Bhutan, 1982

At the outset, Sir, I should like to congratulate

you run your unanimous election to the high

office of the presidency of the thirty-seventh

session of the General Assembly. Your wide

experience and diplomatic talents make you

well-suited to confront the tasks that lie ahead

of you. I should like also to congratulate your

predecessor, Mr. Kittani of Iraq, for the

efficient and dedicated manner in which he

handled the affairs of the last session of the

General Assembly. We wish him well in his future

pursuits and hope that the international

community will continue to benefit from his wise

and able guidance.

A host of critical issues continue to preoccupy

the international community. Because of various

factors, several of which the Secretary-General

dealt with in his report on the work of the

Organization, the United Nations system,

particularly the Security Council, was not always

able to deal effectively with many such issues.

For quite some time now many have felt the

increasing inadequacy of the United Nations

meaningfully to promote and maintain peace and

security—the very objectives for which the United

Nations itself was established. Hence, there is a

very clear necessity to take steps to make the

United Nations system more effective in dealing

with international peace and security. It is

important for the permanent members of the

Security Council to take the leading role in

bringing about the required changes. They must

place on a higher footing the larger interests of

mankind as a whole. My delegation hopes that

those countries will come forward and bear the

responsibilities that they have agreed to

shoulder.

The news media worldwide, as well as most of the

speakers who have preceded me here, have referred

in glowing terms to the report of the Secretary-

General on the work of the Organization. We

appreciate the frank approach taken by the

Secretary-General. We are of the view that the

proposals put forward by him should be given

immediate and priority consideration. We

accordingly welcome the proposal made by Sierra

Leone for the inclusion in the agenda of an

additional item on the issue of collective

security.

539

At this juncture, I should like also to take the

opportunity warmly to congratulate the Secretary-

General for the very admirable manner in which he

has exercised his functions regarding the affairs

of the

Organization despite serious constraints. During

the course of the year he has dealt with some

very difficult situations in a manner befitting

his position and the powers vested in him. In

moments of crisis he has displayed rare skill and

diplomatic talent. My delegation, which has

always had full confidence in him, now wishes him

all success during his term at the helm of the

Organization.

Many issues that confront us at this session have

been on the General Assembly agenda since the

inception of the Organization. In many such cases

solutions continue to evade us. One issue is the

crisis in the Middle East. The holocaust that has

been visited upon Lebanon in recent months has

appalled and shocked the consciences ox all. The

massacre of Palestinian refugees in Beirut was

indiscriminate and merciless. Those who

perpetrated this crime must be counted among the

lowest ranks of criminals. We support a thorough

investigation to expose the true nature of this

ghastly deed.

My delegation was equally appalled at the heavy

bombing of Beirut by Israel in order to

annihilate the Palestine Liberation Organization.

This action on the part of Israel caused the loss

of countless civilian lives and the destruction

of much valuable property. Israel cannot continue

to resort to such use of force to settle disputes

with its neighbors. Nor will Israel and its

neighbors be able to achieve lasting and

worthwhile peace in the absence of dialogue and

negotiations. It is also the belief of my

delegation that the crux of the problem in the

Middle East is the question of Palestine. Israel

and others cannot afford to ignore the legitimate

and genuine cause of the people of Palestine. My

delegation therefore Ally supports the plea of

the overwhelming majority of the United Nations

membership, a plea that has resounded countless

times in this Hall, for the self- determination

of the people of Palestine. In order to achieve

this goal Israel will have to withdraw its forces

and its settlers from all territories occupied

since the 1967 war.

Another war that has levied a heavy toll of life

and property over the last two years is the one

between the Islamic Republic of Iran and Iraq.

The appeals and the diplomatic efforts of the

United Nations, the non-aligned movement and the

Islamic group of countries have so far failed to

bring this war of attrition to an end. This is an

absolutely needless conflict, and the countries

involved must, in their own interests, bring the

war to a quick halt.

A/37/PV.29

The Charter very explicitly calls upon all

Members not to resort to the use of force in the

settlement of disputes. However, during the

course of the last few years several nations have

attempted to settle their disputes by using

force. Whether their cause is right or otherwise,

the use of force in the settlement on disputes

cannot be justified. The international community

should not permit anyone to gain through the use

of force. Otherwise the safety and well-being of

smaller and weaker nations will be constantly

threatened. For instance, in South-West and

South-East Asia, military might has been used to

intervene in the internal affairs of weaker

nations. On grounds of principle, we cannot

endorse the presence of foreign troops in the

countries of these regions. Such troops must be

withdrawn and the sovereign, independent and

truly non-aligned status of the countries

concerned restored.

My delegation had hoped to see a sovereign

independent Namibia by now. However, in spite of

numerous resolutions of the United Nations, South

Africa continues to occupy this international

Territory. My delegation now hopes that the

Western contact group will soon be able to

conclude negotiations and ensure Namibia's

independence within the framework of Security

Council resolution 435 (1978).

In South Africa itself, the despicable practice

of apartheid, condemned by every nation in the

world, still persists. The rights of the majority

have been denied. The authorities in Pretoria

must soon realize their folly and right the

wrongs being done.

IL My delegation joins those who have expressed

disappointment with the outcome of the second

special session on disarmament. The consistent

and high- pitched expression of fear of the

dangers of the arms race, the tremendous

diversion of resources and the massive rallies

that we have witnessed have failed to move the

leaders of the major countries of the world,

particularly the two super-Powers.

Despite the serious obstacles that exist, we

cannot and must not lose hope in our attempts to

achieve general and complete disarmament. There

must be a rethinking on the part of those

countries that have held back project in this

repaid. A way to maintain peace and security on

this planet of ours, instead of threatening its

destruction, must be found and established.

The outcome of nine years of negotiations on the

law of the sea was a laudable achievement of the

United Nations. It was also a step towards the

setting up of the new international economic

order. Many potential disputes will now be

prevented because of the provisions contained in

the United Nations Convention on the Law of the

Sea. It is true that not all countries were able

to ensure the full coverage of their each and

every interest. The landlocked countries, for

instance, have had to be satisfied with very

little, to put it bluntly. They have withheld

many reservations in the larger interest. In view

of this, it was disheartening that a few

countries which, in fact, had gained

substantially, did not see fit to permit the

Convention to be approved by consensus.

Earlier speakers have all pointed to the dire

situation of the international economy. The worst

consequences of this state of affairs continue to

be shouldered by the non-oil-exporting developing

countries. Millions upon millions in the

developing countries of Asia, Africa and Latin

America live in practically total deprivation.

Though efforts have been made to tackle this

problem, they have simply been too little or too

late, though well intentioned. What is required

to deal effectively with such a situation is an

increased flow of resources to these

underdeveloped areas and a restructuring of the

international economic system. We therefore

continue to stress that the present economic

order is unfair, unjust and incapable of treating

the difficulties that confront it. The longer we

delay the launching of the global negotiations

and the establishment of the new international

economic order, the longer it will take to

achieve our goals. My delegation urges those

developed countries which have so far failed to

endorse the launching of the global negotiations

to do so without further delay.

My delegation attaches considerable importance to

every facet of international economic

co-operation. The developing countries, and

especially the 31 least developed among them,

require a steady input of financial and technical

resources to enable them to create the necessary

basis for sustained social and economic

advancement. Without such sustained and

predictable resource flows the least developed

countries will not be able to overcome the

structural imbalances, lack of basic

infrastructure and the poverty that presently

characterize their economies. The resources given

thus far to the least developed countries,

through both multilateral and bilateral sources,

though inadequate, have had a beneficial impact

on their economies. A detailed analysis of the

conditions in these countries and their

requirements for assistance was taken up at the

United Nations Conference on the Least Developed

Countries, held in Paris in 1981. Serious efforts

are now under way to implement the Substantial

New Programme of Action that emerged at the

Conference. UNDP, UNCTAD and the World Bank have

moved, in close co-operation with the least

developed countries, to arrange the aid

consultative group meetings between potential

donor countries and recipient countries. My

delegation would like to urge all donors, and

particularly the developed countries, to come

forth and increase their assistance in keeping

with the decisions of the Paris Conference.

In this context, we were heartened by the

statements of several countries, including the

one delivered on behalf of the European Economic

Community by the Foreign Minister of Denmark at

the 8th meeting of the Assembly. Those assurances

and the actions being taken will keep up the

momentum generated in Paris towards implementing

the Substantial New Programme of Action.

In spite of those developments, my delegation has

nevertheless been perturbed by the serious

decline in real terms in multilateral assistance

in general. As members of the UNDP Governing

Council, we have particularly observed the

serious lack of resources that will confront UNDP

in the Third Indicative Planning Figures Cycle.

Many least developed countries have come to rely

to a major extent on UNDP, UNICEF and other

similar assistance for undertaking projects and

programmes crucial to their socioeconomic

development. A deterioration in this type of

assistance would definitely jeopardize their

plans and programmes. We therefore once again

call upon the international community, and

particularly the developed countries, to

reinvigorate their assistance through UNDP and

other multilateral agencies. The developing

countries are now very aware of the benefits of

economic and technical co-operation among

themselves. The basis for such co-operation has

been clearly laid down in the Caracas Programme

of Action which was finalized in 1981, and in the

programmes outlined by the non-aligned movement.

In our region of South Asia, seven countries

—Bangladesh, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan,

Sri Lanka and my own, Bhutan—are in the process

of gradually but steadily laying the foundations

for enhancing socio-economic co-operation. The

initial encounters among these countries have

revealed that without co-operation many important

and crucial problems of the region cannot

adequately be dealt with. Co-operation is

required urgently to improve the region's

transport, communications and other infra-

structural facilities. Health, population, the

environment and agriculture are other areas in

which the region could profit from increased

co-operation. The countries of South Asia, which

had either been cut off from or which have been

averse to each other because of colonial and

other historical factors also need to understand

each other's cultural and religious heritage.

They must also respect and recognize each other's

genuine and legitimate aspirations as sovereign

members in joint pursuit of furthering the

well-being of their peoples. The fact that all

the countries that have joined the South Asian

forum are members of the United Nations, the

non-aligned movement and the Group of 77 creates

a common ground among them to come together.

Bhutan attaches considerable importance to this

emerging venture of co-operation in South Asia

and we are confident that the other countries in

this venture will do all in their power to make

it a success and to put South Asia on a new path

of peace, prosperity and progress.

In conclusion, I should like to reaffirm the

strong commitment of the Kingdom of Bhutan to the

principles and purposes of the Charter. We must

take all action necessary to strengthen the

Organization, which is universal in character and

holds the only hope of mankind for peace and

prosperity.