YouSaid · the spoken record

Dinesh SINGH

lines on the record: 65
first: 1969-09-24
most recent: 1993-09-24
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

“It is my Government’s belief that this quest for the common good, jointly undertaken, will be central to the success of our endeavour and for the achievement of the Charter’s objective of harmonizing the actions of nations in the attainment of these common ends.”
1993-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 48 (1993)
“The permanent members should be responsive to the aspirations of developing countries represented in the General Assembly on the basis of equality. It is therefore essential also to revive the role of the General Assembly, as was originally envisaged in the Charter. We stand on a decisive threshold incomparable to any in history, a moment in time when we must bring to bear a larger vision and foster the forces of positive integration, democracy and cooperation at national and international levels. My Prime Minister has, in characterizing the 1990s as watershed years in global affairs in the realm of political, economic and environmental challenges and changes, conveyed an unequivocal message: "We cannot go wrong if we make coexistence and peace our watchword, and common universal good our objective".”
1993-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 48 (1993)
“For the selection of additional States in an expanded Council, the population - which represents the principle of democracy and an element of power - the size of the economy and the future potential of the countries concerned should be taken into account, along with equitable geographical distribution and the contribution to the maintenance of international peace and security. There is virtual unanimity among those who have responded to the Secretary-General that an expansion of the Council is imperative. Interesting suggestions have been put forward by several countries. The logical next step would be to start a process of consultations to arrive at a suitable and fair formula that commands universal support.”
1993-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 48 (1993)
“The responsibilities of the Security Council have grown dramatically in the past few years, requiring a greater degree of participation by the overall membership of the United Nations in the Council’s decision-making process. We must recognize that the membership of the United Nations has grown enormously over the years. A more balanced and expanded representation for Member States in the Council is therefore inevitable. Unity of purpose among its members rather than size determines the efficiency of any organization. The expansion should not be done selectively or in a piecemeal manner. The principles or criteria of expansion of the permanent and non-permanent membership should be agreed upon by consensus.”
1993-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 48 (1993)
“In sum, we believe that international cooperation in the protection of human rights can succeed only if it is within the framework of respect for the sovereignty and integrity of States and of a vigorous global programme for anti-terrorist action. We would, however, like to point out that any unilateral use of human rights as an instrument of political pressure or intervention, or as an obstacle to trade or a condition for development cooperation and aid, in fact serves the opposite purpose and impedes the full realization of the human rights of people of affected countries. The enhanced role of the United Nations in international affairs calls for the restructuring and redefining of the functions of its principal organs.”
1993-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 48 (1993)
“Why do they virtually turn a blind eye to the violation of the human rights of the victims of such terrorism - innocent civilians or those upholding law and order and the territorial integrity of States? Can they in true conscience allow terrorists and their supporters to usurp the moral high ground on human rights? The United Nations will have to take strong action against terrorists because terrorists engage in all kinds of violence. They try to upset democratically taken decisions in a country by using force and killing people. This must be totally condemned by the United Nations and stopped completely so that people can live in peace and in democracy and express their views in accordance with the constitution of their country.”
1993-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 48 (1993)
“It was in that spirit that we participated actively in the World Conference on Human Rights, which recognized the Forty-eighth session - 1 October l993 15 importance of this issue. We are however pained that not enough emphasis is put on a major threat and impediment to the realization of human rights, namely, terrorism, especially the kind that is aided and abetted by one State against another. Why is it that a few so-called human rights advocates and Member States of the United Nations choose to focus on the human rights of terrorists - those who indulge in senseless murder, destruction, pillage, the disruption of civilized existence and the undermining of democratic institutions?”
1993-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 48 (1993)
“The findings of the Commission are to be published from time to time besides being reflected in its annual report, which will also be laid before Parliament. The law also provides for the establishment of human rights commissions by the State Governments, on the pattern of the national Commission, as also special courts for the speedy trial of cases involving human rights violations. I am confident that members of the Assembly will accept that India has established the most appropriate human rights commission to ensure that there will be full human rights protection in the country. Our commitment to universally acceptable non-discriminatory norms of human rights and their protection and promotion cannot be questioned.”
1993-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 48 (1993)
“India’s commitment to the effective protection of human rights has now received another institutional impetus with the establishment of a National Human Rights Commission comprised of a retired Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of India, a retired judge of the Supreme Court of India, a former Chief Justice of the State High Court and other eminent persons as well as the chairmen of the three separate national commissions which already exist to protect the interests of scheduled castes and scheduled tribes, women and minorities. The Commission has been mandated to inquire into allegations of violations of human rights and has been invested with wide-ranging powers, including the power to establish special investigation teams to carry out effective investigations.”
1993-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 48 (1993)
“The profoundly humanistic traditions of the Indian civilization, with its emphasis on tolerance, harmony, non-violence and the inviolability of the individual, have found their modern expression in the setting up of a democratic, secular and egalitarian polity and society in free India. Being the largest practising democracy and effecting a synthesis between a multiplicity of ethnic, religious and linguistic groups and peoples has been no easy task, as some in the West are themselves realizing even in the context of their relatively lesser diversities. The Constitution of free India consolidated this humanistic tradition and is indeed a veritable bill of human rights. A strong and independent judiciary and a totally free press have also been watchdogs of democracy and human rights in India.”
1993-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 48 (1993)
“Some key issues where there is an ongoing dialogue but which none the less need further consideration and implementation include: participation of developing countries in global macroeconomic coordination and decision-making; reciprocation by the North of the efforts of the South at restructuring and economic liberalization through the pursuit of expansionist policies conducive to long-term growth and opening them up to global competition in goods, services and manpower through reduction and elimination of protectionist barriers; increased capital flows, both official and private, bilateral and multilateral, to developing countries to offset the crippling effects of the debt burden and to accelerate growth and development; and a balanced, successful conclusion of the Uruguay Round, which should ensure substantial enhancement of market access for developing-country exports and of their access to the tool of competitiveness.”
1993-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 48 (1993)
“Representing the developing countries, we have had a promising start through an informal dialogue with the G-7 and we hope to build on those beginnings in a spirit of "global partnership for global benefit", as was stated by my Prime Minister, Mr. P. V. Narasimha Rao in his message to the G-7 Chairman.”
1993-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 48 (1993)
“Comprehensive and constructive dialogue between the North and the South and the strengthening of a global partnership for development are the needs of our times if we are to avoid the replacement of the East-West divide by a North-South one. India has always participated in the ongoing North-South dialogue through the Group of 77 and the Non-Aligned Movement and in keeping with the requirements of a more focused dialogue. India has become part of the new group of 15 developing countries for South-South consultation and cooperation, the G-15. We are acting as host to the fourth summit meeting of that group at New Delhi in December.”
1993-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 48 (1993)
“The work on an agenda for development should build on all these development-related action programmes and provide a new impetus to development cooperation, both under United Nations auspices and in bilateral and other multilateral contexts. Enhancement of the role, resources and capabilities of the organs and agencies dealing with development in the United Nations system should be stressed. The United Nations should also be enabled to have a more interactive relationship with the Bretton Woods institutions in a spirit of finding considered and innovative solutions to global economic problems and pooling all available resources for that purpose.”
1993-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 48 (1993)
“It is obvious that there can be no global security unless development is ensured, and we therefore attach as much importance to an agenda for development as to the "Agenda for Peace". Agenda 21 of the Rio Declaration, outlining the plan and programme for global cooperation in ensuring sustainable development; the outcome of the Final Act of the eighth session of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD VIII), on the partnership for development between the North and the South; and the 14 General Assembly - Forty-eighth session forthcoming Conference on Population and Development, as well as the World Summit on Social Development, provide the international community enough opportunity to promote economic and social development and environmental sustainability, particularly in developing countries.”
1993-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 48 (1993)
“Non-proliferation concerns must not be made a pretext for denying developing countries access to technologies critical for their development. There is, therefore, need to evolve multilateral, non-discriminatory and transparent arrangements to regulate the transfer of such technologies so that peaceful uses and dissemination of some key technologies are not denied to the developing world. There is perhaps merit in convening a special session on disarmament to examine the whole gamut of disarmament-related issues that arise in the new context of today. The question of a peace dividend arising from disarmament in the form of financial and technical resources for the enhancement of international development cooperation in the context of the United Nations could be one of the issues that special session could address.”
1993-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 48 (1993)
“For a non-proliferation regime to be truly meaningful, it must also address the questions of a convention on the non-use of nuclear weapons, a verifiable freeze on the production of fissionable material, a total ban on nuclear-weapon tests and negotiations on general and complete disarmament. The global spread and reach of nuclear weapons reduce to a travesty the objective of achieving genuine peace and security within a narrow regional framework. It is our hope that the United Nations will take firm action in this direction to achieve this in the sense I have mentioned. One area of concern for developing countries is the question of ad hoc and unilateral export controls and other restrictions being placed on the transfer of dual-use and high technology with the ostensible purpose of curbing proliferation.”
1993-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 48 (1993)
“The focus of the nuclear-weapon Powers should now be on the early conclusion of a universal, verifiable and comprehensive nuclear-test-ban treaty leading to the elimination of all nuclear weapons. India’s commitment to non-proliferation is complete and unequivocal. India has an unblemished track record. India’s proposal made in 1988 for an action plan for nuclear disarmament within a specific time-frame is of continuing relevance in our bid to rid the world of the global scourge of nuclear weapons. We believe that a new, just and uniformly applicable regime for non-proliferation which does not discriminate between the nuclear-weapon and the non-nuclear-weapon States should be considered at an early date. Such a treaty should place equal obligations on all States.”
1993-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 48 (1993)
“Another aspect of the agenda for peace which we would like to underline is the particular importance we attach to Article 50, which enjoins the Security Council to find solutions to the special economic problems faced by third States on account of the implementation of sanctions imposed by the Security Council. We call for an automatic mechanism that would put remedial action in place simultaneously with the imposition of sanctions. An integral element of any agenda for peace in our time is the achievement of disarmament, particularly nuclear disarmament. Having endorsed the Chemical Weapons Convention, the United Nations should move on to consider similar steps in other areas of disarmament. We welcome the unilateral decision of the United States to extend its moratorium on nuclear testing until the end of 1994.”
1993-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 48 (1993)
“The Foreign Minister of the Russian Federation, in his address to the General Assembly a few days ago, put forward a few proposals in this respect which merit consideration by the General Assembly. The concept of invoking humanitarian relief as a basis for peace-keeping operations may have to be approached with a great deal of caution and circumspection. Any new United Nations operation for providing humanitarian relief must be completely non-partisan - in fact and in the perception of the parties involved. That consideration must also guide any discussion or decision on preventive deployment. The United Nations must not allow itself to be burdened indefinitely with obsolete and ineffective peace-keeping operations. Every possible measure should be taken to ensure the safety of peace-keeping personnel.”
1993-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 48 (1993)
“All avenues of pacific settlement of disputes, as laid down in Chapter VI of the Charter, should be fully explored and exhausted before resorting to peace-keeping operations under Chapter VII. Decisions on such operations should be taken in a democratic and broad-based manner, and after thorough consideration of all aspects. To command universal endorsement and maintain their non-partisan character, United Nations peace-keeping operations must be based on the consent of all the States parties to a dispute. They should be undertaken with a specific mandate and a clear time-frame. Greater efficiency should be achieved in both planning and execution of peace-keeping operations.”
1993-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 48 (1993)
“It is a matter of comfort because the United Nations at long last has started playing its Charter role in the area of peace and security. In the altered international political environment, we would like the United Nations to realize its full potential. At the same time, the involvement of the United Nations on an unprecedented scale with peace- keeping operations causes us concern because operationally the United Nations is not fully prepared and equipped to discharge this role effectively. And, legally and conceptually, the limits, procedures and rules of the involvement of the United Nations are not clearly defined. Forty-eighth session - 1 October l993 13 For peace-keeping operations to be successful, it is necessary to follow certain guidelines and criteria.”
1993-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 48 (1993)
“As an unprecedented humanitarian mission, the multilateral action in Somalia enjoyed the support of the entire world, including the factional Somali leaders themselves. India, for its part, has contributed one of the largest contingents to this mission. Now that the situation has improved and starvation has been averted, the United Nations operation faces new problems. It is necessary for the United Nations to reassure all sectors of the people of Somalia about its role in the country, intensify the process of political reconciliation and adhere strictly to the original objectives of the mission. The phenomenal increase in peace-keeping operations in the post-cold-war period and their inclusion as an element of the new agenda for peace is at once a matter of comfort and concern.”
1993-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 48 (1993)
“In response to his suggestion, India, which had imposed trade sanctions against South Africa as early as 1946, has initiated action to lift those sanctions and to normalize relations with South Africa. We trust that the recognition by the Security Council of the international boundary between Iraq and Kuwait will contribute to the stabilization of the situation in the Gulf region. We hope that the faithful implementation of the relevant Security Council resolutions will lead to the alleviation of the present difficulties of the peoples of the region. In Somalia, a whole population has gone through a protracted civil war and famine with hardly any governmental machinery to tackle the situation. This made it imperative for the United Nations to act.”
1993-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 48 (1993)
“It is in this spirit that India is ready to initiate a dialogue with Pakistan to build mutual confidence and to promote a climate of stability in our region. I can only hope that Pakistan will respond to this, and have a dialogue with us, instead of trying to go around the world accentuating differences that will be difficult to resolve later. We welcome the recently concluded peace accord between Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), and earnestly hope that this will be a true harbinger of further positive developments aimed at establishing lasting peace and prosperity in West Asia. We also welcome the announcement by Mr. Nelson Mandela that irreversible progress towards a non-racial, democratic South Africa has been made.”
1993-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 48 (1993)
“The plurality and complexity of our post-cold-war world do not permit such generic labelling. Nor are these conflicts amenable to generic and instant remedies. A number of instances of strife or aberrations are part of the historical legacies inherited by Member States. Each is posited in a different socio-economic and cultural matrix of causation; each is caught up in a different cycle of circumstance and violence. The imposition of peace through unilateral external intervention will only perpetuate situations embodying the Orwellian logic of "peace is war" that we see in many parts of the world today. Wisdom lies in overcoming conflict situations with a positive vision animated by peace and amity and in creating the necessary confidence and will for peace among countries and peoples.”
1993-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 48 (1993)
“In the final analysis, the institutions, concepts and agencies that represent the new world order will be judged by their ability to harness and channel the beneficial and creative forces of integration for the benefit of peace and development for all and by the ability of the United Nations to ensure that the interests of its weaker Member States are fully reflected therein. In these still perilous times, they would have to promote development cooperation and effectively arrest the plunge into insecurity, strife and chaos, particularly when these threaten the very foundation of Member States, where ultimately the United Nations is rooted. There have been references in this Assembly to all these conflicts, big or small, local or with international dimensions, describing them in the generic terms of ethnic, religious and civil wars.”
1993-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 48 (1993)
“Without State sovereignty, the very instrument of international cooperation might be destroyed and international organization might itself become impossible." (A/48/1, para. 16) The United Nations will have to set an example for the conduct of relations amongst nation States on the basis of respect for the rule of law, democracy and pluralism. Any international framework, whether it be associated with peace or development, must be transparent and must deal with issues of global concerns on a non-selective and non-- discriminatory basis.”
1993-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 48 (1993)
“The structural imbalances and flaws of the post-Second-World-War international economic order persist and prevent the maximization of the benefits of interdependence and globalization. Against this backdrop, the task of the United Nations should be to construct a new global equilibrium by fostering positive integrative forces and discouraging, if not counteracting, the forces of fragmentation and discord. For this, the new United Nations will have to reiterate the fundamental and immutable principles on which it was built: respect for the national sovereignty, territorial integrity and sovereign equality of nation States. I am glad that the 12 General Assembly - Forty-eighth session Secretary-General stated in his report to the forty-eighth session: "National sovereignty is the art of rendering unequal power equal.”
1993-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 48 (1993)
“Conversely, economic sluggishness and lack of development in several cases have led to political upheavals. Inward- looking, exclusivist and narrowly self-centred global economic policy-making has been in evidence at a time when the global economy is overshadowed by recession and lack of dynamism. Macroeconomic coordination is at its weakest. Protectionist tendencies are strong. The potential of developing countries to act as vigorous engines of growth for revitalizing the world economy stands largely ignored. In developing countries, absolute and deepening poverty, hunger and malnutrition, disease, illiteracy and the lack of shelter and sanitation for a large portion of the population have caused political and social tensions.”
1993-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 48 (1993)
“Represented by sectarian and subnational aggression, racism, religious fundamentalism, bigotry, terrorism, drug trafficking and arms smuggling, they pose a threat to peace, global security, democracy, human rights and economic and social development. We are also witnessing strife, conflicts and cruel, unceasing and irrational civil wars in many parts of the world. Bosnia and Herzegovina, Somalia and Afghanistan cause us anxiety and concern. The proliferation of such local conflicts and the ever-increasing flow of refugees across national frontiers re- affirm the truism that peace, like freedom, is indivisible and that the disruption of peace anywhere is a danger to peace everywhere. These divisive forces have caused not only political instability but also economic collapse in several instances.”
1993-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 48 (1993)
“The desire of the developing countries to participate more actively in the growth of the world economy and the building-up of free-market, liberalized economies for themselves adds another positive dimension. Issues of common concern and global survival - economic development and regeneration, environmental sustainability, demographic management, technological dynamism and health for all - have provided a sense of common destiny. The communications revolution has resulted in greater cultural intermingling and openness around the world. These forces of integration are, unfortunately, opposed by those of fragmentation.”
1993-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 48 (1993)
“The euphoria generated by the end of the cold war has in the past two years given way to concerns about the difficulties of achieving a new global equilibrium and stability. Essentially, we can see these difficulties arising from the contradictory pulls and pressures exerted by the forces of positive integration and harmony on the one hand and fragmentation and discord on the other. The end of the divisions of the cold war and the efforts to halt and reverse the arms race have generated some of the integrative forces. Some forces of integration have also been at work in the global economy, which has been characterized by the globalization and interdependence of countries’ factors of production and of issues of trade, money, finance, technology, environment, population and development.”
1993-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 48 (1993)
“It has had many achievements to its credit: decolonization; efforts to alleviate poverty; peace-keeping; disarmament; devising an accepted code of international law; respect for human rights and concern for the environment. I would like to reiterate India’s faith in and consistent support for the United Nations and its efforts to establish peace and the well-being of peoples. We take note that the United Nations is trying to evolve so as to better serve the principles and purposes of the Charter. We support the Secretary-General’s efforts to make what he has called a transition from the old to the new United Nations, which would be particularly useful and fruitful for the less developed and less fortunate States.”
1993-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 48 (1993)
“Mr. President, your unanimous election as President augurs well for the forty- eighth session of the General Assembly. I extend my heartiest congratulations to you and best wishes for success. Mr. Boutros Boutros-Ghali, the Secretary-General, has given a new vision and a new impetus to the United Nations at a crucial time in its history. We wish him well in his efforts. My Government is deeply touched by the sympathy and compassion expressed by the leaders of several delegations on the devastating earthquake in India on 30 September 1993, and, with your permission, Mr. President, I shall have to go back to India immediately. The United Nations will soon be 50 years old.”
1993-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 48 (1993)
“He said that the world “is despairing of a multiplication of atom bombs, because the atom bombs mean utter destruction”. He went on to say: “It is up to you to tell the world of its wickedness and sin — that is the heritage your teachers and my teachers have taught Asia.” This was the reaffirmation of his belief which he expressed thus: “My nationalism is fierce but not exclusive and not devised to hurt any nation or individual. India’s freedom as conceived by me can never be a menace to the world. The whole of my country may die so that the human race may live.” It is in this spirit that we shall endeavour to work.”
1969-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 24 (1969)
“Here I have spoken of colonialism in Africa and the conflicts in the tortured continent of Asia because these concern us directly. I have spoken of the socio-economic resurgence of Asia because we are involved in it. I have spoken of economic development because we are a part of it. I have also spoken of the arms race and the attempts that are being made to carve out spheres of influence in our world. I have talked of the United Nations and its role in the field of international relations. I have drawn my inspiration for all this from the message of Gandhi for our own generation and for generations to come. Permit me to end my speech by quoting a statement made by Mahatma Gandhi to the representatives of a resurgent Asia at the Asian Relations Conference in New Delhi 10 months before his martyrdom.”
1969-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 24 (1969)
“We have also attempted to forge closer economic relations with our neighbours and, indeed, with other Asian countries represented on the Council of Ministers for Asian Economic Co-operation. Significant arrangements have already been concluded with some countries. More are under negotiation. It is our hope that all Asian countries will respond favourably to these efforts for co-operation and that we shall receive the necessary assistance from others so that we will be able to establish in Asia, torn by conflicts for centuries, new associations of co-operation based on equality and friendship. 140. There are a number of items on the agenda and we shall naturally express our views on them when they come up for discussion.”
1969-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 24 (1969)
“Regional economic co-operation, and particularly socio-economic resurgences in Asia can, in the ultimate analysis, be sustained only on the basis of better utilization of Asian resources and a more even distribution of wealth and opportunities within our respective societies. We, in India, have not flinched from taking decisions which alone can ensure that the wealth of the nation is utilized for the welfare of all its peoples without distinction. We have been trying resolutely to work in the context of the phenomenon of rising expectations. In so far as our society is concerned, we have, in the two decades of our independence, tried to organize ourselves in a manner to ensure that the response of our socio-economic structure to the demands on it are quick, unequivocal and progressive. 139.”
1969-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 24 (1969)
“The real security of the developing countries can be ensured only if they are able to develop their own strength, vitality and vigour; secure for their people economic and social gains and foster the habit of meeting together to pursue common objectives. 137. In Asia we are attempting to evolve a strategy for integrated development of regional economic co-operation which represents a well co-ordinated attack on the manifold problems and deficiencies in Asia. The move has been made to provide an Asian answer to Asian problems. What Asia needs today is not military pacts but economic co-operation. 138.”
1969-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 24 (1969)
“The fulfilment of this commitment requires not only determined efforts and perseverance but also imagination and courage of conviction. We will be judged harshly by history if we do not display these qualities at this crucial moment on the eve of the launching of the Second United Nations Development Decade. 135. We have been conscious of the fact that the primary responsibility for the development of developing countries rests on themselves. 136. In Asia, Africa and Latin America a beginning has been made, however modest, to advance the objective of co-operation between developing countries and to prove that they do not intend to spare their own efforts but are serious in carrying out the recommendations of the Algiers Charter and the second session of UNCTAD.”
1969-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 24 (1969)
“This process cannot but repeat itself in the case of the developing countries which are striving to break the vicious circle in which they find themselves enmeshed by the accident of history, and through the operation of an economic order erected on a very narrow base. 134. In the developed world, the inevitability of rapid change has yet to dawn on those entrusted with the reins of authority. We need to remind ourselves that when we launched the First United Nations Development Decade and when we approved the Final Acts of the Geneva and New Delhi Conferences of UNCTAD, we committed ourselves to the establishment of a new and dynamic international economic relationship and to the achievement of a new world economic order.”
1969-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 24 (1969)
“To my mind, the basic cause for widespread disenchantment with international co-operation lies in the deliberately exaggerated dichotomy between the responses and interests of the affluent and the poorer nations. Contrary to: the facts of economic history, people in positions of power have come to believe that the process of transmission of growth impulses is unilateral or irreversible. One has only to reflect on the rise and fall of nations to come to the conclusion that such a belief is totally unwarranted. Some of the centres of economic power today have derived their present strength and their present potential for transmitting growth from the investment and the skills that flowed to them, when not so long ago they were not in such a happy position.”
1969-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 24 (1969)
“To aggravate matters further, there is a growing tendency to detract from the importance of the basic objectives and put emphasis on palliatives. In spite of a reasonably thorough identification of the problems of development through numerous studies, there is an attempt to initiate new studies and reviews, in a vain attempt to gain more time and to evolve a plausible philosophy for the present state of stagnation and withdrawal. The effective multilateral agencies are progressively failing to reflect the collective will of the international community. Instead, efforts are being made to base such activities on unilateral and at times even paternalistic patterns of providing assistance. 133.”
1969-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 24 (1969)
“The time has come for us to indicate frankly and clearly what are the responsibilities of the developing and the developed. 131. I had the privilege of presenting the report of the second session of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development to the twenty-third session of the General Assembly [1708th meeting]. Since then the Trade and Development Board has met in Geneva in its eighth and ninth sessions. I said then that the eyes of the world were fixed on results we might be able to obtain from the continuing machinery. Those very eyes, I fear, have witnessed the futility of the ninth session. I therefore ask myself, and I also venture to put this question to this Assembly: what has gone wrong with the developmental process and with the climate for international economic co-operation? 132.”
1969-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 24 (1969)
“Domination and exploitation continue to be a normal feature of international life because of a toleration of the persistence of inequality. It is this approach which requires to be overhauled. It is only enlightened economic co-operation on a global scale that can set a new process in motion and contribute to a more durable peace and stability. 130. It is not enough for those of us who belong to the developing world: merely to expose the hypocrisy and hollowness of the assertions of the developed countries that they are straining every muscle to give us help, when they are not prepared even to respect, in practice, the commitments which they make year after year through resolutions sponsored in the various forums of the United Nations.”
1969-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 24 (1969)
“That unequal Treaty has become even more unacceptable, because of an attempt on the part of the big Powers to modify assurances of security, implicit under the provisions of the Charter, to those who do not subscribe to the Treaty. These new tactics are symptomatic of the growing tendency to make power and might the basis of international relations. It also represents the increasing attempts to settle questions of war and peace outside the forum of the United Nations. We cannot be a party to the weakening of the basic tenets of the Charter and to the whittling down of the inherent responsibility of Member States. This serious situation can be solved only by increasing Our co-operation so that a more scrupulous adherence is obtained for the provisions of the Charter. 129.”
1969-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 24 (1969)
“They must seek to widen the scope of international co-operation based on the sovereign equality of all nations. 127. The Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons [resolution 2373 (XXII)] represents an effective demonstration of the latest trends in relations between States. That Treaty is as unequal as it is ineffective. It cannot contribute in any way to a balanced process of disarmament, on which alone the security of nations can depend. We have, on a matter of principle, rejected the validity of an instrument which seeks to bind the hands of the powerless and to licence the further accumulation of armaments by those whose stockpiles threaten our very existence. It is for this reason that we remain unable to sign the Treaty. 128.”
1969-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 24 (1969)
“However, a serious threat to international peace and security today stems from the spiralling arms race. This race is entering a new stage, both in terms of sophistication of armaments and expenditure involved. There is a systematic attempt to widen progressively the gap between the military Powers and the weaker nations. Concentration of enormous power in the hands of a few nations is leading to a division of the world into spheres of influence, in which might alone becomes right in the relationships between States. It is imperative that this drift towards a new and unequal balance of power be halted and reversed. It is the responsibility of all peace-loving States, particularly the non-aligned ones, which are adversely affected by the emergence of new power patterns, to restore the balance.”
1969-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 24 (1969)
“This could only play into the hands of those who wish to confuse the issues in the Middle East and fan religious emotions, making the quest for an objective political settlement even more difficult. 125. My Government has welcomed the initiative of the permanent members of the Security Council to engage in negotiations amongst themselves on this question. We have no desire to prejudge or to prejudice the outcome of those efforts, especially as those efforts continue to be made, albeit at a leisurely pace. We feel, however, that the responsibility cannot be that of the permanent members of the Security Council alone. All States Members of the United Nations have a collective responsibility in all such matters. 126. I have just referred to the trouble spots of the world where the return of peace must become an international responsibility.”
1969-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 24 (1969)