Chile, 1982

It is the tradition of the General Assembly that

its President carry out the important duties

assigned to him in a forthright spirit of

equa-nimity and impartiality. My Government

trusts that this valuable tradition, so well

respected by his pre¬decessors, will be

maintained during the deliberations that are

beginning today.

127. I wish to take this opportunity to

express our gratitude to Mr. Kittani of Iraq for

the dedication and energy with which he

discharged his functions during his presidency.

128. This is also an appropriate opportunity

to pay a tribute to the Secretary-General, Mr.

Javier Perez de Cuellar, for the zealous, devoted

and skilful per¬formance of his duties in the

brief period of less than a year since he was

chosen to shoulder this great responsibility. We

must express the deep satisfaction with which we

welcomed his election as Secretary- General. This

once again highlighted his great personal and

professional talents and was a clear

demonstration of the confidence which the

international community feels in a distinguished

representative of Latin America and a worthy son

of the Republic of Peru—a factor of particular

significance to our region. We offer our warmest

wishes for his success and once more reiterate

our sincere willingness to co-operate with him in

the fulfilment of his important and sensitive

responsibilities.

129. Chile comes to the General Assembly with

feelings of deep concern about the delicate

interna¬tional situation, which is affecting and

impairing world peace and the very foundations of

the Organization.

130. This recently inaugurated session is

taking place while the military occupations of

Afghanistan and Kampuchea persist and the war

between Iraq and Iran continues. No solution has

yet been found for the Namibian situation.

Lebanon has been practically destroyed by the war

being waged on its territory by foreign nations.

The Palestinian people remain without a physical

territory in which to grow and develop as a

nation. And, finally, the cowardly practice of

terrorism, international subversion and foreign

intervention to gain political or ideological

objectives continues to spread with impunity in

Central America and other regions of the world.

131. The armed confrontations and conflicts

and the systematic violation of the principles of

the Charter and of international law have

worsened dangerously, while juridical and

political mechanisms remain ineffective, not

having the necessary power to impose real and

just solutions.

132. Our people note with great

disillusionment the inability of world

organizations to keep the peace and to create a

climate of consensus in order to advance along

the road of co-operation and progress.

Un¬fortunately, confidence in the international

system is waning in a way that could become

irreversible, especially in the Organization,

which was created to promote harmonious and

peaceful coexistence among States. We must face

the reality of this situation with vigour, a

sense of responsibility and decisiveness and work

intensively to achieve the necessary convergence

of views, so as to restore the world's faith in

the principles and objectives embodied in the

Charter. We are facing a situation which demands

all our capabilities and efforts since at stake

is the very future of mankind, of the

international system and of respect for the

obligations which all Member States have

contracted and to which our respective nations

are in honour pledged.

133. We have affirmed in various forums that

one of the elements which guide the foreign

policy of Chile is its unwavering support for the

principle of the peaceful settlement of disputes

and its rejection of the threat or use of force

in international relations. Today more than ever

we reaffirm our political will to abide by the

principles of international law. We call upon the

conscience of the world for the abandon¬ment of

mere declarations and decisive support for the

development of legal instruments that will give

these principles the quality of mandatory

standard for the international conduct of States.

134. These essential norms, explicitly laid

down in Article 2, paragraphs 3 and 4, of the

Charter, find their practical application in

Chapter VI, devoted to the obligations of the

parties to a dispute and the powers and

attributions of the Security Council. In a

similar manner, numerous later instruments

prepared within the framework of the Organization

have repeated them and expanded their scope.

Outstanding among these are: the draft

Declaration on Rights and Duties of States,

prepared by the International Law Com¬mission in

1949 the Declaration on Principles of

International Law con¬cerning Friendly Relations

and Co-operation among States in accordance with

the Charter of the United Nations, adopted in

1970; the Declaration on the Strengthening of

International Security, also adopted in 1970; the

Definition of Aggression, adopted in 1974; and,

most recently, the draft Manila Declaration on

the Peaceful Settlement of International

Disputes, finalized by the Special Committee on

the Charter of the United Nations and on the

Strengthening of the Role of the Organization at

its meeting in Geneva in March of this year.

135. In the American region the principle of

the peaceful settlement of disputes has been very

clearly established in three of the most

important documents of the regional system: the

Inter-American Treaty of Reciprocal Assistance

concluded in Rio de Janeiro in 1947; the charter

of the Organization of American States of 1948;?

and the Pact of Bogota of the same year.

136. The unrestricted application of the

principle and its full doctrinal implications

have not been sufficiently developed, especially

during the past 30 years, despite the fact that

it was contemplated in the documents I have

mentioned and in many other documents of a

bilateral and multilateral nature. At its current

session the General Assembly has the important

task of adopting the draft Manila Declara¬tion,

thereby giving a strong impetus to the

vitalization of the system of the peaceful

settlement of disputes.

137. Within this context, I should like to

stress before the Assembly the special relevance

and priority that my Government attaches to the

obligation of Mem¬ber States to settle disputes

by peaceful means and the obligation to abstain

from recourse to the threat or use of force in

their international relations. These two

obligations constitute the basic pillars of

international relations. Repeated and systematic

non-observance by some States has led to the

creation of the present turbulent international

situation—a situation which is diminishing the

credibility of the United Nations.

138. Taking into account these and other norms

con¬cerning the peaceful settlement of disputes,

we believe that these should be put into treaty

form so as effectively to facilitate their

practical application. As I have already noted,

we believe that the surest guarantee of the

preservation of peace among nations would be the

existence of agreements and instruments making

recourse to the settlement of disputes by

peaceful means obligatory under international

law, in order to eliminate for ever the risk of a

conflagration. What better guarantee could there

be for our peoples than the protection afforded

by the procedure of peaceful settlement, thus

sparing them the constant fear of a

confrontation, with incalculable conse¬quences?

What better way could there be to demon¬strate

dedication to and respect for the law as peace-

loving Members of the Organization than by being

bound by treaties and agreements which establish

the means of effectively preserving peace? We

feel that the United Nations, as the supreme body

entrusted with the preservation of international

peace and security in our time, cannot remain

aloof from this noble task.

139. Unfortunately, events of recent years

have shown that the failure to apply the norms

and pro¬cedures for the peaceful settlement of

disputes provided for in Chapter VI of the

Charter results in the Security Council's being

charged with the responsi¬bility of acting once

hostilities have broken out, when the solution

becomes much more complex because of the loss of

human lives and the natural exacerba¬tion of

feelings. In other words, there is no effective

and rapid fulfilment of the obligations the

Member States assume in accordance with Chapter

VI or the functions entrusted to the Security

Council under Chapter VII. How much more better

it would be if the Organization could carry out

the preventive and dissuasive role assigned to it

by the Charter, reduce the sources of conflict

and guide countries towards a peaceful settlement

of their disputes. We are particularly pleased

that the Secretary- General, in his report on the

work of the Organi¬zation, concurs with the

observations that Chile has been making

throughout this year, particularly in the

Security Council and at the second special

session of the General Assembly devoted to

disarmament. This task cannot be deferred and we

believe that the Organization and the regional

systems are especially qualified to draw up and

agree upon some procedure for preventive

vigilance which could lead the parties concerned

in a dispute towards the effective applica¬tion

of the means of settlement available, or to

pursue the development of a procedure to prevent

the frustra¬tion of efforts and the creation of

an irreversible situation.

140. A discouraging and disquieting world

economic situation has been added to the increase

in interna¬tional tension. The common and almost

unmanageable problem of inflation has been

accompanied by a slow rate of growth,

unemployment and governmental budget deficits, to

which has been added external indebtedness. This

last, which fundamentally comple¬ments the

financing of the economic growth of almost all

developing countries, has made more difficult the

solution of urgent problems, owing to the high

cost of money. This is particularly serious in

the social sector, since there is a daily

increase in the millions of human beings who have

been left out of the mainstream of the progress

which scientific and technological know¬ledge has

brought to much of mankind.

141. The search for easy solutions to the

problems has resulted in rising budgetary

imbalances in many countries, including the

industrialized nations with market economies, and

the worsening of their dif¬ficulties over the

medium term.

142. The legitimate attempt by some developed

States to find basic solutions to their internal

problems has caused a slump in economic activity.

This in turn has resulted in the reduction of the

prices of practically all raw materials, severely

affecting the developing countries which are the

principal exporters of such materials.

143. The international crisis has buffeted the

weakest economies with a force hitherto almost

unknown, and few countries have escaped its

effects. Its mag¬nitude is such that however

forceful internal efforts to combat the problem

the effects can be only tempo-rarily minimized

and in no case has there been com¬plete recovery

and progress for such economies. The

international economic co-operation which could

have mitigated the effects of this crisis has

also decreased with the reduction of the

resources devoted to that end.

144. In view of this situation, we must stress

that the world economic order must be reformed,

in a spirit of co-operation and with complete

international solidarity. While recognizing that

the present world political climate may not be

the most propitious for beginning such an

exercise, we believe that the cost of maintaining

the present situation would exceed that of

initiating global negotiations, even in

conditions which, in our view, are not the most

desirable from the point of view of the

developing countries.

145. The international community has a duty to

study solutions within the existing institutions

in order to facilitate the efforts and possible

modifications that should be made by developing

countries deeply affected by the international

crisis, a phenomenon not foreign to the Latin

American region.

146. In the mean time my Government has well-

founded hopes that the forthcoming ministerial

meeting of GATT will achieveconcrete steps

towards liber¬alizing international trade, and

putting an end to existing protectionist measures

which, we are certain, can only contribute to

further aggravation of current difficulties.

147. We trust, likewise, that the economic

co¬operation between developing countries

formally begun in 1981 at the meeting at Caracas

will begin to bear fruit and permit alleviation

of the situation in many of our countries.

148. I cannot refrain at this time from

referring to certain specific instances which

constitute persistent focal points of world

tension and which are dete¬riorating despite

resolutions adopted by the Security Council and

the General Assembly.

149. Unfortunately, we have noted that the

efforts of the Organization to find a solution to

the problem facing the people of Afghanistan have

proved sterile, despite the fact that another

year has passed since three fourths of the Member

States voted in favour of General Assembly

resolution 36/34.

150. We again condemn the flagrant aggression

from which the people of Afghanistan are

suffering and we reiterate our support for those

who are struggling to re-establish that country's

complete sovereignty. We add our voice to that of

the inter¬national community, as we did in

commemorating the day of Afghanistan, and demand

the immediate with¬drawal of Soviet occupation

forces. We likewise wish to express our sorrow

over the situation affecting numerous inhabitants

of that land who have had to seek refuge beyond

their borders in order to escape foreign

oppression.

151. A year has also passed since the adoption

of Assembly resolution 36/5, insisting on respect

for the territorial integrity, independence and

right of self- determination of Kampuchea,

together with the with¬drawal of invading forces,

and that resolution has likewise been flagrantly

disobeyed.

152. Chile, which gave its support to the

efforts of the /M Roc Committee of the

International Con¬ference on Kampuchea to find a

comprehensive political solution of the problem,

now expresses its satisfaction with regard to the

recent formation of the Government headed by

Prince Norodom Sihanouk.

153. The tense and unstable situation now

prevailing in the Korean peninsula confirms our

conviction that inter-Korean negotiations are the

only practical way of resolving through peaceful

means and without foreign intervention, a problem

that has been dragging on for almost 40 years.

154. The situation in the Middle East

continues to represent a threat to international

peace and security. During the thirty-fifth and

thirty-sixth sessions of the General Assembly, I

emphasized that our rejection of the use of force

as a means for settling disputes, controversies

or conflicts is the principle which, for a

country like Chile, has necessarily assumed the

highest priority. For this reason we emphasize

the need for a realistic solution based on the

withdrawal of Israel from all occupied

territories, with recognition of the right of all

States of the region, including Israel, to live

within secure and internationally recog¬nized

borders, and the full exercise by the Palestinian

people of their inalienable rights, including the

right to the establishment of a sovereign

State—all this in accordance with the pertinent

resolutions of the United Nations, especially

Security Council, reso¬lutions 242 (1967) and 338

(1973).

155. The tragic crisis involving Lebanon today

has shaken the not always alert sensitivity of

the interna¬tional community. We are deeply

concerned over the situation affecting that

country, with which we are linked by so many ties

of friendship and co-operation. The grave

problems besetting the Middle East have,

unfortunately, resulted in the clashes between

the various parties taking place on Lebanese soil

and at the expense of its people. We insist on

the withdrawal of all foreign forces from Lebanon

and demand complete respect for the territorial

integrity and political independence of that

nation.

156. We cannot but express our grief over the

base attack upon the President-elect of Lebanon,

Mr. Bashir Gemayel. We condemn also most

energetically the inhuman and brutal massacre of

the Palestinian refu¬gees in the Sabra and

Shatila camps. We view with horror the terrorism

which has struck down yet more victims, breeding

hate and loss of confidence among a people which

was naturally longing for peace and prosperity

after long years of misfortune and des¬peration.

157. We trust that these reprehensible crimes

will not hinder the pacification process of that

noble country, which now faces the challenge of

starting its own reconstruction in order to seek

the good fortune it deserves. We therefore wish

President-elect Amin Gemayel the greatest success

in his management of the difficult tasks of

government that he has under¬taken.

158. Chile, in its dedication to peace and

love of justice, has supported all initiatives

designed to bring about a just and lasting

solution to the complex and delicate situation in

the Middle East. In this context we applaud the

peace plans of the President of the United States

and those of the Arab nations emanating from the

Twelfth Arab Summit Conference at Fez. We call

upon the States of this disturbed area to

consider the proposals which can contribute

effectively to the cause of peace and offer hope

for the productive development of all its people,

in a climate of under¬standing and good

neighbourliness.

159. My country, as a member of the Special

Com¬mittee on the Situation with regard to the

Implementa¬tion of the Declaration on the

Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries

and Peoples and of the United Nations Council for

Namibia, has participated actively in the process

of self-determination and independence that has

been developing in recent years. For this reason

we note with special attention the negotiations

under way to find a peaceful solution that will

permit the people of Namibia finally to achieve

independence in accordance with its interests. In

this regard, my Government firmly supports

Security Council resolu¬tions 385 (1976) and 435

(1978). We hope that a solu¬tion will be found to

ensure a stable peace in the region and the

withdrawal of all foreign forces from the zone.

160. Chile is a country with strong feelings

of loyalty to the American continent. It is proud

to belong to a young and forceful continent which

has given proof throughout its history of its

genuine spirit of co¬operation and world

solidarity. For this reason, we observe with

concern the crisis affecting the inter- American

system, the result of feelings of frustration and

disenchantment among the American nations

themselves resulting from the various conflicts

and divisions within the confines of our

continent.

l63. The Government of Chile reaffirms from this

rostrum the urgent need for the nations of the

con¬tinent to strengthen their regional

coexistence on the basis not only of the

continent's legal system, but also of an

essential political consensus that will enable us

to recover an appropriate position in the

international community.

164. This year, Latin America was shaken by

the outbreak of the Anglo-Argentine conflict over

the Malvinas Islands. The deep impact on the

hemisphere of this unfortunate confrontation

reflects our natural concern about the problems

which trouble the Latin American community,

especially the loss of faith in the effectiveness

of the mechanisms of the inter-American and world

systems. Faithful to its tradition of respect for

the norms and principles of international law, my

Government, together with 19 other Latin American

countries, sponsored a request to include an item

on the Malvinas Islands in the agenda of the

present session of the General Assembly and we

make an urgent appeal for the peaceful settlement

of the dispute between Argentina and the United

Kingdom under the auspices of the United Nations.

165. Faced with the present uncertain world

pan¬orama, it is necessary to continue fighting

tirelessly in order to attain the positive goals

which will strengthen the Organization. In this

respect we attrib¬ute special importance to the

development of the new international law of the

sea, to the efforts being made on disarmament and

on the exploitation of outer space for peaceful

purposes.

166. After nine long years of negotiations

which established consensus as the method of

legislating on international affairs, the Third

United Nations Con¬ference on the Law of the Sea

has adopted a con¬vention which should be a cause

of pride to the world community. The

Secretary-General of the United Nations has

described it as one of the greatest achievements

of the century. The law of the sea Con¬vention,

which brings together important institutions and

principles, such as classic maritime law, the

rules governing the sea-bed and for the peaceful

settlement of disputes and other no less

significant matters, constitutes the new

international law of the sea. These norms are

designed to cover the activities of mankind on

two thirds of this planet.

167. Special reference should be made to take

eco¬nomic zone of 200 miles. This concept, which

was originally framed by the Governments of

Chile, Ecuador and Peru in 1952, is based on the

legitimate right of States to their natural

resources for the benefit of their respective

populations. Latin America has gradually made

this new maritime space its own, to the point of

transforming it into one of the pillars of Latin

American law of the sea and then into general

interna¬tional law.

168. We believe that the significance and

scope of the law of the sea Convention make it

advisable that all member countries of the

international community should participate in it.

We must make every effort to achieve this and to

avoid looking for alternative schemes lacking

legal foundation and validity, and therefore not

deserving of international recognition. It is

important that the Convention be ready for

signature on the date scheduled, that the

Preparatory Commission established by the

Conference* start functioning and that this

decisive instrument enter into force as soon as

possible.

169. In June of this year I had the honour of

ad¬dressing the Assembly at the twelfth special

ses¬sion, the second special session of the

General As¬sembly devoted to disarmament [gee

77/Meefwg]. In stating the position of my country

on that occasion, I pointed out that Chile, as a

peace-loving nation, respectful of the law,

condemned the use of force in any of its

manifestations. Those principles, I added,

constituted the basis of our foreign policy and

deter¬mined our conduct in the difficult Held of

interna¬tional relations. For that reason, we are

concerned over the arms race in which today

certain nations are involved, which is increasing

tension and the threat of destruction hovering

over mankind. Disarmament is closely tied to

development and for that reason it will be most

difficult for nations to find the path to

progress if they have not first established

effective and lasting peace. That is why we have

supported demilitarization by regions, under the

control of the United Nations, supporting

valuable proposals, such as that made by the

Japanese Government, which seek to neutralize the

conventional and nuclear arms races. Chile,

moreover, favours the strengthening of IAEA so

that, through universal acceptance of its

monitoring of nuclear facilities and the

comprehensive use of its technical assistance

capabilities, nuclear energy can be directed

towards those objectives which seek to expand

development and consolidate world peace.

170. Among the challenges to the improved

develop¬ment of nations is the exploitation and

utilization of outer space for peaceful purposes.

Its condition as the common heritage of mankind

must be safeguarded so that its exploration and

exploitation can be conducted for the benefit of

all peoples. We believe also that in order to

preserve that condition it would be highly useful

to have a world authority to administer the

resources that may derive from exploitation,

ade¬quately channelling applications of

technology and indirectly preventing the

militarization of outer space.

171. At the regional level, Chile has

supported the establishment of a Latin American

space agency which could serve to obtain the

greatest advantages of the uses of space and

improve expectations of well-being. We are happy

to see that this initiative was favourably

received by the Second United Nations Conference

on the Exploration and Peaceful Uses of Outer

Space.

172. Within this context of promising

perspectives I believe it would be appropriate to

comment on the interesting developments taking

place in the area of the Pacific basin. Various

indicators have shown that we are in the presence

of a process of growing economic interdependence

between the coastal nations of that Ocean, where

transportation and communica¬tions, trade,

investments and the general flow of goods,

services and people have been growing more than

in any other area of the world during the past

decade. As a result of these positive

developments, various initiatives, especially

from the academic and private business sectors,

have been moving forward around a structure of

regional integration and co-operation plans.

Although this involves a vast basin, with many

dissimilar racial, linguistic, religious,

political and development factors, they

frequently complement each ether and provide

incentives, together with the phenomenon of

interdependence I have already described, for

establishing a course towards a future economic

community in the Pacific.

173. Chile, a maritime country which attaches

great importance to its diplomatic, economic and

cultural activities in the Pacific region,

decisively supports such initiatives. My

Government therefore upholds the concept of a

continuing interchange of ideas and consultative

mechanisms for a common Pan-Pacific dialogue and,

more particularly, the South-South co¬operation,

which is feasible among Latin America, the

islands of the South Pacific and the members of

the Association of South-East Asian Nations.

174. The Chilean Government, faithful to its

un¬wavering tradition of resolving disputes

through peaceful means under international law,

and its con¬sistent respect for treaties and

international instru-ments, is continuing its

attempt to settle its existing differences with

the Republic of Argentina in our southern waters.

We reiterate our faith in and full support for

the noble mission undertaken by His Holiness Pope

John Paul II in his capacity as mediator. His

providential intercession permitted the staving

off of a dangerous crisis between our two nations

at the end of 1978. The happy initiative of this

distinguished mediator has already yielded

valuable results which allow us to hope for the

final and complete success of his efforts. We are

certain that the final agreement to be achieved

will contribute to the greater strengthening of

the deep historical ties which have joined the

two republics together since the dawn of their

independence.

175. It is my very pleasant duty to reiterate

to the Assembly the gratitude of the people and

Government of Chile to a man who, as Vicar of

Christ on earth, is engaged in such a noble

undertaking in a world convulsed by violence.

176. As I stated at the beginning of my

inter¬vention, the Chilean Government brings to

the General Assembly a deep concern about the

sensitive situation facing the world today. We

agree with the Secretary- General when he states

in his report that "We are perilously near to a

new international anarchy... one symptom of which

is the crisis in the multilateral approach in

international affairs and the concomitant erosion

of the authority and status of world and regional

intergovernmental institutions". In order to

avoid such anarchy, my country considers it

essential to deal firmly with the situations

which today constitute the principal sources of

interna-tional tension, employing the means

available to the Organization to ensure that

States conform to the principles set forth in the

Charter, in particular refraining from the threat

or use of force, the peaceful settlement of

disputes and international co-operation in every

area. An act of collective creativity is required

which, with imagination and realism, will enable

us to find agreed legal formulas to banish the

apocalyptic phantom of war and to prepare for a

future of world coexistence. To do so, we must

not allow the Organ¬ization to become merely a

body to which States bring their differences and

problems. We must arrive at a sufficient

consensus to enable us to avoid the outbreak of

armed clashes, because once such a clash begins,

it is almost impossible to stop it. To achieve

that aim, we reaffirm the need to change the

pro¬cedures for the peaceful settlements of

disputes, and give them the necessary mandatory

character.

177. In the course of this statement, I have

stated the fundamental principles upon which our

foreign policy is based, namely, respect for the

individual and for the law. Our Government,

maintaining a clear and consistent position, is

applying those same prin¬ciples to its domestic

life. With the broad support of its citizens, it

is carrying out a process of

institu¬tionalization designed to modernize the

country in every sphere and to give its people

greater oppor¬tunities for spiritual and material

development.

178. Chile is prepared to continue along the

road of peace and respect for the law, a

tradition which is deeply rooted in its national

character.