Yugoslavia, 1969

106. Madam President, on behalf of the Yugoslav

Government and delegation I am very happy to extend to

you our warm and sincere congratulations on your election

to the Presidency of the twenty-fourth session of the

General Assembly. I am delighted to note that it expresses

our appreciation of Liberia and of Africa, whose

constructive influence upon world developments and upon the

promotion of international co-operation to secure equal

rights is constantly growing.

107. The past year has not given the world any greater

reason than its predecessors to feel tranquil and secure. It is

true that no danger of general catastrophe hovers over

every day as it did in the recent past. We are still, however,

far from the day when fear and uncertainty will have been

banished and the whole world will no longer live in danger

of being speedily and irrevocably engulfed in the flames of

war which are already devastating certain parts of the

world, or in some new conflagration.

108. The division of the world into blocs and antagonistic

military and political alliances is not the only rift of our

times. Behind the opposing blocs lie deeper and more

lasting sources of division.

109. Claims for national freedom and independence have

not discouraged policies of conquest, domination and

interference in the domestic affairs of other countries.

110. Immense scientific and technological progress has not

reduced the gap between wealth and poverty. On the

contrary, this continues to widen.

111. The increase in the number of newly liberated

countries and their ever more obvious readiness to participate

in world affairs have not made international relations

more democratic, or given the small and medium countries

an effective influence on the agreements or disputes

between the great and strong.

112. World stability is inconceivable without valid answers

to these questions that have been for so long posed to us by

humanity itself, by a humanity less and less willing to

reconcile itself to a passive acceptance of incomplete or

false answers. The division into blocs is not, of course, the

only source of all the evils in this imperfect world, but

neither does it provide the best formula for removing them.

We are aware that existing blocs cannot simply be abolished

nor the emergence of new blocs prevented. It is precisely

for that reason that we are endeavouring to establish such

international co-operation as will reduce the grounds for

the predominance of military and political blocs and their

antagonisms.

113. Opposition between strictly-delineated military and

political alliances, which has for years been identified with

opposition between different social and political systems, is

only one of the manifestations of those deeper divisions

which cannot be disguised for any length of time by

traditional political doctrines and deep-rooted ideological

prejudices.

114. I do not think I am mistaken when I say that the

emergence of the policy of non-alignment and its growing

prestige are not the only evidence of the crisis created by

the division of the world into blocs. The political philosophy

of non-alignment first took shape in an active

endeavour to lay a new groundwork for international

co-operation. Today it is no longer sufficient to answer the

question how to avoid war—paramount though that question

remains. Today it is essential to know how to achieve

peace that will guarantee equality of rights, economic

progress and human freedom.

115. Peace is not endangered by differences in social

systems. Experience has refuted the theory that countries

with identical systems are natural allies while those with

different systems are natural adversaries. Today disagreements

and conflicts among countries with similar systems,

and co-operation and friendship among countries with

different systems, are so many arguments invalidating the

numerous political dogmas upon which anti-communism,

iron curtains and unconditional bloc disciplines have

thriven for so many years. My country, which out of its

deepest conviction opted for socialism, is successfully

co-operating on all continents with many countries having

different social and political systems. Where no positive

result could be attained in this direction, the reasons were

entirely different.

116. Does all this not indicate that the search for new

grounds of international co-operation between all countries

and peoples of east and west, north and south, between

developed and developing, large and small countries, is an

imperative need engendered by the times in which we live.

117. In the prevailing circumstances major world problems

obviously cannot be solved without the participation of the

Great Powers. It is, however, equally true that lasting

solutions can only be based on the active and equal

participation of all countries and States, and on application

of the principles of active and peaceful coexistence,

irrespective of social systems and bloc membership.

118. My delegation notes with regret that efforts to solve

most of the acute international issues have come to a dead

stop.

119. We are seriously disturbed by the persistent deterioration

of the situation in the Middle East, which is still

made explosive by the intransigence of Israel. I do not feel

that I am over dramatizing the situation if I point out that

the conflict in this area could easily escape the control of

the Great Powers and the United Nations unless energetic

and effective steps are taken urgently. Israel has not even

now accepted Security Council resolution 242 (1967), has

not ceased to insist upon the annexation of occupied Arab

territories, and continues to treat the Palestinian population

with extreme severity. Should the United Nations fail to

prevent the aggressor from keeping the territories it has

acquired by force, there is a serious danger that in the

future our Organization will be even less capable of taking

any action in a similar case. By supporting—while this is still

possible—every action aimed at a political solution, my

delegation will insist categorically on the need to enforce

the Security Council’s resolution of 1967.

120. The cessation of the bombing of North Viet-Nam,

the beginning of the talks in Paris and the withdrawal of the

first contingents from South Viet-Nam raised hope that the

sufferings of the Viet-Namese people might be nearing an

end. However, the decisive turning-point towards peace in

Viet-Nam has evidently not yet been reached. Obviously

there are still illusions that the prolongation of the war will

make it possible to impose solutions that favour certain

narrow interests, though certainly not the interests of the

people of South Viet-Nam. Such mistaken thinking is the

main reason for the failure of the Paris negotiations so far.

121. The situation in Europe is not yet stable, although

there are signs of growing readiness to solve the outstanding

problems of that continent by co-operation and negotiation.

The most recent steps taken and proposals made by

some European countries will, we hope, create a more

favourable climate for resumption of the process of

furthering general European co-operation, the only course

conducive to security. It is common knowledge that bloc

divisions are the most pronounced in Europe, where bloc

policy has been most negative in both the distant and the

recent past. Therefore the development of European

co-operation based on respect for independence and sovereignty,

and the strengthening of European security on those

foundations, would be an effective contribution to settlement

of the problems of co-operation and security in other

parts of the world also.

122. In view of the enormous economic, scientific and

technological potential of the European continent, the

removal of obstacles to a more extensive development of

European co-operation would in our opinion enable Europe

to work even more effectively for the political and

economic progress of other regions of the world, primarily

the less developed. It gives me great pleasure to point out

that the most recent initiatives of the United Nations

Economic Commission for Europe are being directed

towards that end and therefore merit our full support.

123. I should like particularly to draw attention to the

increased role of the policy of non-alignment in international

relations. No one could regard this policy today as an

undefined political attitude amounting to passive neutralism,

or as a tactic against bloc alignments. The continuing

increase in the number of countries adopting the

policy of non-alignment confirms the growing need to lay

down new foundations for international co-operation, and

proves that the division of the world into blocs has no

future. The policy of non-alignment has far transcended the

limits of mere pronouncements against bloc policies. It has

become a positive political idea and act aimed at universal

application of the principles of active peaceful coexistence

among and of their similarities or differences.

124. The non-aligned countries are net directed merely

towards each other. They are turned towards the entire

world and exert an ever-growing moral and political force in

the struggle for a world based on equality of rights,

independence and accelerated development, and, by the

same token, for a world of peace.

125. Yugoslavia, for its part, as one of the participants in

the Consultative Meeting of the 51 non-aligned countries

held last July in Belgrade, wishes to point out that at that

meeting also the non-aligned countries emphasized that

their objectives were directly linked to the principles and

work of the United Nations.

126. No one can deny that during the period that has

expired the United Nations has acted to promote peace and

encourage international co-operation. It has, however,

failed to exercise any decisive influence towards resolution

of the most acute international crises or lasting stabilization

of international relations. A few of the larger and stronger

States mean to subordinate it to their own concerns and

conflicts. This greatly restricts the contribution of most of

the other Member States, which could otherwise be more

substantial and fruitful.

127. One of the frequently-cited weaknesses of our

Organization is its lack of universality. The absence of the

People’s Republic of China from the United Nations

increasingly hampers the settlement of major international

problems and conflicts in which China, simply because of

its importance and influence, is becoming more and more

involved.

128. At the current session the General Assembly has once

gain before it a long list of unsolved problems, the most

important being undoubtedly disarmament and collective

security. Without denying that in this area too the great

Powers have special responsibilities and obligations, I would

nevertheless emphasize that the entire international community

ought to be involved in the search for a solution to

this vital question. A system of collective security would be

meaningless unless it contained truly effective guarantees

against attack and aggression in every form, and unless it

not only prohibited the production and utilization of

nuclear weapons but also required reduction of conventional

armaments, with which thousands of people throughout

the world are killed every day in “local” wars.

129. In the opinion of my delegation the General Assembly

should assign specific tasks to the Committee on

Disarmament. We believe that the Committee could direct

most of its activity towards the complete prohibition of

underground nuclear tests for military purposes, the

demilitarization of the sea-bed and the ocean floor, and the

prohibition of chemical and bacteriological weapons.

Yugoslavia fully supports the draft agreement on the

prohibition of underground nuclear-weapon tests submitted

by Sweden to the Committee on Disarmament; for it is

firmly convinced that the acceptance of that treaty would

greatly encourage all other efforts towards disarmament.

We also stress the need for a moratorium on the deployment

of missile systems and the production of new

weapons of mass destruction, as a specific measure to slow

the arms race.

130. I shall not be saying anything new if I repeat that the

enormous expenditure on armaments is retarding economic

and social progress throughout the world and greatly

diminishing the prospects for the economic development of

the developing countries. Similarly, I am not revealing an

unknown truth in pointing out that, in existing international

economic relations, the new technological expansion

of the developed countries has not yet made it possible to

reduce economic and social differences in the world. The

reason is, regrettably, that the most developed section of

the international community is unwilling to contribute

towards the solution of this problem, which threatens to

become one of the most serious contradictions of our

times.

131. The process of abolishing colonialism has come

almost to a standstill. The remaining strongholds of

colonialism and racism, particularly in southern Africa, are

also tending to consolidate and perpetuate themselves, thus

threatening not only the colonial peoples but also the

independence and territorial integrity of many African

countries. I agree with those who have repeatedly insisted

that the eradication of colonialism does not concern only

the peoples suffering under the colonial yoke, but is a duty

of the whole international community. Southern Rhodesia,

Angola, Mozambique, so called Portuguese Guinea and

Namibia cannot be decolonized without decisive action by

our Organization and a change in the attitude of those

countries that maintain close political and economic relations

with the colonial régimes. Ten years ago we adopted

the Declaration on the Granting of Independence to

Colonial Countries and Peoples, thereby making an essential

contribution to the important process of decolonization

which succeeded it. Could we not now act decisively to

remove colonialism from the face of the earth without

delay, seeing that so few support and so very many

condemn it?

132. Next year the United Nations will celebrate the

twenty-fifth anniversary of its foundation. That anniversary

could well be marked by increased endeavours to reaffirm

the principles of the Charter and to strengthen the action of

the United Nations in the present-day world. In our opinion

it will be essential, at the present session and in the period

preceding the anniversary session, to settle at least some of

the more urgent questions that this Organization has been

discussing for so many years. I have in mind first of all the

drafting of a declaration on the principles governing

friendly relations between States, the formulation of an

international development strategy for the Second United

Nations Development Decade, and the preparation of a

programme of action for the abolition of colonialism. This

would be a way of giving our twenty-fifth anniversary its

proper significance. In addition to the problem of disarmament,

which remains as important and urgent as it is

complex, the problems I have just mentioned could be the

targets for our concerted action during the anniversary

period. The Yugoslav Government is ready to take a very

active part in those efforts.

133. The crucial questions of our time—peace or war,

enslavement or independence, backwardness or development

—are problems not only of governments and States but

of all mankind.

134. May I remind you that 20 years ago, in the first lines

of the Charter of this Organization—the most famed of all

world organizations-we undertook “to promote social

progress and better standards of life in larger freedom”, and

reaffirmed our “faith in fundamental human rights, in the

dignity and worth of the human person, in the equal rights

of men and women and of nations large and small“.

135. Need I say that I have chosen to quote the first lines

of the Charter on the eve of our twenty-fifth anniversary in

order to point out, not all that we have failed to achieve

but how much we still have to accomplish.