India, 1982

Mr. President, allow me to congratulate you on

your unanimous election to the presidency of the

thirty-seventh session of the general Assembly.

We are gratified that a representative of

Hungary, with which we enjoy close and cordial

relations, has been chosen to preside over our

deliberations.

44. I would like to take this opportunity to

express our appreciation of the resolute and

efficient leadership provided to the Assembly

during its thirty sixth session by your

predecessor, Mr. Ismat Kittani.

45. I would also like to pay a tribute to the

Secretary- General, Mr. Perez de CueHar, who has

won our admiration and acclaim for his efficient

stewardship of the United Nations this year and

for his skilful handling of several crisis

situations. We wish him greater successes in the

future.

4b. India approaches the present session of the

General Assembly with renewed commitment to the

principles and purposes of the United Nations.

The efforts of the United Nations to bring these

principles into the realm of reality deserve the

support of each one of us, for mankind has a

great stake in its success. Our endeavor to

contribute to its success, therefore, is dictated

by our own will to survive and to pursue our path

towards progress in a congenial international

climate, free from domination and exploitation.

49. Building up self-reliance internally and

maintenance of an independent policy externally

have been the twin objectives of the Government

if India since our independence. Traditions

inherited from our ancient past still remain with

us, but the leaders of modem India have succeeded

in inculcating a spirit of adventure and inquiry

in our people, making them receptive to evolving

contemporary ideas. In this sense our tradition

itself has not remained static; it has enabled

change to come about, with stability and

continuity being retained all the time. Side by

side with the development of a rural economy,

which provides sustenance for the majority of the

people of India, we have built a modem industrial

infrastructure which enables us to keep pace with

the spectacular scientific and technological

advances taking place in the world. Our mixed

economy, in which the public sector occupies the

commanding heights but the private sector

provides the majority of the means of

production, has proved its resilience and

strength. Foreign collaboration and technical

co-operation have provided an impetus to our

development, but both have operated within the

framework of our own national priorities,

determined by an integrated planning process. The

stability that we have acquired through our

democratic institutions, which give our people a

sense of deep involvement, has proved propitious

for our progress.

50. In his thought-provoking report on the

work of the Organization, the Secretary-General

has painted a grim picture of the world that we

live in today. Things have come to such a sorry

pass that unless they are checked, we will, he

feels, approach "a new international anarchy".

These are somber words, coming as they do from

the Secretary-General. In his very first address

to the General Assembly, Prime Minister

Jawaharlal Nehru had warned us that it was

becoming increasingly apparent that if we did not

proceed speedily enough towards a world order, we

would be left with no order in the world. If

after 37 years of its existence, the Organization

is unable to offer anything more than mere

palliatives, the time has indeed come for a

reassessment, some soul- searching and, above

all, concrete remedial action. The

Secretary-General's hands need to be strengthened

so that he can advise, and if necessary, even

prod the Security Council into action, to prevent

outbreaks of fresh conflicts. For it is painfully

obvious that the Security Council, the discharge

of whose responsibilities is predicated on the

principle of concurrence among its permanent

members, stands paralyzed and immobilized because

of the inability of the permanent members to rise

above their narrow national objectives to

harmonize their positions in the cause of peace.

51. Although all of us, being representatives

of nation States, believe strongly in the

well-known attributes of national sovereignty, it

should not be difficult for us to see that the

common good of mankind ought to have a certain

overriding priority in the scheme of things. In

any event, national interest cannot be inimical

to the common good of humanity: the two have to

go hand in hand and be combined harmoniously,

despite some seemingly disadvantageous positions

in the short run at the national level.

52. AH of us are committed to the goal of

general and complete disarmament, particularly

nuclear disarmament. People in every part of the

world have become acutely aware that, through no

fault of their own, they would perish if

strategies nuclear deterrence were tested out,

since they would obviously be tested out on them.

They also know only too well that after a nuclear

conflict either they would not be living at all,

or, if they do live, that life would be so

horrible that death would be preferable to it. It

is this awareness that has forced multitudes of

people, irrespective of color, creed, religion,

nationality or political persuasion, tc go out on

to the streets to urge sanity in dealing with

matters of life and death. Their loud and clear

voices signify that there could be no agenda more

urgent than that for devising immediate measures

for nuclear disarmament and the prevention of

nuclear war.

53. In response to this overwhelming popular

sentiment the world over, the Prime Minister of

India, Mrs. Indira Gandhi, presented at the

special session on disarmament this year a

concrete program of action which included the

negotiation of a binding convention on the

non-use of nuclear weapons, a freeze on the

production of nuclear weapons and fissionable

material used in the manufacture thereof, the

suspension of nuclear-weapon tests, and the

resumption of negotiations for concluding a

treaty on general and complete disarmament. India

submitted a number of proposals and draft

resolutions to facilitate the beginning of a

serious nuclear disarmament program. Yet the

opposition of nuclear-weapon States prevented the

Assembly at the special session from taking any

concrete steps in this regard. The so- called

consensus document that finally emerged was so

insipid as to be meaningless. In the

circumstances, India had no choice but to

disassociate itself from the conclusions in the

document.

54. The outcome of the special session was

perhaps yet another instance of what the

Secretary-General describes as the lack of

capacity of the Organization to come to terms

with the present reality. Nevertheless, we shall

not despair, despite the attempts of a few but

powerful nations to hold peace hostage to their

nuclear arsenals and to their own perceived

security interests. There have been, however,

some positive albeit feeble indications of late.

We welcome the evolution in the attitude of some

nuclear-weapon Powers. It is our earnest hope

that at this session India's proposals will be

considered in all seriousness and that decisions

will be taken that will rid the world of weapons

of mass destruction.

55. It is gratifying to think that in a world

teetering on the brink of nuclear disaster the

vast majority of humanity prefers, wisely, to

keep out of military alliances devised by great

Powers. The non-aligned nations know perfectly

well that military alliances and interlocking

arrangements do not guarantee peace and

stability, but on the contrary, serve as a

potential invitation to intervention and

involvement in strategic conflicts. The

preservation of peace, therefore, is at the core

of the philosophy of non-alignment developed by

our founding fathers. It becomes more and more

relevant with every passing day. Its practice has

enabled India, as our Prime Minister pledged at

the time of our independence, to look at the rest

of the world with clear and friendly eyes: clear

since we are not obliged to look through alien

glasses of any hue, and friendly since we believe

that mutually beneficial relations can be forged

on the basis of equality. Non- alignment, which

in our lexicon is a synonym for freedom of

thought and action, has invested our

independence with meaning and content. It has

also sharpened our determination to oppose the

evils of imperialism, colonialism, racism and

all manifestations of foreign domination. The

value and relevance of out non-alignment have

been demonstrated not only by the increasing

number of adherents it has found, but also by the

qualitative change that it has helped to bring

about in international relations.

56. Despite manifest diversity in political

and economic outlook and an understandable

preoccupation with regional problems, the

essential unity of purpose of non-aligned

countries remains intact on matters of vital and

crucial global interest and concern. The unique

bond among them is the voice of sanity which they

have raised with consistency and determination.

In turn, this unity has sustained the prestige

and influence of the non-aligned movement through

the constantly shifting patterns in international

relationships. India is honored that in these

difficult times it has been called upon to host

the Seventh Conference of Heads of State or

Government of Non- Aligned Countries. While we

are naturally grateful for this opportunity, we

are mindful of the tremendous responsibility it

entails. With utmost sincerity, I promise that

India will do all in its power to be worthy of

the trust which the movement has reposed in it.

57. Our neighborhood, the South Asian

subcontinent, is currently going through a

process of regional co-operation on the basis of

mutual benefit. India is gratified at these very

desirable developments, which are in consonance

with its own efforts over the years to build

bridges of understanding among the countries of

the region. True, external interference and

intervention continue to sow suspicions and

inflame passions. An unprecedented build-up of

sophisticated arms, unrelated either to

reasonable needs or to perceived threats, still

points to the continuance of strategic consensus

situations so detrimental to regional

independence and harmony. Yet one can perhaps

hope more than hitherto that the subcontinent

will be able to usher in an era of peace which is

more comprehensive than the mere absence of war,

and encompasses relationships of positive

friendship and co-operation.

58. The slender thread which the

Secretary-General has found in the search for a

political settlement of the situation in

Afghanistan is another development that has been

welcomed in our part of the world. There is

universal reaffirmation of the inadmissibility of

interference in the internal affairs of States,

as also of the introduction of foreign troops

into any country. Here again, given the prospect

of success of the Secretary-General's effort,

India feels gratified that its own approach to

finding a political solution has been vindicated.

59. We commend the commencement of the Geneva

talks and trust that they will pick up momentum

hereafter, to enter substantive areas. We feel it

is high time they did, and our feeling is in line

with what the Afghan people urges.

60. Geographically distant from us but

equally close to our hearts are the friendly

people of Kampuchea, who are struggling valiantly

to remove the ravages caused by a heartless

dictatorial regime. The advent of an alliance of

convenience, whose real content is too thinly

veiled to need any unveiling, should not distract

our attention. Once the fear of the return of the

holocaust is removed and the threat to their

territorial integrity and sovereignty is ended,

the people of Kampuchea will be willing—nay,

eager—to get foreign troops to leave their sail.

The expedients improvised for seating the forces

without legitimacy in these chambers can hardly

help either the process of healing the wounds of

Kampuchea or of finding an acceptable political

solution. What is needed is the ending of

confrontation in South-East Asia, which alone

could have a welcome impact on the stability and

prosperity of the entire region.

61. The security environment in the Indian Ocean

region has further deteriorated because of the

increased build-up of the military presence of

great Powers, contrary to the wishes of the

non-aligned littoral and hinterland States. The

implementation of the historic general Assembly

resolution 2832 (XXVI) declaring the Indian Ocean

a zone of peace, adopted in 1971, has remained a

distant dream. Theories of balance and doctrines

of deterrence are being advanced in order to

justify the introduction of sophisticated

weaponry into the area.

62. The Conference on the Indian Ocean,

originally scheduled to be held in 1981 in

Colombo, is still postponed at the behest of

those who are far removed from the area.

Simultaneously, efforts are afoot to subvert the

fundamental elements of the Declaration set out

in the 1971 resolution and to distort its

essential framework. We believe that the time has

come for the commencement of the process of the

elimination of foreign military presence from the

Indian Ocean, that the Colombo Conference should

be held come what may, in accordance with the new

schedule, and that it should address itself to

the question in a forthright manner.

63. The shifting of fortunes in the war

between Iraq and the Islamic Republic of Iran and

the colossal loss of lives and property has once

again highlighted the futility of war as a means

of settling disputes. I personally have had the

experience of participating in the peace-making

effort on the basis of a mandate given to my

colleagues from Cuba, Zambia and the Palestine

Liberation Organization [FLO] and to me at the

Conference of Ministers for Foreign Affairs of

Non-Aligned Countries at New Delhi in 1981. My

colleagues and I are convinced that, while there

can be no victor or vanquished, the damage

inflicted on each other by these two neighbors

will only weaken their ability to meet the

challenges that face them as developing countries.

64. The recent conflagration in West Asia

resulting in the virtual destruction of Beirut

and the horrid genocide of the Lebanese and

Palestinian population have shaken the conscience

of mankind to the very core. It was nothing short

of a holocaust, imposed, strangely and

ironically, by none other than Israel.

Ironically, again, the withdrawal of the PLO from

Beirut, to save innocent civilians from further

suffering and devastation, itself led to the

gruesome massacre of Palestinians in Shatila and

Sabra. Israel's responsibility, indeed

complicity, is self-evident. Those who had

undertaken to protect the Palestinian and

Lebanese civilians in Beirut in the wake of the

PLO's withdrawal must also share the blame for

the criminal bloodshed.

65. The dispersal of the heroic Palestinians

will neither weaken their will to fight for their

inalienable rights nor bring peace to the area.

Occupation of the land of its neighbors will not

guarantee Israel's security; the effect, if

anything, will be just the opposite. A

comprehensive solution consisting of Israel's

withdrawal from all Arab territories occupied

since 1967, the establishment of a Palestinian

State and mutual guarantees of security among the

States of the region must be achieved. There now

seems to be greater understanding of the fact

that no comprehensive solution will be achieved

without the active involvement of the PLO, the

representative of the Palestinian people. In the

gory drama in Lebanon, the PLO has demonstrated

great heroism and courage. The PLO and other Arab

nations have since shown great statesmanship in

evolving and adopting the Fez Charter", the Final

Declaration of the Twelfth Arab Summit

Conference, whose proposals deserve very serious

consideration.

66. In recent weeks there have been important

proposals made by world leaders. They vary in

approach and content, but fundamental to all of

them is the recognition that the uprooted people

of Palestine should secure their legitimate

rights. In this case, as with other problems, the

slowing down of the effort to find a solution

often results in the creation of vested interests

in the continued non-solution of the problem.

This leads to prevarication and circumvention

and a long stalemate. This has happened in West

Asia, with the disastrous consequences which we

are now witnessing. Therefore the quest for a

comprehensive solution should be pursued

relentlessly. Instead of indulging in a

fine-print scrutiny of the various plans mooted

so far and losing valuable time in endless

discussions, immediate steps should be taken at

the United Nations to devise a suitable mechanism

for finding a permanent solution to the problem

of West Asia. This is the very minimum that needs

to be done in expiation of the rivers of innocent

blood that have been allowed to flow in Lebanon.

67. Racism and colonialism still rage in

southern Africa today, with little progress

either in the elimination of or in the

liberation of Namibia. The people of South Africa

remains in bondage, despite the universal

condemnation of the obnoxious discriminatory laws

of the Pretoria regime. We have been awaiting the

outcome of the contacts being conducted by the

five Western States for the implementation of

the United Nations plan for free elections in

Namibia. The South West Africa People's

Organization [SWAPO], the sole and authentic

representative of the Namibian people, which

negotiated in good faith for a cease-fire and

free elections, has reason to apprehend that

South Africa and its supporters have been

creating an illusion of progress in these talks

merely to link up the situation in Namibia with

extraneous issues. The international community

will, as it must, intensify its demand for

punitive action against South Africa under the

Charter, if the current efforts for a negotiated

settlement fail to achieve results. South

Africa's supporters will find it difficult to

shield it from the wrath of the world for very

long.

68. Several old items on the agenda continue

to engage our attention. Thus the situation in

Cyprus, unfortunately, still remains frozen. In

spite of repeated calls of the movement of

non-aligned countries and the support of the

international community in general the relevant

resolutions of the United Nations have not yet

been implemented. We trust that the inter-

communal talks will soon bear fruit and the

question resolved free from external interference

and in accordance with decisions of the United

Nations.

69. More recently, despite the efforts of our

sagacious Secretary-General, conflict and

bloodshed in the South Atlantic could not be

averted.

70. In Central America there are dangerous

portents of intervention and destabilization. The

United Nations cannot remain a mute spectator and

must lend support to all efforts for dialogue and

negotiation to create mutual confidence and to

resolve outstanding disputes.

71. It is with great satisfaction that we

note the long and at times difficult negotiations

successfully concluded with the adoption of a

universal and comprehensive Convention on the

Law of the Sea. The Convention is a symbol of

shared expectations of the international

community and represents a major contribution to

world peace and the new international economic

order. Later this year, in December, in Jamaica

the Final Act will be open for signature. It is

our earnest hope that the Convention on the Law

of the Sea will be endorsed by all States with

prompt signatures and ratifications.

72. International co-operation for

development is the topic of our age. We strongly

believe that our approach to development and

co-operation will have to be informed by certain

objective and fundamental considerations. First,

the arms race is not compatible with the movement

towards a more stable global development and

sustainable international order. Secondly, the

international community cannot aspire to durable

peace so long as a major component of it remains

underdeveloped. Thirdly, orderly development and

continued progress can take place optimally only

in an atmosphere of harmony and co-operation.

Fourthly, co-operation demands that the

privileges which the developed countries have

been enjoying so far should not be turned into

rights and that the concerns of the developing countries

be taken into account.

73. Some months ago, in a special session,

the General Assembly brought out clearly the

close connection between disarmament and

development, but failed to draw the requisite

conclusions from it.

74. A year ago the two co-Chairmen of the

International Meeting on Co-operation and

Development, which was held at Cancun, referred

to the North-South relationship as one of the

most serious challenges to be faced in the coming

decades by mankind, together with the maintenance

of peace. The theme of Cancun was "Co-operation

and Development". Regrettably, there was no

agreement as to how the real challenge of the

North-South relationship was to be met, though,

as our Prime Minister observed after the Cancun

meeting the door was kept open for dialogue.

75. One can only hope that world statesmen

will take an enlightened and long-term view of

history. We also need to promote world-wide

political understanding, with the involvement of

the public, of the connection between the

North-South relationship and the maintenance of

peace. This would contribute significantly to

generating the requisite political will that is

sorely needed to overcome the present paralysis

in the North-South dialogue.

76. Viewed against this background, it is

most disheartening that the adverse effects of

the continued deadlock on the negotiating front

have been compounded by an actual deterioration

in the North- South relationship. As the report

of the Committee on Development Planning on its

eighteenth session^ has illustrated, there is

both qualitative and quantitative deterioration

in multilateral economic co-operation. Examples

of this are increasing protectionism, high

interest rates, fast-diminishing concessional

assistance, the secular decline in prices of many

commodities, difficulties in access to the

international capital market and the injection of

non-economic factors and political considerations

in the functioning of multilateral economic

institutions. For the first time since the Second

World War, the developing countries, taken as a

group, have registered a fall in their per capita

output.

77. Two years ago the Assembly adopted the

International Development Strategy for the Third

United Nations Development Decade. However, it

remains a paper document. There is all round

failure on the part of the developed countries to

fulfill their commitments. There is no agreement,

even on the procedures for the global

negotiations that were expected to contribute to

the implementation of the Strategy.

78. Recent developments show that while the

developing countries do have a conciliatory

approach, there is not enough encouraging

response from the developed countries. Several

of them are not negative, yet there are some that

are not even prepared to think in terms of a

consensus that can bind the North and the South.

They are still to be convinced that

comprehensive and global negotiations will in

the long run facilitate the emergence of a viable

co-operative relationship among the nations of

the world. As for the developing countries, they

are not interested in a zero- sum game, but in a

positive-sum approach. They are conscious of the

fact that the progress in regard to the

achievement of the new international economic

order is inextricably linked with the world

economic recovery program. Thus, today world

economic problems can be solved only by joint

actions. There is no alternative for the

international community but to move beyond the

present stalemate to more fruitful, durable and

just international economic relationships.

79. Let me now turn to the current problems

arising from the pursuit of anti-inflationary

policies, protectionist trends, high interest

rates and the drying up cf the sources of

concessional flows. The anti- inflationary

policies that have been adopted by some developed

countries are not conducive to growth and

employment. Consequently, there has been a

decline in the price per unit of exports by

developing countries of their raw materials and

primary products. The exports of industrial products

of developing countries have been adversely

affected by growing protectionism. The high

interest rates are causing serious problems in

regard to debt burden and access to international

capital markets. The International Development

Association [IDA] is in deep trouble. All this

makes the task of developing countries extremely

difficult. The situation is particularly grave

for oil-importing developing countries in regard

to their balance-of-payments position and the

development of their energy resources, which

require large capital outlay.

80. We should thus lose no time in devising

feasible strategies that are complementary to

those predicated on global negotiations for

restructuring international economic relations.

Urgent steps need to be taken for a world

economic recovery program and for building upon

the limited gains that have been secured through

North-South co-operation. Agreement should be

sought wherever possible. Detailed guidelines for

further work should be drawn up so as to

facilitate thorough discussions and eventual

agreement on all connected matters at the sixth

session of UNCTAD, where this matter will be high

on the agenda.

81. Numerous international conferences have

stressed the need for making efforts concurrent

with global negotiations in order to achieve

progress in areas of critical importance to

developing countries such as food, energy, trade

and financial flows. The Versailles Economic

Summit had outlined certain practical areas for

action. We would urge developed countries not to

use lack of progress on global negotiations as an

alibi for inaction. We expect that they would

translate their suggestions into concrete and

co-operative programmes of action that would

contribute to the development of the developing

countries.

82. A broad consensus now exists, and indeed,

this was one concrete gain in Cancun—on evolving

a strategy to increase food production. We hope

that a well-thought-out international program

would emerge in this regard. Efforts must

continue to devise a global strategy for food

security and for constant updating of measures

and actions. It is important to reach agreement

on an international wheat trade agreement for

stability of supplies and prices.

83. In the field of energy the most important

task is to help oil-importing developing

countries to exploit their own energy resources.

At the same time, much greater research

activities and financial resources are needed for

developing alternative sources of energy. Ongoing

studies should be completed early in regard to

the securing of financing for an increased

program of energy investment through an energy

affiliate of the World Bank or a special fund, or

other agreed arrangements.

84. A further expansion and liberalization of

the International Monetary Fund [IMF]

compensatory facility is called for. Indeed, we

need to give greater consideration to the

establishment of a completely new

commodity-related scheme. Predictability in the

earnings, supply and demand of commodities is an

objective which we should seriously pursue. This

calls for adequate and effective price

stabilization arrangements.

85. The deterioration in the world trading

situation is especially affecting countries with

relatively low per capita income. The

international trading regime which has emerged

neither adheres to the principles and rules

envisaged by GATT, nor is it responsive to new

circumstances. What is necessary is the most

careful consideration of the requirements of an

international trading order that will be

efficient, equitable and effectively promote the

development of developing countries. For this

there should be a return to a set of agreed

principles in international trading

relationships, particularly through practical

support for the principles of multilateralism,

non-discrimination, non- reciprocity vis-a-vis

developing countries, transparency and

predictability consistent with special and

differential treatment to developing countries.

Progressive liberalization of the trade in

textiles, clothing, the leather industry and

other consumer durables is a matter of great

importance to the industrial development of

developing countries. The developing countries

possess comparative advantages in these areas. We

expect that the GATT ministerial meeting and the

sixth session of UNCTAD would agree on concrete

measures in this regard.

86. The situation created by the second

massive oil price rise is qualitatively different

and more acute than that faced by the world

community at the time of the first energy crisis

less than 10 years ago. The growth momentum of

the developing countries was then maintained

through flows of international finance on

suitable terms to the countries most adversely

affected by the crisis and through new modalities

of concessional developmental assistance. No

similar effort is visible today or even being

considered. Instead, private capital and

investments are suggested as a solution to the

problems of developing countries. While private

capital can be useful in certain areas,

experience clearly shows that it cannot provide

resources for long-term development aiming at

social improvement and stability with low or no

market profit. It cannot alleviate the

balance-of-payments burdens of developing

countries. Above all, multilateral aid should

not be made conditional on corresponding in flow

of private investment. Similarly, the increasing

recourse to exclusive bilateralism continues and

must be resisted to the extent such bilateralism

tends to obstruct multilateral co-operation and

is pursued at the expense of the latter.

87. Thus, the international monetary and

financial system is increasingly pushing

developing countries towards adjustment policies

that seriously undermine their stability. This is

happening at a time when the oil-importing

developing countries are making efforts against

such heavy odds as increasing exports during a

time of declining world demand, raising higher

and higher resources domestically in order to

finance the same volume of imports; and bringing

about reduction in already low levels of

consumption in order to increase investments and

savings. There is a limit to which our countries

can be pushed.

88. Co-operation among developing countries

is now viewed both as an essential component of

the new international economic order and as an

important instrument for bringing it about. Three

years ago, the Sixth Conference of Heads of State

or Government of Non-Aligned Countries at Havana

had agreed on policy guidelines for reinforcing

the collective self- reliance of developing

countries. We note with satisfaction that a

process has now been set in motion which is

continuously enriching the concept, practice and

content of economic and technical co-operation

among developing countries.

89. Concomitant support measures by

international organizations would be of great

help in technical preparations for major

South-South undertakings such as, for instance,

the establishment of the global system of trade

preferences among developing countries and the

setting up of a South-South bank. We believe that

economic co-operation among developing countries

can make a significant contribution to world

economic recovery. We trust that the Assembly

will give due and favorable consideration to

these matters.

90. This is not the moment to think in terms

of mutually exclusive alternatives. The present

sorry state of affairs can be repaired only by

action on all fronts. We need bilateral as well

as multilateral co-operation, official

development assistance as well as private flows

of capital, North-South co-operation as well as

South-South co-operation, global negotiations for

restructuring international economic relations as

well as concurrent efforts for securing progress

in sectoral areas. Let us, therefore, not engage

in futile debates, but work honestly to secure

concrete results. I trust that our deliberations

in the Assembly will lead us to this path.

91. The German philosopher Hegel believed

that a notable contribution of man to

civilization was the creation of the

nation-State, which provides the individual with

the opportunity of finding the full satisfaction

of his needs in co-operation with pie community.

This Organization, composed of 157 nation States,

represents the quintessence of the civilization

that mankind has labored hard over the centuries

to build. The Prime Minister of India, Shrimati

Indira Gandhi, recently observed:

"One of the most fascinating riddles of history

is what makes a group of people share a sense of

common destiny. Almost always this is the result

of being together in hardship and humiliation;

often it comes from being summoned to a heroic

effort by a great figure or group of people who

inspire them with a vision of truth or glory''.

The community of nations, as practically every

distinguished speaker has stressed in the

Assembly, is confronted with an economic,

political and moral crisis. Such adversity

should, instead of dividing us, reinforce our

resolve to seek and secure our common destiny.

With such a distinguished gathering of leaders

from all over the world who have addressed and

are going to address the Assembly, we cannot

afford to fail in finding that vision of truth

and glory. I should like to conclude with the

conviction that if we pledge to act together, we

will overcome the crisis that faces us today.