DSR 11C
EXACA
UND
21.
SATD.
An independent Namibia will mean that South Africa
has finally recognised the Namibian people's right to
self-determination. Such recognition might, we hope,
be a forerunner of further progress within South Africa
itself. As a member of the United Nations, Britain has
a duty to promote and encourage the enjoyment of
fundamental freedoms by all without distinction as to
race, sex, language or religion. And while we accept
that the UN Charter does not permit intervention in
matters which are essentially within the domestic
jurisdiction of any state we cannot remain indifferent
to any systematic denial of human rights wherever it
may occur, especially when the result is to pose a
threat to stability and peace.
22. There are many other problems I could dwell on.
But I have said enough to demonstrate that peace can
only be achieved if each and every member of the
international community respects the principles of the
United Nations. The United Nations itself has a duty
and a responsibility to be worthy of that respect by
remembering at all times that it is an organisation
designed to preserve the peace. To use it as a forum
for ideological debate or to give the impression that
it is in any way biased or partial is to undermine the
respect in which the UN will be held and to diminish
its capacity to contribute to the maintenance of
peace.