46th Session
11th Plenary Meeting, 26th September, 1991

Speech by Mr. Madhav Singh Solanki

I have great pleasure in congratulating you, Sir, on your assumption of the presidency of the
General Assembly at its forty-sixth session. I am confident that your wise leadership will
enable this session to deal successfully with the broad agenda before it. You may count on my
delegation's cooperation in the discharge of your onerous responsibilities.

I would like to record my appreciation for the energetic and imaginative presidency of your
predecessor, Ambassador Guido de Marco of Malta.

The Secretary-General of the United Nations, his Excellency Mr. Perez de Cuellar, who has
served the international community at a critical turning-point in modern history, deserves our
deep gratitude and unstinting admiration. His indefatigable energy, dedication, diligence,
imagination and resourcefulness have enabled the United Nations to play a pivotal role in the
resolution of many crisis situations.

I am delighted to welcome in our midst the Democratic People's Republic of Korea and the
Republic of Korea. India enjoys excellent relations with both and trusts that their admission to
the United Nations will further contribute to dialogue and reconciliation in the Korean
peninsula. This would also enable them to contribute more effectively to the strengthening of
peace and security in the region and in the world at large. We are happy that the Baltic
Republics ~ Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania - have taken their rightful place in the Organization.
Similarly, I should like to congratulate the Federated States of Micronesia and the Republic of
the Marshall Islands on their admission to the United Nations.

In the year that has elapsed since the forty-fifth session of the General Assembly, India and the
world lost a distinguished statesman in the person of Mr. Raiiv Gandhi, the former Prime
Minister of India. Rajiv Gandhi's commitment and dedication to the cause of peace and
international understanding naturally made him an extremely ardent supporter of the United
Nations. He firmly believed that the Organization, where the entire international community is
represented, offers an ideal forum to tackle the manifold problems facing mankind: eradication
of poverty, disarmament, environmental conservation, elimination of the menace of drugs and
so on. He was particularly concerned about the threat of total annihilation posed by nuclear
arsenals, and he will long be remembered for the Action Plan for a nuclear-weapon-free and
non-violent world that he presented to the special session on disarmament in 1988.

The recent dramatic changes in the world have led to a restructuring of international relations.
After decades of the cold war, there is a move towards dialogue to replace confrontation, trust
to replace suspicion and, above all, peace and cooperation to replace strife and discord.
Democracy is taking root in the Eastern European countries, which are, at the same time,
making efforts to integrate into the world economy. The process of change in the Soviet Union,
initiated by President Gorbachev's policies of perestroika and glasnost, has received further
momentum recently. Elsewhere in the world, too, there is evidence of the successful assertion
of the democratic aspirations of the people. In our own region, there are the shining examples
of Bangladesh and Nepal. As the Secretary-General has aptly put it in his report on the work
of the Organization:

"Today there are far more solid grounds for hope than there are reasons for frustration and
fear." (A/46/1, p. 22)

While welcoming these positive changes, we cannot but be aware of the formidable obstacles
we still face in the creation of an equitable and just world order. Glaring inequalities continue
to plague our planet. Disparities among countries and groups of countries have not only
persisted, but have also widened. If the promise of a restructured framework for international
relations is to be realized, it must address the interests of all and must be accepted by all.

India was among the first to speak out, several decades ago, against the division of the world
into hostile camps. The policy of non-alignment, embraced by most of the newly independent
nations, stressed the right of nations to determine their own destinies. The Non-Aligned
Movement called upon the super-Powers not only to end their rivalry but also to work in
co-operation for the benefit of the world. The present situation, marked by the disappearance
of bloc rivalries and their replacement by increasing cooperation among major Powers, is a
vindication of the Movement's basic plank. As the recent meeting of the Ministers of the
non-aligned countries in Accra declared, the Movement will continue to be an important factor
in international relations by pursuing the goal of establishing a society based on social,
economic and political justice through dialogue and cooperation.

The relaxation of tensions in international relations has inevitably led to progress in the
resolution of a number of crisis situations. In Central America, Nicaragua and El Salvador
have ceased to be arenas of conflict and tension. Peace has dawned in Angola with the signing
of an accord between the parties concerned. Cambodia is on the verge of a negotiated solution.
Cyprus and Afghanistan also seem to be moving towards a peaceful settlement. In Western
Sahara, a referendum sponsored by the United Nations is about to be held, ending decades of
acrimony and conflict in the region.

The crucial role that the United Nations has started to play in these and other crisis situations
is in keeping with its original mandate. The convergence of the objectives of the permanent
members of the Security Council has led to a consensus among them on several issues, as
envisaged in 1945. The United Nations, at the same time, needs to be strengthened and
reformed in order to live up to the expectations placed in it.

In this connection, one of the challenges faced by the United Nations today is to make it truly
representative of the interests and aspirations of all its Members and to make it an arena of
cooperative action of all nations and peoples.

As the Non-Aligned Movement has recently reiterated, the current efforts at reform of the
United Nations should include measures designed to make the decision-making process at the
United Nations, particularly in the Security Council, more democratic and transparent. In this
context, we should examine, as a matter of urgency, the proposals before us for an expansion
of the Security Council to reflect the increased membership of the United Nations and to
ensure a more equitable and balanced representation of the Members of the United Nations in
the Council.

This year has seen the conclusion of the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START), an
outstanding achievement in the field of nuclear disarmament. For the first time in history, there
is going to be real reduction in the strategic nuclear forces of the United States and the Soviet
Union. This has been long overdue, but there is no reason to be complacent. The process of
reduction of nuclear weapons must continue. The START reductions are very limited and are
confined to numbers, without any effect on the quality of these weapons. The reductions should
now be deeper, quicker and should involve all the nuclear-weapon States. The Treaty should
not lead to qualitative upgrading of the remaining arsenals, nor should the warheads released
be reused in other systems.

Nuclear weapons have no place in today's world and with the end of the cold war the
irrelevance of the doctrine of nuclear deterrence stands further exposed. Unfortunately, new
theories of deterrence are being developed in order to legitimize the continued possession and
improvement of nuclear weapons. Deterrence is now being conceived either in the
balance-of-power context or against the so-called delinquent powers among developing
countries.

The action plan proposed by India at the third special session on disarmament in 1988
assumes increased relevance today. The present is the opportune moment to commence work
for a new treaty to give legal effect to a binding commitment by the nuclear-weapon States to
eliminate nuclear weapons within a time-bound framework, and by all non-nuclear-weapon
States not to cross the nuclear threshold. The implementation of the action plan could also help
in ending the unnatural division of the world into nuclear "haves" and "have-nots" and the need
to erect all kinds of discriminatory ad hoc regimes to sustain such a division.

The Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty symbolizes this division. India has not accepted the
Treaty because it does not impose reciprocal obligations on the nuclear- weapon States to
eliminate nuclear weapons. Furthermore, the Treaty enforces inequitable full-scale safeguards
on all the nuclear activities of the non-nuclear- weapon States without imposing commensurate
obligations on the nuclear-weapon States. Nevertheless, I should like to state that, even
without having signed the Non- Proliferation Treaty, India has scrupulously adhered to a
non-proliferation policy and has never helped any other nation in developing nuclear weapons.
We shall continue to abide by such a policy.

We also have our best opportunity in the coming year to conclude a global convention banning
chemical weapons. India is committed to working along with all those delegations that wish to
complete the work on a draft chemical-weapons convention within the stipulated time frame.
What remains to be done in the field of verification, compliance and consultative mechanism
should be accomplished without further delay through common effort and understanding. We
should all realize that the greater good of humanity is at stake in the abolition of chemical
weapons and this good should not be compromised for lesser, short-term ends.

The Gulf crisis earlier this year underscored the inadmissibility of aggression by one country
against another. Like the rest of the international community, we feel gratified that aggression
has been reversed. We rejoice that Kuwait is once again a sovereign independent State. The
Gulf region has long been a focal point of tension and instability. This region is our neighbour,
and we are hopeful and confident that, following the recent crisis, there will be peace and
stability in the region.

As a member of the Security Council since January of this year, India has tried to play a
constructive role in the Council's effort to deal with the Gulf crisis. We lent support to all
endeavours to secure the withdrawal of Iraq from Kuwait without resorting to war. Once the
war started, we combined our efforts with those of like- minded countries to bring it to a
speedy end and, in any case, to ensure that the destruction and devastation unleashed by the
war remained limited. We also tried to assert the Security Council's role in guiding the course
of the war and in calling for a cease-fire. Being conscious throughout of the humanitarian
aspects of the crisis, we made a number of proposals in the council to provide succour to the
innocent civilian victims of the conflict.

The Gulf crisis and the ensuing war severely damaged the economies of many countries,
including my own. Nevertheless, we remained in step with the international community in
imposing comprehensive sanctions. The Gulf crisis demonstrated that in the present era of
global economic interdependence, the imposition of sanctions in a region, particularly when
that region happens to be a major source of the energy supply, is bound to have an adverse
effect on the economies of a large number of other countries both within and outside the
region.

Our experience of invoking Article 50 of the Charter to seek redress was, to say the least, both
frustrating and disappointing. The consideration of our case took place after long delays and it
resulted only in a call on Member States and United Nations specialised agencies to give
attention to our problems. A lesson that we should draw from this experience is that, in future,
a mechanism should be devised for the automatic commencement of action under Article 50 in
the event of the imposition of sanctions. As the Secretary-General stated in his report on the
work of the Organization: "In today's conditions of economic interdependence, the effect of the
imposition of comprehensive economic sanctions on third States that are economic partners of
the offender State requires that Article 50 of the Charter be supplemented by appropriate
arrangements creating obligations to assist concretely the disadvantaged third State or States".
(A/46/l,p.6)

The Gulf region still suffers from the aftermath of war. The United Nations has the duty and
responsibility to exert all its energies to remove the suffering, hunger and squalor left behind
bathe war. This is particularly true of the Iraqi civilian population, whose misery is not
lightened by the continuation of economic and trade sanctions. We commend the humanitarian
assistance provided to the people of the region by Member countries as well as United
Nations agencies. At the same time, we believe that any outside intervention in the Member
country on humanitarian grounds constitutes an abridgement of national sovereignty and is,
therefore, fraught with serious implications.

We sincerely hope that the flexibility shown by all parties concerned will help to resolve the
Middle East conflict, at the core of which is the Palestinian question. India applauds the
assiduousness with which the United States has worked to get the various parties involved to
the negotiating table. I trust that these efforts, along with those of the parties concerned, will
mark a beginning in the resolution of the vexed Middle East problem. We believe that a just
and comprehensive settlement of the Middle East question will be possible and durable only if
it restores to the Palestinian people their fundamental rights, including their right to a
homeland.

I mentioned Cambodia earlier. Events there are shaping towards what we hope will be a
peaceful resolution of the conflict. We specially welcome the Cambodian delegation to the
United Nations, led by His Royal Highness Prince Sihanouk, Chairman of the Supreme
National Council of Cambodia, which has recently taken several initiatives in bringing
Cambodia closer to an era of peace and restoration.

India appreciates the contribution made by the five permanent members of the Security Council
and the Paris International Conference on Cambodia towards resolving this long-drawn-out
problem. We are glad to be associated with this process as a member of the Paris International
Conference. The Cambodian people, who have suffered so much in the past, deserve the
continued support of the international community to complete the badly needed process of
national reconciliation and reconstruction. We look forward to the emergence of Cambodia as
a sovereign, independent, neutral and non-aligned nation in accordance with the wishes of its
people.

I trust that the Secretary-General's five-point plan on Afghanistan will inspire the parties to the
conflict to negotiate a framework for resolving this issue. We welcome the decision by the
United States and the Soviet Union not to supply arms to the parties involved, but this step will
be effective only if supplies from other sources also stop forthwith. The United States has a
major role to play in this regard. We call for a comprehensive political settlement of the
conflict in Afghanistan which would preserve the sovereign, non-aligned and independent
status of Afghanistan.

Of late, further movement in dealing with the Cyprus issue is discernible. India supports peace
efforts that ensure the sovereignty, unity and territorial integrity of Cyprus, and in this light
welcomes further negotiations under United Nations auspices.

Myanmar remains deprived of the democratic rights, its own people voted for over three years
ago. India calls upon the Myanmar leadership to accept the people's verdict and work with
them to restore democracy in the country. The South African Government has recently
undertaken a number of positive steps towards dismantling the apartheid regime. We welcome
these changes. At the same time, we remain fully aware that a lot more needs to be done. The
South African authorities must immediately take all necessary measures to start the process of
negotiations. Equally important is curbing the continuing violence in certain parts of the
country.

The pressure that has been brought to bear on Pretoria by the application of sanctions has
proved to be useful and must be sustained. The International community must remain vigilant
until the complete eradication of apartheid and the transformation of South Africa into a
non-racial, unitary democracy.

While apartheid is on the retreat in South Africa, an attempt is being made to institutionalise
racism in Fiji. The interim government in Fiji has incorporated into a new constitution certain
provisions which are in violation of the internationally accepted principles of democracy and
human rights. By institutionalising oppression and injustice, Fiji appears to be moving
backwards in history to a darker age. The Suva regime should abandon such anachronistic
policies and join the rest of the world in enlightened democratic governance.

In the economic field, there is an increasing trend of integration of the process of production,
consumption and trade in the world economy, brought about mainly by the communications
revolution. This has led to an unprecedented enhancement of the interdependence of nations
and increasing competitiveness among major operators in the world economy. One of the very
significant outcomes of this phenomenon has been the creation and strengthening of regional
economic groupings, particularly among developed countries. Western Europe is moving
towards an integrated market by the end of 1992. The former East and West Germanys have
been united. In a few years Germany is expected to emerge an even stronger economic Power.
While these are significant economic changes, we do not see concommitant moves towards
meaningfully addressing North-South development issues.

Responding to the changing realities, many developing countries are making strenuous efforts
to carry out structural changes in order to meet the challenges. We in India have also
introduced far-reaching changes in our industrial, trade and monetary and fiscal policies. Our
aim is to remove unnecessary controls and regulations so as to release the creative forces in
the economy and realize its full potential. As a consequence of these policy changes, we
envisage sharply increased interlinkages with the world economy. We need the understanding
and cooperation of our partners from developed countries to derive the full benefits from the
measures we have adopted and as a cushion against the short-run pressures that may build up.
We also need an international economic environment which is conducive to ensuring the
success of such measures. In various multilateral organisations, it will be our endeavour to
work towards establishing an international economic order which is truly multilateral and
based on the principle of non-discrimination and the rule of law.

The overall external economic environment for developing countries remains unfavourable.
Many of these countries are facing the problem of worsening terms of trade, increasing
problems in finding access to advanced technology, and reductions in the resources available
for development.

The overall debt situation for the developing countries has assumed alarming proportions and
poses a serious threat to their economic viability. A solution to the developing countries' debt
problem would need a comprehensive and integrated strategy encompassing all categories of
affected countries and all forms of debt.

Against this backdrop, the Secretary-General's proposal for an international conference on the
financing of development deserves support. As he further points out in his report on the work
of the Organization:

"A reinvigoration of the North-South dialogue has now become more urgent than ever.
Fortunately, conditions exist now for advancing it constructively without a needless overlay of
rhetoric or ideological controversy." (A/46/l, p.12)

India attaches great importance to an early, successful and balanced outcome of the current
Uruguay round of multilateral trade negotiations. We are a serious partner in these
negotiations, which we approach with an open mind and a considerable degree of flexibility.
But we have our own concerns to be met and interests to safeguard. That is why we have been
insisting that the overall package that emerges from these negotiations must contain specific
and time-bound commitments on issues of concern to developing countries.

The developments of recent years have further validated the disarmament and development
linkage and made it a reality. National budgetary policies of some of the major military
Powers already provide for the channelling of resources now locked into the arms race into
economic growth. The peace dividend now needs to be realized at the international level. The
International Conference on Disarmament and Development envisaged mechanisms in this
regard should be put into effect.

We notice another disturbing trend in the economic field. Attempts are being made to factor
into the calculus of international and bilateral economic cooperation, non- economic
considerations such as good governance, observance of human rights, environment, military
expenditure, and so on. The Indian polity is firmly anchored on political pluralism and
individual freedom. We attach high priority to the preservation of the environment and would
very much like to reduce our military budget. But these laudable goals should apply to all
countries, developed and developing. What is questionable is the linkage of these issues with
development assistance of which only the developing countries are the recipients.

Environmental concerns are fast moving to the top of the world agenda and are rightly at the
forefront of international concern and attention. We are convinced that environmental
problems cannot be isolated from the general issue of development and must be viewed as an
integral part of development efforts. For global environmental problems to be dealt with
effectively, we need to forge a global partnership which seeks to protect the environment
while simultaneously addressing the development requirements of the developing countries.

It is well recognized that the principal sources of pollutants in the environment lie in the
developed countries and these countries accordingly bear the main responsibility for
combating such pollution. Furthermore, if financial, technical and other capabilities are also
taken into account, then it becomes quite clear that the responsibility for undertaking corrective
action devolves on the developed countries. Without the provision of adequate, new and
additional financial resources and environmentally benign technologies on preferential and
non-commercial terms, it would be difficult for the developing countries to adopt
environmentally safe and desirable technologies, much as they would like to do so. Such
technologies should not become simply another source of commercial profit for the developed
world.

India will continue its constructive contribution to the preparations for the 1992 United
Nations Conference on Environment and Development. We hope that at the Conference the
twin issues of environment and development will be addressed in a balanced way and in their
totality.

India is glad to see changes around the world that serve to strengthen fundamental human
rights. India's own deep commitment to human rights, true to its democratic traditions and
practices, is well known. India's parliamentary institutions, independent judiciary, free press
and public opinion provide the necessary checks and balances to safeguard individual as well
as collective human rights. I would, however, urge caution in projecting the promotion of
human rights in an intrusive manner that militates against national sovereignty. Contexts and
situations differ from country to country, and international concern for human rights
preservation should not detract from the efforts in the same direction made by the country
concerned.

In recent years, terrorism has emerged as one of the most dangerous and pernicious threats to
the enjoyment of human rights, peace and stability in many parts of the world. Through killings,
kidnappings, extortion and other such means, terrorists and their organisations have effectively
usurped the basic human rights of innocent civilians. In a number of cases, they are using
brutality and fear to undermine the free functioning of democratic institutions, including the
legislative, executive and judiciary branches of government, as well as the press. Such
terrorism assumes a particularly pernicious form when it is aided, abetted and sponsored from
abroad. Sponsorship of terrorism in another country constitutes a violation of the principles of
governing relations among States which have been enshrined in the United Nations Charter.
This deserves the condemnation of the international community.

Drug abuse control has gained a commendable measure of global co-operation. Drug abuse is
a menace calling for concerted and strong action. India welcomes the establishment of the
United Nations Global Programme of Action for international drug control. We would stress
the need for additional financial resources and technical assistance for crop substitution and
other measures to combat drug trafficking and abuse.

In conclusion, let me say that we in India wish the recent epochal changes worldwide to be the
harbingers of peace, prosperity and an equitable and just world order. The logic of progress is
on the side of those who think and act progressively, not of those who wish to remain frozen in
an unresponsive status quo. India looks forward to cooperating with other nations in the noble
endeavour of strengthening world peace and cooperation.

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