WealsobeardtheIIigbtyroarandsawQ'1eterrible flashesofnuclear bombsas theland,theseas,andthewboleenvironment ofourregionwereusedtotestnew, morepowerful weapons ofdestruction. Peacehadcome,weweretold,butour environment knewnopea:ce. Today,ourenvironment stillknowsnopeace. Oneofourformercolonizers - thesameonewhoseownliberation wefoughtforandcheered -continues totestits",JSM/ljb A/401J1V.aa .......5 (Patbel:Lint,Vanuatu) " " ,., "nucl.at w.a~ inoureiwiron....t.It~1&..that tb••etestaares.t.andthat wearefree-toQ9_,and-in8peot theq.ta,lUs forour..lv_.Itignores QUI:1IOra1 clbjectionsto nQc1eaJ:', weaponry III we'notAithatthereianoconclusive scientific.videoe-, thatthesetestsare safe.Evenifthey.",ere,wewouldstill'oppolletheuseofo~regionforthe testingoftheseweapons" Ifthetestaare~••fe,letthobeconducted onthe landofthetestingcountry. Thentberewillnoteven:be•needforustobe inVited to·inspec:t thetest.sitea.----------------------- A/40/fN ..28 4~. (PatherLlni.Vanuatu) Thenationthatcontinues totestthosenuclear weapons Inourregienisalso thenationthat conti~@Gs to..intainacolonial presence inourregion. Thetwo policies gohandinhand. Anindependent NewCaledonia ttOuldnotbeasupport basefornucleartesting intheSOuthPacific. Wedoubtthatanindependent PrenchPolynesia wouldbethe siteofnucleartests. Wearetoldthat-these testsandvisitstoourportsandwate~s by nuclear-armed ornuclear-powered vesselsarenecessary tohelpdefendusandour wayoflife.Atthispoint,wewonderifourwould-be defenders evenunderstand ourwayoflife.Inourinnocence, wehavealwaysbelieved thatfreeda.Mansthat thepeopleofaparticular societyarefreetoaketheirowndecisions. Ifwedo notwishtobedefended withnuclear weaponsornuclear-powered vessels, ourwishes shouldberespected. Oursisaparliamentary democracy. Wefollowthewillofourpeopleandnot thewillofothersourpeopleneverelected. ThepeopleoftheSouthPacific have chosentorejectnuclear weaponry, whichweallhaveaverystrongreasonto detest. Weappealtothosewhohaveitwithintheirpowertofreeourchildren fromthefearofnuclearteststorespectourwishesandtodoso.Theirfailure todosowillnotleadustochangeourposition, butitmayleadustochangeour beliefintheirsincerity. Thisyearmarksthetwenty-fifth anniversary oftheadoption ofthe Declaration ontheGranting ofIndependence toColonial Countries andPeoples. One ofthegreatest achieve~ents oftheunitedNationsisthattheprocessof decolonization isnowalmostcompleted. TheUnitedNationsisnowanalmost universal international body. Unfortunately, somedonotlikethat.Tothem,smallercountries suchasours shouldbeseen-primarily bytourists -andrarelyheard. Thesamevoicesthatdid -----------------RM/12 ~/40/pv.28 47 (FatherLini,Vanuatu) notwanttoextendtherighttovotetoallofthepeopleintheirowncountries nowdecrythespreadofinternational democracy andtherightofallnationsto haveanequalvoteintheworldbody. Wearetoldthatthesizeofanation's financial contribution should determine itsinfluence hereattheunitedNations. Thisisaninteresting proposition thatdeserves closerexamination. Letusnotforthemomenteven exaaine howandfromwhatandwherethewealthofthewealthy nations wascreated. Afterall,wemustnotdwellonthepast.Whatisinteresting aboutthe proposition isthefactthatbyextending theargument wewouldhaveasituation wherenationsthatnowconsider themselves democratic wouldbeencouraged togive greater weighttothevotesoropinions oftheirwealthiest taxpayers. Perhaps somenations dothisalready. Idonotknow.Thisisnot,however, ournotionof democracy, anditisnotwhatwedoin·Vanuatu. Another facttobeconsidered isthattherearedifferent waystomeasure contributions totheUnitedNations. Basedoncontributions asaproportion of grossnational product, Vanuatuisthelargestcontributor totheoperational activities fordevelopment oftheUnitedNations system. Shouldwe,therefore, insistthat,unlessnations votethewaywewant,wewillreduceourcontribution? Shouldwenowdemandaweighted votingsystemintheGeneral Assembly? Ithinknot. Yes,decolonization haschanged theUnitedNations. Wethinkitisachange forthebetter.Itnowmoreaccurately reflects thethinking ofmostofthe world's PeOple. And,afterall,isitnottruethatoneofthethingswemost abhoraboutapartheid thefactthattheGovernment ofSouthAfricadoesnotreflect thethinking ofmost o~thatcountry's people? Ifwecannotaccepttheprinciple ofonenation, onevotehere,thenhowcanwechampion oneperson, onevotein SouthAfrica, orelsewhere?-----------~-~----_.- -- A/40/rN.28 48. (FatherLini,Vanuatu) tnanyevent,letusleavethosewhoaretroubled byourpresent dellOCracy to ponderhowthey .~ghtturnbacktheclockacentury. TherestofU3havesoae unfinished business toattendtointhiscentury. Inourregion, thepeopleofNewCaledonia wanttheirindependence. The neighbouring StatesoftheSouthPacific Forumsupport therightofthepeopleof NewCaledonia todetermine theirownfutureandtobeanindependent nation. The foreignministers ofthecountries memberscftheNon-Aligned Movement alsosupport thatright. Toitscredit, theadministering Powerhastakensomeconstructive stepsin theprocessofdecolonization, butagreatdealmoreremainstobedone, particularly inthefaceofprovocations byextremist elements withinthesettler population. Thosesettlers hopethattheirmilitancy andtheirlawlessness can coercetheadministering Powerintoafailuretofulfilitscommitment anditsduty tofacilitate thatdecolonization process. Inthefaceofthosedangerous provocations NewCaledonia's colonized people, theKanaks, havebeenremarkably restrained andconciliatory. Atthesametime
**Analysis**
This text appears to be a political statement or a speech by a government representative or leader, focusing on issues related to nuclear testing, decolonization, and international relations. It touches on themes of environmental degradation, colonialism, and the rights of small nations. The tone is critical and advocacy-oriented, suggesting that the author is pushing for a specific agenda.

**Category**
Natural resources and environment, International relations, Culture