YouSaid · the spoken record

Uribe-Vargas

lines on the record: 70
first: 1978-09-24
most recent: 1980-09-24
sittings or episodes: 3
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

“We are convinced today more than ever that solutions for peace must derive from the institutional framework of the United Nations, which is the strongest instrument ever created in history for settling disputes among States. 188. The call to unity of the third world to become the major peace movement is a call also for it to demand that just and fair conditions be adopted in the economic field so that security should not only be a precarious balance between Powers but also a co-ordinated effort, an harmonious effort, on the part of all nations on earth to achieve better conditions of life, free from the daily more threatening spectre of total war.”
1980-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 35 (1980)
“As long as the only lines of credit open to developing countries are for the purchase of armaments, the fate of world peace will be seriously jeopardized. 186. The unity which the third world needs would be the best weapon to promote genuine conditions of detente within a necessary global context. The present situation in the world requires a sufficient determination to see to it that the peace-loving peoples of the world alert humanity as a whole to the dangers which threaten collective security. 187. On behalf of my country, I should like to express best wishes for success in the deliberations of this thirty-fifth session of the General Assembly.”
1980-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 35 (1980)
“We find that the belligerent intentions of some countries are becoming clearer and clearer, and the only response, in order to ensure peace and co-operation, is a movement towards unity on the part of the third world, so that it can become a genuine force of moral deterrence in the face of any nuclear adventure. 185. The unity of the third world, or the developing world, is something that Colombia would adopt as a banner for international action, and it should have as its objective the neutralization of any military provocation and should mobilize public opinion against anything that might give rise to a conflagration. The new international economic order will always be a fallacy so long as we fail to improve the machinery already agreed upon to maintain the prices of primary products.”
1980-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 35 (1980)
“The policy of the North- South dialogue remains bogged down in the face of indifference and delay. The demand of the peoples of the world for general and complete disarmament has been met simply with denials or delays. This obviously discouraging picture should be the subject of very serious and alert consideration on the part of the third world countries which have been so sorely afflicted by present economic circumstances. 184. Colombia believes that only a vast movement of unity in the third world can rescue the objective of the new international economic order. As long as the developing nations maintain their casual attitude, their role will always be diminished.”
1980-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 35 (1980)
“However, in this field we find an increasingly unjust distribution of world power and an increasingly evasive attitude of the great Powers in regard to the international commitments which should underlie the new international economic order. 182. World public opinion should be made known clearly in favour of strict compliance with the Charter of Economic Rights and Duties of States, which so far has been only a catalogue of good intentions without any practical effect. Its establishment as a binding rule for the international community is becoming an indispensable requirement for ensuring peace. 183. In the period since the end of the thirty-fourth session of the General Assembly, the implementation of measures of co-operation for the developing world has been postponed or reduced to absurd terms.”
1980-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 35 (1980)
“The generalized crisis in international co-operation runs the whole gamut of the financial institutions and clearly shows how the developing countries have been traversing the most troublesome stage of the last few decades, without the international community coming to their assistance. The recently concluded eleventh special session of the General Assembly only left as its corollary a greater distance between the rich and the poor countries, without any speedy possible solutions having been glimpsed. Within the United Nations itself and the specialized agencies there have been initiatives for the protection of primary commodity prices, to restore the balance between the industrialized countries and the raw materials exporters.”
1980-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 35 (1980)
“The latter is a valid and effective instrument for the free market situation in which the importing countries have placed us, but in spite of the success of the machinery adopted, Colombia is aware that in the long term the Agreement between producers and consumers is the best tool for the management of the coffee trade, and for this reason we have agreed to it. The producer countries insist that the International Coffee Agreement, with all its mechanisms in full force, should function as a forum for the scrupulous analysis of market trends, particularly so that it can act as a regulating instrument and preserve the real income of the producer countries, since nominal pricing is not enough for the defence of our economies. 181.”
1980-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 35 (1980)
“The delay in the entry into force of the International Coffee Agreement between producers and consumers has made clear the short-sightedness of the latter with regard to the real impact of the fall in coffee-bean prices as a destabilizing element. The coffee-consuming countries did not want to realize that, with prices below producers' real requirements, the only thing that is achieved is the stimulation of the factors of national and international disorder. The consumer nations did not give their decisive support at the proper time to the negotiation of a coffee agreement, and consequently the producer countries were forced to organize their own defence machinery.”
1980-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 35 (1980)
“It is equally clear that the economies of the developing countries are suffering from a diminution of their real income that alters the priorities of public investment to the point where not only have growth possibilities been restricted but the very political stability of the countries has often been threatened. For the developing countries the oil crisis has reduced the possibilities of proper and appropriate planning to make bold structural changes. To this must be added the tragic situation of countries which export primary commodities, which have seen a dramatic reduction in the volume of their earnings, in contrast to the gradual increase in the prices of the goods they are obliged to insert. 180.”
1980-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 35 (1980)
“This session of the Assembly is being held at a time when the economic situation of the countries of the third world is showing undoubted symptoms of crisis, particularly because of the growing deterioration in terms of trade. The great Powers have been coping relatively successfully with their difficulties, but at the same time the rises in the prices of petroleum and its derivatives are continuing directly and incontrovertibly to affect the financial structures of the weaker nations. Nobody can deny that the fluctuations and increases in the oil prices have been a factor altering the basic conditions underlying world order.”
1980-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 35 (1980)
“The Treaty with Nicaragua was signed and subsequently approved in both countries with full compliance with all constitutional requirements, and then the respective instruments were solemnly exchanged there having been prior discussions of the document in Nicaragua, with the full participation of the various political parties. The abortive attempt by the present Nicaraguan Government to abrogate arbitrarily the Treaty of 1928 with Colombia simply deserves the repudiation of the international community, because it is an attempt to disregard law and alter the situation of friendly relations between our two peoples. The juridical claim of Colombia is based on prevailing law, which faithfully and fully interprets the principles of uti possidetis juris of 1810, is irrefutable and admits of no argument. 179.”
1980-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 35 (1980)
“Respect for the inviolability of treaties, the security of obligations agreed upon under conventions and, particularly, the principle that international conduct should be governed by the rule of the law of nations constitute the best guarantee for a nation so profoundly committed to the precepts upon which international solidarity is based. 178. The principle of pacta sunt servanda is something that our neighbour, Nicaragua, has tried to disregard. It is unilaterally attempting to repudiate the validity of the Barcenas Meneses-Esguerra Treaty of 1928, which defined the territorial dispute between the two States. Any attempt on the part of the Nicaraguan Government to repudiate the Treaty of 1928 would be unprecedented and would imply disrespect for treaties that have been duly and properly signed.”
1980-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 35 (1980)
“This is all the more serious if we realize that South Africa continues to pursue its policy of apartheid, a flagrant violation of the most elementary human rights and a vestige of the discriminatory policy of ancient empires. 176. The fact that my country has for more than 12 years belonged to the United Nations Council for Namibia strengthens its authority when it calls once again on the Assembly to condemn apartheid and to require South Africa to comply with its international obligation to permit the complete independence of Namibia with all the prerogatives inherent in the sovereignty of States. 177. Colombia is a country which throughout its history as a republic has maintained unswerving respect for the principles of international law as an irreplaceable rule for peace and coexistence among peoples.”
1980-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 35 (1980)
“Any unjust attempt, far from contributing to lasting solutions, would open up the field to fresh conflicts with unpredictable consequences. 174. My country favours the creation of the Palestinian State, since its people has the right to a legal, dignified and peaceful existence. Similarly, Colombia defends the existence of the State of Israel, with secure frontiers within territorial limits recognized by the international Organisation. 175. The process of decolonization, for which the United Nations may justly claim the greatest credit ever since its foundation, has met with the obstinate resistance of the South African Government in its attempt to create the necessary conditions for recognition of Namibia as a free and sovereign nation.”
1980-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 35 (1980)
“Guaranteeing the fundamental rights of all the countries in the Middle East requires a search for an appropriate solution to the serious crisis in Lebanon, a nation that has been suffering from very tragic circumstances and whose plight the United Nations cannot ignore if it is to retain its territorial integrity without outside intervention. International action so far has not, in respect of Lebanon, been sufficiently active or effective. 173. The regional balance that might arise from a security conference for the Middle East, for which the General Assembly has on other occasions called, should take into account the very special conditions of the area and base itself on the guiding principle of the United Nations, which is that peace should be based on the rule of law, which in its turn must be the expression of justice.”
1980-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 35 (1980)
“Colombia is convinced that suitable machinery for a stable peace lies in a dialogue among all the countries of the region, and including the PLO, in order to secure through reconciliation of the different viewpoints, effective measures for maintaining the security of all the peoples of the area on a basis of justice and equity. The demand for a Palestinian homeland, a matter the urgency of which my country has emphasized in this very hall on other occasions, cannot be indefinitely delayed. Establishment of such a homeland, besides redressing a wrong, would also contribute to the normalization of relations among the peoples of the area.”
1980-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 35 (1980)
“The presence of foreign troops in Afghanistan is, from every standpoint, contrary to the Charter of the United Nations. Hence, at the current session the General Assembly should repeat the appeal for the evacuation of the occupying troops, permitting the Afghan people to recover its right of self-determination, free from compulsion and without advantages for other countries. 171. In the Middle East unmistakable symptoms of a disruption of peace persist, and have become more acute. Yet the United Nations has not been able to prevent the situation from worsening. 172.”
1980-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 35 (1980)
“It is highly possible that in the institutional field there is already considerable machinery capable of bringing about disarmament successfully. Thus, what is required is the political will to lay the bases for a real limitation of weapons of mass destruction, on which the major risk of a generalized conflagration depend. 170. Another item of concern to the General Assembly at its thirty-fifth session is the question of Afghanistan, a situation that was analysed in the course of the sixth emergency special session held this year. In its resolution ES-6/2 the Assembly called for the immediate, unconditional and total withdrawal of the occupying troops, an appeal that has not been heeded, while the so-called justifications put forward cannot be accepted because they are contrary to international law.”
1980-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 35 (1980)
“Universal detente with the participation of representatives from every continent would make a true and sound contribution to international security. It is incumbent upon the United Nations to promote detente by creating, through its operative machinery, the conditions that would bring it about. 168. Within this context, Encouraging disarmament projects is something that should have priority over other matters, Without any doubt, the developing nations are the ones which bear the heaviest burden because of the arms race which diverts basic resources from the well-being of their peoples and, in relative terms, limits economic growth and increases their technological dependence on the major centres of power. 169.”
1980-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 35 (1980)
“More particularly it must strengthen the vocation for peace, which is the most appropriate safeguard for understanding and dialogue. 166. The developing countries wish to see detente become universal. It would be wrong for peace agreements to be worked out by a small group of nations while other countries suffer the tragic consequences of conflicts fostered from abroad. 167. We welcome the preparations for the second review session of the Conference on Security and Co-operation in Europe, to be held at Madrid, to follow up the Helsinki Final Act and to adapt its conclusions to the new circumstances. However, detente limited to one continent alone must of necessity transfer many disputes between the great Powers to outlying areas, condemning them to international conflicts with tragic consequences.”
1980-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 35 (1980)
“Colombia has always called for a detente that would not be confined to a few geographical areas but would extend to every continent, but we must not allow the benefits of the agreement between the two super-Powers to be limited to a privileged group of nations. 165. Detente—understood in its essential terms, such as the limitation of strategic arms, economic cooperation transcending ideological barriers, and in particular the curbing of the arms race—is a goal that is binding on the international Organization, and no country should be allowed to shirk the duties incumbent upon it in the maintenance of peace. In order to achieve these goals, the United Nations must bring its entire institutional machinery into play.”
1980-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 35 (1980)
“The conflict between Iraq and Iran, the consequences of which we cannot foresee, makes it imperative that the United Nations itself renew its efforts to restore harmony and to ensure that the principles on which world solidarity rests will prevail. These facts have made it clear that the whole complex of international relations must be reviewed and the role of each nation in the face of the conflict defined. 164. The most important thing of all, of course, is not only to rebuild the climate of confidence among all countries, but to give the policy of detente every opportunity to become effective and stable.”
1980-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 35 (1980)
“On behalf of the Government of Colombia, I wish to bid a fraternal welcome to that State and I take pleasure in offering our co-operation in ensuring that its participation in the international arena shall have the scope merited by its people. 162. This session of the General Assembly comes, at a particularly difficult time for world peace when, in a climate of perturbation, we can observe signs of potential conflagration and conflict. The optimism, which seemed to be spreading as a result of the policy of detente, reflected in such a promising way in the Salt II Treaty, and in particular in the Final Act of the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe, signed at Helsinki in 197S, has been replaced by states of war, a situation which we must confront with objectivity and realism. 163.”
1980-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 35 (1980)
“We should also like to associate ourselves with the expressions of gratitude which have been made by members of the Assembly for the task accomplished by your predecessor in the presidency, Mr. Salim of the United Republic of Tanzania. In a difficult period the Assembly benefited from the effective and judicious conduct of our proceedings by this outstanding representative of generations trained in the struggle for the emancipation of African States. 160. At a time when severe conflicts threaten the peaceful coexistence of nations, we consider it fortunate that our Organization should be able to profit from the enlightenment, experience and vigilance of its Secretary-General. 161. We should also like to welcome the admission of a new State from the Latin American area, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines.”
1980-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 35 (1980)
“I should like to congratulate you, Sir, on behalf of my Government, on your well-deserved election to the presidency of the thirty-fifth session of the General Assembly. In electing you, this body wished to acknowledge the valuable contribution of your country to the peaceful development of international life in the post-war period and the extraordinary achievements of the Federal Republic of Germany in the building of a highly efficient and equitable society and also wished to pay a tribute to the distinguished human and intellectual qualities which have marked your conduct as representative of the Federal Republic of Germany in the Organization. 159.”
1980-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 35 (1980)
“For confidence in the future of the Organization to be renewed, as it must be, what is required today is steadfastness and boldness in the quest for a new system of international relations. Because of its urgency, this is something that should be the subject of particular attention by all countries, and it is something which Colombia repeatedly advocates. 118. World peace requires that a supreme effort be made to narrow disparities in development among nations and to ensure that policies based on power alone give way to an order in which human dignity and the fundamental rights of peoples are guaranteed by law. To that end, Colombia, as a deeply democratic country, offers its loyal co-operation.”
1979-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 34 (1979)
“The appeal I am making on behalf of the Government of Colombia for the creation of machinery to develop the mandate of the Charter in the sphere of the peaceful settlement of disputes, the urgent need for the United Nations fully to exercise the responsibility for the maintenance of peace that rightfully falls to it, the importance of furthering the new international economic order in the domain of possible achievements and the urgency of arriving at a common policy with respect to the critical energy situation are all things that are not only the aspirations of my country but also undertakings of the United Nations, which should understand the new path it must follow so that economic and social conditions in the world will not trigger a new conflagration of unforeseeable dimensions. 117.”
1979-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 34 (1979)
“The signing in Panama on 1 October of the Torrijos-Carter Treaties restoring sovereignty over the Canal Zone to the Republic of Panama should be hailed as a genuine triumph for free peoples. 115. Perhaps the most important political development this year in South America was the strengthening of the Andean sub regional group, comprising Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Venezuela. This constitutes an important step towards economic integration and encourages joint action vis-a-vis various international organizations. The Andean Group, created by the Cartagena Agreement, is perhaps the best example of horizontal co-operation and of efforts to cope with the unequal conditions under which third-world countries are labouring in the face of the crisis of international co-operation to which I have referred. 116.”
1979-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 34 (1979)
“With reference to Latin America, we must welcome as an important development the creation of the Junta of National Reconstruction as the new Government of Nicaragua established in the wake of the heroic victory which overthrew the Somoza dictatorship, a development that was endorsed by the General Assembly itself at its last session in response to charges of human rights violations brought by the Governments of Colombia and Venezuela. The tragic events which the Nicaraguan people have endured compel us to reiterate the appeal made to all countries to contribute to the task of national reconstruction in a spirit of authentic international solidarity. 114.”
1979-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 34 (1979)
“Jose Alberto Zambrano, in the statement he made at the Sixth Conference of Heads of State or Government of Non-Aligned Countries at Havana: "As countries members of OPEC," we are fully aware of the imperative need for new initiatives and strategies of preferential co-operation with the developing countries, and this matter will have special priority at the next meeting of OPEC to be held in Caracas at the end of this year". 112. President Jose' Lopez Portillo of Mexico also discussed the desirability of adopting, within the framework of the United Nations, a new policy with respect to energy sources, especially petroleum. All these statements buttress and underscore the urgent need for the General Assembly itself to take steps and provide guidelines in order to deal with the major problem now burdening the developing world. 113.”
1979-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 34 (1979)
“The Caracas declaration, from which I have just quoted, was signed on 12 March 1979 by the Presidents of Bolivia, Colombia, Costa Rica and the Dominican Republic, as well as by the Head of Government of Spain. The views expressed referred to the urgency of seeking, at an international level, machinery to reader less difficult the fulfilment of development programmes for countries which lack petroleum and therefore face critical difficulties. 111. It is worth while emphasizing, in addition, the view expressed by the Minister for Foreign Affairs of Venezuela, Mr.”
1979-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 34 (1979)
“Julio Cesar Turbay Ayala, President of Colombia, the following statement was made: "Let us avail ourselves of this opportunity to address an appeal to the petroleum-producing countries and to the entire world concerning the need to establish without delay appropriate machinery to permit a logical application of the price of petroleum and its derivatives. Our position is not one of opposition to the establishment of just prices. On the contrary, we need such prices for our products. But we take exception openly with arbitrary price-fixing and an indiscriminate increase in the price of petroleum, which has been accompanied by substantial speculation on spot-market prices and which deprives our peoples of their prerogatives." 110.”
1979-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 34 (1979)
“This review of developments which point to a grave deterioration of international co-operation in recent times leads to the conclusion that the concept of the new international economic order is still nothing more than an aspiration which is frustrated at every step. 108. To this negative balance-sheet of international co-operation, which sows mistrust in relations between the affluent nations and the third world, we must add the energy crisis, which has dealt its hardest blows to the small and medium-sized countries. 109. At the Meeting of Heads of State or Government held in Caracas during the term of office of the distinguished Venezuelan leader Mr. Luis Herrera Campuis, on the initiative of Mr.”
1979-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 34 (1979)
“To that we must add the dwindling financial potential of international bodies devoted to promoting cooperation, which earmark disproportionate sums for administrative expenditures with the concomitant decline in aid programmes. 106. The demand by the equatorial countries that the synchronous geostationary orbit should become part of the resources falling within their full competence, a point on which Colombia reaffirms its full solidarity with the countries of the area, has been persistently rejected by certain Powers, which wish in the matter of outer space as with the use of the seas to reserve resources for their exclusive use. 107.”
1979-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 34 (1979)
“Each time the Third United Nations Conference on the Law of the Sea is convened, we hear in ever stronger terms the voices of those countries which disregard the achievements of the small and medium-sized countries, achievements which had seemed secure, such as the 200-mile limit of sovereignty over economic resources. With respect to the sea-bed authority, the distribution of powers now claimed dampens our hopes that the future treaty could become a true instrument for the decolonization of the seas. 105. With reference to the question of price-support machinery for commodities, such as coffee and sugar, the major consumers are reluctant to support its operation, which, coupled with the new obstacles to trade in commodities from developing countries, is rendering the world distribution of power increasingly unfair.”
1979-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 34 (1979)
“It is obvious that the North-South dialogue, which began with so much optimism, has only given rise to new frustrations. As its last session in Manila UNCTAD once again brought to light the lack of understanding of the industrialized countries vis-a-vis the demands of the third world, and We must not hide the fact that progress was scant, if we bear in mind the magnitude of the programme which should have been covered. Colombia fully supports the proposal for global negotiations as presented by the developing countries. 104. With regard to the law of the sea, the intransigence of some Powers has complicated the task of drawing up a harmonious and just code for the use of the oceans.”
1979-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 34 (1979)
“Colombia has been an advocate of furthering the work on the review of the Charter, efforts on which have yielded only hesitant conclusions. However, without prejudice to continuing this work, a decision by the General Assembly to create new machinery for investigation and conciliation together with new imaginative approaches to the mediation of international conflicts is not only a timely task but also a very promising one. 103. Our country is firmly convinced that the international crisis we are going through is directly related to the stagnation of programmes for a new international economic order, which the United Nations itself has proclaimed as an undertaking of the Organization and made into a norm of conduct for its Member Governments.”
1979-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 34 (1979)
“It would therefore be a proper task for this Assembly, in pursuance of the imperatives of the Charter, to promote a current of world opinion aimed at devising new and imaginative machinery for the settlement of disputes. Colombia views with favour and lends its support to the initiative of the Government of Austria to establish a centre for research and conciliation which could by its flexible character contribute to the direct settlement of disputes which might arise In future. This plan has been discussed previously in the Assembly but, while there might have been doubts in the past as to its desirability, world security today demands more expeditious and manageable instruments which can be resorted to so as to reconcile conflicting positions and prevent the deterioration of relations among States. 102.”
1979-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 34 (1979)
“Colombia has for some time observed that Article 2, paragraph 3, of the Charter, which makes the Pacific settlement of disputes mandatory, has not yet seen the subject of orderly development offering possibilities for settlement in many conflicts. The world is aware that the problems of our times stem from a combination of economic, political and social factors which do not always lend themselves to solutions by law. Possibly, the branch of international relations in which there has been the least progress is the settlement of disputes by peaceful means. Both the International Court of Justice and the Permanent Court of Arbitration tend to be kept at one remove from the difficulties which they were intended to solve and for which they were established.”
1979-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 34 (1979)
“Coupled with genocidal violations of human rights, South Africa's nuclear arms policy now poses a threat not only to the peace of the region but also to world security. The decolonization process which the United Nations has so successfully been carrying forward should now be directed essentially to preventing the racist policy of South Africa from being perpetuated and thus jeopardizing collective security. Apartheid, which is perhaps the worst crime of our times, must be eradicated through new and more vigorous policies from the Security Council and the General Assembly. 100. The independence of Namibia and an appropriate solution to the problem of Zimbabwe are also matters of particular concern. 101.”
1979-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 34 (1979)
“Accordingly, the initiative of the Secretary- General, Mr. Kurt Waldheim, to convene a special conference with the participation of all parties concerned on the basis of equality is a step forward which should be supported and adopted by the present session of the General Assembly. The indefinite postponement of this problem has brought grave difficulties to the countries of the Middle East, and the call for a just solution deserves universal attention, as does the future status of Jerusalem, a city holy to three of the world's major monotheistic religions. 99. Together with the Middle East, we must emphasize with anxiety the tragic condition of the people of South Africa, where a systematic crime against the indigenous populations is being perpetuated in the sys- tern of apartheid, which is unequivocally rejected by all free peoples.”
1979-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 34 (1979)
“In pursuit of that policy, I now wish to present some views, on behalf of Colombia, on how the functioning of the world Organization might be strengthened in a creative spirit. 97. First, my country continues to view with concern the ongoing crisis in the Middle East, an area now being shaken by new and disturbing signs of strife. We believe that peace in the region must be sought through the United Nations system and that it must be based on over-all solutions in accordance with the spirit of the oft-reaffirmed Security Council resolutions. These solutions can only lead to progress to the extent that they include the full recognition of the rights of the Palestinian people to a sovereign territory. This situation is analogous in many respects to that which Israel faced in 1947. 98.”
1979-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 34 (1979)
“No one can ignore the efforts this Organization has made to preserve security in various continents and its tireless striving to avert conflicts that would inevitably have led to new hostilities. However, speaking objectively, we should note that the United Nations must seek to recover the initiative in and responsibility for the maintenance of peace on the five continents of the world, lest all that does not partake of the spirit of the Charter and that is undertaken without reference to the competence of United Nations bodies should subsequently occasion fresh difficulties on the road of understanding and concord. 96. This is why in my statement to the Assembly last year I emphasized the importance of strengthening the Organization as the nerve-centre of major world decisions.”
1979-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 34 (1979)
“On behalf of the Government of Colombia, I should also like to extend a fraternal welcome to Saint Lucia, the beautiful Caribbean island that has just achieved full independence. It enters the United Nations in its own Right, as it has entered our regional group, the Organization of American States. In both organizations, we hope to co-operate with it for the success of our endeavours. We offer it our support in order that its international role may be commensurate with its people's just deserts. 95. The thirty-fourth session of the United Nations General Assembly is convening against a background of contradictory signs and of threats to world peace.”
1979-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 34 (1979)
“On behalf of my Government, I should like to congratulate Mr. Salim on his election as President of the thirty-fourth regular session of the General Assembly. Our Organization has thereby attempted to acknowledge the debt it owes to his country, the United Republic of Tanzania, and its illustrious President, Mr. Julius Nyerere, in the lengthy struggle for the decolonization of Africa, a task that entailed many risks. In Mr. Salim we recognize the continuity of that tradition of struggle for freedom and self-determination of peoples. In the Special Committee on decolonization, we have seen him as a leader of the decolonization movement and we were amazed at how well he guided the work of the Special Committee at such an early age. 94.”
1979-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 34 (1979)
“Colombia, as it observes the serious problems threatening peace and the security of peoples, and convinced as it is that only a strong Organization can preserve us from the scourge of war, voices its sincerest wishes that the present session of the General Assembly may help to strengthen the institutional power of the United Nations and the effectiveness of its contribution to the protection of life and the dignity of human beings everywhere on earth.”
1978-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 33 (1978)
“Therefore, in various similar ways, the Colombian Government will lay stress on this matter in order to mobilize world public opinion to the fullest in support of the victims of the Nicaraguan tragedy. 174. The work of international bodies in the field of human rights cannot be regarded as an activity which violates the principle of non-intervention, because whatever work they do is carried out in compliance with their treaty obligations. 175.”
1978-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 33 (1978)
“[see A/33/275, annex.] In this appeal to the world's conscience they sought to put before the United Nations clear information on the serious events taking place in Nicaragua so that the various institutionalized mechanisms for the true protection of human rights could immediately be put into operation and greater loss of life be prevented. 172. The Commission on Human Rights, as an organ of the Economic and Social Council, will also provide adequate measures, although that would not exclude the possibility of the United Nations promoting concerted humanitarian action at all other levels; nor does it preclude the participation of regional mechanisms. 173. With respect to the protection of human rights, there cannot be any principle of exclusion.”
1978-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 33 (1978)
“The President of Colombia and Venezuela, Julio Cesar Turbay Ayala and Carlos Andres Perez, on 27 September last, addressed a communication to the President of this Assembly, to denounce the serious violations of human rights that were occurring in the Republic of Nicaragua. The two Presidents stated the following: "In denouncing the tragic and dramatic situation of vast segments of the population of Nicaragua, whose essential rights are being violated, we respect the principle of non-intervention, which is by no means incompatible with the task of internationally safeguarding human rights which the United Nations is required to perform.. .”
1978-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 33 (1978)
“A similar phenomenon occurs in regional bodies, where the procedures evolved, in the case of the European Community, for example, have led to favourable results. Within the Organization of American States we have also noted some progress, especially since the Pact of San Jose, Costa Rica, entered into force. 170. When the lives of defenceless people are threatened, so long as there exist countries where fundamental freedoms are systematically violated and from the moment when individual guarantees disappear in any place, giving way to barbarism, the United Nations is required to act urgently through the many channels it has developed for the purpose. n 171.”
1978-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 33 (1978)