UNGA: Condemnation of state-sponsored covert activities in Africa

[Huojin]

Arthur Joseph Goldberg
Permanent Representative of the United States of America to the United Nations

Members of the General Assembly, we are confronted of late with an series of disturbing developments in southern Africa. From the streets of Salisbury to the jungles of Moçambique, a covert war is being waged - one with serious consequences for the international community and all those who value peace and stability in global relations, and which has left families of innocents torn asunder.

While we, as a body rooted in law, cannot and will not recognise the regime in Rhodesia, and disapprove of the ongoing fighting in Moçambique between Portuguese authorities and the rebels dwelling therein, such stances cannot allow us to turn a blind eye. If the integrity of the UN Charter and respect for sovereign nations is to be upheld, we cannot blithely ignore these transgressions, and must in no uncertain terms, clearly denounce them. The United States therefore calls on the General Assembly to approve this resolution.

The General Assembly,

Guided by the purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations,

Deeply concerned by recent events in the unrecognised state of Rhodesia and the Portuguese overseas province of Moçambique,


1. Deeply deplores the loss of life as a result of these illegal actions.

2. Condemns strongly these illegal actions as incompatible with the purposes and principles of the United Nations.

3. Urgently calls upon those responsible to desist forthwith from their unlawful actions.

[Gesar]

Hugh Mackintosh Foot, Baron Caradon
Permanent Representative of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland

The United Kingdom echoes the American position, but cannot at this present moment endorse the resolution. The charter of the United Nations requires firm mediation before decisive action, and as Southern Rhodesia is still legally a self-governing British Colony, I must state the emphatic belief of our nation in the utility of the diplomatic process as pertains to the current resolution. Terrorism in all forms must be stopped, and violence only creates the breeding grounds for such.

Therefore, before endorsing this measure, we will call for answers from every involved party, including representatives of the Portuguese state, South Africa, the Soviet Committee for State Security, and representatives of Clifford Dupont's movement in Salisbury. His Majesty's Government, represented by the Foreign Secretary and Sir Humphrey Gibbs, will be glad to mediate any inquiries about the matter, and would furthermore state that all attempts at provoking racial violence in Africa ought and will be emphatically condemned, whether they come from the far-right of Western Europe, the bush of Southern Africa, or on directive from Moscow.