YouSaid · the spoken record

KAMANDA wa KAMANDA

lines on the record: 127
first: 1983-09-24
most recent: 1995-09-24
sittings or episodes: 2
sources: un-general-debate

Every line below is reproduced as it was said and linked to the record it came from. Nothing here is summarised or generated. Directory · Search · Corrections

“In the wake of this worsening situation, Africa, in particular, is experiencing the reappearance of diseases which had been eradicated and the appearance of new endemic diseases, without having the necessary resources to cope with them. Decolonization is virtually over now. Apartheid has been abolished, and Africa, facing the new challenges of democratization and development, seized by the fever of democratization, is undergoing irreversible change accompanied by new difficulties. 2 At the international level, new kinds of domination are emerging, and could lead to the same results as those of the past, if we are not careful. Will “globalization” of people’s behaviour and standardization of reflexes and needs imprison freedom, stifle identities and crush the cultural expression of peoples?”
1995-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 50 (1995)
“That is why we gave the name of Dag Hammarskjöld to an important bridge in the city of Kinshasa, to pay tribute to the United Nations by immortalizing the memory of the Secretary-General who died on the battlefield in the struggle for peace. The symbol of the bridge derives from our understanding of the message of the United Nations. As an opening on the world and forum of nations, is not the United Nations, with its message of peace and dialogue, building a bridge between nations? And yet, despite the outstanding progress indisputably made throughout the world, many other things have also happened. The cold war has ended without this being much help to the development process in the countries of the South, particularly in Africa, where poverty has increased in a worsening economic and social situation.”
1995-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 50 (1995)
“We have not forgotten that from July 1960 to June 1964 the United Nations Operation in the Congo represented the largest assistance programme undertaken by the United Nations up to that time. And so it is thanks to this major contribution by the United Nations that Zaire preserved its unity and territorial integrity. Let me extend to the United Nations the deep appreciation of the Zairian people for this. That page in our history, which is also a page in the history of the United Nations, reminds us that our people paid a heavy price for peace, and it made a pledge that the generations must hand down from one to another: no more civil war; no more secessions because of tribal, inter-ethnic or power conflicts; a firm commitment to peace and dialogue for development, whatever the nature or the intensity of our internal differences.”
1995-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 50 (1995)
“What would have happened in South Africa without the mobilization by the United Nations of the entire international community against the scourge of apartheid, and without its support for the heroic and legitimate struggle of the South African people under the leadership of the recognized liberation movements, particularly the African National Congress (ANC)? In Zaire we have not forgotten that 34 years and 10 days ago, striving to promote peace and restore and maintain the political independence and territorial integrity of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, which is today Zaire, one of the most devoted servants of the United Nations, its late Secretary-General, Dag Hammarskjöld, died at Ndola.”
1995-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 50 (1995)
“Today, therefore, the United Nations must preserve and consolidate its accomplishments while also adapting itself to face the new challenges borne in the wake of the astonishing transformations the world has undergone since the end of the Second World War. For those of us from Africa, decolonization was an extremely important page in this story. What would decolonization have been without the United Nations, particularly the adoption of resolution 1514 (XV), the Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples?”
1995-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 50 (1995)
“A nation that has done nothing for its people in 50 years must surely step back and re-examine everything — its political leaders, programmes, social projects, management and methods. Fortunately, this is not the case of the United Nations. It has some outstanding accomplishments to its credit. It has achieved real successes and made real efforts in the areas of economic and social development, decolonization, human rights, development and peace-keeping. Its work in establishing norms indisputably represents the highest aspirations of man, of all mankind and all peoples, for a world free from war, threats, intimidation, poverty, oppression and suffering.”
1995-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 50 (1995)
“When it was founded, it set itself goals that corresponded to the enthusiasm, hopes and needs that emerged with the end of a devastating war whose traumatic effects have not yet faded away entirely. Those goals were to maintain international peace and security, guarantee justice and human rights, foster social progress and establish better living conditions in greater freedom. Where do we stand today? A fiftieth anniversary is an important milestone in the life of persons, institutions and nations. A person who has made nothing of his life by the time he is 50 is not likely to set a new course for his life afterwards. An institution that after 50 years has done nothing to attain the objectives it set when it was founded inevitably raises the question of its viability and the usefulness of its existence.”
1995-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 50 (1995)
“My thoughts here will turn mainly to the lessons of 50 years of the existence of the United Nations; the revitalization and restructuring of the United Nations; the situation in the subregion of the Great Lakes, particularly Rwanda and Burundi; the efforts for peace in the Middle East; the support of the United Nations system for efforts by Governments to promote and strengthen new or restored democracies; external debt, international economic cooperation and development; disarmament efforts; and, finally, the question of the return or restoration of cultural property to its country of origin. This year the United Nations is commemorating its fiftieth anniversary.”
1995-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 50 (1995)
“Allow me also to pay tribute to your predecessor, His Excellency Mr. Essy Amara, Minister for Foreign Affairs of the sister Republic of Côte d’Ivoire, to whom I am bound by long-standing ties of personal friendship. I should like to express to him our joy and pride on seeing how masterfully he guided the work of the General Assembly at its forty-ninth regular session and our appreciation of the energy, skill and ability with which he discharged his mandate. Finally, I should like to pay a well-deserved tribute to the Secretary-General, Mr. Boutros Boutros-Ghali, for his excellent preparatory work for this session, his outstanding efforts to strengthen the role of the United Nations and his many commendable initiatives in support of international peace and security.”
1995-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 50 (1995)
“I should like to join the speakers who have preceded me at this rostrum in offering you, Sir, on behalf of my delegation and on my own behalf, warm and hearty congratulations on your election to the presidency of the General Assembly at its fiftieth regular session. I am particularly pleased that the President of the General Assembly is the representative of Portugal, a friendly country with which my country, the Republic of Zaire, has long enjoyed excellent relations marked by trust and mutual respect. We feel that your intellectual abilities and diplomatic skills, together with your long experience of international affairs, guarantee the success of our work here. My congratulations go also to the other elected members of the Bureau, and I wish them every success in their delicate task of providing you with assistance.”
1995-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 50 (1995)
“This new world order involves a profound restructuring of the relations of production and distribution of wealth at the planetary level within the framework of international solidarity. 285. International solidarity will consist, for the developed countries and for the others, of their active participation in the historic task of establishing a more just and equitable world, transcending short-sighted national interests and compensating for any inequalities, in order to improve, on this earth on which mankind lives, the condition of all.”
1983-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 38 (1983)
“Despite our difficulties, our limitations and our modest means, we shall always resist fragmentation and the erosion of an international instrument which has all the necessary tools and resources to bring peace, security, stability, progress and justice to humanity. 283. Let us therefore make the United Nations the instrument capable, as it was 38 years ago, of preserving present and future generations from the scourge of war and the indescribable sufferings which would result there from and the appropriate framework for defining a new world order. 284. To the extent that we strengthen the role of the United Nations and translate its decisions into national realities within our States shall we come closer to the advent of a more reassuring world order. 285.”
1983-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 38 (1983)
“The failure of the United Nations flows essentially from the inconsistency of States, certain shortcomings in its functioning and a certain lack of adaptability of its machinery to world development. Its principles remain valid and its primary mission remains as noble as ever. Machinery in the service of those principles and that mission can and must be adapted to the lightning speed of the evolution of the world over the last thirty years. The report of the Secretary-General to the thirty-seventh session identifies very clearly all aspects of the problem and thus makes it unnecessary for me to dwell on them. 282. Zaire will always support the multilateral approach and the purposes and principles of the Charter.”
1983-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 38 (1983)
“For Zaire, the United Nations remains an irreplaceable instrument in the search for and the safeguarding of peace, the centre for peaceful coexistence, a guarantee and a bulwark of the weak against the powerful and of the poor against the rich, the ideal place for dialogue among national differences in the search for a true policy of international co-operation where each can find some advantage and each, with due respect for his right to be different, can contribute to the search for equitable solutions to the many problems facing the international community. 281. The United Nations has existed for 38 years now. If its record is not one of unqualified success, let us give it credit for giving rise to, if not supporting, the positive changes in the world and sustaining all just causes.”
1983-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 38 (1983)
“At a time when the concepts, notions and ideas which have hitherto governed the life and relations of societies seem to be increasingly challenged, the United Nations stands as the last outpost of great humanistic principles and civilized values against the assaults of intemperance and the claims of the irrational which are born of the present world crisis.”
1983-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 38 (1983)
“These refugees, victims of racism and discrimination, intolerance, poverty because of economic conditions, apartheid and political conflict, today weigh heavily on the conscience of the world. 278. The organization of a second international conference on African refugees should, we believe, command the attention of the international community. 279. After having reviewed the disconcerting picture of the present world economic, political and social situation, I cannot conclude my statement without saying something about the role of the United Nations in international relations. 280.”
1983-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 38 (1983)
“I cannot pass over in silence the painful problem of some 13 million refugees in the world who are living in extremely precarious conditions and for whom the future is most uncertain. Most of these refugees are in Africa and Asia, that is in developing countries which are in the most dire straits in view of their poverty. 277. While appreciating the considerable humanitarian work of the United Nations in this field, we believe that all Governments in the world, particularly those of the rich countries, and also the charitable agencies, must redouble their efforts by devoting particular attention to the elimination of the political causes underlying this phenomenon.”
1983-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 38 (1983)
“Similarly, if we are to bring about a lasting solution of the question of Cyprus, acceptable to all parties, it must be tackled in a comprehensive and impartial manner, because we must guarantee to the two communities the same right to existence. In this context Zaire favours a continuation of the inter-communal talks on an equitable settlement under the auspices of the Secretary-General. The auspices of the Secretary-General means, going beyond mere form, that those talks must be aimed at objectives and must be conducted in conformity with the principles of the Charter. Here again, as can be seen, if sides have to be taken the only side we can take is that of law. 276.”
1983-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 38 (1983)
“We have in mind particularly the questions of Korea and Cyprus. 274. The reunification of the two Koreas, desired by all the Korean people, must be brought about on the basis of the patient and determined continuation of the negotiations begun in 1972 between the North and the South. For our part, we do not reject any peaceful initiative in keeping with the Charter which could help to bring this about. In this context we have noted with satisfaction certain suggestions put forward in this general debate, particularly by the representative of Luxembourg meeting. We must avoid the crystallization of opposing positions. We must think about this and show collective imagination. 275.”
1983-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 38 (1983)
“We must therefore continue to show imagination and alter this state of affairs because, as we were quite rightly reminded by the Secretary-General: "Unresolved economic conflicts can be, and usually are, a breeding ground for dangerous political tensions. "A major economic imperative of our times is the accelerated development of the developing countries." 272. The Organization must always embark upon its debate on the question of divided countries with the utmost circumspection and responsibility so as to highlight common ground and seek ways and means which could bring the parties to the negotiating table in an atmosphere of trust. Acrimonious debates and maximalist positions which strengthen the division of peoples are contrary to the letter and spirit of the Charter of the United Nations. 273.”
1983-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 38 (1983)
“Today, we must note with regret that very little progress has been made in the face of the obduracy and, sometimes, the selfishness of the rich countries. 270. The virtual indifference of the Summit of Industrialized Countries at Williamsburg with regard to the concerns of the developing countries, the recent failure of the sixth session of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, at Belgrade, and the scanty results achieved by the mini-summit organized by Mrs. Indira Gandhi, the Prime Minister of India and chairman of the Movement of Non-Aligned Countries— to whom we should like to pay tribute for her initiative— do not give any grounds to hope for a reversal of these trends in the near future. 271.”
1983-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 38 (1983)
“As for the South, adaptation to change means its capacity fully to assume its new role as an equal partner of the North in the search for and the taking of decisions concerning world matters. In the view of Zaire, this harmonious understanding constitutes the essence of international co-operation, for without real co-operation we should be calling in question the very principles of sovereignty and interdependence. We must therefore revise the tendency towards the erosion of multilateral co-operation and curb the excesses of politically inspired bilateralism. 268. It was to face all these problems responsibly that the North-South dialogue was started and the new international economic order was conceived. 269.”
1983-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 38 (1983)
“The present prosperity of the North is certainly due to the labours of its own people but everyone knows it is also in many respects due to the labours of the people of the South. 265. I turn now to adaptation to change, for the world is in a state of constant evolution. 266. Adaptation to change means for the North its capacity to understand that the maintenance or improvement of the development of its economies necessarily entails the abandonment of certain privileges born of the Bretton Woods system, which no longer exists except in name. If they fail to understand this truth and seek refuge in delaying tactics, the rich countries will only be maintaining ambiguity and creating a desperate situation with no way out—at least, no satisfactory way out for us all. 267.”
1983-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 38 (1983)
“It therefore depends largely on consistent efforts to help the developing countries. Much is said about the magic of market laws, and we are asked to contribute to the expansion of world trade, to produce more and to export more. We are told that we should have fewer loans and more trade and commerce. With what are we going to produce if capital and development aid are so parsimoniously doled out to us? Why export unless commodity prices are stabilized? These are questions which militate in favour of a coherent, integrated and global approach in the search for appropriate joint solutions to the present crisis. 264. We in Zaire do not see interdependence as the subjugation of some to the interests of others but rather as an awareness of the fact that the fate of the North is intimately connected with that of the South.”
1983-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 38 (1983)
“In spite of the acceptance of the principle of the interdependence of the States of the North and South, we note with regret that the developed countries, since the fifth session of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, at Manila in 1979, have shown a marked hardening of their positions and turned their backs on any constructive and mutually advantageous dialogue. The deplorable results of the sixth session stem from this negative attitude of the rich countries. 263. We are told of the economic recovery taking place in the Northern countries, which is going to increase the volume of world trade by about 4.5 per cent. For our part there can be no doubt that the success of the North and its recovery can be sustained only with an extra effort to help the countries of the South.”
1983-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 38 (1983)
“We have in many of our statements in the past stressed this aspect of the problem. Solving the world crisis requires the commitment of all. It is not a question of winning at the expense of anyone else; we shall win together or we shall lose together. We have to share equitably in world prosperity. We must be sensitive to the suffering and misfortunes of others and give each people, each nation and each region of the world the opportunity to take part in the recovery of the world economic situation. If we agree that it is only the North that can put the world economy back on its feet, must we also agree that the salvation of the world will come from the North? 262. Interdependence, in our view, is based on mutual interest.”
1983-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 38 (1983)
“The international financial institutions are becoming agencies for the recovery of the public and private debts of the States of the third world. 258. The economic crisis which has now gone on for almost a decade has attained such a scope that sectoral or partial solutions will not work. 259. Thus, the new international economic order that we seek implies a radical break with the laws and principles that have regulated the economic world since the end of the Second World War. The solutions to this crisis must be global and laid down in a spirit of complementarity and interdependence, for the greatest good of all. 260. This economic crisis, in the face of the unaccommodating attitudes we have noted, calls for our commitment to solidarity and interdependence and our ability to adapt to change. 261. It calls, first of all, for solidarity.”
1983-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 38 (1983)
“The developing countries have been the most severely shaken by the effects of this crisis because of the decline in international trade caused by inflationary pressures imported from the developed countries and the resurgence of protectionism in those countries; a sharp decline in commodity prices, the principal source of export earnings—a $20 billion-net loss in export earnings for the year 1981-1982; an appreciable reduction in development aid, increasingly weighed down by unacceptable political conditions; a sizeable decline in the inflow of international capital to the developing countries; a disturbing increase in the indebtedness of the developing countries, which in 1982 reached the sum of $630 billion for the whole of the third world; and, finally, the tendency on the part of financial circles and international financial institutions to harden their positions and concern themselves more with the establishment of harsh programmes of economic and financial adjustment in the countries with the greatest indebtedness, without any regard to the social obligations of our States.”
1983-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 38 (1983)
“Zaire continues to believe that the crisis now afflicting the world results primarily from the policies pursued by the industrialized countries, despite what is often proclaimed by those who have an interest in ensuring that we create no industries of any kind, no steel plants, no airports, no large-scale transport infrastructures. This crisis is the result of basic inadequacies of a world economic system that no longer responds to the requirements of a world in constant evolution, and of the structural gaps and the imbalance in interdependent spheres of which we are all aware—that is, commodities, trade, development, energy, currency and finance. 257.”
1983-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 38 (1983)
“Thus, the relevant resolutions adopted at the sixth and seventh special sessions of the General Assembly—containing the Declaration and the Programme of Action on the Establishment of a New International Economic Order and concerning development and international economic co-operation —as well as the Charter of Economic Rights and Duties of States fully justify the international community's desire to face up to the present crisis in the world together and responsibly. Democratization of international economic relations is an imperative of our time. 256.”
1983-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 38 (1983)
“We have repeatedly said that the present economic system is unfair and that, if we are not to wreck our world, we must replace it by a new economic order that is more just and better adapted to the new requirements of the times. Facts confirm this every day. Our protagonists in the North—also facing this crisis, which is the reflection of a profound disarray in structures—have not succeeded in proving the contrary. But they seem to wish to resist—not all of them, happily—change and the establishment of the new international economic order. 255. Certainly, the United Nations has undertaken considerable efforts to this end.”
1983-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 38 (1983)
“The third world, which is forging the instruments to master its destiny and its future, needs these principles. The small, medium-sized and weak States, which are the majority in this Organization, and which do not produce weapons or have the means to buy them, shelter their sovereignty, their independence, their integrity, their own identity behind these principles of international law, because they know that in a world without law it is essentially they, not the powerful and the rich, who will be the losers. Has Europe turned its back on the rays of light coming from ancient Greece and its own gods? 253. No subject other than that of the arms race could have served as a better introduction to the second challenge of today's world: co-operation and solidarity. 254.”
1983-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 38 (1983)
“Man is a reasonable being and is innately motivated to enter into society with his peers. This need to live in a society satisfies, above all, a moral feeling for the welfare of others; it responds to the desire for a condition in which we can at one and the same time find our own satisfaction and ensure that of others. 251. I therefore share the opinion of the Secretary- General that we are now witnessing the collapse of a number of agreements concluded over the years as the result of arduous and lengthy negotiations and that it is vital to reverse this trend, not only in order to confront immediate conflicts but also in order to build a lasting framework of life for future generations. 252. We in Africa can live very comfortably with the principles of international law and of the United Nations.”
1983-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 38 (1983)
“Confronted by all the political problems and problems affecting the maintenance of international peace and security to which I have just referred, we have the duty to meet the challenge to law, to eradicate the flouting of law in international relations. And "law" here means the ensemble of positive rules and norms governing relations between States, but also the ensemble of acknowledged rules of conduct which entail only moral obligations in relations between men and peoples. For the erosion of the essential values of civilization and of humanistic values benefits the various conflicts confronting us. The present crisis in the world is a political crisis, because the rules upon which the human city is based are sustaining severe blows today. And if they are finally swept away, what alternative do we have to offer our children? 250.”
1983-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 38 (1983)
“The ease with which weapons are circulating in the world today, either because of the profit motive—without any considerations being given to the use to be made of them, even if that use is known in advance—or to serve the designs of power and illegal causes, must be a subject of concern to the United Nations and the international community. 248. We very much hope that the negotiations on the reduction of strategic arms will prove successful as soon as possible. Zaire also appeals to the conscience of all those concerned; we ask them to respect the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons , particularly in regard to zones of peace and co-operation and nuclear-weapon-free zones throughout the world. 249.”
1983-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 38 (1983)
“Without overlooking the danger of conventional weapons, weapons that have indiscriminate and excessively harmful effects—bacteriological or toxic weapons, chemical weapons which we see being increasingly used in the third world countries, where proxy wars are going on—Zaire wishes to reaffirm its attachment to the philosophy of the Final Document of the Tenth Special Session of the General Assembly, which gives high priority to nuclear disarmament. 246. We express again our determination to see the nuclear-weapon States give explicit and solemn guarantees to the non-nuclear-weapon States, or States that have renounced the acquisition of nuclear weapons, that they will never use them or threaten to use them against such States. 247.”
1983-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 38 (1983)
“More weapons no longer provide more security. Since the end of the last world war, how often has a great Power used its sophisticated weapons against another? But then the question arises: against whom are these weapons being manufactured? 244. The arms race widens the gap between the developing and the industrialized countries. It wrecks the efforts to establish the new international economic order, which the industrialized countries are so reluctant to join. 245.”
1983-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 38 (1983)
“Our common concern to educate man in the spirit of peace and to include peace studies in national programmes has led us to agree to the establishment of a University for Peace in one of our Member States. 242. Now, what is happening today? Have the great Powers forgotten that, in terms of peace, security, progress and development, the arms race is at the centre of the present crisis in the world and is jeopardizing civilization's essential values? Could it be that this race is designed to challenge the values upon which the United Nations is based, values from which certain great Powers seem to wish to depart ever further? 243. The arms race constitutes a powerful lever of the policy of the resort to force in international relations, the policy of intimidation, subjugation, hegemony and expansionism.”
1983-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 38 (1983)
“Yet a consensus had already emerged among all the nations of the world at the end of the tenth special session that the arms race is the centre of the present world crisis, when we perceive it, as we should, from the standpoint of peace, security, development and the measures necessary to establish confidence in international relations. 240. It is for this reason that the General Assembly has called for special studies on the relationship between disarmament and security, disarmament and development, and disarmament and confidence-building measures to make everyone more aware of the many dangers inherent in the arms race and to create the necessary conditions for halting and reversing this race to death. 241.”
1983-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 38 (1983)
“The sound of the feet of the thousands of citizens of the world who invaded the United Nations Headquarters during the second special session of the General Assembly devoted to disarmament to protest the arms race, the appeals of scientists, philosophers, public figures throughout the world, people from the world of art, letters, religion, economics and politics, the entreaties of those crippled in Hiroshima and Nagasaki, underlining the senseless nature of the arms race, seem already to have been consigned to oblivion or to the indifference of those whose power today is measured by the number of their guns, missiles and nuclear warheads. 238. Yet all of us belong to a civilization which teaches us that man is superior to the animal by virtue of his spirit and that true immortality is innate in thought. 239.”
1983-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 38 (1983)
“While the alarming decline in the quality of life is becoming more perceptible from day to day in vast regions of the world, the race in engines of death is accelerating and swallowing up, as frequently repeated, more than $800 billion a year. Of course, the stench of the corpses of the victims of hunger, malnutrition and endemic disease is overpowered by the sulphurous fumes of gunfire. 236. It would seem that we have already forgotten the Programme of Action and the Final Document of the Tenth Special Session of the General Assembly, devoted to disarmament. 237.”
1983-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 38 (1983)
“Latin America, which has so many affinities with Africa, needs peace and security in order to develop autonomously. We are in full solidarity with the peoples of that region in their desire for peace and to safeguard their own identity in order to create the conditions necessary for growth and bring to the building of a more just and equitable new world order the fruit of their genius. Here again, peace can only be achieved for us all through respect for the principles of international law and of the United Nations. 234. As if all the sufferings of humanity at the present time were not enough, the senseless arms race, particularly the nuclear arms race—a true threat to life of apocalyptic dimensions—adds every day to our distress, indeed our anguish. 235.”
1983-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 38 (1983)
“This act, which occurred in a tense international context, dominated by the resurgence of mistrust, violence and insecurity in relations among States, must be condemned unambiguously by all right-thinking people in the world and by all Governments that cherish peace, if we are to have any confidence in the future. 231. The fact that this act was committed by a superpower which bears international responsibilities for peace in the world and which is a permanent member of the Security Council is something we find particularly troubling. 232. Here again it can be seen that it is respect for law and humanistic values which has dictated our stand regarding a country with which we maintain excellent diplomatic relations, and we hope that the USSR will make amends for this act and preserve its prestige in the world. 233.”
1983-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 38 (1983)
“Without wishing to associate itself with any campaign or political propaganda gratuitously hostile to the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, but in all objectivity and quite calmly, the Executive Council of the Republic of Zaire was outraged at the attack which occurred on 1 September 1983 over Sakhalin Island on a South Korean civil airliner, with hundreds of innocent victims, in defiance of the rules of international law and morality. 229. Over and above the massacre of 269 innocent civilian passengers, the gravity of this act, repugnant as it is to our consciences, lies in the fact that if such a precedent, which no appeal to national interest can justify, were to become more general, this would be a deadly blow to international relations and trustful cooperation among States. 230.”
1983-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 38 (1983)
“Even the spirit of Yalta and the division of the world into spheres of influence which flowed from that— and only God knows whether we had a hand in that or opposed it—is no longer respected by those responsible for it, so that peoples are left to their own devices, prey to new dangers. 227. That is why in Zaire we believe that a just and lasting settlement of the Afghanistan crisis and the crisis of Kampuchea necessarily entails the withdrawal of all foreign troops from those territories, which they entered in disregard of law and the principles of the United Nations. 228.”
1983-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 38 (1983)
“Otherwise, let us have the courage, after the failure of the idealistic conception of history, to proclaim the failure of the rule of law and justice and yield the Held to the excesses of the forces of irrationality. 225. It is because we are all aware that in a world without law no one is safe from anything that we are so anxious to attempt to justify the frequent violations of law, in the name of narrow interests, thus giving rise to the phenomenon of the automatic rejection of anything coming from the other side, hostile propaganda, hysteria, disinformation, pressure of all kinds, the attempts to force weaker States to become clients and satellites. 226.”
1983-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 38 (1983)
“We say this to stress the vital importance of these principles and of law in relations between nations and peoples, because the purpose of these principles is precisely to prevent hegemonist expansionism and the desire for domination and political and cultural standardization of the world in the name of peace, international security, trusting co-operation among nations and peoples and the survival of universal civilized values. That is why these principles are impersonal, general and universal. 223. It was the spirit of lawlessness which developed in the world and led to the economic and financial crisis, which gave rise to the crisis of humanism, which we must light together in order to overcome the demons of insecurity, instability and mistrust in international relations. 224.”
1983-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 38 (1983)
“It is without any doubt the violation of the principles of the sovereign equality of States, respect for the sovereignty, political independence and territorial integrity of States, non-interference non-use of force and the peaceful settlement of disputes—the violation of the very principles of the Charter of the United Nations, of which we are all Members—that underlies these conflicts. 222. Hegemonist expansion and the desire of some people for political and cultural uniformity throughout the world, with all the disorder, clashes of interest and frustration that would provoke, are possible only through the violation of these principles.”
1983-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 38 (1983)
“On these bases the Security Council can, or could, either draw up a plan for the settlement of the Palestinian question or mandate the Secretary-General to attempt to formulate a proposal for consideration by the Security Council and by Member States. 219. Given the fact that since 1947 war has not provided a solution, we conclude that no strategy based on force can make it possible to resolve the thorny problem of the Middle East and Palestine, and that everybody should refrain from becoming involved. 220. What is the problem that arises, objectively speaking, in Afghanistan and Kampuchea, other than the right of all peoples freely to make their own choices and to live as they wish, free from pressure and acts of force, aware that their rights and liberties stop where the rights and freedom of other peoples begin? 221.”
1983-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 38 (1983)
“Then and only then will our debates mark a new and decisive stage in the painful history of Palestine since the end of the Mandate era. 217. Today it seems to us that all the ingredients for a comprehensive, just and lasting settlement of the crisis are present, for all the essential resolutions are mutually complementary. 218. General Assembly resolutions 181 (II), 194 (III) and 2535 (XXIV) and Security Council resolutions 242 (1967) and 338 (1973), to cite only those, taken together and linked to all the plans, agreements and peace initiatives put forward to date, offer, we feel, a consistent and integrated approach and contain all the elements of a just, comprehensive and lasting peace plan.”
1983-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 38 (1983)