The nations speak; caught in the throes of pervasive change, seeking effective and swift responses.

• Position: United Nations General Assembly

The 1992 general debate--taking place at a time of both "unprecedented opportunities" and "sober assessment", in the words of General Assembly President Stoyan Ganev--saw a record-breaking 167 speakers address the new and complex problems facing the world community.

One by one, they stood at the familiar green marble podium, many stressing that the United Nations must become "truly effective and swiftly responsive" to the new world order, undertaking preventive diplomacy and peacemaking activities to safeguard social and economic conditions for all.

As the annual forum for the Organization's 179 Member States, the three-week debate which began on 21 September, provided "a multidimensional view of virtually every major international problem", said President Ganev at its conclusion on 8 October. The 47th Assembly session had convened, he said, at a "crucial moment" in UN history. He emphasized the importance of realizing the Assembly's "full potential as an unprecedented world parliament".

The parade of speakers, which included 24 Heads of State, 1 Vice-President, 13 Prime Ministers, 10 Deputy Prime Ministers, 103 Foreign Ministers and 16 Permanent Representatives, also "reflected a cohesion of ideas regarding the critical need for reform" in the UN, including the General Assembly, Mr. Ganev said.

A strong impetus for future reform was found in Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali's historic "An Agenda for Peace". Foreign Minister Mario Carias Zapata of Honduras said the noteworthy report embodied "both vision and realism that will enable us to make progress in forging a more secure and prosperous world".

Sustainable development was another concern; developed nations "must reduce pressure on the environment through corrective action to enable developing countries . . . to achieve environmental space for industrialization", said Ahmed Hassan Diria, Minister for Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of the United Republic of Tanzania.

Commenting on many crises around the world, almost every nation lamented the bloody conflict raging in Bosnia and Herzegovina, where a reported 100,000 people had been killed since the spring of 1992. Speedy and resolute action was called for to end the carnage.

Reflecting the strong sentiments of Muslim countries, Saudi Arabia's Foreign Minister, Prince Saud Al-Faisal, forcefully declared that the war in "beleaguered" Bosnia and Herzegovina was not a civil war but "a war of extermination waged openly on the people of a sovereign, independent State whose territory has been occupied by the perpetrators of that brutal and savage aggression".

Only if the UN and regional organizations proved "capable of protecting individual States from external aggression and minorities from domestic persecution will it be possible", said German Foreign Minister Klaus Kinkel, "to make the desired transition from policies of national hegemony and armament to the rule of law, collective security and economic and social development".

The world was "far from being peaceful, just and secure", concluded Indonesian President Soeharto, who also spoke on behalf of the 108-member Non-Aligned Movement. "Simmering disputes, violent conflicts, aggression and foreign occupation, interference in the internal affairs of States, policies of hegemony and domination, ethnic strife, religious intolerance, new forms of racism and narrowly conceived nationalism continue to obstruct the building of harmonious coexistence between States and peoples and have even led to the disintegration of States and societies." He stressed: "A world caught in the throes of pervasive change and transition is basically an unstable and unpredictable world."

Africa

In search of solutions to economic malaise

The political impasse in South Africa and the economic crisis stifling the continent--home to a majority of the world's least developed countries--weighed heavily on the minds of African delegates. These countries, which form the

overwhelming majority of the UN membership, were also greatly concerned with the continuing economic difficulties of developing countries in general.

Commenting on the "rising levels of poverty among vast sectors of the world's population", President El Hadj Hassan Gouled Aptidon of Djibouti said that redefining international cooperation for development must be the new priority of the multilateral programmes. "It is thus essential to define a broader approach to this cooperation, one which pays particular attention to the developing countries in general, and to the least developed countries in particular, with a view to achieving sustainable development."

Imbalances between developed and developing countries were being exacerbated, stated Theodore Holo, Minister for Foreign Affairs and Cooperation of Benin. if current trends persist until the year 2000, he said, "the citizens of the richest nations will have an average annual income of more than $13,600, while those from the least developed African countries will have an average per capita income of only $217--that is, $12 less than in 1985".

Drought and desertification further threatened the economic prospects of many developing countries, stated Sir Ketumile Masire, President of Botswana. Urgent measures to combat these scourges, including negotiation of a desertification convention, would, he said, "contribute substantially to the search for solutions to the economic malaise facing our continent".

Many Africans felt that the UN Programme of Action for African Economic Recovery and Development (1986-1990) had not achieved its objectives because of the international community's failure to provide the requisite resources. Thus, Africa's partners must have the political will to live up to their commitments so that the successor to the Programme--the UN New Agenda for the Development of Africa in the 1990s--can succeed in accelerating the transformation, integration and diversification of African economies.

On the continuing struggle in southern Africa, hope was expressed that the stalled negotiations between Pretoria and the African National Congress would be resumed soon.

The decisive steps taken by the Security Council in Somalia were commended, but some speakers said the extent of the suffering could have been greatly alleviated had action been taken faster.

Hope was also expressed that the parties in Angola would accept the results of the UN-monitored elections; that there would be a negotiated settlement to the long and costly civil war in Mozambique: that efforts by the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) would bring about peace and democracy in Liberia; and that the UN would ensure that the referendum plan for Western Sahara was carried out in a manner that reflected the genuine aspirations of the Sahrawi people.

The UN appeared to be the ideal forum for seeking and identifying solutions to the problems of all kinds assailing the world, observed Senegalese President Abdou Diouf, speaking on behalf of the Organization of African Unity (OAU) and the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC). "It is here that modern history is being woven and it is here that ideas are expressed that plant the seeds of the future."

ALGERIA

Foreign Minister Lakhdar Brahimi said: "The so-called world order remains a concept without substance for the overwhelming majority of mankind, whose economic and social situation is steadily deteriorating and who also have reason to fear that this new order is being established outside the bounds of the basic principles of the . . . Charter and without meeting the need to democratize international relations." Initiatives to restructure the UN should aim at a "correct balance of prerogatives between the General Assembly and the Security Council", and also allow access to the Council for all major cultural, political and geographic groupings. Efforts to implement the Western Sahara settlement plan should be redoubled. He called for a peaceful solution to tensions between Libya and the major western Power's.

ANGOLA

Domingos Manuel Nginga, Vice-Minister for External Relations, said the process of peace and democratization under way in Angola "cannot but have positive repercussions and effects in the international sphere". The poverty growing daily in the African continent was worsened by natural calamities that exacerbate the present grave economic and social situation. In South Africa, he called for the establishment of a transitional government and elaboration of a democratic constitution and for holding free elections based on the principle of "one person, one vote". Also, Mozambique should persevere in its peace effort, assisted by the international community, with a view to achieving peace and national reconciliation. On East Timor, there should be direct negotiations between Portugal and indonesia without excluding the legitimate representatives of the Maubere people.

BENIN

Theodore Holo, Minister for Foreign Affairs and Cooperation, said Africa's economic horizon was "darkening daily", with a continent-wide debt of more than $270 billion. "In 1990, our States had to pay out $23 billion to service this debt." Benin appealed for urgent international action to reduce Africa's debt burden and increase financial flows for its development. Measures to ease or cancel debt should be accompanied by detailed, explicit programmes on conditions for financing structural adjustment programmes and repaying that debt. To reach the objectives of the New Agenda for the Development of Africa in the 1990s, the international community should support African efforts to achieve autonomous growth and socio-economic development. Firm support was also needed to restore peace in Liberia, Somalia and elsewhere in Africa, which had "suffered too much".

BOTSWANA

Sir Ketumile Masire, President of Botswana, welcomed the resumption of negotiations in South Africa, saying they were the country's "only hope". The African economic...