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General Assembly-Twenty-nlnth Session-Plenary Meetlngs

of mere self-interest, to work towards the calming of passions and the achievement of peace with justice in Northern Ireland. Accordingly, since the last session of the General Assembly we have made it clear that we abjure irredentism, that we accept that the factual position of Northern Ireland within the United Kingdom can be altered only with the consent of a majority of the people of Northern Ireland. 68. Unhappily, even that clear statement, which we offered to incorporate in a solemn agreement to be registered at the United Nations, has failed to persuade the majority section of the community in Northern Ireland to accept the terms of a widely acclaimed agreement reached last December at Sunningdale in England between the Governments of Ireland and the United Kindgom and. the parties to a power-sharing Government in Northern Ireland, which at that time commanded a' majority in the then recently elected Northern Ireland Assembly. That agreement provided for participation by both sections of the people of Northern Ireland in the government of the area-an arrangement which actually operated successfully for a period of five monthsand for an institutional structure between North and South that would have given expression to the close economic, social and cultural links that bind together the two parts of Ireland. 69. It is tragic that this solution to the problem, despite its initial good reception and despite the support given to it by the United Kingdom Government and opposition parties and by the Government and opposition in my own country, failed as a resu It of a recrudescence of intransigence amongst the majority section of the Northern Ireland community. But we have not abandoned our efforts to secure a solution along these lines and to achieve acceptance for it amongst both sections of the community in Northern Ireland on a scale that will ensure its success. We have not been deflected from our efforts at conciliation by the rejection of the agreement reached at Sunningdale nine months ago. We remain convinced that the principal elements of that agreement are essential to any enduring solution. And, in accordance with the principles of the Charter of the United Nations, we shall continue to pursue the path of conciliation in the cause of peace. 70. I know that in our efforts to resolve this problem within the island of Ireland, and in co-operation with the United Kingdom Government, we have the support of the world community. 71. I should like to end by referring to the question of human rights, including safeguards against torture, a problem which increasingly is attracting the concern of world public opinion. My country takes the view that human rights transcend all questions of national sovereignty. We formally reject the view that any country has the right to infringe on basic human rights, let alone use torture within its territory, or to be free from inquiry, from inspection, or from condemnatory action by the international community in respect of such breaches of the rights of man. n. We ourselves accept the jurisdiction of the European Commission and Court of Human Rights in respect of such matters and have fully accepted

the obligation to justify our domestic actions before these tribunals. To the extent that the United Na. tions code of human rights is less effective than that of the Council of Europe, we would wish that it be strengthened and rendered less open to evasion and more capable of protecting individuals every: where from arbitrary acts by Governments. 73. Mr. ROMULO (Philippines): The Philippines offers its warmest congratulations to Mr. Abdelaziz Bouteflika, the Foreign Minister of Algeria, on his election as President of the twenty-ninth session of the General Assembly. President Boutetlika's back. ground is that of a revolutionary, and that is what the world needs right now-a dedicated revolutionary. 74. In the session just past, we depended on the ripe wisdom of Mr. Leopoldo Benites to guide us through a series of crises more formidable than many we have faced in previous years. Having succeeded in drawing up the firm guidelines for coping with crises, we must now lean upon the vitality, the energy and the strong convictions of this youthful new President of the Assembly to see us through the next, and .even more difficult, stages of implementing agreements reached in principle. 75. We wish to congratulate at this time and to welcome into our midst the latest members of the United Nations, the new sovereign States of Grenada, Bangladesh, and Guinea-Bissau. Their presence here is another affirmation of the powerful tides of self-determination which began sweeping the world shortly after the end of the Second World War. It is to the credit of Portugal, and a stern warning to the remaining colonial Powers in Africa, that it has recognized and accepted the fact that the course of decolonization is irreversible. We listened this morning [2242nd meeting 1 to the moving statement of the representative of Honduras. I hasten to assure him, on behalf of the Philippine Government, of our deepest .syrnpathies for the tragic calamity which has befallen his people. I come from a country which is periodically buffeted by typhoons and often devastated by floods, and we in the Philippines understand the suffering of the Honduran people. We feel for them deeply.

76.

77. The accession to the presidency of Mr. Abdelaziz Bouteflika is appropriate and timely in a very important sense. The world is in the midst of an economic dislocation so grave that its repercussions are bound to be felt far into the future. While all nations are in the grip of these dangerous economic trends, it is the developing nations which today feel its effects most strongly. Indeed, many of them are on the brink of economic collapse. 78. As a recognized leader among the developing countries, our new President can be expected to provide profound insights into their difficulties. At the same time, he is in a position to moderate what we -most wish to avoid, namely, the degeneration of the understandable conflicts of interest between the rich and the poor countries-eontlicts inherent in the present economic system-into bitter and frustrating confrontation. The future of mankind, both of its affluent and of its disadvantaged segments, lies not in confrontation but in co-operation based on equity and justice.

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