Nigeria, 1982

On behalf of the people and Government of the

Federal Republic of Nigeria, I extend to Mr.

Hollai our warmest congratulations on his

election to and assumption of the office of

President of the thirty-seventh session of the

General Assembly. His election is eloquent

testimony to his admirable personal qualities as

well as an honour to the Hungarian People's

Republic, with which, happily, my country,

Nigeria, enjoys very cordial relations. I am

quite confident that under his able and wise

guidance, our deliberations at this session will

be resoundingly successful. I assure him of the

full co-operation of my delegation in the

discharge of the heavy responsibilities of his

office. May I also pay a tribute to his

predecessor in office, Mr. Kittani of Iraq, who

presided over the thirty-sixth session of the

General Assembly with great dedication and

distinction. The able manner in which he guided

the proceedings of the thirty-sixth session when

grave issues of war and peace were at stake is a

credit to him and to his country, Iraq. I also

wish to congratulate Mr. Perez de Cuellar on his

well-deserved election to the exalted post of

Secretary-General. His election is thoroughly

deserved. It is not only a personal achievement

for him and for his country, but one in which we

of the third world can collectively take

justifiable pride. In the short time he has been

in office, Mr. Perez de Cuellar has already shown

great courage and a strong commitment to the

principles of the Charter of the United Nations.

We are indeed fortunate to have the services of

such a distinguished and accomplished

international statesman. He has assumed office at

a most difficult period in the life of the United

Nations, when confrontation has replaced detente

in relations between the super-Powers, when the

world economy is sinking into depression and when

naked aggression rather than peaceful coexistence

and respect for sovereignty has become the order

of the day in international relations. I pledge

to him the full support of my delegation in the

execution of the onerous task placed on his

shoulders.

The rapid and seemingly inexorable deterioration

in international relations is of great concern to

my delegation. Many of the global issues that

have plagued the Organization for many years have

persisted in the unwholesome atmosphere of

confrontation and repeated aggression. There is

no doubt that the great majority of nations are

dedicated to peace. Nevertheless, one is left

with the sad feeling that all our efforts are an

exercise in futility since none of the major

issues of our time appears to have been resolved.

The litany of political and economic crises which

now plague the world is formidable and spans

every region of the world.

Detente between the super-Powers has suffered a

severe setback. There has been a resurgence of

cold war attitudesóa situation which has been

further aggravated by the virtual state of

collapse of the international economic system.

The spirit of internationalism and the

interdependence of nations of the world have been

gravely impaired. Nations, particularly the big

Powers, are now resorting increasingly to the use

or threat of use of force in defense of what they

perceive to be their national interests. The

provisions of the Charter on the settlement of

international disputes and on the maintenance of

international peace and security are being

brushed aside and ignored by the big Powers in

pursuit of their narrow interests.

In this present climate of uncertainty, the

Secretary-General, in his report on the work of

the Organization, called Car measures to

strengthen the peace-keeping machinery of the

United Nations system and to develop the United

Nations as a more effective and viable instrument

for resolving disputes among States. He has

called our attention to the propensity of the big

Powers to bypass the United Nations whenever it

suits them and to the necessity to return to the

United Nations as the primary international

negotiating forum. His warnings are timely and

should be heeded by all Member States.

We are gravely concerned in particular about the

areas of tension which continue to exist in

Africa. We attach the utmost importance to peace

and stability in Africa, without which our

efforts to develop our countries will continue to

be frustrated. We are concerned about the

continued intervention in African affairs of the

big Powers and their attempt to turn Africa into

a cold-war theatre. Africa's efforts to solve its

problems in Western Sahara and the Horn of Africa

continue to be undermined by the intervention of

the big Powers. We deplore and view with

resentment these unwarranted interventions in our

internal affairs and the consequent

intensification of intra-African disputes.

Whenever it has seemed we are close to a peaceful

settlement of disputes among African States, the

process of peace has been gravely weakened and

undermined by the intervention of extra-African

Powers. Weapons of mass destruction continue to

find their way into our continent in the guise of

foreign military assistance. In order to maintain

their hegemony in Africa, the big Powers have

resorted to so- called military assistance, which

has increased sharply over all other forms of aid

in recent years. In addition, there has been an

insidious attempt by external forces to weaken

and destroy our continental organization, the

OAU, which they regard as inimical to their

dominant influence in our continent. The fact is

the OAU, now facing a serious assault by our

detractors, has contributed immensely to the

maintenance of peace and stability in the region.

By bringing Africa together and forging bonds of

unity within the continent, the OAU has

contributed to the fulfilment of provisions of

the Charter of the United Nations on the role of

regional organizations in resolving regional

disputes.

Let me assure our detractors now plotting daily

the demise of our organization that we will

emerge from our present crisis stronger than

ever. In the past our continental organization

has demonstrated its resilience and capacity by

withstanding several serious internal crises.

Africa remains committed to the maintenance and

continued stability of its continental

organization, and collectively we are determined

to repair the damage and the setback which it has

recently suffered.

My delegation is extremely disturbed and

distressed by the stalemate in the negotiations

on the independence of Namibia. I believe that we

have shown the utmost restraint and understanding

in the negotiations with the contact group. It is

not necessary to go over the ground covered in

those negotiations. However, it is necessary to

remind the Assembly that apartheid, South

Africa's Mandate over Namibia, has been

terminated by the United Nations and the

international Court of Justice. South Africa's

continued occupation of Namibia is illegal and in

defiance of the unanimous decision of the

Assembly, which gives protection to all nations.

The greatest threat to the survival of the United

Nations is the absolute disregard of its

decisions by a few recalcitrant nations. The

saddest aspect of the tragedy being played out in

the southern African region is that the apartheid

regime draws comfort, solace and support from the

same countries as arrogate to themselves the role

of defender of democratic freedoms. How can those

Western countries explain to the world why, in

spite of resolution 435 (1978), sponsored by the

contact group, adopted by the Security Council

and unanimously endorsed by the General Assembly,

effective pressure cannot be brought to bear on

South Africa to withdraw from Namibia as a

prelude to the implementation of the United

Nations peace plan for Namibia?

Last year the impression was created that the

Namibia issue was very near solution. It is now

crystal clear to all that a peaceful solution of

the Namibian problem is as far away as ever. It

is now obvious to us that the strategy is to wear

us down to a point where we shall throw up our

hands and say: "We have tried. Let Namibia fend

for itself." This strategy fails to take account

of the tide of history, of our resolve to rid our

continent of the last lingering vestiges of

colonialism and oppression, and of our rendezvous

with destiny.

A tenuous effort is being made to predicate the

independence of Namibia on the withdrawal of

Cuban troops from Angola. This is unfortunate,

and we reject this unwarranted and arrogant

demand; it has nothing to do with the legitimate

right of Namibia to self-determination. Right now

South Africa is occupying by force a portion of

the territory of the independent State of Angola,

which the foreign forces are there to protect.

But for the decision which Angola took, in the

exercise of its sovereignty, to invite the

foreign forces, South Africa would have

recolonized it. We call upon the Western Powers

to support the principle of self-determination

for Namibia as a demonstration of their

sincerity. We maintain that South Africa's

occupation of Namibia is illegal, as well as

contemptuous of the United Nations. We believe

that the people of Namibia, under the leadership

of SWAPO, are entitled to their freedom and the

pursuit of happiness. We shall persist in this

belief and we shall continue to fight for this

belief until our brothers in Namibia are free.

Inside South Africa the racist regime has

intensified its reign of terror against the

blacks of that country, who are still being

denied their basic freedoms. Repression and

suppression of the blacks have continued with

unabated rigour. We have warned often enough that

the racist policies of the apartheid regime

represent a grave danger to peace and stability,

not only in Africa but throughout the world; for

peace and freedom are indivisible. The world

cannot be truly free and peaceful when parts of

it remain in bondage. Africa is committed to the

eradication of racism in South Africa. Nor will

it be deterred by the attempts of the racist

regime to destabilize and undermine the

independence of its neighbours. We call on the

Assembly to redouble its efforts and bring the

necessary pressure to bear on the apartheid

regime by imposing economic sanctions on it. Each

time we call for economic sanctions against South

Africa certain Western countries demur on the

ground that sanctions do not work. When, however,

the vital interests of the West are at stake

sanctions are invoked, as they have been over

Afghanistan, Poland and the Falkland Islands.

The present parlous state of the world economy is

a vindication of the warning that many developing

countries have issued for many years from this

rostrum. Today, in every country of the world,

the term "depression" is very well understood. At

this time last year we were describing the

economic phenomenon that we were experiencing as

recession. This year we call it depression. Very

few countries have registered any appreciable

growth in their economic activities during the

past year; as a matter of fact, the economies of

most countries have been badly ravaged. The

consequences of this decline in economic activity

are massive unemployment, incredibly high levels

of global inflation, high debt-servicing ratio

for many developing countries, sharp falls in

commodity prices, unstable exchange rates and

protectionism in international trade. The

slow-down in economic activity is global. The

present state of the world economy provides ample

proof that our economies are interdependent.

Agriculture has all but collapsed in many parts

of Africa, due in part to drought and, of course,

to the unreasonably low commodity prices,

including the high cost of agricultural

machinery. The fact is that many countries in

Africa spend a significant portion of their

meagre foreign exchange earnings on massive food

importations to stave off hunger. Very few

developing countries can afford, after paying for

food imports, to buy capital goods for

industries. The net result is that developed

countries are able to market only a small

proportion of their manufactured goods in these

countries, and so the vicious economic circle

persists.

The reluctance of the developed countries to

embrace the new international economic order so

necessary for combatting the global economic

crisis is deeply regrettable.

We are convinced that the present negative trends

in the world economy can be reversed. Since they

affect all countries, action should be taken

collectively to resolve them. It is therefore a

matter of deep regret that the prevailing mood in

the developed economies today is a negative one,

as illustrated by declines in the flow of

official development assistance, a clearly

expressed preference for bilateralism over

multilateralism which has seriously undermined

the integrity of the multilateral institutions of

the United Nations and, of course, the lack of

encouraging progress in negotiations on various

questions relating to international economic

co-operation for development. These trends

undermine the development process of developing

countries, but events have also shown that the

short-sighted and unilateral policies pursued by

certain developed countries are self-defeating

even for those countries.

Without losing sight of the need for a

fundamental restructuring of the world economy,

my delegation would like to join in the call

already made for reviving the waning spirit of

international economic co-operation in the

interest of steady global development and in

particular the accelerated development of

developing countries. My delegation is of the

view that opportunities for further enhancing

international economic relations still exist. It

is auspicious that two international meetings on

trade and development are scheduled to take place

within the next few months, namely, the GATT

Ministerial Meeting next November and the sixth

session of UNCTAD in mid- 1983. My delegation

believes that these meetings can contribute

immensely to the reactivation of international

trade and improved trading prospects for

developing countries, if the countries of the

North will show a more positive attitude

regarding the evident need to make the necessary

structural adjustments.

Similarly, the present structure of international

monetary and financial institutions leaves much

to be desired and calls for urgent reforms. My

delegation does not underestimate the

contribution being, made by international

financial institutions, such as the World Bank

group, to the development of developing

countries; but there are also many areas

requiring a better response by these institutions

to the special needs of developing countries. The

very stiff conditionally of International

Monetary Fund lending, for instance, is resented

by developing countries. While we are not

suggesting that the principles of sound financial

management should be compromised, we can see no

advantage in the application of medicine which

leaves the patient either worse off than before

or dead.

With the present credit squeeze unlikely to ease

immediately, the need for expanding the capital

base of the World Bank has become more urgent. It

is also timely to underline the inadequacy of

present development aid, as the performance of

donor countries has not gone beyond one half of

the target of 0.7 per cent of gross national

product solemnly agreed to in the International

Development Strategy for the Third United Nations

Development Decade. We urge them, therefore, not

only to step up official assistance to the poorer

nations but also to ensure that an increasing

proportion of that assistance flows through the

development organizations of the United Nations

system, which are currently experiencing critical

resources problems.

The development problems which confront the

international community today call for prompt and

equitable solutions. Important initiatives need

to be taken with a view to alleviating the

critical food shortages in several developing

countries, the slow pace of their

industrialization, and the low level of

technological attainment, for which the speedy

conclusion of negotiations for the international

code of conduct on the transfer of technology and

the establishment of long-term arrangements of

the United Nations financing system for science

and technology for development acquire special

significance.

A feeling of despair and despondency must be

avoided, despite the present mood. We should not,

in fact, overlook the bright spots in

international cooperation which, happily, have

resulted from certain efforts by the developing

countries.

Last year, much was said about the epoch- making

event of establishing a systematic framework for

the promotion of economic co-operation among

developing countries, through the adoption of the

Caracas Programme of Action. My delegation is

gratified to note that that initiative has been

further consolidated over the past few months,

through concrete action aimed at the mutual

economic advancement of States members of the

Group of 77. We believe that this process will

contribute to the strengthening of the individual

and collective self-reliance of developing

countries.

All countries, developed and developing, must

show a positive determination to grapple with the

present economic problems in a global and

concerted manner. In this connection my

delegation recognizes the need for ongoing

negotiations in various international forums to

proceed unhindered and with the requisite good

will and understanding, particularly by the

industrialized countries. We hope it will be

possible to launch global negotiations at this

session of the General Assembly, especially as

much precious time has been lost over peripheral

issues, apparently to gain certain advantages,

when what is needed is for every party to go to

the negotiating table with an open mind. Now, my

delegation hopes that with the flexibility and

spirit of compromise shown by the Group of 77

through the proposal submitted last June, our

partners will be more forthcoming on the question

of launching the global negotiations without

further delay. Three years after the adoption of

General Assembly resolution 34/138, it is surely

time the international community took that

long-awaited step for laying the basis for a more

just system of international economic relations,

capable of supporting the steady growth of the

world economy and particularly the accelerated

and self-reliant development of developing

countries.

In June this year Nigeria participated in the

deliberations of the second special session of

the General Assembly devoted to disarmament, in

the hope that ways and means could be found to

halt and reverse the extremely costly and

dangerous arms race. After five weeks of

intensive negotiations we discovered to our utter

disappointment that the nuclear-weapon States, in

particular, were neither willing nor ready to

listen to the voice of reason and sanity. We

recall the massive demonstration last June in New

York against the immense danger which nuclear

weapons pose to human survival. We listened to

representatives of innumerable non-governmental

organizations voicing their fears that the

current trend of the arms race might result in

nuclear war by accident, miscalculation or even

design. We should not be insensitive to those

justified fears of humanity.

Yet what did we achieve after five weeks of

debate and negotiations? We have neither halted

the arms race nor set in motion a single

disarmament measure. It is true that at the

second special session devoted to disarmament the

General Assembly launched the World Disarmament

Campaign and increased the United Nations

Fellowship Programme on Disarmament from 20

annual awards to 25. Those modest achievements

scarcely touched the heart of the matter. Year

after year, we helplessly watch the world's

military budget leap to higher and higher levels.

It is now of the order of $US 650 billion

annually. Not one nuclear Power believes that its

nuclear and conventional stockpile of arms has

attained the optimum level necessary to guarantee

its security. It is obvious that the more

sophisticated and enormous the quantum of

armaments at the disposal of each State, the less

secure the State possessing such arms feels. What

purpose is there in pursuing at such colossal

cost an unattainable mirage? The world feels more

insecure today than at any other time in the past.

The increasing reliance of nations on force rather than on negotiations

and the good offices of the United Nations for

the peaceful settlement of disputes is the root

cause of our feelings of insecurity, coupled with

the economic disaster, which has afflicted all

nations. While the world spends more than $US 650

billion yearly on armaments, mass unemployment,

hunger, disease and ignorance take a heavy toll

on two thirds of the world's population. It is a

great indictment of our sense of social justice

that our fellow human beings in the third world

should die of hunger and of disease that we could

wipe out at minimal cost, just because our

misplaced sense of security compels us to spend

billions of dollars on armaments which breed more

fear and insecurity.

If those vast sums of money currently ploughed

into the unproductive arms race were channelled

into the economic and social sectors, their

multiplier effect would result in vast social and

economic activities that would provide millions

of jobs, demolish protectionism in trade, expand

demand and bring back prosperity to all parts of

the world.

Is it not grossly immoral for the nuclear Powers

to destroy us in a war intended to expand their

spheres of influence? Our greatest desire is for

peace in the world, especially on the part of

peace-loving peoples who have no expansionist

ambitions or designs. As we are firmly convinced

that it is impossible to limit a nuclear war or

to win it, we affirm that the only realistic

option is to prevent it. That is why we have

repeatedly advocated a nuclear freeze as a first

step towards significant nuclear disarmament. We

are motivated by the desire to halt the dangerous

arms race that is inexorably dragging the world

towards self-extinction. We are inclined to

believe that a measure of parity has been

achieved in the destructive power of the two

blocs and that neither side, fully aware of the

fact that it cannot win a nuclear war, will be so

propelled by a death-wish as to launch a nuclear

attack. My delegation therefore calls upon the

super-Powers to agree to a freeze, followed by a

verifiable comprehensive test ban leading to

talks on arms reduction. With good will and faith

neither side will find this process detrimental

to its national interests.

While we were busy deliberating on the great

threat to our survival posed by the rapid buildup

of lethal weapons, the devastating war machine of

Israel was reducing large areas of Lebanon to

rubble with disastrous consequences for the lives

of innocent human beings unfortunate enough to

reside in that region of the Middle East. The

Israelis, in an arrogant display of power,

callously ignored the pleas of the Organization

for a halt to that butchery. For four long

months, the Israelis laid waste the sovereign

State of Lebanon in utter contempt of the

resolutions of the Security Council calling for a

cease-fire. In historical perspective, that

barbaric act of Israel's is reminiscent of the

Nazi "final solution of the Jewish question". The

expansionist propensity of Israel and its

penchant for settling disputes by force are

inconsistent with the letter and spirit of the

Charter of the United Nations. The horror of the

massacre at Sabra and Shatila sends chills down

the spine. For a people that has gone through the

horrible crucible of a genocide to be associated,

even in a distant way, with the pogrom of Sabra

and Shatila is a sad irony of history.

We believe that the Israelis are entitled to

secure borders within the State of Israel.

However, Israel's persistent refusal to realize

that it cannot continue to enjoy legitimacy and

rights based on the Organization's Partition Plan

for Palestine and, at the same time, deny

corresponding legitimacy and rights of nationhood

under the same plan to the Palestinians is the

greatest obstacle to any lasting peace in the

Middle East. The Palestinian Arabs must and

should be enabled to have their own independent

sovereign State. Nigeria firmly supports the

legitimate right of the Palestinians to a

homeland of their own.

It is a matter tor regret that the fratricidal

and unnecessary war between Iraq and the Islamic Republic

of Iran, two non-aligned States, still lingers on

in spite of the efforts of the United Nations and

the Organization of the Islamic Conference to put

an end to it. We once again call upon our friends

in Iran and Iraq to throw aside the weapons of

war and strive to settle their differences by

peaceful means. . We are also gravely concerned

over the intensification of other local and

regional conflicts in Latin America and Asia and

the immense suffering imposed on the peoples of

those regions by the conflicts. As a non-aligned

country, Nigeria condemns all foreign

intervention in the internal affairs of the

States in those regions. We support fully the

efforts of the countries of Latin America and the

Caribbean to consolidate their national

sovereignty and to develop their political and

economic systems, without undue foreign

intervention or pressure on them.

In conclusion, let us resolve to adhere to the

provisions of the Charter by faithfully abiding

by the decisions of all organs of the United

Nations. Let us resolve to eschew force in the

settlement of our disputes. Let us strive to be

open and candid in our bilateral and multilateral

relations, so as to create an atmosphere of trust

in which peace will reign supreme and the

Organization will blossom.