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1975-09-24

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1979-09-24

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un-general-debate

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1. “We shall be vigilant to ensure that the United States of America also faithfully complies with the serious and solemn commitments into which it has entered with no distortion of the deep meaning of decolonization, justice and dignity. 33. We have become stronger morally in our struggle and we face the future with confidence, always bearing in mind the famous saying that "he who cannot daily win freedom and life does not deserve them. Thus, we point out to all countries of the world that it is our will to protect and strengthen today's conquests to ensure for future generations of Panamanians and for all peoples on earth that the Panama Canal will be an instrument for union and a symbol of hope in the never-ending quest for peace and justice.”

   1979-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 34 (1979)

2. “It is only just to recognize his exceptional gifts as a statesman, his lofty conception of justice and his profound sense of history. He fought strenuously and with great courage against certain reactionary circles in his country to achieve a peaceful solution to the question of the Panama Canal. In this way President Carter has won a place of honour among history's great leaders of North America in his relations with Latin America. 32. We are determined to fulfil all the commitments entered into in the Panama Canal Treaties. We are not easily deceived nor are we irresponsible towards our people or the world.”

   1979-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 34 (1979)

3. “With the entry into force of the new Panama Canal Treaties, Panama and the United States will be able to enjoy a harmonious relationship after 76 years of misunderstandings and profound injustices. This new relationship must develop, grow in strength, and become, for the good of all the countries which use the inter- oceanic waterway, a notable example of friendship, international co-operation and mutual respect, 31. I believe that I am conscience bound to recognize publicly that successive generations of Panamanians have been able to rely in their struggle on the election of Mr. Jimmy Carter to the presidency of the United States, a fact which made possible the signing, approval and ratification of the new Panama Canal Treaties and their recent implementation.”

   1979-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 34 (1979)

4. “Yet we believe that the lesson of history is that all anachronisms will eventually disappear, as recently happened in heroic Nicaragua, that local conflicts will be resolved and that in the end the dream of the Great Liberator will come true and that, from the Rio Bravo to the Tierra del Fuego our countries will constitute a true, modern and effective community of nations. 29. Our most decisive contribution is the example we have given to the world of the ability to solve, by peaceful means but with dignity, the most difficult problems in the hardest circumstances and conditions. In a world tormented by violence in all its forms, this is a precious example which should be appreciated and cultivated earnestly by all countries of the world. 30.”

   1979-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 34 (1979)

5. “On the threshold of the 1980s, we believe that another meeting, at all levels, of Latin American nations is fully justified. In the economic sphere, this would be fundamental to the attempt to establish a common Latin American front which, together with the efforts made in the Group of 77, would strengthen the position of our region in its participation in next year's special session of the General Assembly. At that meeting we shall evaluate the progress made in the various United Nations bodies towards the establishment of a new international economic order and a new international development strategy for the 1980s will be adopted. 28. Many are the barriers which block the path of Latin American integration and the union to which all its peoples aspire so intensely.”

   1979-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 34 (1979)

6. “We have offered much to other continents, and we are pleased and proud of this. But Panama's contribution to Latin America is exceptional. My country, because of its desire for universal brotherhood and because of the lessons learned through a hard history of struggle for national identity, has always had a special responsibility to promote the ideal of the unity and the integration of Latin America. It is not by chance that Bolivar, in his wisdom, decided that Panama was the most suitable place in which to gather the American nations in the Amphictyonic Congress of Panama in 1826 to lay the foundations for continental unity. Nor is it coincidence that the cause of Panama became the ideal which synthesized the Latin American peoples' aspirations for national liberation. 27.”

   1979-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 34 (1979)

7. “Accordingly, nothing could please Panama more, now that the presidency of the General Assembly is in the hands of an eminent citizen of Africa, than to reiterate unreservedly our support for the aspirations of the peoples of Namibia, Zimbabwe and Azania and to reaffirm our solidarity with the front-line States and with the national liberation movements, the South West Africa People's Organization [SWAPO], the Patriotic Front and the African National Congress of South Africa. 25. Next year's commemoration of the twentieth anniversary of the Declaration on decolonization, of which we were one of the sponsors, commits the United Nations to an intensification of its struggle against colonialism, neo-colonialism, racism, apartheid and all forms of hegemony or foreign domination. 26.”

   1979-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 34 (1979)

8. “This contribution by my country to the strengthening of international solidarity is complemented by our position on the major political problems which are under review in the General Assembly, that is to say by our policy of non-alignment, which is based on Panama's firm support for the premises of the Declaration on decolonization, the declaration on the permanent sovereignty of peoples, over their natural resources contained in the Charter of Economic Rights and Duties of States and the Declaration on the Establishment of a New International Economic Order.”

   1979-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 34 (1979)

9. “The new Panamanian diplomacy, inspired and directed by him, brought about among the leaders of our region a necessary rapprochement, a strengthening of our Latin American consciousness, and offered to our continent a great, worthy and just cause, the cause of Panama, which perfectly symbolized the efforts and sufferings of Latin America and its rejection of an anachronistic and intolerable imperialism. 23. The effects of the Panama Canal Treaties are the result of the will of two countries with great responsibilities to the international community. These agreements will serve to resolve a delicate situation which endangered world communications and the peace of the region. 24.”

   1979-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 34 (1979)

10. “The demonstration of world support for the meeting of the Security Council in Panama, and the significant statements made there by Mr. Kurt Waldheim, the Secretary-General, led to an understanding in the light of which the United States Government made an attempt to revise its Latin American policies and reconsidered the one-sided attitude it had until then maintained with regard to the legitimate claims of Panama. 22. General Torrijos' work had immense results in Latin America, not only for the cause of Panama, but also for that of the continent.”

    1979-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 34 (1979)

11. “The reaction of the leaders and peoples of the world was unanimous. Omar Torrijos's pilgrimage throughout the world rapidly brought about the results hoped for. The leaders of Europe, Asia and Africa, as well as those of Latin America, supported us unreservedly. To them, the list of whose names fills whole pages in the annals of friendship and of our nation's dignity; we wish to express the deep and never-ending gratitude of Panama. 21. In this present decade, and as a result of the work of the Government led by Omar Torrijos, the Security Council met on Latin American soil for the first time in its history to consider matters likely to endanger peace and security in Latin America. It was our privilege, Mr. President, to have your enlightened participation in your official capacity as Chairman of the Special Committee on decolonization.”

    1979-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 34 (1979)

12. “All the energies of the Panamanian people were channelled by one leader, a man totally devoted to interpreting and defending the national cause, a soldier whose only weapons were the unflagging nationalism of our people, and a new and brilliant manner of promoting the cause of Panama in the international community. General Omar Torrijos Herrera, the leader of the Panamanians, had a blind faith in human nature, in its capacity for goodness and justice and for the lofty and grave responsibilities of leadership. As a simple man of Panama and as the representative of the aspirations of that dignified and long-suffering people, he addressed himself to other men, to the leaders of America and of the world, and, without ceremony, he offered an exact and true testimony of the situation of our country and of its aspirations. 20.”

    1979-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 34 (1979)

13. “The careful cultivation of our national values, the strengthening of our own identity in our country, which is cosmopolitan, with an ancient tradition and a young population, were all essential in order to create the necessary unity among Panamanians, that communion between the men and women of Panama which, like the hardest rock, successfully resisted a formidable challenge: that of destroying, by the force of our ideas, the basis of an unjust and unbalanced relationship with the foremost Power of the world and, later, of building with it a modern relationship based on recognition of our sovereign rights, mutual respect and obedience to the idea of justice. 19.”

    1979-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 34 (1979)

14. “We are a people with profound faith in the anti-colonialist concepts as stated in the United Nations Charter, a noble people capable of creating the necessary conditions for eliminating the colonial enclave at the very heart of our country, which has been a permanent cause of conflict in relations between Panama and the United States and between the latter and Latin America. 18.”

    1979-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 34 (1979)

15. “The method chosen was that of negotiation, that of the dignified settlement of a long conflict thanks, first to the unswerving faith of our valiant people and, secondly, to the lucid and firm guidance of General Omar Torrijos Herrera, who initiated original and very effective diplomatic actions. We also owe it to the warm solidarity of the peoples of the world who believed in the justness of our cause. 17. The victory of the nation of Panama was made possible by the firm will of our people, aware of the value of freedom, independence, sovereignty and national honour. Our people waited with patience and offered its martyrs.”

    1979-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 34 (1979)

16. “In the opinion of the Panamanian Government, the regime of the Panama Canal, by reason of its universal character, will be subject to rules similar to those which international practice has established for the Suez and Kiel Canals and which will respect the jurisdiction of the Panamanian State over the inter-oceanic waterway, in accordance with the new agreements. 16. We who come from a modern country with a long tradition of transit through the isthmus feel extremely responsible for the services which the Canal offers to promote economic development in the user countries and to facilitate closer relations between the peoples of the world. We were also very conscious of the need to find a peaceful method of solving the delicate international dispute which seriously threatened the movement of traffic through the Isthmus of Panama.”

    1979-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 34 (1979)

17. “Panama wishes the Canal to remain safe and open for peaceful transit by the ships of all nations on terms of complete equality, so that there will be no discrimination against any State or its nationals and so that the Canal and, consequently, the isthmus of Panama, will not become the object of reprisals in any hostilities between other nations of the world. 14. It would be unrealistic for my country to try to make the regime of permanent neutrality of the Panama Canal universal without taking into account the essential co-operation of the great Powers, in the East and in the West, and particularly of those that have mastered nuclear technology. 15.”

    1979-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 34 (1979)

18. “We Panamanians are aware that the Panama Canal represents a landmark achievement in international communications and we consider that the new Treaties offer all users sufficient guarantees of permanency and efficiency in the inter-oceanic service. 12. For my Government it is a matter of great satisfaction to announce before this Assembly that, with the entry into force of the new Treaties on the Canal, as of 1 October 1979, the Protocol regarding the permanent neutrality of the Panama Canal has been open for accession by all States of the world. 13. On this occasion I must reiterate that one of the prime objectives of the international policy of Panama is the universalization of the regime of permanent neutrality of the inter-oceanic waterway through our territory.”

    1979-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 34 (1979)

19. “On the one hand, my country has new, extensive areas close to the inter-oceanic waterway which can be used for commercial, industrial and urban development and, likewise, the Ports of Balboa and Cristobal, the chief installations of their kind in Central America, and the Panama railway. 10. Furthermore, Panama's share in the benefits of that Canal comes in the form of greater income from the transit of ships and, what is also very important, a closer association with the United States of America in the administration of the inter-oceanic waterway up to 31 December 1999, After that date my country will acquire full control over the Panama Canal. 11.”

    1979-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 34 (1979)

20. “From now on, we Panamanians will live in a country where there will be no laws, courts or police that are other than Panamanian, where only a single flag, the flag of Panama, will wave in its tropical skies and where a new sense of dignity will give us strength to undertake the vast task of building the prosperous and free future we deserve. 9. These new Treaties, by granting us more intensive participation in decisions on our own main natural resource, the geographical feature of the isthmus of Panama, also represent a valuable instrument of national development.”

    1979-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 34 (1979)

21. “When, three days ago, the unjust Hay-Bunau-Varilla Treaty of 1903 was abrogated, the colonial en-clave known as the Panama Canal Zone disappeared and the Republic reassumed all its jurisdictional rights over it. This represents a milestone in the history of decolonization in the world. 7. The new Panama Canal Treaties also signal in Latin America the end of an era characterized by the imposition of the North American doctrine of territorial proximity, whereby an attempt was made to justify the right to appropriate or control the natural resources and certain geographical features in the States in the region that could affect the domination of the major world maritime routes. That imperialist doctrine, today rejected by the international community, received its death blow with the entry into force of the Torrijos-Carter Treaties. 8.”

    1979-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 34 (1979)

22. “We are happy that it is you, Sir, a friend of our region, who is the successor to the eminent Latin American statesman, Mr. Indalecio Lie'vano Aguirre, to whom we pay a well-deserved tribute for the excellent discharge of his responsibility as President of the thirty-third session of the General Assembly. 5. This is a fitting time to offer to the world testimony of the achievements of Panama. That is why I wish to tell you of the significance which the Torrijos-Carter Treaties on the Panama Canal have for us, of how we managed to reach an agreement with the foremost Power in the world on this act of national liberation which the new treaties represent, and of the contribution my country made to the cause of peace in Latin America and in the world because of the recent entry into force of the Panama Canal Treaties. 6.”

    1979-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 34 (1979)

23. “We Panamanians wish to express our gratitude to all the people and countries that supported us because they believed in the justness of our claims and in the strength of their convictions, placing the ideal of justice uppermost among their values. 3. This is the reason for my presence in the General Assembly of the United Nations which is, by a happy coincidence, presided over by a statesman of your stature, Mr. President, your well-known leadership at the head of the Special Committee on the Situation with regard to the Implementation of the Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples, reflected in your actions since the historic meetings of the Security Council in 1973 in the city of Panama, has earned the lasting appreciation of the Government and people of Panama. 4.”

    1979-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 34 (1979)

24. “Three days after the entry into force of the new treaties on the Panama Canal , a milestone in the history of Latin America, the President of Panama, Mr. Aristides Royo, honoured me with the responsibility of addressing a very special message to the Assembly of the international community to express the serene satisfaction of the people of Panama in these moments and to say to the peoples of the world, represented by delegations here, that peace is necessary, that agreement is possible and that success is within the reach of all countries, even of the least powerful, when faith and the struggle of a people meet with response in international solidarity. 2.”

    1979-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 34 (1979)

25. “In this respect I should like to take this opportunity to express, on behalf of the Government and people of the Republic of Panama, our gratitude for the firm support the vast majority of nations and Governments here represented have given to the legitimate aspirations of my country in the vital and decisive question of the Panama Canal. That question is one of the very problems which serve effectively to indicate whether or not it is true that the great Powers have learned the tragic lessons of our times and have in fact decided to walk hand in hand with the small nations and those less favored by history towards the heights of peace and concord which are the ultimate ideal of the United Nations.”

    1975-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 30 (1975)

26. “In this regard it is fitting to refer to the introduction to the report of the Secretary-General on the work of the Organization [AllOOOllAdd.l], a valuable document in which Mr. Waldheim shows how, despite obstacles, our Organization has progressed slowly but surely, without haste but without pause, like the star of which Goethe wrote. 118. As for my country, I wish to say that Panama offers its firm though modest support for all those efforts without flagging for a second. To Panama it is vital and necessary that this climate of international dialog and concord be maintained, because our cause is intimately linked to international peace and the spirit of solidarity and equality among nations.”

    1975-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 30 (1975)

27. “With the cessation of the war in Indo-China and the signing of the Final Act of the Conference on Security and Co-operation in Europe, which opens new prospects for peace in other regions of the earth, it is most encouraging that the General Assembly, in its resolution on development and international economic co-operation, has now decided resolutely to eliminate the injustice and inequality which afflict vast sectors of mankind by means of practical measures to attain the general objective of a new international economic order. 117. These and other auspicious events, among which I should like to mention the progress made in the decolonization process in Africa, are of utmost relevance to the position achieved by the United Nations after 30 years.”

    1975-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 30 (1975)

28. “114. I wish to end on a note of optimism. I am prompted to it by the positive results of the seventh special session, which once again displayed a spirit of concord and co-operation which basically inspires all countries at present regardless of their degree of development, their ideologies or their aspirations. 115. We are pleased to note that we are coming closer to peace because of the initiatives taken by Egypt and Israel in the Middle East, and we express the hope that the territorial integrity of Cyprus will be safeguarded. 116.”

    1975-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 30 (1975)

29. “In other words, the regime applicable to the use of these waterways must not, according to authoritative opinions, aim to withdraw the Canal from the control of the coastal State but rather to impose upon that State certain obligations intended to facilitate the free passage of merchant ships and warships of all flags, without discrimination, in time of war and in time of peace. 113. Truman's Potsdam proposal, which was no doubt formulated in response to the Soviet position with regard to the regime of the Turkish straits, paved the way so that, through the agreement of the international community, all international waterways could be used freely for international navigation subject to the jurisdiction, competence and control of the country with the territorial sovereignty, which in the case of the Panama Canal is the State of Panama.”

    1975-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 30 (1975)

30. “A regime of that kind would to some extent accord with the proposal made at the Potsdam Conference in 1945 by the then President of the United States, Harry S Truman, to the effect that, in order to safeguard the future peace and security of the world, international marine waterways should be open to free and unrestricted use by all the nations of the world, 112. There can be no doubt that, in accordance with international law, the Panama Canal, like the Suez Canal and the Kiel Canal, must be governed by a general body of rules of common application to this type of international waterway but subject to the competence of territorial sovereignty.”

    1975-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 30 (1975)

31. “Panama's position has been clearly defined by the Head of Government of Panama, General Omar Torrijos, who, in a recent interview with the Colombian writer Gabriel Garcia Marquez, stated that "in the negotiations Panama seeks an orderly step-by-step process of demilitarization and neutralization of the Canal," in which the Panamanian National Guard will play a growing role while that of the United States army decreases. 110. In this respect it must not be forgotten that in the Hay-Bunau Varilla Convention Panama and the United States undertook to apply to the Panama Canal the principles of neutralization stipulated in the Constantinople Convention of 1888 Respecting the Free Navigation of the Suez Maritime Canal, of which the signatories were England, Germany, Austria-Hungary, Spain, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Turkey and Russia. 111.”

    1975-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 30 (1975)

32. “History proves dramatically that the Panamanian people has always opposed any formula which ' might be equivalent to perpetuity and not only the Panamanian people: all the peoples of Latin America, Asia, Africa and the world repudiate this typical formula of rampant colonialism, which mankind believes it has overcome through the declarations of this General Assembly, but which some narrow- minded people without a sense of history try to project into the twenty-first century. 109.”

    1975-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 30 (1975)

33. “In order to put an end to colonialism in our territory, the Panamanian Government has proposed that the new treaty, as regards all its aspects, including defense, should not last longer than the end of the present century, This extremely reasonable position has nevertheless given rise to frequent statements in the United States press that the United States should endeavor to insert in the treaty a clause whereby that country would be responsible for the defense of the Canal for a longer period namely, 50 years and that at the end of that period it would have the right to continue to defend the Canal for an indefinite length of time. 108.”

    1975-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 30 (1975)

34. “A solution will have to take into account basic principles which are enshrined in the Charter, such as the principle of territorial integrity, sovereign equality, the obligation to settle all international disputes by peaceful means and the principle which by now has become an accepted common standard, namely, that any State is entitled to put to full use and for its own account all its natural potentialities."3 107.”

    1975-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 30 (1975)

35. “In the agreement that exists between the two points I have mentioned the foundations are laid for the effective exercise by Panama of its right to economic self-determination. 106. These principles contained in the joint Tack- Kissinger declaration clearly establish the formula with which the negotiations must culminate, which is a Panamanian Canal under Panamanian control. This formula would be in accordance with the pronouncement of the Secretary-General before the Security Council on 20 March 1973, when he advocated a solution for the Panama Canal question which, in his opinion: "... can only be based on the respect for law and the search for justice.”

    1975-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 30 (1975)

36. “Our goal is now none other than total and complete decolonization, in harmony with the spirit of our times, singularly expressed in the magna carta on decolonization [resolution 1514 (XV)] and in the Economic and Social Council resolution on the permanent sovereignty of peoples and nations over their natural wealth and resources [resolution 1956 (LIX)]. 105. It is fitting to recall in this respect that in point 5 of the Tack-Kissinger declaration it is recognized that "the geographical position of its territory constitutes the principal resource of the Republic of Panama". Similarly, in point 6, both countries have agreed that "the treaty will also stipulate that the Republic of Panama will assume total responsibility for the operation of the Canal when the treaty comes to an end".”

    1975-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 30 (1975)

37. “Panama would also take over public services and be in charge of post offices, which have so far been in foreign hands. On the same criterion, the so-called Panama Canal Company would cease to exist. It was set up by the United States Government, and we shall set up a new organization in accordance with the stipulations of the new treaty. 104. It is the firm intention of Panama to proceed with the negotiations on the Panama Canal question, but on the understanding that these negotiations must move effectively and in the correct direction, ■ which is the elimination of the anachronistic North American colonial enclave in the heart of the nation of Panama against the will of its people.”

    1975-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 30 (1975)

38. “In regard to jurisdiction, the Government of Panama trusts that an agreement will be reached with the United States for the abolition of the Canal Zone, so that my country, as a territorial sovereign, can assume full jurisdiction over that part of its territory. For such an agreement to be effective the so-called government of the Canal Zone must cease to function in no more than three years' time. Accordingly, the Governor and administrative machinery which now exist would disappear, as would the United States police, because the Panamanian National Guard would take over their functions. Likewise, foreign courts would be removed and United States laws would no longer be applied, since Panamanian law would prevail, and justice would be administered by Panamanian judges.”

    1975-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 30 (1975)

39. “It is worth while emphasizing that in points 3 and 4 of the Tack-Kissinger declaration it is agreed: (a) To reaffirm that the territory in which the Canal is situated is Panamanian territory; (b) To recognize the right of the country with territorial sovereignty to exercise full jurisdiction over this territory; (c) To end speedily the jurisdiction of the United States over Panamanian territory; (d) To return to Panama the Panamanian territory on which the Canal is situated; (e) To grant to the United States of America for the duration of the new treaty the right to use the lands, waters and air space necessary for the functioning, maintenance, protection and defense of the Canal and the transit of ships. 103.”

    1975-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 30 (1975)

40. “This is a formula intended to break the deadlock in the prolonged negotiations, recognizing first the fundamental aspiration of the people of Panama to abrogate the Hay-Bunau Varilla Convention of 19032 and its amendments, thus paving the way for a new agreement which will put an end to the existing colonial situation in the heart of the territory of Panama. 101. In that declaration it was furthermore agreed, in point 2, that the elimination of the concept of per-petuity should be brought about by stipulating a fixed period of duration for the Canal concession. An end to perpetuity will, in our opinion, mean a beginning of the end of the colonial structure in the so-called Canal Zone. 102.”

    1975-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 30 (1975)

41. “It is understandable that, a few days before the Tlatelolco meeting, in Panama on 7 February 1974, the Minister for Foreign Affairs of Panama, Juan Antonio Tack, and the Secretary of State of the United States, Mr. Henry Kissinger, signed a declaration on a series of fundamental principles which serve and must serve as guidelines for the negotiators in the efforts to arrive at a just and equitable treaty which will do away once and for all with the causes of conflict between the two countries. 100.”

    1975-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 30 (1975)

42. “97. The Security Council, when it met in the city of Panama from 15 to 21 March 1973 to consider those problems of Latin America which might endanger peace and security in the region, considered that the question of the Panama Canal had been a constant source of conflict between my country and the United States. 98. The overwhelming international support which Panama has received since then is beyond challenge. All the Latin American countries without exception expressed their unanimous solidarity. That is no doubt why in beginning the new dialog it was decided to include on the agenda the question of the Panama Canal, since this is a matter of common interest for all Latin America. 99.”

    1975-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 30 (1975)

43. “For the Republic of Panama, "whose principal natural resource is its geographical position, while the inter-oceanic Canal is the means for exploiting that resource, the pronouncements of this General As-sembly are of the utmost importance in regard to the Declaration and the program of Action on the Establishment of a New International Economic Order [resolutions 3201 (S-Vlj and 3202 (S-VI)]\ the Charter of Economic Rights and Duties of States [resolution 3281 (XXIX)]] the International Development Strategy for the Second United Nations Development Decade [resolution 2626 (XXV)]\ and, as a corollary, resolution 3362 (S-VII) on development and international economic co-operation adopted at the seventh special session, since the basis for all these pronouncements is the exercise by States of full and permanent sovereignty over their wealth, natural resources and economic activities.”

    1975-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 30 (1975)

44. “Therefore the State of Panama has not only adhered to the Lima program for Mutual Assistance and Solidarity, which is already known to this Assembly, but has become a fully fledged member of the group of non-aligned countries, which also strive for the establishment of a new international economic order which will represent their total and complete emancipation through the recovery of and control oyer their wealth, their natural resources and their means for economic development. 95. We believe it timely to recall in this respect the consistent position of Panama in favor of landlocked countries or those in geographically disadvantageous situations; and in this context we have very much in mind the noble nation of Bolivia. We therefore reiterate Panama's backing for Bolivia's just aspiration to have direct access to the sea. 96.”

    1975-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 30 (1975)

45. “That is so because the non-aligned movement is viewed as an international anti-imperialist and anti-colonialist movement, which is also opposed to power politics, policies of hegemony and schemes of domination based on offensive racist discrimination. 94. Panama, which for seven decades has been struggling against a smoldering colonialist situation which affects its territorial integrity, views the non- aligned movement, directed to the defense of the interests of the peoples of the third world, as the natural mechanism for endorsing with dignity its independent foreign policy in international forums, since this non-aligned movement advocates the appli-cation of United Nations ideals.”

    1975-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 30 (1975)

46. “To that end, our national Government is carefully studying the informal negotiating texts which were prepared by the chairmen of the three committees at the end of the meetings held at Geneva during the spring of 1975. The delegation of Panama will attend the meetings convened for New York in March 1976 with every readiness to participate in negotiations intended to make of the seas and the law of the sea instruments of peace at the service of all nations. 93. Panama, as a State desirous of peace and inter-national co-operation, shares the concern of the majority of the peoples of the world in opposing imperialist and colonialist policies. The struggle undertaken by the non-aligned countries to defend their right to political and economic independence has aroused in the peoples of Latin America growing feelings of solidarity and support.”

    1975-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 30 (1975)

47. “This led us to sponsor the draft text on territories under foreign occupation or colonial domination, which received broad support, and which was intended to exclude from the new law of the sea we are drafting any colonial situation which infringes the rights of free peoples and sovereign States, as in the situation which persists in the isthmus of Panama. 92. We firmly believe that in this respect our attitude is one of the greatest contributions that can be made to the success of the Conference on the law of the sea. The Republic of Panama reiterates its willingness to continue to participate actively in the work of that Conference.”

    1975-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 30 (1975)

48. “At the sessions of the Third United Nations Conference on the Law of the Sea, held at Caracas, Panama denounced the continuance of this anomalous situation, which paradoxically transforms a country which its physical geography makes essentially maritime into a State which is in a geographically disadvantageous position. 90. What is even more serious is that that situation is the result of colonialist practices carried out in the heart of our continent by the Government of the United States. 91. The colonial situation which the Canal Zone represents and the illegitimate appropriation by the United States of the ports of Boca-Balboa on the Pacific and of Cristobal on the Atlantic were vigorously denounced.”

    1975-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 30 (1975)

49. “Although it is not a natural strait, but a river valley, we are aware of its role in peaceful exchanges and in the progress of mankind, and we intend, in a desire to allow quick and safe transit for the ships of all the world, to set up a regime of great liberality without any discrimination, while at the same time we would have a regime of permanent neutrality, guaranteed by the international community. 88. But this open and generous attitude of the Republic of Panama comes up against the anachronistic situation which not only gives the United States the use of the main instrument of exploitation of Panama's geographical position, namely, the Panama Canal, but also prevents Panama from using its principal ports on the Atlantic and on the Pacific. 89.”

    1975-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 30 (1975)

50. “Panama's coastline measures almost 2,000 kilometers on the coasts of the central zones of the Atlantic and the Pacific, and its territorial sea, continental shelf and national sea-bed cover a larger area than the parts of the land that have emerged from the sea. 86. Our main natural resource the geographical position of the isthmus is largely a function of the oceans, considered as highways of transport and trade. But that is not all; another of our vital natural resources, the River Chagres, has been made into a canal so that it flows out into the two oceans, thus traversing the full breadth of the American continent at its narrowest part. 87. Almost 15,000 ships pass through the 80 kilometers of the Panama Canal every year, that is, a substantial proportion of all the ships which sail the seas.”

    1975-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 30 (1975)