37. I offer you, Madam President,
the profound and sincere felicitations of the Liberian
delegation and myself on your election to the eminent
position of President of the twenty-fourth session of the
General Assembly of the United Nations. Your continuous
association with the Assembly, your active and appreciable
participation in the affairs of the United Nations over a
remarkably extended period of time, as well as your
dedication to duty, provide us with the pleasure of having
as our presiding officer one who is not only familiar with
international affairs but also experienced in the operations
of our esteemed Organization.
38. Many of us remember the astuteness, sagacity, understanding,
sympathy and penetrating intellect which characterized
the presidency of Mrs. Pandit of India, who led the
eighth session of the General Assembly. Today, we are
fortunate in having another woman, equally capable, whose
warmth, perspicacity and prudence will be tested by the
existing and pressing problems of a world fraught with
misgivings, suspicions and apprehension.
39. You also have a special place among Africans as the
first woman of this advancing continent to occupy this
position. As an African, I salute you.
40. I am more particularly happy as the head of the
Liberian delegation to share the pride of your fellow
citizens on your election to this prominent position. Your
successful election is a manifestation of the esteem in which
the Members of this Assembly hold our continent in
general, and our country, one of the founding Members of
the United Nations, in particular. You have shown distinction
in the Foreign Service of Liberia and we are confident
that the capacity and ability you have so pleasingly and
satisfactorily demonstrated in international affairs will
enable you to handle with aplomb the complex matters
that will come before you.
41. The discretion you exercise, the decisions you make,
the footprints you leave during your term, will, we hope,
influence our course towards international peace and
security. In the words of Goethe, I say to you:
Choose well, your choice is
Brief and yet endless;
Here eyes do regard you,
Work and despair not.
42. I now take the opportunity of recording a well-deserved
and justified tribute to your deceased and outstanding
predecessor, H.E. Emilio Arenales of Guatemala,
who so ably and soberly presided over the twenty-third
session of the General Assembly, a performance which
readily and easily won for him the praise and esteem so
willingly accorded by all of us. His death is a loss not only
to his great country but also to the Organization and to all
of us who admired and respected him.
43. The Secretary-General of the United Nations,
U Thant, is as usual conscientious, imaginative and
resourceful. His constant search for solutions to world
problems and his devotion to the cause of international
peace and security are the greatest emblems of his efforts
and contributions in a world of contradictions, inequalities,
misunderstanding and strife. In wishing him success in his
difficult tasks, I confirm to him the continuing support of
the Government of Liberia and our best wishes that his
relentless efforts will be crowned with abundant success.
44. The twenty-fourth session of the General Assembly
convenes at a time when the world is still exhilarated at
man’s conquest in the realm of the celestial bodies — the
lunar landing. The recent lunar expedition is incontestably
one of man’s greatest achievements. It opens up a new vista
in the field of science and a broad avenue in the
development of technology; but it also imposes upon us an
awesome responsibility for the welfare and interest of
mankind.
45. One of the hallmarks of such.an outstanding achievement
is the interest which it should generate in the new and
challenging situations involving several political, social and
economic programmes, approaches, disciplines and reactions.
These situations occur in varying degrees in every
nook and cranny of the earth. The individual local
condition will, of course, determine the extent and magnitude
of the predicament but the general trend will be the
same. The movement is one in time and the effects cannot
be breached by any conventional methods.
46. Already, the world has been advised to expect more
lunar landings that are now planned and which may be
launched by more than one country. We must prepare to
meet the challenges which consequently must of necessity
be presented outside the fields of science and technology.
47. Unfortunately, it does not appear to me that our
efforts to secure and maintain international peace have
matched our success in technological achievements. I share
the view that the wide programmes for celestial conquests,
together with the recent laudable achievement, further
indicate the greater need for peace in this world and more
concern for man’s welfare. We cannot afford to shift
aimlessly from one crisis to another, merely hoping that it
will not result in some disaster. It is both uncomfortable
and very dangerous because recurrences of a series of crises
of an unbridled nature may eventually place us in the
unfortunate position where we may find ourselves unable.
to prevent a final but disastrous plunge into an abyss which
could bring us painful suffering, grim destruction and
appalling calamity. The total commitment of the Liberian
Government to universal peace, which involves the maintenance
of peace both at home and abroad, was, as I stated
in my address to the twenty-third session of the Assembly
[1698th meeting], proclaimed by President Tubman Himself
in January 1968.
48. Experience has shown that the obligation to settle
international disputes by peaceful means, as laid down in
the Charter, is evidently not sufficiently effective to check
the present belligerent tendency among States. What seems
to be necessary is an open and positive commitment by the
United Nations, condemning recourse to war and renouncing
it as an instrument of national policy, as was done in
the Kellogg-Briand Pact in 1928; and when this is done,
we need to adhere strictly to such outlawing of force since
it could be one means by which a global war might be
averted and mankind saved from annihilation.
49. Our difficulty in our present approach is inherent. It
arises from selfish preoccupations and our apparent unwillingness
to try to understand and deal with some of the
basic problems that increasingly call for fair and just
solutions in a world being made smaller and smaller by
technological advances.
50. Our efforts should be concentrated on the development
of effective measures to reduce present dangers and
remove apprehensions. In other words, the world community
has the responsibility of developing a new and
meaningful approach during this new era in its attempts to
ensure peace among men and nations.
51. Another difficulty seems to be based in time. It is one
thing to obtain command over the undesirable forces which
plague us and to acquire the mastery that command may
give us in ordering our fate. It is another thing, however, to
consider the question of appropriateness in time. Certainly,
we do not have a lifetime in which to enable us to devise
methods to accommodate private machinations. It seems to
me that the chief obstacle to our success lies not in our
capacity and power, but in the selfish positions and
methods which have otherwise been assumed and which
remain so little changed amid our new and recent accomplishments.
It is our human wills that are at fault, not our
energy. We shall succeed in matching achievements in the
realm of peace and security with technological advancement
only if we learn to afford ourselves the opportunity
of bringing out the best that lies within us. Improvement
and success in our endeavours for peace throughout the
world will therefore depend largely upon our genuine
willingness and sincere efforts not only to eliminate
disorders but also to prevent them.
52. There are several problems in various parts of the
world which are dangerous to the cause of world peace.
53. Day after day in the Middle East there are reports of
incidents and tensions indicating that the cease-fire is no
longer being observed by either side. On 22 November 1967
the Security Council unanimously adopted resolution
242 (1967), which provides a reasonable basis for a
settlement. It appears that the explosive situation has been
complicated by a web of tangled interests, the adjustment
of which calls for extraordinary selfless efforts. Great
expectations and hopes have rested on the initiatives of the
big-four meetings started earlier this year. If a catastrophe is
to be avoided, keener attention should be focused on the
dangers this problem engenders and we hope that the big
four and the parties involved will discharge the heavy
responsibility which a peaceful settlement binding on both
sides involves. In any case all of us should use our best
efforts to assist in bringing peace to that area.
54. Then too there is the problem of divided countries:
Viet-Nam, Korea and Germany. In Viet-Nam, the Paris talks
have not yet brought the result for which the world had
hoped. In Korea and Germany tension seems to fluctuate.
I think we should accept the fact that a particular kind of
government or ideology should not be imposed on a people,
since that will not provide the security which seems to be
the basis for peace. The will of the people should be
allowed to be exercised in a situation free from the threat
of force and when exercised it should be respected by all.
55. The tragic civil war in Nigeria continues, but the
Organization of African Unity is making every effort to
bring about a peaceful settlement through negotiations.
56. The General Assembly, during its fifteenth session, in
resolution 1514 (XV) declared, inter alia, that all peoples
under alien subjugation have a right to self-determination
and that, in Trust and Non-Self-Governing Territories or all
other Territories which have not attained independence, all
powers must be transferred to the peoples of those
Territories without any conditions or reservations or
pretexts, in accordance with their freely expressed will and
desire.
57. Unfortunately and regrettably, those aims have not
been fully implemented. My delegation finds itself utterly
bewildered by the continued dominance of colonial Powers
in the dependent Territories in the face of such unambiguous
principles universally accepted. The popular aspirations
of peoples in some areas are being systematically denied.
Some colonial Powers show no respect for the principles of
the Charter and the principles enunciated by the Organization
and ignore the expressed will of all its Members as
embodied in the resolutions of the Assembly. When that
happens, the image of the United Nations is impaired, its
prestige drops, and support among the world’s peoples
dwindles. More importantly, since a people determined to
enjoy the benefits of freedom cannot be prevented from
doing so eventually even under the worst forms of
oppression, violence is inevitably produced, resulting in
conflicts which constitute threats to international peace—threats
which might evaporate if positive action were taken
to accord the peoples of dependent Territories the right to
determine their own destiny.
58. Perhaps one of the oldest problems with which this
Organization has had to grapple since its creation has been
the problem in southern Africa. Coextensive with the
problem itself has been the acerbity with which the
Government of South Africa has deliberately and openly
ignored the principles of the United Nations. Within its own
borders, the attitude of South Africa is very disturbing.
That Government, by its adherence to the invidious policy
of apartheid, baseless in fact and morally monstrous, has
violated the laws of humanity and the resolutions of this
Organization. By its abominable racial policy designed
systematically to deny the majority of the population basic
and fundamental rights, the South African Government lays
the snare for racial conflict.
59. The effects of this problem, one of the most difficult
with which this Organization has had to contend, continue
to cast an ominous shadow over the efforts of the United
Nations; and it seems that the success or failure of these
efforts may in the end turn upon whether the black African
population in South Africa can survive its ordeal and upon
whether we shall accept the ultimate power and value of
the Organization to be measured by the whims of the South
African Government.
60. However, as if this aberration were not enough, the
South African Government is applying this obnoxious
policy to Namibia, a Mandated Territory, which is now a
United Nations responsibility as a result of the revocation
of the Mandate. Yet the fate of Namibia hangs in the
balance, the Namibians themselves being helpless against
the political formula with which they are subjugated by
South Africa, The repudiation by South Africa of the
United Nations Commission for Namibia and the illegal
condemnation of Namibian freedom fighters, at almost
regular intervals, in order to establish sovereignty in
Namibia amount to an obsession on the part of the South
African Government. These pernicious practices, haphazard
as they may be in origin, and even devoid of legality,
undermine the United Nations, which the majority of the
peoples of the world regard as the only hope for a new
world order where man’s inhumanity to man will cease and
true brotherhood prevail. The persistent disregard by the
South African Government for the principles and ideals of
the United Nations is incongruous and in fact incompatible
with its membership of the Organization. This fact,
unpleasant though it may be to some, must be squarely
faced by us.
61. A main objective of the United Nations is to maintain
international peace and security. While much of this
responsibility rests with the collective and concerted
determination of the membership of the Organization,
individual Members are no less responsible for refraining
from indulging in acts blatantly designed to challenge the
United Nations. There are extensive records on the question
of South Africa’s questionable attitude in this respect.
Admittedly, such records, considered within the framework
of the Organization and its activities, are of partial
importance when they relate to the disappointing attitude
of only a single Member, but they are nevertheless
fundamental.
62. Accordingly, it is indeed unfortunate that the Organization
has been unable, in spite of the expressions of
condemnation so frequently voiced here, to take actions
required to reverse the trend established by South Africa in
Namibia. We cannot expect to construct world order and
peace in the face of such undesirable behaviour.
63. Recent radical developments in the Rhodesian situation
emphasize contradictions that seem to complicate the
situation and test the ability of this Organization to deal
with such problems. It appears that the price the United
Nations has had to pay in respect of the continued power
of the illegal Ian Smith régime and its declaration of a
lawless political parturition is indeed a painful one. The
Smith régime should not be allowed to enforce its
rebellious will arbitrarily upon the innocent people of
Zimbabwe.
64. In spite of General Assembly resolution 2379 (XXIII)
of 25 October 1968, calling on the Government of the
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland not
to grant independence to Southern Rhodesia unless that
independence was preceded by the establishment of a
government based on free elections by universal adult
suffrage and majority rule, the Southern Rhodesian rebels
have been permitted to set up an illegal republic. This
mockery of law and justice is something concrete which
calls for proper action by the United Kingdom. Its
negligence or refusal to give effect to the decisions of this
Assembly is indeed regrettable, to say the least. On the
other hand, the so-called referendum staged by the illegal
régime by which it claims majority support for declaring
itself a republic, has probably interjected into the illegal
process the fear of displeasure or the hope of favour in
respect of those who could have made their will felt in an
act which not only corrupted the event but also compounded
the illegal acts of the rebels. It is difficult for the
United Kingdom to excuse itself of responsibility for the
consequences of the acts of the Smith régime. It indeed
appears to be an anomaly to regard the one-time apparently
pitilessly and consistently democratic Kingdom of Great
Britain sitting by and permitting a flouting of its political
system by a handful of rebels. The history of that major
country is irreconcilable and curiously contrasted with its
tentative and at times almost apologetic approaches to the
Rhodesian problem.
65. Ian Smith seems successfully to have disregarded even
the decisions of the Security Council. That has been made
possible because of the acts of some big Powers designed to
beguile this Organization and also because of South Africa
and Portugal, which have not abided by the decisions of the
Security Council concerning sanctions. If this Organization
is to perpetuate itself effectively, there appears to be a
desperate need for some of its Members to re-evaluate their
attitudes and responsibilities regarding the United Nations,
its purposes and its expectations.
66. The result of the perennial adjuration to the Portuguese
Government to revise its attitude and observe the
resolution calling for the granting to the inhabitants of its
Territories the right to self-determination is frustration.
Repression and oppression constitute the mark of that
Government in its dependent Territories. Contempt alone
has been its reaction to international public opinion and the
commands of this Organization.
67. Let me recall a warning in my statement to the
twenty-third session of the General Assembly:
“...it is in Portugal’s own interest to formulate new
policies which will enable the peoples in the territories
under its domination to make a free choice of the future
direction they desire to pursue. It will sooner or later be
forced to do this, even if it refuses now, by historical
events which it cannot control“ [1698th meeting, para, 59].
68. In the Lusaka Manifesto on Southern Africa adopted
by the Fifth Summit Conference of East and Central
African States on 16 April 1969, it was asserted that the
world has a responsibility to take action against South
Africa in defence of humanity. That Manifesto was adopted
at the sixth session of the Assembly of Heads of State and
Government of the Organization of African Unity. But
expediency seems to be dictating the diffident, timid and
faint-hearted policy of the permanent members of the
Security Council.
69. It is certainly not an exaggeration to say that the
Organization has not been able to get hold of the whole,
problem of southern Africa. The world reserves of capacity
to control the atrocious suppression of human rights in
African Territories under Portuguese domination, Rhodesia,
Namibia and South Africa are considerable. The failure to
exert appropriate pressures on the authorities there have
resulted from the imbalance of often conflicting interests,
confused aspirations and misdirected tendencies. Perhaps it
is precisely in that direction that the Organization will have
to turn in order to be able to ensure the effectiveness of its
majority decisions. It is necessary that Members rededicate
themselves to giving their complete and unqualified support
to its work, to assuring unequivocal and earnest implementation
of its decisions, and to evidencing a positive reaction
that the Organization must concentrate if it is to meet the
demands of the community of nations.
70. This growing need for general progress in the work of
the Organization also applies to the work of the Conference
of the Committee on Disarmament. Disarmament is one of
the crucial issues in the world. Yet there has been no real
progress towards disarmament and I wonder whether we are
not backsliding. Armaments are increasing and chemical
and bacteriological weapons are being added to the mounting stocks.
71. We must be aware that we must earnestly seek
solutions to the many problems which create tensions,
especially since they are causes for armament. We must
remove apprehensions and suspicions and create conditions
of mutual respect and mutual confidence so as to maintain
international peace and security. Regrettably, expectations
have been disappointed.
72. On the matter of disarmament my delegation desires
to endorse the proposal of the Secretary-General in the
introduction to his annual report for a Disarmament
Decade in the 1970s [A/7601/Add.1, paras. 40-43].
73. The Committee organized on the initiative of the
former Foreign Minister of the Republic of Ireland [resolution
2006 (XIX)] has not yet been successful in recommending
an acceptable formula for the proper financing of
peace-keeping operations. That is indeed regrettable
because peace-keeping is an important function of our
Organization and should not be dependent on ad hoc
financing solutions.
74. A similar disappointment applies to the question of
the sea-bed, the ocean floor and the subsoil thereof beyond
the limits of national jurisdiction. Realizing the importance
of securing peace in that unexplored area of the globe, the
General Assembly appointed a special committee to study
the elaboration of legal principles and norms which would
promote co-operation in the area. A satisfactory result has
not yet been reached in that field.
75. Scientific and technological advancements are well
ahead of provisions to avoid and prevent in the area threats
to, or violations of, international peace and security. The
hope had not been spared for positive recommendations to
the Assembly by the special committee. During the meeting
of the Committee, the Liberian representative stressed the
urgent need to provide for a régime to regulate activities in
the area in order to avoid possible conflicts, but he
observed the over-cautious attitude assumed by some
members.
76. While it would be a mistake to assume that technological
changes, even when revolutionary, inevitably presuppose
new legal adaptations, in the last century they created
a wholly new social structure out of which new relations
became imperative — just as in the realm of outer space
today, technological progress has demanded the creation of
new relations. Knowledge of the sea-bed, unlike knowledge
of outer space, is more easily accessible on account of the
sea-bed’s proximity, and therefore the situation is more
likely to produce friction if preventive measures are not
urgently provided.
77. I submit that the solution of this problem is not as
easy as it may seem, and I agree that at the moment the
outlook is not promising. It is worth emphasizing that we
shall not succeed by any attempt to put new wine in old
barrels. The solution will have to be new and ingeniously
devised to accommodate all the interests of mankind as a
whole, relating to the entire marine environment.
78. The economic situation in the world is bleak and
disheartening. The First United Nations Development
Decade has been a failure. On the pronouncement by the
Assembly of the Second United Nations Development
Decade [see resolution 2411 (XXIII)], pursuant to a
recommendation by the Trade and Development Board,
common hopes and common aspirations were high. Accordingly,
the Group of Seventy-Seven convened a meeting of
the Inter-Governmental Group of UNCTAD early this
year, but the results were frustrating on account of the
new, noticeable trend of the developed countries to reduce
aid to developing countries. Such an attitude creates an
extremely delicate situation. We were flooded with concepts
such as “normalization and expansion of trade”,
“overlapping activities” and “economic independence” as
though they had some definite content in a vacuum. Such
generalities, however well meant, will not serve. Here lies
the substance of the failure, the disappointment and, of
course, the fear of the developing nations.
79. In recent years the part played by the developed
countries has been recognized as important, if not indispensable,
in world economic reconstruction, and it must not be
allowed to drift away. An important element in this
exercise is that the flow of assistance is a two-way carriage
system; it provides advantages not only at its destination
but also at its source and, measured over a long period of
time, suitable recommendations must be devised for its
continuance and improvement.
80. I am convinced that general economic improvement
and stability are necessary to ensure international peace and
security. The basis of that conviction lies in the fact that
today the world of nations seems to be characterized by an
unnatural and systematic economic disparity. I have always
believed in the adage that no chain is stronger than its
weakest link. The duty of the strong is, accordingly, clear
and inevitable and, if performed, will be a basis for world
stability.
81. The future of all endeavours in this field will depend
in great measure upon the willingness of the economically
strong to succour the weak, at least to a position of
strength. If later generations of the developing nations are
to acquire their deserved place among the developed
nations of the world, an increasing number of States, both
at the centre and at the periphery, must accept the
challenge and the responsibility to struggle together to
attain that goal.
82. In conclusion, our world needs peace in our time.
Technology and science continue to influence rapid change
and progress. Our task is formidable. Change and progress
must be channelled in a manner to ensure that man’s
condition is bettered, his welfare protected and his general
interest sought. At this session, the first after a major
conquest in the celestial sphere, it is the hope of my
delegation that our attention will be focused on this task
and that some decisions will place us on the long but sure
road to peace.