UN Human Rights Treaties

United Nations
GENERAL ASSEMBLY
THIRTY-EIGHTH SESSION Official Records

66th PLENARY MEETING
Tuesday, 22 November 1983, at 10.50 a.m.
NEW YORK

President: Mr. Jorge E. ILLUECA (Panama).
AGENDA ITEMS 82 AND 83
Implementation of the Programme for the Decade for Action to Combat Racism and Racial Discrimination: report of the Secretary-General
Second World Conference to Combat Racism and Racial Discrimination: report of the Secretary-General
AGENDA ITEM 86
Importance of the universal realization of the right of peoples to self-determination and of the speedy granting of independence to colonial countries and peoples for the effective guarantee and observance of human rights: report of the Secretary-General
AGENDA ITEM 87
Elimination of all forms of racial discrimination:
(a) Report of the Committee on the Elimination of
Racial Discrimination:
(i) Report of the Committee;
(ii) Report of the Secretary-General;
(b) Status of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination: report of the Secretary-General;
(c) Status of the International Convention on the Suppression and Punishment of the Crime of Apartheid: report of the Secretary-General
AGENDA ITEM 84
International Youth Year: Participation, Development, Peace: report of the Secretary-General
AGENDA ITEM 85
World social situation:
(a) Implementation of General Assembly resolution 37/54;
(b) National experience in achieving far-reaching social and economic changes for the purpose of social progress: reports of the Secretary-General;
(c) Popular participation in its various forms as an important factor in development and in the realization of human rights: report of the Secretary-General
AGENDA ITEM 88
Policies and programmes relating to youth: report of the Secretary-General

AGENDA ITEM 89
Question of aging: report of the Secretary-General
AGENDA ITEM 90
World Programme of Action concerning Disabled Persons: report of the Secretary-General
1. Mrs. SANGARE-KABA (Guinea), Rapporteur of the Third Committee (interpretation from French): May
I, as Rapporteur of the Third Committee, congratulate
you most warmly, Sir, on your election to the presidency
of the thirty-eighth session of the General Assembly. Like
all those who have already spoken from this rostrum, I
am sure that thanks to your experience and wisdom the
work of the thirty-eighth session will be successful.
2. It is now my honour to present to the General Assembly the reports of the Third Committee on agenda items 82 and 83, 86, 87, 84, 85, 88, 89 and 90, which are contained in documents A/38/541, A/38/542, A/38/543, A/38/571, A/38/572, A/38/573, A/38/574 and A/38/ 575, respectively.
3. In paragraph 10 of its report on agenda items 82 and 83 [A/38/541], the Third Committee recommends to the General Assembly the adoption of two draft resolutions entitled, respectively, "Second Decade to Combat Racism and Racial Discrimination" and "Second World Conference to Combat Racism and Racial Discrimination". Both draft resolutions were adopted by the Committee by consensus.
4. In paragraph 10 of its report on agenda item 86 [A/38/542], the Committee recommends to the Assembly the adoption of two draft resolutions. Draft resolution I, entitled "Universal realization of the right of peoples to self-determination", was adopted without a vote. Draft resolution II, entitled "Importance of the universal realization of the right of peoples to self-determination and of the speedy granting of independence to colonial countries and peoples for the effective guarantee and observance of human rights", was adopted by a recorded vote of 105 to 17, with 8 abstentions.
5. In paragraph 16 of its report on agenda item 87 [A/38/543], on the elimination of all forms of racial dis-crimination, the Committee recommends to the Assembly the adoption of four draft resolutions. Draft resolutions I and III were adopted without a vote. Draft resolution II was adopted by a recorded vote of 107 to 1, with 23 abstentions. With regard to draft resolution IV, the Committee, after voting separately on operative paragraphs 3 and 11, adopted the draft resolution as a whole without a vote.
6. In paragraph 10 of its report on agenda item 84 [A/38/571], entitled "International Youth Year: Participation, Development, Peace: report of the Secretary-General", the Committee recommends to the Assembly the adoption of two draft resolutions that it adopted without a vote.
7. In paragraph 10 of its report on agenda item 85 [A/38/***], on the world social situation, the Committee

A/38/PV.66

recommends to the Assembly the adoption of two draft resolutions. Draft resolution I was adopted without a vote; draft resolution II was adopted by a roll-call vote of 107 to 1, with 9 abstentions.
8. In paragraph 7 of its report on agenda item 88 [A/38/573], entitled "Policies and programmes relating to youth: report of the Secretary-General", the Committee recommends to the Assembly the adoption of a draft resolution that it adopted without a vote.
9. In paragraph 7 of its report on agenda item 89 [A/38/574], entitled "Question of aging: report of the Secretary-General", the Committee recommends to the Assembly the adoption of a draft resolution which it adopted without a vote.

10. In paragraph 7 of its report on agenda item 90 [A/38/575], entitled "World Programme of Action con-cerning Disabled Persons: report of the Secretary-General", the Committee recommends to the Assembly the adoption of a draft resolution which it adopted without a vote.
11. I submit these recommendations of the Third Committee to the General Assembly for adoption.
Pursuant to rule 66 of the rules of procedure, it was decided not to discuss the reports of the Third Commitee.
12. The PRESIDENT (interpretation from Spanish): Statements will be limited to explanations of vote. The positions of delegations regarding the various recommendations of the Third Committee have been made clear in the Committee and are reflected in the relevant summary records. May I remind members that, in paragraph 7 of its decision 34/401, the General Assembly decided that, when the same draft resolution is considered in a Main Committee and in plenary meeting, a delegation should as far as possible, explain its vote only once, that is, either in the Committee or in plenary meeting, unless that delegation's vote in plenary meeting is different from its vote in the Committee. May I also remind members that, also in accordance with decision 34/401, explanations of vote are limited to 10 minutes and should be made by delegations from their seats.
13. We shall first take up the report of the Third Committee on agenda items 82 and 83 [A/38/541]. The Assembly will now take a decision on the two draft resolutions recommended in paragraph 10 of that report.
14. Draft resolution I is entitled "Second Decade to Combat Racism and Racial Discrimination". The Third Committee adopted Draft resolution I by consensus. May I take it that the General Assembly also wishes to adopt draft resolution I?
Draft resolution I was adopted (resolution 38/14).
15. The PRESIDENT (interpretation from Spanish):
The Assembly will now take a decision on draft resolu
tion II, entitled "Second World Conference to Combat
Racism and Racial Discrimination". The Committee
adopted draft resolution II by consensus. May I take it
that the General Assembly also wishes to adopt draft
resolution II?
Draft resolution II was adopted (resolution 38/15).
16. The PRESIDENT (interpretation from Spanish): I call on the representative of the United States, who wishes to explain his position.
17. Mr. DOMBALIS (United States of America): I wish to note for the record that the United States did not participate in the consensus on draft resolutions I and II. The United States position on these draft resolutions was explained during the debate on this item in the Third Committee.

18. The PRESIDENT (interpretation from Spanish): The General Assembly will now consider the report of the Third Committee on agenda item 86 [A/38/542] and take a decision on the two draft resolutions recommended in paragraph 10 of that report.
19. Draft resolution I is entitled "Universal realization of the right of peoples to self-determination? It was adopted by the Committee without a vote. May I take it that the General Assembly also wishes to adopt draft resolution I?
Draft resolution I was adopted (resolution 38/16).
20. The PRESIDENT (interpretation from Spanish):
The Assembly will now take a decision on draft resolu
tion II, entitled "Importance of the universal realization
of the right of peoples to self-determination and of the
speedy granting of independence to colonial countries and
peoples for the effective guarantee and observance of
human rights". A recorded vote has been requested.
A recorded vote was taken.
In favour: Afghanistan, Albania, Algeria, Angola, Argentina, Bahamas, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Bolivia, Botswana, Brazil, Bulgaria, Burma, Burundi, Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic, Cape Verde, Chile, China, Congo, Cuba, Cyprus, Czechoslovakia, Democratic Kampuchea, Democratic Yemen, Djibouti, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, El Salvador, Ethiopia, Fiji, Gabon, German Democratic Republic, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Guyana, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Iran (Islamic Republic of), Iraq, Jamaica, Jordan, Kenya, Kuwait, Lao People's Democratic Republic, Lebanon, Lesotho, Libyan Arab Jamahiriya, Madagascar, Malaysia, Maldives, Mali, Malta, Mauritania, Mauritius, Mexico, Mongolia, Morocco, Mozambique, Nepal, Nicaragua, Nigeria, Oman, Pakistan, Panama, Papua New Guinea, Paraguay,1 Peru, Philippines, Poland, Qatar, Romania, Rwanda, Saint Lucia, Sao Tome and Principe, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Singapore, Somalia, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Suriname, Swaziland, Syrian Arab Republic, Thailand, Togo, Trinidad and Tobago, Tunisia, Turkey, Uganda, Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic, Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, United Arab Emirates, United Republic of Cameroon, United Republic of Tanzania, Upper Volta, Uruguay, Venezuela, Viet Nam, Yemen, Yugoslavia, Zambia.
Against: Australia, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Federal Republic of, Iceland, Israel, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Sweden, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, United States of America.
Abstaining: Austria, Greece, Ireland, Japan, Portugal, Spain.
Draft resolution II was adopted by 104 votes to 17, with 6 abstentions (resolution 38/17).1
21. The PRESIDENT (interpretation from Spanish): I shall now call on those representatives who wish to speak in explanation of vote.
22. Mr. MASSOT (Brazil): The Brazilian delegation voted in favour of draft resolution II because we strongly support its main thrust. Notwithstanding this position, my delegation wishes to recall our remarks on certain paragraphs of the Paris Declaration on Namibia, adopted, with our affirmative vote, by the International Conference in Support of the Struggle of the Namibian People for Independence, held in Paris from 25 to 29 April 1983,2 as well as our explanation of vote after the adoption by acclamation of the Geneva Declaration on Palestine and the Programme of Action for the Achievement of Palestinian Rights by the International Conference on

the Question of Palestine,3 which is mentioned in paragraph 5 of the resolution just adopted. With regard to paragraph 18 of the resolution, Brazil was not invited to the International Conference on the Alliance between South Africa and Israel, held at Vienna from 11 to 13 July 1983, and therefore is not fully acquainted with the debates that took place at that Conference or with the content of its final documents.
23. Mrs. CASTRO de BARISH (Costa Rica) (interpretation from Spanish): The delegation of Costa Rica was one of the sponsors of draft resolution I, which was adopted by consensus both in the Third Committee and in plenary meeting, because Costa Rica fully supports, as it has always done, the right of peoples to self-determination in the full meaning of the words. This recognition is not confined to the right of colonial peoples, but also encompasses the right of peoples of independent countries to full self-determination, which is so essential to mankind, because if the individual is not free then the people cannot be free.
24. Hence, we support many of the principles set forth in draft resolution II. In particular, we support the paragraphs which refer to the Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples [resolution 1514 (XV)], the question of Namibia and the struggle of the Namibian people for freedom and the Paris Conference. In fact, Costa Rica was the host of the Regional Symposium in Support of the Namibian Cause in Latin America, held at San Jos6 from 16 to 19 August 1983. Similarly, we support the paragraphs which refer to the rejection of the odious policies of apartheid of South Africa and its whole unjust, repressive policy of violation of the basic human rights of the people of South Africa and bantustanization, as well as its acts of aggression against independent front-line African States and against Angola, Lesotho, and most recently, Mozambique. None the less, we did not vote in favour of this resolution because there are paragraphs in it which, to our minds, are unilateral.
25. The PRESIDENT (interpretation from Spanish): We turn next to the report of the Third Committee on agenda item 87 [A/38/543].
26. I call on the representative of Democratic Kampuchea, who has asked to speak in explanation of vote before the vote.
27. Mr. PENN NHACH (Democratic Kampuchea) (interpretation from French): We voted in favour of draft resolution A/C.3/38/L.5, now draft resolution II, in the Third Committee and will again vote in favour of it in plenary meeting. The Coalition Government of Democratic Kampuchea has already on many occasions, and again this last week during the debate on apartheid, expressed its opposition to all forms of discrimination, in particular apartheid, which it regards as a violation of fundamental human rights and of the spirit of the Charter of the United Nations. In this respect, the Coalition Government of Democratic Kampuchea has already condemned the policy of apartheid of South Africa. Consequently, my delegation considers it particularly cynical that one country should use the General Assembly to achieve its annexationist and imperialist ambitions. Today that country is one of the sponsors of draft resolution II, while it deliberately ignores many resolutions adopted by the Assembly calling for the withdrawal of occupying troops from my country. It is hardly necessary to say that the presence of those troops is a persistent violation of the fundamental rights of my people. My delegation considers, therefore, that if this country wishes to set an example for others it should begin by behaving

well itself and, first and foremost, by respecting the many resolutions which have been adopted by the overwhelming majority of members of the Assembly each year since 1979.1 need hardly add that the country to which I am referring is the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam.
28. The PRESIDENT (interpretation from Spanish): The Assembly will now take a decision on the four draft resolutions recommended by the Third Committee in paragraph 16 of its report [A/38/543].
29. Draft resolution I is entitled "Status of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination". The Third Committee adopted it without a vote. May I take it that the General Assembly wishes to do the same?
Draft resolution I was adopted (resolution 38/18).
30. The PRESIDENT (interpretation from Spanish):
Draft resolution II is entitled "Status of the International
Convention on the Suppression and Punishment of the
Crime of Apartheid". A recorded vote has been requested.
A recorded vote was taken.
In favour: Afghanistan, Albania, Algeria, Angola, Argentina, Bahamas, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Bolivia, Botswana, Brazil, Bulgaria, Burma, Burundi, Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic, Cape Verde, Chad, Chile, China, Colombia, Congo, Costa Rica, Cuba, Cyprus, Czechoslovakia, Democratic Kampuchea, Democratic Yemen, Djibouti, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, El Salvador, Ethiopia, Fiji, Gabon, German Democratic Republic, Guatemala, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Guyana, Honduras, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Iran (Islamic Republic of), Iraq, Jamaica, Jordan, Kenya, Kuwait, Lao People's Democratic Republic, Lebanon, Lesotho, Liberia, Libyan Arab Jamahiriya, Madagascar, Malaysia, Maldives, Mali, Malta, Mauritania, Mauritius, Mexico, Morocco, Mozambique, Nepal, Nicaragua, Nigeria, Oman, Pakistan, Panama, Papua New Guinea, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Qatar, Romania, Rwanda, Saint Lucia, Samoa, Sao Tome and Principe, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Singapore, Solomon Islands, Somalia, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Suriname, Syrian Arab Republic, Thailand, Togo, Trinidad and Tobago, Tunisia, Turkey, Uganda, Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic, Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, United Arab Emirates, United Republic of Cameroon, United Republic of Tanzania, Upper Volta, Uruguay, Venezuela, Viet Nam, Yemen, Yugoslavia, Zaire, Zambia.
Against: United States of America.
Abstaining: Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Federal Republic of, Greece, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, Malawi, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Swaziland, Sweden, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
Draft resolution II was adopted by 110 votes to 1, with 23 abstentions (resolution 38/19).*
31. The PRESIDENT (interpretation from Spanish):
Draft resolution III is entitled "Report of the Committee
on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination: reporting
obligations of States". The Third Committee adopted it
without a vote. May I take it that the General Assembly
wishes to do the same?
Draft resolution III was adopted (resolution 38/20).
32. The PRESIDENT (interpretation from Spanish):
Draft resolution IV is entitled "Report of the Committee
on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination". The Third
Committee adopted it without a vote. May I take it that
the General Assembly wishes to do the same?
Draft resolution IV was adopted (resolution 38/21).

33. The PRESIDENT {interpretation from Spanish): The General Assembly will consider next the report of the Third Committee on agenda item 84 [A/38/571] and proceed to take a decision on the two draft resolutions contained in paragraph 10 of that report.
34. Draft resolution I, entitled "International Youth Year: Participation, Development, Peace", was adopted by the Third Committee without a vote. May I take it that the Assembly wishes to do the same?
Draft resolution I was adopted (resolution 38/22).
35. The PRESIDENT (interpretation from Spanish):
Draft resolution II, entitled "Efforts and measures for
securing the implementation and the enjoyment by youth
of human rights, particularly the right to education and to
work", was adopted by the Third Committee without a
vote. May I take it that the General Assembly wishes to
do the same?
Draft resolution II was adopted (resolution 38/23).
36. The PRESIDENT (interpretation from Spanish): The next item before us today is the report of the Third Committee on agenda item 85 [A/38/572]. I invite members to turn their attention to the two draft resolutions recommended by the Committee in paragraph 10 of its report.
37. Draft resolution I, entitled "Popular participation in its various forms as an important factor in development and in the full realization of all human rights'9, was adopted by the Third Committee without a vote. May I take it that the General Assembly wishes to do the same?
Draft resolution I was adopted (resolution 38/24).
38. The PRESIDENT (interpretation from Spanish):
Draft resolution II is entitled "National experience in
achieving far-reaching social and economic changes for
the purpose of social progress". A recorded vote has been
requested.
A recorded vote was taken.
In favour. Afghanistan, Albania, Algeria, Angola, Argentina, Austria, Bahamas, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Barbados, Belgium, Bhutan, Bolivia, Botswana, Brazil, Bulgaria, Burma, Burundi, Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic, Cape Verde, Chad, Chile, China, Colombia, Comoros, Congo, Costa Rica, Cuba, Cyprus, Czechoslovakia,, Democratic Kampuchea, Democratic Yemen, Denmark, Djibouti, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, El Salvador, Ethiopia, Fiji, Finland, France, Gabon, German Democratic Republic, Greece, Guatemala, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Guyana, Honduras, Hungary, Iceland, India, Indonesia, Iran (Islamic Republic of), Iraq, Ireland, Jamaica, Jordan, Kenya, Kuwait, Lao People's Democratic Republic, Lebanon, Lesotho, Liberia, Libyan Arab Jamahiriya, Luxembourg, Madagascar, Malawi, Malaysia, Maldives, Mali, Malta, Mauritania, Mauritius, Mexico, Mongolia, Morocco, Mozambique, Nepal, Netherlands, Nicaragua, Nigeria, Norway, Oman, Pakistan, Panama, Papua New Guinea, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Qatar, Romania, Rwanda, Saint Lucia, Samoa, Sao Tome and Principe, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Singapore, Solomon Islands, Somalia, Spain, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Suriname, Swaziland, Sweden, Syrian Arab Republic, Thailand, Togo, Trinidad and Tobago, Tunisia, Turkey, Uganda, Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic, Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, United Arab Emirates, United Republic of Cameroon, United Republic of Tanzania, Upper Volta, Uruguay, Venezuela, Viet Nam, Yemen, Yugoslavia, Zaire, Zambia. Zimbabwe.
Against: United States of America.
Abstaining: Australia, Canada, Germany, Federal Republic of, Israel, Italy, Japan, New Zealand, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

Draft resolution II was adopted by 131 votes to 1, with 8 abstentions (resolution 38/25).4
39. The PRESIDENT (interpretation from Spanish):
We shall now consider the report of the Third Committee
on agenda item 88 [A/38/573]. I put before the Assembly
the draft resolution recommended for adoption in para
graph 7 of that report. The draft resolution, entitled
"Channels of communication between the United Nations
and youth and youth organizations", was adopted by the
Committee without a vote. May I take it that the Gen
eral Assembly wishes to do the same?
The draft resolution was adopted (resolution 38/26).
40. The PRESIDENT (interpretation from Spanish):
The General Assembly will now consider the report of
the Third Committee on agenda item 89 [A/38/574] and
proceed to take a decision on the draft resolution recom
mended in paragraph 7 of that report. The Committee
adopted that draft resolution, entitled "Question of
aging", without a vote. May I take it that the Assembly
wishes to do the same?
The draft resolution was adopted (resolution 38/27).
41. The PRESIDENT (interpretation from Spanish):
The Assembly will now consider the report of the Third
Committee on agenda item 90 [A/38/575] and take a
decision on the draft resolution recommended in para
graph 7 of that report. The draft resolution is entitled
"Implementation of the World Programme of Action
concerning Disabled Persons". It was adopted by the
Third Committee without a vote. May I take it that the
General Assembly too wishes to adopt it?
The draft resolution was adopted (resolution 38/28).
AGENDA ITEM 29
The situation in Afghanistan and its implications for international peace and security: report of the Secretary-General (continued)*
42. Mr. KAPLLANI (Albania): The peoples of the world cannot have forgotten how the Soviet social-imperialists, after their invasion of Czechoslovakia, tried by hook or by crook to erase their aggressor's image from their minds. The two super-Powers, having exerted joint efforts concerning the holding of the Conference on Security and Co-operation in Europe, which ended with the signing with great pomp, at Helsinki on 1 August 1975, of the Final Act, boasted of their contribution to, and merit regarding this entire affair.
43. The Soviet social-imperialists needed the Helsinki Final Act also as a fig-leaf to cover up their shameful deed. But not many years had elapsed since the Helsinki Conference—where they had washed their blood-stained hands by solemnly "pledging" that they would strive for international peace and security—before the world learned that once again the Soviet social-imperialists had barbarously attacked and invaded another country, this time Afghanistan, with their tanks and war-planes. This savage aggression committed against a small neighbouring country was an open manifestation of the pronounced military character of their policy, which relies on the use of force for attaining expansionist ambitions. It was also a crime against freedom-loving peoples and against international peace and security. With this act, the social-imperialist Soviet Union has shown that; just like United States imperialism, it constitutes today a serious danger and threat, to the freedom and independence of peoples throughout the world.
?Resumed from the 64th meeting.

44. In order to conceal their expansionist and hegem-onist goals, the Soviet social-imperialists are making a big demagogic fuss. They are making use of the "socialist country" label in order to pass themselves off as champions of international peace and security.
45. In fierce rivalry for world hegemony with the other super-Power, the United States, they are engaged in an unscrupulous propaganda campaign and competition aimed at deceiving the peoples. Here in the United Nations we see them posing as the greatest defenders of the right of peoples to self-determination or of the principle of the non-use of force in international relations. But the Soviet military aggression against, and invasion of, Afghanistan which came after the occupation of Czechoslovakia, along with Soviet expansion in other parts of the world-just like the policies of brutal aggression and occupation of the United States, as demonstrated only a decade ago against the peoples and countries of Indo-China and most recently in the invasion of Grenada—has torn off the mask of the super-Powers before the eyes of the peoples of the world.
46. The patriotic people of Afghanistan have not for a moment reconciled themselves to the Soviet invasion or to the regime which the latter has installed in Kabul. Although the occupying forces, which number more than 100,000 men equipped with modern weapons, have stepped up their ruthless and indiscriminate massacres and air raids against villages and civilian population centres, the Afghan people and patriots have met the aggressors' violence with fierce resistance, dealing them and the indigenous mercenaries heavy blows. The courageous military operations carried out by the Afghan patriots have caused fear, panic and insecurity among the invaders. They have put the Soviet occupiers in a difficult position not only on the battlefield but also at the political level, discrediting them before the world public.
47. That is why the Soviet social-imperialists, while using the well-known "scorched earth" tactics of imperialism in the mountains and valleys of Afghanistan, are busy in the diplomatic field hatching plots and intrigues aimed at damping down the hatred felt by the peoples of the world and perpetuating their occupation of Afghanistan. That is the aim of the so-called political solution to the Afghan problem, according to which a gradual pull-out of the Soviet occupying troops would allegedly become possible. But life and reality have shown that the talks on the so-called political solution serve to enable Moscow to cany on its demagogic campaign so as to buy time and consolidate its position in Afghanistan.
48. During the four years of the occupation of Afghanistan, the Soviet occupiers not only have not shown the slightest intention to move out of Afghanistan of their own accord but have implanted themselves there; they have constructed new roads and expanded the strategic highways linking the Soviet Union with Afghanistan. In addition, new military bases and airports have been built for the clear purpose of turning Afghanistan into a satellite and a bridgehead in their march towards the south.
49. It should not be forgotten that the tragedy against Afghanistan took place against the background of the rivalry and intrigues of the imperialist super-Powers—the United States, the Soviet Union and China—for spheres of influence in Asia, particularly in the region of the Gulf, where rich oilfields are situated and where the economic, political and strategic interests of the super-Powers and other imperialist Powers clash. It is within this context that we should view the policies and the activities of the super-Powers in the entire region of the Near East, where the rivalry between them has become a real threat to peace not only in the region but also in the world at large.

United States Marines, warships and aircraft carriers are criss-crossing warm waters of the eastern Mediterannean and cruising off the shores of Lebanon not for tourist excursions but for military incursions. The invasion of Afghanistan by the Soviet social-imperialists, the explosive situation existing in the Middle East and the sabre-rattling by United States imperialists threatening Lebanon and other countries of the region with aggression are also part of a plot aimed at putting Iran between two fires so as to subdue the anti-imperialist Iranian revolution.
50. Hence the peoples cannot be deceived by propaganda and demagogy of the super-Powers, which do not spare each other in their mutual accusations whenever one of them launches aggression against the peoples. We heard the United States imperialists shout at the top of their voices and pose as the supporters of the Afghan people when the latter became victims of Soviet aggression and occupation. We see now the same farce being played out by the Soviet Union when it comes up against the United States invasion of Grenada. But the peoples cannot fail to see that this is but a tragedy which is being played out on their backs. These contradictions and conflicts between the super-Powers are part of their efforts to elbow each other aside. It is an expression of the ongoing rivalry between them for world hegemony.
51. It has always been our belief, as it is now our conviction, that a just solution to the Afghan problem will come about as a result of the just national liberation struggle of its people and not through a so-called political settlement.
52. The Socialist People's Republic of Albania has condemned the Soviet social-imperialist aggression and its continuing occupation of Afghanistan. The Albanian delegation once again expresses the resolute support of the Albanian people and Government for the struggle of the brave and freedom-loving Afghan people to drive out the aggressors and free their country from Soviet occupation.
53. Mr. ZAKI (Egypt) (interpretation from Arabic): After the military intervention by the Soviet Union in Afghanistan, Egypt was among the first countries to condemn that intervention and to support the struggle of the Afghan people. It has demanded the total withdrawal of Soviet troops from Afghanistan and pointed out the necessity of achieving a peaceful settlement of the problem in conformity with the relevant General Assembly resolutions.
54. Egypt has been a staunch supporter of the principles of the Charter of the United Nations, especially those concerning respect for the freedom, independence and sovereignty of peoples and States, non-interference and non-intervention in the internal affairs of other countries, and the right of peoples to self-determination. Egypt has underlined its position by upholding the various United Nations resolutions on the problem of Afghanistan and by supporting the decisions adopted by the Seventh Conference of Heads of State or Government of Non-Aligned Countries, held in New Delhi from 7 to 12 March 1983, which set forth the position of the non-aligned countries on this problem [see A/38/132 and Corr.1 and 2, annex, sect. I, paras. 114 and 115].
55. Today, Egypt reaffirms its firm solidarity with the fraternal people of Afghanistan in their legitimate struggle to recover their inalienable rights. Egypt will continue to pursue its peaceful efforts because of its profound conviction that resort to force to resolve international problems will result only in their further exacerbation.
56. The claim that the problem of Afghanistan is an internal one with which the United Nations should not

concern itself and the claim that consideration of the problem by the General Assembly constitutes interference in the internal affairs of Afghanistan are undoubtedly flimsy, unrealistic and illogical claims. The problem of Afghanistan, as we all know, is that of a people whose country has been subjected to military intervention by a super-Power, which has installed a puppet regime loyal to itself, against the wishes of the Afghan people, in order to further its strategic goals in the area.
57. I need not here go into the various aspects of this problem. The problem of Afghanistan, with its grave political dimensions, speaks for itself. Furthermore, the negative implications of this intervention, which are political, and its inhuman repercussions still vividly demonstrate the danger which this problem poses to international peace and security.
58. During the last four years, the General Assembly has adopted resolutions which contain practical and just bases for resolving the problem of Afghanistan. The overwhelming support which marked the adoption of those resolutions has been an expression of the international will that rejects the foreign military intervention in Afghanistan and its resolve to solve this problem in such a way as to restore to the Afghan people their inalienable rights.
59. The adoption of those resolutions by overwhelming majorities is the best proof of the determination of the international community to reject the policy of fait accompli imposed by foreign military force on the Afghan people, as well as its determination to defend the principles enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations and international law.
60. It is indeed regrettable that, despite the unstinting international efforts aimed at reaching a peaceful solution of this problem, no concrete results have as yet been achieved, because the resolutions of the United Nations in this connection have gone unheeded.
61. The paramount importance which the international community attaches to the problem of Afghanistan stems from three main factors.
62. The first factor is one of principle, which obliges all of us, as Members of the United Nations, to uphold the principles and goals enshrined in the Charter and in international law. Flowing from this, it was incumbent on us all to stand against the Soviet military intervention in Afghanistan.
63. The second factor stems from the fact that Afghanistan belongs to the Movement of Non-Aligned Countries, which makes it incumbent on all States members of that Movement to express solidarity with the Afghan people and enable them to recover their freedom, sovereignty, political independence and non-aligned status.
64. The third factor is a religious one, stemming from the fact that Afghanistan belongs to the group of Islamic States, which makes it incumbent upon all the Islamic States to stand by the Muslim Afghan people in their holy struggle to bring to an end the Soviet military intervention in their country, to preserve their Islamic character and protect themselves from alien ideologies which contravene their Islamic faith. Hence it was incumbent upon all the Islamic countries to adopt and support this cause and to spare no effort to enable the Islamic people of Afghanistan to realize their aspirations and recover their rights.
65. Egypt maintains that the solution of the Afghan problem rests upon the following elements. First, there must be total and unconditional withdrawal of the Soviet forces from Afghan territory, within a time-frame to be determined by the United Nations. Secondly, the Afghan

people must be enabled to exercise their right to self-determination, free from all foreign interference. Thirdly, there must be respect for the sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity of Afghanistan. Fourthly, the Afghan refugees must be enabled to return to their homeland in dignity and safety. Fifthly, there must be non-interference and non-intervention in the internal affairs of Afghanistan. Sixthly, there must be participation of the Afghan freedom fighters in all efforts aimed at solving the problem. Seventhly, Afghanistan's non-aligned status must be preserved.
66. Those are the just prerequisites for solving this problem, and they flow from universally-accepted principles and are confirmed by the relevant General Assembly resolutions.
67. Egypt attaches particular importance to this problem and appeals to all the parties to exert further efforts in order to reach a just settlement.
68. We note with appreciation the unstinting efforts of the Secretary-General and his personal representative in this connection. The Secretary-General's report [A/38/ 449] is a detailed presentation of these praiseworthy efforts. The Secretary-General has indicated that important progress was made in setting forth the general principles of a comprehensive settlement of the problem, as well as the objectives and the interrelationship between the four constituent elements and provisions to implement them.
69. We hope that the efforts to remove outstanding differences on remaining issues will be crowned with success. We add our voice to the Secretary-General's in expressing deep concern at the slow pace of attempts to surmount present obstacles.
70. I cannot fail in this respect to pay a tribute to the laudable contribution of the United Nations High Com-missioner for Refugees in his great efforts to ease the plight of the Afghan refugees.
71. Egypt also pays tribute to the fraternal State of Pakistan for its steadfast and courageous handling of the conse-quences of the Soviet military intervention in Afghanistan.
72. The States members of the Movement of Non-Aligned Countries and of the Organization of the Islamic Conference have assumed an effective role in the search for a peaceful and just settlement of this problem. It behoves me here to refer to the declaration of the Heads of State or Government of Non-Aligned Countries at the New Delhi Conference in which they expressed their deep concern regarding the situation in Afghanistan and reiterated their urgent appeal for a political settlement of the problem.
73. Undoubtedly these efforts deserve support in all forms on the part of the international community.
74. Draft resolution A/38/L.17, which Egypt is privileged to co-sponsor, contains just and comprehensive bases and elements for the solution of the Afghan problem.
75. Paragraphs 1 and 2 of the draft resolution reaffirm the legitimate rights of the Afghan people, rights which are, in fact, inalienable for all peoples and all States because they flow from the principles of international law and the Charter of the United Nations to which we are all committed.
76. Paragraph 3 calls for the immediate withdrawal of the foreign troops from Afghanistan, that is, the Soviet troops. This call is indisputable since it deals with a flagrant violation of the international principles concerning respect for the sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity of States, the inadmissibility of the occupation of the territories of States by force and the

non-use of force in international relations. The implementation of this paragraph will undoubtedly restore international respect for those noble principles.
77. Paragraph 4 calls for a political solution to the problem and the creation of the necessary conditions to enable the Afghan refugees to return to their homeland in safety and honour. No one can be opposed to these demands, since they are in conformity with international and humanitarian principles.
78. As for paragraph 5, it appeals to the international community to continue to provide humanitarian relief assistance to the afflicted Afghan people. This is a duty for all of us on humanitarian grounds.
79. Paragraph 6 expresses the appreciation of the General Assembly for the constructive efforts of the Secretary-General, which deserve international recognition and support so that they can succeed.
80. These are the main elements in the draft resolution for the solution of the Afghan problem.
81. In the name of the principles of international law, of the Charter of the United Nations, of the principles of the Movement of Non-Aligned Countries and of the lofty Islamic principles, the draft resolution must undoubtedly receive overwhelming international support.
82. The struggle of the Afghan people to recover its freedom and independence is a vivid example of the struggle of peoples against foreign intervention in their internal affairs. There is no doubt that this heroic people which regards the right to freedom as sacred and which possesses great material and spiritual strength will succeed, God willing, in achieving its aspiratioas.
83. Mr. SHIHABI (Saudi Arabia) {interpretation from Arabic): The present tragedy of Afghanistan is a dark page in history, one that repeats itself. Approximately four years ago, in a dark night, the people of a country steeped in history, with a population of more than 16 million, awoke to the noise of rumbling tanks and attacking aircraft from their large northern neighbour invading their homeland. Afghanistan, a peaceful Islamic country, a friend of the Soviet Union with which it had been living in peace along their common borders, awoke to witness the armed forces of its large friend from the north invading its territory with the force of steel and fire. This is a chapter of history which repeats itself whenever history deviates from its proper course and whenever there occurs an imbalance in established relations and in the principles of good neighbourliness between States and whenever the temptation of invasion overcomes all other considerations. The Soviet people are no less aware of history than others, nor are they less familiar with the fate of an invader that confronts a people who firmly believe in their rights, who hold to their religious creed and who are confident that in struggling to protect their country they are defending their faith in God and all rights and values. The Soviet people themselves awoke one morning some forty years ago to the rumble of tanks and the thunder of aircraft invading their country. They know the fate of invaders.
84. The peoples of Saudi Arabia and Afghanistan, in their indivisible faith in Islam and a common history, have common ties which progressively grow stronger. The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, headed by His Majesty King Fahd, supports the Afghan people in its struggle to recover fully its rights in the whole of its country, free from any invasion and aggression, and to adhere to then-deep Islamic faith.
85. My Government has repeatedly, on many occasions, condemned the invasion of Afghanistan and has called upon the Soviet Union—the super-Power, which bears

a heavy responsibility for international security and for the protection of the principles of the Charter of the United Nations, with all its implications—to leave Afghanistan to the Afghan people and to withdraw from that country so that its people may exercise its right to live in freedom and to establish the system of its own choice. It will undoubtedly always maintain good-neighbourly relations with the Soviet Union if the Soviet Union, reciprocates the desire to do so.
86. During the four years since the invasion, the occupation army has succeeded in entering the country, com-pletely, robbing Afghanistan of its security, causing the exodus of more than 3.5 million of its inhabitants, creating insecurity throughout the region, and arousing the apprehensions of all the countries of the world, and especially of the countries of the region, with regard to the Soviet Union's purposes in invading Afghanistan. The Soviet Union has succeeded in showing the third world in general, and the Islamic World in particular, the risks of good-neighbourly relations when expansionist ambitions dominate, and in showing that any State may endanger its own security and become subject to the risks of invasion and occupation one dark night when it deals with a powerful neighbour which may entertain expansionist ambitions and which may try to carry them out when the opportunity permits.
87. Nevertheless, the invading army has so far failed, despite all its plans and capabilities, to subjugate Afghanistan, defeat the Afghan people and establish a regime which is unacceptable to the Afghan people. It has failed to establish security even in Kabul, the fortified capital city. We know, and the whole world knows, that the mujahidin today control most of Afghanistan, both by night and by day, and they are in control of the rest of the country for most of the hours of the night. We also know, and the whole world knows, that almost the whole Afghan army, which had been surprised by the Soviet invasion four years ago, has joined the mujahidin, taking with it its Soviet-made arms, equipment and ammunition, and this trend is continuing. Today we see a great Power, one of the two super-Powers, in fact, invading an independent country, a Muslim country which has never surrendered to any invader throughout its history. We see the invader failing and suffering enormous losses, damaging its reputation and prestige as a State bound by law and by the principles of the Charter, in an era when reputation and prestige have become effective weapons. It is time for the Soviet Union, the great Power and permanent member of the Security Council, to withdraw in order to salvage something from its losses. It is time for it to take stock of its profits and losses, which in Afghanistan will show a total loss.
88. The Organization of the Islamic Conference, at all its meetings at the highest level, had declared the position of the Islamic countries regarding the situation in Afghanistan and the right of the Afghan people to self-determination. The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is committed to that position. We also support the Secretary-General in his efforts to reach a just and acceptable solution to the tragedy of Afghanistan that would restore the country to its people and enable a super-Power to set an example of international responsibility, showing its ability to demonstrate self-restraint instead of its ability to invade and continue to occupy the country of others. True strength lies in the capacity to control one's own actions. This applies to States as much as to individuals. We urge that full use be made of the good offices of the United Nations and of the Organization of the Islamic Conference to reach a solution based on the full and unequivocal right of the Afghan people to their own country, and on

the concept that there is no room for occupation in Afghanistan.
89. We wish to place on record our sincere appreciation and thanks to the Republic of Pakistan for having opened its country and its heart to the Afghan refugees and for the humanitarian assistance it is giving them even at the expense of its economy. We plead with the civilized world, particularly the rich industrialized States which express sympathy for the Afghan people in its tragedy, to share this heavy burden with Pakistan.
90. From this rostrum of the United Nations, in the name of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and in the name of all those who support justice, we salute the valiant Afghan people, which has raised high the banner of justice in fighting for its faith, its homeland and its honour. We salute the courageous Afghan fighters who are sacrificing everything in their valiant struggle to prove that right is might and that it prevails over all other forces, however long darkness may last. The Afghan people today is defending the highest principles of justice, which underlie its Islamic faith. With the help of God, it Will be victorious.
91. Mr. ZARIF (Afghanistan): The delegation of the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan has had ample occasions during the last three years, and more recently at the beginning of this session of the General Assembly [21st meeting], to put before the international community the reasons why we have consistently objected to the discussion of the so-called situation in Afghanistan, in the Assembly or in any other international forum. We have also expressed our deep regret that this Assembly has been dragged into the discussion of situations that are entirely internal.
92. I should like briefly to point out that this unhealthy practice unquestionably violates the provisions of paragraph 7 of Article 2 of the Charter of the United Nations, which reads:
"Nothing contained in the present Charter shall authorize the United Nations to intervene in matters which are essentially within the domestic jurisdiction of any state or shall require the Members to submit such matters to settlement under the present Charter . . . "
93. It is obvious that this illegal and interventionist attitude in the Assembly, which has been orchestrated by the United States and its collaborators—China and Pakistan, in the first place—is not acceptable to my Government. We therefore categorically reject such an exercise and refuse to grant any validity and legitimacy to its results.
94. What the Assembly should concern itself with is the situation that has been created by the use of force against the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan and has resulted in the escalation of tension around my country.
95. Imperialism, having created a highly confused and distorted picture of the developments in late December 1979 in Afghanistan, managed to introduce those developments into this Organization in order to advance its own dirty schemes. By launching a massive propaganda campaign through the hugh machinery of lies and misinformation, on the one hand, and by exerting enormous pressure on Member countries, on the other, it imposed resolutions in this Assembly that not only constituted sheer interference in the internal affairs of an independent Member State but also lacked even the smallest grain of truth and realism.
96. Now the Assembly is bogged down in the design
master-minded by the United States Administration when
our revolution entered its second evolutionary phase, on
27 December 1979. To make clear the circumstances in

which the whole plot was cooked up, we would refer to some relevant facts of that period.
97. Former United States President Carter, as was revealed several days later, had been in contact with Pakistan and had proposed that "more direct American assistance to the rebels who had fled to Pakistan might be a possibility later, but the President wants first to build a chorus of international criticism of the Soviet move . . . ". Carter made it clear that one of the aims of the "chorus of criticism" which he had begun to organize throughout the world was "the possibility that the prospect of Soviet activity might soften the stance of the Iranian officials and help persuade them to release the American hostages in Tehran". The New York Times reported on 25 December 1979 that 10 days earlier Mr. Carter had said he would seek approval of an increased military budget of $157 billion for the next year. He needed that chorus to be built.
98. The magazine Political Affairs, in an article entitled "The 'Afghan Story': Fabricating the News", published in its May 1980 issue, wrote:
"... the issue was joined.
"Carter needed a 'case' to put before the United Nations, and it was the assignment of the press to make that case for him. And it had to be made in a matter of literally hours, while the United Nations was in session and the delegates were still in a state of shock and surprise. And it was done.
"It was now up to the American press to whip up the 'chorus'. It had no other choice, though it likes to promote the myth of its 'independence'
"..."
99. William Steif, in an article entitled "In Search of
a Crisis That Isn't There", published in the April 1980
issue of Progressive, a United States journal, wrote as
follows of Ins experience in Afghanistan:
"All the Western reporters in Afghanistan in those days felt they had to do all they could to 'expose' the Russian presence in the country. Their editors expected it. Their television producers and networks expected it. Their audiences expected it.
"And the reason for all this expectation was that Washington—that is, President Carter in the White House—had told Americans, and the rest of the world, to watch out for the Russians in Afghanistan. We were part of a chain of expectations, linked electronically around the Western world.
"The result was a plethora of details and rumours, fed by 'Western diplomatic sources'—that is, Western embassies in Kabul, where 'background briefings' were held. Those briefings largely consisted of bazaar rumours, just like the ones I picked up on Chicken Street.
"So much for the media's objectivity."
And that was how we first began to hear the hysterical wailing of American "peace-makers" and Chinese "peace-lovers" about the threat to international peace and security. All this was intended to serve as a camouflage for the revival of the times of the cold war, when hostility was rampant among nations and military hysteria also prevailed.
100. Unfortunately, a number of other countries also
fell prey to that demagoguery. In some other cases, we
witnessed pre-conceived judgements hardly being ham
pered by the facts of the situation. But those who had
long recognized the eternal divorce between the words and
the deeds of the United States and company could not

possibly be deceived by such artificially created fury, which has led to unbridled and slanderous charges that are apparent to all.
101. A quick glance at the proceedings of the past years on this artificially created issue suffices to enable one to state unequivocally that the instigators of the debate, the United States in the first place, harbour no desire to help the search for a solution of the problems prevailing in the region of South-West Asia. Year after year, the same cast of the play is forcefully brought to the stage of this Assembly and worn-out slander is thrown around with regard to the behaviour of some Member States. But not even the same quarters can now deny the absolute futility and boredom of their show, which has nothing in common with the purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations.
102. The delegation of the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan has none the less found it necessary to take part in the discussions, for the sole reason that we should allow Member States access to the authentic voice of our people and to a true picture of what has really happened in and around Afghanistan.
103. The General Assembly has also had many opportunities to hear arguments adduced to portray this sterile exercise as warranted and justified. But nothing could be further from the truth. The truth is that imperialist and reactionary interference in the internal affairs of Afghanistan started in the pre-revolutionary era and was upgraded to the level of an undeclared war right after the victorious national democratic revolution of April 1978. The defence and security authorities of the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan have in their possession massive evidence and proof of this war. The passage of time has also helped in the accumulation of an enormous amount of hard facts in the international media, including those that are very hostile to socio-economic systems such as ours. In our references to those reports we shall limit ourselves to the neutral or hostile sources.
104. The Area Study Centre in Peshawar—sponsored by the Central Intelligence Agency [CIA]—in an article entitled "Afghan Groups Based in Peshawar", published in the summer 1980 issue of its publication Central Asia, reveals that, apart from the six or so major counterrevolutionary organizations, there are smaller groups which mushroomed after the April 1978 revolution.
105. The Institute of Policy Studies, which is another CIA brain-child, stationed in Islamabad, wrote the following in one of its publications, entitled Afghanistan Crisis:
"The resistance which had begun during Daoud's time had started assuming a clearly Islamic character during Taraki's time. There was a serious possibility that the Communist regime would collapse and be replaced . . . possibly by an Islamic and pro-Pakistan and pro-China regime, . . . Except for Hezbe Island and Jamiate Islami, all other groups were formed in 1978. The origins of the Hezbe Islami and Jamiate Islami groups can be traced back to Zahir Shah's time . . . After Daoud's coup d'etat in 1973, the leaders of Hezbe Islami and Jamiate Islami migrated to Pakistan . . . The Gulbuddin group—that is, Hezbe Islami—"opted for armed resistance and sought help from Pakistan against Daoud's Government." The same publication has put the number of armed men under this group anywhere between 30,000 and 67,000.
106. Selig Harrison, a senior associate of the Carnegie
Endowment and a renowned scholar in South-West Asian
affairs, in an article entitled "A Breakthrough in Afghan
istan?", published in the summer 1983 issue of Foreign
Policy magazine, writes in this connection:

"the fundamentalists, who numbered perhaps 1,500, survived as an underground movement until 1973, when most of them fled to Pakistan. There, Gulbuddin forged an alliance with Pakistani fundamentalist groups and Pakistani intelligence agencies that was to become increasingly important in the context of the Afghan conflict. In 1975, backed by Pakistan, Gulbuddin failed in an uprising in the Panjsher Valley against the late President Mohammad Daoud's Afghan regime."
107. The victory of the April 1978 revolution brought about a drastic increase in the interference in the internal affairs of the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan and took the form of armed aggression and undeclared war by Pakistan.
108. Some claim that the war against Afghanistan is indigenous and that the United States, Pakistan, China and other reactionaries have nothing to do with it.
109. The national democratic revolution of April 1978 toppled the centuries-old exploitative and despotic system and, for the first time, transferred all power to the representatives of the vast majority of the people, namely, workers, peasants, national traders, patriotic intelligentsia, craftsmen and other toiling strata of our society.
110. The revolutionary Government had inherited an extremely backward society. The economy had virtually collapsed; inflation, unemployment and corruption were soaring; over 95 per cent of the population was illiterate; more than 60 per cent of the peasant families owned less than 8 per cent of the arable lands, while less than 1 per cent of the rural population possessed the most fertile 20 per cent of the land; class exploitation and social injustice were compounded by national, ethnic and tribal oppression. This was particularly significant in light of the fact that Afghanistan is composed of more than 20 fraternal nationalities.
111. The state of affairs regarding health, housing, food, public services, and so forth, was no less worse than other aspects of Afghan life. Under those circumstances, the only thing that could quench the thirst of the people and respond to their age-old desires was a revolutionary transformation of the socio-economic system of the country. This overwhelming desire cannot but be shared fully by many developing nations which have gone through a similar period in their history.
112. The April revolution was thus an inevitable outcome of the historically lawful evolution of economic, social and political factors in Afghan society. It was based on the wishes and aspirations of our people and is in full conformity with its best interests. It was guided by the People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan and was carried out by the heroic armed forces with the back-up support of the people, in broad daylight, and succeeded in a matter of a mere 10 hours.
113. Through the democratic revolutionary reforms carried out in full conformity with the wishes and interests of our people, the traditional means of exploitation and the unjust system on which it was based were completely abolished.
114. Obviously, the previous exploiting classes, who had amassed enormous wealth out of the sweat and blood of our people, lost their means of exploitation and the privileges attached to them. The strong anger and reaction shown by those elements should not surprise anyone who knows the law of social revolutions.
115. In desperation, and without hope for any reversal of the revolution, the former feudal lords and other exploiting strata immediately found safe havens in the arms of the most reactionary regimes in the region and

in the world. Now, they were all dre*** in new robes of religion and became self-proclaimed ***gious leaders.
116. Losing no time, imperialist secret services, with the full co-operation of their subservient institutions in the region, established their networks close to the territory of Afghanistan. The monstrous propaganda campaign was immediately compounded by the funnelling of large sums of money and huge quantities of armaments to the counter-revolutionary groups.
117. As early as May 1978—I repeat that date, May 1978—the tide of armed provocation and subversion began to be felt and a lengthy chain of bases for the training of counter-revolutionaries sprang up around some major cities and towns along the border area.
118. In June 1978, a so-called symposium of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization [NA TO] high command was convened in Annapolis, Maryland, United States, to discuss the revolution in Afghanistan and "its repercussions for America". A decision was taken to fully support the counter-revolutionary forces. The CIA was entrusted with the task of organizing, arming, equipping and training Afghan counter-revolutionaries.
119. In the implementation of this task, thorough coordination prevailed between the CIA and the Pakistan Central Intelligence Division [CID]. The entire operation was kept highly secret and was later revised at a meeting between Joseph Reagan, Chief of the CIA operatives in Islamabad, and Radnor Alam, head of the Pakistan CID in June 1979.
120. After the adoption of the new plan, Reagan and his Deputy, Robert Lissard, an old CIA hand disguised as a diplomat, who was expelled from Afghanistan in 1974 for his espionage activities, held meetings with Pakistani army generals who were later appointed as commanders of the Pakistani frontier forces. Counterrevolutionary formations were set up; offices were established throughout Pakistan and in the capitals of some other countries; special journals and periodicals started publication; radio transmitters were commissioned and training-camps mushroomed in the border areas; fund-raising campaigns were launched inside Pakistan, throughout the Gulf region and in western capitals; organized mercenary recruitment started; and in the meantime, the first batches of armed terrorists were infiltrated across the frontier areas into Afghan villages, terrorizing the civilian population and forcing it to abandon its homes in search of security in areas removed from subversive operations.
121. The intelligence services of imperialism and their counterparts in the region pursued the tactic of forcing more and more civilians into exile in order to expand the source of mercenary recruitment. To accomplish this task, the spreading of false rumors about the nature of the revolutionary government and the creation of an atmosphere of fear and honor were resorted to. After having been uprooted from their homes and hearths, these displaced Afghans found themselves in a desperate situation of total dependency beyond Afghanistan's frontiers.
122. The counter-revolutionary groups, through a network established with the direct consent and assistance of the Pakistanis, enlisted all newcomers as members of their counter-revolutionary organizations and, only after that, registered them as refugees. This process was confirmed by many of the Afghans who have returned to their homes.
123. A study prepared by the United Nations Research Institute for Social Development, entitled Sustaining Afghan Refugees in Pakistan, notes in this connection that "a number of politico-religious mujahidin parties

were established in exile in Peshawar, Pakistan, and these in turn organized a controlling network for mujahidin activities within Afghanistan."
124. The Institute of Policy Studies, in Islamabad, admitted in its book Afghanistan Crisis that those groups "drew their support from Ulema, tribal chiefs, landlords, Pirs and Sufis . . . They want to restore the status quo ante in Afghanistan . . . and want to seek aid from the West, conditional or unconditional. . .".
125. In order to preserve and consolidate the privileged position of those exploitative strata, the government of Pakistan maintained the feudal and pre-feudal relationship within the fugitives' camps.
126. The United Nations Research Institute for Social Development writes in this connection in the aforementioned study:
"The traditional social structures of the tribal village appeared to be applied in the village settings.
"The leaders of former hamlets and tribal communities in Afghanistan were instrumental in the installation process.
"The maliks"—or chieftains—"would provide the link between the Pakistani village administration and the refugee communities.
"Responsibility for various assistance measures, both food and non-food, was handed over to the refugee community leaders . . .
"A political consciousness was well-developed and perhaps constantly nourished by the refugee leaders. A certain degree of manoeuvring for power seemed to be evolving within a situation of dependency on relief and a social structure with plenty of room for manipulative proficiency.
"... the mujahidin parties took charge of the sustenance of the refugee populations, with the Government of Pakistan and aid agencies providing the relief commodities. Informal grace-for-favour principles were probable, relief possibly having been distributed in return for such support as joining one of the parties."
127. UNHCR in Islamabad, in its year-end report on its activities in Pakistan in 1981, writes that as the influx of refugees evolved, the mujahidin parties consolidated their positions in Pakistan regarding both the provincial authorities and the refugees. The government authorities appear to have co-operated with them in order to identify and register the refugees. Voluntary aid agencies also seem to have given assistance to the refugees through this channel. Over time, the mujahidin parties appear on the whole to have successfully enrolled the leaders of the refugee communities in their ranks, and these leaders were gradually able in turn to enlist the rank and file of rural refugees.
128. Selig Harrison, in his article "A Breakthrough in Afghanistan?", mentioned above, writes:
"Until now, the Pakistan Government has permitted the Jamaat-i-Islami of Pakistan to be the dominant influence in the refugee camps. This has included uninhibited use of a widely feared Jamaat organization known as Sakhar, which combines paramilitary and intelligence functions. Jamaat agents have regularly accompanied the Pakistani officials who dispense rations and monthly stipends to the refugees. As a result of this policy, the number of refugees officially registered as members of the fundamentalist groups has steadily grown ..."
129/ As can be seen from this evidence, the Government of Pakistan played an important role—I should say

a crucial role—in the formation and expansion of the counter-revolutionary groups in Pakistan.
130. One of the conditions for the fugitive families to become registered as refugees was to contribute one male "volunteer" for the so-called holy war. These recruits were then grouped in numerous guerrilla warfare training camps to undergo intense training in tactics and use of equipment provided through the United States intelligence services. The families of the recruits were put under strict surveillance in the camps guarded by Pakistani soldiers during the entire period in which the recruited members of the families were absent on a raiding mission in Afghanistan.
131. The aforementioned study conducted by the United Nations Research Institute for Social Development notes in this regard the temporary absence of males.
"... fright and worry . . . over absent husbands or sons (especially the ones who left periodically for Afghanistan) were reportedly overwhelming problems which were created in the refugee situation.
"Able-bodied men reportedly . . . leave periodically for their home country . . .
"Many apparently spend months away . . . without leaving word as to when they expect to be back.
"Consequently there was a noticeable lack of younger men in the villages . . .
"... the relations with the village staff were somewhat half-hearted ... A team of security guards was assigned to the refugee village administrators ... In some villages the relationship between the staff and the refugees seemed literally to be one of armed neutrality."
132. And thus the more people were forced into exile, the more expanded became the counter-revolutionary activities. Sporadic attacks on small villages along the frontier areas gave place to organized sabotage missions first in the towns and cities close to the frontier and later in the provinces of Afghanistan.
133. The first in the series of armed attacks occurred in Noristan by the gangs garrisoned in Chetral; it was followed by subversive activities in Kunar and Nangahar provinces. It should be pointed out that until these attacks which emanated from Pakistan territories, no armed incident had taken place against the revolution within the country.
134. Apart from the equipment which was initially assigned to combat Zionist expansionism and to defend the Arab nations, some other types of armaments appeared in terroristic actions in Afghanistan that were completely extraneous to the region. This was obviously an attempt on the part of imperialist secret services to make it difficult to trace the origins of the arms and equipment and to hide their criminal involvement in the undeclared war. But it did not take long for the international community to learn from the highest authorities of those countries who purchased or sold those weapons to be destined for the counter-revolutionaries' garrisons in Pakistan.
135. Let us refer to some first-hand reports on the whole operation in the hope that it may clarify the situation a little further.
136. On 13 January 1979, for example, the Indian
Newspaper Patriot disclosed that:
"A special CIA operative has been set up in the American Embassy in Islamabad and the American Consulate General in Karachi under the overall command of Robert Lissard. The Lissard task force has been given the task of organizing extremely secret and sensitive operations both in Iran and Afghanistan. The recent spurt of counter-revolutionary activities on the

Pakistani frontier is apparently the handwork of this team."
137. Less than a month later, the Washington Post, in
its 2 February 1979 edition, wrote in an article captioned
"Guerrillas Trained in Pakistan to Oust Afghan Gov
ernment" that:
"Afghan dissidents are undergoing guerrilla training at a base twelve miles north of Peshawar ... a former military base . . . which still has some Pakistani army vehicles and is under the guard of Pakistani soldiers ... in a bid to intensify armed opposition to the Government in Kabul".
138. By the beginning of 1979, a thorough network of 50 military bases and 30 major training camps was in full swing under the supervision of CIA-appointed personnel.
139. According to the The New York Times of 16 April 1979:
"The nerve center of the rebel campaign is at Miram Shah, in the northern Waziristan district of Pakistan . . .
"A system of couriers carries information and orders back and forth between the rebel fighting units in Afghanistan and the planners of the operations at various bases on the Pakistan side of the porous border ..."
140. Some months later, on 4 July 1979, a Pakistani publication, Milat, disclosed that: "Because of the revolu-tion in Iran, the CIA has moved its headquarters to Pakistan. It has been told to keep developments in Afghanistan and Iran under control from there."
141. Apart from unleashing its dogs of war inside Afghanistan, the Chinese hegemonists also had begun, as early as the middle of 1978, to co-ordinate their anti-Afghan activities with the United States and Pakistani secret services. In a report published in the Christian Science Monitor of 9 August 1979, Joseph Harsch wrote that: "Pakistan has received the backing of China and the United States. The Afghan rebels have been trained and armed inside Pakistan, and no reprisals [have been] made by Moscow."
142. Sadhan Mukherjee, an Indian journalist, writes in his book entitled U.S.-Sino-Pak Axis Threatens India that:
"In June 1979, a Pakistani ship, Rustam, came from China [to the port of Karachi] carrying 8,000 tons of Chinese weapons. The cargo was unloaded and sent to warehouses in Peshawar from where the weapons were distributed to the [Afghan] counter-revolutionaries."
He also writes that:
"Sinkiang province in China ... has a number of secret schools of guerrilla training. These centres are for training such pro-Chinese groups as Sholey Javed of Afghanistan."
143. A report published in the Canadian magazine
Maclean's about the activities of Chinese specialists on
Pakistani territory deserves attention. In particular, it
described how American agents, in their bid to halt the
spread of narcotics, met a group of Chinese near the
Afghan frontier. A suspicion arose at first that these were
Chinese from Hong Kong who were heroin traffickers
dealing with purchases of opium poppies. However, it
was established later that they were in fact officers and
instructors in the Chinese army. The journal stated:
"They were here to help train and equip right-wing
Afghan guerrillas for their holy war against the Moscow-
backed [Government] of Noor Mohammed Taraki."

144. While training their agents and infiltrating them into Afghanistan, the Chinese authorities were working hard to equip the anti-Government groups with arms. Noting this, the French magazine Courtier de politique etrangere wrote in its summer 1979 issue that "the road built by the Chinese linking the Sinkiang-Uighur Autonomous Region with Pakistan is being used for the transport of weapons, ammunition and propaganda material designed for carrying out subversive activities on Afghan soil".
145. Only two weeks after the date on which—according to imperialist, hegemonist and other reactionary circles— the so-called Afghan problem started, the New York Times correspondent William Borders wrote in a dispatch from Peshawar that:
"Mr. Gailani and others operate with relative impunity on Pakistan territory . . . and [they are] flying from Pakistan to other parts of the world in their campaign for international support. . . Although the rebels will not concede it publicly, it is also widely believed that they get some of their arms here, either from Pakistani sources or from Middle Eastern contacts who ship them through Pakistan into Afghanistan across a mountainous border that is untamed, unpatrolled and largely unrecognized by the people who live along it."
146. We could go on quoting many more sources which reported on the anti-Afghan armed intervention before 27 December 1979, but we would rather limit ourselves to the ones already cited. All facts available to the international community clearly point to the existence of an undeclared war against Afghanistan, which began shortly after the victory of our revolution of 27 April 1978, and to the manner in which it was master-minded and put into action.
147. Allow me to examine the question of whether or not this undeclared war constitutes an act of armed attack and aggression.
148. During the past few years, great efforts have been made to cover up the intensity and severity of the undeclared war which was launched after the April 1978 revolution and which assumed a critical level in the months preceding the internal developments of 27 December 1979. This was being done in order to disqualify the undeclared war from being considered as an act of aggression.
149. On 14 December 1974, the General Assembly adopted resolution 3314 (XXIX) containing the Definition of Aggression. According to article 3 of that Definition:
"Any of the following acts, regardless of a declaration of war, . . . qualify as an act of aggression: "..."
"(g) The sending by or on behalf of a State of armed bands, groups, irregulars or mercenaries, which carry out acts of armed force against another State ..."
150. As far back as 21 December 1965, the General Assembly, in resolution 2131 (XX), adopted the Declaration on the Inadmissibility of Intervention in the Domestic Affairs of States and the Protection of Their Independence and Sovereignty. In paragraph 2 of that Declaration it is stated that "no State shall organize, assist, foment, finance, incite or tolerate subversive, terrorist or armed activities directed towards the violent overthrow of the regime of another State . . . ".
151. In its Declaration on the Strengthening of International Security, adopted on 16 December 1970 in reso-lution 2734 (XXV), the General Assembly, in paragraph 5 of that Declaration: "Solemnly reaffirms . . . that every

State has the duty to refrain from organizing, instigating, assisting or participating in acts of civil strife or terrorist acts in another State."
152. On 24 October 1970, the General Assembly adopted
resolution 2625 (XXV), containing the Declaration on
Principles of International Law concerning Friendly Rela
tions and Co-operation among States in accordance with
the Charter of the United Nations. In that Declaration,
the following principles, among others, were proclaimed:
"Every State has the duty to refrain from organizing or encouraging the organization of irregular forces or armed bands, including mercenaries, for incursion into the territory of another State.
"Every State has the duty to refrain from organizing, instigating, assisting or participating in acts of civil strife or terrorist acts in another State or acquiescing in organized activities within its territory directed towards the commission of such acts, when the acts referred to in the present paragraph involve a threat or use of force.
<<
...
"Also, no State shall organize, assist, foment, finance, incite or tolerate subversive, terrorist or armed activities directed towards the violent overthrow of the regime of another State, . . .
"..."
"Every State has the duty to fulfil in good faith the obligations assumed by it in accordance with the Charter of the United Nations.
"Every State has the duty to fulfil in good faith its obligations under the generally recognized principles and rules of international law."
153. Now, Pakistan and its imperialist, hegemonist and other reactionary patrons are Members of the United Nations, a membership which obliges them fully to adhere to and strictly to abide by the principles of its Charter. Furthermore, Pakistan cast its vote in favour of all the instruments I have just mentioned, and thus bound itself of its own free will to all the principles contained in them.
154. By any possible interpretation, the imperialist, hegemonistic and reactionary undeclared war against my people constitutes a brazen and blatant act of aggression under international law. The commission of such an act is thus in clear violation of the principles of the Charter and the obligations assumed under those very important instruments of international law by those who are engaged in this undeclared war against Afghanistan.
155. Therefore, there is no room for arguing that Afghanistan could not invoke Article 51 of the Charter of the United Nations and its 1978 bilateral Treaty with the Soviet Union in taking appropriate measures to repel aggression.
156. After the perpetrators of aggression became convinced of the flimsiness of their arguments on this matter, they desperately resorted to yet another falsification of the facts. They asserted that the contingents of troops could not have been invited by the legitimate Government of Afghanistan, since the Head of that Government had been deposed after the troops were introduced into Afghanistan.
157. Either those well-known circles do not have a full knowledge of the nature of our political system or they do not want to understand it.
158. The principle of democratic centralism constitutes the backbone of the working-class parties, of which the People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan is one. The nature of the leadership in the People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan is collective. Decisions on such important

matters as who would serve as the leader of the Party and of the Government rest on the collective wisdom of Party leadership, which, in turn, represents the wishes of the entire membership. Never in its almost two decades of history has the Party tolerated any deviation from a balanced approach towards the principle of democratic centralism. Treacherous and traitorous attempts to that effect have met with a firm and strong reaction from the rest of the leadership and from the entire membership. This explains the nature of the internal developments within the Party and the Government which resulted in the removal from power of the criminal Amin and his gang. Amin, who had illegally usurped power from the first President of the Revolutionary Council of the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan and had him murdered in cold blood, did not deserve any fate better than that bestowed upon him by the entire Party and the people. It comes as no surprise to us that imperialism and reaction should choose to refer to Amin and his murderous band as the legal and legitimate Government of Afghanistan.
159. Official records of the Central Committee of the People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan and of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan belie assertions that no request had been made by the Government of the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan for the limited contingent of Soviet troops.
160. Faced with rapidly intensifying attacks by bands of armed counter-revolutionaries from Pakistan and, to a lesser extent, from Iran, the Government of the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan had requested the Government of the Soviet Union, long before December 1979, to render it all kinds of assistance, including military assistance, in order to defend the country in the event of escalation in outside armed interference. After repeated approaches by the Afghan side, this request was met to a very limited extent.
161. What deserves thoughtful consideration are the statements made in the autumn of 1978 by Mr. Agha Shahi, then advisor for foreign affairs to the Chief Martial Law Administrator of Pakistan, when he was passing through Paris. In an article published in the 27 January 1980 issue of The Guardian, Andre" Fontaine recalls that Mr. Agha Shahi had asserted the presence of "Red Army units of Tadzhiks and Kirgiz . . . operating in Afghanistan against the rebels".
162. I should also like to draw the Assembly's attention to a press conference given by Amin to local and foreign correspondents, which was broadcast by radio and television in the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan on 20 August 1979. Asked whether there were Soviet troops in Afghanistan, Amin replied: "We are already implementing the relevant clauses of our Friendship Treaty with the Soviet Union."
163. George Rosie, basing his assessment on the paper submitted by Professor Erickson to the British Foreign Affairs Committee, wrote in the 6 July 1980 issue of The Sunday Times of London that: "There were three stages [in the introduction of troops]. The first was in March 1979... the second was in April 1979 . . . and the third ... was in October 1979."
164. Kuldip Nayar, an Indian journalist who visited Afghanistan several times in the period between 27 April 1978 and 27 December 1979 and had many long interviews with high-ranking Afghan official, concluded in his book, entitled Report on Afghanistan, that the troops had begun coming to Afghanistan in July 1979.
165. Allow me to recall here a formal meeting between Mr. Georges Perruche, Ambassador-at-large in the French

Foreign Ministry, who was at that time Ambassador of France to the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan, and the Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs of Afghanistan. In the course of that meeting, which took place some two weeks before the entry into Afghanistan of more Soviet military contingents, the French Ambassador, speaking on behalf of all Western countries represented in Kabul, voiced great concern and anxiety over what he termed "the increasing military presence of the Soviet Union". He was emphatically told that whatever measure was taken under the Afghan-Soviet bilateral Treaty fell strictly within the purview of the internal affairs of the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan and should be of no concern to others.
166. The issues at stake were none other than Afghanistan's political independence, national sovereignty and territorial integrity. The Treaty of Friendship, Good-neighbourliness and Co-operation, signed between the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics on 5 December 1978, was put to a severe test by history, and the result determined not only the fate of the independence, national sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan but also the practical validity and reliability of such treaties.
167. The decision to invoke our Treaty with the Soviet Union to obtain military assistance was our last recourse. That decision was made only after repeated resort to diplomatic means in order to deal with the ominous pace which the armed intervention had acquired. Scores of public statements made by the highest organs and officials of the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan and many more diplomatic communications sent to Pakistani authorities testify to the fact that the utmost restraint was displayed in the face of provocations and that every effort was made to defuse the tension arising from the armed intervention against Afghanistan. For example, in pursuance of that policy a delegation headed by Shah Mohammad Dost, the then Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs, was sent to Pakistan in July 1979, and held talks with the authorities of that country. He also called on General Zia-ul-Haq and urged Pakistan's co-operation in our efforts to halt the hostile activities conducted against Afghanistan from Pakistani territory.
168. That visit, the Assembly will note, took place half a year before the introduction of the limited contingent of Soviet troops, and its purpose was precisely to seek an end to the armed aggression against Afghanistan.
169. To our disappointment, the Pakistanis turned a deaf ear to the suggestions of the Afghan side and, instead, asked Afghanistan to take the measures which they deemed appropriate in this regard.
170. Under the circumstances, Afghanistan had no choice but to take all necessary measures through utilizing its own means and those available to it from fraternal sources in order to put an end to activities that threatened its security and independence. Our approach to the Soviet Union for help was but a natural choice for us.
171. The extent of our fraternal relations with the Soviet Union should surprise nobody. After all, Soviet Russia was the first State in the world to recognize and respect Afghanistan's independence in 1919, and Afghanistan became the first State to recognize officially the first Government of workers and peasants in Soviet Russia. It was with Afghanistan that the Soviet Union signed its first treaty of non-aggression and neutrality in 1921. Since then, the bilateral relations between the two countries have been marked by friendship, good-neighbourliness and co-operation which can serve as a brilliant example

of peaceful coexistence and mutual respect for each other's independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity,
172. With regard to our fruitful co-operation, suffice it to say that in terms of per capita aid between 1955 and 1970, Afghanistan was the largest recipient of Soviet foreign assistance. Afghanistan received the largest share of its foreign aid from the Soviet Union, aid which greatly contributed to the socio-economic development of the country.
173. It was based on this type of relations that the Loya-Jirgah, or Grand Assembly, prior to the April 1978 revolution authorized the Afghan Governments to seek military assistance from the Soviet Union to eliminate threats to the country's independence, national sovereignty and territorial integrity.
174. To attribute the gravity of the international situation and the threat to detente to the December 1979 changes in my country is also a futile attempt to distort history. We refer those for whom world history presumably starts on 27 December 1979 to the correct analysis of the world situation made more than three and a half months before that date by almost 100 Heads of State or Government of non-aligned countries, at their Sixth Conference, held in Havana from 3 to 9 September 1979.
175. We also remind them that the NATO countries, under pressure from the United States, had decided as early as May 1978 drastically to increase their military expenditure; that the United States had unilaterally withdrawn from very important negotiations with the Soviet Union on the mutual reduction of forces in the Indian Ocean and escalated the build-up of its military forces there, particularly on Diego Garcia Island; that the United States had already finalized its aggressive and interventionist design to establish and deploy its so-called Rapid Deployment Joint Task Force in the Middle East, which was later elevated to a larger formation of the United States Central Command force in our neighbourhood; that United States pressure on some African and Asian States to accept United States military bases on their territories was already overwhelming; that the United States had already forced some NATO countries into accepting the deployment of United States Pershing II and cruise nuclear missiles on their territories; that the SALT II agreements had already been shelved in the United States Senate; that more than half a million members of the United States military forces were already stationed in 429 major military bases and over 3,000 smaller installations throughout the world; and, finally, that the United States had already launched 217 military and covert subversive operations since the Second World War against independent countries.
176. The reason why we have elaborated in detail on the facts pertinent to the situation prior to the beginning of the new evolutionary phase of our revolution was to expose the falsehood and baselessness of the notion that the problems in South-West Asia emanate from the internal developments in Afghanistan. All the evidence proves beyond any shadow of doubt that the armed aggression against the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan, which had begun long before the date in question, was the work of imperialist, hegemonist and other reactionary secret services and not an indigenous phenomenon. It was these armed aggressions that gave rise to the need for military help, and the request for military assistance and the introduction of some limited contingents had taken place long before 27 December 1979.
177. Whatever evidence we have so far brought to the attention of the General Assembly covers only tike period up to 27 December 1979. Our honest intention is to shed some light on the darkness deliberately cast on some key

events which have developed around Afghanistan. A thorough and careful analysis of those developments will undoubtedly shatter to pieces the very basis on which imperialists, hegemonists and other reactionaries have founded their arguments.
178. Those are undeniable facts on what really happened in Afghanistan. We firmly believe that history will ultimately place the guilt upon those who are the culprits in the creation of tension in our region. We leave it to the vigilant conscience of all peace-loving humanity to pass its final judgement.
179. In spite of all that is taking place against my country, we are firmly determined vigorously to pursue the principled path adopted by our people under the leadership of the People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan. No one should cherish any illusions in this regard. Let me address once again those who fail to see the power emanating from a nation's will and say that any wishful thinking aimed at undermining the course of our revolution is doomed to failure. The revolution of April 1978 is irreversible. No power on earth will be able to change that fact of history.
180. The revolutionary Government has pledged itself to do away with all miseries of the past and to build a new society free from exploitation of man by man. Great steps have already been taken in that direction.
181. Since the beginning of the democratic land reform plan, a total of 736,216 hectares of land have been distributed free of charge to 297,616 peasant families and to the municipalities, educational institutions and State farms. More than 700,000 hectares of land are now ready for distribution under the plan. Following the co-operative movement campaign, a total of 1,263 peasants' cooperatives and more than 300 peasants' committees for the just distribution of irrigation water and the establishment of water quotas have so far been registered. A decree of the Revolutionary Council cancelled the debts, resulting from a feudal usury system, of over 11 million people.
182. The Central Council of Afghan Trade Unions, which was established only after the revolution, has now a membership of over 162,000. The Democratic Youth Organization of Afghanistan and the Democratic Women's Organization of Afghanistan now number in their ranks more than 100,000 and 15,000 young people and women, respectively.
183. Since the victory of the April revolution, 420 new projects in various social and economic fields have been launched, bringing the total amount of investment during that period to 97.45 billion afghanis. That amounts to 80 per cent of the total investment made in the 20-year period prior to the revolution. In the same period, a total of 50 small and 10 major health centres and 3,779 residential quarters have been constructed throughout the country.
184. Over one million people have so far completed the special courses which were opened on a massive basis under the literacy campaign. At present, 711,791 persons are enrolled in 35,589 courses which are taught by 17,794 teachers and volunteers. According to the estimates of the plan, illiteracy will be completely wiped out by 1987 in the urban areas and by 1990 throughout the country.
185. As for the country's economic performance, suffice it to mention that in the five-year period since the April 1978 revolution, gross national income has increased by 118 per cent compared to the five years before the revolution.

186. That is, in brief, what the April revolution has brought to our people and that is exactly the reason why our people are increasingly rallying behind their revolutionary party and government.
187. Let me remind representatives that whatever we have achieved since our revolution has been in spite of the imperialist, hegemonist and reactionary undeclared war imposed on us.
188. Having said that, we should like to make it clear that we harbour no intention of making the scores even
, with the enemies of our revolution. It is with deep interest and great sincerity that we are engaged in the negotiations with Pakistan through the intermediary of the Secretary-General's personal representative, Mr. Diego Cordovez. The Minister for Foreign Affairs of Afghanistan stated the following in his address to this session on 6 October: "Despite the complexity of the issues involved, and in view of the present format of negotiations, tangible progress has been made in the course of the negotiating process . . .
"As is obvious, armed interference aimed at the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan from the territory of Pakistan is the root cause of the problem around Afghanistan. It is therefore the cessation of that interference which should constitute the main purpose of the negotiations. With the solution of this aspect of the problem, and after reliable international guarantees on the non-resumption of interference have been secured, conditions would prevail which would facilitate the return of the Afghans temporarily living beyond our frontiers. This is clearly envisaged in our proposals of 14 May 1980 and 24 August 1981.
"We are certain that with a sense of realism, political will and sincerity, it should be possible to achieve through direct negotiations a final agreement which, if faithfully implemented, would serve the cause of stability and peace in the region." [21st meeting, paras. 116-118.]
189. In conformity with that position, my Foreign Minister has travelled to New York and is available even at this moment for consultation with the Secretary-General on the preparations for his representative's trip to the region.
190. Allow me at this stage to express our great surprise over the lengthy and excessively distorted references made by the head of the Pakistan delegation yesterday in this Assembly [64th meeting] to the progress of the negotiations. We took strong exception to this arbitrary breach of the gentlemen's agreement not to subject to public debate the contents of negotiations which are supposed to be strictly confidential. Apart from any harm that may emanate from such irresponsible behaviour, it certainly gives rise to serious concern over Pakistan's real intentions, and grave doubts about its assumed sincerity towards the negotiations.
191. During the past years, a lot of crocodile tears have been shed over the fate of the Afghan refugees. We have already revealed some facts about the nature, composition and number of those so-called refugees. With regards to bona fide refugees, subsequent to the Revolutionary Council decree of 18 June 1981 on a general amnesty and the repeated calls of Babrak Karmal, the National Fatherland Front of the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan has recently issued a statement which has been circulated

as an official document of the General Assembly and of the Security Council, dated 3 November 1983. While inviting the attention of the Assembly to that document, I should like to quote the following paragraph from it:
"The National Fatherland Front of the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan, on behalf of hundreds of thousands of its collective and individual members, avails itself of this opportunity to once again address our deceived compatriots abroad and invite them to respond to the compassionate call of esteemed Babrak Karmal, General Secretary of the Central Committee of the People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan and President of the Revolutionary Council of the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan, who in his first message to them said, 'In the name of Afghan honour and valour, in the name of the homeland, become aware and return to the homeland' ". [A/38/559 and Corr.1, annex, p. 5.\
192. The international community needs to devote every minute of its time and every shred of its efforts to the solution of such overwhelming problems as the deployment of United States nuclear weapons in Europe, the United States naked and piratical aggression against Grenada, Israeli and NATO aggression and intervention in Lebanon, the increasing resort by the United States and other imperialist Powers to the use of force against independent States, the situations in Central America and South Africa, the questions of Palestine and Namibia, the establishment of a new international economic order, and others.
193. We regret the fact that, under those circumstances, the attention of this Assembly can still be repeatedly detached from those very real and burning issues of our world through the imposition on it of artificial issues such as that under discussion.
194. We call on all Members who earnestly desire to help solve the present problems in South-West Asia to make every effort to discourage this interventionist and harmful attitude in the Assembly and to exert their moral influence to promote the launching of direct peaceful negotiations between the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan and Pakistan.
195. Such negotiations, not the debates or resolutions of the Assembly, constitute the correct path towards the overall settlement of the situation around Afghanistan.
The meeting rose at 1.20 p.m.
NOTES
1 The delegation of Paraguay subsequently informed the Secretariat that it had intended not to participate in the vote; the delegations of Benin, Colombia and the Niger subsequently informed the Secretariat that they had intended to vote in favour of the draft resolution; the delegation of Malawi subsequently informed the Secretariat that it had intended to abstain.
2See A/CONF.120/13.
3 See Report of the International Conference on the Question of
Palestine, Geneva, 29 August-7September 1983 (United Nations publication, Sales No. E.83.I.21), chap. I.
4 The delegations of Benin and the Niger subsequently informed the
Secretariat that they had intended to vote in favour of the draft
resolution.