General Assembly — Session 15

Most active countries

• Romania
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• Panama
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• Ethiopia
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• Mali
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• France
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Top agenda items

• Admission of new Members to the United Nations *
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• G..eneral debate (coiltinued) 1,. Mr. ILLUECA (Panama) (translatedfrom Spanish): 'May I say first of all that my delegation greatly apn preciated the election of Panama to one of the vice- presidencies allotted to Latin America at this session of the General Assembly. I should also like to eitpress once again to the Secretary-General our confidence and gratitude in respect of the work he is doing in the interests of mankind and of the United Nations ideals. dow:~ of the disarmament negotiations in the Ten- Nation Committee at Geneva was to be regretted. It also agreed to recommend that continued efforts for general and complete disarmament t!.uder effective international control should be made, and it recom- mended that the General Assembly give n~arnestcon­ sideration" to the problem, reaffirming at the same time the "continuing and ultimate responsibility ofthe United 'Nations in the field of disarmamentil • ThusI feel that I am not overstathg the case if I say that the primary function of the smaller States in this Organization" side by side with their endeavours to secure ,the best, possible safeguards for their oWn. independence and development, is to makethemselVes a real force for mediation and agreement between the Eastern and W~stern Power blccs. The reason! feel this is because the rift between Eastan.dWest casts an ominous shadow overthelifeofthesesmali nations, as indeeli of mankind as a whole, besetting withol>- stacles and un.certainties the path followed by the smaller nations in their effortsto solvelmotty prob- lems of social and economic development which Will ' enable vast numbers of .people to enjoy their:fu.I1da- mental rights and obtain the things they need for a free and wort1J;y life. .7. The smaller nations, have a very significant role to play in the creative tasks of the United Nations. But inreferl'PJ.g~Q"small nations, we shouldpoint out that theword';j·nsmall ft merely conveys the notion of size, which prevents us from appreciating the quality of the work achieved by these coun.tries within our Organization. In the aggregate. the so-called small 2. The delegation of the Republic of Panama would. like-to point to two facts which it considers moet sig- nificant and gratifying, as the'fifteenth session goes into its second week of deliberations. 3. The first, Sir, is your election as President of the General Assembly-a well-deserved tribute to the small but energetic country you represAnt and to the outstanding personal qualities you' have so often demonstrated in your work with the various organs of the United Nations. 4. The second fact is the admission to' the United Nations of fourteen new States-indeed, from this af- ternoon, sixteen, with the . 'nission of the Republic of Mali,and the Republic ofSenegal, whichto the satis- faction of all of us aretobecomepart of the Assembly this very afternoon. The creation'of these new States comes as a climax to the vigorous anduntiring efforts made by their peoples in their determination to live their Uves as free andindependentcommunities. These youthful nations. com.e to join in the debates and deci- sions of the General Assembly at a decidedly awkward juncture in international politics. The cancellation of the Summit Conference which hadawakenedhighhopes of bringing to an end, onc~andfor all, the long, sense- less and dangerous period of the cold war, and the consequent interruption of the talks in the Ten-Nation Committee on Disarmament at Geneva are unhappy events that not only standinthe way of an era oHnter- national peace and security but also place an ominous question-mark against the whole future of mankind. 9. If the small&:r nations can come to an agreement and adopt a polic.'Y. not of passive neutrality, but of active mediation designed to put an end to a situation fraught with dangers and alarming prospects, the moral force they muster will be overwhelming. But this implies, first and foremost. that sideby side with the political independence now won by many nations there must be independence of thought and action, which will keep them free not so muchfrom economic and political colonialism-now rapidly disappearing -as from ideological and spiritual subjugation and colonialism. whose slender, cunning web can enmesh us without our realizing it. 1u. These are a few general ideas on the role which. in my delegation's view, the smaller Powers should play if their participation in theOrganization's activi- ties is to be fruitful for themselves and in keeping with the paramount interests of all peoples of the world. 11. With the permission of the Assembly, dedicated to the task of harmonizing the efforts ofthe nations of the world to achieve the common purposes set forth in the Charter. I should like nov·torefer to a question intimately bound up with the history, the present and the fdure of my country, the Republic of Panama. We emerged as an independent country in company with the group of Spanish";American peoples which shook off the Spanish yoke during. the revolutionary periOd 1:Jetween 1810 and 1824. Of.our: own accord we joined With New Granada, Ecuador and Venezuela in what was then called Greater Colombia, and we remained united with the nation which grew out of the former vice royalty of Santa Fe until the dawn of the present century. In 1903 we became an independent republic. which was. promptly· recognized by the United States of America, and our infant nation negotiated with the United States Government the Convention which made posSible the constructioh of the inter-oceanic canal. We have nothing to conceal in regard to these histori- cal facts,for every nation's history demonstrates 12. As regards Panamanian sovereignty over the Canal Zone. Panama's position has nevel'varied. "The strip of land known as the Panama Canal Zone·. as Mr. Ricardo J. Alfaro put it, lIhas been neither pur- chased nor conquered nor annexed by. now ceded nor rented to, the United States. uor has its sovereignty been transferred by Panama to the United States". This, incidentally, has been corroborated by distin- guished United States citizens in official or private opinions and statements. Let me quote a few of them. 13. During the negotiations which led up to the Isth- mian Canal Convention of 1903, the United States Government issued an official statement to the en:ect thtlt it disclaimed any intention to increase its own territbry at the expense of any of the sister Republics of Central and South America and desired, onthe con- trary, to strengthen the power of the Republics of the continent and to promote, develop and preserve their prosperity and independence. President Theodore Roosevelt, dur.w.g whose administration tee Isthmi2.!l Canal Convention was signed, declared in an official letter to his Secretary of War, William H. Taft, later President of the United States, that there was not the slightest intentionofestablishinganindependentcolony in the centre of theState ofPanama, let alone of inter- fering with the affairs and prosperity of the people of Panama. Mr. Elihu Root, attending the Third Inter- national Conference of American States held at Rio de Janeiro in 1906 as Secretary of State, said formally, in an endeavour to allay suspicion and remove mis- understandings that had arisen during the previous year: ''We [of the United States] wish for no victories but those of peace; for no territory except our own; for no sovereignty except the sovereignty over OU1"" selves".' Mr. George W. Goethals, the illustrious American engineer who completed·the construction of the Panama Canal, stated bluntly in his book on the' Canal project that, under the Comrention with Panama, the United States had only a right of way for a canal. 14. Despite such categorical statem.ents, conse- q1\ences were drawn from the articles of the Gonven- tiv~ of 1903 that impaired Panamanian interests and distorted the original purpose ofthatinstru:rnent. Wha;t was of vital interest to the United States. to Panama and to mankind generally was that the route should be 19. I shall now refer to some specific questions ap- pearing on the agenda of this session whic'h, concern 1;he naiions less favoured by the scientmc revolution thltt began atthe end of the last war. The most urgent of them all is, as we well know, industrialization. The struggle against poverty, neglect and privation is ~so in the heart of the American common man. 20. The fact that the Eisenhower plan, started with a fund of $500 mlla0Dt is l·egarded as a new Marshall Plan for Latin America arouses legi~m~tehopes that this noble initiative on the part of the United States Head of state '<'\-ill assume, for the benefit of 200 mil- lion Latin Americans. the proportions of theMarshall Plan for Western Europe. It will be recalledthat Gen- eral Marshallt ae Secretary of state. declared that the United Sta~eB wouldhaveto spendthousands of mil- lions of dollaxs on the economic recovery of Europe, which had been brought low by the ravages of war; and that when Congress approvedhis planit authorized a first sum. of $5t430 mUlion, of which $1,150 million was to be used over a period of two and a half months and $4,280 million in the following fiscal year. Latin America did not experience the material and human ravagm'i of the 'World war but, haVing halr-'ed tu >Yin the war by contributing its natural basic productst it still suffers from the sco1!.ttge of povertyt ignorance and economic, social and political oppression.. 21. The Eisenhower plan, acceptad by the American Economic Conference, was incorporated in the Act of Bogota. of 11 September 1960t which made recommen- dations to the Council of the OrganizationofAmerican States on the following points: measures for social improvement; establishment of a special fund for so- cial· development· (corresponding to the Eisenhower plan); measures for economic development; multilat- eral co-operation for economic and social progress. In this connexion the purposes of the Act of Bogota. include promoting aid between the countries of the Western hemisphere as well as between those coun- tries and, extra-continental countries and facilitating the flow of capital and the extension of credits to the countries of Latin America, from bothWesternhemis- _phere and extra-continental sources. 22. The Act of Bogota. is undoubtedly ofdeep spiritual significance. Its ideological message, however, can only be understood by the Latin American masses through the attainment of its objectivest which ~onsist in the preserving and strengthening of the free and democratic institutions of the American Republics tho~e human and political rights whose conquest has cost the American man cntel sacrifices is unsuitable for Latin America and incompatible with its people's love of liberty. We abhor any material benefitt real or apparent, whose price is the submissionofthe peo- ple to any form of personalt group or class dictator- shipt such as the Latin American peoples have, for a century and a half, resolutely combated. For this reason we feel thatthe Americanregional organization should come forward firmly wlth boldplans oUts own, lest economic and political pl2!ls alien to its spirit and its history should be imposed upon it. 24. Our concern with regional affairs does not dis- tr,lct our attention from the international scene. At its fourteenth session the GeneralAssembly requested [resolution 1424 (XIV)] the Secretary-General to exam" inet'in consultation with the Governments of Member States, ways and means of maldng further progress towards the early establishment of a United Nations capital development fund. We all know the excuses put forward by the great Powers, on the pretext of the current international tension and the impasse in the disarmament negotiations. I take this occasion, how.. ever, to emphasize befc:.t:'e the Assembly thatthegreat Powers will make the most decisive contribution to fruitful world peace when, independently of any dis· armament agreements, they uniteinsettingup aUnited Nations capital development fund. They would tuus build a bridge between East andWestwhichwould help to save mankind from the snares that beset it. 25. Any attempt to ascertain whYt despite the great hopes ofunthreatenedpeacewhich a.ttendedthe creation of the United NationBt the international situation has deteriorated to the point at which we find ourselves today would be a waste of time. We should be entering a controversial field in which it is very difficult to separate the real facts from subjective assumptions and deductionst and the only resultwouldbeto sharpen a debate that is already taldngadisquietingturn. What is important now is that we should agree upon the ur- gent need for the contending camps to;recognizethings as they are and to renouncet bywordand by deed. any intention of subjugating each other, so that they may coexist with the object of solving the problems which burden the lives of hundreds of millions of human beings. Inotherwordst iUs imperati"\J'ethatthis peace- ful coexistence about which both sides speak so much should cease· to be a matter of statements, cha~ges 28. In the age of nuclear ener~~~supersonf.c ailcraft, electronic miracles, guided misaUes and space vehi- cles, it is imperative that the world should draw ever oloser to the peaceful ideal of a universal order equal for all and respec,;ed by all-a goal that can only be reached through the work of the United Nations. 29. Mr. SEGNI (Itsly):l/ I wish first of all to extend to you, Mr. President. on behalf oftheItalian Govern- ment and myself, ourheartiestcongratulations onyour election as 'President of this Assembly. My congratll- lating you on your election to the highest office in the United Nations is the more gratif:r'1ngformeinasmuch as your outstanding talents as a diplomat are well lmOWIt. and highly appreciated in my <Jountry. Just as universally known 9..."3.d highly regal'ded are the skill and ability with which you have always handled the tasks entrusted to yo\:. by the United Nations, It is my desire to add my roost fervent wish for complete suc- cess in your endeavour, which i.s always laden with great responsibility and which this year appears par- ticularly delicate. 30. The Italian Government recognizes the authority of this highest international body and tothis authority, at once political and moral, it has always bowed, in the belief that the relationships among States should also function in accordanci:i with the democratic prin- ciples of equality and liberty. and in compliance with the law governing international relations. 31. Tile removal of all forms ofviolencefromthe re- lationships among peoples, andtheirpeaceful evolution -in adhel'ence to the continual change ininternational needs stemming from the ceaseless advancement of mankind-have been enhanced, this past year, through the peaceful achievement of independence by many new States which, in full agreement wi.th the countries to which they were bound by anachronistio ties, were able to equipthemselveswithmodel'uinstitutionsmore adequate to cope with present necessities. 26. This is not a vague aspiration, but an imperative need of our day. The marvellous sciantific progress of our century, which has been given gJ:eater impetus by the ca!'ture of the last entrenchments of' nuclear energy and of the vast realms of outer space towards which man have gazed with awe for centuries and cen- turies, has today turned poverty :into an injustice. robbing it of aU the traditional reasons which made it inevita.'ble, and has opened to mankind immeasurable opportunities for improvement and development. Once the incalculable sources ofenergythatnuclearscienoe places in ourhands are direotedtowards the production of goods that are useful to mankind. they will enable us to overcome all thelimitationswhichtoday condemn hundreds of millions of human beings to destitution, hunger and sickness. Unfortunately, as we well know, this immense power is at present being used solely for the manufacture of instruments of destruction ca- pable of bringing about, in fractions of a second, the annihilation of entire peoples and the degenerationand extinction of manldnd. 27. Such is the fatal prospect of the possibmty of a new armed clash between the twogreatconcentrations of power whioh today confront one another in a state of mutual suspicion and hostility. And this is what we must prevent. This~ in the opinion of the Panamanian delegation, is the l'esponsibility that now weighs upon the United Nations and. within this Organization, pre- sents the small nations with a task of the first order. I do not claim that this task will be easy to perform. On the contrary, it is made difficult by certain well" lmown facts. One of them is that the immeasurable possibilities of progress implicit in the revolutionary disooveries of the last twenty--five years come up against a barrier of all kinds of interests, mental habits and patterns of behaviour which are survivals ef formal' stages, now completed, in the life of man- kind. The division of the world into two great concen- trations of power, eMh imbued with a missionary spirit, is itself a sign that we are not keeping pace with history. Much as the two economic and social systems, whose antagonism keeps mankind in a state of perplexity and fear, may differ, much as each of them may claim to possess the one and only formula for bringing all human woes to an ~nd. there is no denying that they baYe oertain features incommonand certain points of contact at the material and spiritual levels, and that their mutual exclusivism and claims to orthodoxy make it difficultfor otherworkableforms of human·coexistence to emergefrom the inexhaustible fund of possibllities which lies in the spirit of man. The problem, to put it in common terms, resides in making the attitude, mentality and conduct oftnelead- ers and the peoples synchronize with the changes that are being brought about by the scientific progress of our age. We have to .assimilate the consequences and the. implicationso!the changes which are takingplace 32. The Italian Government has been h~LPPY to give prompt recognition to all new States emerging from concrete oompliance with the principles of equality and liberty. It has likeWise been happy to express its ready agreement to the admissionofall these countries to our Organization. I wish to express to them at this point and on this occasion, in the name of the Italian Government and people, the warmest felicitations on the attainment of their independence, ourmostfervent wishes for their future, and a mostcordial and friendly welcome to the United Nations. At the same time, let me voice our highest appreciation for the obse:r:vance of international law shown by them, together with the States with which they freely negotiated their inde- pendence. 33. All of us must be deeply grateful for these major felicitous '.)ccurrences in the. international arena, as they· haye shown mankind the immense benefit:;; that 34. May I be allowed to recall that Italy has already given concrete proof of its disinterested andconfident good will towards the peoples on their way to eman- cipation, and of its ready desire to aid them even by participating in the burdens involved, by enabling Somalia to achieve its independence five months in advance of the date scheduled by this Organization. 35. The tenyears ofItaliantrusteeship administration of Somalia, which passed in an atmosphere of great friendship and co-operation, came to an end on 1 July 1960, in conformity with a proposal advanced by the Italian Government to that effect, rather than on 2 December 1960, the time-limit which had been set for the trusteeship mandate at the time it was given to my country. The advancement of the time-limit is a proof of the understanding and concern of Italy to- ·wards the peoples desirous of setting themselves up as free and independent States. 36. Together with a particular greeting, I wish to extend my special praise to Somalia-to its people and its political figures-for having co-operated with great int~lligenceantl profound wisdominthe achieve- ment of the targets of the trusteeship administration to the full satisfaction of all parties concerned. 37. Unfortunately, not all peoples yearning for inde- pendence and for the determination oftheir owndestiny have understood to the same extent the superiority of the democratic method. This is whywe still witness today, to our grief and consternation, acute strife among opposing contestants who fight for the right to impose by violence their own particular concept of international relationships rather than complywith the will of the majority, as freely determined onthe basis of the principles of the equality of all Citizens, and then resort to the system ofinternational negotiations. 38. I intend to dwell, in particular, on the Congo situation, which has recently concerned allQfus deep- ly and to which both the SecurityCouncil and this very Assembly have had to devote a great deal of their activity, the latter having been convened in special session on the eve of the present regular session. 39. The clouds which gathered overthatcountry early in July have not yet cleared. Italy's participation in the painful events in the Congo has been, and still is, very active and is prompted by a Sincere,. solicitoUEl- and friendly sympathy for the fate ofthisyoung nation, to which I express my most heartfelt wish that it will be able soon to enjoy againthebenefits of a productive and fruitful peace. 40. To this end, the Secretary-General, inconformity with the decisions taken by the appropriate organs of the United Nations and in difficult and complex cir- cumstances, has already fulfilled his ta~k effectively and fruitfully, and in this connexion I feel duty bound toreaffirn here my Government's highest and most cordial appreciation. 41. In the introduction to his annual report [A!4390! Add.1], the Secretary-General portrays a picture, with whfch we thoroughly agree, of the tasks thatthe United Nations has been called upon to perform in the Congo. He outlines the history of a great initiative of inter- . national scope, to the success of which we all must 51. But it is my opinion that we should approach the problem with. full awareness of its immense diffi- culties and that we should not confine ourselves to a progrmnme of sall or nothing". We should also be ready to accept with gratification partial results, on the following two conditions: first, that they meet the basic requirements of disarnlament which have been so often stated andonwhicheveryone seemsto concur, at least theoretically, in particular that, through the implementation of such partial measures, the mutual security of each and all be enhanced, and not dimin- ished; and, secondly, such results should constitute not final goals, but intermediate ta:::-gets intended to ensure the quickest advancement towards theultimate aim. Furthermore, in our evaluation of the over-all programme, we must take into account the fact that there is a wide gap in conventional forces between East and West and that nnclear disarmament, while auspicious in itself, involves the concurrentestablish- ment of a bala~ce in conventional forces. 52. Infact, any person who is honest andof good will cannot help but recognize that even·one initial step, one early agreement on the road to general and com- plete disarmament, would represent an invaluable success not only in itself but also for its favourable moral and psychologi.cai effects. It would also consti- tute a precious initial factor in decreasing the mis- trust between East and West and in facilitating the solution of the political problems which are at the root of the armaments race. That must encourage us to resume our work with faith, goodwill and perse- verance. 53. Several times at the Geneva Conference Italy made the suggestion that efforts at negotiatioll.E be concentrated, at. an early stage, on that part of the plans and on those problems in which some l\\earing of positions or greater mutual understanding was be- ginning to be seen, in order to achieve at least some immediate practical results. Naturally, I am fully aware that partial solutions. even if looked upon as initial measures to be further broadened, are always difficult and that all problems are inevitably inter- woven. Yet, I believe that it pays to experiment with that approach, keeping in our minds a clear vision of the lofty goal we are striving for. It seems to me that Marshal Tito included some remarks to that effect in his recent statement [868th meeting}. 48. Mr. Khrushchev, on the other hands in his speech of 23 September, implicitly admitted that the work in Geneva was not totally fruitless. In fact, he stated that: "••• the new Soviet. proposal •.• has been drawn up with due regard for all the useful points which were made during the past year in the course of the discussion of this question by political and public circles of various countries of the world." [869th meeting, para. 242.] He did not mention the Conference at Geneva. How- ever, since the disarmament negotiations have been interrupted for two years, he could not but refer also to the work of the Ten-Nation Committee, notwith- standing his negative remarks onit. Onthe other hand, in the same speech, he stated: "An idanticalpoint of view has materializedinour proposals as well as in those making up the NATO military alignment regarding the necessity tofollow up agreement on disarmament with the creation of armed forces of all countri(~s under international control to be used by the United Nations as decided by the Security Council." [Ibid., para. 279.] 49. One might wonder why the Conference, so sudden- ly interrupted, has not yet led to any precise agree- ments of a general character. It is impossible to go into detail in thls brief account and, onthe other hand, I would like to avoid fruitless polemic overtones.· I believe, however, that some poSitive results could actually have been achieved at Gene\ '. if certain re- current propaganda attitudes had been avoided.on the Soviet side and if there had prevailed a unanimous awareness of the difficulties inherent in disarmament and of the need for its gradual implementation. 54. At this time, a great responsibility rests with the As&embly-giving new impetus to the negotiations on disarmament. The Assembly must assistthemajor responsible parties with its advice and recomlIlenda- tions in their dealings, and it must encourage them to resume this all-important conversation. I donotdoubt that the will of the people, which is expressed through the enlightened advice of your delegations, will point out clearly the wisest, the most constructive and the most practicable course in order that this fundamen- tal work should·be resumed immediately and com- pleted successfully. 50. There is no doubt that a general and complete disarmament under effectiveinternational supervision was, and still is, the- target towards which the Gov- ernments !'epresented in this Assembly have pledged 55. The support and guidance of the Assembly are necessary now and in the future. I believe that in the future it will be convenient to bringtheUnited Nations into even closer contact with the negotiations inorder 60. It is necessary, on the contrary, in Italy's view, to rely as much as possible on regional organizations. Effective arrangements of this type are already in existence within the framework: of the United Nations. We hold that all the States willing to co-operate in the implementation of such a programme, both on the giving and the receiving ends, will in the future be able to perform their constructive work t-h.rough suit- able ties among their regional organizations ona basis of reciprocal trust and understanding of the means and needs of each one. The possibilities for concrete action will thus become greater. For the benefit of the under-developed countries, the United Nations should, wherever possible, check on the methods and the objectives for the promotion and implementation of such a programme. This is for the United Nations a task which alone would justify its existence and actions. 61. I trust that und.er the aegis of the United Nations the ground-work will be laid for the formation of aggregations of States which can operate jointly in restricted and well determined areas so that a con- crete, planned acJ;ionmaybe carriedtoward successful completionJ 62. As far as United Nations a.:;tion in favour of the under-developed countri,es is concerned, I am gratified to announce that the Italian Government, subject to parliamentary approval, has decided to double Italy's contribution to the Special Fund and to the Expanded Programme of Technical Assistance. Italy's quotaror both agencies will thus be increased to $2.25 million starting in the next fiscal year. This will be in pro- portion to our quota for the ordinary budget of the United Nations. The Italian Government's decision is in keeping with the wishes expressed in several reso- lutions adopted by the General Assembly, emphasizing time and again the urgent need to make available at least $100 -million yearly to the United Nations, in order that it may be enabled to expand its technical assistance programmes. 63. In addition to the consideration of the great problems of world-wide scope which this high forum has to debate and to which I have already referred, I cannot refrain from saying a few words on a matter which the Assembly might have been sparedandwhich Italy is now called upon to discuss, namely, the Alto Adige question. 64. Italy has nothing to fear from this discussion, and on its own initiative proposedto Austriathat there be recourse,' by mutual consent, to that organ of the United Nations which is competent in matters per- taining to the implementation of treaties, namely, the International Court of Justice. 66. The Italian Government, while gratifiedtobeable .to point to the steps taken so far to strengthen the democratic way of life in the territories ofAlto Adige, wishes to stress its firm commitment to a whole- hearted implementation of the de Gasperi-Gruber Agreement concluded in Paris in 1946, which allowed the German-speaking minorities to develop 'their economy successfully, to safeguard their institutions and to enrich their cultural traditions. 67. Only in 1956 Austria advanc~da few complaints of a general character on the implementation of the de Gasperi-Gruber agreement, and it was Italy which invited Austria, in July of that same year, to specify its demands. Negotiations ensued through diplomatic channels as a consequence of which, in may capacity as Prime Minister, I invited the Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Austria to negotiations at the highest level, convinced, as I was, thatdirectdealings in a spirit of good will could lead to a: solution of the dispute. The same invitation was extended later by my successor as Prime Minister, who also proposed to Austria recourse, by mutual consent, to the Inter- national Court of Justice on the matter. The Austrian Government preferred not to accept the two-foldinvi- tation, and decided to bring the question before the Assembly. 68. Having said that, however, I must point out that, as this is only a mattar of implementing a freely sti- pulated agreement, the Italian Government will have no choice but to oppose any attempt to drag on to a political ground a question that the parties, given good will on both sides, would certainly be able to settle by other means inthe veryframework ofthe principles of the United Nations Charter. 69. It is a characteristic of all free assemblies to gather diverse and often differing opinions. This must neither discourage nor hold us back. I believethat the work of the present session, whichis inmany respects more important than previous ones, could be fruitful if everyone were to be pervaded with the spirit of justice and equanimity which should govern relations among the peoples. 70. Sardar Mohammed NAIM (Afghanistan): At the outset, Mr. President, allow me to extend to you my sincere congratulations on your election to the im- portant and responsible post of the Presidency of the present session, and to wish you success in achieving the aims and purposes of the Charter, for which the General Assembly has been convened. 7L. It is a source of great pleasure for us that the inauguration of this sessionhas beenmarkedby a most important and historic event, the increaseInthe mem- bership of the United Nations. I wish once again to extend the sincere welcome of the Afghan people and Government to the representatives of these fourteen nations and, through them, to their peoples and Gov- ernments. , 72. With the increased number of Members the Or- ganization is approaching the ideal ofuniversality. We hope that this forum of independent voices of mankind 80. In our opinion, tb.e most' urgent task before the Assembly. in tha present circumstances, is to concen- trate on the ways and means of eliminating the fun- damental causes which have created the international problems and on the faclol"13 which have delayed their solution. rather than to attempt the solution of the problems directly. without the preparationofahealthy atmosphere which could mean the end of the cold war. There is obviously no other way than to address. on beha}.f of the General Assembly. an urgent appeal to the big Powers to enter immediately intO peaceful negotiations to this end. 81. Each day brings with itfurtherproofthatpeaceful coeXistence among peoples and nations is imperative~ The failure to recognize this factwouldleadto a com- plete deterioration of the international situation, with ~ave and even disastrous consequences. The United Nations is in itself thehighestexpressionthatmankind has given to this principle. after sufferingfrom disas- trous experiences~Therefore, the failure oftheUnited Nations to implement this principlewouldbe the great- est source of discouragement to all peace-lovingpeo- pIes of the world. 82. The only position from which it will be possible to ,realize the peaceful aspirations .of man and. the security and prosperity of the world is the position of mutual confidence among all. particularly among those who otherwise could choose the. position of strength. While it is certain that the opportunity pro- vided by this session can be used for greater results. the leaat that can be expectedis thateverything should be done to avoid further deterioration of the inter-' national situation. The .solution of the problem'of dis- armament depends solely on the confidence of the big Powers in~b other and on their good will towards humanity. The importance of the issue to the small c01llltries. however. is in no way diminished by this consideration. 83.. Last year when the question came before the General Assembly, we stated that we welcom.ed the proposals advanced for complete disarmament by the Government of ·th" Unionof SovietSocialistRepublics. which were referred to as basic and comprehgnsive. We stated also that we would welcome wholeheartedly any other initiative, regardless of its source. which wouldlead in the direction of disarmament. 84. The proposals .of the United States do not differ in principle from the course directed to. general anl;l ~lom.plete disarmament. Therefore there is a great margin of agreement on the basic issues.· It is en- couraging that the leaders of the United States and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics have expressed their willingness to resume negotiations. ThiS is great- ly appreciated. The achievement of this goal will not 85. We adhere to our view that. in any measures that may be taken, the importance of the consideration that the goal should remain total disarmament. under effective international control and inspection. should be stressed, and at the·same time practical steps, particularly in the field of nuclear weapons, should not be further dela~·ed. 86. The question of disarmament is essentially and primarily the responsibility oftheUnitedNations. This fact is also recog!lized by the big Powers. It can be sa:ld with hope that the Genera! Assembly could suc- ceed in taking certain measures which wouldcompen- sate for the failure of efforts that have been made outside the United Nations. 87. We adhere also to our view that a world without arms would be a new order in the life of nations. In any n~ order, the secure position of the small coun- tries themselves is of utmost importance to us. We highly appreciate the references to the effect that as a result of disarmament more assistance would be available to the under-developed areas of tha world, but we would like to add immediately that, although our needs are enormous. our prim.ary concern con- tinues to be the maintenance of peace and security, the only condition in which the under-developed coun- tries can hope for the fulfilment of their desire for a better life. We believe that, as long as the domination of one nation by another is not abolished in all its forms. neither the abolition of arms. nor economic assistance on any scale will complete the happiness to which man is entitled by his right to independence and dignity. 88. This session of the General Assembly. at which we have admitted a greatnumber ofindependentStates, offers us a unique opportunity to concentrate our ef- forts on the realization of the aspirations of the de- pendent peoples. The progress made in this field is encouraging but by no means satisfactory. No one can rightly be content as long as there are dependent peo- ples in this world. The policies of certain countries must inevitably give way to the right of self-deter- mination and independence for these peoples. 89. The situation in connexion with the problem of Algerians-one of these peoples-is most deplorable. It would be ·unnatural to speak of ending the cold war, and express no concern over the hot war continuing in Algeria. The deliberate delay in the peaceful solu- tion of this problem, on the part of the French Gov- eminent. is most alarming. Itwillbe a matter of great regret if certain major Issues. liketheAlgerianissue, are overshadowed by other problems merely because those problems have arisen more recently. We hope that· the General Assembly will give high prio~ty, at this session, to the considerationoftheAlgerianprob- leminthe light of the most discouraging new develop- merits and that it will take appropriate measures to implement its resolutions. recommendations andhopes for a peaceful solution of the question. We hope that this year. whichhas been referred to as the year of Africa. "'ill have in.it the dawn of the independence of·Algeria,.without which the African horizon will rEP main clouded by colonialism. . ,97. In expressing oux wishes for your success in your important and responsible functions as President of this session of the General Assembly, we would add our most sincere hopes to those that you have expressed that this session, through understanding, tolerance and co-operation in the interest ofmankind, will truly prove to be the Assembly of humanity.
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