UN Human Rights Treaties

United Nations GENERAL ASSEMBLY THIRTY-EIGHTH SESSION Official Records' THIRD COMMITTEE 14th meeting held on Thursday, 17 October 1985 at 3 p.m. New York SUMMARY RECORD OF THE 14th MEETING Chairman: Mr. 2AD0P (Hungary) CONTENTS AGENDA ITEM 88: IMPLEMENTATION OF THE PROGRAMME OF ACTION FOR THE SECOND DECADE TO COMBAT RACISM AND RACIAL DISCRIMINATION: REPORTS OF THE SECRETARY-GENERAL (continued) AGENDA ITEM 93: IMPORTANCE OF THE UNIVERSAL REALIZATION OF THE RIGHT OF PEOPLES TO SELF-DETERMINATION AND OF THE SPEEDY GRANTING OF IND2PFNDENCE TO COLONIAL COUNTRIES AND PEOPLES FOR THE EFFECTIVE GUARANTEE AND OBSERVANCE OF HUMAN RIGHTS; REPORT OF THE SECRETARY-GENERAL (continued) AGENDA ITEM 94: ELIMINATION OF ALL FORMS OF RACIAL DISCRIMINATION (continued) (a) REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE ON THE ELIMINATION OF RACIAL DISCRIMINATION (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 85-56796 8428S (E) A/C.3/40/SR.14 English Page 2 The Meeting was called to order at 3.15 p.m. AGENDA ITEM 88: IMPLEMENTATION OF THE PROGRAMME OF ACTION FOR THE SECOND DECADE TO COMBAT RACISM AND RACIAL DISCRIMINATION: REPORTS OF THE SECRETARY-GENERAL (continued) (E/1985/16 and Add.1; A/40/3, A/40/173, A/40/320, A/40/398, A/40/416, A/40/694 and Add.1 and A/40/750) AGENDA ITEM 93: 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 (continued) (A/40/308, A/40/331, A/40/465 and Add.1, A/40/672, A/40/678) AGENDA ITEM 94: ELIMINATION OF ALL FORMS OF RACIAL DISCRIMINATION (continued) (A/40/18, A/40/77, A/40/173, A/40/276, A/40/398, A/40/606, A/40/607. A/C.3/40/L.4) (a) REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE ON THE ELIMINATION OF RACIAL DISCRIMINATION (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 1. Mr. DIRAR (Sudan) said that the struggle against racism, racial discrimination and apartheid had entered a new stage. South Attica's acts of aggression had become more serious and the tensions caused by the illegal occupation of Namibia had increased. Israel's stubbornness in denying the Palestinian people its rights had also reasserted itself. With the constitutional reforms and intensified repression in South Africa and Israel's recent attack against Tunisia, United Nations efforts to eliminate racism and racial discrimination had assumed even greater importance. 2. The violations or the fundamental rights of the Palestinian people and the peoples of southern Africa were intolerable. It was therefore important to resolve those problems on the basis of the principles set forth in the United Nations Charter and in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. If appropriate steps were not taken the situation would become complicated and international peace and security would be endangered. 3. The situation in south Africa had reached a critical stage. South Africa had ignored the virtually universal condemnation of its system by the international community, had declared a state of emergency and was carrying out brutal repression against a population that was simply demanding its legitimate rights. 4. At that new stage in the struggle against racism in South Africa, it was clear that the black majority was prepared to confront the regime, whatever the consequences, because the struggle was continuing despite the large number of A/C.3/40/SR.14 English Page 3 (Mr. Dirar, Sudan) victims of repression. Faced with the population's resistance, the regime had not even hesitated to torture children. That obliged the international community to pay greater attention to the situation in South Africa. The United Nations must spare no effort to end apartheid. The goals of the Second Decade to Combat Racism and Racial Discrimination must also be implemented. 5. South Africa's policy of aggression against neighbouring State3 and Israel's expansionist and repressive policy against the people of the occupied Arab territories were proof of the aggressive nature of both States and endangered international peace and security. Moreover, there was a strategic alliance between both regimes against the Arab and African countries which were struggling under the worst circumstances and confronting the most difficult challenges in striving to ensure that their peoples could enjoy equality and progress. Nuclear co-operation between those regimes was of concern to all states of the region. 6. His delegation felt that everything possible must be done to apply Security Council resolution 435 (1978) against South Africa in order to achieve Namibian independence. The goals of the Second Decade could not be achieved unless the necessary steps were taken to combat racism. Since the unilateral actions of some countries had not produced results, comprehensive and mandatory sanctions had to be applied against South Africa and that country must be isolated in every field. 7. Since apartheid was a crime against humanity, his country felt that system could not be reformed and must be eradicated once and for all. The so-called constitutional reforms were merely a delaying tactic of a regime which realized that its end was near. There would be no peace and stability in the region unless a democratic system was established which guaranteed the equality of rights of all citizens and the observance of human rights. 8. The question of Palestine was the key to peace in the Middle East. The right of the Palestinian people to establish its own independent State under the leadership of the PLO, its sole and legitimate representative, must be respected. His country paid tribute to all freedom fighters and to all the men, women and children who had to confront terrorism and death every day in order to win their legitimate rights. He also paid tribute to Nelson Mandela and demanded freedom for him and for all political prisoners. His country also was grateful to the trade unions and universities which had helped to expose the evils of apartheid. 9. Mrs. KOZAKOU-MARCOULLIS (Cyprus) said that with the adoption of the historic Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples the international community had given moral support to the struggle of the peoples of the world for liberation. That Declaration, together with General Assembly resolution 1514 (XV), had yielded their first positive results: the liberation of new peoples and the independence of new countries, which had joined the world Organization. Despite the fact that the membership of the United Nations had more than tripled since its establishment 40 years ago, millions of people - South Africans, Namibians, Palestinians and oppressed peoples in other parts of the world, were still being denied the right to self-determination, which was an A/C.3/40/SR.14 English Page 4 (Mrs. Kozakou-Marcoullis, Cyprus) essential prerequisite for the enjoyment of human rights. Her delegation wished to take the opportunity to express it3 Government's commitment to the liberation movements and its consistent support for the struggle of peoples to free themselves from colonial domination, military occupation and foreign exploitation. 10. The right to self-determination was a collective right since it had to be exercised by the population of a territory as a whole and not by groups or portions of that population. The international community had deemed it necessary not only to declare the right to Belt-determination a collective right of peoples but had also endeavoured to regulate how it was exercised in order to avoid any misinterpretation or abuse. 11. The Declaration on the Granting or Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples stated, in paragraph 6, that any attempt aimed at the partial or total disruption of the national unity and the territorial integrity of a country was incompatible with the purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations. Moreover, the Declaration of Principles or International Law concerning Friendly Relations and Co-operation among States in accordance with the Charter of the United Nations proclaimed that every State should refrain from any action aimed at the partial or total disruption of the national unity and territorial integrity of any other State or country. The evolution of international law had made it clear that sovereign equality of States, inviolability of frontiers, refraining from the threat or use of force, non-interference, non-intervention, respect for human rights and co-operation among States, were, together with human rights and self-determination of peoples, principles of primary significance and must be applied equally. The reason for insisting on that interrelationship was to prevent the principle of self-determination from being misinterpreted or abused. 12. As a collective right, the right to self-determination must be exercised by the population of a territory as a whole. Thus ethnic, religious or linguistic groups constituting an inseparable part of the whole population of a country or a territory were not entitled to exercise separately the right to self-determination. The position of the international community on that issue had been very clear; one example was its strong condemnation of bantustanization or separate independence, a policy pursued by South Africa, and which was incompatible with genuine independence, national unity and sovereignty. It was therefore regrettable, and a direct violation of the Charter and the principles and norms of international law, that certain States, in order to further their own expansionist designs, exploited the existence of ethnic, religious or linguistic communities in the territory of other sovereign States and used them as an excuse for foreign intervention, subversion or military aggression and occupation against independent and sovereign States. 13. The international community had repeatedly condemned such flagrant illegalities and had always stood for the independence, sovereignty, territorial integrity and unity of Member States. The United Nations had also consistently condemned aggression, military occupation and the use or threat of force and had repeatedly declared as inadmissible the acquisition of territory by force as well as secessionist acts directed against the sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity of States. A/C.3/40/SR.14 English Page 5 (Mrs. Kozakou-Marcoullis, Cyprus) 14. The Government of Cyprus regretted that in the Second Decade to Combat Racism and Racial Discrimination the situation in that regard had not changed, despite the numerous resolutions and declarations adopted, which were an indication of the interest or the very large majority of countries in protecting human rights. 15. The Pretoria regime not only continued to apply its oppressive policy of exploitation and discrimination against millions of black South Africans, but had intensified its repression in recent months as internal opposition and international condemnation had been intensified. The system of apartheid, which was used by the Pretoria regime to deny black majority participation in the political, social and cultural life of its own country, produced a daily toll of victims in all sectors of the South African population. Thousands of political prisoners were being badly treated and tortured. A sympathizer with the African National Congress had just been executed, while the fortieth anniversary of the United Nations was being commemorated, in addition, the creation of bantustan was intended to alter the demographic structure of the country and produce its artificial dismemberment in order to perpetuate white minority domination. Moreover, the continued escalation of aggression against neighbouring independent States, by the racist regime constituted a threat to international peace and security. 16. The Government and people of Cyprus had joined the struggle to eradicate the crime of apartheid. Her country therefore maintained no relations whatsoever with the racist regime, and since its independence, a system of sanctions had been enforced against Pretoria. Her Government was therefore strongly in favour of the total isolation of the racist regime by imposing comprehensive and mandatory sanctions in accordance with Chapter VII of the Charter. 17. Her Government was of the opinion that the Committee on the elimination of Racial Discrimination was performing valuable work to ensure compliance with the provisions and principles of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, which her country had ratified in 1967. Cyprus had so far submitted eight periodic reports to the Committee and had implemented a policy of consistent opposition to all forms of racial discrimination. 18. Mr. AL-MOSAWI (United Arab Emirates) said that the racist regimes of Pretoria and Tel Aviv scorned the function of the United Nations as a forum in which to find solutions to the problems of colonialism and underdevelopment. South African aggression against Angola and the Israeli attack against the Headquarters of the Palestine Liberation Organization in Tunis were in flagrant violation of the sovereignty of a Member State of the United Nations. Those two acts of aggression demonstrated beyond a doubt that Pretoria and Tel Aviv were defying the will of the international community. They also made clear that the defiant attitude of both regimes had the support of the so-called free world, which was supposed to defend liberty and human rights. . 19. The events in southern Africa and Palestine revealed that not much progress had been made in relation to apartheid and self-determination in the 40 years the United Nations had been in existence, peace and stability in southern Africa were A/C.3/40/SR.14 English Page 6 (Mr. Al-Mosawi, United Arab Emirates) entirely contingent on the independence or Namibia and the tall of the white minority regime in South Africa. There were two alternatives for reaching those objectives; either all countries implemented the United Nations plan for the independence of Namibia as soon as possible and imposed comprehensive mandatory sanctions against South Africa, or confrontations of all kinds, including armed struggle, would continue until the racist regime was toppled. His country would support any decision adopted by the peoples of southern Africa and the front-line States with regard to those alternatives, and reiterated its support to the Namibian patriots and their only legitimate representative, the South West Africa People’s Organization (SWAPO). 20. It should be made clear that South Africa would not have found fertile ground for its apartheid policy and its aggression against the front-line States without the support of certain countries who were seeking to re-establish colonial rule. The transnational corporations and constructive engagement reinforced the structure of apartheid and produced opposite results to those desired. His country therefore supported the imposition of comprehensive, mandatory sanctions against the South African regime in accordance with the provisions of Chapter VII of the Charter. 21. He categorically rejected the accusations made by the representative of Israel at the previous meeting with regard to oil exports to South Africa. His country sold its oil to a consortium, which in turn resold the raw material. His country could not know whether the consortium sold oil to South Africa or not, because it did not have the technical means to check the ports of destination of the tankers. 22. The situation in the occupied Arab territories was similar to the situation in southern Attica. Since the foundation of the United Nations, the Zionist enemy had provided evidence of its practices against the Palestine population. The world was faced with the expulsion of an entire people from their country, and the occupation of the Arab territories and their annexation into the so-called territory of Israel by means of a policy of colonization and settlement based allegedly on reasons of security. To that end, the Zionist entity was applying a policy of annihilation and genocide. Primarily against the civilian population. The Committee on the Exercise of the inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People had expressed its concern about the reinstatement of the policy of "administrative detention", under which a person could be imprisoned for a period of up to six months without being brought to trial. The Committee had furthermore said that persons who were considered a "threat to security" were routinely deported (S/PV.2605). The racist policy was clearly being intensified: Sharon and Kahane had demanded the expulsion of 2 million Palestinians from the Arab territories in order to realize Sharon's dream of establishing a Jewish State without Arabs. 23. The resistance of the population of the occupied Arab Territories was a natural reaction to the aggression and racism to which those territories were subjected, as well as Beirut and southern Lebanon. 24. The attack by the Israeli air force on the headquarters of the Palestine Liberation Organization in Tunis demonstrated the desire to persecute Palestinians everywhere, even if they were the guests of another country and posed no threat whatsoever. A/C.3/40/SR.14 English Page 7 (Mr. Al-Mosawi United Arab Emirates) 25. His country called upon the international community to accept its responsibility and to adopt the necessary measures to allow the Palestinian people to return to their country and to exercise their inalienable right to self-determination. He supported the struggle of the Palestinian people, led by their only legitimate representative, the Palestine Liberation Organization, to regain all their rights and also supported the struggle of the occupied people of southern Lebanon. Finally, he would support any measure Tunisia might take to stop enemy aggression. 26. Mr. SOBOLEVOI (Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic) said that the importance of the principle of self-determination was evident from the inclusion in the agenda of the General Assembly of an item on that topic since 1970, the year of the tenth anniversary of the adoption of the Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples. The Declaration had been adopted on the initiative of the Onion of Soviet Socialist Republics and had become a sort of manifesto or anti-colonialism. 27. In their heroic struggle for independence, which had been extensive and had claimed many victims, many peoples of Asia, Africa and Latin America had thrown off the yoke of colonialism. Since 1960, 73 former colonies had won independence and had become full-fledged Members of the United Nations. The establishment of new independent States on the ruins of the colonial empires represented a practical realization of the right of peoples to self-determination. Those States were becoming increasingly active at the international level and contributed to the struggle against the threat of nuclear war, to improvement of the international situation, and to the economic and social progress of the peoples of the world. 28. The imperialists and neo-colonialists were not pleased, however, and were trying, increasingly more openly, to preserve the remnants of colonialism, racism and racial discrimination, which not only were an insult to human dignity and a gross violation of basic human rights, but also a means of imperialist pressure aimed at the exploitation of the peoples of the world. 29. In recent years the General Assembly, the Economic and Social Council, the Commission on Human Rights and other organs of the United Nations had adopted various important resolutions and decisions designed to speed the early liberation of those peoples still suffering under the colonial yoke, which should be implemented as soon as possible. Those documents also condemned the activities or foreign economic interests in the colonial and dependent territories, and in southern Africa. They were not being implemented because the imperialist Powers, above all the United States, did not wish to alter their position or the status quo in the colonial and dependent territories. Their strategic economic and military ambitions depended on maintaining racism and colonialism in those territories. 30. International imperialism, led by the United States, was collaborating closely with the south African racists, trampling on the principles of the United Nations, blocking Namibian independence and strengthening the apartheid regime. That regime which had sent 100,000 men to Namibia, also possessed military bases in the A/C.3/40/SR.14 English Page 8 (Mr. Sobolevol, Byelorussian SSR) territory from which hundreds of American and European mercenaries were operating. Namibia's colonial status was the outcome or an alliance between the South African racists and the imperialist countries and was in line with those countries' geopolitical aims and the greed of their transnational corporations. The determination of monopoly capitalism to continue to hold onto a source of enormous profits to a large extent defined the position of the Western countries, which were making every possible effort to keep Namibia in a colonial situation. That was the explanation for their failure to implement Security Council resolution 435 (1978). The struggle of the Namibian people for independence would already have succeeded, had it not been for the overt or covert aid extended by the United States, other Western Powers, particularly the members of NATO and Israel, and transnational corporations to the South African regime. 31. The public hearings on the activities of transnational corporations in South Africa and Namibia, held in September 1985, had brought out the fact that the investments of United States transnational corporations in South Africa had reached $2.3 billion and that, taking Into account bank loans, share capital and other forms of investment, total North American investment stood at $14 billion. 32. The United States Government's protective attitude towards the Government of South Africa was a basic cause of the latter's growing aggressiveness. In the belief that it could count on total impunity, that Government, in addition to exercising summary and bloody justice on the indigenous inhabitants of southern Africa, was intensifying its subversive activities in other African States for purposes of intimidation. That was the reality of the historic tie between South Africa and the United States and of the latter's policy of so-called "constructive engagement". 33. It was not surprising, therefore, that the United States representatives, distorting the facts, engaged in primitive slanders against the Socialist States. Recently, one representative of that country, after saying how deeply concerned it was that all peoples should exercise their right to self-determination, had not uttered a single word about the tragic situation in South Africa and Namibia. 34. The Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic firmly supported the national liberation struggle of the Namibian. people, under the leadership of SWAPO, its sole and authentic representative, and declared its strong support for the granting of immediate independence to Namibia. 35. Another of the main obstacles to the full exercise of self-determination was the fact that for decades the Palestinian people had been denied its right to an independent State. Israel persisted in its policy of territorial expansion, refusing to recognize the 1967 frontiers and disregarding the applicable rules of international law. The recent barbarous attack on Tunis, in which there had been civilian casualties, had once again shown Israel's cynical disregard for the United Nations Charter and fundamental human rights. A/C.3/40/SR.14 English Page 9 (Mr. Sobolevoi, Byelorussian SSR) 36. The scope of the Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples extended to the Trust Territories also. The United States had recently adopted provisions aimed at the de facto annexation of one of those Territories; namely, Micronesia. The Organization's attention had been drawn on a number of occasions to the unlawful activities of certain Powers in respect of Micronesia, aimed at breaking up the unity of the Territory and imposing a neo-colonialist status on it as part of a so-called free association, in violation of the United Nations Charter and the Trusteeship Agreement signed by the United States in 1947. Such action constituted not only a violation of the inalienable rights of Micronesia but a serious threat to the security of that region of the Pacific and of the whole world. Colonialism persisted, despite the relevant resolutions and decisions of the United Nations, with the aid of the military bases that had been installed in such dependent Territories as Guam, Puerto Rico, Diego Garcia, Bermuda and others. A colonial regime was being imposed on the Falkland islands (Malvinas) through the use of military force. 37. The Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic was deeply concerned by events in the Caribbean and Central America, where the imperialists frequently resorted to threats, economic pressure, action by mercenaries and open military interference. It should be recalled in that connection that the United States aggression against Nicaragua had already resulted in 12,000 dead, 7,000 orphaned children and the destruction of dozens of hospitals and schools. The United States was waging a policy or state terrorism against Nicaragua in order to undermine that country's political, social and economic system and destroy the authority of its lawful Government, through an undeclared war, because the people of Nicaragua refused to submit and were determined to choose their own destiny. The real attitude of the United States Government to the principle of self-determination was demonstrated by its willingness to co-ordinate and direct at the world level the activities of terrorist groups whose purpose was to bring about the downfall of the lawful Governments of Nicaragua, Afghanistan and Kampuchea, among others. Nevertheless, those peoples which had treed themselves from the colonial yoke were aware of the price they must pay for independence and were able to offer firm resistance to the forces of imperialism. 38. The Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic had always attached the greatest importance to the right of peoples to self-determination, regarding it as an essential condition for full respect for human rights. He recalled in that connection the reply of the Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic to the Secretary-General's inquiry concerning the "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 tor the effective guarantee and observance of human rights (A/40/465, Add.1, p. 20) and the message sent to the Secretary-General on the occasion of the twenty-fifth anniversary of the adoption of the Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples by Mr. M. S. Gorbachev, General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (A/40/757, p. 6). A/C.3/40/SR.14 English Page 10 39. Mr. BENNOUNA (Morocco) said that the United Nations could be proud of one or its achievements: its tireless defence of fundamental human rights, regardless of ethnic, religious, political or ideological affiliation. That important effort, unique in the history of mankind, had taken concrete shape in the adoption of legal instruments of universal bearing, such as the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the Optional Protocol, the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination. Those instruments, which were binding in character, constituted a system of values on which the international community based itself. In addition, appropriate machinery had been set up to oversee the fulfilment of legal obligations and the progressive adaptation of national legislation. In that way, the Organization had succeeded in giving concrete form to the belief of the peoples "in the dignity and worth of the human person, in the equal rights of men and women and of nations large and small" set forth in the United Nations Charter. 40. Individual rights could not be separated from collective rights, however, and freedom was impossible in a country that was enslaved. Consequently, the elimination or racism and racial discrimination and the right to self-determination formed the basis for any international action to safeguard the dignity of the human person. Morocco, whose social consensus was based on respect for human rights and equal participation by all national groups in the building of the nation, had spoken out in all international forums in favour of the total eradication of racism and racial discrimination and the universal attainment of the right of peoples to self-determination. 41. Since racism manifested itself in many different ways, its elimination required close co-operation among all the international institutions. In that connection, Morocco urged the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination to continue its collaboration with UNESCO and the International Labour Organisation. Morocco was deeply concerned about the difficulties suffered by migrant workers because of their nationality and ethnic origin. The imposition of respect for the relevant rules of ILO and the adoption of the international Convention being prepared by the Third Committee were matters of urgency. 42. Information and education were also essential in order to enlighten public opinion as to the evils of racism. Morocco had welcomed the holding, in September 1985, of the communications media round table on international legal questions relating to apartheid, racism and racial discrimination and the seminar on community relations commissions and their functions, held at The Hague and Geneva respectively, it suggested that a meeting should be held at an early date on the implementation of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination in order to evaluate the contribution of the States parties. Morocco, which had just submitted its seventh periodical report to the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, called for more diligent co-operation in the Committee's work, A/C3/40/SR.14 English Page 11 (Mr. Bennouna, Morocco) 43. The almost effort roust also be made to implement the Programme of Action for the Second Decade to Combat Racism and Racial Discrimination. Morocco was conscious of the absolute priority of that Programme, and collaborated unstintingly, in the Economic and Social Council and the Third Committee, with a vie** to giving it full effect. 44. South Africa persisted, in violation of all relevant General Assembly and Security Council resolutions, in maintaining apartheid, turning racial discrimination into a form of government. The disregard of the black majority's most basic rights, and the blind repression carried out against it, causing the death of numerous innocent victims, was a challenge to mankind's conscience. The international community must use all the measures at its disposal, including the sanctions prescribed by the Security Council in resolution 569 (19B5). in order to put an end to repression, arbitrary arrest and discriminatory legislation in South Africa and bring about recognition of the black population's civil and political rights while giving effect to their legitimate desire for a free, democratic society. 45. The Kingdom of Morocco was determined to go on strengthening its solidarity with the peoples of South Africa and Namibia. Eight years previously the Security Council had approved, in resolution 435 (1978), the principles for a peaceful, democratic settlement which would pave the way for the Namibian people's total emancipation and respect for its territorial integrity. The continued occupation and repression in Namibia threatened to destabilize the entire African continent and to endanger international peace and security. 46. The Palestinian people was likewise being deprived of its right, so often reaffirmed in international forums, to self-determination. The policy of violence and oppression pursued by Israel had condemned that people to exile or to dispossession within the occupied territories. In that case, too, there existed proposals for an overall peaceful, just and democratic settlement, based on Israel's withdrawal from all the occupied Palestinian and Arab territories, in the form of the peace plan approved at Fez. Morocco urged intensified international action aimed at giving effect to the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people, under the guidance of the PI/), its sole legitimate representative. 47. On the occasion of the twenty-fifth anniversary of the Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples (General Assembly resolution 1514 (XV) of 14 December 1960). it was regrettable to note that, in contrast to the great strides made possible by that declaration, certain hegemonist forces were still subverting the right of peoples to self-determination in order to apply it to their own interests. That right had no other meaning than the one attributed to it in article 1 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. 48. In that context, the Kingdom of Morocco had ceaselessly striven, in the Maghreb region, to build a sound, egalitarian community and to seek the peaceful settlement of all disputes on the basis of consultation with the peoples concerned, without pre-conditions. A/C.3/40/SR.14 English Page 12 49. Mr. HUANG Jiahua (China) said that respect for the equality of rights of peoples and their self-determination was one of the primary purposes of the United Nations enshrined in the Charter. On the basis of that principle, all peoples had the right to determine their own destiny and political status, preserve their independence and develop themselves economically, socially and culturally. During the Second World War, fascism and militarism, based on violation of the fundamental rights of peoples, had caused the death of millions and left hundreds of millions homeless. That tragic lesson roust be heeded, and the fortieth anniversary of the founding of the United Nations must be made an opportunity to renew allegiance to those fundamental rights. 50. The main current trend in the world was the ending of colonial domination. Despite that, there were still cases, in many parts of the world, of serious violations of peoples' rights to equality and self-determination. That applied especially to the peoples of Palestine, Namibia, Afghanistan and Kampuchea. 51. Since 1948, Israel had ignored the Charter and international law, through large-scale armed invasions, the occupation of Palestine and other Arab territories and the imposition of catastrophic miseries on the Palestinian people. The Israeli authorities had recently unleashed a wave of brutal repression in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, in addition to a criminal raid against the Tunisian capital - all that at a time when the Arab States and the PLO were making earnest efforts to achieve a peaceful settlement of the Palestinian question. The Israeli authorities, relying on the backing of a big Power, had turned a deaf ear to the numerous Security Council and General Assembly resolutions aimed at solving the question of Palestine and the Middle East. All countries which upheld the Charter and fundamental human rights must demonstrate, through action, their rejection of Israel's criminal deeds. Only thus could the trust of the world's peoples be won and a useful contribution made to the settlement of the Middle East question. The Chinese Government and people therefore called on Israel to withdraw from the territories occupied since 1967. They maintained that all the countries of the Middle East must enjoy the right to independent existence, and supported the Arab countries and the PUO in their efforts to strengthen their unity and to seek, through political negotiation and by other means, a comprehensive, equitable settlement of the Middle East problem and bring about peace in the region. 52. Namibia was the largest colonial Territory left in the world and the only country on the African continent which had not yet achieved independence. The South African authorities obstinately persisted in their colonial occupation, refusing to comply with Security Council resolution 435 (1978) and waging brutal oppression against the Namibian people in an attempt to perpetuate their illegal occupation. For that purpose they had set up a puppet regime which excluded the South West Africa People's Organization (SWAPO), the Namibian people's sole genuine representative. The Chinese Government and people strongly condemned the atrocities committed by the South African authorities and urged the United Nations to call upon *.nose authorities to dismantle the so-called "transitional Government-installed by them in Namibia and comply 3trictly with Security Council resolution 435 (1978) so as to bring about the early independence of Namibia. A/C.3/40/SR.14 English Page 13 (Mr. Huang Jiahua, China) 53. The question of Afghanistan was basically a problem of aggression, intervention and armed occupation of a non-aligned State by a super-Power in gross violation of the Charter and international law. The 4 million Afghans forced to flee their homeland represented a compelling denunciation of the foreign aggression and repression waged against their nation. The situation had prevailed for six years, and there was no sign that the occupier, the Soviet Union, was prepared to withdraw its troops and desist from its military operations against Afghan patriots and the territory of neighbouring Pakistan. Only if the Soviet Union withdrew its armed forces from Afghanistan and all interested parties complied strictly with the Charter and the relevant General Assembly resolutions could a just solution be found. 54. With regard to the question of Kampuchea, 200,000 Vietnamese soldiers had invaded that country six years previously, transforming a peaceful, independent State into an abyss of misery and suffering for its inhabitants. The Vietnamese had also imposed on the Kampuchean people a puppet regime bolstered by arms. The Kampuchean people was thus being deprived of its right not only of self-determination but of very survival. In order to distract international public opinion, the Vietnamese authorities frequently referred to so-called "political settlements" and "partial and gradual troop withdrawals". But in order to solve the question peacefully, it was essential to restore the status of Kampuchea as an independent, peaceful, neutral, non-aligned State. In that regard, the Tripartite Coalition Government of Democratic Kampuchea, headed by Prince Norodom Sihanouk, had become a rallying point roc resistance to the aggressors and was receiving growing support from the international community. China appreciated the reasonable positions of the members of the Association of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN) on the question of Kampuchea and called upon the Vietnamese authorities to demonstrate their sincerity by responding positively to the ASEAN initiatives. 55. His delegation sincerely hoped that all Member States, especially the permanent members of the Security Council, would strictly abide by the Charter with a view to preserving world peace and upholding international justice, so as to build a better world of peace, equality and co-operation. 56. Mr- BASNYAT (Nepal) recalled that 12 years had elapsed since the inception of the first Decade for Action to Combat Racism and Racial Discrimination, without notable progress having been achieved so far. His delegation hoped that during the Second Decade the last vestiges of the cancer of racism could be eliminated. 57. His delegation appreciated the continued support by the United Nations of activities aimed at eliminating racial discrimination, in particular the Programme of Action for the Second Decade, adopted by the General Assembly at its thirty-ninth session. It also welcomed the Secretary-General's report on the activities undertaken to achieve the objectives of the Second Decade (E/1985/16 and Add. 1). He considered that the Media Bound Table on International Legal Issues relating to Apartheid, Racism and Racial Discrimination, held recently in The Hague, would help to increase public understanding of the need to combat racism in all its forms. His delegation also welcomed the work of the Economic and Social Council in that area. A/C.3/40/SR.14 English Page 14 (Mr. Basnyat, Nepal) 58. in regard to apartheid, he recalled that the General Assembly had repeatedly declared that that system constituted a crime against humanity. Despite universal condemnation. South Africa had persisted in its policy* even to the point of committing aggression against neighbouring independent States and unleashing the most ferocious repression against thousands of innocent black people who had dared to ask for a change. His country subscribed to the imposition of mandatory sanctions against South Africa under Chapter VII of the Charter and pledged to participate in all actions against apartheid as an active member of the Special Committee against Apartheid. 59. His delegation appreciated United Nations efforts to mobilize international public opinion in support of the immediate and unconditional withdrawal of South Africa from Namibia, and condemned South Africa for its refusal to comply with the relevant United Nations resolutions* especially Security Council resolution 385 (1976) and 435 (1978), which provided the only acceptable basis for the peaceful transition of the Territory from colonial subjugation to independence. 60. His delegation noted with interest that 124 States had become parties to the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination. and that 81 States had signed, ratified or acceded to the International Convention on the Suppression and Punishment of the Crime of Apartheid. He regretted, however, that during 1985 no new ratification of or accession to the Convention* to which his country was a party* had taken place. 61. in conclusion he recalled that his country had fully co-operated with the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination and had submitted, at the appropriate time, reports on legislative, judicial, administrative and other measures taken in pursuance of the Convention. 62. Mr. YAKOVLEV (Union of Soviet Socialist Republics) said that, although the first Decade for Action to Combat Racism and Racial Discrimination marked an important stage in international co-operation in the area of human rights, its aims had not been achieved, which was why the General Assembly at its thirty-eighth session had proclaimed the Second Decade to Combat Racism and Racial Discrimination. The large majority of delegations had condemned the institutionalized racism practised by the apartheid regime and demanded that that system should be ended. 63. The question should be put why, it tor 40 years the United Nations had attempted to eliminate racism and racial discrimination. South Africa could continue to practise its racist policy with Impunity. Some representatives had responded to that question by explaining that it was a matter of individual prejudice. The United States delegation* however, had blamed the communist system. The best that could be said about those replies was that they were not to be taken seriously. Communism had nothing to do with State racism, nor with expansionist Zionism. On the contrary, the socialist system respected international norms against racism. At the current time, racism was linked to the policy applied by certain states. If all States faithfully respected and put into A/C.3/40/SR.14 English Page 15 (Mr. Yakovlev, USSR) practice the noble purposes and principles of the United Nations, racism and racial discrimination would have been eliminated forever. Some States, while claiming to defend those principles, in reality pursued a policy which encouraged the apartheid regime. 64. The major responsibility for the persistence of racism lay with the United States. If its leaders would participate in the struggle waged by the international community against State racism, in accordance with the Charter that evil would have disappeared long before. Instead, the United States Administration maintained a policy of "constructive engagement" with the South African regime, and encouraged expansionist Zionism, while at the same time racist organizations existed in its own country. To justify its position, it claimed that those systems served the interests of Western democracy, freedom of expression and action, and counteracted the danger of international communism. 65. Although the United States Government had recently announced the adoption of measures against South Africa, it was necessary to note the record of that country with regard to its industrial, military, diplomatic and trade co-operation with the apartheid regime. In the Security Council for example, the United states stood in the way of the imposition of comprehensive and mandatory sanctions against South Africa under Chapter VII of the Charter. 66. The United States delegation had talked about the expenses it had incurred to help the victims of apartheid, but had not mentioned the great benefits which it obtained from the exploitation of the system. Documents E/C.10/AC.4/1985/3 and 4 gave concrete examples which uncovered the United States role in support of that system. 67. United states corporations operated in South Africa in the motor, oil, and chemical industries, as well as in the technological, electronics and military fields. After the arms embargo had been imposed on South Africa, the United states had sold Cessna aircraft to that country. It also sold enriched uranium to South Africa and provided it with bank credits. The total value of United States investments in South Africa was over 32 billion. 68. With regard to the implementation of the Programme of Action for the Second Decade to Combat Racism and Racial Discrimination, it would be wrong not to mention the racial discrimination within the United States, which prided itself on being the champion of justice and human rights in other countries* In comparison with the rest of the United States population, Indians, blacks and other racial minorities within the country lived as pariahs. The policy applied to the Indians closely resembled genocide. One need only recall that the 12 million original Indian inhabitants of the country had been reduced to 800,000. As part of that policy, Indian women had been subjected to enforced sterilization. The indigenous population did not enjoy basic rights, such as the freedom to choose their place of residence, and received no medical attention, with the result that their life expectancy was 40 years. His country called upon the United States to end the genocide of that part of the population. A/C.3/40/SR.14 English Page 16 (Mr. Yakovlev, USSR) 69. Consideration of the human-rights situation should include all countries. The United States scene was not encouraging. It was fitting to recall the case of the Organization Move, which in May 1985 had been violently suppressed in a black district of Philadelphia. Another reason for concern was the power of racist groups such as the Ku-Klux-Klan and the John Birch Society. Their aim was to incite the population to racial hatred and they went as far as to provide military training to reach their objectives. 70. The racist propaganda was understandable, because the United States authorities had not taken legislative and administrative measures to put an end to it in accordance with the international human-rights instruments. Furthermore, the United States did not seem disposed to implement the Programme of Action for the Second Decade to Combat Racism and Racial Discrimination, in the view of the Soviet Union, the United States policy justified, among other things, the existence of racial discrimination. Sooner or later that country would undoubtedly have to abandon its ambivalent policy and listen to the wishes of the rest of humanity concerning the elimination of racism. 71. The General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union had recently said that his country would give unconditional support to United Nations activities for the elimination of colonialism, racism and apartheid. As a result, his delegation wished the General Assembly and the Third Committee to adopt the necessary measures to ensure the early implementation of the Programme of Action for the Second Decade to Combat Racism and Racial Discrimination. 72. Mr. AMED (Afghanistan) said that the principle of self-determination, which was a cardinal element of the Charter of the United Nations, formed the basis of many other principles, such as the principles of the sovereign equality of States, non-interference and non-intervention and the prohibition of the use of force. Resolution 1514 (XV), in which the General Assembly had adopted the historic Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples, had been a milestone for the national liberation movements of colonial and dependent peoples. The establishment by the General Assembly of the Special Committee on the Situation with regard to the Implementation of the Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples was a clear demonstration of the enormous efforts made by the United Nations since the adoption of the Declaration in 1960. The activities of the Special Committee, of which Afghanistan was a member, were closely linked with the accession to Independence of some 70 countries since 1961. 73. However, it was regrettable that, despite those achievements, the positive measures taken by the United Nations and the steadfast struggle of progressive and anti-colonialist forces throughout the world, the forces of imperialism, colonialism and neo-colonialism still maintained their domination over the colonial territories. A/C.3/40/SR.14 English Page 17 (Mr. Amed, Afghanistan) 74. Although almost two decades had passed since the General Assembly had terminated the Mandate of South Africa for Namibia, the Namibian people was still deprived of its inalienable right to self-determination and national independence. In flagrant violation of Decree No. 1 of the United Nations Council for Namibia, South Africa, the United States of America and some other Western States continued their brutal exploitation of the natural and human resources of the Territory. Moreover, the Pretoria regime, in collaboration with imperialist forces, had made the Territory into a launching pad for acts of sabotage and aggression against neighbouring States. In both Namibia and south Africa, "bantustanization" was the main method used by the Pretoria regime to perpetuate white domination, spread dissension among black Namibians and maintain a pool of cheap black labour to serve the economic interests of South Africa and the transnational corporations which operated Illegally in Namibia. 75. Despite strong condemnation by the General Assembly, the United States and other Western countries were escalating their economic, political and military collaboration with the South African regime. As a result, the apartheid regime had been able to continue its brutal and inhuman repression in South Africa, proclaim its so-called "constitutional reforms", intensity its colonial domination of Namibia and perpetuate acts of aggression and intimidation against the independent neighbouring States of Angola, Botswana, Lesotho, Mozambique, Zambia and Zimbabwe. The so-called "constructive engagement" policy of the United States of America spelt misfortune and destruction for Africans. Washington and Pretoria were entirely responsible for the situation in southern Africa. 76. Afghanistan reaffirmed its full and steadfast support for the front-line States, the Namibian people and their sole and authentic representative, SWAPO, and also for the South African people under the leadership of the African National Congress (ANC). Afghanistan expressed once again its admiration for the heroic struggle of the People's Liberation Army of Namibia (PLAN) against the ruthless occupation forces of Pretoria. SWAPO and ANC, whose struggle had been recognized as legitimate by the United Nations and the Movement of Non-Aligned Countries, deserved full moral, political, economic and other support. 77. Afghanistan noted with regret that the Palestinian people was still deprived of its right to independence and suffered ruthless repression at the hands of the Israeli occupation forces, in collaboration with world imperialism, with the United States of America at its head. Although the Jews themselves had been among the victims of Nazi and Fascist practices during the Second World War, the Israeli authorities inflicted the same inhuman treatment on the Palestinians, who had been ejected from their homeland by force or lived in restricted areas within occupied Palestine, surrounded by military forces. There could be no solution to the question of Palestine, which lay at the heart of the entire Middle Eastern problem, unless the Palestinian people was allowed the full exercise of its inalienable rights, including the right to return to its homeland, the right to self-determination and the right to establish its own State in Palestine. The Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) was the sole legitimate representative of the Palestinian people, and any solution to the problem of Palestine must therefore include the participation of the PLO on an equal footing. Afghanistan called for the immediate and unconditional withdrawal of Zionist troops from all Arab territories, including Jerusalem and the Syrian Golan Heights. A/C.3/40/SR.14 English Page 18 [Mr. Amed, Afghanistan) 78. The continued occupation of pacts of Cyprus by foreign troops and the futile efforts to lend legitimacy to an artificially created entity In the north of the island had frustrated all attempts by the Government of Cyprus and the Secretary-General to preserve the unity and independence of a non-aligned country. Afghanistan had always declared itself in favour of the independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity of Cyprus and respect for its non-aligned status. 79. The Korean people was also deprived of its legitimate right to peaceful reunification, owing to the presence of United States troops in the southern part of the country. Afghanistan reaffirmed its support for the peaceful reunification of Korea on the basis of the proposals made by the Democratic People's Republic of Korea. 80. Afghanistan strongly supported the struggle and the achievements of the People's Republic of Kampuchea and resolutely demanded that the legitimate right of the Kampuchean people, under the leadership of the Kampuchean People's Revolutionary Council, to be represented in all international forums be recognized. 61. Afghanistan reiterated its strong support for the struggle of the people of the Saharan Arab Democratic Republic for self-determination and independence and called for the immediate implementation of the relevant resolutions of the United Nations and the Organization of African Unity. 82. The illegal expansionist action of the United States of America in Micronesia, which was intended to remove the Territory from international jurisdiction, establish complete domination in the eastern Pacific and turn the territory into an American "bantustan" posed a serious threat to the security of the region and could only result in the creation of new foci of tension in the world. 83. The world had recently witnessed a deterioration in the situation in Central America. The intervention of United States imperialism had caused grave crisis situations and jeopardized peace in Latin America. The Minister for Foreign Affairs of Afghanistan, in his statement at the current session of the General Assembly, had said that a combination of imperialist policies was at work in Latin America, taking the following forms: direct military aggression, occupation and blockade in Cuba and Guantanamo; the use of mercenaries, armed intervention and sabotage in Nicaragua; political and economic coercion and blockade in Cuba and other countries] support for repressive and unpopular regimes in Chile, El Salvador, Guatemala, etc.; the conversion of countries into military bases or launching pads for aggression, as in the case of Honduras and Costa Rica; and colonial occupation in Puerto Rico, the Malvinas and other Territories. 84. The international community should redouble its efforts to Intensify the struggle against imperialism, colonialism, neo-colonialism, exploitation and reaction and to bring about the victory of peace, democracy, social progress and the right of peoples to self-determination. The meeting close at 5.55 p.m.