36. As the twenty-fourth session of the General
Assembly of our Organization opens, I should like with
your permission, Madam President, to begin by saying a few
words about your predecessor, the late Minister of Foreign
Affairs of Guatemala, Mr. Emilio Arenales. The tragic death
of that great diplomat was a heavy blow, not only to this
country, to which we desire to express our condolences,
but also to this Organization. After his warmly supported
election as President of the twenty-third session, he was
unable to complete the task he had so courageously
undertaken. We desire to pay a well-deserved tribute to his
memory.
37. Madam President, I must make a reference to the
event, so important for us Africans, of your election as
President of the twenty-fourth session of the General
Assembly. Your unanimous election to one of the most
difficult offices of our time is a mark of respect both for
your country and for yourself, whose sense of duty, skill
and long experience have so often been placed at the service
of our Organization.
38. We regard your widely acclaimed election as a recognition
by the international community of the increasingly
important role of the African continent and of its true
representatives in dealing with issues affecting the peace of
the world and our Organization. Furthermore, you represent
a country which upholds the same ideals as mine,
and one with which my country maintains the most cordial
relations. Your country’s history, geography and traditions
have progressively impelled it to devote its best efforts to
the defence of peace and to the attainment of the purposes
and principles of the Charter. My delegation is convinced
that these ideals will inspire and guide you in directing our
proceedings.
39. Upper Volta cannot refrain from expressing its disappointment
and apprehension at the events of 1969. We
are disappointed, for these events have not strengthened the
United Nations. And our disappointment is all the greater
because the San Francisco Charter appears to be under
increasing attack by forces challenging its purposes and
principles. Our apprehension arises from our concern about
the very future of our Organization.
40. Actuated by these two sentiments, and in a desire to
see my country make a modest contribution to the solution
of the problems exercising us, I wish to set forth my
Government’s views on certain issues as we see them from
the standpoint of our general foreign policy.
41. In my last statement from this rostrum [1568th
meeting] I referred to the serious problems confronting
new States, and I mentioned in particular those arising from
economic development, which is the basis of any State’s
political future.
42. In this connexion I am glad to be able to say today
that the revolutionary upheaval which took place in Upper
Volta early in 1966 proved in the long run to be beneficial.
After finding itself to begin with in a situation of grave
economic crisis and administrative disorganization, the
present Government of Upper Volta, with the unreserved
support of the people — which unhesitatingly accepted the
sacrifices dictated by the need to preserve our independence — has
succeeded in restoring and Strengthening the
foundations of the State, so gravely shaken by a succession
of administrative errors.
43. Today, therefore, Upper Volta feels that it has learned
something from the trials through which it has passed since
independence; some of these were imposed by the vicissitudes
of history, and others, closer at hand, by our enemies
on all sides. These trials have heightened the feeling of
national identity, so enabling our leaders, concerned for the
common good and striving after rapid economic and social
development, to look boldly beyond our frontiers and to
strengthen our co-operation with all States which respect
the new situation brought about by the popular uprising of 1966.
44. The Government brought to power by that uprising
has worked unremittingly to restore the national economy
of Upper Volta, and the results are encouraging. We have
laid great stress on the development of our external trade,
because of its importance for the financing of our development
and because of the leading part it plays in balancing
our national accounts.
45. From that standpoint, our trading activities are well
sustained and are based on a policy of seeking a wider range
of trading partners, in the interests of the country as a
whole and of producers. We wish here to draw attention to
the steadily expanding trade between Upper Volta and the
States of Eastern Europe, access to which, until recently,
had for a variety of reasons been difficult for us.
46. I should also like to mention that the volume of our
foreign trade in 1968 has been encouraging, since it was 15
per cent higher than in the previous year. Sound and
well-balanced public finances, an expanding trade and
broader diplomatic horizons: such is the present-day
picture in Upper Volta. This is a situation which my
country is resolved not merely to maintain, but also to
improve — with the assistance of all its friends, of course, but
above all in the conviction that it must count first and
foremost on itself and on its own resources.
47. Upper Volta is ready to face other difficulties and to
make the sacrifices necessary for strengthening its independence,
for the people of my country would never forgive
their leaders if they chose the easy and humiliating way out
by resorting to mendicancy and national abdication.
48. Once again we wish to thank all those States and
international agencies that are assisting us in our development
effort and to express our special appreciation of what
they are doing. At this point I should like to mention the
considerable assistance provided to Upper Volta by France
and the other member States of the European Economic
Community. The way in which this aid is planned and
carried out provides an example which many States or
groups of States might well imitate, of course with the
necessary adaptations.
49. The present level of our economic development, the
responsibilities that we must assume both in the short and
in the long term, and the needs we must meet in the process
of transforming an under-developed country into a modern
and fully sovereign State, naturally play their part in
providing the guidelines for our foreign policy.
50. In view of the importance we attach to economic
problems in general, this is the appropriate moment to
emphasize the serious problems encountered by developing
countries in the process of building up a modern economy.
51. Upper Volta remains convinced that, so long as the
problems facing the developing countries are not considered
with the necessary objectivity and detachment, the international
community will continue to live under the shadow of
insecurity, with all that that entails in the way of threats to
the safety of each of its members, until there is a general
conflagration.
52. As the First United Nations Development Decade
draws to a close, it is distressing to note that no substantial
progress has been made towards solving the problems of
international trade and in particular the problem of the
deterioration in the terms of trade. We must not just resign
ourselves to the failure of the New Delhi Conference. To
break the deadlock, we urgently appeal to the developed
countries not to adopt an unhelpful and selfish attitude.
The present trade pattern, which is very much to their
advantage, cannot last indefinitely; sooner or later, the
States that are the victims of this deplorable situation must
be expected to react against it, with the gravest consequences
for international peace and security. Accordingly,
we feel that, in the spirit of solidarity which should
characterize our world, now so small, the developed
countries should have the political will to co-operate with
the developing countries in the quest for equitable solutions
to the problems of international trade.
53. Some States have spent enormous sums, equivalent to
the budgetary expenditure of a small member State for
hundreds of years, and displayed extraordinary energy and
determination in order to accomplish outstanding technical
feats: the placing of the first men on the moon is a vivid
example of this, if example were needed. At the time we
applauded this historic exploit, but we continue to experience
day by day the reality of our economic difficulties.
In this connexion, we cannot but feel that the same
effort, though infinitely superior in terms of moral and
humanitarian values, could be made to improve the lot of
millions of human beings caught up in an endless round of
suffering. If this were not the case, the poor countries
would feel even greater bitterness at the indifference of the
wealthy Powers to their poverty.
54. As we know, the First United Nations Development
Decade is closing in failure, for the target of a 5 per cent
growth rate which, when all is said and done, was a modest
one, has not been attained. To us, this adverse result is a
clear sign of the lack of international solidarity and the
tragic absence of political will.
55. Of course, we hope that States will draw the necessary
inferences from the failure of the First Development Decade
and try to make the Second a success. But, even so, we have
justifiable misgivings at the non-participation of certain
States in the preparations for the Second Development
Decade, and regard this as a matter for serious concern.
56. The developing countries are also concerned at the rise
in the World Bank’s interest rate, now 7 per cent. As a
result, the poor countries, already heavily in debt, will see
their indebtedness increase still further. We find it all the
more difficult to understand the World Bank’s decision,
because in September 1968 it decided that greater efforts
should be made to ensure that the services of international
financial institutions were available in the first instance to
the developing countries.
57. Unfortunately, economic problems are not the only
ones we have to face. The world is perhaps m a more
disturbed state today than it ever was before. We seem to
be living again the events which 30 years ago led up to the
Second World War. In the opinion of the Government of
Upper Volta, the international community must find
solutions to the burning problems of the modern world, so
that all nations may at last enjoy peace and security.
58. In an age when the world has been made so much
smaller by technical and scientific progress, it is more than
ever essential that States should be animated by the desire
to work together to achieve peace and progress. It is more
than ever essential that they should, once and for all, turn
their backs on war and on intolerance in all its forms, in
particular racial and religious intolerance. Many of our
problems would be more easily solved if the great Powers
would only forget their differences, often dating back to a
bygone age, which have gradually led to the present division
of the world into opposing blocs, the source of most of the
grave crises familiar to us all.
59. Upper Volta has been made aware of the dangers of
this situation through the obstacles placed in the way of
relations between States. For that reason, we have sought
to establish relations with more countries, on the basis of
the principles of independence, non-interference in domestic
affairs, mutual respect, and economic and cultural
co-operation. Present-day experience shows that interdependence
is undoubtedly one means by which mankind can
eliminate the painful spectacle of poor countries desperately
struggling to break free from their unhappy destiny.
60. Our common aspirations for peace and progress could
be realized if the international community were not
preoccupied every day by the tensions and clashes which
afflict certain parts of the world. How much effort is
wasted in these fruitless struggles whose sole result is to
bring insecurity and misery to regions whose sole desire is
peace!
61. In the Middle East the situation deteriorates from to
day. It is to be feared that the violations of the cease-fire
line by both sides, inevitable in the present circumstances,
may lead the parties to a new and violent confrontation;
hence the need to find a just and lasting solution to this
conflict.
62. My delegation is of the opinion that the Security
Council resolution [242 (1967)] of 22 November 1967
provides an. adequate basis for settlement of the conflict in
the Middle East and that any differences of interpretation
to which its text may give rise — and in fact it is quite
clear — should not lead the parties to reject it. On the basis
of the idea that all States in the region have a right to
existence and that the territorial integrity of each must be
respected, a number of compromise solutions can be found
for the other problems.
63. In my country’s view, the discussions between the
great Powers on the Middle East question have been a fresh
and encouraging feature of the search for a solution to the
crisis. Despite their different viewpoints on this question,
and despite the diversity of their interests, we believe that
there is no reason why the great Powers should not make
proposals for settlement to the parties involved. We
therefore appeal to those parties not to reject from the
outset any proposal that might lead to peace.
64. With regard to the conflict in Viet-Nam, my country
both deplores its continuation — a major obstacle to co-operation
among the States of that region and to the
relaxation of international tension — and regrets the failure
of the parties to make any serious effort to turn to account
the various opportunities that have arisen for putting an
end to it. The Paris talks aroused some hopes at the
beginning, but since then they have made no headway and
this is a disquieting sign for the future. In the opinion of
the Government of Upper Volta, if the withdrawal of
United States troops were speeded up, that would create a
new situation which the parties should take advantage of to
put an end to the conflict on the basis of the Geneva
Agreements of 1954. We continue to believe that this war
must be brought to an end, for there is no longer any
reason why it should go on.
65. I cannot pass over in silence the tragedy of Nigeria,
which is a tragedy for the whole of Africa. We must deplore
the action of those who, from outside Africa, and by a
clever and calculated policy, have brought about the
present situation in the State and sister nation of Nigeria.
General Lamizana, the President of Upper Volta, said in
1967: “If Europe is for the Europeans, and America for the
Americans — something that no one disputes — then why
should not Africa be for the Africans?” The civil war is still
raging, with all its misery and suffering. All of us here are
greatly concerned at the very distressing humanitarian
problems resulting from the situation of the civilian
population. The reason why we have always refused to
consider this aspect in isolation is that Upper Volta remains
convinced that the surest, and perhaps also the most
humanitarian, way to a genuinely lasting solution is to
recognize the territorial integrity of Nigeria, a Member
State of our Organization. There is every reason to believe
that, once self-seeking and passion have died away, the guns
too will fall silent, so that brother Nigerians who were
yesterday at loggerheads can become reconciled and work
shoulder to shoulder in the future for a prosperous Nigeria.
We therefore address a solemn and urgent appeal to all
States, particularly to those whose actions or inaction can
have some influence on the parties, to join in the quest for
a solution, which must necessarily be an African one.
66. Another thing to bear in mind is that the process of
decolonization must be brought to completion. One of the
greatest dangers to international peace and security is the
continued existence, in the middle of the twentieth
century, of regimes based on the colonial domination of a
racist minority, backed by forces that seek to remain
hidden but which all of us can readily identify. On the
problem of decolonization, it has to be recognized that
there has been a failure to act. The refusal, or at all events
the powerlessness, of the United Nations to take appropriate
measures to ensure the implementation of General
Assembly resolution 1514 (XV) and all the other resolutions
that we have adopted by large majorities provides
ample reason for the disappointment felt by the peoples of
the colonial countries.
67. Once again we should like to voice our indignation and
concern at the explosive situation created and maintained
in southern Africa by the colonialist and racist States and
their accomplices. In Rhodesia, the situation is getting
worse. With the manifest complicity of the administering
Power the rebel minority has consolidated its position.
Every attempt made by the peace-loving and freedom-loving
Member States of the United Nations has had to
contend with the selfish interests of certain Member States
which, directly or indirectly, are the economic, commercial
and diplomatic allies of the Rhodesian rebels. In view of
this situation and the obvious failure of the policy of
sanctions, my delegation hopes that the General Assembly
will, at this session, take the measures that are now
necessary. But it is already clear that the people of
Zimbabwe, in order to recover their independence and
freedom, will have to rely first and foremost on themselves,
draw upon all their physical, economic and moral resources,
and courageously continue their struggle. We are certain
that with the assistance of all peace-loving and freedom-loving
States, the people of Zimbabwe will triumph.
68. As regards the territories administered by Portugal, the
Lisbon authorities continue with impunity to defy the
wishes of the peoples of those territories and international
public opinion. Portugal has still not learned that it is time
to end this arrogant form of political domination; but the
tide of decolonization cannot be turned back, and Portugal
will learn this to its cost; of this we are convinced. It is true
that Portugal is strongly supported in its colonial policy by
Members of our Organization, but it must be remembered
that the valiant freedom fighters of Angola, Mozambique
and Guinea (Bissau) have behind them the peoples of Africa
and every peace-loving and freedom-loving State. We
ourselves once again take the opportunity to assure them of
our whole-hearted support.
69. My delegation considers that the situation in South
Africa and in Namibia, which is under illegal occupation,
constitutes an imminent threat to international peace and
security. The resolutions so far adopted by our Organization
have done nothing to change the situation. South
Africa has steadfastly refused to co-operate with the United
Nations on the question of Namibia, and it becomes clear,
therefore, that the measures that should be taken to oblige
South Africa to withdraw from Namibia are those laid
down in Articles 41 and 42 of the Charter.
70. Our Organization must show that it is and will remain
the paramount body to which peoples suffering injustice
and oppression can appeal, for its prestige and its very
survival are at stake. In our view, those who sell arms to
South Africa are its accomplices, for the only purpose of
those arms is to strengthen that State and thus to encourage
it to continue its policy of defiance of our Organization and
of domination over Namibia.
71. Today, more than 20 years after the adoption of the
Universal Declaration of Human Rights, racial intolerance is
a scourge which is still with us and must be fought. The
explosive situation in southern Africa is due largely to the
policy of apartheid instituted by the authorities in Pretoria.
All States must whole-heartedly condemn the policy of
racial discrimination practised by the South African authorities,
and bring the maximum pressure to bear on that
country so that it will renounce that form of domination.
We continue to believe that apartheid is a standing threat to
international peace and security and that our Organization
should tackle the problem of apartheid from that standpoint.
72. As is the case every year when the time for stocktaking
comes round, we feel bound to raise the question of
the future of our Organization as an instrument for the
maintenance of peace and the settlement of disputes.
73. My delegation would wish in the first place to express
its appreciation of the Secretary-General’s tireless efforts
both to relieve the tension in situations of crisis and to
ensure that our Organization plays its full role.
74. The feeling that we still have today is that our
Organization is impotent, because many of the decisions
which we take, sometimes almost unanimously, remain a
dead letter. At times of serious crisis, the United Nations,
weakened by its contradictions and the conflict of selfish
interests, is unable to find the solutions that are needed.
There are two reasons for this impotence: the fact that the
United Nations is without adequate means to implement its
decisions, and the attitude of certain Member States that
refuse to co-operate with it. For, while it is true that,
legally speaking, no Member State directly challenges the
fundamental principles of the Charter, the fact remains that
the behaviour of certain Member States constitutes a
negation of those principles. This impotence of the United
Nations is to a large extent brought about by the attitude
of the great Powers, whose differences destroy cohesion
among its Members. It is necessary therefore that the great
Powers should become aware of their responsibilities and
act in such a way as to strengthen the United Nations and
make it more effective, as prescribed in the Charter. The
greater the power and influence, the greater should be the
responsibility.
75. We also believe that the small Powers, which make up
the majority in our international community, should not
underestimate the contribution they can make to the
strengthening of our Organization. Since they are the ones
that have suffered the most from the decline of our
Organization, the small Powers should pool their efforts
and seize every opportunity offered through bilateral
contacts and relations, to draw the attention of the great
Powers to the dangers resulting from the inability of the
United Nations to act.
76. We in my country continue to place our hopes in the
United Nations. Despite its weaknesses and its vicissitudes,
it remains an essential instrument for co-operation and a
privileged place where it is possible to meet and take
counsel in the most difficult moments. Each Member State
must exercise self-control, and all peoples must be imbued
with the idea that their destinies are inextricably linked and
that progress and peace depend on co-operation. Neither
war nor the defence of selfish interests, contrary to the
principles of the Charter, can bring us any nearer to a
solution of our problems. If, however, the Member States
of the United Nations show themselves capable of choosing
the path of co-operation and active solidarity, and realize
that they have common interests and a common destiny,
then there is every reason for hope, since the progress of
science and technology, if proper advantage is taken of it,
can ensure a better future for all.
77. The Republic of the Upper Volta is ready to make its
modest contribution towards furthering any initiative, no
matter what its source, which may lead to peace, international
security and the progress of mankind. We express our
warmest good wishes for the full success of the work of the
twenty-fourth session of the General Assembly.