YouSaid · the spoken record

Ince

lines on the record: 97
first: 1982-09-24
most recent: 1984-09-24
sittings or episodes: 3
sources: un-general-debate

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“The worthy efforts of the Contadora Group are to be welcomed and highly commended. We implore those States actively involved in the conflicts to continue to co-operate fully in the Contadora initiative. We further appeal to all States to desist from seeking to impose any settlement in the region by the use or threat of use of force, to exercise due respect for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all individual States, and to use their influence to promote economic and social justice in Central America. In this context, I recall that at the last session I urged the great Powers not to import their rivalries, conflicts and tensions into the Caribbean.”
1983-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 38 (1983)
“But it is not only the East-West confrontation that poses major dangers. In every corner of the globe the names of war are being fanned; sometimes in the name of peace, at other times in the name of religion; sometimes in the name of political ideology or territorial sovereignty, at other times in the name of economic independence. Each instance of war, large or small, declared or undeclared, will contribute to the ever-escalating threat to international peace and security. 32. Trinidad and Tobago views with great concern- indeed, alarm—the grave situation in Central America, a situation which almost daily assumes new and more dangerous proportions. The problems of the region originate in social and economic ills, ills which are exploited by others who are ever eager to promote strife and disharmony in pursuit of their own ambitions. 33.”
1983-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 38 (1983)
“Trinidad and Tobago is concerned not solely with the prevention of a nuclear war, vital though that is, but also with the growth and spread of conventional weapons, which are a major factor contributing to present international tension and instability. We further deplore the development and use of chemical and bacteriological weapons. 30. The recent upsurge of popular peace movements throughout the world indicates that, even if policy-makers have not recognized the grave danger of extinction facing us, public opinion has. Trinidad and Tobago's wish is for the world to be free of the persistent danger of total self-destruction which man continues to impose upon himself, and we are sure that we share the ultimate goal of all, or most, States: that of general and complete disarmament. 31.”
1983-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 38 (1983)
“Apart from the actual expenditure on armaments, there are also the resources, human and financial, which are channelled into the disarmament effort and are thus deflected from constructive developmental activities. 28. There continues to be much talk, even by the military Powers themselves, about disarmament. In recent times this has tended to focus on the prevention of a nuclear war and the prevention of an arms race in outer space. But, while there is talk of peace, there continues to be a massive build-up of the store of arms at a rate that can be described only as preparations for war, preparations for war that are tempered only by discussions on the non-first-use of nuclear weapons. 29.”
1983-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 38 (1983)
“On behalf of the members of the Committee, who are committed to playing their part to improve its functioning and effectiveness, let me express the hope that the United Nations system will do all in its power to complement our efforts in providing a truly efficient and effective operational programme for development in the Caribbean region. 27. The Government of Trinidad and Tobago considers that development can best be pursued in a climate of peace and security. History has shown that arms races inevitably culminate in war. The arms race continues unabated, with little sign of any substantial change of attitude on the part of the major Powers. Some estimates give the amount spent on armaments over the past year as $650 billion—resources that are sorely needed for social and economic development.”
1983-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 38 (1983)
“It is our view that this is the time not for reducing but for at least maintaining financial inputs to UNDP so that its invaluable contributions to developing countries can be enhanced. 25. Earlier this year the seventh session of the Caribbean Development and Co-operation Committee was held at Port of Spain. On that occasion, in my capacity as Chairman of the Committee, I stated that the high vision embodied in the creation of the Committee eight years ago had not been reflected in the experience of its members and in the functioning of that body. The Committee has met with many impediments to its full effectiveness both at the level of its secretariat in the Port of Spain office and in ECLA in terms of resources, staffing and procedure. 26.”
1983-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 38 (1983)
“UNDP, the largest dispenser of technical assistance and co-operation within the United Nations system, has in the last few years experienced a serious shortfall in contributions to the extent that contributions in the third cycle, 1982-1986, could fall below the level of the first cycle in real terms. 24. In addition, there appear to be attempts to alter the structure of UNDP, which could result in recipient countries having less jurisdiction in determining priority areas for their countries' programmes. Trinidad and Tobago will support any effort to improve the governance of UNDP and to optimize the use of available resources in so far as these measures do not alter its unique characteristics.”
1983-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 38 (1983)
“Over the last five years the Government of Trinidad and Tobago has demonstrated its commitment to integration and economic co-operation among developing countries by making available more than half a billion dollars to the members of the Caribbean Community. This assistance, to which we remain committed, has been channelled through the Caribbean Development Bank and other existing sub regional institutions, as well as through our own programmes for technical assistance and cooperation. Trinidad and Tobago will continue, within the limits of its resources and in spite of the hardships imposed by the present international economic crisis, to assist its partners in the sub region and would encourage other hemispheric actors to translate their words into actions that would assist positively in the development of the sub region. 23.”
1983-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 38 (1983)
“Trinidad and Tobago commends the efforts of the Non-Aligned Movement and the Group of 77 to intensify economic co-operation among developing countries. We do not envisage these relations as a substitute for North- South dialogue and international co-operation but as a complementary attempt to maximize and promote the rational and efficient use of human, material, financial and technological resources available in the developing countries. 22. In the present crisis of international co-operation, the need to accelerate economic co-operation among developing countries becomes more crucial.”
1983-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 38 (1983)
“Trinidad and Tobago is pleased that, after long and difficult consultations and negotiations, most of the obstacles in the path of the establishment of a viable long- term financing system for science and technology for development have been removed and that the system can now become operational. 20. My country, like many other developing countries, is aware of the importance of the financing system in strengthening the scientific and technological capacities of developing countries, thereby accelerating their development. We therefore urge all potential donor countries to participate actively in the system in order to mobilize the identified core and non-core resources for the initial period 1983-1985. 21.”
1983-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 38 (1983)
“Trinidad and Tobago regrets that, after six years and the two-part four-week special session at United Nations Headquarters in New York this year, the Commission on Transnational Corporations was still unable to complete its work on the elaboration of a code of conduct for transnational corporations. 18. Trinidad and Tobago shares the disappointment expressed by the Group of 77 that the flexibility and accommodation shown by the Group has not been reciprocated and calls upon those States concerned to display a more serious attitude and spirit of compromise in their approach to this exercise. 19.”
1983-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 38 (1983)
“The international community must accept the responsibility for the progressive deterioration of the machinery it has established for international economic co-operation. 16. In this respect, we fully endorse the decision of the countries of the Movement of Non-Aligned Countries to have a fresh political impetus to global negotiations and support the proposal to hold at the United Nations in 1984 a conference to deal with the subject. Trinidad and Tobago recognizes this initiative as an attempt to strengthen international co-operation and to revive the North-South dialogue. 17.”
1983-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 38 (1983)
“Trinidad and Tobago firmly believes that the international community should give immediate consideration to recommendations for the reform of the international monetary system adopted by the Seventh Conference of Heads of State or Government of Non-Aligned Countries, held at New Delhi in March this year. 14. At Buenos Aires the developing countries extended a hand of meaningful co-operation to the developed countries. That gesture was rejected at the sixth session of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, at Belgrade. The developed countries failed to adopt any of the prescriptions offered by developing countries for collective solutions to the problems of the international economic system. 15. The failure of that session is not to be attributed to the institution but to its members.”
1983-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 38 (1983)
“The resources of developing countries must be fully optimized for the benefit of their own people, and any economic co-operation between developed and developing countries must be predicated upon mutual respect and absence of inhibiting conditions. 13. The fabric of the international economic system is now so closely interwoven that it is extremely difficult, if not impossible, to separate issues whether or not they relate to trade, aid, commodities or monetary and financial development. The Bretton Woods institutions, which are now nearly 40 years old, are not equipped to deal with a world that has changed dramatically since the Second World War and in which economic power centres are more diverse and greater in number.”
1983-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 38 (1983)
“A telling defect of the present international system is its inability to proffer guidance and attainable solutions, both political and economic, to ensure that the interests of the world community as a whole are adequately addressed. 11. The Government of Trinidad and Tobago has been insistent that only through global perspectives and the adoption of a holistic approach to the present situation will the problems of the world economy and its future growth be satisfactorily resolved. The occasional small financial grants made to developing countries, further high-interest loans, selective and limited commercial concessions will not provide the answer. Such measures will merely contribute to continued economic and social privation, political disaffection, social upheaval and even revolution. 12.”
1983-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 38 (1983)
“Even though certain economic and social forces combine to create and maintain poverty and dependence, it is convenient to think and say that destitution among certain nations of the world is a result of improvidence. And so, the remedies prescribed involve drastic devaluation, internal financial stringency, massive unemployment and import restraint, even on essentials. 9. Not too long ago, it was being said that the main cause of economic difficulties for developing as well as for developed countries was the high price of oil. It has now become clear, however, beyond any shadow of doubt, that the malaise and crisis within the international economic system has its genesis in other problems that are deep-set and of a structural nature. 10.”
1983-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 38 (1983)
“Developing countries thus find themselves with insufficient foreign exchange earnings to meet their current requirements for imported goods and services and no foreign exchange reserves with which to meet their debt obligations. 8. The energy-exporting countries, for a while "growth poles" within the developing world, have not escaped the ravages of the crisis, and some of these countries are now faced with massive external debts from both official and commercial sources. At this time there is also a substantial decline in concessional loans for development, increasing obstacles to access to international capital markets and in fact a general lack of concern for the poor, be they individuals or nations.”
1983-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 38 (1983)
“It is not surprising that under these circumstances there is widespread concern that the collapse of the economies of certain States could have disastrous consequences for the global monetary and financial structures. 7. In conjunction with high interest rates, there has been an unprecedented depression of the world commodity markets. In nearly all developing countries, including the net oil producers, export earnings experienced a catastrophic decline. This decline has been due to the state of the global economy and partly to the imposition of protectionist trade barriers by some developed countries. This myopic panacea, adopted by several important trading nations, restricts the volume of world trade and intensifies the world economic crisis.”
1983-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 38 (1983)
“High interest rates are the single most destructive element frustrating the efforts of developing countries to improve their economies. With these interest rates at 18 per cent, and with the need to renegotiate and extend repayment schedules, original debt doubles in less than four years, even without any new borrowing. The severe debt burden and debt servicing problems confronting most developing countries have worsened in 1983. Their debt burden is approximately $540 billion and requires over $100 billion annually in servicing. This has made it necessary for many developing countries to seek to defer repayment or to reschedule their loans, sometimes through further borrowing, simply for the payment of capital and interest due and not for new investment or additions to infrastructure.”
1983-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 38 (1983)
“The projected upturns in the economic activity of the developed market economies have not materialized. Indeed, there are disturbing signs that these economies may decline this winter. World trade over the last two years has been stagnant for the first time in the post-war period. Inevitably the situation has had particularly severe repercussions for the developing countries, which, while being on the periphery of global economic decision-making, are the first to feel its negative effects. The consequences for their development and for the social and economic well-being of their peoples have been disastrous. 6. Domestic policies being adopted by several countries to deal with the crisis continue to exacerbate it. High- interest-rate policies impact directly on the crushing debt burden of developing countries.”
1983-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 38 (1983)
“We, the countries of the Caribbean Community and Common Market, have achieved our independence peacefully, but not without the dedication, hard work and sacrifice of several generations. We have thus sought to create societies founded on the values and aspirations of our peoples, enriched by the diversity of their racial, ethnic and cultural heritage. My delegation is confident that this respect for the human experience and the ability to forge a cohesive society will enable Saint Christopher and Nevis, like the rest of our Caribbean societies, to contribute invaluably to the future work of the United Nations. 5. The current crisis in the world economy continues. Recent hopes of a slackening in the recession appear to have been premature.”
1983-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 38 (1983)
“The Government of Trinidad and Tobago wishes to express its warmest congratulations to Saint Christopher and Nevis, a sister Caribbean State, upon its achievement of independence, on 19 September 1983, and its admission as the 158th Member of the United Nations. It says much for the continuing relevance and influence of the United Nations and its pivotal role in the maintenance of international peace and security that while newly independent States face the challenges posed by such factors as small size, economic and infrastructure underdevelopment and limited natural and manpower resources, their Governments attach high priority to membership in this Organization. 4.”
1983-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 38 (1983)
“1. On behalf of the Government and people of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago I congratulate Mr. Jorge Illueca on his election to the office of President of the thirty-eighth session of the General Assembly. My delegation is confident that his vast experience and skill, particularly in the United Nations system, will contribute tremendously to the fruitful outcome of our work at this session. His election to the presidency is recognition of the high esteem in which his country and he himself are held by the international community. 2. My delegation pays tribute also to the outgoing President, Mr. Imre Hollai of Hungary, who so successfully presided over the work of the thirty-seventh session. 3.”
1983-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 38 (1983)
“The Government of Trinidad and Tobago, as it has done before, stands ready to assist in finding peaceful and amicable solu¬tions to disputes which threaten to disturb the peace in the Caribbean, and to retard the just aspirations of Caribbean peoples for peace, security and economic well-being.”
1982-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 37 (1982)
“The thousands who have marched in the streets of many cities of the world in order to draw attention to the existing situation and to signify their deep fear of the consequences to themselves and future generations of the arms race and nuclear catastrophe have sent a clear message that the world community cannot afford to ignore. Allow me once again to voice the concern of peoples everywhere for the urgent adoption of measures to alleviate, if not to solve, the current economic crisis, and to remove the hovering specter of depression. 25. In conclusion, I should like to urge the great powers not to import into the Caribbean their rivalries, conflicts and tensions. Of our neighbors in the hemisphere, we ask at all costs that they settle their disputes by peaceful means.”
1982-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 37 (1982)
“I must place on record the disappointment of the Government of Trinidad and Tobago that one of the major contributors to that package deal has chosen to opt out of the painstakingly negotiated settlement. The decision of that major contributor to turn its back on a system which would make for a stable order in ocean space is to be regretted. It remains our hope that all States will sign and ratify the Convention to make it universally acceptable. 24. Perhaps it is not inappropriate that I voice the cumulative disappointment of all peoples at the failure to halt the arms race and to reduce armaments of mass destruction.”
1982-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 37 (1982)
“To the developing countries here assembled, I launch an appeal to move swiftly to implement the action program for economic co-operation among developing countries adopted by the Group of 77 at the High-Level Conference on Economic Co-operation among Developing Countries at Caracas in May 1981. Not until our efforts to change our focus and to reorient our patterns of economic collaboration bear fruit shall we see a more positive response from the developed community. 22. The Government of Trinidad and Tobago has noted with satisfaction that after 14 years of protracted dialogue and negotiation, the United Nations has finally adopted the Convention on the Law of the Sea. After much hard work, co-operative effort and give and take, a package deal was reached on 30 April 1982. 23.”
1982-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 37 (1982)
“It is a matter of concern to us that efforts to launch the global round of negotiations on international economic co-operation for development have not met with great success during the past year. No agreement has been reached so far between the Group of 77 and the industrialized countries on procedure, agenda and time-frame for the launching of negotiations to tackle the problems of the world economy simultaneously in a coherent and integrated manner. Instead, developing countries see, with mounting frustration, their in¬terests bypassed or ignored in the GATT negotiations and in deliberations at the World Bank and IMF. 21.”
1982-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 37 (1982)
“In six months it may be too late. We hope, however, that when such assistance is given, it will not have a divisive effect on the region and encourage alienation from principles cherished by all Caribbean peoples. 19. Trinidad and Tobago sees in the present situation a clear and accurate demonstration of the need for systematic transformation and more balanced global management of the international economy. We believe that the credibility, efficacy and relevance of the existing institutional structure and its theoretical and philosophical underpinnings have been called into question. That has rendered the call for the new international economic order more relevant than ever. 20.”
1982-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 37 (1982)
“Trinidad and Tobago has sought, within its own modest means, to contribute to the economic progress of the countries in the Caribbean community by making funds available to them through the Caribbean Development Bank and other regional financial insti¬tutions, as well as through our own programmes for technical co-operation and assistance. Over the past five years, Trinidad and Tobago has contributed $.5 billion in balance-of-payments support, loans on soft terms, and grants and project assistance to mem¬bers of the Caribbean Community. Even in these trying times Trinidad and Tobago maintains its commitment to assist its partners in CARICOM. We hope that other countries, particularly the better endowed ones in our hemisphere, will make good their promises of concrete support for the countries of the Caribbean.”
1982-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 37 (1982)
“With regard to the International Monetary Fund [IMF], Trinidad and Tobago supports the call for a substantial increase in and a redistribution of quotas so as to give developing countries generally and economic groupings and regions a greater say in the operation of IMF. 17. Trinidad and Tobago is disappointed that no consensus has been reached on the allocation of special drawing rights during the present basic period and that as yet, despite the repeated pleas of the developing countries, a direct link between special drawing rights and development finance has not been established. 18.”
1982-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 37 (1982)
“They will need the support of the multilateral financial institutions if this gap is to be bridged. We therefore, view with some concern the decision of the World Bank to adopt a variable interest rate policy and to introduce a front-end lending fee which will make project financing much more difficult and painful. Without lower and more stable interest rates, initiatives designed to encourage investment in the Caribbean will not be meaningful. 15. Trinidad and Tobago believes that there is an urgent need for a significant increase in the level of World Bank lending. A minimum increase at the rate of 5 per cent m real terms is necessary if the Bank is to meet the requirements of developing countries. 16.”
1982-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 37 (1982)
“Indeed, so severe are these constraints that most developing countries are experiencing negative rates of growth. 14. For the Caribbean the past year has been partic¬ularly difficult. Not only did the recession continue to decrease the demand for tourism, the primary source of foreign exchange for many countries, but the major exports—sugar, petroleum, bauxite/alumina and bananas—also faced softening or declining markets. For countries which have already been experiencing negative growth rates the net result has been that the economies of these countries are tottering on the brink of bankruptcy. In order to achieve growth rates of 3 to 5 per cent per annum over the next five years, the countries of the Caribbean Community will face an external resource gap of over $US 3 billion.”
1982-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 37 (1982)
“Recent events have reaffirmed, if that were neces¬sary, just how interdependent the world has become. In the industrialized countries large deficits, tight monetary policies and high levels of inflation have resulted in high and volatile interest rates and a decline in industrial output, which in turn have affected the earnings of developing countries. At the same time the developing countries have faced a marked decline in the level of official development assistance, dete¬riorating terms of trade, and higher prices for imports, including food, and renewed protectionist policies on the part of the developed countries. Constrained by these conditions, developing countries are unable to pay for their imports and service their debts.”
1982-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 37 (1982)
“Levels of unemploy-ment of 18 per cent and 20 per cent were seen by some economists as normal for developing countries, while for developed countries 2.5 to 3 per cent was considered the norm. 12. The Government of Trinidad and Tobago is deeply concerned about the growing levels of unem¬ployment in developed as well as developing coun¬tries. It is concerned not only because of the human suffering involved but also because the monetarist prescriptions of certain major countries and financial institutions for dealing with the general economic situation are such that they exacerbate the problem. The high interest rates associated with monetarist policies have added considerably to the already over¬grown debt problem of the developing countries and resulted in unpredictable flights of capital. 13.”
1982-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 37 (1982)
“There is ample evidence to show that when the colonial Power wishes to do so it can. 11. If the political picture of the world which I have painted is one beset with problems, the economic one is no less troubled. I do not think that there is now any doubt that today we are experiencing the worst down-turn in the world economy since the 1930s. What is perhaps even more chilling is that there is little confidence in the prospect of global economic recovery in the short term and even less in the international monetary and financial system. Unemployment, one of the scourges of humanity, has reached unimaginable proportions. We in the developing world have lived with unemployment for decades.”
1982-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 37 (1982)
“Trinidad and Tobago's continuing commitment to the process of decolonization has been demonstrated by the leader¬ship role it has taken in the Special Committee on the Situation with regard to the Implementation of the Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples. The Territories still to be decolonized, many of them small in size and limited in resources, are of particular concern to Trinidad and Tobago since several of them form part of our own Caribbean region. Some of these Terri¬tories remain in a state of virtual economic depen¬dency. In these circumstances it is very difficult for them to exercise freely their right to self-determination. The colonial Power therefore has a duty to devote the necessary resources to preparing these Territories for independence.”
1982-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 37 (1982)
“Above all, we rebuke it for its ruthless exploitation of Namibia's natural and human resources .without any real benefit accruing to the indigenous population. It is time for the full implementation of Security Council resolution 435 (1978), which sets the sole framework for the independence of Namibia. It is time to put a stop to the dilatory tactics employed by Pretoria over the past four years to deprive the people of Namibia of their peremptory right to self- determination and independence. 10. We cannot equivocate in our support for the Namibian people in their struggle to free themselves from the oppressive colonial yoke.”
1982-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 37 (1982)
“The persistent attempts to establish Bantustans, the detention and banning of African leaders, and the death of freedom fighters and trade union leaders while in detention, serve only to confirm the need for more stringent action by the United Nations to compel South Africa to comply with its decisions not only with respect to conditions in South Africa itself but also with respect to Namibia, which it con¬tinues to occupy illegally. 9. We must once more condemn the obstinacy of Pretoria in impeding the achievement of inde¬pendence by Namibia. We must condemn that regime for its persistent use of Namibian territory for armed attacks on neighbouring States. We rebuke that racist regime for its attempt to set up a puppet Government in Namibia.”
1982-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 37 (1982)
“It is the mass of the people who suffer when the mechanisms contained in the Charter for the peaceful settlement of disputes fail or are ignored, as we see with increasing frequency. The fragile econo¬mies of developing countries and the development aspirations of whole generations of people are jeopar¬dized by actual conflict or by the profligate expenditure involved in preparing for conflict. International tension and great-Power rivalry are perhaps the principal cause of the deflection of the world's resources from their correct use—the advancement of the well-being of all mankind. 8. Nowhere is this inhumanity more sickening than in South Africa, where the apartheid regime of South Africa continues to defy international world opinion in its brutal repression and oppression of its black majority.”
1982-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 37 (1982)
“At the very least, we demand the total and unconditional with¬drawal of Israeli forces from Lebanese territory. The tragedy of Lebanon is inextricably bound up with the problem of the Palestinian people. Trinidad and Tobago reiterates its firm conviction that there cannot be and there will not be a lasting peace in the Middle East until the rights of the Palestinian people are recognized and respected and until the Palestinian people themselves have been allowed to exercise their right to self-determination. 7. The mounting toll of refugees and displaced persons fleeing political strife and economic disorder attest to the increasing inhumanity pervading our world today. These conflict situations invariably affect people.”
1982-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 37 (1982)
“The entry into that part of the city of the Israel Defense Forces for the alleged purpose of preventing further bloodshed was the signal for permitting the unleashing of a reign of primeval terror which has resulted in the slaughter in cold blood of hundreds of unarmed civilians—women, children and the elderly—in the Sabra and Shatila refugee camps. Revulsion at this barbarous act has echoed around the world. It is testimony to the enormity of the crime perpetrated by those who connived in its commission. We would dishonor the memory of the victims of this massacre and betray the people of Lebanon, if we did not provide at this time adequate and effective measures to heal their wounds, promote their unity and restore their national sovereignty.”
1982-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 37 (1982)
“How can it be, when nations resort to arms and refuse to limit and reduce their weapons of mass destruction- weapons which threaten civilization itself? 5. During the past year a number of old conflicts have continued to fester and pose obstacles to peace. Several new conflicts have arisen which endanger international peace and security. From the South Atlantic to South-East Asia, from Western Sahara to the Middle East and from Africa to Central America, situations of intense conflict have brought disaster and untold suffering to millions of people. 6. A few days ago the world was witness to the most inhuman event in the Palestinian refugee camps of west Beirut.”
1982-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 37 (1982)
“The refusal of Member States to renounce the use of force as an instrument of national policy and the refusal to respect the territorial integrity and inde¬pendence of States and to seek the peaceful settlement of disputes have given rise to a growing number of crises which threaten to engulf us all in a conflagra¬tion of unprecedented horror and destruction. The Secretary-General, whose skilful and untiring efforts in the cause of peace this past year must not go unrecorded, has warned that this trend must be reversed before once again we bring upon ourselves a global catastrophe and find ourselves without institu¬tions effective enough to prevent it . But will his warning be heeded? How can it be, when in the quest for a so-called balance of power nations continue to increase their nuclear arsenals?”
1982-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 37 (1982)
“This lawlessness is characterized by utter and distressing disregard for human life and suffering and little respect for the dignity of man. History will surely indict the United Nations and its Member States for their chronic inaction in the face of such lawlessness. The Security Council has failed to fulfill its primary responsibility for the maintenance of peace and security and to act in accordance with the purposes and principles of the Charter. Loss of confidence in the United Nations system brings the world closer to the brink of disaster as nations seek to impose their will on others by force and to ignore decisions of the world body aimed at peacefully resolving international conflicts. 63 4.”
1982-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 37 (1982)
“Twenty years ago, Trinidad and Tobago, a small newly independent developing country, joined the Organization. We, like many others, were attracted by the system of collective security enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations. It was this which impelled us to seek entry to the United Nations imme¬diately upon our achievement of independence. We had neither the desire nor the means to embark upon any large-scale expenditure for arms or sophisticated weapons of war in order to make ourselves inde¬pendently secure. Even those who have embarked upon such a course delude themselves into believing that they can be secure. 3. Today Trinidad and Tobago views with consider¬able concern the widening gap between the purposes and principles of the Charter and the increasing law¬lessness in the world community.”
1982-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 37 (1982)
“1. Mr. President, may I, on behalf of the delegation of Trinidad and Tobago, congratulate you on your unanimous election to the office of President of the thirty-seventh session of the General Assembly. My delegation is confident that your considerable experience and skill will con¬tribute significantly to the successful outcome of the Assembly's work. You are the proud representative of a country with which Trinidad and Tobago enjoys the most cordial relations. I would also like to pay a tribute to the outgoing President, Mr. Ismat Kittani of Iraq, for his very commendable performance over the past year, as President not only of the thirty-sixth session but also of the second special session on disarmament and the emergency special sessions. 2.”
1982-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 37 (1982)