unitex@rubbs.fidonet.org (unitex) (10/12/89)
UN ASSEMBLY SESSION -- TAKE 5 Posting Date: 10/09/89 Copyright UNITEX Communications, 1989 UNITEX Network, USA ISSN: 1043-7932 Continuing, the Foreign Minister of Qatar, Mr. AL-ATTIYAH, said that elimination of the apartheid regime in South Africa was a prime responsibility for the United Nations and the international community. The limited measures enacted by the Pretoria authorities, in an effort to win over world public opinion, could only serve to perpetuate that evil regime and further delay the final objective. "The international community is confronted with two major challenges which threaten its very structure and put at risk the achievements of human civilization: the pollution of the environment, on the one hand, and the drug crisis, on the other." The dangerous effects of those two phenomena were global and affected equally the industrial countries and the countries of the third world. Although the responsibility fell upon all, the industrial countries carried a larger burden in that regard, commensurate with their financial and technological resources. Qatar supported the idea of holding, in 1992, an international conference on environment and development. At the same time, he called for more international efforts to deal with the problem of narcotic drugs, "which threatens the very foundations of our civilization", he said. He said he was pleased with the improvement in the relations of the Soviet Union and the United States, illustrated by, among other things, the conclusion of the intermediate-range missile Treaty. It was a welcome step in the long road towards putting an end to the nuclear arms race. In that regard, he attached particular importance to establishing nuclear-weapons-free zones, particularly in the Indian Ocean and in the Middle East. He was concerned about Israel's nuclear capability, particularly in light of its aggressive tendency and heightened by Israel's refusal to accede to the non-proliferation Treaty and subject its nuclear facilities to international inspection. Israel's co-operation in that field with the Pretoria regime was also a matter of concern. Political relaxation could not be solidified without economic relaxation, he said. Unfortunately, the economic crisis remained and, if anything, was getting worse. There was a widening gap, economically and technologically speaking, between the developing countries and the industrial countries. While the economies of the majority of developing countries were stagnant or in decline, the major concern of the industrial countries was to achieve growth without inflation. A wide-ranging North-South dialogue, aimed at establishing forms of economic co-operation beneficial to all, would be both necessary and useful, he said. He hoped the extraordinary session of the General Assembly scheduled for early next year would provide a forum for the resumption of such a dialogue. He was confident that the session would provide a strong impetus to international co-operation in the field of economic development. The United Nations was a principal forum for all dialogue and negotiations relating to such co-operation. * Origin: UNITEX --> Toward a United Species (1:107/501) --- Patt Haring | United Nations | Did u read patth@sci.ccny.cuny.edu | Information | misc.headlines.unitex patth@ccnysci.BITNET | Transfer Exchange | today? -=- Every child smiles in the same language. -=-