Democratic Republic of the Congo, 1982

First of all I wish to convey my warm

congratulations to Mr. Hollai of Hungary on his

elections to the presidency of the thirty seventh

session of the General Assembly. His country

attachment to peace, together with his

statesman-like and diplomatic qualities, as well

as his perfect mastery of the major problems of

international concern, gives us the certainty

that the work of this session will be conducted

with competence and efficiency. The delegation of

Zaire assures him its whole hearted co-operation.

I also express our appreciation to his

predecessor, Mr Kittani, for the competence,

devotion, tact and efficiency with which he

conducted the proceedings of the thirty sixth

session, at a particular difficult time of

international affairs. I should like in addition

to extend once again to Mr. Perez de Cuellar the

sincere congratulations of the President, the

Executive Council and the Republic of Zaire on

his election to the post of Secretary General, to

assure him of our whole hearted cooperation and

to express our best wishes for success in

discharge of his mandate in the ultimate interest

of peace security and development in the world

The delegation of Zaire wishes to pay a special

tribute to the Secretary-General for his report

on the work of the Organization, in which his

lucid and striking analysis confirms the merits,

competence and experience of a man eminently

aware of our common concern for international

peace and security, progress and development

through the confident cooperation of nations and

peoples. This report is an invitation to all of

us to renew our commitment to the letter and

spirit of the Charter and to reaffirm our

commitment to the maintenance of international

peace and security, the promotion of co-operation

for development, the easing or reducing of

tension in the world, the adoption of measures to

increase confidence m international relations,

recourse to the collective security machinery

provided for in the Charter; in a word, the

principles of international law governing

friendly relations and co-operation among States.

The Republic of Zaire, whose policy has always

been guided by the goals and principles of the

Charter, attaches the utmost significance to the

role of the Organization. Our struggle for the

recognition on our right to security, a

prerequisite of development, and of our right to

development and to a share in world prosperity,

and our right to our own identity, stems from a

peaceful vision of international relations; the

same vision which one can glimpse in the words of

the Charter and which fails well within the

framework of the general struggle of the peoples

of the third world for greater justice and equity

in international relations.

We have never committed aggression against

anyone, nor have we threatened to, and it is our

firm intention, as firm as it ever was, to pursue

a policy of peace, good-neighborliness,

co-operation and openness to all nations of the

world, on the basis of mutual advantage, and with

respect for our sovereignty, our dignity and our

right to a separate identity.

All our efforts in Zaire are focused on the

building of a democratic, peaceful, modem and

prosperous Zairian society, open to the enriching

contributions of the outside world, but at the

same time profoundly rooted in and respectful of

our own authentic values

On behalf of the President and Government of the

Republic of Zaire, we wish to state that we

threaten no one, politically, ideologically,

economically, or militarily, and we expect that

our partners in the world need commitment on our

part. The peace loving nature of our country,

open to friendship and internationalism,

co-operation, derives not only from its colonial

history, which was marked by suffering and

depredation of every kind, but also by the

incessant struggle in different ways for national

liberation. It also derives from our history

after independence, one of division and secession

resulting from two evils ótribalization and

servile adoption of imported ideologiesóbut also

one of a courageous struggle waged by the popular

movement of the revolution, our party of the

rally of the masses, headed by its founder,

Mobutu Sese Seko, to regain its cultural identity.

We base our struggle for cultural liberation on a

policy of a return to our authentic values. It

can be defined as a critical and vigilant

approach in which, without disregard for the

contributions of other cultures, we draw, above

all, from our own rich cultural heritage whatever

is likely to permit us to affirm our own identity

and personality and to achieve our overall

objectives in the building of our country, and

thus contributing to world civilization. We want

to live in peace and friendship with other

States. We do so as a country situated in the

heart of the African continent, which shares more

than 10,000 kilometers of borders with nine other

countries, each with its own history, and using

as a means of expression the French, English,

Portuguese and Arabic languages.

This policy of peace, friendship and co-operation

followed by Zaire has been demonstrated in each

particular case by policies of

good-neighborliness, attachment to Africa, and

respect for the policy of non-alignment and the

principles of the Charter governing relations

among various countries.

Speaking of peace, what can we see about us

today? At the present time, failure to respect

commitments, in terms of peace, decolonization,

international co-operation, the interdependence

of States, human solidarity, the rights of

peoples and individuals, and general and complete

disarmament under effective international

control, are today the major sources of tension,

conflict, war and mistrust in international

relations, of economic and moral crises and of

the failure to attain the objectives unanimously

proclaimed in the Charter.

If the 1970s ended on a note of bitterness, the

prospects for the 1980s hardly seem more

promising. political, economic and social matters

of major concern, which were the focus of the

international community's attention, at the

thirty-sixth session of the General Assembly and

elsewhere, have remained, in some cases, without

satisfactory solutions, and in other cases

deadlocked.

There is every reason to believe that the

international situation will continue to be

marked in the immediate future by increasing

tension, distrust in relations between States, an

escalation of the arms race, interference in the

internal affairs of other States, recourse to

violence, and difficulties in international

co-operation for development, thus jeopardizing

peace and, hence, the very survival of mankind.

The crisis, at once political, economic and

social, which is at present unsettling the world,

has severely handicapped the United Nations in

awning its objectives. This inability of the

United Nations, resulting from the failure of

States to respect commitments freely entered

into, has had the effect of adding to the

complexity of the problems of the world today,

and has aroused a general feeling of insecurity.

Article 2 of the Charter lays down the principles

of Jus Cogens, which has binding force and binds

all States in the international community.

Unfortunately, however, a number of States, in

abusing their power, quite often shirk their

obligation not to have recourse to force, not to

interfere in the internal affairs of other

States, and peacefully to settle their disputes,

thus undermining the authority of the

Organization of which they are Members. Some go

so far as to institutionalize methods of

violence, the sole goal of which is to ensure

that they continue to benefit from unjust and

arbitrary situations.

Since the creation of the United Nations 37 years

ago, the question of disarmament has been the

subject of numerous rounds of negotiations.

Resolutions and treaties are concluded and by

negotiating bodies, both within and outside the

framework of the United Nations, and proliferate.

Unfortunately, and this must be said, none of

this has served to halt or turn back the arms

race. Quite the contrary, the arms race proceeds

apace.

In spite of the international instruments prohibiting nuclear-weapon testing,

we are daily shocked to learn of new developments

and improvements in weapons whose destructive

capacity boggles the imagination. Under the

Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear

Weapons, many States have undertaken not to

produce or to possess such weapons. Nevertheless,

the major Powers continue the nuclear arms race

in the name of a so-called balance of power and

the dangerous theory of deterrence, each day

accumulating ever- greater quantities of nuclear

weapons and refusing to give negative guarantees

to the nan-nuclear-weapon States.

Thanks to the facilities granted it by certain

Powers in contravention of Security Council

resolution 421 (1977), imposing an embargo on

arms shipments to South Africa, and in disregard

of the OAU Declaration on the Denuclearization of

Africa, South Africa's possession of the atomic

bomb, places all African States, and its

neighboring African States in particular, in a

situation of total insecurity.

If the nuclear arms race is quite rightly a

matter of concern to the international community,

the question of conventional weapons must also be

the subject of our concern, because they are the

weapons that are at present being employed

wherever hotbeds of tension exist in the world.

The Republic of Zaire welcomed the adoption by

the United Nations on 10 October 1980 of the

Convention on the Prohibitions or Restrictions on

the Use of Certain Conventional Weapons Which May

Be Deemed to Be Excessively Injurious or to Have

Indiscriminate Effects, and three Protocols

thereto.

However, to be more fruitful, subsequent

negotiations should examine the most crucial

aspects of the problem posed by conventional

weapons, namely, their overproduction, their

sophistication and their transport towards areas

of tension. Responsibility for this state of

affairs lies solely with the manufacturers, who

are more concerned about the profits they earn

from the arms industry than about the danger the

dissemination of weapons poses to international

peace and security.

The Final Document of the Tenth Special Session

of the General Assembly, devoted to disarmament,

aptly laid stress on the need to approach the

gamut of disarmament problems from the standpoint

of development, because the arms race swallows up

considerable resources that could be used to

solve urgent economic and social problems.

Indeed, in 1981 alone, arms expenditures amounted

to $600 billion at a time when UNICEF, to mention

only that organization, was drawing attention to

the tragic plight of children throughout the

world. Only 1 per cent of that figure would have

been enough to alleviate their suffering.

The reduction of military budgets is something

that falls within the context of the goal of

halting and reversing the arms race in order to

free the resources necessary for economic

development, in particular that of the developing

countries. Resolutions adopted by the United

Nations to that effect have not been implemented

because the international community's interest

has not been sufficiently aroused. This impotence

of the international community has once again

been illustrated by the failure of the second

special session of the General Assembly devoted

to disarmament, which was able only to produce a

programme for the World Disarmament Campaign.

As the President of Zaire recalled at the recent

conference of heads of State of France and Africa

held in Kinshasa, the tragic events in Lebanon

have highlighted the complexity of the crisis in

the Middle East, where the situation remains

extremely disturbing

The search for a comprehensive, just and lasting

settlement of the Middle East conflict is on a

difficult road. The importance the international

community attaches to a rapid settlement of the

Middle East crisis emerges clearly from the

various peace initiatives or proposals put

forward over the past few years. It would appear

that the international community has genuinely

become aware of the true gravity of the situation

that exists in this part of the world that is

particularly sensitive, regarding the maintenance

of international peace and security.

In General Assembly resolution 181 (II), the

United Nations assumed the historic

responsibility for guaranteeing the existence in

Palestine of a Jewish State, an Arab State and a

special international regime for the Holy City of

Jerusalem. The Security Council, and the five

permanent members of the Council in particular,

should envisage the adoption of special measures

to guarantee the security, stability and

integrity of all States in the region in order to

usher in an era of peace, stability and harmony

in that part of the world. The Palestinian people

have the same rights as do the people of Israel,

namely, the right to form an independent State,

to a homeland of their own and to live in peace

within secure and recognized frontiers free from

acts of force.

We are convinced that the settlement of the

Middle East conflict requires, at the minimum,

respect for and implementation of the following

principles: first, recognition of the right of

each State of the region to live in peace within

secure and recognized frontiers; secondly,

respect for the territorial integrity, political

independence and sovereignty of each State;

thirdly, mutual recognition among States in the

region; fourthly, respect for the principle of

the inadmissibility of the acquisition of

territories by force; fifthly, recognition of the

fact that the question of Palestine lies at the

heart of the Middle East problem and, sixthly,

recognition of and respect for the inalienable

rights of the Palestinian people, including the

right to create an independent State under the

leadership of the PLO, the sole, legitimate

representative of the Palestinian people.

All these elements can be found in General

Assembly resolutions 181 (II) and 194 (III) and

in Security Council resolutions 242 (1967) and

338 (1973). Taken together, those four

resolutions contain all the elements necessary

for a comprehensive, just and lasting settlement

of the Middle East problem, for they are mutually

complementary and provide for a global approach

to the various aspects of this problem. It is in

that context, in particular, that we welcome the

French-Egyptian initiative in the Security

Council and the conclusions reached by the

Twelfth Arab Summit Conference at Fez. The

international community and the United Nations

can today find in all those initiatives based on

good faith the elements necessary for resolving

the conflict.

Zaire, a member of the Security Council, has

associated itself with all the resolutions

adopted by the Council since the outbreak of the

Lebanese affair and it will continue to give its

support to the effective implementation of those

resolutions in the recognized interests of

Lebanon. Zaire, whose policy is based on the

goals and principles of the Charter and which

attaches great importance to the role of the

Organization, associated itself with the

condemnation of the criminal massacre of

Palestinian civilians in the Shatila and Sabra

camps and demands that the rights of the civilian

population be respected, without any

discrimination, while at the same time it

censures all acts of violence against civilian

populations. We believe that those responsible

for these massacres cannot remain unpunished. As

was quite rightly stated by the President of the

Republic of Zaire in his masterly statement on 8

October 1982, no morality, no pretext of any kind

can possibly justify the massacre of innocent

civilians.

With regard to the problem of Namibia, the

position of Zaire has recently been recalled most

clearly by the President of the Republic in the

aforementioned statement, and we venture to

repeat its main points in the Assembly.

In terms of the proposed settlement of the

Namibian question approved by Security Council

resolution 435 (1978), Namibia was to become

independent in 1978. But, five years after the

approval of that proposal, the transfer of power

to the people of Namibia with the assistance of

the United Nations has still not been carried out

and South Africa is maintaining its illegal

occupation and administration of this Territory,

in defiance of the relevant resolutions of the

United Nations and international public opinion.

While SWAPO has repeatedly given proof of its

constant readiness to co-operate in the

implementation of the United Nations settlement

plan, South Africa's attitude has been

characterized by frequent recourse to delaying

tactics and other maneuvers designed to impede

the implementation of Security Council

resolutions 385 (1976) and 435 (1978) and to

postpone for as long as possible the inevitable

independence of Namibia.

We must all realize that the continuance of the

illegal occupation of Namibia by South Africa,

together with the denial of the inalienable

rights and fundamental freedoms of the Namibian

people, the extension of the policy of apartheid

to this Territory and the transformation of

Namibian territory into a springboard for attacks

and aggression against neighbouring independent

African States, in particular Angola, Mozambique,

Zimbabwe and Botswana, constitute a grave threat

to peace and security in this region.

Furthermore, the injection into the Namibian

matter of extraneous factors which can serve only

to distort this problem, which is in essence

colonial, contains within itself the germs of a

grave threat to international peace and security,

while at the same time removing the protagonists

even further from the climate of tranquility and

confidence so necessary for a negotiated

settlement of the Namibian question.

Africa as a whole desires authentic and rapid

independence for Namibia. Although we are

convinced of the need to take into account

certain practical considerations, we believe that

resolution 435 (1978) remains the only basis for

a negotiated settlement of the Namibian question

that will bring about authentic independence, on

conditions acceptable to the Namibian people and

hence to the international community.

We have been following with keen interest the

consultations among the five members of the

Western contact group and all parties concerned,

and we have noted with satisfaction the

constructive approach of SWAPO and the front-line

States to the most recent proposals of the

contact group. South Africa must adopt a similar

approach in its consideration of these proposals

and respond to them without delay.

I should like to take this opportunity to repeat

our firm condemnation of the illegal occupation

of Namibia by South Africa and its repeated acts

of aggression against neighboring States, and we

appeal for an increase in material and financial

assistance to SWAPO in its just struggle for

national liberation. Aware of its

responsibilities towards Africa, Zaire will do

everything within its power and its means,

together with other members of the OAU and the

United Nations, to help Namibia to become

independent in 1983.

To talk of Namibia is in a sense also to refer to

the distressing situation in which the black

peoples of South Africa have been kept for

decades. To these victims of atrocious

humiliation, who are suffering in the middle of

the twentieth century, under the shameful yoke of

the criminal policy of we say that Zaire, in

unison with all the States of the world that

cherish peace, justice, freedom and equality,

reaffirms its solidarity in their just struggle

for national liberation and the recovery of their

rights.

The situation prevailing in South Africa has all

the characteristics of a typical colonial

situation, aggravated by the elevation of racism

and racial discrimination to the government

policy known as apartheid, an outrageous policy

which the United Nations and the whole civilized

world have condemned as a crime against humanity.

It follows from this condemnation that every

State, every member of the international

community, is duty-bound to help to ensure the

abolition and eradication of

and to refrain from any action that might

directly or indirectly give comfort to South

Africa in its pursuit of this policy and its

denial of the inalienable rights and fundamental

freedoms of the black population of South Africa.

It is our dearest hope to see emerge in South Africa a genuinely democratic

society governed by the majority and guaranteeing

the rights of all the minorities without

distinction as to race, color, sex or religion.

The situation which has arisen in the extremely

sensitive area of the Gulf with the persistence

of the conflict between the Islamic Republic of

Iran and Iraq, two brother countries members of

the non-aligned movement, is particularly

disturbing. We can only deplore the fact that the

efforts which have been made so far within the

United Nations and the non-aligned movement, as

well as the Organization of the Islamic

Conference, to bring about the peaceful

settlement of this conflict have not proved

successful.

We should like to appeal once again most urgently

to the parties to overcome their differences and

co-operate in good faith in a search for a

negotiated solution in accordance with the

purposes and principles of the Charter of the

United Nations. HO. The situation in South-West

and South-East Asia is another matter of profound

concern for the whole international community.

Indeed, at its thirty- fifth and thirty-sixth

sessions the General Assembly adopted resolutions

which in particular condemned the invasion and

occupation of Kampuchea and Afghanistan and

demand the withdrawal of all foreign forces of

occupation from those countries. Unfortunately,

those resolutions have not been complied with.

Difficulties persist with regard to the

implementation of those resolutions and the hopes

that their adoption had aroused seem to have been

dashed by the hardening of the positions of the

parties concerned.

In Kampuchea the military conflict continues. The

human, material and food situation of the Khmer

people both within the country and on its

frontiers has not improved.

In Afghanistan the foreign intervention and

occupation is continuing. That situation is

fraught with danger to international peace and

security.

Only strict respect for the relevant resolutions

of the United Nations, particularly General

Assembly resolutions 34/22, 35/6 and 36/5 on

Kampuchea and resolutions 35/37 and 36/34 on

Afghanistan can bring about peace in these areas.

We therefore appeal urgently once again to the

foreign occupation forces to evacuate these

countries and leave their peoples to determine

their own destinies in freedom.

In the Korean peninsula there has been constant

tension for 37 years now as a result of the

division of the country by the victors in the

Second World War. We believe that it is for the

Korean people alone to settle the problem by

peaceful means through dialogue between the North

and the South, in a climate free from any

external pressure or interference, in accordance

with the principles of the Charter. In the

interests of peace and detente, the United

Nations should take new initiatives to create

favorable conditions for the resumption of

negotiations between the two Koreas.

Faithful to its policy of non-alignment, Zaire

has recognized the two Koreas and maintains with

both excellent relations of friendship and

co-operation. We believe that the admission to

the United Nations of South Korea and North

Korea, without prejudice to subsequent

reunification, could, as in the case of the two

Germanies, contribute to an easing of tension in

that part of the world.

With regard to the question of Cyprus, the

resumption of intercommunal talks appears to us

to be the best method of bringing about a just

and lasting settlement of the crisis afflicting

that country. We believe that the United Nations,

through the Secretary- General, should continue

its efforts to help the two communities to find a

negotiated solution to their differences and

create the necessary conditions for the

restoration of peace.

In the economic field, the international

community is facing a serious crisis, a symptom

of a profound breakdown in the structures of the

present international economic and monetary

order. Indeed the present international economic

order is widening the gap between North and South

and seems incapable of dealing with the problems

facing both the developing countries and the

developed countries themselves. There are

tendencies towards protectionism and impediments

of all kinds to international trade. Similarly,

the machinery of co-operation is being distorted

by prolonging relations of domination and

exploitation. In this regard, the situation

contains the seeds of a grave threat to

international peace and security, particularly

because the industrialized countries are

continuing to refuse to make the structural

changes called for by the vast majority of the

States of the world.

The various economic summit meetings of the

countries of the North in which the countries of

the South had placed so much hope have not lived

up to their expectations; the multilateral trade

negotiations continue to mark time, while the

global negotiations remain deadlocked.

In the realm of trade, the developed countries

continue to be both judges and parties by

unilaterally setting prices for primary

commodities, to the detriment of the third world

countries, for which the increasingly serious

decline in the terms of trade, the high rate of

inflation, unemployment and the increase in the

burden of foreign debt lend dramatic dimensions

to the crisis.

The negotiations under way in UNCTAD, in the

framework of the Integrated Programme for

commodities, have made no progress. Of the 18

products on the Nairobi indicative list only

coffee, cocoa, tin, natural rubber and sugar have

been the subject of agreement. The Common Fund

for Commodities which should in particular

contribute to the financing of measures for

commodity development so as to improve market

structures and strengthen competitiveness and the

long-term prospects for these products, has not

yet been put into effect.

We hope that the wealthy countries will

demonstrate a greater measure of political will

so that the sixth session of UNCTAD, which will

be held in June 1983 in Belgrade, can produce

better results than the fifth session.

In the industrial field, the objectives pursued

since the Second General Conference of UNIDO in

Lima in 1975 are far from having been attained.

We hope that everything possible will be done to

ensure the success of the Fourth General

Conference of UNIDO, which will be held in Kenya,

and we appeal once again for a spirit of sincere

co-operation on the part of the industrialized

countries.

The Vienna Programme of Action on Science and

Technology for Development, adopted in August

1979,s has so far not even begun to be

implemented and no agreement has been reached on

its financing. The same applies to an

international code of conduct for the transfer of

technology negotiated within the framework of

UNCTAD. I should like to stress the role and the

importance which the third world countries

attribute to this question of the transfer of

technology as a catalyst for development, whether

it be within the framework of the International

Development Strategy for the Third United Nations

Development Decade in the more general framework

of the establishment of a new international

economic order.

It is appropriate here to make an urgent appeal

to all Member States to embrace a new ethic of

international solidarity, without which no

progress is possible. At a time of

interdependence, we believe it essential that

international development aid, technical and

financial assistance and all other forms of

international co-operation be derived from this

new ethic and be based upon the principles of

complementarity and mutual advantage. Indeed to

be effective the organizing of development aid

and technical and financial assistance must take

into account the mutual interests of the parties

as well as the specific realities and the dignity

of the recipients.

If there is one thing on the credit side of the

balance sheet for this year, it is undoubtedly

the adoption on 30 April of the United Nations

Convention on the Law of the Sea. We must,

however, deplore the fact that it was adopted by

a vote and not by consensus and that some States

have not felt that they could undertake to sign

it. This Convention represents a victory for

reason and it is an important step towards bringing

about the new international economic order.

The results achieved after such difficult

negotiations have certainly not satisfied all

delegationsómy own includedóbut nevertheless they

constitute a basis which will allow for some

improvement in the course of the work of the

Preparatory Commission for the International

Sea-Bed Authority and for the International

Tribunal for the Law of the Sea.

There remain a certain number of problems,

particularly for the developing countries that

are land producers of the same mineral resources

as those found in the sea-bed and ocean floor,

and the Republic of Zaire has already, from this

very rostrum, drawn the attention of the United

Nations Conference on the Law of the Sea to the

harm that may be done to land producers,

including ourselves, as a result of uncontrolled

exploitation of the resources of the seabed and

the ocean floor and any disruption of the

structure of international markets which may

follow.

That is the international environment in which

economic relations between States are evolving at

present. All projection studies indicate that

this international environment will continue to

be marked by an increase in protectionism on the

part of the industrialized countries, their

adherence to an outmoded and anachronistic

international economic order and the erosion of

multilateral co-operation, leaving the way clear

for politically and ideologically inspired

bilateralism.

In the view of my delegation, the time has come

for the international community to take specific

measures to ensure the launching of global

negotiations under the auspices of the United

Nations, which is the only appropriate framework

for a global, coherent and integrated approach,

in conformity with General Assembly resolution

34/138 and the Charter of Economic Rights and

Duties of States.

In parallel with these actions, the developing

countries should continue and strengthen their

efforts to promote fruitful and mutually

advantageous cooperation. We cannot repeat too

often that that should be considered a

fundamental requirement for the establishment of

the new international economic order. It must

make it possible for us to constitute a force,

not against the North, but to strengthen our own

position as equal and full partners in

international economic relations.

It is in this context that we call upon the

international community to support the Caracas

Programme of Action^ and the Lagos Plan of

Action, the purpose of which is to put into

effect a strategy of collective autonomy.

Another question which continues to concern the

international community is that of hunger in the

world. My delegation believes that to build a

world system of effective food security, rather

than confine ourselves to emergency assistance,

the international community should over the long

term focus its efforts on increasing agricultural

production.

I turn now to the questions of the draft World

Charter for Nature, which is before us for

adoption at this session, and Zaire's particular

problems in transport, transit and access to

international markets.

It will be recalled that in its resolution 35/7

on the draft World Charter for Nature, the

General Assembly invited Member States to conduct

their activities in recognition of the supreme

importance of protecting natural systems,

maintaining the balance and quality of nature, in

the interests of present and future generations.

Last year, at the thirty-sixth session, the

Secretary-General presented to the General

Assembly the revised draft World Charter, which

took account of all the observations made by the

vast majority of Member States. Following the

adoption of the Nairobi Declaration, which

recognized the fragility of the environment, I

should like to express the sincere hope that the

final version of the draft World Charter will be

adopted by consensus.

With regard to Zaire's problems in the matter of

transport, transit and access to international

markets, I remind the Assembly that because of

its geographical situation Zaire was placed in

the category of semi-land-locked countries by

UNCTAD resolution 110 (V), adopted at Manila in

1979." That resolution called for studies to be

carried out with a view to helping countries in

that category overcome their difficulties.

Following that, the General Assembly adopted

resolutions 34/193, 35/59 and 36/139 in 1979,

1980 and 1981, and the Economic and Social

Council adopted its resolution 1981/68 in July

1981. The Republic of Zaire hopes that at the

current session the Assembly will consider

concrete measures to accelerate the

implementation of those resolutions, on the basis

of the Secretary-General's report.

That is the substance of what Zaire wishes to say

at this session, which, as I have already said,

is being held at a particularly difficult time in

the evolution of international relations. At the

political level, the arms race and the many areas

of tension in the world threaten international

peace and security. In the field of economics,

the developed countries, the beneficiaries of an

anachronistic international economic cadre,

continue to resist the legitimate claims of two

thirds of mankind, while recession, inflation,

rising unemployment, the constant deterioration

in the terms of trade, imbalances in the balance

of payments and external debts are exacerbating

the economic difficulties of the third world.

In spite of these negative findings and the

gloomy prospects, the Republic of Zaire reaffirms

its unshakable faith in the ideals of the United

Nations and proclaims its devotion to the

principles and purposes of the Charter, for, as

President Mobutu Sese Seko said from this very

rostrum at the twenty-eighth session of the

Assembly, on 4 October 1973:

"... thanks to the UN and through it, we shall be

able to do more to promote co-operation among the

inhabitants of our planet in the economic,

cultural, scientific and technical fields, for

the building of a better, fairer and more just

world, in absolute respect for the authenticity

of everyone."