German Democratic Republic, 1982

26. Comrade President, I should like to take

this opportunity to congratulate you very

cordially on your election to your high and

responsible office. I am particularly happy about

that because your country and the country that I

represent have close and brotherly ties with each

other. I wish you, as well as the

Secretary-General, Mr. Perez de Cuellar, every

success in the performance of your respective

duties. At the same time we wish to convey our

thanks to the President of the thirty-sixth

session, Mr. Kittani, for the great deftness and

prudence with which he discharged his

responsibilities in an undoubtedly difficult

international situation.

27. The present international situation must

give the peoples cause for profound concern.

Never since the Second World War has peace been

threatened more seriously than today.

28. The policy of confrontation and arms

build-up has affected all spheres of life. In

many countries, the state of the economy and,

consequently, the living conditions for millions

of working people, have been rapidly

deteriorating, and unemployment and poverty have

taken on mass proportions. In situations like

that, as history has taught us, there is an

increasing temptation to seek a way out of the

crises that shake the capitalist system by

embarking on military adventurism. It is commonly

known by whom wars have been instigated—no matter

where and when: by the same forces which today

are engaged in an unbridled expansion of military

might and the fomenting of conflicts.

29. Sanctions boycott and trade war not only

set the development of international economic

relations back dozens of years but also thwarts

all efforts aimed at restructuring those

relations democratically and on the basis of

equality. The protagonists of such a policy are

out to undermine confidence and destroy all the

bridges of co-operation built with great effort

as a result of the policy of detente. Worse

still, they are sowing distrust, impeding or

preventing political dialogue, causing strains in

the conduct of international negotiations and

disrupting the normal development of

international relations.

30. Under the banner of anti-communism they

are waging a crusade against all

realistically-minded forces in all spheres and by

all means. And they stop at nothing to achieve

their ends, not even the use of force, prohibited

though this is by the Charter of the United

Nations.

31. What they are aiming at is hegemony and

world domination. And, while both of those goals

are illusory, they are fraught with mortal

danger, for any attempt to achieve them in

practice is bound to push the world closer to the

abyss of a nuclear inferno.

32. It stands to reason, therefore, that

millions of people in all the continents are

joining in the cry for peace and the instant

cessation of the maniacal drive for arms. They

call for the continuance of detente, based on the

beneficial results attained in the 1970s, and

they expect the United Nations, too, to meet its

great responsibilities in this context by playing

its proper part in the preservation of

international peace. The German Democratic

Republic subscribes to the view that it is

necessary to reinforce the protective and

pre-emptive ring of collective security which

should be our common shelter and the most

important task of the United Nations.

33. The challenge flung down to all

peace-loving mankind by those bent on

militarization must be answered with firmness and

determination. The United Nations has a clear

obligation to contribute in all its spheres of

activity towards the development of peace¬ful

relationships conducive to the welfare of the

peoples. The Organization offers unique

opportunities for States to come to terms with

one another. It is legitimate to expect all

Member States to make use of those opportunities

in the spirit of the Charter. Regrettably, those

in certain quarters, including permanent members

of the Security Council, have, especially in the

most recent past, been making attempts to exclude

the United Nations from the settlement of acute

problems and to shirk their moral and legal

responsibilities under the Charter. The efforts

by the Secretary-General to strengthen the role

and effectiveness of the Organization on the

basis of the Charter are therefore very timely.

34. It is the objective of the German

Democratic Republic to help ensure that all the

possibilities provided by this thirty-seventh

session of the General Assembly are used to stem

the danger of a nuclear war, end the arms race

and achieve agreements on arms limitation and

disarmament; to put a stop to ideological

subversion and psychological warfare and ensure

renewed acceptance of constructive dialogue and

peaceful coexistence as the dominant trend in

international relations; to defuse international

con¬flicts and settle them in a lasting way, that

is, on a just basis and by peaceful means; and to

overcome the politics of trade boycott and

destruction of treaty relations and promote ties

of propitious and mutually advantageous

co-operation among peoples.

35. The two mutually opposed trends

discernible in international relations today

manifested themselves with particular clarity at

the second special session of the General

Assembly devoted to disarmament.

36. The majority of States regard the removal

of the danger of nuclear war as the highest

priority in inter¬national politics. The numerous

proposals of the socialist countries are directed

precisely towards this goal. The solemn pledge of

the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics not to be

the first to use nuclear weapons is of historic

significance. Could a more convincing

demonstration of good will and, indeed,

determination to establish peace be imagined?

37. It is not sophistical arguments, but

simple yet effective steps such as this that will

banish the night¬mare of nuclear annihilation.

The unilateral under¬taking of the Soviet Union

testifies to the seriousness and continuity of a

policy which it has followed ever since its

foundation 60 years ago. It is a policy which is

inherent in socialism and which inspires the

peoples with hope and confidence at this time of

tension also.

38. Together with the overwhelming majority

of States and in keeping with the aspirations of

all the forces of peace, the German Democratic

Republic calls upon the other nuclear-weapon

States to make analogous pledges. This would be

understood and appreciated everywhere in the

world as a sign of genuine readiness to head off

the danger of war.

39. Such action would in fact be decisive in

initiating the adoption of joint measures to

prevent the outbreak of nuclear war.

Unfortunately, the necessary readiness is so far

lacking. And, while many of the participants in

this year's special session on disarmament were

trying hard to identify ways of achieving

concrete disarmament measures, the members of the

North Atlantic Treaty Organization, just as they

did in Washington at the time of the first

special session on disarmament, decided at their

summit in Bonn to strengthen their military

potential even further. They are pushing ahead

with preparations for the deploy¬ment of United

States medium-range missiles in Western Europe

from 1983 on and speeding up the implementation

of their long-term arms program. The line

followed by a number of States at the second

special session on disarmament reflected that

policy -small wonder, since those who on the

Potomac River are busily adopting plans for the

achievement of military superiority can hardly be

expected to agree at the same time on the East

River to measures to outlaw war.

40. At the present session the General

Assembly can draw on a large number of concrete

proposals which were put forward by socialist and

non-aligned coun¬tries at the special session on

disarmament. The German Democratic Republic feels

that there is a pressing need for the adoption

without delay of measures to freeze nuclear

weapons, put a compre¬hensive ban on

nuclear-weapon tests and prohibit the neutron

weapon.

41. At the same time, it emphasizes that

doctrines on the feasibility of fighting,

limiting and winning a nuclear war are inhumane

and hostile to the very concept oflife. Such

doctrines are designed to accustom the public to

the concept of nuclear war and war generally and

to make it seem a legitimate means for achieving

political ends.

42. On 8 February of this year it was decided

in Washington to escalate further the build-up in

the chemical weapons field and to start the

manufacture of new systems, such as binary

weapons. In the light of this development, an

instant and comprehensive ban on all types of

chemical weapons is an imperative.

43. The German Democratic Republic advocates

the speedy drafting of a relevant convention

along the lines of the basic provisions of a

convention for the prohibition of the

development, production and stock¬piling of

chemical weapons and on their destruction,

proposed by the USSR at the second special

session on disarmament.

44. One point, though, should be stressed

here. The heavy responsibility for the

preservation of peace forbids such negotiations

being abused, for instance as an excuse to

escalate the arms drive.

45. In my country, therefore, the public

reacted with indignation when it was reported on

20 July of this year that the United States had

gone so far as to formalize its decision not to

participate any more in the trilateral

comprehensive nuclear-weapon test ban talks in

Geneva. The German Democratic Republic proposes

to the General Assembly at this session to take a

step in the direction of spurring progress in the

Held of disarmament and arms limitation by

reaffirming the political and legal duty of

States to negotiate on these vital issues for

mankind in an honest manner and in good faith.

And here I repeat something that has been said

before: in our contemporary world, peace requires

not lip-service but actions which must be

concrete and have the support of all States.

46. The German Democratic Republic is open

to, and will back up, any proposals, no matter by

whom provided only that they can help achieve

substantive progress.

47. Flourishing international economic

co-operation is advantageous for all parties

involved. It enhances international security

because it is the basis of a shared interest in

calm and stable relationships. The start of

economic warfare, on the other hand, destroys not

only the fabric of international economic

co-operation but it destroys the structure of

international relations generally. The losers on

this policy of sanctions, which is contrary to

international law, are, not least, those who

are—more or less compliantly—helping to put it

into effect.

48. It is a task for the General Assembly to

stimulate constructive co-operation in all areas,

to combat neo- colonialist practices and to

strengthen the economic independence of States.

It is equally necessary to prevent colonialist

exploitation, in whatever guise, being used to

shift the burdens entailed by the arms build-up

and the crises on to the peoples.

49. No forum is more suited than the United

Nations, by patient effort and on the basis of

equality, to discuss and determine global

economic problems affecting the interests of all.

Likewise suited for this would be the proposed

round of global negotiations on international

economic questions.

50. It can, at the same time, be instrumental

in the democratization of international economic

relations as provided for in the Charter of

Economic Rights and Duties of States adopted by

the Assembly in reso¬lution 3281.

51. The German Democratic Republic welcomes

the fact that the Third United Nations Conference

on the Law of the Sea this year has been able

after nine years of undoubtedly difficult

negotiations, to complete and adopt the

Convention on the Law of the Sea.

52. The German Democratic Republic regards

the earliest possible signing and ratification of

the Con¬vention by all States as a duty which

should be fulfilled in the interests of

stabilizing the rule of law on the oceans as well

as for the sake of peaceful co-operation and

detente.

53. The consequences of the imperialist arms

build¬up leave no region of our globe unharmed.

In Europe, detente and the proved policy of

searching for reason¬able compromises are to be

replaced by fomentation of tension and expansion

of the whole range of means for waging cold war

and a shooting war.

54. However, the future of the European

peoples, like that of all other peoples, can be

made secure only if military confrontation is

lessened and the concept of a peaceful synthesis

of interests accepted as the rationale of

political action.

55. A few weeks from now, the Madrid meeting

of the Conference on Security and Co-operation in

Europe is to resume its proceedings. The German

Democratic Republic believes that it will be both

necessary and feasible for that meeting to wind

up its work with results that are aimed at

preserving and reinforcing the basic elements of

European security and co-operation. My country is

a reliable partner in the steadfast pursuit of

that objective. That is why the German Democratic

Republic was quick to express support for the

call by the foreign ministers of Europe's neutral

and non-aligned States that fresh efforts be made

to ensure a successful conclusion of the Madrid

meeting. The convening of a conference on

confidence- building and security-building

measures and disarma¬ment in Europe is still the

primary task; in fact, it is a test of the

readiness of the participating States to carry on

and lend fresh momentum to the process mapped out

in the Final Act of Helsinki of 1975. Those who

have already shown that they have deserted the

road of Helsinki, no matter under what pretext,

and who are bent on increasing the intensity of

con¬frontation still further by provoking a

failure of the Madrid meeting, are taking a heavy

responsibility upon themselves.

56. The solemn signing of the Helsinki Final

Act by the heads of State or Government of the

participating countries came after years of

negotiations conducted with a great deal of

patience. Time and again divergent interests had

to be reconciled and mutually acceptable

solutions ironed out by way of consensus. Should

all this hard work have been in vain, and should

this whole process, the fruitfulness of which has

been recognized by the peoples, be sacrificed for

the selfish interests essentially of just one

country?

57. Attempts are being made to give the

impression that a conference as authoritative and

representative as that of Helsinki was an

everyday affair. It is perhaps fit and proper to

recall the great input of effort in the 1970s,

for especially now in a time of acute

interna¬tional tension much depends on whether,

at the dividing line between the two social

systems and their military coalitions, peaceful

co-operation, in accordance with the Helsinki

Final Act, that is co-operation in the interest

of life itself, can continue.

58. In this context, the relationship between

the two German States is, no doubt, of

significance. By working consistently for normal

relations between the two German States, on the

basis of the relevant agreements and in strict

respect for sovereignty and equality of rights,

the German Democratic Republic contributes

towards stable security on the European continent.

59. The meeting which the General Secretary

of the Central Committee of the Socialist Unity

Party of Germany and Chairman of the Council of

State of the German Democratic Republic had with

the Federal Chancellor of the Federal Republic of

Germany in December 1981 has confirmed the

accuracy of the following conclusions. First,

especially in a time of political tension, the

conduct of businesslike dialogue, based on the

pursuit of a peaceful synthesis of interests, is

not only necessary but also feasible. Secondly,

if such dialogue is to yield results, it must be

based on the principle of sovereign equality and

on strict non¬interference. Thirdly, if such

dialogue is to benefit the people, the

interlocutors must focus their efforts on the

paramount issue of our time—the guarantee of

lasting peace—and, of course, political dialogue

presupposes realism and a sense of proportion.

Fourthly, and finally, political dialogue also

requires the awareness of the parties that

good-neighborly relations cannot prosper in the

shadow of new missiles intended for use in a

nuclear first strike.

61. It would be of great significance for

European security-because of the resulting

encouragement-if the Vienna Talks on Mutual

Reduction of Forces, Armaments and Associated

Measures in Central Europe could at last be

crowned with success. The German Democratic

Republic and the other socialist participants

have expressed readiness to reduce their forces

in Central Europe and also their respective

weaponry, on the basis of reciprocity. The NATO

countries object to that. As has been mentioned

here earlier, even unilateral advance concessions

like the withdrawal of 20,000 Soviet troops and

1,000 tanks from the German Democratic Republic

have been answered by the other side with a

build-up of its military potential and the

announcement of plans to move the United States

troops in the Federal Republic of Germany still

closer to my country's border, that is, to the

dividing line between the Warsaw Treaty and NATO

countries.

62. Whether in Vienna, Geneva or

elsewhere-the proposals of the Western side are

invariably aimed at gaining unilateral military

advantages. This approach is a careless one, but

ignoring that attitude would be even more

careless.

63. The policy of strength and the

intensified arms build-up have resulted in an

exacerbation of interna¬tional conflicts and

encouraged aggressors to flout the right of

peoples of self-determination.

64. In the Middle East, another sovereign

country, Lebanon, has become a victim of the

aggressor. The Palestinian people and their

legitimate representative, the Palestine

Liberation Organization [PLO], are to be

physically destroyed. It would be possible to put

a stop to the genocide in Lebanon, to the still

con¬tinuing systematic extermination of the

Palestinian people patterned after the worst

Fascist atrocities, quite simply by forcing

Israel to comply with the relevant United Nations

resolutions. In actual fact, however, the

aggressor is receiving political and military

support under an agreement on so-called strategic

co-operation.

65. Intrigues, lies, cynicism, brutality and

terror -one would not believe it, but that is

what makes up the internal posture of that

regime. It is to be wel¬comed also that among the

Israeli people themselves more and more forces

are speaking out against this. Israel's leaders

and those who support them here also at the

United Nations cannot by any means absolve

themselves from their guilt.

66. The German Democratic Republic demands

the immediate withdrawal of Israel's troops from

Lebanon and from all other occupied Arab lands.

Its support is for the Palestinian people who,

under the leadership of the PLO, are fighting so

courageously for self-determination and the

establishment of a sovereign State of their own.

67. The latest pertinent proposals of the

Soviet Union point out the path towards a lasting

solution of the Middle East conflict. They accord

with the points considered by the Arab States at

the Twelfth Arab Summit Conference in Fez to

constitute the elements for a comprehensive

settlement of the conflict.

68. The time has long been ripe for

compelling South Africa to end its illegal

occupation of Namibia and to cease its aggression

against Angola. AH relevant decisions of the

United Nations, in particular Security Council

resolution 435 (1978), must be complied with. At

the same time, it is necessary-and the majority

of States in the Organization will watch

carefully- that effective steps be taken against

all attempts to despoil the Nairobian people of

their independence and their right to

self-determination by means of neo-colonialist

maneuvers. The German Democratic Republic is

committed to a policy of steadfast solidarity

with the South West Africa People's Organization

and the Namibian people. As regards the People's

Republic of Angola, which is the target of

persistent acts of aggression by South Africa, my

country is maintaining close links with it in

accordance with a treaty of friendship and

co-operation.

69. Inside South Africa, the regime is

intensifying its terrorism against the majority

of the population Cannot be reformed. In the

interests of humanity and peace, its roots must

be tom out completely, so that it will disappear

for ever. This calls imperatively for the

immediate cessation of any kind of

support-political, economic or military- extended

to the South African regime by some Western

countries and transnational corporations.

70. States in the region of the Indian Ocean

have been making great efforts to achieve the

establishment of a zone of peace in that region.

The German Democratic Republic is committed to a

policy of promoting those efforts.

71. On the other hand, the expanding

imperialist military presence, the greed for

bases and the im¬perialist war against the

Democratic Republic of Afghanistan are making ^he

situation still worse. The convening of a

conference on the Indian Ocean must not be

delayed any further if peace and security in that

region are to be strengthened.

72. In South-East Asia every attempt is being

made to call in question the right of the

Kampuchean people; to determine their own

political status and to choose their own road to

development. The methods employed range from

direct intervention and economic and political

pressure to the setting up of a so-called

coali¬tion Government ' outside the country. This

contrasts with the constructive proposals which

the States of Indo-China have made for

strengthening peace and co-operation in

South-East Asia and which have our full approval.

73. The German Democratic Republic also

supports the proposals put forward by the

Democratic People's Republic of Korea for the

solution of the Korean question, including the

demand for the withdrawal of the United States

troops from South Korea.

74. In the Caribbean and in Central America,

on¬slaughts by imperialist forces on the freedom

and independence of the peoples of that region

are on the increase. In particular, a vote in the

United States Senate of 11 August 1982, which is

designed to open up possibilities for the use of

military force against socialist Cuba, a member

of the non-aligned movement, has resulted in a

dangerous deterioration of the situa¬tion in the

region and endangers world peace. The German

Democratic Republic supports the efforts and

constructive proposals by Cuba, Nicaragua and

Mexico, made with a view to normalizing the

atmo¬sphere in Central America and the Caribbean,

and believe that they can lead to a more stable

peace and enhanced security.

73. As regards the conflict in the South

Atlantic, the German Democratic Republic favors a

settlement based on the Charter of the United

Nations and the resolution adopted at the

Ministerial Meeting of the Co-coordinating Bureau

of Non-Aligned Countries in Havana in June 1982.

76. The German Democratic Republic reiterates

once again from this rostrum that it feels

strongly about the need to solve the question of

Cyprus in accordance with the Charter and the

pertinent United Nations resolutions aimed at

maintaining the independence, sovereignty,

territorial integrity and non-alignment of

Cyprus. Indispensable prerequisites for such a

settle¬ment are the withdrawal of all foreign

troops from Cyprus and the cessation of all kinds

of interference in the island country's internal

affairs. A representa¬tive conference on Cyprus

under United Nations auspices could, no doubt,

help pave the way to a life in peace for the

people of Cyprus.

77. A world in which peoples can live

together in peace needs the fostering and

propagation of the great humanist ideas of

international understanding. But warmongering and

hatred against other peoples or races have

already reappeared and are once more poisoning

the international atmosphere. In fact, as a

result of the politics of threats and resort to

force, they find ever new breeding ground. If, as

the Charter requires, such Fascist and

neo-Fascist activities imperiling world peace are

to be brought to an end, as they must be in the

interest of peace, effective action by both the

Organization and its Member States individually

is imperative.

78. So it is evident that the present

international situation must worry the peoples.

The danger of a thermonuclear war which is facing

mankind lends ever greater urgency to the task of

implementing the Soviet proposal to call a

special series of meetings of the Security

Council at the highest level.

79. All States will have to make a choice. To

opt for the policy of peaceful coexistence is to

make a choice for life, for progress and for a

peaceful future for man. This policy corresponds

to the interests of the people of the German

Democratic Republic and they will not deviate

from that course. The German Democratic Republic

will unswervingly continue the building of a

socialist society and make every effort within

the framework of the community of socialist

States to advance the cause of peace, detente and

international co-operation.