Toputitsimply, Canada, alongwithallothersovereign countries ofgood faith,willusetheunitedNations topursueindomitably thequestforpeace, security andsocialjustice. sirGeoffrey HOWE(United Kingdom): Letmefirstjointhosewhohave congratulated Mr.dePiniesonhiselection tothepresidency oftheGeneral Assentlly. Ouraffairs couldnotbeinbetterormoreexperienced hands.Itisa sourceofpleasure andpridetomycountry thatweshouldhaveasPresident atthis fortieth session therepresentative ofacou~tryshortly tobecomeafullmemberof theEuropean Community. ItisinthesamespiritthatIexpress ourthankstotheoutgoing President, PaulLusaka, thedistinguished representative ofaCommonwealth country, forthe impartial andskilful wayinWhichheconducted theAssembly's affairs overthe past12months. Ishouldlikealsotorenewmytribute toourSecretary-General. Isalutehis dedication andpersistence inseeking solutions totheworld's problems. His latestreport,likeitspredecessors, isanother eloquent andpersuasive testimonyasfollows:fullest support. international trading systemalmosttoahalt,aworldi"whichmanyofthe(SirGeoffrey Bowe,United KingdClll)A/40/PV.9 48 benosecurity foranynation-.-therealization byallnations thatwithout co-operation forpeacetherecanInafewweeksweshallmarkthefortieth anniversary oftheunitedNations.totheimportance ofthisorganization.. Weshallcontinue tolendhisefforts our greatest citieslayinruins,aworldinwhichsomeoftoday's greatest nations had yettobeborn.bythesecondglobalconflict in30years,aworldin~ichwarhadbrought theIndoingsoweshallreaffirm theinsight defined bythethenBritish PrimeNR/jh Minister, Clement Attlee,atthefirstsession oftheGeneral Asseably, inLondon, Thatthoughtisjustasvalidtodayaswhenhespoketoaworldthenrivenasunder IntheyearssincethenthemeniJershlp ofthisOrganization hasgrown dramatically.. Together wecantakecreditformuchoftheprogress thathasbeen achieved.. wehavemovedaway f~omthesharpness andthesavagery ofworldconflict andundertaken amassive taskofreconstruction. wehavemanaged aperiodof unprecedented economic growthalongside anenormous population explosion.. Wehave welcomed andfostered thee~:cgence ofover100newsovereign nations.. Wehave fashioned anddeveloped arangeofeffective institutions forinternational co-operation. Britainisproud,too,tobelongtotwoverydifferent groupings whicheachin itsownwaydemonstrates thegrowing patternofinterdependence. Thisyearinthe Bahamas, Commonwealth HeadsofGovernment representing 49nations fromall continents andoutlooks willbemeeting together. Bytheendofthisyear,too, themeniJership oftheEuropean Community willhaveexpanded to12withtheNR/:lb A/4O/PV.9. 49-50 (SirGeoffrey Howe,united Kingdal) accession ofSpainandPortugal. Itisnowsubstantially theworld's largest trading bloc,anditsroleentheworldstageisbecoming steadily IIOre significant. In~isstatement yesterday theForeign Minister ofLuxembourg gave eloquent expreslliion tothesbaredvaluesandCOIDDOnapproach ofallthemeJlbers of , theEuropean Co_unity. TollOrrov theCOlllemorative DletingoftheSecurity Councilwillgiveusa chancetotakestockofallthathasbeenachieved overthepast40years. We shouldatthesametimeacknowledge thescaleandcoq;>le:ci tyofthetasksthat stillchallenge us.Wemustnotunderestimate theefforts theinternational comunity stillhastomakeifouractions aretoachieve thegoals ~tbythe founding fathers. westillliveinaworldwracked bycontinuing violence andconflicts, by economic andsocialhardships andbyfamineanddisease. Lastweek'smassive natural disaster whichhasbrought suchtragicsuffering totheMexican peopleisa grievous reminder ofman'svulnerability tohisenvironment. Weallpayatribute tothecourage withwhichtheMexican Government andpeoplehaveresponded tothis catutrophe• IntheSecretary-General's ownwords, ·Wefacetodayaworldofalmostinfinite promise whichisalsoaworldof potentially terminal d~~ger.· (~~40/l, p~2)~ Ashesorightly argues, thesolution liesinourownhands,inourwilland determination todecidethekindofworldwewishtoseeintheyearsaheadandto takethestepsnecessary toachieveit.Sothisspecial anniversary isanoccasion onwhichweshouldnotjustreflect onourpastbut,lIuchmoreimportant, look aheadtothequestions thatwillfaceusinthefutureandstartshaping our policies now.AMH/14 A/40/PV.9 51------_._-------------~~~--~~~~ (SirGeoffrey Howe, unitedKingdom) Theneedforsuchforesight applies withparticular forcetooureconomic agenda. TheappaUing falllineinsub-Saharan Afr:,icahasshownhowaseriesof pro~lems -somenatural, someman-made -cancometogether tobringuniilaginable suffering: long-run degradation oftheenvironment, progressive failureof agricultural production andprolonged drought. Thisdisaster hasevokedadraaatic response frommanycountries. TheWesthasledtheway..TheUnitedKingdoa alone