Mauritania, 1982

It is a great pleasure to extend congratulations,

on behalf of the delegation of the Islamic

Republic of Mauritania, to the President on his

unanimous election to guide this thirty-seventh

session of the General Assembly. This honour is

undoubtedly due to his personal qualities as a

statesman and diplomat, and is also a tribute to

his country, Hungary. In discharging these high

functions he may be assured of the availability

of our delegation and its constant desire to

co-operate with him. I should also like to thank

his predecessor, Mr. Kittani, for the exemplary

way, displaying constant tact and objectivity, in

which he conducted the thirty-sixth session of

the General Assembly and the subsequent special

sessions.

To the Secretary-General the Mauritanian

delegation and I personally would like to extend

the sincere expression of our esteem. The report

on the work of the Organization which he has

submitted bears witness to his great qualities of

courage, frankness and far-sightedness.

The picture of our universe today is a terrifying

one. It is not worthy of mankind which has come

of age and should therefore be united and be

responsible. What is our verdict? Admittedly,

there has been agreement on the United Nations

Convention on the Law of the Sea, but with the

abstention of the majority of the developed

countries, in defiance of our ideology; it has

proved impossible to make even a timid first step

towards the global negotiations; there has been a

general reduction in aid and development; the

special session on disarmament ended in a notable

failure which may have sinister consequences; the

conflicts in Palestine and the Middle East, in

southern Africa and Western Sahara; have

developed in a most dangerous way; localized

conflicts have continued in the Gulf, in

Afghanistan and in Kampuchea, and other centres

of tension have emerged.

In several respects the international situation

before us is even more gloomy and alarming than

what we faced just a year ago. We are all too

familiar with the disastrous effects of the

crisis which for some years has been

characteristic of international economic

relations for the developing countries. They

include imported inflation, a sharp rise in

interest rates, with a disastrous effect on the

debt burden, an unprecedented fall in commodity

prices, and increasingly restricted access to

capital markets.

The conclusions in the World Economy clearly show

that the recession in the industrialized

countries, far from receding has broadened and

extended to all groups of countries. That study

also concluded that the decline in general

economic growth was more widespread in 1981 than

at any other time since the Second World War.

Thus world trade has remained in a state of

stagnation for the second consecutive year. In

the field of aid for development we have seen a

considerable decrease in the share of this aid

allocated through multilateral channels.

The practical measures which were drawn up at the

United Nations Conference on Science and

Technology for Development, held at Vienna in

1979, and the United Nations Conference on New

and Renewable Sources of Energy, held at Nairobi

in 1981, have remained a dead letter through the

lack of funds. In a word, the development process

in the world has come to a halt, as the Committee

for Development. Planning pointed out in its most

recent report.

Everything indicates that the implementation of

the aims of the International Development

Strategy for the Third United Nations Development

Decade it is in a state of disarray. Such a

finding makes even clearer the urgent need to

seek just and equitable global solutions for the

serious problems which threaten all parts of the

international community.

The proposal by the Sixth Conference of Heads of

State or Government of Non-Aligned Countries for

the launching of global negotiations on

co-operation and development, which has been

before us Car three years now, is, in our

opinion, both methodologically speaking, and

because of its context, the only effective way to

bring about such solutions. While welcoming the

positive attitude of most of the developed

countries towards the most recent proposals made

by the Group of 77, we cannot disguise our

disappointment at seeing that these proposals

have encountered stubborn resistance from those

who, for good or bad reasons, still refuse to

recognize the wisdom, the moderation, the

practical and pragmatic nature of the formula

proposed.

The interdependence of national economies, and

the repercussions of policies of a particular

country or region on the world economy, no longer

need to be demonstrated. Fully aware of this

reality, and in view of the fact that the

North-South dialogue seems to be more and more

bogged down in the meanderings of procedure, the

developing countries have conceived and

implemented an outline for multifarious

cooperation among themselves. In this connection,

we are very pleased that the application of the

great Caracas Plan of Action seems to be along

the right lines. Economic co-operation among the

developing countries, however, should in no case

be regarded as an alternative to North-South

co-operation. Nor should it serve as a pretext

for the developed countries to shirk their

responsibilities.

10. After a decade of hard work, negotiations

on the law of the sea have finally been completed

and have resulted in the conclusion of the United

Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea,' which

was adopted here this year. Major hopes are now

placed in this Convention which, because of the

patience which has been shown and the mutual

concessions which have been made during its

drafting, is an encouraging example of what

global negotiations can be, if the self-same

determination to succeed and the necessary

political will were to motivate the great Powers

concerned.

11. The Islamic Republic of Mauritania

attaches particular interest to the action of the

United Nations and the specialized agencies in

the fields of food and agriculture. This interest

arises from the predominance in our economy of

activities linked with the rural sector, which

employs approximately 80 per cent of our

population, and which therefore is given absolute

priority, and is absorbing an ever-growing share

of the financial resources of the country.

Faithful to the spirit of the Lagos Plan which

made food self-sufficiency for any viable

development, my country has drawn up, and is

trying to implement, with the help of friendly

countries and international institutions, a

national policy based essentially on an increase

in production.

The relative improvement which has been observed

this year in the world food situation, because of

the abundant harvests in certain developed

countries, should not blind us to another reality

which is even more grievous, and that is that in

a number of developing countries food production

has increased much more slowly than the demand

for these products. Similarly, we favour the

proposal which was put forward at the last

session of the World Food Council that a food

reserve stock should be set up belonging to the

developing countries, with the aim of stabilizing

the grain market. Finally, in this connection I

should like to recall that the Permanent

Inter-State Committee on Drought Control in the

Sahel, of which my country is a member, has just

drawn up a programme, in co-operation with FAO,

designed to set up a cereal reserve for the

Sahelian region.

In my diagnosis I have referred to the causes of

the deterioration in the international economic

situation and the considerable decline in aid for

development which is chanelled through

multilateral institutions. No institution has

suffered more from the general lack of support

for the multilateral system of financing than the

International Development Association and UNDP.

The attitude of the donor countries is

particularly regrettable, since it is precisely

the action of these two bodies which is most in

harmony with and best adapted to the development

efforts of the third world.

The reconstitution of the International

Development Association resources at previously

agreed levels is therefore an immediate and

imperativeneed. The financial situation of UNDP

is all the more disquieting, since this is the

most important multilateral programme of the

United Nations system. The stagnation of UNDP

resources in 1980 and their decline in 1981 will,

according to all projections, have a disastrous

impact on the economies of developing countries,

where the programme plays a vital financing and

technical assistance role. However, we have no

doubt that, aware of the extreme seriousness of

the consequences of such a situation not only for

the developing countries but also for the

international community as a whole, those who are

financially able to do so will spare no effort or

measure to bring UNDP out of this crisis. In this

connection the forthcoming pledging conference

for operational activities will undoubtedly

provide a test of political will.

15. I do not wish to conclude my country's

statement on economic problems without referring

briefly to the disturbing aspect of the

phenomenon of desertification in our national

territory and our efforts to try to limit its

catastrophic effects. In my country, after many

years of drought, encroachment of the desert is

taking on increasingly alarming proportions.

Thus, the fertile areas of our national territory

have been reduced considerably because of the

disastrous results of a persisting drought.

Consequently, grain production has decreased from

100,000 to 26,000 tons. Of the 108 million

hectares which comprise our territory 15 million

had been classified as non-desert territory, of

which 93 per cent have now been desertification

in the course of the last 20 years. In order to

face up to such a situation, the Mauritanian

authorities have adopted severe regulations for

protecting the fauna and flora and, in 1981 set

up a National Committee to combat desertification

and declared a National Arbor Day.

16. Of course, in the Islamic Republic of

Mauritania, we are relying first and foremost on

the sense of sacrifice of our people and its

willingness to pursue faithfully the goals we

have set for ourselves. Nevertheless, the

financial and technical means required for

achieving this national programme satisfactorily

are well beyond our own possibilities.

17. In this connection we have benefited from

the valued assistance of friendly countries and

certain international organizations. I avail

myself of this opportunity to express our

gratitude to these friends —too numerous to be

mentioned by name here—who have demonstrated to

us their constant readiness to provide valuable

assistance. Our appreciation also goes to the

United Nations Sudano-Sahelian Office, which has

in our country played a primary role in our

national mobilization for the struggle against

the phenomenon of desertification and other

natural disasters.

18. At a time when all hopes for optimism

have been dashed by international economic

relations that are characterized by the growing

gap between the rich and poor countries and by

the obvious lack of political will to establish

the new international economic order in the near

future, the special session of the General

Assembly devoted to disarmament, held from 7 June

to 9 July this year, further heightened our

disappointment and frustration in this field

which is so vital for the security, if not the

survival, of our species. The fact that the

session proved unsuccessful should not, however,

deflect us from the objectives pursued by our

peoples for genuine and progressive disarmament

both in the nuclear field and in conventional

weapons. This vital objective would not only

ensure preservation of mankind's many gains but

also make available for the economic and social

progress of all peoples the enormous financial

resources at present devoted to the machinery of

death and destruction which is linked to the

industrial infrastructure and the environment.

19. Still in this area, the Islamic Republic

of Mauritania would like to see the creation of

denuclearized zones in Africa and the Middle

East. We should particularly like to draw

attention to the policies of nuclear armament of

Israel and South Africa and the growing

co-operation between these two racist entities.

20. Our country supports the demands of the

coastal countries of the Mediterranean and the

Indian Ocean for these two regions to be

transformed into zones of peace.

21. In 1981 we stated in this Hall that as

far as the Zionist entity was concerned the whole

world was wrong and Israel alone was right.

Despite our long experience of the practices,

falsifications and bad faith of the Zionist

usurper, we did not think that we would be so

accurate. Israel's suicidal folly, its arrogance,

its contempt for international legality and the

impunity it continues to enjoy have strengthened

its regime in the little heed it pays to

international public opinion, particularly the

United Nations, which is the conscience and

repository of the values of mankind and its

aspirations for peace and justice.

22. We shall not review the tragic events

which were visited upon our Lebanese and

Palestinian brothers in Lebanon. Nor shall we go

into the details of the long suffering of

innocent populations, witnessed by all mankind

that remained powerless but whose indignation was

aroused, and which ended with the indescribable

massacres of our brothers in Shatila and Sabra.

23. We should simply like to recall the facts

which confirm the striking resemblance between

the methods of the Nazi murderers and those of an

entity which claims to be the successor of the

victims of the holocausts and pogroms. Indeed, in

the Middle East, the Zionist entity is emulating

the Fascist regimes of days gone by and applying,

in all their horror, the universally condemned

practices of nazism in the form of so-called

preventive wars of aggression; the crossing of

international boundaries under the pretext of

defence; the methodical destruction and the siege

of the capital of a sovereign country and the

indiscriminate blockade imposed on civilian

populations through collective punishment; the

blind massacre of civilian populations by the

thousands and the bringing about of general

insecurity in the name of security for its own

citizens; and the genocide of an entire people

both on its usurped land in all its havens of

refuge.

24. This is an occasion to pay a tribute to

the courage of the fighters of the Palestine

Liberation Organization and to bow our heads in

memory of all the martyrs of the Palestinian

resistance.

25. Israel's disproportionate deployment of

brute force, its rejection of all moral codes and

its arrogant display of racial contempt and

religious fanaticism have demonstrated to the

entire membership of the Organization the real

purposes of the entity whose ideology can easily

be mistaken for exacerbated chauvinism, the

oppression of others and the denial of their

rights. Israel's stubborn refusal to bring about

peace in the Middle East unless it be on its own

conditions by legalizing its hegemony in the

region, which is the consistent policy of

Zionism, is today the subject of universal

condemnation. The pursuit of the plan undertaken

half a century ago for the physical elimination

of the Palestinian people and the usurpation of

its land shows that the goal of Zionist

implantation is to blot out all traces of its

crime by a "final solution" of sorry memory.

26. It goes without saying that neither the

Arab nation, the victim of this ongoing

aggression, nor the international community as a

whole can accept this diktat on the part of the

Zionist entity and the repeated challenges to any

global consensus and the relevant resolutions

that have time and again been adopted by the

Security Council and the General Assembly.

27. As has always been the case, genuine and

lasting peace in the Middle East and real

security for all must necessarily be based upon

the unconditional and complete withdrawal of

Israeli occupying forces from all occupied Arab

territories, including the Holy City of Al Quds

and the recovery by the Palestinian people, under

the leadership of its sole legitimate

representative, the PLO, of its inalienable

rights, particularly its sacred right to set up

its own sovereign State on the land of its

ancestors.

28. Any other approach would be to reward

arrogance, aggression and blackmail in that

region and would engender a new cycle of violence

that would endanger the stability of the entire

Middle East and peace throughout the world.

Despite the desire for peace which has undeniably

been shown on a number of occasions by the Arab

nation, the Zionist enemy persists in its

constant refusal to envisage any policies which

do not endorse its own tremendous territorial

appetite and its determination to annex

permanently the Syrian Golan Heights and the

Palestinian territories, as well as its senseless

dream of exercising tutelage over the destinies

of the peoples of the Arab east.

29. As we said last year, the Organization

must take the enforcement measures contained in

the Charter and make Israel abide by the rules of

international law and our repeated decisions. It

is for the United States of America, which gives

Israel massive military and financial aid and

sustained political assistance, to assume the

very special responsibilities conferred upon it

as a permanent member of the Security Council,

and fulfil as soon as possible the weighty duty

which derives from its dual role as a friend and

ally of the Zionist entity, by exerting the

necessary pressure on Israel to ensure that it

abides by the rules of ethics and international

legality.

30. We should like to reiterate to our

brother people of Lebanon the expression of our

solidarity with it in achieving its objectives—to

liberate its homeland, preserve its territorial

integrity and bring about the unity of its people

in the context of the global strategy of the

whole Arab nation. We appeal to friendly and

fraternal States and to the international

community as a whole to redouble their efforts to

ensure that Lebanon receives all necessary

support in reconstructing its country and

ensuring the immediate and unconditional

withdrawal of Israeli troops from its soil.

31. In southern Africa, another area of major

concern for our country, we deplore the delay in

Namibia's liberation and the increased

aggressiveness of the South African regime, both

inside the country, and also outside where it is

directed against the front-line States. The

Namibian problem remains unchanged. In the

opinion of our delegation, the only realistic

basis for re-establishing international legality

and ending the usurpation of at Territory is

Security Council resolution 435 (1978).

32. We take note of the fact that the contact

group of Western States has reaffirmed its

commitment concerning the expeditious

implementation of that resolution so that the

Namibian people can exercise its right to

self-determination. While welcoming the

praiseworthy efforts made by the five Western

countries in order to bring about a friendly

settlement of the Namibian crisis, we cannot

share either their optimism or all their

concerns. Indeed, it is not at all obvious to the

free peoples of Africa that there is any real

desire in Pretoria to resolve the existing

conflict peacefully, legally and democratically.

Furthermore, while we respect the rights of all

the ethnic communities in Namibia, we refuse to

recognize that the minority which is of European

origin has special exclusive rights, and, in

particular, an exaggerated right of veto.

33. So far as the principle of security is

concerned, we are amazed that the only concerns

which seem to prevail in certain Western circles

relate to South Africa's security, like the

security of Israel. In our opinion, this is

putting the cart before the horse. In the eyes of

the Islamic Republic of Mauritania the security

that is being denied and violated is that of the

African people. Our country would like once again

to reaffirm that the only conceivable security

for all is in the speedy establishment of the

State of Namibia by the implementation of

Security Council resolution 435 (1978) in full

association with the South West Africa People's

Organization, the sole, legitimate representative

of the people of the Territory. Within the

frontiers of South Africa, and despite the

so-called improvement in racial segregation—as if

there could be such a thing—the apartheid regime

remains fundamentally as it always has

been—contemptuous, inhumane, exploitative and

repulsive.

34. This is, an occasion to pay a

well-deserved tribute to our brothers in the

African National Congress who, by their passive

and active opposition to this barbaric regime,

have reinforced the faith of the oppressed

millions in the possibility of a multiracial and

egalitarian South African society.

35. following the same path as Zionism,

applies its criminal laws against African

patriots and outside the country acts as the

policeman by its almost permanent occupation of a

part of the sister Republic of Angola and its

periodic incursions against Angola, Mozambique,

Zimbabwe, Zambia and the other countries in

southern Africa. This is an opportunity to

express our solidarity with those brother

countries, victims of the indescribable acts of

aggression perpetrated by the racist regime of

South Africa. We also reaffirm our total

commitment to stand side by side with these

front-line countries.

36. Quite apart from these anachronistic

attempts at colonization, in the Arab east and in

southern Africa in the twilight of classical

colonialism, new embers of tension have begun to

smoulder in recent years in various parts of the

world. Of all those armed conflicts, which for

the people and Government of Mauritania are

subjects of deep concern, that in Western Sahara

is the one which most closely affects my country.

Indeed, for practically seven years now Western

Sahara has been fighting a difficult war to

ensure national survival and to be able to give

expression to its inalienable right to

self-determination and independence.

37. We make an urgent appeal that this

ruinous and useless war should be brought to an

end, a war which has pitted against each other

two fraternal peoples, which is taking place very

close to our frontiers, and which entails the

certain danger of engulfing the whole region and

leading to an international conflict. The Islamic

Republic of Mauritania, which sees the admission

of the Sahraoui Arab Democratic Republic to the

Organization of African Unity as a positive

factor, will give its sincere support to any

practical solutions accepted by the two parties

concerned, the Moroccans and the Sahraouis, which

could put an end to their fratricidal

confrontation.

38. Nevertheless, as we have repeatedly

stated, our country remains convinced that the

only possible means of achieving genuine peace,

then the necessary reconciliation, and finally a

natural co-operation, requires the opening of a

constructive dialogue directed to beginning the

direct negotiations which are an indispensable

prerequisite to the conclusion of a peace

agreement. As we see it, that agreement should

lead eventually to the self-determination and

complete independence of the Sahraoui people,

thus removing any obstacles and constraints of an

administrative or military nature. That would

remove the final obstacle to the building of a

fraternal, egalitarian and closely united Arab

Maghreb.

39. This cursory survey of the burning

problems in our continent reminds us that Africa,

which in the past suffered the terrible

exploitation of its human and material resources,

and which is now the target of imperialist

appetites and intervention, needs, more than ever

before, the cohesion of all the countries which

make it up.

40. The OAU, which was created in 1963 and is

based on the common aspiration of our peoples to

achieve fully political and economic liberation

of all its members and of all colonial

territories, will, in spite of everything, be

able to preserve its essential unity and its firm

faith in its charter and its fundamental

principles.

41. The Islamic Republic of Mauritania, a

country ideally suited to meetings and exchanges

among all the members of the African family, is

firmly convinced that our continental

organization will once again surmount its

temporary difficulties by closing ranks, while at

the same time avoiding the sacrifice of thesacred

principles of pan-Africanism, namely, the equal

right that all enjoy to self-determination and

their inalienable right to national independence.

42. In the Gulf area, two countries that are

both members, as are we of the Islamic Ummah and

the non-aligned movement, have been confronting

each other for more than two years in a

devastating war, at enormous cost both in human

lives and in the destruction of a valuable

economic infrastructure. The Islamic Republic of

Mauritania would like to reiterate its heartfelt

appeal for the cessation of hostilities between

our brothers in Iraq and the Islamic Republic of

Iran and for negotiations to be opened between

them to reach a permanent solution to their

differences.

43. Another equally unfortunate conflict is

continuing in Afghanistan as a result of the

invasion of that country in violation of its

sovereignty. Once again, we appeal for the

complete and unconditional withdrawal of all

foreign troops from the national territory of

Afghanistan and for respect for the sovereignty

of that country, for the integrity of its

national territory and for the sovereign right of

its people to seek their own progress in

accordance with their historic heritage and their

socio-cultural values.

44. The same is true with regard to the

Member nation, which has also been the victim of

fashion and prolonged military occupation. In

this connection, we would like to welcome the

constitution of a national front under the

leadership of Samdech Norodom Sihanouk, and we

appeal for the withdrawal of foreign troops from

the national territory of Democratic Kampuchea.

45. We reaffirm our adherence to the

Declaration of the International Conference on

Kampuchea of July 19816 and to all the

resolutions of the Organization calling for

respect for the sovereignty of Kampuchea and for

an end to foreign interference in its internal

affairs and respect for its people's sovereign

right to organize their own national life in a

democratic manner without any outside

interference.

46. In general terms, we condemn the claims

of Powers, whether large, medium-sized or small,

to arrogate to themselves the right to modify by

force the regime of a neighbouring country if

they judge it to be hostile.

47. A secure world of nations joined together

in independence and solidarity and determined to

shoulder the noble responsibility incumbent on

mankind cannot, obviously, live by the

anachronisms of the past and by social and

political injustice. There can be no other way to

satisfy the rights of peoples to national

differentiation and the realization of their

aspirations to freedom and progress, than by

banishing all hegemonistic trends. There can be

no other way to achieve the rights of every man

to a life in dignity than through the triumph of

fundamental freedoms. There can be no other way

to redress on a global scale of all the damaging

economic relations that result from subjection or

from structural imbalances than by setting up an

equitable world economy.

48. A world for tomorrow, one that man can

live in—all men, equally—must be built on justice

and equality or it cannot be built at all. Let us

liberate those peoples still under domination,

the victims of those who would deny them their

identity and their right to a homeland and a

name. Let us destroy the barriers that prevent

men from achieving their dream of a life worthy

of being lived in freedom and from satisfying

their basic social and cultural needs. Let us put

an end to the unjust heritage of an outrageous

colonialism and to the further deprivations

caused by an ill-adapted world economy suitable

neither to equity nor to the aspirations and

interests of all men, in North and South alike.

49. Let us, in other words, work devotedly to

ensure the emergence of a new international order

worthy of this end of the twentieth century that

should witness the triumph of a united

civilization brought together not around the

values of a single continent or spiritual family,

but imbued with a common heritage rich in its

very diversity,

50. We will thereby have undoubtedly laid the

groundwork for a new equilibrium that will be

more realistic, more peaceful, more stable and

more human. Indeed, we will have opened the way

towards the realization of one of the noblest

wishes of the drafters of the Charter of the

United Nations, who stages three years after one

of the most fearsome catastrophes of our time,

their determination "to saw succeeding

generations from the scourge of war".