YouSaid · the spoken record

Talboys

THE RECORD WRITES THIS SPEAKER AS TALBOYS

lines on the record: 57
first: 1977-09-24
most recent: 1981-09-24
sittings or episodes: 2
sources: un-general-debate

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“We must learn, more than ever before, to couple national pride with a real commitment to international cooperation. There is, I believe, no other way to move ahead, to achieve a decent life for all our people. That, I suggest, is why we are meeting here. For all our peoples, whether our countries are large or small, have an equal right td peace, progress and justice.”
1981-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 36 (1981)
“It is natural that each of us should seek to advance the interests of his own country, that we should work for the wellbeing of our own people. National pride and patriotism are admirable and necessary virtues. But every coin, every medallion, has another side. Nationalism and pride of country are not in themselves enough. All of us North and South, committed and uncommitted, East and West belong to one world. We have got to work together. Our world has become too small and too dangerous a place for any of us to pursue narrow nationalism regardless of the interests of others. 72. We must move the world community away from the dangerous road it has been following: that is, the course of rivalry, confrontation and the naked struggle for power. It can lead only to conflict.”
1981-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 36 (1981)
“But the remaining Members of the United Nations have a duty to their peoples to renew their pressure on the nuclear Powers, who are also the largest manufacturers and purveyors of conventional armaments, to resume movement towards disarmament. In that regard, we welcome the decision of the two principal nuclear Powers to resume discussions on the reduction of nuclear weapons in the European theater. 70. I referred earlier to some of the obstacles in the path of economic progress, especially for developing countries. There is no greater corisumer of development resources than the armaments industry, and none that is more wasteful. We must never lose patience in pursuing international agreements which will cut the burden and the danger of rearmament and strengthen the fragile fabric of peace. 71.”
1981-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 36 (1981)
“I do not consider it unfair to assign to those Powers the principle responsibility for that loss of impetus and to demand that they take the initiative in resuming serious and active negotiations. It is they who have the weapons which, by universal agreement, are the most dangerous and in most urgent need of control and numerical reduction. My delegation's keenest disappointment is that the negotiation of a comprehensive nuclear test-ban treaty, a step which could serve to check both horizontal and vertical proliferation of nuclear weapons, still hangs fire. 69. Only the nuclear Powers can negotiate a test-ban treaty which will work or, for that matter, any agreement designed to reduce the threat of nuclear destruction.”
1981-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 36 (1981)
“We have been made more aware than ever before not only of the needs of the disabled, but of the contribution they can make to our society as a whole. 68. Next year we shall be summoned to the second special session devoted to disarmament. Nowhere is the need for a renewed effort to achieve progress in international negotiations more apparent. If we are honest, we must acknowledge that since the first special session the prospects for effective disarmament measures have not advanced. Indeed, they may have receded. Much of the work of the first session has been undercut by the deterioration in the international climate and in relations among the nuclear Powers.”
1981-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 36 (1981)
“It was right that the United Nations should lead that world movement, because the discrimination to be eliminated the discrimination we must "eliminate has been universal. The activities of the Decade have been followed with close attention in New Zealand and its aims have our full support. But the convention will only achieve its aim if it is universally ratified and, more important, given full effect in each country. 67. Similarly, the current International Year of Disabled Persons has focused attention on the rights of handicapped people. It has provided impetus and the practical framework for action. In my own country, the response has been quite remarkable. A mass fund-raising effort for the disabled resulted in the largest collection of voluntary funds for a charitable purpose in our history.”
1981-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 36 (1981)
“In the field of human rights, the United Nations has concentrated, rightly, on the needs of people who are socially disadvantaged or who have been traditional victims of discrimination. 66. A striking example is the United Nations Decade for Women, now at midpoint. The adoption of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women [General Assembly resolution 34/180] has been one of its major achievements. It is significant that it has come into force so quickly. All nations, whatever their stage of economic development, their cultural traditions or their geographic circumstances, have been reminded not only of the rights of half of humanity but also of the enormous contribution made by women.”
1981-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 36 (1981)
“A stable order for the oceans, the seabed and coastal waters is essential for world peace. It is most desirable, to say the least, that the major maritime Powers should participate in the new convention. This year the work of the Third United Nations Conference on the Law of the Sea has been slowed down to permit a review of the draft convention by the United States Government. The Conference is now clearly determined to push on to finality in 1982. It is the earnest hope of my Government that, having completed its review, the United States will rejoin the negotiating process and will stand ready with all other nations to make a determined last effort to ensure the adoption by consensus of the draft convention at the next and final negotiating session of the Conference. 65.”
1981-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 36 (1981)
“Legislatures tend to focus more determinedly on domestic political considerations, to the detriment of enlightened foreign policies. The humanitarian and altruistic instincts of ordinary people all too often become dulled. Their natural instinct for peace is overshadowed by a narrower and more belligerent patriotism. Thus is created an international climate inimical to the peaceful settlement of disputes and the orderly conduct of international relations. 63. All those who have traditionally cherished the rule of law and the fundamental freedoms, of the individual, both at home and abroad, surely have a special duty to resist such dangerous trends and to throw their weight behind the negotiating process by which the United Nations seeks to achieve those objectives. 64. A prime example is the development of a new law of the sea.”
1981-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 36 (1981)
“South Africa's black majority are denied the right to participate in the choice of their Government and are shut out from the full enjoyment of the resources of their own country. 61. Change in South Africa is inevitable. Whether it will come peacefully or through violence is in South Africa's hands. Time, though, is running desperately short. 62. We cannot expect international cooperation in bringing about economic and social development to flourish while confrontation and conflict persist in so many parts of the world. Heightened tension threatens not only detente but the orderly development of international law, the negotiation of arms control agreements and the promotion of human rights. ^National security and rearmament become matters of overriding priority for Governments.”
1981-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 36 (1981)
“In southern Africa we still see a people denied the right of nationhood. South Africa's illegal occupation of Namibia must end. The Prime Minister of my country said in this forum at the thirty-fifth session [109th meeting] that there was no good reason why the few issues that remain outstanding in the search for a settlement in Namibia should not be .settled quickly. We believe that Security Council resolution 435 (1978) provides the basis for that settlement and we support the continuing efforts of those seeking to achieve the early and peaceful independence of Namibia. 60. We deplore South Africa's aggressiveness against its neighbors and its violation of Angola's territory and sovereignty. In South Africa itself the detestable system of institutionalized racism and injustice apartheid remains entrenched.”
1981-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 36 (1981)
“There is a need for Israel's neighbors to accept and respect the existence of Israel as a sovereign and independent State. There is an equal need for a corresponding recognition of the legitimate aspirations of the Palestinians, including the right to self-determination. That, in our view, means the right to establish a separate State if that is their wish. The annexation of East Jerusalem and the continuing establishment of settlements in the occupied territories are obstructions to a negotiated settlement. A resurgence of terrorism, a buildup of ever more sophisticated armaments, or recourse to preemptive military strikes simply threaten to undermine what has with such difficulty been accomplished so far. Only a genuine will to negotiate fairly and realistically will bring lasting results. 59.”
1981-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 36 (1981)
“It makes no sense for the two sides in that divided peninsula to go on forever pouring so much of their resources and energies into military preparations. My Government hopes that the authorities in the North will reconsider their stand. 58. It is a matter of deep regret that all our hopes for urgent and positive steps towards a just and durable Middle East settlement should have had so little to sustain them. New Zealand welcomed the steps agreed upon by Israel and Egypt to restore peace between them. But the process cannot be allowed to come to a stop at this point. During the last 12 months there has been a deplorable readiness to resort to violence. There is a need for a genuine and renewed commitment to the principles of Security Council resolution 242 (1967).”
1981-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 36 (1981)
“Whether or not the Soviet Union has come to regard that entanglement as a mistake, my Government most earnestly hopes that the Soviet Government will not compound that error and deal a final fatal blow to detente by similar action against the people of Poland. 57. Almost since it began, this Organization has been trying to find a solution to the problem of a divided Korea. Yet there is still no genuine dialog between the leaders in the North and those in the South. The latest call by the Republic of Korea for a summit meeting between the two Koreas has been rejected. Surely the Korean people as a whole at least deserve that their leaders should talk seriously about the future of their country.”
1981-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 36 (1981)
“We expect that the International Conference on Kampuchea will continue its efforts to find a solution to the Kampuchean problem a solution which takes account of the legitimate interests of all sides. We hope that Viet Nam and the Soviet . Union will be persuaded to join in the negotiating process through the mediating efforts of the Ad Hoc Committee and the President of the Conference. The need for a settlement is urgent, for the longer the fighting continues' within Kampuchea, the greater the risk that it will spread beyond the borders of that war-torn land. 56. Instability in SouthEast Asia is paralleled in SouthWest Asia by military intervention and continuing hostilities in Afghanistan. International concern will continue to be reiterated in this Assembly until Soviet forces are withdrawn.”
1981-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 36 (1981)
“Such a settlement would enable Viet Nam to resume its own economic development, free from both the burden of maintaining its military occupation of a neighboring country and its present dependence on a single superPower for economic and military support. 54. New Zealand cannot and does not condone the past crimes of Pol Pot and his associates. But, as the latest vote on Kampuchea's credentials shows, there is no disposition amongst the majority of Members of this Assembly to replace the delegation of Democratic Kampuchea by one representing a puppet Government propped up by a military occupation. 55. We welcome the efforts that are being made to form a more broadly based successor to the present Democratic Kampuchean leadership.”
1981-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 36 (1981)
“If I refer first to Kampuchea it is because that is the area of tension nearest to my own land; because New Zealand regards itself as a friend of the Association of SouthEast Asian Nations [ASEANwhose members are neighbors of Kampuchea, Laos and Viet Nam; and because we believe the continuance of the situation in Kampuchea poses an eventual threat to our own security. External intervention in Kampuchea has been flagrant. There is no excuse for the continued presence of 200,000 Vietnamese troops in that country. New Zealand has consistently urged the need for a political settlement which would free the Kampuchean people from a foreign presence and permit them freely to choose their own Government.”
1981-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 36 (1981)
“Obviously not, since their economies are still for the most part in a precarious state. 52. Economic and social development can progress smoothly only in conditions of political stability. Recent history has shown how true that is even in countries which are blessed with great natural wealth, and all the more starkly in others which are not. Sometimes the causes of instability have been internal. Too often they have been made far worse by external pressure, intervention or military invasion. At present there is dangerous instability in several widely separated areas of the world, including SouthEast Asia, SouthWest Asia, the Middle East, southern Africa, eastern Europe and the Korean peninsula. 53.”
1981-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 36 (1981)
“New Zealand recognizes that the developing island countries need outlets for the goods they produce and has set about meeting that need in a practical manner. Together with Australia, we have joined in a treaty with our neighbors in the South Pacific to give them unrestricted duty-free access, on a nonreciprocal basis, for the great majority of their exports. We have also established an industrial development scheme to promote the growth of the manufacturing sector in the island economies through joint ventures with New Zealand firms. We have given strong support to the establishment of a regional shipping line to ensure that the exports of the island countries reach their markets. 51. I make no boast that what we have achieved has solved the problems of our developing neighbors.”
1981-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 36 (1981)
“Indeed, if it were not for the level of aid they do receive, we believe they would qualify even under present criteria. I would certainly like to see those criteria revised and made more flexible. 49. Because their populations are tiny and because of the poverty of their resources, many of the island nations of the South Pacific are going to have a long and hard struggle to become more viable. And yet their very smallness and isolation, which ought to make the world community more responsive to their special circumstances, has caused them to be overlooked by some of the major donors. Thus there is every reason for New Zealand to concentrate its aid efforts in the South Pacific, and we intend to continue that policy. 50. External financial assistance, however essential, is not enough in itself to bring about successful development.”
1981-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 36 (1981)
“We never embark on a project unless it has been specifically asked for by the recipient Government. It makes sense for us to concentrate our aid efforts in the part of the world that we know best, that is, our immediate neighborhood. Almost 70 per cent of our bilateral development assistance is now channeled to the island nations of the South Pacific. 48. In our view, the criteria for inclusion in the United Nations list of least developed countries are unduly narrow and rigid. Only one South Pacific country, at present, qualifies for inclusion in that list. A number of others, because they suffer from all the disadvantages of extremely small size, isolation and lack of resources, also deserve the special treatment accorded to the least developed.”
1981-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 36 (1981)
“What future is there if the rich countries continue to deny access in order to protect their own agricultures, if prices of agricultural exports fluctuate wildly or are distorted by subsidies and if those prices are far outstripped by the cost of essential industrial goods and services? 47. The prosperity of my own country depends on the exp<M of a relatively small number of agricultural commodities. That means we share some of the problems faced by developing countries. We know what those problems are. Because we are small, and because we face economic difficulties ourselves, we try in a number of ways to ensure that our development assistance program is efficient and effective. All our aid is given in the form of grants. We make sure it is directed into the kind of projects in which New Zealand has a recognized expertise.”
1981-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 36 (1981)
“This, in turn, can only be achieved in a different international climate, in which there is a better balance between access to manufactured goods and access to agricultural products. There is too great a tendency to concentrate on reducing barriers to trade in industrial manufactures and to push aside agriculture as some kind of an exception with which it is too difficult to cope. That cannot be allowed to continue. 46. It is, surely, self-evident that successful economic development merely creates new problems unless there is a corresponding expansion of trading opportunities.”
1981-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 36 (1981)
“They include the soaring cost of imported energy, inflated prices for manufactured imports and fluctuating prices for primary exports. These factors are compounded by increasing protectionist pressures in the advanced economies and a reluctance to contemplate the kind of restructuring which would expand trading opportunities for the developing countries. ^ 45. These problems cannot be solved by financial subsidies alone or even, in itself, by successful internal economic development. Economic self-sufficiency is not a practicable goal for the developing countries, nor is it for most developed countries. Even a modest level of prosperity and economic stability can only be achieved through a continuous expansion of international trade.”
1981-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 36 (1981)
“The addition to our membership of two more small nations, proud of their independence but limited in resources, brings home to us one of the major issues facing this Assembly the desperate struggle of so many countries simply to reach the most basic level of economic and social development. 43. The recent United Nations Conference on the Least Developed Countries sharply focused international attention on this issue. That was useful, but in concentrating on the need for developed countries to raise the level of their official development assistance to a limited number of the poorest developing countries the Conference did not really get to the heart of the matter. 44. The problems which face the developing countries are well known. They affect some of the developed countries also.”
1981-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 36 (1981)
“Mr. VicePresident, will you please congratulate President Kittani on his election as President of this Assembly. His long and distinguished service to the international community makes him eminently qualified for that task, and I know that he will guide us with impartiality and skill. 42. It is a great pleasure to welcome two fellow members of the Commonwealth, Belize and Vanuatu, to this assembly of nations. We are especially gratified that independence has brought one more into the growing family of South Pacific island nations. Their voices, individually and collectively, are going to be heard more and more in the world assembly.”
1981-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 36 (1981)
“We do not consider acceptable to wait for technology to solve all the political problems confronting a test ban. This would be to wait indefinitely and perhaps for ever. The time for action is now. 111. None of the great issues before this Assembly are capable of quick or simple solution. But we can make a start, and if the will is present we can move progressively and consistently to the settlement of our disputes, to the changing of attitudes and to the reconciliation of our differences. The New Zealand delegation approaches this session of the Assembly determined to work conscientiously towards that objective.”
1977-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 32 (1977)
“No other issue before this Assembly creates greater hopes and engenders greater despair. The gap between our aspirations and our achievements frustrates and dispirits us, and that gap must be closed. 110. There has been some progress. It is encouraging that at last serious negotiations have begun among three of the nuclear-weapon States on the content of a comprehensive test-ban treaty. This will provide the most effective restriction on vertical nuclear proliferation so far and is clearly the first priority. We hope that a generally accepted comprehensive test-ban treaty will have been drafted by the time the special session is held. No other development, in our judgement, would provide a happier augury for the success of that session.”
1977-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 32 (1977)
“Racial discrimination is already contrary to New Zealand tradition, law and practice and New Zealand reports regularly to the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination. Under the new legislation a national commission of human rights will be established to deal with complaints of racial, religious or sexual discrimination. This legislation should facilitate New Zealand's signature and ratification of the draft Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women when it is adopted—in the preparation of which New Zealand has taken an active part. We hope it will be completed and opened for signature at the present session of the Assembly. 109. I have touched on a number of problems and I want now to turn to the most menacing of all-the arms race.”
1977-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 32 (1977)
“Enactment of this legislation will mean that our laws will sustain any scrutiny under the Covenants. I expect, therefore, that we will ratify both those Covenants, as well as the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide not later than 1978. Respect for human rights, for human dignity and the individual's fundamental freedoms have long had a central place in our traditions and values. Through this codification the law in fact will have caught up with our practice. 108. In preparing for the ratification of the Covenants the New Zealand Government has drafted, and Parliament is expected to adopt during the current parliamentary session, a measure which will outlaw every kind of discrimination based on sex or religion.”
1977-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 32 (1977)
“The protection and promotion of human rights is one of the basic purposes of the United Nations and next year will be the thirtieth anniversary of the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. New Zealand attaches great importance to the Universal Declaration and to the values enunciated in the International Covenants on Human Rights, the one covering political and civil rights, the other economic, social and cultural rights. 107. Before formally committing ourselves to the Covenants we have sought to ensure that in every respect our laws and juridical system were capable of enforcing the obligations of those Covenants. This has been a lengthy task involving the drafting of new legislation. That task is now substantially completed.”
1977-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 32 (1977)
“It is our earnest hope that negotiations will result in an agreed text during 1978. 105. Before I leave the subject of regional co-operation I should like to refer, very briefly, to the signing on 7 September in Washington of the Panama Canal Treaties. This is a significant advance which my Government welcomes. We see the agreements as a milestone for the principal parties, the United States and the Republic of Panama, for the Americas as a whole, and for countries as far flung as my own. The large volume of our trade which passes through the Canal causes us to take a positive interest in its security and efficiency. I warmly congratulate the Governments concerned. 106.”
1977-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 32 (1977)
“The second major initiative was the agreement of the Forum, at its most recent meeting in Papua New Guinea, to establish a fisheries agency to co-ordinate and develop protection and surveillance of fisheries within the economic zones of member countries. The proper control of this huge area, which in total is one of the largest in the world, is clearly beyond the capability of any one member country. By sharing their skills and knowledge, the members will be able to exploit their resources to the best advantage of all countries in the region. At the same time the establishment of exclusive economic zones in the South Pacific and of a regional fishing agency in no way diminishes the importance for the area of the early completion of the treaty on the law of the sea.”
1977-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 32 (1977)
“This same developing regional co-operation is to be found so in our own part of the world, the South Pacific. There, the South Pacific Forum, a group of ten States, five of which are represented in this Assembly, is the principal vehicle for co-operation and consultation. Two of the Forum's recent initiative deserve particular mention. In June it was agreed to establish a regional shipping line, the Pacific Forum Line. Ships are to be chartered to the Line by participating Governments and it will operate services within the region, commencing early next year. Sea transport, of course, is the key to economic development in the region and the Forum Line will open new possibilities. 104.”
1977-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 32 (1977)
“New Zealand hopes that all Governments which are in a position to encourage this peaceful means to a solution will use their influence accordingly. 102. We have a deep concern also for the security and prosperity of South-East Asia. We therefore welcome the co-operative, constructive efforts of the countries of the region through the Association of South-East Asian Nations. ASEAN is a non-military association dedicated to the establishment of peace and stability in South-East Asia. Its leaders have made clear on many occasions their desire to promote friendship and understanding with their neighbours. We hope they will soon get a response. For our part we are glad to be associated with ASEAN in its efforts to improve the well-being of the people of this area. 103.”
1977-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 32 (1977)
“The longer a start is delayed, the greater the build-up of tension and the greater the chances of the outbreak of another war. Obviously, to be constructive, negotiations must include all the parties to the dispute, including the Palestinians, through their chosen representatives. 101. In another long-standing dispute, that between North and South Korea, the resumption of early negotiations between the parties directly concerned is, in our view, an urgent requirement. My Government remains deeply concerned lest the tensions on the peninsula should lead, once again, to confrontation. It is our earnest hope that, during the pause in international deliberations on the problem, a peaceful solution can be found through negotiations between the two Korean parties.”
1977-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 32 (1977)
“We believe that territory occupied by Israel must be returned. 99. The second thing is that the Palestinian people have a right to a homeland, either as a separate State or as a part of a larger, Arab State. The precise boundaries of that homeland are a matter for negotiations by the parties directly concerned. But if there is to be a peace in the Middle East, the principle must be recognized. It does not derogate in any way from the fundamental right of Israel to exist as a sovereign, independent State within secure and recognized boundaries, free from threat by any acts of force, and indeed we believe that a final territorial settlement will confirm and help to protect that right. 100. And, finally, it is imperative that negotiations begin soon.”
1977-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 32 (1977)
“In short, we shall do all we can to bring about the atmosphere in which a just solution of the problems of racism and minority rule in South Africa might be achieved before a long, drawn-out and bloody armed struggle becomes inevitable. 98. The Arab-Israeli dispute is another problem that threatens world peace. It is a dispute about which we have little direct knowledge and we are certainly not well placed to presume to offer any new ideas on how it can be resolved. Even so, it seems to us that certain things stand out. One is that Security Council resolutions 242(1967) and 338(1973) must continue to form the basis-for any settlement. We are obliged, therefore, to reject any attempt by one party to the dispute to pursue policies that are contrary to the principles laid down in resolution 242(1967).”
1977-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 32 (1977)
“We support the United Nations Trust Fund for South Africa and the appeal for South African refugee students. We are opposed to the creation of the so-called "Bantustans"' which would seek to make black South Africans aliens in their own country. We have scrupulously observed the voluntary arms embargo and will give our full support to any proposal to establish a mandatory arms embargo in terms of the appropriate provisions of the Charter. We have taken a forthright stand in pressing for the release of political prisoners and in condemning the brutal treatment which has led to the unexplained deaths in confinement of more than one black leader-most recently Steven Biko.”
1977-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 32 (1977)
“It is part of the world whether it likes it or not. If the rest of the world makes it clear that it will have nothing to do with South Africa so long as it persists with its discriminatory policies, the pressure for change will sooner or later become irresistible. 97. We in New Zealand have played our part in this process. We took part in the Lagos World Conference for Action against Apartheid and subscribed, without reservation, to the terms of the Lagos Declaration. We have minimal trade with South Africa and virtually no investment. We have supported the Swedish initiative calling for the ending of all new investment in South Africa. We have refused to contemplate any exchange of diplomatic representatives. My Government is actively discouraging sporting contacts.”
1977-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 32 (1977)
“The Maputo Conference showed them, if they needed any showing, that the international community is united in its demand that Namibia should be free and independent. But if there has been some progress, there remain formidable problems. One of the most taxing is that of Walvis Bay. There can be no question that any exclusion of Walvis Bay from Namibia would undermine that country's integrity and impede significantly its chances of building a viable economy. 96. The gravest problems are those of South Africa. They are complex and deep-rooted. And they are on a huge scale. White South Africa remains to be convinced that it has no alternative but to accept fundamental changes of attitude. Even a society that is as inward-looking and as determined to go its own way as South Africa cannot survive alone.”
1977-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 32 (1977)
“When the Anglo-American proposals on Rhodesia were announced, I said publicly that they offered the last chance for a peaceful settlement. If the Smith regime tosses this chance away it might buy itself a little time, but it can only be a time of tension and a time of knowing that the end will almost certainly be bloodshed in Salisbury and Bulawayo. I would urge the Smith regime to realize it, not only for their own sake,- but also for the sake of Zimbabwe as a whole. 95. There has been some progress on Namibia. The southern African authorities have apparently recognized the futility of pressing ahead with the Turnhalle proposals and have accepted the need for elections on the basis of one man, one vote.”
1977-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 32 (1977)
“The more we can establish conditions of security and stability the more chance there is of securing the massive diversion of resources and the rearrangement of economic activity needed to reduce the unacceptable disparities that new exist among nations. How, then, do we address these problems? 92. All of us agree that the situation in southern Africa is a tragedy, c tragedy compounded by intransigence and repression, a tragedy of expanding and enveloping dimensions. Change must come, and it will come. The question is not if, but how. Here, of course, there is less agreement. 93. Some claim that armed struggle is the only way; and if intransigence persists they will, of course, be right. But it is a way that would extract a terrible price in human lives and suffering and would create bitter problems for the future. 94.”
1977-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 32 (1977)
“New Zealand is experiencing the most prolonged and deep-seated recession in its post-war economic history. This fact has sharpened our appreciation of the lot of developing countries. It has, however, circumscribed our ability to help those beyond our shores, but we remain pledged to the target of 0.7 per cent for official development assistance, and we shall move again towards that target as soon as our economic circumstances permit. 91. In our interdependent world there are no issues that can be considered in isolation. The refashioning of the global economic system is closely linked to negotiating settlements in southern Africa and the Middle East, to halting the arms race, and to controlling and ultimately eliminating weapons of mass destruction.”
1977-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 32 (1977)
“The Fund's initial pledging target of SI billion was achieved at the beginning of the year, and the Agreement establishing the Fund was thrown open for signature in February. New Zealand will formally ratify the agreement today. We look forward to its early entry into force and the fulfilment of initial pledges by donor countries so that operations may begin. 89. New Zealand will also participate actively and constructively in the resumed session of the United Nations Negotiating Conference on a Common Fund under the Integrated Programme for Commodities. We earn our living by the export of primary produce, and therefore share the concern of developing countries that greater stability should be introduced into the commodity markets of the world. 90.”
1977-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 32 (1977)
“An important element in our efforts to promote development and greater equity in the distribution of the world's resources is, of course, international energy cooperation, with particular reference to the interests and needs of energy-deficient developing countries. We are encouraged that the Secretary-General has recently made proposals for such co-operation within the United Nations system, and we shall play our part in working out this concept in the course of this session and thereafter. 88. It is now almost three years since the World Food Conference decided to establish an International Fund for Agricultural Development. The Fund represents a new approach to the age-old problem of world hunger-the pooling, on a hitherto unprecedented scale, of resources to be devoted exclusively to improving agriculture in developing countries.”
1977-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 32 (1977)
“The present session of the General Assembly has a special responsibility to put in hand preparations for a new international development strategy. The conclusions and agreements of the Paris Conference on International Economic Co-operation held earlier this year need to be followed up. 86. New Zealand was not a participant at the Paris Conference. We have, however, welcomed the progress made, and my Government has now completed its study of the measures agreed at that Conference. We endorse the agreements reached, limited though these were, and will take up the debate in the various forums concerned on the topics left uncompleted. 87.”
1977-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 32 (1977)
“Their problem, and the problem of all in government, is to mobilize sufficient determination and creative leadership to change entrenched attitudes and to confront those interests which, however obsolete they may be, are nevertheless deeply entrenched in their national history and their political processes. But time is short, and it is running out. 84. I have concentrated some attention on She responsibilities of the affluent market-economy nations, but it is not only their problem. It is the problem of all, regardless of ideology, regardless of economic system. 85. There appears to be a general recognition that it is within the United Nations framework that the efforts of the international community to promote such action should be carried forward.”
1977-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 32 (1977)
“Could it not help to revitalize their faltering economies and to provide their societies with a renewed purpose and sense of direction? 83. The problem is, of course, at the very essence of politics. It is the far from easy task of convincing electorates and, more specifically, of ensuring that special interest groups in those electorates are harnessed to wider national and international imperatives. We are convinced that most of the leaders of countries whose policies will determine the course of the world's economy, and the social and political ramifications of those policies, are aware of what must be done if the looming economic and political chaos is to be avoided.”
1977-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 32 (1977)
“In such a situation more attention must be given, not just to financing deficits and tightening the belt, but to enabling the primary producing and newly industrializing countries to increase their earnings. And this must involve facing squarely two fundamental questions, namely, the relationship between the prices of primary products and industrial goods, and the question of access to the markets of the affluent industrial countries of the world. These are political questions of the greatest importance, questions that must be tackled by those in whose power it lies to diminish both surpluses and deficits. And surely it must be obvious that for the rich, industrialized world to do so would be no more than enlightened self-interest.”
1977-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 32 (1977)