Heads of state or government - addresses at the opening of the thirty-ninth General Assembly of the United Nations

UN Chronicle, August, 1984

In Latin American countries, most of the budget is devoted to payment of wages and services, and only a small part goes to public works and capital formation. An exaggerated budget cut would eliminate even those items. Peru asks therefore that the "competent organs" seek better absorption of resources in world markets and grant credits speedily.

Long ago in the Andes there was a civilization of Roman proportions that did not even have a monetary system. That principle--that it is possible to have government organizations and social justice even in the absence of money--remains valid in the region. Any proposal for economic reform in Latin America must take into account the social and political situations of the countries of the region and above all, the minimum standard of living they desire for their people.

Changes are needed in the financial and credit systems at the international level. The "financial colonialism" that exists today is as serious as the political colonialism that existed formerly.

Terrorism is also a matter of great concern. It damages the economy of weak nations and sows discord in places where solidarity has prevailed. In the Peruvian highlands, 74 local government authorities, at least 100 police officers and hundreds of peaceful citizens have lost their lives to terrorists. It is apparent that such attacks are generated from abroad and that the main target is Peru's electrical system.

The United Nations must eradicate the scourge of terrorism: poor countries which have scarcely enough resources for development are forced to use those resources to replace what has been destroyed by such cowardly acts. Terrorism is financed by the drug trade. "It is the marriage of crime and vice."

Peru remains committed to peace--on the American continent, in the Malvinas, in Central America. What a good thing it would be if the money spent by Nicaragua, Honduras and El Salvador on fratricidal discord could be used for constructive activity towards economic independence. The Gulf of Fonseca, where the three nations converge, is "clamouring for a development plan".

John G.M. Compton, Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs of Saint Lucia: For more than a century, the Caribbean and the Americas have endeavoured to sort out their problems without international entanglement. This approach should continue, and the remaining problems should be left to the statesmen of the region, who have already taken the initiative under the Contadora Group.

If the Caribbean is to be made a "zone of peace" as some have proposed, there must be an end to social as well as military conflict. Saint Lucia urges the appointment of a commission akin to the Kissinger Commission for Central America, to recommend an assistance programme for Caribbean countries. It also welcomes opportunities for expanded trade and development under the Caribbean Basin Initiative and the initiatives of the European Economic Community (EEC) foreign ministers.

Argentina and Chile are to be congratulated for their peaceful solution to the Beagle Channel dispute. In resolving the Falklands-Malvinas dispute, Argentina should forswear the use of force, while the United Kingdom should suspend fortification of the islands pending mediation under United Nations auspices.