eadrig _TRIBUNE FEATURE SUPPLEMENT ee = of countries which are permanent members of the Security Council and the location, of the chairman of the non-aligned movement. It appears to us, that with the aim of Strengthening trust and mutual under- Standing, it could be possible to set up under the aegis of the United Nations Organization a mechanism for exten- Sive international verification of com- Pliance with agreements to lessen international tension, limit armaments and for monitoring the military situa- tion in conflict aréas. The mechanism would function using various forms and methods of monitoring to collect infor- mation and promptly submit it to the United Nations. This would make it possible to have an objective picture of . events taking place, for a timely detec-° tion of preparations for hostilities, to impede a sneak attack, to take meas- ures to avert an armed conflict and pre- vent it from expanding and worsening. We are arriving at the conclusion that wider use should be made of United Nations military observers and United Nations peace-keeping forces in disen- aging the troops of warring sides and Observing ceasefire and armistice agreements. : And, of course, at all stages of a con- flict extensive use should be made of all means for a peaceful settlement of dis- putes and differences between states. One should offer one’s good offices, One’s mediation with the aim of achiev- ing an armistice. The ideas and initia- tives concerning non-governmental Commissions and groups which would analyze the causes, circumstances and Methods of resolving various concrete Conflict situations appear to be fruitful. The Security Council permanent Members could become guarantors of regional security. They could, on their Part, assume the obligation not to use force or the threat of force, to renounce any demonstrative military presence. This is so because such a practice is one of the factors of fanning up regional Conflicts. A drastic intensification and expan- Sion of cooperation among states in up- Tooting international terrorism is ex- tremely important. It would be expe- dient to concentrate this cooperation Within the framework of the United Na- tions Organization. In our opinion, it Would be useful to create under its aegis a tribunal to investigate acts of interna- onal terrorism. More coordination in the struggle against apartheid as a destabilizing fac- tor of international magnitude would | also be justified. As we see it, all the above-stated Measures could be organically built into an all-embracing system of peace and Security. Economic security The events and tendencies of the past decades have expanded this concept, 'mparting new features and specificities to it. One of them is the problem of ‘“conomic security. A world in which a Whole continent can find itself on the nk of death from starvation and in which huge masses of people are suffer- 'ng from almost permanent malnutrition 'S not a safe world. Neither is a world Safe in which a multitude of countries ey peoples are in a strangling noose of evt. The economic interests of individual Countries or their groups are indeed so different and contradictory that a con- Sensus on the concept of the New. orld Economic Order seems hard to achieve. We do hope, however, that the instinct of self-preservation should snap into action here as well. It is sure to manifest itself if it becomes possible to look into the chain of priorities and see that there are circumstances, men- acing in their inevitability, and that it is high time that the inert political mental- ity inherited from past views of the out- side world be abandoned. This world has ceased to be a sphere divided into domains and zones of vital interests for the big and the strong... . %. ; The imperatives of the times compel us to institutionalise many common- sense notions. It is not philanthropy which prompted our proposal to agree on the reduction of interest payments under bank credits and the elaboration of extra benefits for the least developed nations. This holds benefit for all, name- ly a secure future. If the debt burden of the developing world is alleviated, the chances for such a future will grow. It is also possible to limit debt payments by each developing country to the share of its annual export earnings without detriment to development, accept ex- port commodities in payment of debt, remove protectionist barriers on the borders of creditor-nations and stop add- ing extra interest when deferring pay- ments under debts. There may be different attitudes to these proposals. There is no- doubt, however, that the majority of interna- tional community members realize the need for immediate actions to alleviate the developing world’s debt burden. If that is so, it is possible to start working out the program through concerted effort. These words ‘‘through concerted ef- fort’. are very important for today’s world. The relationship between dis- armament and development, confirmed at the recent international conference in _ New York, can be implemented if none of the strong and rich stay aloof. I have already expressed the view that the Se- curity Council member states, repre- sented by their top officials, could jointly discuss this problem and work out a coordinated approach. I confirm this proposal. Thorn of experience Ecological security. It is not secure in the direct meaning of the word when currents of poison flow along river channels, when poisonous rains pour down from the sky, when the atmos- phere polluted with industrial and transport waste chokes cities and whole regions, when the development of atomic engineering is justified by unac- ceptable risks. Many have suddenly begun to per- ceive all this not as something abstract, but as a real part of their own ex- perience. The confidence that this won't affect us, characteristic of past outlooks, has disappeared. They say that one thorn of experience is worth more than a whole forest of instruc- tions. Forus, Chernobyl became sucha thorn... : The relationship between humans el Mikhail Gorbachev with French president. Francois Mitterand during the general secretary's visit to France in October, 1985. eel and the environment has become men- acing. Problems of ecological security affect all — rich and poor. What is needed is a global strategy of environ- mental protection and the rational use of resources. We suggest starting its elaboration within the framework of the UN special program. States already exchange appropriate information and notify international or- ganizations of developments. We be- lieve that this order should be legiti- mized by introducing the principle of governments’ annual report about their conservation activities and about eco- logical accidents, on their territories — both those that occurred and those that were prevented. Realizing the need for opening a common front of economic and eco- logical security and starting its forma- tion mean defusing a delay-action bomb planted deep inside humanity’s exis- tence by history, by people themselves. Human rights. One can name all the many top statesmen of our times who threatened to use nuclear weapons. Some may object: It is one thing to threaten and another to use. Indeed, they haven’t used them. Campaigning for human rights, however, is inno way compatible with the threat to use weap- ons of mass destruction. We hold it is unacceptable to talk about human rights and liberties while intending to hang in outer space overhead the “‘chandeliers’’ of exotic weapons. The only down-to-earth element in that “‘exoticism’’ is the potentiality of humanity’s annihilation. The rest is in dazzling wrapping. I agree — The world cannot be con- sidered secure if human rights are vio- lated. I will only add: if a large part of our world has no elementary conditions for a life worthy of humans; if millions of people have the full ‘‘right’’ to go hungry, to have no roof over their head and to be jobless and sick indefinitely when treatment is something they can- not afford; and if, finally, the basic human right, the right to life, is disregarded. First of all, it is necessary that na- tional legislation and administrative rules\ in the humanitarian sphere everywhere be brought in line with international obligations and standards. ‘Simultaneously it would be possible to turn to coordinating a broad selection of practical steps, for instance, to work- ing out a world information program under UN auspices to familiarize peo- ples with one another’s life, life as it is, not as someone would like to present it. = That is precisely why such a project should envisage ending the flow of in- formation of ‘‘enemy image”’ stereo- types, of bias, prejudices and absurd concoctions; of deliberate distortion and unscrupulous violation of the truth. There is much promise in the task of coordinating unified international legal criteria for handling in a humanitarian spirit issues of family reunification, Marriages, contacts between people and organizations, visa regulations and so on. What has been achieved in this regard within the framework of the all-European process should be accept- ed as a starting point. We favour the establishment of a special fund of humanitarian coopera- tion of the United Nations formed from voluntary. state and private contribu- tions on the basis of the reduction of military spending. It is advisable that all states join the UNESCO conventions in the sphere of culture, including the conventions on protection of the world cultural heri- _ tage, on the means of prohibition and preventing the illicit import, export and transfer of ownership of cultural prop- erty. Recent alarming signals have pushed to the top of the agenda the idea of creating a world-wide network of medi- cal cooperation in treating the most dangerous diseases, including AIDS, and combating drug addiction and alcoholism. The existing structures of the World Health Organization make it possible to establish such a network on relatively short notice. The leaders of the world movement of physicians have important ideas on this issue. Dialogue on humanitarian problems could be conducted on a bilateral basis, within the forms of negotiation that have already been established. We propose: holding it also within the ~ framework of an international con- ference in Moscow, and made this pro- posal at the Vienna meeting in Novem- ber last year. Pooling efforts in the sphere of cul- ture, medicine and humanitarian rights is yet another integral part of the system of comprehensive security. The suggested system of comprehen- sive security will be effective to the ex- tent the United Nations, its Security Council and other international insti- tutions and mechanisms effectively function. It will require enhancing the authority and role of the UN and the International Atomic Energy Agency. The need to establish a world space organization is also clearly felt. It could work in future in close contact with the UN as an autonomous part of its Sys- tem. UN specialized agencies should also become regulators of international