131. On behalf
of the delegation of the Libyan Arab Republic to the
twenty-fourth session of the General Assembly, I have great
pleasure in extending to the President our warmest congratulations
on her election to preside over this Assembly.
Her election is a recognition of her great competence and
vast experience and illustrates the high esteem and admiration
in which the world community holds her country.
As Africans, we are proud to see a daughter of the African
continent attain a position of such responsibility. This is a
manifestation of the emancipation of the African woman,
as well as a recognition of the active role of women in
today’s international community. Having known her well,
and having worked closely with her in a spirit of true
co-operation, we are certain that she will conduct the
deliberations of this session objectively and successfully.
132. At this point I cannot but recall with deep regret the
passing of the President of the twenty-third session of the
General Assembly, the late Mr. Emilio Arenales. We wish to
pay posthumous tribute to his valuable service to the world
community and to his efficient conduct of the Assembly’s
deliberations. We also wish to convey our condolences to
the delegation of the Republic of Guatemala for the
grievous loss they have suffered.
133. I should also like to take this opportunity of
addressing the Assembly to convey the profound esteem of
the Libyan Arab Republic for His Excellency U Thant. We
deeply appreciate his sincere and indefatigable efforts in the
service of, this Organization and his constant endeavours to
uphold its principles and Charter. We wish him all success in
this formidable task and pledge him our full support.
134. It is an honour for me to lead this first delegation of
the Libyan Arab Republic, which came into being as a
result of the revolt of the Libyan people and the Libyan
Army against the evils of domestic corruption. When the
Libyan Army, led by the Revolutionary Command Council,
took action on 1 September 1969, it was merely responding
to the wishes of the Libyan people who cherish the human
values of freedom and progress, and who seek the attainment
of dignity and social justice.
135. Our revolution is an attempt to end the past lassitude
in dealing with the various social and economic problems
confronting the Libyan homeland. Our revolution seeks to
enable the Libyan people to participate effectively in
meeting the challenges facing the Arab individual and the
Arab nation. It anticipates their taking part in the battle
waged by our Arab nation against under-development,
imperialism and foreign aggression, and their contribution
to the solution of the massive problems confronting all
mankind. Both our people and our revolution firmly
uphold the human values proclaimed by the United Nations
and laid down in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
136. When the Libyan Army began the revolution of
1 September 1969, the hopes of our people finally found
concrete expression. It is the Libyan people who have
suffered under the yoke of imperialism and foreign
intervention, and it is they who were victimized by a corrupt
and reactionary regime. For many years freedoms were
suppressed and attempts were made to destroy the identity
of our people, whose energies were wasted. The Libyan
people were denied the participatory role consistent with
their deeply rooted Arab character and Islamic tradition,
and in keeping with their long history of struggle against
the forces of evil, tyranny and aggression.
137. An era of great hope has arisen from this rAdical
change, and the potential of the Libyan people has been
directed towards constructive and valuable achievement.
The take-over was the first landmark in a strenuous but
necessary campaign to mobilize the resources of the Libyan
people, strengthen their internal structure and unify their
ranks. This mobilization is a prerequisite for their participation
in the great struggle for progress, freedom and unity,
currently being waged by our embattled Arab nation in
each and every part of our larger Arab homeland. Libya,
needless to say, considers itself an integral part of this
homeland and an entity which can grow and flourish, only
within its fold. Libyans have always cherished their
Arabism and believed in the oneness of the Arab homeland
and the Arab nation. The Arab people of Libya have thus
marched with the times and moved to assume their place in
this decisive stage in the history of the Arab nation.
138. Our revolution seeks to restore to the Libyan people
its true identity, release their creative energies and open the
way for a more positive awareness of international issues
and the problems of modern man. The Libyan people are
thus already in a position to identify themselves more
closely with the struggle of oppressed people to eradicate
the last vestiges of exploitation, slavery and colonialism.
The new Libya, which has chosen socialism as the path to
social justice, will provide added strength to the camp of
peace and strengthen progressive forces in their decisive
battle against reaction and imperialism.
139. I wish to stress that the Libyan Arab Republic firmly
upholds the purposes and principles of the Charter of the
United Nations, and that it bases its foreign policy on the
tenets of non-alignment, of mutual respect between members
of the world community and non-interference in the
domestic affairs of other States. It sincerely desires to win
the friendship of all peace-loving nations and to work for
the consolidation of world peace and international understanding,
in conformity with the purposes and principles of
this Organization. The Libyan Arab Republic is also
determined to honour its international obligations and fulfil
its undertakings, especially within the context of the
regional organizations of which Libya is a member, such as
the League of Arab States and the Organization of African Unity.
140. Because we believe in the necessity of consolidating
Libyan sovereignty and in ridding our country of the
unwholesome vestiges of the past, and because we concur
with the desires of the Libyan people to be freed from the
traces of foreign presence and foreign bases, the Revolutionary
Government of the Libyan Arab Republic has
proclaimed its intention not to renew the agreements and
treaties relating to the presence of foreign bases in our
country. The removal of such bases, imposed on us under
particularly historic circumstances, will also contribute to
the reduction of world tension.
141. At a time when the United Nations is approaching its
twenty-fifth anniversary, we are grieved to find that the
international situation is deteriorating throughout the
world. We witness the continuation of violence and
repeated resort to force, whether to settle international
differences, to attain expansionist goals, or to impose the
will of the strong on the weak. We witness the persistent
use of colonialist methods and the continuation of the
colonialist mentality. We see the arms race reaching new
heights, whether in the fields of nuclear, biological,
chemical or conventional weapons. Poor nations grow
poorer while rich nations accumulate new wealth; the gap is
widening and seriously hinders common action and co-operation
at the international level.
142. After the horrors and devastation of two world wars
in which millions of lives were sacrificed, the United
Nations was formed to strengthen world peace and security,
to lay the foundations of international co-operation and to
liberate humanity from fear and want. Many of its goals in
the social, cultural and economic fields have been realized.
To our consternation, however, it has been rendered
incapable of fulfilling its basic task of maintaining peace
and security in all those instances where the major Powers
decline to co-operate, as is the case in Viet-Nam and the Middle East.
143. In Viet-Nam, a small but brave people continues to
wage a heroic struggle against a mighty Power whose
military resources and strength are entirely out of proportion
to their own. At this juncture, when the Paris talks are
proceeding, we can only express our earnest hope that the
heroic Viet-Namese people will achieve its goal of self-
determination and the withdrawal of foreign troops. It is
our sincere wish that peace be restored there after a quarter
of a century of warfare and enormous sacrifices.
144. Peace is the most cherished goal of all peoples,
irrespective of colour or race. But peace comes only when it
is based on justice and equity and when the principles of
the Charter of the United Nations are respected. How, may
I ask, can there be any possibility of peace in the Middle
Fast unless such a peace is based on justice? Can the
expulsion of a whole people from their land to make room
for aliens be called justice? Let us ask ourselves, how can
we expect such people to reconcile themselves to spending
their entire lives homeless, in tents, on international
charity? Should they sit impassively and watch strangers
occupy their homes, exploit their lands and reap the fruits
of their fields? Is it possible that in an age when
self-determination is constantly upheld, confirmed and
reiterated by the General Assembly, when self-determination
is proudly considered one of the greatest achievements
of our era, that the people of Palestine should be denied
that right?
145. Nor can anyone maintain that the interests of peace
and justice can be served by the continued Israeli occupation
of Arab territories in Syria, the United Arab Republic
and Jordan. Neither will peace and justice be served by
Israel’s insistence on the retention of whatever land it
covets, in the face of overwhelming opposition by the
majority of Member States against forceful territorial
acquisition and expansion, an opposition which has been
Stated repeatedly before this Assembly and which reflects
one of the basic principles of the United Nations. Israel,
none the less, refuses to withdraw from lands forcefully and
aggressively acquired and demands instead direct negotiations
and secure boundaries. At the same time, we are
bound to remember that Israeli officials have invariably
declared their resolve to retain Jerusalem, the Golan
Heights, the Gaza Strip, Sharm El-Sheik and other sectors
of Sinai, and to effect other border modifications as well.
Some Israeli officials have demanded the establishment of
Israeli military posts along the bank of the Jordan. Still
others demand that all Arab territory seized by the Israeli
forces in the June 1967 war be retained in realization of
their dreams of a greater Israel.
146. More than two years have elapsed since Israel waged
its treacherous and aggressive war on neighbouring Arab
countries. As if this were not sufficient, Israel persists in
aggressive and racist policies, each day providing further
proof of its expansionist designs. The Arabs, aware of such
designs long before the June 1967 aggression, repeatedly
drew the attention of the world community to their
gravity. Today, we have only to cite Israel’s refusal to
implement the resolutions relating to Jerusalem as
incontestable evidence of Israel’s contempt for this Organization
and its defiance of world opinion. In lieu of implementing
the resolutions of the General Assembly and the Security
Council, Israel proceeds with the frightful demolition of
peaceful civilians’ homes, the deportation of Arab citizens
and the seizure of their property. This flagrant denial and
constant violation of fundamental human rights, this
expulsion of individuals and groups, and this establishment
of alien settlements in the midst of occupied Arab
territories, contravenes the Geneva Conventions of 1949
and shames the human conscience.
147. The Security Council resolutions on Jerusalem have
explicitly called upon Israel to desist from taking any
action which would change the status of Jerusalem and to
rescind all measures taken to that effect. However, in
flagrant defiance of these resolutions and of world opinion,
Israel is carrying out measures for the Zionization of the
city and the expulsion of its Arab inhabitants. The most
recent illustration of Israel’s contempt for all human and
spiritual values was the heinous crime of last August when
the Al Aqsa Mosque, one of Islam’s most sacred shrines,
was set on fire. This nefarious crime represents an attempt
to set back the clock of history by man’s return to the dark
ages of bigotry at a time when the United Nations and the
international community are seeking to eradicate all forms
of religious and racial prejudice, and to nurture the spirit of
tolerance and brotherhood among people.
148. The situation in the Middle East, as the Assembly is
well aware, is deteriorating rapidly and moving fast towards
a new explosion. In the introduction to his annual report
the Secretary-General states:
”...failing some early progress towards a settlement,
there is a very real danger that this great and historic
region, the cradle of civilization and of three world
religions, will recede steadily into a new dark age of
violence, disruption and destruction...” [A/7601/Add 1, para. 71].
149. The responsibility for this situation lies squarely
upon Israel and its supporters. We need not recall once
more that Security Council resolution 242 (1967) of 22
November 1967, which calls for the withdrawal of the
Israeli troops from the territories occupied by Israel as a
result of its treacherous aggression of 5 June 1967, has
provided a formula for the peaceful solution of the Middle
East problem. Yet Israel has persistently refused to accept
and implement that resolution. Israel has hampered all the
efforts of the United Nations and the major Powers towards
achieving a peaceful solution in accordance with the
Security Council’s resolution, and it has done so in the
hope of successfully dictating its terms and thereby
achieving its expansionist ambitions, which not only
threaten peace in the area but endanger the security of the
whole world.
150. At a time when Israel makes no secret of its
opposition to the endeavours of the great Powers and of the
United Nations, when it refuses to implement Security
Council resolution 242 (1967), when its jets mercilessly
attack Arab civilians and refugees with napalm, when its
officials call for the total or partial annexation of occupied
Arab lands and categorically refuse to recognize the
legitimate rights of the Arabs of Palestine—at such a time
the United States supports Israel. In spite of United States
professions of interest in the establishment of peace in the
area, the United States provides Israel with destructive
weapons and Phantom and Skyhawk planes, which cannot
but help Israel persist in its defiance of the world
community, and pursue its constant threat to the Arab
countries, dictating terms which express its expansionist
ambitions. This policy, based solely on violence and
aggression, which arms a State, can only obstruct peace in
the Middle East, further aggravate the situation and
jeopardize world peace and security.
151. The uprooted and dispossessed Palestinian people
constitute the heart of the problem in the Middle East.
They have suffered hardships for over 20 years, and their
very existence was only recently denied by the Prime
Minister of Israel. Their long plight was further aggravated
by Israel’s aggression of 5 June 1967, whereby more
Palestinians were expelled and additional Palestinian property
was seized. The Palestinians have waited for over two
decades for justice from the United Nations, but the failure
of the international community to grasp the enormity of
what happened in this area, let alone the magnitude of their
suffering, has forcefully persuaded the Palestinian people
that they must rise in arms to regain what is legitimately
theirs. Let us remember that the Palestinian fedayeem
whom some like to call terrorists, are in fact freedom
fighters and the legitimate owners of the land. Their cause
is, in fact; a just and plausible cause under international law
and bears comparison to various struggles waged by our
peoples against foreign occupation. We wish here to pay
tribute to the struggle of the Palestinian people and to hail
their heroism and great sacrifices in resisting the usurper.
We look forward to the attainment of their aspirations and
the realization of their legitimate right to self-determination.
152. As the United Nations prepares to celebrate the tenth
anniversary of the Declaration on the Granting of Independence
to Colonial Countries and Peoples, we note with
the deepest regret that the southern regions of Africa
remain unaffected by that historic resolution [1514 (XV)].
Millions of people who have associated their highest
aspirations with the United Nations have, in effect, been
abandoned to struggle for their most elementary rights
single-handed.
153. Nationalists in Angola, Mozambique and Guin
(Bissau) are confronted with a nineteenth-century mentality
which denies them freedom, dignity and self-determination.
The Government of Portugal deludes itself in
thinking that the nineteenth century can be indefinitely
prolonged, but its selfish deceptions are encouraged by
certain Powers which conveniently overlook the principles
of the United Nations because their immediate interests
converge with those of Portugal. We see, therefore, that the
privileges of the strong are sustained through the victimization
of millions of people whose only desire is to lead a
proud and decent existence.
154. However limited the measures adopted by the Security
Council have been, we see to our dismay that the
situation in Southern Rhodesia remains unaltered. Once
again, a European minority not only defies the world
community but does so at the terrible expense of four
million Africans whose right to self-determination is ignored.
Its protestations notwithstanding, the United Kingdom
Government has declined to render any effective intervention.
155. Farther south, the Government of South Africa
ignores United Nations resolutions on Namibia, a Territory
under the direct responsibility of the United Nations. It
refuses to withdraw its troops and will not allow United
Nations representatives to enter the Territory and discharge
their responsibilities. Furthermore, the policy of apartheid,
a policy abhorrent to the majority of mankind, is being
extended to that Territory, simultaneously with its solidification
within the Republic of South Africa proper. mi
156. It is safe to say that without the endorsement and
sustenance of certain interested Powers, these racist and
colonialist regimes in the south of Africa would not be
flouting our sensibilities today. Indeed, they might not have
survived.
157. A decade has elapsed since the Declaration on
decolonization was adopted. Declarations of intent become
a mockery unless brought to fruition. The time has come
for the United Nations to live up to its intentions and
exercise its responsibilities. The hopes attached to this
Organization by the weak and oppressed should not be
frustrated, moreover, the words we speak here and the
work we do here must not be in vain. The United Nations
must adopt the measures provided for in the Charter to put
an end to this anomalous situation in southern Africa.
158. The evolution of the United Nations has lagged
behind the rapid and unprecedented global changes which
have occurred in the past quarter of a century. The distance
separating this Organization from its greater environment
constitutes a weakness which, in great part, prevents the
elimination of unparalleled world tension. Moreover, fresh
and constructive approaches are necessary if we are to lay
the foundations for peace and security.
159. We must, therefore, review the foundations on which
this Organization is built. It is incumbent on the great
Powers to reconsider their policies towards this Organization.
For it is the great Powers, whose actions so deeply
affect mankind, which can transform this Organization into
an effective instrument for the peace, progress and welfare
of the world. This is not to absolve the small Powers of
their responsibilities. They, too, should contribute more to
the success of the United Nations. We see that an essential
requirement for the success of this Organization is the
realization of its universality.
160. Those policies are myopic in the extreme, which
assume that the United Nations can serve the cause of peace
and progress in the world while over 30 per cent of its
inhabitants are still outside its fold, either because they are
among the colonized peoples or because their nations are
still divided and, consequently, could not, under existing
circumstances of international conflict, join the international
family and contribute to its endeavours. It is
incredible that 700 million people in the People’s Republic
of China should be excluded from the United Nations. The
Government of the Libyan Arab Republic is convinced that
the interests of world peace not only require, but demand
the admission of the People’s Republic of China to this
Organization. It is a prerequisite to meaningful international
co-operation.
161. Preparations for the celebration of the twenty-fifth
anniversary of the United Nations, which coincides with the
tenth anniversary of the Declaration on the Granting of
Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples, are now
under way. We hope that these anniversaries will give real
cause for celebration. We earnestly desire that a new era for
mankind will unfold; in which colonialism is finally
liquidated, in which the United Nations will truly become
universal, and in which peoples now oppressed will determine
their own destinies. Finally, we hold out hope for a
world of peaceful co-operation, without which humanity
suffers unwarranted pain and wastes great energies.
162. In conclusion, I salute all the distinguished heads and
members of delegations to this session of the Assembly, and
express the readiness of the delegation of the Libyan Arab
Republic to co-operate fully in the deliberations of this
session which we hope will terminate successfully.