YouSaid · the spoken record

AMERASINGHE

lines on the record: 359
first: 1967-09-24
most recent: 1975-09-24
sittings or episodes: 8
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

“the support of the major Powers with one notable exception — China. The First Committee will shortly receive and consider the report of the Ad Hoc Committee on the Indian Ocean [A/9029] established by General Assembly resolution 2992 (XXVII). I do not feel called upon, therefore, to comment on the report at this stage. 170. The United Nations does not appear to be anywhere near a solution of the Middle East problem. On the other hand it seems to be coming — if it has not already come — perilously close to the eye of the storm.”
1973-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 28 (1973)
“In striking contrast to the fervour with which the major Powers appeal for the support of the rest of the membership for any disarmament proposal they produce is the attitude of disdain and superciliousness with which they themselves have treated a proposal that adopts a positive approach to the problem, one that seeks to prevent the spread of the arms race into at least one region of the world, one that seeks, as its ultimate aim, the removal of all military bases from that area and one that by this means seeks to create a climate of peace where the accumulation or the use of arms would not be necessary. I refer to the Indian Ocean peace zone proposal on which the General Assembly adopted a Declaration at its twenty-sixth session [resolution 2832 (XXVI)]. This Declaration, may I remind the Assembly, failed to secure.”
1973-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 28 (1973)
“We must condemn all forms of testing and demand the immediate conclusion of a comprehensive test ban treaty, accompanied by the other and related measures which we have already proposed. 168. The Conference of the Committee on Disarmament has once again failed to keep its promise of producing a draft agreement on the prohibition of the development, production and stockpiling of chemical weapons and the destruction of stockpiles of such weapons. The excuse given by those who wish to retain these weapons is palpably flimsy. 169.”
1973-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 28 (1973)
“The major Powers have an opportunity of providing an earnest of their good faith and thus creating a favourable climate for such a conference if they pledge themselves to a total and unqualified renunciation of the use of nuclear weapons; a comprehensive test ban treaty, to be concluded without any further excuses or delay; the total cessation of the manufacture of all nuclear weapons; and the dismantling of all nuclear arsenals. Those Powers which enjoy an overwhelming superiority in nuclear capacity and whose nuclear armouries pose the greatest threat of nuclear war ending in a nuclear holocaust must first set an example by giving the lead in committing themselves to these four points. If we condemn atmospheric testing, we must not content ourselves with merely making mild remonstrances against the conduct of underground testing.”
1973-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 28 (1973)
“This is sufficient justification for the developing countries' proposal, in regard to the reform of the international monetary system, that there should be a definite link established between special drawing rights and development aid. The proposal that in the next issue of special drawing rights the developing nations should have a greater share is only the other side of the same coin. The creation of this next issue should no longer be deferred. 167. The question of a world disarmament conference will once again be discussed.”
1973-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 28 (1973)
“The criticism is often heard that the developing countries are too importunate or too peremptory in their demands for aid. The modest targets set for the transfer of resources from the developed to the developing countries do not, in our opinion, justify such a harsh criticism. Aid is like the quality of mercy: it blesseth him that gives and him that takes. If it is inspired by altruism, it is also sustained by self-interest. It is an investment that will some day yield a dividend in which the donor will himself share, as it will give the recipient nations readier access to the products of the donor nations.”
1973-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 28 (1973)
“The Secretary-General has in his introduction to the report on the work of the Organization drawn pointed attention to this question and has noted with satisfaction the reassertion of the constitutional authority of the Economic and Social Council [A/9001/Add. 1, p. 7]. One of that Council's most important functions is the coordination and reconciliation of the activities of the independent specialized agencies and other organs — steadily growing in number — through which the economic and social policies of the United Nations are carried into effect. There has to be decentralization but not at the expense of integration; there should be effective co-ordination to avoid duplication and dissipation of effort, waste of staff and inefficient use of funds. 166.”
1973-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 28 (1973)
“More attention and encouragement need to be given to those organs of the United Nations family that are concerned with economic co-operation and questions of international trade and development, in particular UNIDO, which was established with the definite purpose of dealing with the problems that afflicted the developing countries and of establishing a more solid association and partnership between the developing and the developed sections of the world to their mutual benefit and advantage. If there is any tendency to set up UNCTAD as a rival to the Economic and Social Council, it should be resolutely discouraged. There are clear and hopeful signs of the Council's regaining its vitality and assuming the constitutional role assigned to it under the Charter.”
1973-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 28 (1973)
“.to reducing or eliminating duties and other barriers to imports of primary products, including those in processed or semi-processed form, of export interest to developing countries...". 163. These results were to be achieved by 31 December 1972. That there is little to review and less to appraise, except failure, is abundantly clear from the report on the second session of the Committee on Review and Appraisal. 164. Most of the problems that exist between nations might, in our belief, perhaps be considerably mitigated, if not solved, through greater economic co-operation and the improvement of economic relations between countries. 165.”
1973-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 28 (1973)
“The results achieved during the First United Nations Development Decade were disappointing and dismal. The Strategy for the second Decade contains certain priorities, incorporated in paragraphs (24), (25) and (26), which constitute the essence of collective economic security, namely, the priority aim of "... securing stable, remunerative and equitable prices" for the raw materials produced by developing countries; the principle that "No new tariff and non-tariff barriers will be raised nor will the existing ones be increased by developed countries against imports of primary products of particular interest to developing countries;" and that priority should be given by developed countries .”
1973-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 28 (1973)
“The essence of those two concepts has already been distilled in the International Development Strategy for the Second United Nations Development Decade [resolution 2626 (XXV)]. We would welcome any new and concrete proposals for giving expression to the concept of collective economic security, but we should like to emphasize that there is no need for any new institutions for that purpose. We already have the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development [UNCTAD] and the United Nations Industrial Development Organization, which treat the problems on an interregional or global scale, while on the other hand we have the regional economic commissions which are equipped with both the means and the authority to promote regional cooperation. 162.”
1973-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 28 (1973)
“The time has come for us to marshal all the resources of modern technology to avert such catastrophes in the future. We therefore welcome the initiative taken by the United States delegation in proposing the convening of a world food conference [2124th meeting]. If we cannot agree on reducing our stocks of guns, let us at least try to increase our stocks of food grains. 161. Interest in the concept of collective economic security has been revived on the initiative of the Government of Brazil, and that Government deserves to be congratulated on that initiative. We also applaud the initiative of the President of Mexico in regard to the adoption of a charter of economic rights and duties.”
1973-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 28 (1973)
“We welcome this policy, but must appeal for its progressive application to others not yet eligible for such special treatment, particularly Asian Commonwealth countries like Sri Lanka, which will suffer deprivation as well as denial. We will lose the benefits hitherto enjoyed under the Commonwealth preference scheme and face the problem of unequal competition in European markets. The enlargement of the European Economic Community should not be allowed to arrest or reverse the trend towards greater liberalization of international trade and the elimination of all discriminatory trade practices. 160. The President of Upper Volta reminded us today of the calamity of the Sudano-Sahelian drought and famine and the heavy toll they have taken.”
1973-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 28 (1973)
“The loss of those preferences which the members of the Commonwealth enjoyed in the past and the attenuation of the most-favoured nation principle, both of which result from Britain's accession to the Common Market, create special problems for the developing members of the Commonwealth, among them Sri Lanka, whose principal trading partner has been and continues to be Britain. 159. We sincerely hope that the negotiations that have already been set in train for the establishment of a special relationship between the Community and the associable territories will bring substantial relief and advantages to those territories. Those advantages are expected to take the form of trade and financial aid schemes, as well as compensatory financing and the creation of special institutions.”
1973-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 28 (1973)
“158. The enlargement of the European Economic Community through the accession of the United Kingdom, Denmark and Ireland creates new opportunities for some but acute problems for others, among . them my own country. The increase in the strength and cohesion of the European Economic Community, while creating ideal conditions for rapid economic progress and ever-increasing prosperity for the members of the Community itself, could be so exploited as to produce beneficial consequences for the rest of the world by increasing rather than limiting trade opportunities to, and providing better markets for, the products of the developing world as a whole.”
1973-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 28 (1973)
“It is in the same spirit that we welcome the Indo- Pakistan Agreement of 28 August 1973 regarding the repatriation of Pakistani prisoners of war and civilian internees in India and the repatriation of all Bengalis in Pakistan and all Pakistanis in Bangladesh, specified in the Agreement. Ties of culture and history bind us firmly to the peoples of those countries. The future of South Asia depends very greatly on the maintenance of friendly relations and co-operation between them, and we in Sri Lanka stand ready, as always, to enter into active partnership with them in all efforts to ensure stability in the region and to bring peace and prosperity to all our peoples. We believe that, given a display of fraternity and magnanimity on all sides, all existing obstacles to the admission of Bangladesh to the United Nations should soon be removed.”
1973-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 28 (1973)
“It is now left to the various factions in that country to refrain altogether from hostile acts against each other and to take the fullest advantage of the cessation of hostilities by entering into negotiations for the restoration of peace and harmony and for the initiation of the process of reconstruction. A commendable example has been set by Laos. We sincerely hope that a similar process will be started in Cambodia, uninfluenced by the interference, overt or otherwise, of outside parties. 156. The presence of both North and South Korea in our midst as observers should give a further impetus to the realization of the objective which should benefit them both — the ultimate unification of that country. 157.”
1973-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 28 (1973)
“These developments are a favourable portent for the future. We hope that they will gain increased momentum. Above all, we hope that at least the ideology they share in common will help compose the differences that now unfortunately exist between China and the Soviet Union. 155. The cessation of hostilities in Viet-Nam has removed one of the principal impediments to final reconciliation — the presence of foreign forces in that unhappy country, torn by internecine conflict and tormented and devastated by continuous warfare over a period of more than 30 years. But the end of war does not necessarily herald the dawn of peace.”
1973-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 28 (1973)
“We accord them a warm welcome to this Organization. They come here pledged to support the cause of peace and to redeem the past. We can no longer demand of them any further expiation of the crimes their leaders committed. In relations between nations, as between individuals, there is a time to remember and a time to forget. ,153. We take special pleasure in welcoming the Commonwealth of the Bahamas on their admission to membership in the United Nations. We extend to them our best wishes and assure them of our close and constant co-operation. 154. The past year has seen dramatic improvements in the United States relations with the Soviet Union and China, as well as clear signs of increasingly close and friendly co-operation between Japan on the one hand and the Soviet Union and China on the other.”
1973-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 28 (1973)
“The experience of Chile shows that the deadliest enemies of social and economic reform and of the egalitarian society are the forces of reaction within a country, that privileged and pampered elite, which would not shrink from enlisting the support of external forces which command unlimited financial resources and exercise a decisive influence in key areas of the economy. This power and influence embolden them to conceive and even conduct operations designed to subordinate the democratic will of the people to their blinding obsession with profits and the politics of financial and economic dominion. The people of Chile have our deepest sympathy. 152. A new chapter in the history of the United Nations has been opened by the admission to its membership of the German Democratic Republic and the Federal Republic of Germany.”
1973-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 28 (1973)
“The Government and people of Sri Lanka heard with profound grief and distress the poignant and tragic news of the death of President Salvador Allende, who gave his life in an attempt as a politician to fulfil what his friend and compatriot, the late Pablo Neruda, described as the poet's duty to take his place alongside the people in their struggle to transform society, which has been betrayed into chaos by its rulers, into an orderly existence based on political, economic and social democracy. 151.”
1973-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 28 (1973)
“His capacity for negotiation spared the Assembly discussions that might have been acrimonious and futile. 149. On the eve of this session the world heard the shocking news of the violent change of government in a country with which we have always maintained the most friendly understanding, a country which had co-operated with us closely on important problems both of a political and economic nature, and had taken its rightful place in the community of non-aligned nations. The Government which was overthrown had sought through a socialist policy to ensure for the people of that country a greater measure of social and economic equality and justice than they had enjoyed before. 150.”
1973-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 28 (1973)
“147. On behalf of the Government of Sri Lanka and the delegation of Sri Lanka, I extend to Ambassador Benites our cordial congratulations on his election as President of the twenty- eighth session of the General Assembly. His acknowledged eminence as an international jurist, his vast experience in United Nations affairs and the conspicuous diplomatic skill which he has displayed, as well as his personal qualities of patience, courtesy and tact, assure us of wise guidance and leadership during this session. 148. The United Nations owes its sincerest thanks to Mr. Stanislaw Trepczyfiski, the President of the twenty-seventh session of the General Assembly, for his adroit handling of the work of that session and especially of some particularly controversial problems.”
1973-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 28 (1973)
“All that we ask is that the powerful should help the weak to build a world in which an increasing measure of social justice between nations can be realized, so that in the remaining .years of this century the United Nations can succeed in redeeming the bleak record of its first 27 years.”
1972-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 27 (1972)
“Inflexible adherence to the practices hitherto permitted and the privileges hitherto enjoyed by a relatively few major maritime Powers under their anachronistic interpretation of the doctrine of the freedom of the high seas will need to be replaced by a more just and equitable adaptation of that doctrine to suit the economic realities of the modern world. The conference should become not a confrontation between the major maritime Powers and the rest of the world but rather an occasion for the mutual accommodation of their interests and needs, subject to the paramount consideration of reducing the existing economic disparity between the developed and the developing countries. 192. We do not want the weak to inherit the earth.”
1972-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 27 (1972)
“Discussions in the Committee during the past two years have made it transparently clear that agreement on the various issues which will come before the third conference on the law of the sea will be attainable only if there is a willingness to revise the archaic interpretation of the existing doctrine of the freedom of the high seas, which does not provide for equality of opportunity in fact, but only in theory, and if the extent of the demand for the adoption of the concept of an economic zone or patrimonial sea is appreciated.”
1972-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 27 (1972)
“During its spring and summer sessions the Committee on the Peaceful Uses of the Sea-Bed and the Ocean Floor beyond the Limits of National Jurisdiction succeeded -in making sufficient progress, especially through the adoption of a list of subjects and issues [A/8721 and Corr.l, para. 23] to be brought before the third United Nations conference on the law of the sea, to justify the General Assembly in preparing for the contingency of a formal inauguration of the conference some time next year while the General Assembly is in session and to ask the Committee to utilize the provision made for two sessions in the spring and summer of 1973 to advance its preparations for the conference., 191.”
1972-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 27 (1972)
“Bandaranaike, the Government of the People's Republic of China gave further and convincing evidence of its generosity and good will towards developing countries and its determination to adhere to the policy of foreign aid which it commended to the participants at the third session of UNCTAD. 189. While singling out the People's Republic of China for special mention, and that for good reason, I should like on behalf of my Government to express our sincere thanks to the members of the Aid Ceylon Consortium and others who do not belong to it for the help that they have given us in the past and continue to give us. We are not unmindful of the official assistance given to us on very liberal terms by Australia, Canada and the United Kingdom-a true mark of Commonwealth solidarity that transcends all other differences. 190.”
1972-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 27 (1972)
“The most striking example of such assistance and one which on behalf of my Government I must acknowledge with profound gratitude is the munificent aid received by my country at a critical period last year from the Government of the People's Republic of China, which gave us a freely convertible foreign-exchange loan of $25 million, free of interest, with repayment spread over 12 years after a grace period of three years. The features of this loan taken together make it unique in the history of foreign aid. Again this year, during the course of the state visit to Peking of my Prime Minister, Mrs.”
1972-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 27 (1972)
“As regards our foreign reserves, the average deficit rose from 69 million rupees for the period 1952-1956 to an average of 1,003 million rupees for the period 1968-1970. It is little comfort to us to be told that we must tighten our belts. What we need is the means to tide us over our difficulties and the external finance to keep our industrial sector operating to full capacity so as to prevent increasing unemployment. 188. Foreign assistance in appropriate quantities on easy terms and at the moment of need is vital to our survival.”
1972-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 27 (1972)
“Those which are left are the developing countries, known as the "Group of 77" but actually consisting of about 95 countries, with little prospect or means of co-operation except in their appeals to the developed nations. 187. Sri Lanka's experience in regard to the problem of commodity prices and the maintenance of a proper equilibrium in its terms of trade is almost without parallel. For nearly two decades we have suffered a steady and persistent deterioration in our terms of trade, which fell from an annual average of 142 for the period 1952-1956 to an average of 88 for the period 1968-1970. While at first the deterioration was due chiefly to the rapid rise in import'prices accompanied by stagnation in export prices, the problem has been accentuated more recently by a sharp drop in rubber prices.”
1972-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 27 (1972)
“There is the new phenomenon of the international economic cartel, regionally organized and best exemplified by the European Common Market, which as from January 1973 will grow in size, capacity and influence with the accession of the United Kingdom, Denmark and Ireland. The other three giants are the world's most powerful economy, that of the United States, the formidable economy of Japan, with new prospects opening up to it through improved relations with its most powerful neighbors, and, at the other end of the scale, the closely-knit, State controlled economies of the socialist countries members of the Council for Mutual Economic Assistance.”
1972-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 27 (1972)
“In regard to the reform of the international monetary system, some slight satisfaction was obtained by the developing countries like a crumb from the rich man's table-in the form of the representation of the developing countries in the group to which the task of making proposals for the reform of the international monetary system was entrusted, the Committee of the Board of Governors of the International Monetary Fund on Reform of the International Monetary System and Related Issues. 186. To sum up, the third session of UNCTAD gave the developing countries some little hope, but no help. In approaching the future the developing countries would do well to take serious note of the fact that the contemporary economic scene is dominated, and will for some time be dominated, by four economic giants.”
1972-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 27 (1972)
“Once again, the United Kingdom's more progressive attitude helped to secure a recognition from the Conference of the need for the subject of the link to be given the most serious attention, and for the International Monetary Fund to be requested to study and report as early as possible, with a view to the possible implementation of a viable scheme. As I remarked in a different forum, I hope this will not go down in history as the missing link. 185.”
1972-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 27 (1972)
“With the support of the United Kingdom, Japan and the Federal Republic of Germany, the developing countries secured a resolution which calls for the preparation of a scheme, including an assessment of its cost, which would enable the international community to agree to provide the resources to finance the scheme. 184. The third session of UNCTAD also failed to achieve any real progress in regard to the proposal for establishing a link between special drawing rights and aid for development or in regard to the acceptance of the principle that the major share of the next issue of special drawing rights should go to the developing countries.”
1972-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 27 (1972)
“The question of stable prices for primary commodities, on which the majority of developing countries depend to a disproportionate extent for their earnings of foreign exchange to finance their development schemes, received cavalier treatment at that session. Some slight success was achieved in regard to the scheme of supplementary financing to provide facilities better, more dependable and more timely than those existing at present through the International Monetary Fund in order to rescue the development plans of developing countries from the dislocation and disruption that could be caused by unforeseen declines in their export earnings.”
1972-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 27 (1972)
“It is almost like an excess profits tax or sumptuary tax of 1.5 per cent, which they can comfortably afford and the benefit of which they will receive as the purchasing power of the beneficiaries of their aid increases. 182. Those statistics, even if the figures of assistance reflect only official development assistance, show how far removed promise is from fulfillment. The developing countries must rely overwhelmingly on official development assistance, as private development assistance does not always favor the social aspirations or appreciate the economic policies and political problems of the recipient countries. 183. It is in the light of these realities that the achievement of the third session of UNCTAD must be judged.”
1972-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 27 (1972)
“The President of the World Bank also pointed out that at constant prices the total gross national product of the developed countries is expected to rise from $2,000 billion in 1970 to $3,000 billion by 1980 and that if the developed countries have to raise the present level of official development assistance, which stands at 0.35 per cent of their gross national product, to the target of 0.7 per cent which they have set themselves, they need transfer to the developing countries only 1.5 per cent of the increase in their gross national product, or $15 billion, leaving the balance of 98.5 per cent of the increase, or $985 billion, to meet their own internal needs.”
1972-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 27 (1972)
“The average per capita income in the developed countries, as the President of the World Bank pointed out, is approximately $2,400 per annum compared with the figure of $180 in the developing countries; by 1980 the per capita income in the developed countries is expected to rise by approximately $1,200 compared with an increase of less than $100 in per capita income in the developing countries, even given the attainment of the growth target set for the Second Development Decade.”
1972-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 27 (1972)
“The President of the World Bank came to the disturbing conclusion that the total flow of official development assistance for the first half of the Decade was likely to reach approximately 0.35 per cent of the gross national product, or only half the target for the Decade. 181. Other statistics quoted by the President of the World Bank demonstrate even more startlingly the gaping chasm between the standards of living of the developed countries, with a quarter of the world's population, and the standards of living of the remaining three quarters of the world's population that live in the developing countries.”
1972-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 27 (1972)
“The President drew pointed attention to the fact that in the poorest countries of the world, those with a per capita gross national product of less than $200 but comprising 67 per cent of the population of the world, per capita income during the First Development Decade grew at a rate of only 1.5 per cent annually and that, although the developed countries, in adopting the Strategy for the Second Development Decade and in order to meet the targets for growth, agreed that external aid to be provided in the form of official development assistance should reach 0.7 per cent of the gross national product by 1975, the contribution from the wealthiest nation in the world, the United States, whose gross national product is roughly half of the total gross national product of the developed countries, showed a steady decline from above 0.5 per cent in the early years of the last decade to 0.31 per cent in 1970, with the prospect of a further fall to about 0.24 per cent by 1975.”
1972-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 27 (1972)
“Once more the hopes of developing countries to secure from UNCTAD, in pursuance of the International Development Strategy for the Second United Nations Development Decade [resolution 2626 (XXV)}, specific and positive commitments from the developed countries to measures and policies designed to improve the trading prospects of developing countries and the volume, conditions and terms of financial aid for their development were disappointed. 180. The address to the third session of UNCTAD by Mr. Robert S. McNamara, President of the World Bank the first occasion on which he addressed such a conference-contains some illuminating, if depressing, statistics.”
1972-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 27 (1972)
“Along with other non-aligned countries present at the Georgetown Conference, we expressed our satisfaction at the Kuala Lumpur Declaration of 27 November 1971 by five South-east Asian countries, which "expressing their determination to secure recognition of and respect for Southeast Asia as a Zone of Peace, Freedom and Neutrality, free from any form of menace or interference by outside Powers . . . welcomed this move as a positive development and called upon all States to respect these objectives". My Government supports the Kuala Lumpur Declaration without reservation. 179. Let me now turn to those problems that affect the daily lives and the general well-being of our people, namely, the problems of trade and development. The most significant event of the year was the third session of UNCTAD, held in Santiago, Chile.”
1972-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 27 (1972)
“So far as the proposal for declaring the Indian Ocean a zone of peace is concerned, our ultimate objective is the removal of all foreign bases from the territories of the littoral and hinterland States of the Indian Ocean; but our first step must be to secure the exclusion of great-Power rivalry and the great-Power military presence from the Indian Ocean, without denying any littoral or hinterland State the right to maintain a military potential that would satisfy the minimum requirements of its security and guarantee it freedom from external interference. 178.”
1972-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 27 (1972)
“Moreover, they were of the view that the implementation of this Declaration would strengthen the conditions of peace, security and co-operation in an important region of the third world", and agreed to co-ordinate their action at this session of the United Nations. 176. The Georgetown Conference also noted that "the Mediterranean is increasingly becoming an area for the display of rival military forces" and "welcomed the initiative taken towards convening a conference of non- aligned Mediterranean countries and those anxious and ready to work towards making the Mediterranean a sea of peace and co-operation among the peoples of the area". 177.”
1972-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 27 (1972)
“At the Conference of Foreign Ministers of Non-Aligned Countries, held in Georgetown, Guyana, in August this year, which was attended by 59 countries as members, a Declaration was adopted in which the Foreign Ministers, noting with satisfaction the adoption by the twenty-sixth session of the General Assembly of the Declaration of the Indian Ocean as a Zone of Peace, "considered that this initiative of third world countries and non-aligned states was a significant contribution to the strengthening of international security and that its implementation would greatly reinforce the emerging structures of world peace and help create conditions for progress towards the goal of general and complete disarmament.”
1972-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 27 (1972)
“We shall do our utmost at this session to secure some progress in regard to the proposal for declaring the Indian Ocean a zone of peace and hope that those who have a genuine interest in the strengthening of international peace and security will support our endeavors. 175.”
1972-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 27 (1972)
“The fact that at the 2022nd meeting only half the members of this Assembly voted in favor of the 13-Power draft resolution-which became resolution 2832 (XXVI)-presented last year on the initiative of my delegation and the Tanzanian delegation for the declaration of the Indian Ocean as a zone of peace shows how remote we are from reality when we welcome anti-ballistic missile agreements and the limitation of strategic offensive arms, but view with suspicion and apprehension a proposal for the exclusion of a sizable section of the world from the arms race, a proposal which seeks to free that area from the military presence of the powerful nations. 174.”
1972-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 27 (1972)
“We feel a sense of dismay that countries which appeal to us to refrain from the use of force in international relations and the overwhelming majority of us here have never used force in international relations find it difficult to agree to the one positive and constructive proposal that could promote international peace and security even in the absence of high-sounding declarations, and that is the creation of zones of peace.”
1972-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 27 (1972)
“Those who advance this proposition must ask themselves, why is it that States wish to arm themselves either with nuclear or conventional weapons or both, and how could the prohibition of the use of such weapons be reconciled with the right to produce and possess them and, further, what exactly is meant by an equal measure of security for all States? We can exhaust all the resources of rhetoric in the discussion of such questions on such premises and assumptions, but we forget that, even if all men are supposed to have been born equal, all nations are not, and never can be, equal in power or capacity. 173.”
1972-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 27 (1972)