29. Madam President, it is a matter of particular satisfaction to
my delegation that our deliberations are being presided over
today by a woman of such outstanding merits and one who,
at the same time, represents Africa, whose new States have
contributed so much to the present shape of this Organization.
On behalf of the Argentine Government, and personally,
I wish first of all to congratulate you on your
election to the highest office in the General Assembly. We
are confident that you will carry out this difficult task
successfully, for we are aware of your background and your
vast experience of the United Nations.
30. I wish also to pay a tribute to the memory of
Dr. Emilio Arenales Catalan, a Latin American who, while
still young, had attained the highest posts both in his own
country and on the international stage, and who presided
over the work of General Assembly at its last session with
so much tact and impartiality. His premature death has
deprived the international community of one of its most
outstanding figures.
31. The Argentine Republic wishes once again to reaffirm
its deep faith in the principles which are enshrined in the
Charter of the United Nations, The sovereign equality of
States, the self-determination of peoples, the peaceful
settlement of international disputes, respect for human
rights and fundamental freedoms without racial, religious or
any other form of distinction, respect for the territorial
integrity of States, non-intervention and international
co-operation constitute the basic rules of an international
order designed to ensure peace among nations. My own
country bases its international conduct on these principles,
for it believes that unqualified observance of them by all
Members of this Organization is the sole guarantee for
lasting peace and international harmony.
32. The United Nations has played a key role in preventing,
thus far, the outbreak of a generalized war. The process of
decolonization — an achievement of the Organization — which
has given to the quarter-century following the Second World
War one of its most outstanding features,
has been carried out in accordance with the Charter and
with the determined co-operation of the majority of
Member States. I feel it my duty to stress the constant
support given to this process by the Latin American
countries.
33. The programmes of technical and educational assistance,
the studies sponsored by the Organization and the
international co-operation which it promotes through an
extensive system of specialized agencies are also achievements
which justify the faith placed in the United Nations
by countries, such as my own, whose will to co-operate in
the common task remains intact. However, the world
situation this year does not seem any more encouraging
than it was at the previous session. In the introduction to
his annual report on the work of the Organization, the
Secretary-General paints an alarming picture, and opens
with a sentence which sums up the gravity of the present
moment: “During the past twelve months, the deterioration
of the international situation, which I noted in the
introduction to the annual report last year, has continued.”
[A/7601/Add.1, para. 1.]
34. Argentina is following with deep concern the deterioration
of the situation in the Near East, where present
tensions could at any moment unleash a war with major
and irreparable consequences. This disturbing situation,
with its successive crises, affects the authority of the United
Nations and, in particular, of the Security Council.
35. We are aware of the complexity of the problem; we
know what legacies of the past and passions of the present
are constantly weighing upon the populations concerned
and their leaders. We are, however, convinced that nothing
can be gained unless the facts are faced; we are absolutely
convinced that only a true act of political will can open up
prospects of peace for the Middle East, and this act must be
strict compliance with Security Council resolution
242 (1967) of 22 November 1967. Argentina, then a
member of the Security Council, worked with zeal and
hope, first to achieve a cease-fire and then in the drafting of
a resolution that might make it possible to eliminate the
real and deep-seated causes that had led to the conflict.
36. The situation in Viet-Nam, where the glimmerings of
peace have been extinguished by the recrudescence of the
struggle, shows no signs of improvement either. The Paris
talks go on without apparent progress of prospects of
change. Yet we must emphasize that the measures recently
adopted by the Government of the United States increase
our hopes that the atmosphere of negotiation can be
improved, and that seems to be the only possible way of
solving this tragic conflict.
37. Although the problems I have mentioned are allegedly
localized, they are involving powers from outside the region
and are endangering the security of all States.
38. In Latin America we witnessed very recently the
development of a situation which brought two neighbouring
countries into confrontation. Fortunately, as happens in
our region, which has always been noted for the exemplary
way in which it has been able to settle disputes, the rule of
law and the spirit of the inter-American agreements drawn
up in OAS ultimately prevailed.
39. Through the frank and determined co-operation of the
Governments concerned, peace and harmony were restored,
although economic problems still remain which not only
affect the countries directly involved in the dispute, but,
because of their nature and extent, also concern and affect
Latin America as a whole. We shall have to spend some time
on these problems because of their implications for our
people and for the world. We trust that what has been
achieved so far in dealing with this dispute will provide the
basis for a final settlement. However, we are aware that if
this problem is to be completely solved, methods of
improving the economic situation of these countries must
be devised.
40. I should like to sound another note of hope in my
review of international affairs. The untiring efforts of His
Holiness Pope Paul VI for peace, his dramatic and fervent
championing of the equality of men — the essence of
Christianity — and his condemnation of discrimination and
prejudice on account of differences in race, belief and
wealth, give invaluable support to the Organization’s
efforts.
41. Of the Supreme Pontiff’s many activities, I must stress
the importance of his historic visit to Africa. In that
continent the Holy Father’s message met with a wide
response and symbolically affirmed the universal brotherhood
of man. But we deplore the fact that in part of that
same continent a pitiless struggle still rages which has
claimed thousands of victims through military action or
hunger. My Government fervently hopes that wisdom will
prevail in this conflict between brothers and will bring
about the peace and progress the continent deserves.
42. Unsettled regional disputes, ideological strife and
frustration all give rise to acts which affect the entire
international community. We observe with increasing
anxiety the commission of acts which threaten the safety of
air transport and gravely compromise world public order.
I refer to the frequent hijacking of aircraft by violent means
and to other forms of illegal interference with international
civil aviation.
43. Argentina was a sponsor of a proposal in the International
Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), which culminated
in a weaker resolution than it had in mind. That
recommendation and the provisions of the Tokyo Convention,
which will come into force on 4 December this year,
are the only instruments available for combating what has
come to be known as “air piracy”. For this reason, my
delegation will support any proposal for a study of this
problem that may be put before the General Assembly.
44. Argentina accepted the invitation to become a
member of the enlarged Committee on Disarmament with
the firm intention of collaborating in the search for
substantive agreements on one of the gravest problems of
our time. I wish to take this opportunity of expressing our
thanks to His Excellency the Foreign Minister of Brazil for
his remarks regarding our admission to that Committee. We
hope to continue to work as closely with his country there
as is the tradition in all international bodies of which Brazil
and Argentina are members.
45. It is no exaggeration to say that the Committee has
before it, in the form of the technical reports and studies
already prepared, alarming evidence of the destructive
capacity man has created. Since the scientific and technological
progress cannot be checked and since the adoption
of real disarmament measures has not yet begun, it is not
difficult to see that this severe reality will worsen in the
near future with the development of new and still more
powerful weapons and means of destruction.
46. In this connexion, it is only necessary to read the
Secretary-General’s report on chemical and bacteriological
weapons to appreciate how terrifying the prospects are.
My country repudiates the use of such weapons in any
circumstances whatsoever.
47. The Committee is, therefore, faced with two equally
urgent problems: one is to slow down the arms race and
prevent the appearance of complex arms systems which can
only make the “balance of terror“ more precarious, and the
other is the pressing need to go beyond such “non-armament”
measures and to promote really meaningful agreements
with a view to securing substantial and general
arms reductions.
48. My Government welcomes the efforts so far made by
the Committee on Disarmament, but of course realizes that
the progress made has been on collateral matters which
have only an indirect bearing on this basic issue. We must
not lose sight of the fact that the Committee’s goal is
general and complete disarmament under strict international
control. The recent increase in its membership will
undoubtedly give a new impetus to the search for suitable
ways of achieving that objective.
49. During the last two years, the General Assembly has
been dealing with the question of the sea-bed and the ocean
floor beyond the limits of national jurisdiction. My country
attaches particular importance to this subject and intends
to continue participating in the work of the competent
bodies in order to contribute to the establishment of an
international régime which, while duly respecting the
legitimate rights of the coastal States, will ensure a rapid
expansion of scientific research in the areas outside national
jurisdiction, the use of those areas for exclusively peaceful
purposes and the exploitation of their resources for the
benefit of mankind as a whole, bearing in mind particularly
the needs of the developing countries.
50. I have already spoken of the Organization’s work in
the field of decolonization. Although it was on the African
continent that its most resounding successes were achieved,
it is also on that same continent that it is now being
threatened with its greatest failures. The case of Namibia
not only attests to the persistence of an intolerable colonial
situation, but is also a threat to the authority of the whole
Organization. I do not need to list the resolutions subsequent
to General Assembly resolution 2145 (XXI) which
have gone unheeded. The latest development is that the
resolution adopted this year by the Security Council
[resolution 264 (1969)] seems also to have fallen on deaf
ears. My country contends that the resolutions of the
Security Council cannot be disregarded by signatories to
the Charter.
51. The situation in Southern Rhodesia has been aggravated
by the adoption by the illegal régime of a constitution
based on the principle of racial inequality. I wish,
incidentally, to reiterate our categorical condemnation of
all forms of racial discrimination, which we regard as a
retrogressive manifestation without whose elimination no
attempt at peaceful international coexistence can succeed.
52. Since 1966 my country has strictly implemented the
sanctions imposed on Rhodesia by Security Council resolutions
232 (1966) and 254 (1968). We realize that the effect
of the sanctions which have been applied has not been as
rapid as could have been wished, but we are confident of
their final success and consequently welcome the activities
of the Committee set up under Security Council resolution
253 (1968).
53. In this case — and this has been reiterated in a number
of resolutions of the General Assembly and the Security
Council — we consider that the responsibility for resolving
the colonial situation rests first and foremost with the
administering Power. Year after year, we have expressed
our concern, and do so again, at the lack of change in the
decolonization process in Angola, Mozambique and so-called
Portuguese Guinea.
54. Almost ten years after the adoption of the Declaration
on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and
Peoples [resolution 1514 (XV)], we reaffirm our conviction
that the process of decolonization must be fully and
inexorably implemented. It is for this reason that my
country is following the work of the Special Committee of
Twenty-Four very closely and is giving this Committee its
firm support.
55. In the introduction to his annual report, the
Secretary-General refers to colonial problems involving
conflicting claims to sovereignty. He states:
“Here, too, the United Nations can play an important
role in helping to achieve the objectives laid down in the
Declaration, but only if it receives the full co-operation of
the Governments concerned.” [A/7601/Add.1, para.172.]
56. In the three cases of this kind which have been
discussed in the United, Nations, the questions of the Islas
Malvinas, Gibraltar and Belize, there are two similarities:
the administering Power is the same, and the other States
involved have expressed their willingness to negotiate.
Although the approach to negotiation has differed in each
case, we regret to say that in none does a final solution
seem very close.
57. Every year from this rostrum my country repeats that
it is a primary objective of its foreign policy to ensure the
full exercise of its sovereignty over the Islas Malvinas, a
sovereignty based on legitimate rights with which this
Assembly is fully familiar.
58. Operative paragraph 6 of General Assembly resolution
1514 (XV) reaffirms the principle of territorial integrity.
Argentina has advocated, and will continue to advocate, full
compliance with that principle.
59. We repeat what we have already said many times
before, namely, that if we treat our dispute strictly in
accordance with the terms of resolution 2065 (XX) and if
the United Kingdom agrees to consider this question
without prejudice, taking full account of the material
conditions prevailing in the Islas Malvinas, it will be easy to
find a definitive solution which will also satisfy the
population of the islands and safeguard their interests. As
the Assembly is aware, my country has continued the
negotiations which were initiated with the United Kingdom
following the General Assembly’s adoption of resolution
2065 (XX) concerning the question of the Islas Malvinas,
and it hopes to be able to report to the Assembly on the
progress of these negotiations during the present session.
60. One of the characteristics of our time is the sincere
desire of men and peoples to reach a social and economic
level which would fully meet their needs and open up new
prospects of material and cultural progress, free of individual
restrictions or privileges.
61. It is well known that the last few decades have seen a
rapid widening of the gap between the advanced and the
less developed countries. Despite the impressive scientific
and technical progress which we have witnessed during
these years, it can be established that two thirds of the
human race have remained untouched by its benefits and
are struggling with illiteracy, hunger and disease. It is one of
the moral and social obligations of our time to rectify this
deficiency by legal and economic measures leading to a
better distribution of the fruits of technical civilization
among individuals and peoples.
62. Argentina is gratified that the United Nations, through
some of its organs and specialized agencies, has already
considered this problem of the transfer of scientific and
technical knowledge from the more advanced to the less
advanced countries. As we are well aware of the vital
importance of this development for harmonious economic
and social growth, we have established bodies at the
national level to co-ordinate all activities in science and
technology, administration and policy-making being
centralized in the recently established National Council for
Science and Technology.
63. Despite the efforts being made both nationally and
internationally to close the gap which technological progress
has created between the highly developed and the
developing countries, we must emphasize, as before, that no
positive results can be achieved unless a solution is first
found to the problem of the economic dependence of the
latter countries on the former.
64. It is well known that a common characteristic of
developing nations is their heavy dependence on other
countries. Latin America, for example, has to finance its
industrial and technical development from the sale of a
small number of raw materials which constitute the bulk of
its exports and which are purchased by a small group of
buyers. It is these buyers who are ultimately in a position
to establish prices and methods of payment, and their
action therefore has a decisive influence on the possibilities
of growth throughout the continent.
65. This vulnerability and external dependence of the
developing countries’ economics have, as their logical
consequence, the need for international co-operation in the
regulation of foreign trade and the responsibility of those
countries and regions which exert a greater influence on
account of their larger share of world trade. Unfortunately,
international trade is passing through a critical period as a
result of restrictive trends in the policies of the developed
States and their regional organizations. The progress of the
developing countries is being unjustly delayed as a result of
high customs duties, prohibitive import surcharges, quotas
and other non-tariff and para-tariff barriers, overt and
covert export subsidies, purported health regulations which
do not always correspond to scientific standards and are
not objectively applied, and the permanent threat of new
restrictions.
66. Facts of this kind, which are difficult to refute, make
it clear that an improvement in trading conditions is more
important to these countries than the receipt of assistance,
necessary though this may be as a complementary factor.
The improvement in these conditions should take two
forms, firstly, remunerative prices and access to markets for
commodities, and secondly, opportunities for imports of
manufactures from developing countries. This is the only
way in which we can break the vicious circle and finance
the industrial development of our countries from our own
resources.
67. The experience gained during the First United Nations
Development Decade shows that the modest objectives
established in General Assembly resolution 1710 (XVI)
have not been achieved. Argentina is aware of the complexities
of the problems which will have to be faced in the
next ten years and has therefore participated actively, and
intends to continue to do so in the work of the Preparatory
Committee for the Second United Nations Development
Decade on the preparation of a global development
strategy, a task which is now in progress and on whose
satisfactory accomplishment the success of the decade of
the seventies must largely depend.
68. My Government informed the Secretary-General of its
views at the beginning of this year, and at the three
previous sessions it expressed its opinions very clearly on
the establishment of global and sectoral objectives and on
the policy measures which it considered necessary for their
attainment. It is important that the Preparatory Committee
should not slacken the efforts it has been making. We
consider, indeed, that the time for statements has now
passed in the Committee’s work and. that it should now
embark on the stage of negotiations on policy measures.
69. With respect to financial co-operation, we think that it
is necessary to modernize the concepts and methods
hitherto used. The flow of public and private international
resources to the developing countries is not sufficient to
supplement the domestic investment designed to reduce the
income differences between the different groups of countries
which make up the world community. Arrangements
must be found which will ensure the continuation of aid
and compensatory financing, but on terms compatible with
the payment capacity of each country. This will avoid the
paradox of the need to finance external financing.
70. We contend that aid should not be subject to political
conditions, since this accentuates inequalities and
discrimination. We also believe that the steps taken by the large
countries to improve their balance of payments position
should not be to the detriment of the less developed
countries.
71. In granting loans to developing countries, the international
financial bodies should adopt a more flexible attitude
with regard to the use of such funds for the purchase of
local industrial products, since the price margin for the
granting of preference to such products is very small. It
would be desirable for the World Bank to increase the
margins for these countries, since this would have the result
of increasing their industrial capacity.
72. Compensatory financing and the flow of private
capital are additional means of expansion which benefit all
the parties concerned. Recognizing the reciprocal benefits,
we support the idea that, as part of a new policy of
co-operation, the developing countries should, in their turn,
assist the least developed countries among them. To the
extent of its possibilities and in a wide range of fields, the
Argentine Republic constantly practises this type of co-operation.
73. As the Assembly is well aware, there is another subject
to which our Government attaches high priority, namely,
multilateral aid. The Argentine Republic has submitted a
proposal to convert the present World Food Programme
into a truly effective instrument for the elimination of
hunger through the establishment of a world food fund.
Changes in current bilateral programmes and the World
Food Programme should be largely based on multilateral
solutions that will not damage the trade of the efficient
exporting countries.
74. Men cannot be subordinated to things. For that
reason, recalling the words of His Holiness Pope Paul VI, we
should not reduce the number of guests at the banquet of
life but rather increase the food on the table. Today, given
technological progress and the resources of economic
organization, man has it within his power to eliminate
malnutrition for once and for all. Instead of using the
negative approach of birth control, we advocate the positive
approach of increasing production.
75. I am certain that all the Governments represented here
are aware of the need for a change in the standards that
govern political, economic and financial relations among
States, a change which should be carried out jointly and
peacefully and should meet the imperative need for the
economic and social transformation of the modern world.
Only thus will we be able to achieve the aims of the Charter
drawn up at San Francisco.
76. Consequently, my Government attaches particular
importance to the Draft Declaration on Social Progress and
Development [A/7643]. Our purpose in taking this initiative
was to contribute to international co-operation in the
social sphere. We regret the various amendments submitted
to the original draft, particularly in matters relating to
social policy, since they are not in keeping with the spirit of
the proposal and are not universally accepted.
77. So far as the Argentine Government is concerned, it
has embarked on a process of change with a view to
promoting the welfare and security of its people, a process
being brought about by methods adopted in the belief that
domestic effort is the key to the achievement of these
goals. Much hard work has been directed to this end with
the result that there has been a substantial increase in the
gross national product, an equally significant increase in
domestic investment, a better distribution of income, and a
monetary stability which led to the application to
Argentina of Article VII of the Articles of Agreement of
the International Monetary Fund and to the initiation of
some major public and social projects. During this period
our educational, health, social welfare and housing facilities
have been considerably improved.
78. At the regional level, Argentina continues to play an
active role in implementing the principles that led to the
foundation of the Latin American Free Trade Association
(LAFTA) and in drawing up new instruments for mutual
assistance and co-operation in the region.
79. On 23 April 1969, the River Plate Basin Treaty was
signed in the city of Brasilia to record the determination of
Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay to co-ordinate
their efforts to achieve the physical integration
and the harmonious and balanced development of one of
the potentially richest regions in the world. The Argentine
Republic, in whose capital this process was initiated,
pledges its full support for the attainment of the goals of
the Treaty.
80. The River Plate Basin Programme has many aspects, all
of the utmost importance for the future of the region.
Among these the Argentine Government attaches particular
importance, together with the study of technical problems,
to the conclusion of a legal instrument to govern the
rational and equitable use of water resources. Since the
rivers form the backbone of a water basin such as that of
the River Plate, it is essential that their waters should be
used for the benefit of all the riparian countries in
accordance with a policy of regional solidarity.
81. The United Nations was founded in the last days of
the Second World War to safeguard international peace.
After nearly twenty-five years of rapid change and historic
achievements, our faith in the Organization has not
faltered. But if we genuinely wish to perfect the institution
which brings us together, it is necessary to be completely
frank. I must therefore say that certain practices must be
changed, if we are to prevent the United Nations from
being relegated to second place in the interplay of the
major political and economic factors of today’s world.
82. In the political field, we feel obliged to point out that
the principles underlying and inspiring the Charter of the
United Nations are sometimes forgotten, and that some
resolutions of the Organization are not implemented. We
have only to study the agenda of the present session to
realize that some of the most important issues in the world
today are not being submitted for our consideration.
83. The United Nations can be only what its members
decide that it should be. The great Powers bear the heaviest
burden in this respect because of the responsibilities
devolving on them as a result of their vast resources and
political influence. But agreements between them will not
suffice unless they serve as a foundation for erecting a
structure of peaceful coexistence which must take the
interests and opinions of the smaller countries into account.
If we do not view the problem in this light, there is a risk
that those very foundations of peace so far achieved,
foundations which we believe to be solid, will be undermined
and endangered.
84. From its beginnings in 1945, the Organization has
grown into a large administrative machine, entrusted with a
programme in which important questions are too often
combined with others that are less important or that do not
require the dedicated attention of an Organization of this
calibre. An analysis of the programmes and projects in
progress justifies our concern: we find matters that have
dragged on from session to session, having been taken up
and shelved owing to lack of interest or the impossibility of
finding a solution, others that are of a purely academic
character with no apparent practical prospects; the duplication
of activities with other international organizations in
spheres in which they possess specific competence; important
questions left in abeyance through lack of agreement
between the blocs and spheres of influence which are
notoriously active in this field.
85. In this attempt at constructive criticism, we wish to
express our concern at the increase in the Organization’s
budget in the last few years, which does not seem to have
led to a corresponding improvement in international co-operation
or to concrete results of benefit to Member
States. We are also concerned that organizations set up to
deal with important problems are on the verge of financial
collapse.
86. My country will not support the establishment of new
international bodies unless there is evidence that they are
useful for the purposes of co-operation and necessary as a
means of directing the efforts of members of the international
community. Nor shall we support any programme
that does not hold out definite promise or that does not
faithfully reflect the spirit and stature of the United
Nations.
87. We consider that a careful review of the budget is both
necessary and urgent in order to reduce its total, not only
through the cancellation of programmes that are not
demonstrably practical and appropriate, but also through
an overhaul of the actual machinery of the United Nations.
88. The smaller Powers have to make very heavy outlays
in relation to their financial capacity both for the payment
of contributions to international bodies and for other forms
of co-operation.
89. We are all certain that the headlong speed of scientific
and technological progress will be maintained during the
next few years. It is difficult to foresee the precise form of
its enormous impact on social and political structures, both
domestic and international, but easy to appreciate its
magnitude. For the moment, what is clear is that the
technological revolution of our times faces us with the
imperative need to extend its benefits to the vast masses
living on the margin of that revolution and also to enable
the developing countries to.share in the wealth and to
utilize the resources of this science and technology that we
consider revolutionary.
90. This is the only orderly, progressive and fruitful way
to modernize our structures effectively. If we are not
prepared to adopt this course, we shall have to face the
possibility of violence, with the frustration, suffering and
failures it entails.
91. The United Nations is confronted with a vital task:
that of establishing conditions to ensure that the impending
change can take place peacefully through close international
co-operation. Unless the United Nations appreciates
the scope of the responsibility involved in this task, the fate
of mankind may pass all too soon into the hands of those
who are more impatient and less mature. In the light of the
guiding principles that inspired its foundation and which
are expressed in the admirable Preamble to the Charter, we
reiterate our faith in the fundamental values of man and in
his transcendent destiny.