Paraguay, 1969

1. Madam President, on behalf of my Government I

warmly welcome your election to preside over the General

Assembly’s deliberations at its twenty-fourth session. By

placing the conduct of our difficult tasks in your wise and

skillful hands, the delegations in this hall, including my

own, have paid a just tribute both to your outstanding

personal qualities and to your position as representative of

your own country in particular and of Africa as a whole.

We offer you our most cordial congratulations.

2. At the same time, we recall with regret your predecessor

in office, Mr. Emilio Arenales, a citizen of Guatemala

by birth and a citizen of the American continent by virtue

of his outstanding ability and his personality, whose

premature death we deeply lament. My delegation wishes to

pay a respectful tribute to his memory.

3. In speaking from this rostrum, the most eminent in the

international community, in view of the session’s heavy

agenda that reflects the scope and complexity of the

problems of today’s world, I do not propose to examine

these problems in detail. The procedures established under

the existing provisions and rules give every delegation the

opportunity to express its views and ideas fully and without

restriction during the discussion of each specific item both

in plenary and in the Main Committees. At the present

stage of our work, however, such an examination would in

a sense be inconsistent with the purposes and character of

the general debate.

4. As the representative of a developing country, that is,

of a State which day by day has to face and attempt to

solve the enormous obstacles to its progressive development

resulting from unjust conditions prevailing in world markets,

my first concern must necessarily be to deal with all

matters connected — to use the words of the Preamble of the

Charter — with the promotion of “social progress and better

standards of life in larger freedom”.

5. As the representative of a Member State of this

assembly of nations in a world and at a time marked by the

increasing interdependence of nations, I shall concentrate

on problems relating to the maintenance of international

peace and security in the firm belief that any breach or

threat of breach of the peace, wherever it may occur,

inevitably affects, though to a lesser or greater degree, each

and every member of the international community. From

that standpoint, there are no problems that can be

described as distant or remote. We know full well that no

lasting structure can be established or any real progress

achieved except on the sure foundations of peace with justice.

6. It is deplorable that, in this year in which man has

witnessed the fulfilment of his age-old dream of travelling

on a mission of peace from our planet to the moon and

returning unscathed, the international situation should

present so discouraging a picture. This is one of the great

contrasts of our time. On the one hand, scientific and

technological advances have opened up almost unlimited

prospects for the future, while on the other, man’s slow

legal, political and moral evolution constantly reminds us of

the discrepancy between these two areas of development.

7. In the introduction to his annual report on the work of

the Organization, the Secretary-General who, from the

lofty post he occupies, is exceptionally well-placed to take

an over-all view, tells us among other things that during

“the past 12 months, the deterioration of the international

situation ... has continued” [A/7601/Add.1, para. 1], that

in the field of disarmament “progress is indeed very

limited” [ibid., para. 2], that “it is accordingly most

disquieting to see that the solution of the problem of

preventing the proliferation of nuclear weapons, both

horizontally and vertically, is still hanging in the balance”

[ibid., para. 26], and that “the product of the awful

alphabet and arithmetic of ABMs (anti-ballistic missiles)

and MIRVs (multiple independently targetable re-entry

vehicles) can only be the acceleration of what has been

described as the ‘mad momentum’ of the nuclear arms

race” [ibid., para. 28]. These quotations are merely

illustrative and are by no means exhaustive, but as a whole they

point to a situation fraught with sombre prospects.

8. But the main source of immediate and collective

concern lies in the wars at present in progress, with the

indescribable hardships they involve for millions of human

beings and with the devastation that accompanies all armed

conflicts.

9. If this gloomy picture is viewed from the standpoint of

the developing countries and peoples which already have

more than their share of deprivation because of the state of

development of their fragile economic infrastructures and

the levels of living prevailing in their societies, it must be

agreed that large reserves of faith and optimism are needed

in order to avoid sinking into the depths of despair.

10. I believe, however, that the States gathered together in

this Assembly and the peoples they represent possess both

individually and collectively the necessary reserves of

optimism and energy to persevere in their efforts to bring

closer the dawn of the better days for which we yearn.

Knowing as we do that it is only in a congenial international

climate that we can hope to achieve our aspirations

for progress and well-being, our first task, our main and

permanent task, is to help to create such a climate, which

may be characterized in very few words: security, peace

and justice for all.

11. Built on the ruins of a world conflagration, the

Organization was established in order to develop friendly

relations among nations based on the principles of equal

rights and self-determination of peoples; to achieve international

co-operation in solving international problems of an

economic, social, cultural or humanitarian character; to

promote and encourage respect for human rights and for

fundamental freedoms for all without distinction as to race,

sex, language or religion; to be a centre for harmonizing the

actions of nations, but first and foremost to maintain

international peace and security. At the same time, the

appropriate bodies were set up and procedures laid down

for the settlement of disputes that result, or threaten to

result, in a breach of international peace.

12. Since 1 January 1968, my country has been a member

of one of these organs. I refer to the organ entrusted by the

Charter with the primary responsibility for the maintenance

of international peace and security, that is to say, the

Security Council. The term of office for which my country

was elected by this Assembly will expire on 31 December

next. The views I propose to set forth are based on the

experience gained during the period in which we have

participated in the Council’s work, a period that can be

described, without exaggeration, as both important and active.

13. We believe that the concepts on which the Security

Council’s structure was based reflect the political ideas of

the post-war world. Even if those ideas were valid at the

time of San Francisco — and there were already then enough

grounds to rule out excessive optimism on this score — today,

a quarter of a century later, they are no longer in

keeping with the outlook characteristic of a different era.

In our opinion, it is this difference that explains a certain

operational weakness, which, in certain situations, restricts

the Council’s possibilities of action, even where such action

is both essential and urgent.

14. I refer in particular to the provisions on the adoption

of decisions on non-procedural matters. These provisions, as

contained in the amended text of Article 27, paragraph 3,

of the Charter, stipulate that decisions shall be made

”...by an affirmative vote of nine members including the

concurring votes of the permanent members”.

15. I must forthwith add that the Council itself has for

some time now established the practice of taking decisions

by votes in which one or more permanent members abstain.

Despite that practice, today’s world is so complex that it is

often difficult if not impossible to achieve unanimity

among the five permanent members and thus to decide on a

given course of action. This, we believe, is the primary

cause of the limitation of the Council’s real powers. I am

not referring to the casting of negative votes by the

permanent members, because, in accordance with the

provisions of the Charter, such negative votes entail the

rejection. of any substantive proposal. I am referring

exclusively to cases where there is a possibility of positive

action.

16. In these circumstances, an ever-increasing burden of

responsibility and a constantly growing role devolve upon

the non-permanent members of the Security Council,

provided that they act in unison. Individual action by those

members is inevitably limited in view of the type of nations

that make up that group, all of them so-called medium or

small countries. Collectively, on the other hand, they wield

a strength that cannot be ignored.

17. To put the matter another way, as a group, the

non-permanent members and particularly those which

represent the dispossessed areas of the world — Africa, Asia

and Latin America — in the present Council, enlarged as a

result of the amendments made to the Charter a few years

ago, constitute a political force whose opinions must

necessarily be taken into account by the permanent

members. We do not believe that the time has yet come

when that force can decisively sway the Council, but in any

event its influence is obviously growing and is undoubtedly

destined to increase still further. It is equally obvious to

anyone participating in the Council’s work that this group

of non-permanent members is the most effective. instrument

for finding formulae for action that reconcile the desirable

with the possible.

18. In that firm belief, my delegation has exerted its best

efforts to strengthen the unity of action of that group of

members. Of course, we realize that such unity of action is

not possible in all cases, because the group represents a

variety of States, each with its own political, ideological

and philosophical views and its own legal tradition. Many of

the decisions taken during the period I am

discussing — 1968-1969 - nevertheless bear out the truth of the

statement I have just made. Those decisions strike a delicate

balance between aspirations and possibilities, limited as the

latter are by the political realities reflected in the structure

of the Council.

19. Apart from that, our position on the specific problems

of peace and security referred to the Council is well known.

The Council’s meetings are public and we have stated and

restated our views, also in public. This fact relieves us of the

need to expound them at length yet again. I am thinking in

particular of the Middle East, one of the most serious and

complex problems of the time. It is our sincere belief that

the best and perhaps the only means of bringing about a

just and stable peace lies in the application of the provisions

and principles contained in the resolution adopted unanimously

on 22 November 1967 [242 (1967)]. I am thinking

of Southern Rhodesia and the Zimbabwe people, oppressed

by a tiny minority which has appointed itself as a political

authority in the form of the illegal racist regime of Ian

Smith, a regime which my country does not recognize and

with which it maintains no relations of any kind. I am

thinking of Namibia, a Territory whose people still remain

subject to a foreign authority which exploits them without

a vestige of a right — a people which is still awaiting the day

of its liberation from the yoke which afflicts them.

20. Incidentally, I should point out that my delegation

had the honour to sponsor, jointly with the other Latin

American members and with the African and Asian representatives,

the draft resolutions on Namibia which the Security

Council adopted as its resolutions 245 (1968), 246 (1968),

264 (1969) and 269 (1969), I am thinking also of Jerusalem,

a city whose legal status was determined by the

resolutions adopted by the General Assembly, a status

whose maintenance has been repeatedly advocated by the

Council. These are not the only problems, and here again

my list is not exhaustive.

21. I make these comments a bare three months from the

expiry of our term of office in the Council and they are

therefore in a sense a review of a period of service that is

virtually completed. I know that it is not customary, in

speaking from this rostrum, to submit the work that has

been done to the judgement of the international community.

This is, however, precisely what I am doing, in the

firm belief that we have placed our concept of justice and

our best and most sincere efforts at the service of that

community.

22. I have only a few words to add on this same point.

When two years ago we announced our wish to become a

member of the Security Council, our purpose was to prove

once again our sincere desire to serve the United Nations by

exercising the special responsibilities of one of the principal

offices existing in the Organization. We believe, and still

believe, that a representative who participates in such an

organ acts in accordance with instructions emanating from

one source and one source only, namely, from his own

Government. Nevertheless, because we share the outlook,

ideology and traditions of the other States of our continent,

we sincerely believe, without vanity or false modesty,

that in exercising the duties of a member of the

Security Council, we have expressed at one and the same

time our own ideas and those of Latin America.

23. So far I have referred to matters that have come

before the Security Council. I have stated, and I repeat,

that those are not the only problems affecting peace and

security, and that other problems also distress and concern

us, even though they are not discussed within the Organization.

I am thinking of the cruel war in Viet-Nam. We hope

that the Paris talks, which have so far been unproductive,

will achieve positive results as soon as possible by bringing

an end to the hostilities that have dragged on there for so

long. I also have in mind the indescribable tragedy

unfolding before our eyes in western Africa. I again wish to

express the hope that, in place of the death, destruction

and desolation that prevails there, it will be possible to

reconstruct peace and restore the rule of justice.

24. I am thinking too of America and of the conflict

between two brother States of the continent. But at least in

this case, with the goodwill of the parties concerned and

the help of the regional organization, means have been

found of halting the military operations. This is a first step

of fundamental importance. We know, however, that a long

and arduous road remains to be travelled before complete

and lasting peace is restored, wounds are healed and

resentments are wiped out. But the goodwill shown by the

Hondurans and the Salvadorians — a goodwill of which we

are absolutely convinced — together with the co-operation of

the other nations of the continent, which has been

extended without any reservations or limitations, encourages

us in our faith and confidence that a reconciliation

based on justice is close at hand.

25. There is another kind of war, a war in which the vast.

majority of States Members of the United Nations are

taking part — a war which is also cruel and is taking its toll in

sacrifices, suffering and tears. I refer to the war being waged

by the developing countries to overcome the problems

caused by an unequal, unjust and immoral division of

wealth and of the fruits of labour, to the battles being

fought to overthrow the artificial barriers dividing the

countries that have too much from those which have too

little, to the struggle of the developing countries to speed

up the process of their development so that their peoples

may enjoy the higher levels of living to which they are

legitimately entitled. So far this war has been fought at the

conference table and at international meetings; but if

present conditions continue, if they are prolonged indefinitely

and if there are no glimmerings of hope of a better

future to brighten this world picture, it may well develop

into a conflict on an unimaginable scale, one from which no

continent or country would be excluded.

26. On the other hand, there are the countries whose

economies depend on agriculture, cattle-breeding and the

production of raw materials, and on the other, the

industrialized countries. Between the two there is a gulf

which has been widening instead of narrowing with the

passage of time, because the relations between the two

groups are governed by a system whereby some reap the

benefit of well-being while hunger and poverty are meted

out to others. “We consider that agriculture, cattle breeding

and industry ought not to be stages in history through

which all nations must of necessity pass in order to reach

their highest level of living.” This statement was made on

an earlier occasion from this same rostrum by Mr. Raul

Sapena, my country’s Minister for Foreign Affairs, who

added that instead they ought to be “different occupations

which should exist side by side at the same time, as a result

of the division of labour between nations“.

27. On another occasion, he stated that if the prices of

raw materials continued to decline and the prices of

manufactured goods continued to rise, there would “be a

widening of the gap between the developed and the

under-developed countries; and although political colonialism

is on its last legs, the economic colonialism applied to.

countries with an agricultural economy will remain unless

the present conditions for the production and export of

agricultural commodities are radically changed”.

28. We are almost at the end of the First United Nations

Development Decade and on the eve of the Second. The

meagre results obtained are a guide to the depth of our

disappointment. Even so, we cannot allow ourselves to be

overcome by pessimism. On the contrary, we shall intensify

our efforts to find solutions. Our most fundamental

national interests are bound up with the achievement of

equitable solutions.

29. In this connexion, I should like to draw attention to

the position of solidarity adopted by Latin America, as

embodied in the Consensus of Viña del Mar That Consensus,

although addressed to a specific recipient, contains

ideas, principles and observations that are of universal

significance.

30. At a time when the Assembly is preparing to set the

targets for the Second United Nations Development Decade,

we believe it appropriate to make a renewed appeal to

the common sense of the highly developed countries to

show, if only in their own national interests, a greater

readiness to remedy the notorious shortcomings in the

terms of international trade, shortcomings which operate to

the constant advantage of those countries to the constant

disadvantage of countries like my own.

31. I cannot end these general remarks without referring

to the peoples still suffering under the colonial yoke and

conveying to them an expression of our solidarity in their

struggle to achieve their legitimate right to self-determination

and become masters of their own national destinies.

32. Our contribution to the cause of international peace

and security within the United Nations is limited by the

modest resources at our disposal. This is not, however, our

only contribution; we have also contributed through action

at.the purely national level.

33. Believing that collective efforts by the Members of the

Organization to make it stronger and more effective must

be matched by simultaneous and parallel efforts of a purely

national character, my delegation traditionally presents to

the General Assembly an objective picture of the conditions

obtaining in Paraguay.

34. Under the leadership of a Government that is outstandingly

dynamic and constructive, we are continuing to

make sustained progress. I need hardly say that work on

our economic infrastructure is proceeding without interruption.

The work’ that has been accomplished includes the

building of new highways, those already in existence being

maintained at a high level of efficiency, the construction of

new schools and of new and better hospitals, and the

provision of health services covering the whole population.

The level of nutrition is among the highest in the continent

and the illiteracy rate, which was already low, is being

steadily reduced.

35. Where political affairs are concerned, the party system

has functioned smoothly and the freedoms of association,

of assembly, of the press and of expression have been fully

exercised.

36. In regard to social affairs, the rule of law, the

institution 6f home ownership for all Paraguayan families,

the measures taken to ensure adequate remuneration for all

workers, the extension of social security, a sound agrarian

policy of far-reaching scope — all these are factors which

explain the existence of a fair and just domestic peace that

provides men with a climate propitious to maximum output

and the maximum devotion to the attainment of common

objectives.

37. Economically, the general conditions prevailing in our

country have ensured that progress has been spectacular in

every aspect of Paraguayan life, but it has been achieved

without display. Although we receive external financial aid,

it is none the less true that the results achieved have been

primarily due to the national efforts carried out — I repeat — for

the realization of our aspirations by a statesman who is

animated by a deep-seated patriotism and by an unshakable

devotion to the public weal, and in whom the highest ideals

are allied to a capacity for effective action.

38. We continue to have an unfavourable balance of trade,

since although our exports have increased, our imports have

done so also. Machinery and equipment, particularly tor

agriculture and industry, account for a large part of these

imports which now affect the balance of trade because of

their high cost. They will shortly yield, however, dividends

for the national economy and accelerate the profound

changes taking place in our country, which has been lifted

from its past condition of prostration to its present state of

creative energy. The goals we have set ourselves are still

remote but we are marching towards them with unshakable resolve.