An Israeli diplomat said here yesterday that some of the burning problems of the “third world”–the world of developing nations–“can only be solved by a one-world approach.” The course of cooperation “to wipe out the huge patches of poverty which pock-marks the world map” was urged by Gideon Rafael, Israel Ambassador to the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD).
MORE WELFARE, LESS WARFARE
“The claims for universal freedom of navigation is incompatible with selective blockade measures,” Rafael said. He warned that “The magnitude of the economic, social and demographic needs which developed and developing countries will have to meet during the remaining last quarter of this century, make it imperative to marshall human and material resources in the most economic and rational way.”
Asserting that “The waste of man’s meager means for destructive purposes has retarded the progress of mankind,” Rafael observed that in the Middle East, “where people so urgently need more welfare and less warfare, immense human resources have been squandered in a senseless arms race.”
He proposed the establishment of a joint Middle East fund, within the framework of an ultimate peace settlement, to which all participants would contribute a substantial percentage of their budgets which they are now allocating for armaments and military purposes. The fund, he said, would be used toward rural and industrial development in the region and to improve the living standards of low income groups. “Such a fund could well serve as a pilot project and as an encouragement for similar action in other parts of the world,” Rafael said.
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