective security at the
international level. The concepts of welfare, development
and security are thus very closely and permanently connected
with those of poverty and exploitation, which lie at
the very roots of under-developed nations and exacerbate
an explosive situation, the ramifications of which I should
not wish to dramatize here in strong terms.
73. The antagonism between the two poles of power is as
prejudicial to them as it is to the rest of the countries of the
world, which are forced to adopt attitudes not always in
keeping with their own interests and aspirations. That is
why the international community must do all it can to
further the healthy and growing trend towards mutual
understanding and rapprochement, and the attempts
evident today in both systems to appreciate each other’s
positive achievements and to collaborate in joint undertakings.
If, on both sides, the conviction gains ground that
the struggle, for hegemony is mistaken and futile and that it
must give way to competition in favour of development,
with sights set on general security and welfare, then we
shall be able to realize the most cherished ideal of mankind,
namely, one world, one single bloc of nations.
74. The Revolutionary Government of Peru, in its foreign
policy, has acted in conformity with the concepts I have
outlined, expanding its relations wherever possible,
defending its right to development and collaborating with
other countries in the process of integration and in the
establishment of new forms of international co-operation.
75. One of its first acts was to extend the country’s
diplomatic relations to those parts of the world from
which, for political or ideological reasons, it was estranged.
The new Government has established permanent missions in
the countries of Eastern Europe, convinced that thereby it
is serving the cause of peace, co-operation and the universal
vocation of this world body. We also believe that on the
basis of mutual respect, we shall be able to benefit from the
experience and the contributions of those countries, and we
shall seek forms of co-operation and exchange that will be
of mutual advantage.
76. As I explained when speaking of internal developments
in my country, Peru has had to wage a hard battle in
defence of the right to enjoy its own natural resources. The
legitimate act of exercise of national sovereignty whereby
the Revolutionary Government regained possession of that
wealth has caused serious difficulties in our international
relations and in the credit policies of some countries and
certain bodies, We believe that these incidents reveal a
singular lack of, understanding of domestic decisions that
come within the law and meet imperative requirements of
national sovereignty. Furthermore, we cannot accept the
claim to identify the general interest of a State with the
private interest of a company. A number of peoples and
Governments which have offered us their support have
understood our position and I wish to take this opportunity
of reiterating to them my country’s profound gratitude for
their spontaneous expressions of solidarity.
77. Those familiar with the geography of Peru know that
its wide desert-like coastal belt is compensated for by the
natural fruitfulness and wealth of the sea washing its shores.
Over 20 years ago, my country, aware of this natural
wealth, whose existence has been scientifically demonstrated
and which is peculiar to the Peruvian sea, proclaimed
its jurisdiction and sovereignty over the coastal
waters to the extent necessary to reserve, protect, preserve
and utilize rationally their marine resources. The system
subsequently established with other countries of the south-east
Pacific in defence of the same principles has been the
subject of diverse interpretations which, based as they are
on obsolete provisions which have been superseded by
scientific progress and by the need to adapt ourselves to
history, tend to overlook the rights of coastal States.
78. We must state clearly that these rights stem from the
undeniable need of coastal States to ensure the preservation
of the marine resources in their coastal waters in order to
feed their peoples and to benefit their national economy.
This need becomes even more imperative in the case of
countries whose precarious economic development and low
protein intake obliges them to multiply their efforts to
improve the living standards of their people.
79. We are in duty bound to overcome the disparity
between the wealth of our fisheries and the low nutritional
level of our people. The nutritional deficit, caused by the
lack of other resources, not only makes it difficult to meet
the needs of a growing population, but forces us to devote a
large portion of the country’s hard-won foreign exchange to
imports of consumer goods, with serious detriment to
industrial development and the execution of other projects
crucial to my country’s social and economic progress.
80. Obviously, Peru does not claim that the norms it has
laid down to defend its own marine resources are the same
for all States. The law must always be adapted to reality
and if geographical, like economic and social features, differ
from one continent to the other and even within the same
continent, it is both logical and necessary that the laws
regulating them must also differ.
81. There are countries which, in order to exploit the vast
wealth of the sea-bed adjacent to their coasts, have also
extended their jurisdiction beyond the traditional limits of
their territorial waters to the edge of the continental shelf.
Surely such a right can hardly be denied to those States
whose continental shelf is minimal or almost non-existent
but which have the same, if not greater need, to preserve
and utilize the living resources of the waters adjacent to
their territory.
82. It must also be borne in mind that the measures
adopted in this matter do not preclude foreign ships from
fishing in the region under the jurisdiction of the coastal
State, nor in any way limit freedom of navigation on the
seas. They merely establish the usual regulations enabling
fishing vessels to carry on their activities, without inadmissible depredations, and even to make use of port facilities
on the same conditions as national vessels.
83. In claiming for the coastal State the rights of
sovereignty, jurisdiction and control over the sea adjacent
to its coasts to the extent necessary for the protection of
marine resources, we have no intention of creating disorder
or anarchy in the oceans, as has sometimes been said. What
we do wish to set up is a more equitable system that would
be based on modern scientific and juridical concepts and
would be deeply rooted in the social and economic needs of
under-developed peoples—a system, in short, that would
not be governed by political or military considerations or
by powerful economic interests, which largely determined
most of the rules of international maritime law in the past.
84. We trust that that is how the matter will be understood
by the other States of the international community,
both by those highly developed nations which have
declared their willingness to co-operate with us in our
efforts towards progress, and by those in the process of
development, and that they will realize what this policy
means as a defence of principles and resources which are
essential in order to ensure our welfare and advancement.
85. This leads me to my next theme: the concerting of
inter-State policies as an instrument of individual and
collective progress. Although the primary and fundamental
condition for the development of each country must be its
own efforts, these are obstructed not only by internal
limitations but by the effects of other countries’ activities.
It, therefore, becomes imperative to arrange forms of joint
action with a wider perspective, which is inspired in some
cases by community of origin with other national entities
and which includes the search for economic integration as a
means of promoting common interests and effective acceleration
of development. This new system, in which
individual effort is joined with the concerted efforts of a
group of nations, is a response to one of the imperatives of
our time, which is the result of increasing interdependence
and which leads us to the creation of vast economic regions
as an indispensable requirement in order to achieve, at one
and at the same time, the progress of each of the
components and of the group as a whole.
86. Latin America has not escaped this process and has
put into operation a number of schemes for regional and
sub-regional integration, despite the enormous difficulties
due to its geography and its political, economic and social
systems. Peru is actively participating in this undertaking,
from which we expect effective benefits for the development
of the Latin American peoples, for their affirmation
of their independence and for their meaningful participation
in international relations.
87. But even were the integrationist process which we are
witnessing to be successfully completed, it would still not
suffice to fulfil Latin America’s aspirations. The continuous
widening of the scientific and technological gap between
Latin America and the developed world and the growing
imbalance in world trade make it necessary to establish new
forms of co-operation aimed at ensuring equal access by all
peoples to the benefits of progress, science and technology.
The international community has not yet succeeded in
devising a system whereby this goal could be reached. On
the contrary, a state of affairs has been brought about
which, if allowed to persist, could lead only to the
frustration of huge masses of human beings and thus
engender even greater threats to world peace and security.
88. We must point out clearly—and we do so at this
Assembly—that we envisage international co-operation as a
commitment free from all forms of intervention in the
internal or external affairs of other States and from any
encroachment on their integrity and the political, economic
and cultural elements which constitute it; that we believe
rational exploitation of national resources indispensable for
the preservation and development of each country; that we
cannot accept economic co-operation subject to political or
military conditions; that we cannot admit the use or
encouragement of measures of economic or political coercion
designed to force the sovereign will of States in order
to obtain advantages of any sort; and, finally, that we reject
the adoption, indeed the very existence, of policies, actions
or measures the mere invoking of which might threaten the
economic and social development of a country and could
lead to covert or open forms of economic aggression.
89. Only if the international community can understand
co-operation in terms of the goals of progress we have
indicated and can eliminate from its machinery any
instrument of compulsion which vitiates it, will we be able
to move forward, developed and developing nations together
in the search for better forms of coexistence that
will permit both groups to join in building a more just and
worthy life. These criteria for international co-operation
draw their inspiration from explicit Articles of the Charter
of the United Nations and of the revised Charter of the
Organization of American States.
90. In all international forums, Peru has strongly upheld
the cardinal importance of these principles and proclaimed
that only on the basis of respect for them will it be possible
to establish true, constructive and lasting co-operation.
91. The community of nations must strive to achieve
international welfare. That calls for a greater interest and a
high level of responsibility on the part of the Governments
of the wealthier countries in order to improve the lot of less
fortunate peoples. The industrialized States must recognize
the fact that today poverty in any corner of the world is a
threat to their own way of life and that, consequently, their
economic and social responsibilities cannot end at their
national frontiers.
92. The action of the great countries in regard to human
life cannot be limited solely to the formal maintenance of
peace and the protection or encouragement of limited
national interests—a concept that was stressed by President
Nixon the other day. Such an attitude is not in keeping
with the world today, which is becoming increasingly
interdependent as a result of the progress of science,
technology and communications. True security, true
guarantees of life, liberty and what is usually understood as
happiness all call for a far more responsible commitment to
the rest of the world: a commitment which means
co-operating with others to build new economic and social
institutions, new channels for a more just and equitable
distribution of wealth and to eradicate injustice, turning an
atmosphere of uncertainty into a climate of confidence and
stability.
93. I have left to the end of my statement the analysis of
my Government’s views on the most important world
problems that appear on the Assembly’s agenda. This
obviously is not because of any order of priority, but
because it was more appropriate to speak first of the
internal process taking place in my country and its obvious
consequences for foreign policy, so as to facilitate a better
understanding of what Peru believes should be done in the
matters I propose to discuss now. These matters come
under three main headings: peace and world security,
international co-operation, and human rights.
94. It has been said that, in the long run, peace and and
security in the world will be feasible only when all peoples
understand that we are members of the same family — that
of the human race — and that we must act as such within an
order that does not admit of hegemonies or subjugations
and far less of injustice, but calls for wide and lasting
co-operation in the solution of the problems of all, so that
individual efforts will be harmonized, complemented and
multiplied in the pursuit of a common objective—the
solidarity of all men and the full realization of their
aspirations to a worthy, secure and happy life.
95. We share those ideals and we are also convinced of the
need to strengthen the authority of the United Nations,
whose principles must be observed and whose resolutions
must be complied with, since this is the only possible
guarantee of world peace and security.
96. But the daily facts of the world in which we live show
how naive it would be to expect progress along that road as
long as States fail to co-operate effectively in uprooting the
very causes of international unrest, that is, the economic
and social conditions to which we have so often referred.
Unless these conditions are given preferential and adequate
attention, political and juridical measures alone will always
be insufficient and a makeshift.
97. At the same time, it is necessary to eliminate other
factors which darken the world picture and which are the
result of present-day antagonisms. Of these, the most
distressing are the conflicts that still afflict the peoples of
the Far East and Africa. Although these are not on the
agenda of the present session of the Assembly, they call for
special mention, because they are a stigma on mankind, and
the parties concerned must exhaust every possible means of
putting an end to the unjust and futile sacrifice of
thousands of human lives, which far outweigh in value the
interests involved.
98. The situation in the Middle East heads the list of
problems submitted for our consideration. In this, as in
other fields, compliance with United Nations resolutions is
essential, as are also mutual respect among States, the
cessation of all hostilities, the search for a peaceful
settlement, the abandonment of all expansionist aims or
religious wars and the duty to adjust national will to the
imperatives of human rights, without which the just and
lasting peace we all desire cannot be obtained.
99. In the peaceful settlement of disputes, the experience
of the American nations offers unquestionably valuable
instances of the effectiveness of the regional agreements
provided for in the Charter of the United Nations. The
world has recently witnessed an example of how the
American system, acting with the assurance and speed born
of the vitality of its own institutions and buttressed by the
moral elements inherent in the peaceful spirit of its peoples,
put an end to a sad conflict between two sister nations.
100. Together with the elimination of war as a means of
settling disputes, equal importance must be given to the
questions of general and complete disarmament, the suspension
of nuclear tests, the elimination of chemical and
bacteriological weapons, and the allocation of the enormous sums
still spent in those fields to other activities such
as the use of nuclear energy and outer space for peaceful
purposes, matters on which extensive reports have been
submitted to the Assembly for consideration.
101. The recent entry into force of the Treaty of
Tlatelolco on the denuclearization of Latin America is a
new proof given by our countries of their will to co-operate
in bringing peace to the world without renouncing their
legitimate and urgent aspirations regarding the use of
nuclear technology for the benefit of their economic and
scientific progress.
102. Other problems involving injustice and increasing
danger for States are those relating to their national unity.
These problems cannot be postponed indefinitely and
suitable procedures must be devised so that peoples which
are now divided may achieve their long-desired unification.
103. Finally, in this section on peace, I must refer to the
flagrant incongruity of the existence, in these days, of
peoples subjected to colonial régimes. Like all those
countries which waged a hard battle for their political
independence and whose concept of the world is based on
principles of Christian inspirations, Peru rejects any sort of
colonialism. It is high time for those Powers, to whose care
the administration of Non-Self-Governing Territories was
entrusted, to adapt their practice to the mandate from the
United Nations, and, respecting the just aspirations of those
peoples, their cultural identity and the principle of
self-determination, to ensure their social and economic
advancement and assist them effectively in learning to govern
themselves. Any other interpretation of their mandate is a
distortion of the obligation contracted with the world
organization, and puts at risk the objectives of peace and
security, which we are all concerned with preserving.
104. In the second part of this statement, when referring
to the bases of Peru’s foreign policy, I spoke of the
principles which my country believes should govern relations
among States in regard to international co-operation.
In the light of the present world picture, the priority
purpose of this co-operation is, undoubtedly, to combat
under-development, and this has been clearly recognized at
meetings at various levels such as those of CECLA, ECLA,
IA-ECOSOC and UNIDO, which have all agreed on the need
to reshape the present system of economic relations
between the industrialized and the developing countries.
105. We must admit, however, that the results at the end
of the First United Nations Development Decade are very
meagre. We trust that the proposals on global strategy
formulated by the Preparatory Committee for the Second
United Nations Development Decade will receive the full
support of the more advanced nations, without whose
decision to co-operate these proposals will remain a dead
letter.
106. In the field of financial co-operation, we find that
the developing countries are obtaining external financing
under increasingly adverse conditions. This affects their
foreign currency reserves, which are needed to maintain an
adequate rate of importation of capital goods. An end
must, therefore, be put to the "spiral of indebtedness"
which militates against our economic growth and any
improvement in our levels of living.
107. it is ironic to note that, in the final analysis, the
so-called under-developed nations are acting as exporters of
capital to the regions that are more advanced and have a
greater accumulation of wealth, as a result of the servicing
of foreign debts and remittances abroad from foreign
investments.
108. We recognize the need for the participation of
foreign capital; we acknowledge its interest in obtaining
reasonable profits and we guarantee the stability of its
operations; but an analysis of the methods with which it
has been working convinces us of the need to search for
new arrangements compatible with local priorities, so that
such investments may contribute effectively to the mobilization
of internal resources, to the generation of national
savings and to an improvement in the technological level of
our countries.
109. Such objectives are consistent with a realistic policy
of structural transformation such as that which is being
carried out by the Government of Peru, and which
supersedes and sets aside the purely economic concept that
growth is the first and fundamental step towards development.
110. Yet although the Peruvian revolution intends to
create the internal conditions for a self-sustaining development,
we believe that, on account of the characteristics of
our country and its previous history, foreign trade must be
the primary source of the external financial resources we
require in order to achieve our objectives, A restructuring
and expansion of international trade is therefore essential,
since it is inadmissible that at present we should have to
export twice as much in order to acquire the same quantity
of goods as we were able to purchase in past decades.
111. We find, however, an indifference to this situation on
the part of the industrialized world, an indifference which
has now become traditional. One of the major obstacles to
an increase in the third world’s foreign trade is the obvious
lack of political will and action to comply with the terms of
international agreements.
112. I wish to avail myself of this opportunity in order to
stress the need for the industrialized countries to revise
their tariff and customs policies so as to eliminate the
discriminatory treatment suffered by our manufactures and
semi-manufactures, as well as the non-tariff obstacles which
hamper the marketing of our basic commodities. When we
also consider the policy of encouraging the uneconomic
production of items which could not otherwise compete
successfully with ours, we find evidence of a serious
distortion in international trade.
113. On the other hand, variations in the demand for
primary commodities leads to violent fluctuations in export
prices and a progressive deterioration in our terms of trade
and, consequently, in our import capacity.
114. We ask, therefore, among other things, for compliance with international agreements relating to price stability, for effective functioning of consultation machinery on the rational disposal of surpluses and strategic reserves, and for the implementation of a
non-discriminatory and non-reciprocal system of general preferences.
115. Finally, we must point out that the gap between the
developed and developing nations is widening with the
technological advance being made in the industrialized
countries. Greater co-operation is, therefore, needed in the
creation and adaptation of technological processes that will
ensure the maximum utilization of the resources of the
developing countries. Unfortunately, the great technological
innovations of the past decade have invariably been
aimed at economizing on labour. What we in the underdeveloped
countries need are innovations which, while enabling us to
save capital, also allow us to utilize our labour force to
the fullest possible extent.
116. Among the programmes which my Government is
following with special interest I must single out the one
concerning the peaceful uses of the sea-bed and the ocean
floor and the subsoil thereof beyond the limits of national
jurisdiction.
117. We believe that the United Nations, acting as it were
as a trustee of the destinies of mankind, should consider
this question with all due prudence and care. Its task is
doubly difficult, not only because it is a question of
establishing norms to govern an environment that is new to
international law, but also because such norms will affect
an extraordinary source of wealth, on which the developing
countries are pinning fully justified hopes.
118. In this field the United Nations has an unprecedented
opportunity of ensuring that the exploration and exploitation
of the sea-bed and ocean floor are reserved exclusively
for peaceful purposes, thus preventing them from becoming
a subject of conflict among the great Powers, with
consequent danger to world peace.
119. In the face of disputes among States, man, who, both
individually and as a member of communities, has now
virtually become a subject of international law, is to an
increasing extent playing the part of a protagonist of
solutions and to a decreasing extent that of a victim. The
effort to base justice and the peace of nations on the
welfare of man constitutes one of the most urgent and
critical tasks of our time.
120. When we consider that barely a century ago there
were laws permitting slavery, we realize how slow progress
has been towards recognizing the dignity of the human
being as such, despite the philosophical and religious
principles that had been proclaimed many centuries earlier.
Today no one any longer denies that human welfare
requires the conquest of freedom, not only in its political
sense but also in the sense of the liberation of man from his
harshest oppressors: poverty, disease and ignorance; and
that this welfare also requires the achievement of equality,
expressed by the same rights and obligations for all,
regardless of sex, race, religion or class.
121. These rights are no longer merely the guarantees
granted to its citizens by the liberal State, vigilant of its
own order; they have acquired a new value: they are
essentials for the dignity of the human being. Rights
representing the protection of man against arbitrary power
have been succeeded by rights representing a claim to a
genuinely human existence.
122. These principles have been proclaimed by the peoples
of the United Nations and by regional communities in
declarations of human rights which, undoubtedly, constitute
the finest and most complete ethical and juridical
achievements of our century. They have inspired the
constitutions of various countries, they have served as
guidance for numerous laws and have encouraged the hopes
of millions of human beings.
123. However, it must be admitted that the initial progress
that has been achieved has not yet been followed by full
practical implementation. Alongside United Nations initiatives
in the field of human rights, there exist discriminatory
practices such as apartheid, and racial and religious intolerance,
which are repugnant to the conscience of the world. In addition to internal efforts to put an end to these erroneous practices, it appears necessary to strengthen the authority of the recommendations of our world Organization and the machinery for their implementation.
124. Those of us who call ourselves civilized countries can
hardly watch with indifference the infringement of the
rights of certain groups living in subjection to those who
wield power. But here again, the task is a complex one, for
good intentions, mere condemnations and theoretical
recommendations are not enough, unless they are accompanied,
and in many cases preceded, by other forms of international
co-operation to assist countries in solving their
problems which, in the ultimate analysis, are always those of
their peoples.
125. In many States, the recognition of the right to life,
which is the foundation of all other rights, does not go
beyond a literary exercise, while infant mortality and
endemic diseases continue to decimate the population. The
same is true of recognition of the right to freedom from
servitude, while poverty-stricken majorities still remain
under the domination of privileged minorities that assume
political power to be one of their prerogatives; of the right
to property, while great masses cannot accumulate savings
since they are scarcely able to earn enough to live on, and
of the right to education and culture, while ignorance
prevails and illiteracy rates are very high.
126. For these reasons, in the countries that are struggling
towards development, human rights will be every day
realities when the necessary environment of well-being has
been created so that men can achieve them and live with
them, and learn to defend them.
127. In concluding this review of the domestic and
external efforts being made by the Government of Peru to
ensure the prosperity of its people and contribute to the
establishment of a system of solidarity among all the
countries of the world, I must once again repeat that the
problem of development has ceased to be a particular
interest of national Governments and has become one of
the thorniest problems in international relations. It is
imperative, therefore, that the industrialized countries
should recognize their responsibility in the present situation
and assume the consequent obligations. For our part, we
are doing our utmost and making all the changes needed to
achieve development, convinced as we are that development
must essentially be the result of our own efforts. What
causes us concern, however, is to find ourselves confronted
by vacillating attitudes, if not by abstention or even
indifference, on the part of those more advanced than
we are.
128. Co-operation given to societies during a period of
transition to promote their economic and social development
is not just charity; it is an indispensable mutual
guarantee for the achievement of political security and,
consequently, for the maintenance of international order.
129. What we envisage is not a way of life imposed upon
us, but rather a world in which men can live together in
dignity and justice, with freedom of thought and action,
and with respect for the sovereignty of each and every
country; a world in which every nation can freely develop
its own system in its own particular way. We believe that
these aims should inspire the efforts of this Organization
and that they provide more than sufficient reason for
carrying on the struggle to the point of sacrifice, if
necessary. Living as we do in a period which is neither
peace nor war, there must be firm determination, dedication
and the will to work together, so that ultimately we
shall be nations united in the common task of ensuring the
welfare of all the people in the world.