THERE is, therefore, a pressing need for us, from now on, to renew our pledge to observe the provisions of our Charter to the letter, and with absolute fidelity. To this end, we must, at all times, condemn, both in word and action, every form of political, economic, and social oppression and discrimination against Africans or peoples of African descent, both in Africa or in any other part of the world.

We must regard every African State as an indivisible organism or entity. We must all regard every resolution of the OAU as absolutely binding, we must respect and observe it at all times, and we must do everything in our power to give effect to it. We must make it our cardinal policy to support every African government of the day, whatever the ideological or other character of such a government.

In other words, the legitimacy or ideological acceptability of every government for the time being, as well as integrity of its existing territory, must be assumed and upheld by all of us, without any quibbling whatsoever. We must denounce Unilateral Declaration of Independence, otherwise known as UDl, with unequivocal vehemence; and must seek to crush such a political monstrosity by force of arms, if necessary both in Rhodesia and in any other part of Africa.

We must do more; we must cherish the principle of non-interference as a sacred article of faith. In this connection, I would like to emphasis that peace in any society will be impossible to maintain, if every Family regards it as its business to interfere in the domestic affairs of another family. It is not disputed that, in the name of mutual friendship, one family may give admonition to another family. But, as all of us here will testify from personal experience, even this task is never undertaken without “express or dearly implied invitation; and, in any case, it is always approached with extreme caution and circumspection, and with the sole object of promoting and preserving the corporate existence of the other family. Otherwise, the bond of friendship, which subsisted between the two families, would be broken beyond repairs, and bitter hostility would take the place of amity.

It follows from all these remarks that the OAU must continue, as it has done in the past, to denounce secession or rebellion of whatever kind and guise; it must continue to work assiduously for the termination of all forms of oppression, discrimination, and colonialism in any part of Africa; it must continue, without relenting, to foster the Unity of every African country, realising that the unity of the whole of Africa is inextricably interwined with the unassailable unity of each of its constituent States, and it must resolutely resist, and strongly discourage its members from succumbing to, the temptation to interfere in the internal affairs of another African State.

These then, in concrete terms, are the irrevocable objectives of the OAU. And it must be borne in mind that any departure from any of these noble objectives would be bound to lead to strife, acrimony, and irreconcilable cleavage among Member-States; and hence to the total ineffectiveness, if not the complete death, of the OAU itself.

It is easy to recognise the advantages of unity, and to discern the dangers of division, in the African context. If we arc united, we shall succeed collectively, and severally. If we are divided, we shall, for a certainty, perish individually, in the hands either of our former colonial masters or of the new imperialists who are now making a desperate search for African spheres of influence,

In unity, we lose nothing but our economic chains; indeed, in unity, we gain many things, including economic independence, and the welfare of our entire peoples. But, in division, we would lose many things, and gain nothing but neo-colonialism, permanent economic bondage, and mutually destructive hostilities among ourselves. Let us, therefore, remain united; and let us do so resolutely, faithfully, and unflinchingly.

Mr President, I thank you for the opportunity given to me to address this august Assembly.

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