YouSaid · the spoken record

Nkundabagenzi

THE RECORD WRITES THIS SPEAKER AS NKUNDABAGENZI

lines on the record: 80
first: 1969-09-24
most recent: 1971-09-24
sittings or episodes: 3
sources: un-general-debate

Every line below is reproduced as it was said and linked to the record it came from. Nothing here is summarised or generated. Directory · Search · Corrections

“For its part Rwanda considers it a point of honor to state that, as a loyal partner, it can always be counted on to make a generous contribution towards the forging of a better future for humanity.”
1971-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 26 (1971)
“The consolidation of this world Organization, designed l guarantee the peace and security of all nations, the promotion of a peaceful spirit which will induce States to solve their problems through negotiation and dialog, renewed urgency in the struggle against colonialism in all its forms and against racial discrimination in southern Africa, renunciation of the armaments race and the re-channeling of financial resources thus released towards the tasks of civilization and peace, the creation of social well-being for all human beings without distinction as to race, sex, color or religion and the creation of conditions that enable all human beings fully to enjoy their fundamental rights-this is .the challenge that the world of today, our common heritage, as President Nixon put it so well, must meet. 115.”
1971-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 26 (1971)
“While Rwanda' is very pleased that the United Nations has taken cognizance of the importance of this problem, yet it deplores the fact that in this matter certain States are at times adopting practices that run completely counter to the decisions of the United Nations, It is necessary that all countries be' invited to become parties to the Convention on Transit Trade of Land-locked States, sighed at New York on 8 July 1965, and should adhere to the convention as soon as possible. My country therefore launches a pressing appeal to all States to conform to the decisions and resolutions of the United Nations on this subject. 114.”
1971-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 26 (1971)
“As we were saying, in the past man has broken through the most stubborn resistance offered by the ocean depths. This adventure has also enabled him to discover other heretofore undreamt -of riches to which, in my Government's opinion, all mankind should have equal access. 113. I should .also like to refer in this connexion to a problem of the utmost interest to my country: that of land-locked States.”
1971-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 26 (1971)
“The continuous deterioration of the terms of trade is of particular concern to the developing countries. It has recently been aggravated by the lack of equilibrium created in the world monetary system as a result of unilateral decisions adopted by certain States, without any account being taken of the repercussions they would have on commercial relations between the developed countries and the developing countries. It is important that the world community should do everything possible to remedy the situation. 111. Furthermore, rates of interest for capital loans on the world market should become less prohibitive in order to allow all developed and insufficiently developed countries to have access to such loans, and thus to break the vicious circle existing today, in which loans are made only to the wealthy. 112.”
1971-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 26 (1971)
“Classical law, born of the traditional structures of Western Europe, has for long accustomed us to the idea of the coexistence of States which are fully independent one of the other and whose sovereignty is limited neither at home nor abroad. Such an approach, which reflects the liberal spirit with which the Western civilization was impregnated, is now a thing of the past. The twentieth century demands that States bow to the law of our time, which is the rule of co-operation and interdependence. 110. This cooperation, so necessary in all sectors, is even essential in the economic field, where the developing countries are, from many points of view, treated unjustly. International social justice requires that the raw materials exported by these countries receive a fair price in world markets.”
1971-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 26 (1971)
“These people are often still undernourished, uneducated, unemployed and wanting in many other basic amenities of life. While a part of the world lives in great comfort and even affluence, much of the larger part suffers from abject poverty, and in fact the disparity is continuing to widen. This lamentable situation has contributed to the aggravation of world tension." 108. While it is encouraging to note that there is a universal awakening to the existence of this unfortunate reality, it would be unfortunate if States, particularly those which possess more material wealth than they need, were to be content with expressions of pious wishes, without having sufficient political will to commit themselves fully to the course of international co-operation. 109.”
1971-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 26 (1971)
“The walk on the moon, this event a legend throughout the ages for all civilizations, has now become a reality. Why is mm suddenly paralyzed when it comes to beating all records in demolishing slums in which thousands and thousands of human beings are stagnating and in providing men with a decent way of life, in other words, by offering them a chance to survive as well as a reason for living? 107. The International Development Strategy for the Second United Nations Development Decade, adopted by Member States on 24 October 1970 [resolution 2626 (XXV)J, is a true holy writ whose precepts should be kept constantly in mind by the leaders of the world today. The following is stated in the preamble to that text: .. the level of living of countless of millions of people ... is still pitifully low.”
1971-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 26 (1971)
“In truth, the imperative need for peace and security throughout the world, and for good relations between countries, also requires increased international economic cooperation, in order to achieve more genuine international social justice, because* believe me, gentlemen, hunger, illness and ignorance throughout the world are as dangerous to the happiness and the security of peoples as is the sound of the camion. 106. Hie gap which has continued to grow between the richer and poorer countries is such that the equal right of sail peoples of the world to flourish in full measure and to enjoy the benefits of civilization has become an empty slogan today. Through science and technology, which man himself has developed, man today has pierced the mystery of the depths of the oceans and has conquered outer space.”
1971-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 26 (1971)
“As an African Government, my Government is greatly preoccupied with the tragic situation thai exists in the southern part of our continent. As a member of the world community of nations, it is equally preoccupied with the danger that hangs over our heads because of the huge Stockpiles of arms of all types which States, especially the great Powers, continue to manufacture, devoting enormous sums to their manufacture. The larger and smaller nations must become acutely aware of this dangerous situation and work more decisively for the destruction of all these stockpiles that serve less for the defense of humanity, than for its impoverishment. 105.”
1971-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 26 (1971)
“It can be foreseen that, exacerbated by the .colonialist repression of Portugal and Ian Smith, and by the inhuman and unnatural policy of racial segregation, the African populations of South Africa, Namibia, Southern Rhodesia, Angola, Mozambique and Guinea (Bissau) will finally decide to meet violence with violence and will take it upon themselves to choose the true path of their freedom, the path of revolution, Chairman Mao Tse-tung has said: "A revolution is not a dinner party, or writing an essay, or painting a picture, or doing embroidery; it cannot be so refined,.so leisurely and gentle, so temperate, kind, courteous, restrained and magnanimous, A revolution is an insurrection, an act of violence by which one class overthrows another.*'* 104.”
1971-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 26 (1971)
“My Government is equally shocked to see that certain Western Powers are deliberately violating the decisions of our Organization by continuing to supply arms to South Africa and Portugal and by failing to observe the total embargo which was proclaimed agains; Rhodesia. Such conduct weakens the authority of the United Nations and also gives encouragement to manifestly immoral causes for whose defense these arms are intended. 103.”
1971-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 26 (1971)
“In Southern Rhodesia, Ian Smith and his clique hold millions of Africans under their yoke under the complaisant eyes of the United Kingdom, which, in the opinion of my Government, remains fully and directly responsible for the situation prevailing in that African Territory. 101. The unholy alliance of Lisbon, Pretoria and Salisbury obviously constitutes a permanent danger to the peace and security of the African continent, because despite numerous appeals made by our Organization this alliance persists in its error by ignoring the Irreversible laws of history which show that any revolution of substance always triumphs in the end. 102.”
1971-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 26 (1971)
“Although this Territory is directly under the jurisdiction of the United Nations, the Government of South Africa, which has refused to withdraw from this Territory, thus defying the moral and political authority of the United Nations, continues to carry out its criminal policy of humiliation and oppression. South Africa should know that it is illegal to give orders without the right to 4o so and particularly when this is against all laws. The Government of that country should enter into immediate negotiations with the Secretary-General in order to find the best ways and means to effect, without delay, the transfer of power and sovereignty to the legitimate representatives of the people of Namibia. 100.”
1971-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 26 (1971)
“Of course, it is better to discuss, to negotiate, in a word to conduct a dialog, than to fight. However, a dialog presupposes the existence of at least two parties; but the authorities of Pretoria clearly do not want such a dialog, because by the principle of their racial segregation they definitely exclude their true partners in dialog, namely, the African populations of the territory who are directly concerned by the subject of such a dialog. The Government of South Africa should first agree to discuss with the Africans of that country in order to find ways and means of constructing a State that will fully guarantee the rights of the majority before seeking to lay traps for the independent African States, traps designed to sway their opinion on South Africa's policy of oppression. 99. In Namibia the situation is equally alarming.”
1971-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 26 (1971)
“Its sinister annexationist plans even cause it to become involved in acts of aggression against Senegal and the Republic of Guinea, The monstrous crimes of which Portugal is guilty every day in Africa should lead to unanimous condemnation by the international Organization and should induce the latter to render it impotent to cause harm by forcing Portugal, by all possible means, to cease deliberately shocking the universal conscience by its conduct which has already manifestly been condemned by history, 98. In South Africa, the philosophy of racial segregation involves the South African Government in acts of bloody repression against the populations of African origin, acts designed progressively to exterminate them. Some sources advocate dialog with the racist regime of Pretoria.”
1971-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 26 (1971)
“Yet, the Republic of South Africa and Portugal, the immediate authors of this hideous drama, continue to flout the decisions of the Organization. 97. Thus, Portugal continues to deny to the populations of Angola, Mozambique and Guinea (Bissau) their right to self-determination and independence; what is worse, it is carrying on a heinous colonialist war in these Territories.”
1971-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 26 (1971)
“May this contact be the forerunner of others and may it open the path to a fruitful dialog between the two Koreas, for let us not forget that it is up to the Koreans themselves in the long run to solve their own problem, free from any foreign interference, military or otherwise. 95. If it is essential to put a halt to the suffering caused by the wars in Viet-Nam and the Middle East, to promote the reunification of Korea and to do justice to the People's Republic of China by opening to it the doors of this Organization, it is equally necessary to condemn that great shame of the twentieth century, namely colonialism and apartheid, which are rampant in southern Africa. 96. These two scourges have repeatedly been condemned by the General Assembly.”
1971-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 26 (1971)
“As far as the 14 million people living on Taiwan are concerned, Rwanda believes that they, too, have a natural and legitimate right to be subject solely to a Government of their free choice. 94. I cannot leave the Asian continent without referring to the problem of Korea. As the Assembly has decided [1939th meeting] to adjourn a debate on Korea to the twenty- seventh session, I will confine myself solely to stating that my Government hopes with all its heart to see this country recover its unity. It is encouraging most actively the efforts for a rapprochement that have been made at the humanitarian level by the Red Cross organizations of the two parties in order to settle the fate of prisoners.”
1971-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 26 (1971)
“The peace and security of the world will be built with the full participation of the 750 million Chinese, or they will not be built at all. 92. Thus the Government of Rwanda is prepared to support without any reservation whatsoever any proposal which is designed in a positive way to allow the People's Republic of China to make its contribution within the framework of the United Nations to the building of the future of mankind. Furthermore, my country is convinced that the question of the representation of China is by no means a question of the admission of a new member State or of the exclusion of a Member State within the meaning of Article 18, paragraph 2, of the Charter, because the State of China is a Member of the Organization and a permanent member of the Security Council in conformity with Article 23 of the Charter. 93.”
1971-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 26 (1971)
“Like it, or not, the People's Republic of China, with its 750 million human beings and its area of 9,600,000 square kilometers, its economic, scientific and technical development, its diplomatic relations with countries in all the continents of the world, is a giant that must have its bit to say in the settlement of the world's problems if we wish this settlement to be permanent. No one is ignorant of the fact that States that make up this Organization have different political and social regimes, for each people chooses at a given moment of its history the ideology and the regime that it considers appropriate. Why, then, exclude the People's Republic of China from this Organization-a country created by a glorious popular revolution?”
1971-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 26 (1971)
“In the opinion of my Government, the exclusion of one quarter of humanity from an organization that aims at universality by references to all sorts of fallacious arguments is an absurd situation to which who should put an end. The People's Republic of China should be re-established in its legitimate rights and should take its seat in the Security Council as a permanent member, in conformity with Article 23 of the Charter, as well as its seat in the General Assembly. 91.”
1971-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 26 (1971)
“It is necessary for all the Members of the Organization to support the efforts deployed by the four great Powers and by Ambassador Jarring to achieve a negotiated agreement whereby the Arab States may recover, without any preliminary conditions the territories occupied by Israel, and Israel may possess secure and recognized boundaries. This, in the view of my delegation, is the very essence of resolution 242(1967) of the Security Council. As the philosopher Aristotle has said, an unjust victory cannot convey a just claim. 89. I should like to turn now to the problem of the representation of China within the Organization, a subject that has aroused passionate debate for so many years in this Assembly. 90.”
1971-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 26 (1971)
“It comes from an indomitable will" and non-violence means "putting one's whole soul against the will of the tyrant".3 It is certainly high time that all the parties to the war in Viet-Nam knew that the Viet-Namese people in particular and the world in general are impatiently waiting for the rays of the sun of peace again to emerge over that suffering area. 88. In the Middle East, hatred piled upon hatred has hardened and lulled consciences to sleep, by setting up the law of the sword and the cannon in men's hearts.”
1971-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 26 (1971)
“However, while Europe is actively working for a reconciliation with itself in order to regain its former grandeur, the situation is totally different in Asia, where absurd wars, imposed from the outside, spread needless suffering. 87. What scope do the war in Viet-Nam and the conflict in the Middle East leave to international peace and security? In both cases a gun is brandished in the name only of "might makes right". But strength for whoever is strong lies not in the subjugation of the weak, but in mastering one's self to avoid falling prey to the excesses to which such strength might lead. As Gandhi, that great philosopher, said, "strength does not come from physical capacity.”
1971-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 26 (1971)
“11 is in the light of those very objectives that their behavior should be assessed. 83. Rwanda, for its part, will continue, as it has always done in the past, to direct its foreign policy towards the achievement of those goals, whether it be domestically, in its relations with its neighbors, or within the framework of the Organization. 84. The lives of nations, just as the lives of individuals, have their shocks and tragedies, 85. Thus it is that Europe, which yesterday was solely ravaged by two world wars, today has great prospects for the future, thanks to the dynamic and far-seeing diplomacy of its leaders, who desired and have succeeded in re-establishing good relations between Germany and its neighbors and who just recently laid the foundations for a solution to the problem of Berlin, 86.”
1971-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 26 (1971)
“As happens every year at this time, the entire world is again assembled in this forum to undertake a collective examination of conscience in order to weigh the successes and failures of nations' efforts to promote the progress and happiness of their peoples. 82. The maintenance of international peace and security, the development among nations of friendly relations based upon respect for the principle of the equal rights of peoples and on their right to self-determination; the achievement of international co-operation for the solution of international problems in economic, social and other fields, and the encouragement of respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms for all are the principal objectives that have been accepted by States represented here in subscribing to the Charter of our Organization.”
1971-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 26 (1971)
“My delegation would like at the same time to express once again its very high appreciation for the remarkable way in which your predecessor, Mr. Edvard Hambro, President of the twenty-fifth session, discharged his heavy responsibilities. 79. Secretary-General UThant, an untiring apostle of peace, deserves a special word of recognition. For so many years, he has dedicated his best energies to counseling Member States on translating into reality the great ideals of the Charter of the United Nations. My country would be very happy to see him remain even longer at the helm of this Organization. 80. Rwanda is also extremely happy to extend a warm welcome as members of the community of nations to the States of Bhutan, Bahrain and Qatar, whose desire for peace and co-operation are known to us all. 81.”
1971-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 26 (1971)
“77. Your unanimous election, Sir, to the high office of President of this twenty-sixth regular session of the General Assembly is a resounding tribute to your eminent qualities as a statesman and experienced diplomat, and a source of legitimate pride for your country. Rwanda has particular reason for being pleased with that choice because of the more than friendly relations that my country maintains with Indonesia, whose noble son you are.. Indeed, there exists between our two countries a common destiny, sprung from the same source , that great "event", the African-Asian Conference, in Bandung 16 years ago, which summoned the heretofore colonized peoples to awake and forged in us a common awareness. 78.”
1971-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 26 (1971)
“Its shortcomings, inherent in any human endeavor, must not blind us, must not prevent us from seeing its usefulness and especially the inestimable services which it has rendered and continues to render to mankind. It is up to all the Members of this Organization to see to it that it be further improved. 32. But, more than that, we must have an ardent faith in this indispensable instrument of peace, which presages the genuine international society of tomorrow. That is what Rwanda fervently hopes to see: a world where all men, free from fear and anguish, will be better brothers and will be more united.”
1970-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 25 (1970)
“Rwanda is convinced that every Government has a sacred duty to cooperate with all others in guaranteeing that all peoples have a reasonable chance of living in dignity. 30. There is good reason for the revolt of youth in the world, for its cries of anguish against the obsolete structures of present day societies, and in a universal surge, for its proposals for a new humanism. We must draw the lesson from this general revolt and accept, while purifying it, the message of this youth which desires a new universal society. This youth, which is the society of tomorrow, is a fount of idealism and energy where all our present societies must find a way to regenerate themselves. 31. Thus, the United Nations commemorates twenty- five years of existence.”
1970-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 25 (1970)
“Why cannot the extraordinary progress of science and technology be used to make possible the utilization of the natural resources existing in most developing countries to improve living conditions for the populations of those countries? 28. We are still very far from reaching the noble ideal which inspired the authors of the Charter of this Organization when they stated that improving the economic and social conditions of man was one of the major objectives which all Member States should strive to attain. 29. In fact it is the whole concept of man which must be considered. Quite often, political, linguistic, racial and other barriers shrink our horizons and prevent us from seeing that beyond them there is one mankind which, if it wishes to progress and attain happiness, must remain united and interdependent.”
1970-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 25 (1970)
“After the end of the last world war, assistance of wealthy peoples to developing countries increased at a relatively satisfactory pace until about 1960, enabling those countries to reach an average rate of growth of their gross national product of 5 per cent per year; but since that date this assistance has remained stationary, despite repeated appeals of the international Organization to the wealthy countries to devote at least 1 per cent of their national income each year to assistance. 27. And yet the volume of expenditure for armaments in many of these rich countries is such that, if those Powers possess the material strength to destroy the world, they also possess the necessary means to free 2,300 million men from the chains of hunger, disease and ignorance.”
1970-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 25 (1970)
“Rwanda believes that misery and hunger in the world threaten the security of nations just as much as the clangour of weapons and we agree with the Pearson report that: "If the developed nations wish to preserve their position in that world, they must play their full part in creating a world order within which all nations, and all men, can live in freedom, dignity and decency. "International development is a great challenge of our age. Our response to it will show whether we understand the implication of interdependence or whether we prefer to delude ourselves that the poverty and deprivation of the great majority of mankind can be ignored without tragic consequences for all." 26.”
1970-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 25 (1970)
“The commemoration of the tenth anniversary of the Declaration in General Assembly resolution 1514 (XV) must offer us an opportunity of stigmatizing, once again, colonialism and neocolonialism in all their forms and manifestations and must impel us to mobilize all the live forces of the world with renewed energy for the defense of human rights wherever they are violated. 24. But the abolition of colonialism and racism, suppression of hotbeds of tension in the world and revision of the structures of the United Nations would not be sufficient to give to mankind a firm hope for lasting peace and security, since one quarter of the population of the globe accounts for 85 per cent of world revenue and leaves only 15 per cent to 2,300 million people out of 3,000 million inhabitants of our planet. 25.”
1970-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 25 (1970)
“All peaceloving countries which take pride in defending them against colonialist and racist oppression, in a document which will mark an important date in history, entitled "Manifesto on Southern Africa", or "Lusaka Manifesto," solemnly proclaimed their will to seek a solution through dialog. At its previous session the Assembly endorsed the ideas expressed in this Manifesto and, by an overwhelming majority, adopted resolution. 2505 (XXIV). It is therefore essential for the United Nations to redouble its efforts, in cooperation with the Organization of African Unity, to ensure the triumph of the cause of justice and peace in southern Africa. 23.”
1970-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 25 (1970)
“It is clear that if the sinister alliance between Lisbon, Pretoria and Salisbury is a very serious threat to peace in that part of the world, the United Nations, is in duty bound to assume its responsibilities in the face of such a situation. 21. Our Organization, inspired by the provisions of the Charter, has often taken decisions calling for economic sanctions against South Africa and a total embargo against Rhodesia. But, unfortunately, the deplorable fact is that the great Powers have been the first not to put those measures into effect, thus supporting the racist policy of Salisbury and Pretoria. 22. The General Assembly knows full well that the Africans who live in those countries do not want war for war's sake; they merely claim their lawful rights in place of the concept that might makes right.”
1970-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 25 (1970)
“In Southern Rhodesia Ian Smith and his clique, defying the moral and political authority of this Organization, have built a racist society where a white minority possesses all the rights of suzerainty over a majority of Africans who have nothing but the sufferings of slaves. 19. In Angola and Mozambique Portugal constantly refines its methods of subjugation of the African populations, in flagrant contempt of the imperatives of universal morality. 20. In South Africa the dogma of apartheid has become a State religion; it is obviously a true crime against mankind. The aspirations of the people of Namibia to self-determination are being stifled by the Pretoria authorities, who trample under foot with contempt the pertinent resolutions of our Organization.”
1970-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 25 (1970)
“But Rwanda, which was under foreign domination in the past and which today is the master of its destiny and a loyal Member of this Organization, must further pay a deserved tribute to our Organization which, at a capital turning point in the history of mankind, was able once again to assume its responsibilities by proclaiming 10 years ago the immortal resolution 1514 (XV) which recognizes to all peoples and all countries the right to self-determination. 17. If, on the one hand, several countries have acquired their independence thanks to the implementation of this resolution, on the other, we see that this international sovereignty and this freedom which all of us are proud to enjoy and to which we are so deeply attached, are denied to thousands of human beings in the southern part of Africa. 18.”
1970-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 25 (1970)
“The United Nations Commission for the Unification and Rehabilitation of Korea in which my Government has full confidence, keeps us informed of the unfortunately very difficult stages that still have to be traveled before reunification is achieved. Everybody knows that North Korea does nothing to reply favorably to the relevant resolutions of this Organization. Thus it is still necessary to keep the United Nations forces in Korea, to encourage the United Nations Commission to persevere in its efforts and to continue the periodic consideration of this question in the United Nations. My country expresses the hope that one day the parties concerned will all show good will and facilitate the reunification of their country. 16.”
1970-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 25 (1970)
“In this matter Rwanda has never ceased to recall that the Government which lawfully represents the Chinese nation in the United Nations has never in any circumstance failed to discharge the duties which the Charter imposes upon Member States. My country expresses the wish that the problem of China, whose importance is obvious to all, will soon find a final solution. 15. In the problem of Korea, we are also far from a solution. Everybody can gauge the anguish of a divided country and the advantages of unity and can therefore affirm that the Korean nation has no better way to progress peacefully and harmoniously than by reunification.”
1970-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 25 (1970)
“This solution must take into account, it is true, the right of the State of Israel to a fully guaranteed existence and to secure and recognized boundaries, but at the same time it must recognize the right of the Arab States to the integrity of their territories. My country would again like to address an urgent appeal to the parties concerned that they abandon the language of weapons and violence and move without further delay towards peace. 14. But there is also the problem of China and Korea. Rwanda sincerely wishes to see these two nations find true peace, which is the sine qua non ambition of true progress for the peoples of the world. For many years the question of the representation of China has played its part in the debates of this Assembly and everybody knows the controversies it is engendering.”
1970-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 25 (1970)
“In this question of the Middle East the role of the great Powers is particularly deplorable; similar to those who organized the circus games in ancient times, after having forged and sharpened the swords, they distributed them to the gladiators and became arbiters of this tragedy, taking great care not to break the balance of power of the belligerents. How could the latter then abandon their duel when those who arm them take the ultimate decisions? 13. Rwanda would like to reaffirm the position it has always held that the solution to this serious question lies in the hands of the parties concerned and that there should be no foreign interference.”
1970-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 25 (1970)
“There again is a problem which is of great concern and for good reasons. It would have been a subject of great and legitimate pride for our Organization if, at the moment when we are celebrating our twenty-fifth anniversary, the delegation of Israel and the Arab delegations, thanks to the tireless efforts of Ambassador Gunnar Jarring, would have been able to show us the picture of a newly found fraternity. The acceptance of the Rogers Plan by Egypt, Jordan and Israel had given rise to some glimmer of hope. But unfortunately here again we are marking time and there is even the risk of a backward slide.”
1970-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 25 (1970)
“In the present world, everyday facts unfortunately show that even if the highly armed nations did not take the initiative of a general war, the countries that are less powerfully armed could drag them into regional wars which also lead uselessly to large numbers of victims. 11. Our universe is traumatized in several areas. The conflagration in Asia is far from being put out and its victims are numbered in the thousands. Everybody knows the cruel suffering engendered by the war in VietNam; we pray that its extension to Cambodia will not spread further to neighboring countries. We had hoped that the Paris negotiations would lead rapidly to a just and honorable peace for all parties concerned, but these negotiations are today in an impasse and the hopes of a negotiated settlement still seem very remote. 12. And the Middle East?”
1970-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 25 (1970)
“Therefore this quarter of a century has seen such stages in the life of this Organization that it becomes urgent and indispensable to revise its structures so that it will be better able to respond to the hopes which the peoples of the world have placed in it. 10. In the eyes of my delegation, the responsibility for peace in the world is a matter for all States. There is no more specious argument than the one which states that countries which are better armed should have pride of place in an institution which seeks not war, but peace, as if the happiness of peoples could be founded upon the sword rather than on a common will and conscience and desire to live together in a climate free from any fear or threat.”
1970-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 25 (1970)
“Obviously, the authors of the Charter did not predict the future which saw the great Powers gathered together in San Francisco with collective enthusiasm to sign the Charter and, a short time later, slide into an implacable war of influence to divide the world into two ideological blocs under their respective obedience. They did not foresee either the massive entry of other nations into this Organization, nor the birth of other great Powers in the economic, political and military fields, nor the transformation of individual mentalities in the world and the appearance of other vital imperatives for mankind.”
1970-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 25 (1970)
“It is probably understandable that after the war the idea should have been born that the main responsibility for the installation and protection of a new political world order should be vested in the victorious great Powers and that they should have taken this opportunity of taking the best seats in this temple that they were building. And it is thus that the Security Council, in which the Charter vests primary responsibility for the maintenance of peace, became an arena where they become aware of their tremendous power, when the veto imposed by one of them renders the Council impotent. 9.”
1970-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 25 (1970)
“On the other hand, throughout its existence, this Organization, thanks to its moral and political influence, thanks especially to the tireless devotion and the dauntless dynamism of its SecretariesGeneral, became a powerful rampart against any sliding towards new catastrophes. 8. But unfortunately, every coin has two faces. After a difficult birth following the Second World War, the United Nations, which is twenty-five years old, is still very much marked by the personality of its main authors. We remember the many compromises which were adopted at Yalta in February 1945 relating to the greatPower veto in the Security Council.”
1970-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 25 (1970)
“On the occasion of such anniversaries, one must draw up a frank balance-sheet of this quarter of a century and this decade which are coming to a close, in order better to determine a program for the future, taking great care to see that ceremonial appearances do not make it impossible to find an equilibrium between the definition of noble objectives, which often remain only pious wishes, and the dire realities of the world in which we live today. 7. In truth the United Nations has greatly contributed better than did the League of Nations to lead States, if they want this world to be peaceful and prosperous, to go beyond the narrow circle of their immediate interests to show a common interest in all the problems of all countries.”
1970-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 25 (1970)