28792 EXTENSIONS OF REMARKS November 22, 1981 EXTENSIONS OF REMARKS SECOND INTERIM REPORT ON sponsored resolution calling for imme­ But the process is not always so well THE 36TH SESSION OF THE diate withdrawal of all foreign troops organized in the committees. Often UNITED NATIONS GENERAL AS­ and the restoration of sovereignty, ter­ representatives, having finished state­ SEMBLY BY THE CONGRES­ ritorial integrity, and nonalinement of ments on one topic will go on to an­ SIONAL MEMBERS OF THE U.S. Afghanistan and of the right of the other before acting on the resolution DELEGATION Afghan people to choose their own of the earlier item. The lagtime is form of government free from outside often unavoidable, particularly when HON. BENJAMIN A. GILMAN intervention. Speaking for the United conflict over the terms of the resolu­ OF NEW YORK States, Ambassador Kirkpatrick called tion is acute. A case in point is the IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES the invasion a "grave violation of the Special Political Committee. After U.N. charter that shook the. very foun­ concluding statements on the item of Sunday, November 22, 1981 dation of world order." Besides its the question on information, during • Mr. GILMAN. Mr. Speaker, on shattering effect on the prospects for which the Group of 77 introduced a behalf of the gentleman from Florida continued stability of South Asia and draft resolution, the committee moved <Mr. IRELAND) and myself, I submit the Persian Gulf, she said, "the inva­ on to discuss and review U .N. peace­ herewith our second interim report of sion marked a watershed in the post­ keeping operations, then on to the the work of our U.S. delegation at the war era • • • and ended the optimism report of the U.N. Relief and Works U.N. General Assembly. regarding the evolution of Soviet Agency and subsequently to Israeli The 36th U.N. General Assembly policy and intentions." The final vote practices in the occupied territories. <UNGA) has now steered itself was 116 for, 23 against, and 12 absten­ Meanwhile, interested parties have through two-thirds of its fall course. tions. continued to negotiate their differ­ Some call what is going on here a The UNGA is also debating another ences in the draft resolution on infor­ "world political happening." Just last question related to self-determination, mation and on the UNWRA report. In week the General Assembly welcomed Namibia. While the Western powers­ the latter, the sticking point is the the new Caribbean state of Antigua the United States, United Kingdom, effort by the Islamic nations to shift and Barbuda as the 157th member of France, Federal Republic of Germany, the funding of UNWRA to the U.N. the world Organization. And at a and Canada-have been meeting to try regular budget. The Western donors recent meeting, the Gambian Ambas­ to work out an acceptable political set­ hotly contest this proposal, stating sador confirmed a New York Times tlement that would provide for a that their parliaments are likely to cut report that his country and Senegal peaceful transition of authority in Na­ the funds altogether should this result may amalgamate, stating that the re­ mibia, the majority of U.N. members from a vote on the matter. spective authorities are preparing nec­ clearly want to have a say in this As the formal debate of this session essary papers to create a co-federal ar­ matter, and their preferred forum is continues, considerable staff work rangement to be called Senegambia, the U.N. General Assembly, the politi­ goes on behind the scenes-in the and this will determine whether they cal umbrella of the U.N. system where trenches-where staff takes soundings will maintain separate U.N. Ambassa­ they have clear majority on certain from a network of contacts in other dors or will consolidate. matters. delegations, consults like-minded dele­ This month, the African-Asian Legal Underlying this series of seemingly gations to gain support for emerging Consultative Committee celebrated its unplanned and diverse events is an compromises, and meets with opposing 25th anniversary, and the High Com­ agreed procedure for managing consid­ representatives to negotiate preferred missioner, whose Office of Refugees eration by the 157 members of the language to achieve an acceptable out­ won the 1981 Nobel Peace Prize, came 140-plus agenda items. The "Rules of come. The process is complicated by to the General Assembly to mobilize Procedure of the General Assembly" the fact that there may be two, three, financial support for his Office's ef­ regulate the plenary debate as well as or more resolutions or parts of resolu­ forts to provide humanitarian assist­ the work of the seven standing com­ tions floated on one item, each reflect­ ance to millions of refugees across the mittees. Items considered too impor­ ing the position of different interests, world. tant to refer to one of the committees be they the West, the Eastern bloc, The UNGA has been debating a are often left to plenary; the remain­ the Africans, Asians, Latins, or Arabs, number of highly charged political der are allocated by agreement of the or some combination of these regional issues, including armed Israeli aggres­ members to one of the seven standing groupings. Needless to say, to be suc­ sion against Iraq's nuclear facility and committees. In turn, the officers of cessful, such diplomatic efforts require the situation in Afghanistan. Despite each committee propose a schedule of a high degree of interpersonal skill as insistence by our United States delega­ work with due time for representatives well as substantive knowledge of the tion that the proper forum for discuss­ to speak on a particular item, to pro­ issue and patterns of world political ing "armed Israeli aggression" was the pose-table-a resolution, to offer relations. Security Council; that the Council had amendments, or exercise the right of As a result of these committee ef­ previously acted fully on this issue, reply, and make decisions on the f arts, the United States does not and despite the U.S. strong objection future course of action by adopting always find itself alone in committee to such words as "aggresion," ours was resolutions. or plenary. On the votes on Israeli ag­ a voice in the wilderness, with a sub­ In plenary, once all representatives gression and on the situation in Af­ stantial majority approving the resolu­ have been given the opportunity to de­ ghanistan, previously noted, the tion, 108-2-34. Only the United States liver their statements, they act on the United States stood alone on the first; and Israel voted against the resolution pending resolution before going on to and was joined by a majority on the and the Western European and other the next item. Thus the UNGA plena­ second. In committee, three-social group <WEOG) abstained. ry, after numerous speeches on armed and humanitarian matters-of 22 draft With relation to Afghanistan, an Israeli aggression, adopted a resolu­ resolutions adopted thus far, 14 have even larger majority, including the tion on that topic before moving on to been adopted by consensus, without a United States, supported a Pakistan- consider the situation in Afghanistan. vote, and 8 by a recorded vote. Of the e This "bullet" symbol identifies statements or insertions which are not spoken by the Member on the floor. November 22, 1981 EXTENSIONS OF REMARKS 28793 eight resolutions on which a recorded and then ran into difficulty defining Notably, the large majority of reso­ vote was taken, the United States the freedoms to be protected. lutions adopted by consensus related stood alone on four of the votes, on Finally, the Commission on Human to relatively noncontentious matters: the report of the Committee on the Rights during its 1978, 1979, 1980, and an international year of shelter for Elimination of Racial Discrimination, 1981 sessions persevered in its drafting the homeless; implementation in the the status of the Convention on the and adopted the draft declaration last Sudan-Sahel region of a plan of action Elimination of Apartheid, and on two spring. to combat decertification; the world resolutions on national experience in The religious freedom declaration tourism organization; world communi­ social and economic progress. Our del­ consists of 10 preambular paragraphs cations year; health for all by the year egation objected to some of the lan­ and 8 articles setting forth national 2000; U.N. University; and mobilization guage in these resolutions; for exam­ obligations respecting the individual's for personal savings. · ple, criticism of South Africa, refer­ freedom of religion. Article I pro­ The latter, sponsored by Barbados, ring to apartheid as a crime against claims that everyone shall have the Jamaica, Malaysia, and Sweden, af­ humanity and in the latter cases, the right to freedom of thought, con­ firms the need to encourage develop­ distasteful tone of the resolutions. We science, and religion. Articles II and ment of appropriate indigenous finan­ abstained on another because of refer­ III define religious discrimination as cial institutions and to foster govern­ ence to "the New International Eco­ any distinction, exclusion, restriction, ment and institutional exchanges of nomic Order." The United States does or preference based on religion or information on mobilizing personal not support the use of the word "the," belief that impairs the recognition, en­ saving; it also requests the Secretary preferring to use "a"; we did not par­ joyment, or excercise of human rights General to report on the Second Inter­ ticipate in an Algerian-sponsored reso­ and an affront to human dignity. Arti­ national Symposium on the Mobiliza­ lution on the implementation of the cle IV calls on states to take measures tion of Personal Savings in Developing program for the U.N.