Uganda, 1982

The people of Uganda have placed their hopes for world peace and

security in this Organization which was founded 37 years ago after

the most disastrous war this planet has ever known. The collective

determination which the peoples of the United Nations expressed in

1945 to save succeeding generations from the scourge of war must

remain the fundamental objective of the Organization. I should like,

on behalf of the delegation of Uganda, to extend to the President our

warm congratulations on his unanimous election to the presidency of

the thirty seventh session of the General Assembly. His wide

diplomatic experience and his extensive knowledge of the United

Nations uniquely qualify him to discharge the onerous

responsibilities we have entrusted to him. Our satisfaction at his

election is all the greater because he hails from Hungary, a count y

with which Uganda enjoys very cordial relations. I take this

opportunity to pay a most well deserved tribute to his predecessor,

Mr. Ismat Kittani, Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs of Iraq. Mr.

Kittani presided over the various sessions held by the General

Assembly during his term of office with exceptional skill, devotion

and competence. We wish him well in all his future endeavors. I also

wish, on this occasion, to pay a very warm tribute to our

distinguished Secretary General, who has worked hard, since his

election to that high office, with much courage and rare commitment,

to restore and enhance the effectiveness of the Organization. We are

meeting here at a time when the question of Namibia is uppermost in

our minds. We are asking more urgently than ever: when is Namibia

going to be free? For how long will the present maneuvers to postpone

the day of independence for the people of Namibia? There is no need

any more to recount the number of occasions on the long journey

towards Namibian independence when our hopes have been elevated only

to have been crushed at every critical turn on the road. In the

course of the last three months we have been treated to well

publicized reports about substantial progress towards a negotiated

settlement. Today, however hard we focus our gaze on the distant

prospects, we cannot see any real or concrete manifestations of a

settlement. Instead we are witnessing the injection of extraneous and

irrelevant elements into the negotiations. We see no justification

for any linkage between Namibian independence and the presence of

Cuban military personnel in Angola. The former is a clear cut

colonial issue and has been treated as such by the United Nations and

by the entire international community. The latter, on the other hand,

is a bilateral arrangement, which is by no means unique, between two

independent, sovereign States. In any case, how can anyone forget

that the presence of Cuban military personnel in Angola was

occasioned in the first instance by South African aggression against

Angola. Moreover, these acts of aggression have continued unabated to

this very day. Even as we deliberate here today, South African troops

continue to occupy the southern region of Angola. We challenge anyone

to cite even a single instance of Angolan incursion into South

Africa, with or without Cuban military personnel. Those who are

touting the so called linkage are attempting to rewrite history. In

spite of the obvious facts to the contrary they are seeking to create

a make believe world, a world in which the aggressor appears as the

victim and the real victim is projected as a threat to the aggressor.

This so called linkage is a very suspicious scheme indeed, one which

we find inadmissible and unacceptable. We want to state once again

that Security Council resolution 435 continues to be the only basis

for a negotiated settlement for Namibian independence. I wish to

stress, moreover, the special political and moral responsibility

which the five Western States bear in this matter. We urge them to

admit that responsibility and to bring to an immediate end South

Africa's intransigence and procrastination. We salute the people of

Namibia, under the leadership of the South West Africa People's

Organization, their sole and authentic representative, for the heroic

struggle they continue to wage against the occupying Power, as well

as for the exemplary statesmanship they have demonstrated throughout

the process of negotiations. In South Africa itself the situation has

continued to deteriorate dramatically. The racist minority regime

continues its oppression of the majority of the people with impunity.

Freedom fighters have been given death sentences by the apartheid

courts. Trade union movements are being subjected to the most

repressive laws. Opponents of apartheid have been assassinated in

detention centers and in neighboring countries. Helpless women and

children have been forcibly evacuated from their urban settlements

and dumped like waste into remote and unproductive reserves. In a

vain attempt to consolidate further the apartheid system and divide

the ranks of the oppressed, the Pretoria regime has tried to coopt

some sectors of the oppressed communities into the segregated power

structure, while that power structure continues to exclude the vast

majority of the people from any exercise of political or economic

power. This transparent ploy of divide and rule, like the other ploys

before it, is bound to fail. In addition to supporting the internal

resistance which is gaining momentum every day, the international

community must spare no effort to isolate the racist minority regime.

We condemn those countries that continue to strengthen the system of

apartheid through their collaboration in the economic, military and

nuclear fields. In this regard, we want to see the full and effective

implementation of Security Council resolution 418 on the arms embargo

against the minority racist regime. We urge the Security Council to

act with speed to block the existing loopholes in the arms embargo

regime. We take this opportunity to pay a tribute to the front line

States for their relentless commitment to the cause of freedom and

justice in southern Africa. We also reaffirm our solidarity with the

liberation movements of South Africa in their just struggle to free

their homeland from the grip of oppression. In particular, we salute

the African National Congress for its significant contribution in

this regard. We also take this opportunity to reaffirm our support

for the just struggle of the Sahraoui people under the leadership of

POLISARIO. In the Middle East the peoples of the region are today

living through a terrible nightmare, a nightmare which started with

the massive and unprovoked Israeli invasion of Lebanon in June this

year. Employing some of the most inhuman methods of mass destruction,

such as cluster and phosphorous bombs, Israeli troops massacred

thousands of Lebanese and Palestinians, the vast majority of whom

were innocent and defenseless civilians. Most recently we were deeply

shocked by the massacre of Palestinian refugees in the Sabra and

Shatila camps in west Beirut. Israel's aggressive conduct can be

explained only in the context of its long standing designs on

Lebanon, namely the dismemberment of Lebanon and the control of the

Litani River. We demand the immediate and unconditional withdrawal of

Israeli forces from Lebanon in accordance with the relevant

resolutions of the Security Council and of the General Assembly.

Uganda continues to maintain that the core of the Middle East

conflict is the question of Palestine. The Middle East cannot know

any peace until the Palestinian people fully realize their right to

self determination and nationhood. The sooner Israel accepts this

reality, the better for it and for all the communities of the region.

An American writer, I. F. Stone, expressed very well a universal

concern in an article which appeared in New York Journal of 19 July

1982 under the title When Tel Aviv Was West Beirut when he stated:

Can we Jews not recognize the image in our own mirrors? Can we not

respond to a kindred people being made homeless once again, first in

Palestine, now in Lebanon? If a Jewish State in Palestine, why not a

Palestinian State, too? Who betterthan we should understand

Palestinian desperation and homelessness? It is in recognition of

this fact that Uganda reiterates its unflinching support for the

Palestinian people and the Palestine Liberation Organization, their

sole and legitimate representative. It is for the same reason that we

welcome and support the proposals adopted at the Twelfth Arab Summit

Conference at Fez last month. In our view, those proposals are in

full conformity with the various resolutions of the General Assembly

and the Security Council on the situation in the Middle East. On the

question of Korea, Uganda has always supported the desire of the

Korean people for the peaceful reunification of the Korean peninsula.

We have always maintained that the division of Korea is an injustice

committed against the Korean people through the mechanism of foreign

intervention. That injustice must be remedied through an early and

peaceful reunification of the Korean peninsula, free from external

interference. While we applaud the positive beginning ushered in by

the joint communique of 4 July 1972 we especially welcome the efforts

of the Government of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea wards

the peaceful reunification of Korea. The tragic war between the

Islamic Republic of Iran and Iraq continues to be a matter of grave

concern to us. In our view, the continuation of that conflict is

clearly not in the interests of either the Iranian or the Iraqi

people. We appeal once again to the parties in conflict to abandon

the path of war and settle their differences by peaceful means.

Uganda remains concerned about the unhappy situations in Cyprus,

Afghanistan and Kampuchea, all of which call for negotiated political

solutions. The peoples of those countries must be allowed to

determine their own destinies, free from any outside interference. We

live in an era in which advances in science and technology have

placed in our hands arsenals capable of destroying the world 30 times

over. Even more ominous is the fact that we live in an era in which

the nations that possess those deadly weapons of destruction are

showing an increasing willingness to use them to wage limited and

winnable nuclear wars. Such talk, needless to say, is cause for grave

concern to all peace loving countries and peoples. Our concern has

been heightened by the failure of the Assembly at the second special

session on disarmament to adopt concrete measures to eliminate the

dangers of war, halt and reverse the arms race and adopt a

comprehensive programme for disarmament. The peoples of the world had

placed high hopes on the outcome of the session. The mammoth rally

held here in New York at the time of the session, as well as peace

demonstrations all over the world in favor of disarmament, were a

clear message of international public indignation at the unbridled

arms race and in favor of peace. The failure to adopt concrete

measures tor effective disarmament negotiations was therefore a deep

disappointment to all peace loving peoples the world over. Those who

contributed to that dismal outcome to the session must take full

responsibility for the consequences that may follow. We believe that

the deadlock in disarmament negotiations has and will continue to

have negative effects on other areas of international cooperation. It

is therefore of the utmost importance this session of the General

Assembly find ways and means of breaking the deadlock. In this

regard, we urge the big Powers to exercise restraint and flexibility

and to show the necessary political will so as to further the cause

of peace. We are meeting in the aftermath of the Second United

Nations Conference on the Exploration and Peaceful Uses of Outer

Space, held at Vienna, 9 to 21 August, the report of which is before

the Assembly. The potential of outer space represents a valuable

common heritage for mankind. Outer space offers yet another unique

opportunity for mankind to explore new frontiers with a common

purpose and for mutual benefit. In the view of my delegation, the

exploration and exploitation of outer space should proceedon the

basis of a cooperative effort determined by an international set of

binding principles and rules. The pursuit of cooperative objectives

and common benefits precludes the promotion of contradictory

interests. It is for this reason that my delegation is strongly

opposed to the militarization of outer space. We urge strict

adherence to the 1966 Treaty on Principles Governing the Activities

of States in the Exploration and Use of Outer Space, including the

Moon and other Celestial Bodies. On the economic f. the situation is

equally grave. The global economic crisis, which is characterized by

recession and rampant inflation, high interest rates and

protectionism in the developed countries on the one hand and a

serious deterioration in the terms of trade and increasing external

indebtedness of the developing countries, on the other hand, has

reached alarming dimensions. The situation has been compounded by the

deadlock in international economic negotiations, the arms race and a

drastic decline in the transfer of real resources to the developing

countries. All those factors have combined to affect adversely the

world economy in general and the development of the developing

countries in particular. There has, in addition, been a sharp decline

in the spirit of interdependence and in international cooperation

aimed at finding constructive solutions to present problems. The

emphasis which is increasingly being given to bilateral arrangements

by some developed countries at the expense of multilateral

cooperation has gravely affected the operation of multilateral

agencies and programmes such as UNDP, and the economies of the

developing countries. Under these circumstances, the launching of

global negotiations remains one of the most important items on the

agenda of the General Assembly. The hopes the international community

has placed in the General Assembly to ensure that the process of

correcting the structural imbalances in the present world economy is

embarked upon without any further delay must be realized. As we have

previously stated, our frustration has been increased by the glaring

lack of progress in implementing the decisions unanimously adopted at

the sixth special session of the General Assembly, at which a solemn

commitment to work for the establishment of the new international

economic order was made by all of us. It was therefore with a deep

sense of disappointment that we witnessed the failure at the thirty

sixth session to break the impasse in the launching of global

negotiations. In this regard Uganda is of the view that General

Assembly resolution 34/138 of 14 December 1979, which was accepted by

the international community as a whole, is the appropriate basis for

launching the global negotiations. We appeal to those countries that

are stalling to join the consensus on the need for an early launching

of those negotiations. The present economic problems must not prevent

us from charting a more stable and reliable path to meaningful

international economic cooperation for development. If the global

round of negotiations is not launched soon, we fear that there will

continue to be increasing difficulties in other forthcoming

negotiations such as those at the sixth session of UNCTAD and the

fourth session of UNIDO. Indeed, the success or failure of the thirty

seventh session will be judged by whether or not we can generate

adequate political will to bring about a breakthrough for the

launching of global negotiations. As one of the least developed

countries, Uganda attaches great importance to the Substantial New

Programme of Action for the 1980s for the Least Developed Countries

adopted in Paris last year? for the purpose of arresting the economic

deterioration of the least developed countries. We believe that its

speedy and successful implementation requires a deeper sense of

commitment to substantial resource focus on the least developed

countries, especially on the part of the developed countries,

international financial institutions and United Nations agencies. We

are very concerned that no agreement has sofar been reached on the

twin critical issues of specific additional and adequate financial

targets for new and renewable sources of energy and the establishment

of an energy affiliate of the World Bank. We hope, however, that the

consultative mechanism contained in the Rome compromise for the

mobilization of finance and the transfer of technology to the

developing countries will receive the necessary international

support. We have for a long time accepted that international measures

of assistance are only supportive and cannot indeed, should not be a

substitute for efforts by the developing counties themselves. In this

regard we commend the efforts of the developing countries to

implement the Caracas Programme of Action. The seriousness with which

a number of Group of 77 sectorial meetings with regard to the

implementation of the Caracas Programme of Action have been

undertaken is evidence that the spirit of Caracas continues to grow.

39. Uganda remains committed to the strengthening of economic

cooperation among developing countries as an essential component of

the new international economic order and as an effective means of

enhancing the collective self reliance of the developing countries.

In Africa we are trying to foster economic cooperation under the

Lagos Plan of Action for the Implementation of the Monrovia Strategy

for Mie Economic Development of Africa. The international community

should assist Africa in its efforts to implement the Lagos Plan of

Action, which we hope will in time secure the economic integration of

the continent. The year 1982 has been characterized by an increase in

armed conflicts, escalation if the arms race, the persistence of

potentially explosive territorial disputes; lingering colonialism and

foreign interference and intervention. Unbridled big Power rivalry

and the quest for spheres of dominance have continued to fuel the

hotbeds of world tension. This increasing world tension has had a

very negative impact on the work of the United Nations. It is against

this background that we salute and commend the Secretary General for

his bold and refreshing report on the work of the Organization. As a

member of the Security Council, Uganda is familiar with the trend

that has led to the steady erosion of the Security Council's

authority and effectiveness. My delegation is of the view that the

Secretary General's report deserves formal consideration by both the

Security Council and the General Assembly, in order to work out

concrete measures to improve the effectiveness of the United Nations.

Uganda celebrated the twentieth anniversary of its independence last

Saturday, 9 October 1982. In two weeks' time it will be 20 years

since Uganda was admitted as the one hundred and tenth Member of the

United Nations. On this memorable occasion I should like to recall

what the President of the Republic of Uganda A. Milton Obote, said

from this rostrum at the seventeenth session 20 years ago with regard

to the international situation: I am very conscious that Uganda joins

the Organization at a time when humanity is at the crossroads of

destiny, when great nations are re arming With the most devastating

weapons ever known, when the world Organization and the world at

large are ridden with ideological conflicts and the continuing

effects of the cold war, and when vast resources that should be used

for the alleviation of human misery are being channeled into nuclear

armaments. Today the world seems dark, but these darkening scenes,

we, as a new Member, pray, should not discourage us in the ability of

the Member nations present here to realize the shortcomings of this

Organization and to pledge their faith in its ability as the only

positive hope for the restoration of sanity and peace among the

nations of the world. Those remarks remain very pertinent today,

indeed more so than in 1962. As we enter the third decade of our

independence. I wish to reaffirm, on behalf of the Government and

people of Uganda, our full commitment to the purposes and principles

of the Charter of the United Nations and our faith in the ability of

the Organization to develop the capacity to save present and future

generations from the scourge of war.