United Nations

GENERALl~SSEMBLYFIFTH SESSION

\ Official Records

CONTENTS

283rdPLENARY MEETING

Monday, 25 September' 1950, at 3 p.m.

Flushing Meadow, New York

Page

General debate (continued) : .

Speeches by Mr. Anze Matienzo (B9livia), ~r: ~arper (Turkey,Mr. Bevin (United Kingdom), General Romulo (Pll1hpP:J~s), Mr. Castro(El Salvador) and Sir Mohammad Zafrulla Khan (Pakistan)

President: Mr. Nasrollah ENTEZAM (Iran).

81

General debate (continued)·

[Agenda item 9]

SPEECHES BY MR. ANZE MATIENZO (BOLIVIA), lVIR.SARPER (TURKEY), MR. BEVIN (UNITED KING­DOM), GENERAL R6MULO (PHILIPPINES), MR.CASTRO (EL SALVADOR) AND SIR MOHAMMADZAFRULLA KHAN (PAKISTAN)

1. Mr. ANZE MATIENZO (Bolivia) (translatedfrom Spanish): My Government has d~ne J?~ t~ehonour to instruct me to define my country s posItion 111relation to the grave problems which concern the worldand the United Nations at a moment when there hasbeen a breach of the peace in Asia and when all peoplesare looking towards us in the hope that the Organiza­tion will maintain the peace and security which itpledged itself to safeguard in San Francisco.2. The fact that representatives of the great Powersand those of the small countries take their turn tospeak from this platform without distinction of rankstrikingly reflects the demo~ratic spirit of t~e .D:n!t~dNations and also offers tangible proof of the 111dlvlslbtl­ity and universality of peace. for peace is a matter whichequally concerns all of us, regardless of the size of ourcountry, its geographical position and ethnic com­position.3. On this solemn occasion, it is my duty to reassertmy Government's faith in the principles of the Charterand to analyse the causes which, among others, in­terfere with the machinery of the United Nations. Atthe same time, I shall outline our view on these prob­lems, it being understood that we shall exercise absoluteindependence of judgment in voting. I realize, of course,that we shall exert not so much a material as a moralinfluence on the events which, by affecting the rest ofthe world, also affect Bolivia directly or indirectly.

81

4. Before dealing with the items on our a~enda, Ishould like to say that my Government appreciates theSecretary-General's efforts to create an atmosphere ofconfidence and harmony within the United Nations.It recognizes the importance of his report 1 which, whileit records the deadlock reached on specific problems,also indicates positive accomplishments. Thus the bal­ance is still on the credit side and the hopes of mycountry are still nurtured by that favorable balance.5. At this vital stage in the life of the United Nations,I should like to point out certain inconsistencies which,in my view, exist in the Charter notwithstanding theadmirable spirit, intelligent structure and wide scopeof that remarkable document. This analysis is basedon the belief that these inconsistencies, among otherreasons, help to impede the progress of negotiationswhich are hampered by the ideological and politicaldivision of the world. Not that the world has no rightto be divided politically and ideologically, but becausethe pugnacity of one part of it threatens the independ­ence and security of the other.6. The first inconsistency arises from the fact that,while the Preamble of the Charter affirms the principleof the equal rights of nations, Article 27 of the operativepart establishes a voting system for the Security Coun­cil which disregards the principle of equality set forthin the Preamble and makes power the determiningfactor in the United Nations.7. The second inconsistency which troubles me is thatwhereas the principle of respect for human rights andfundamental freedoms is enshrined in all the Articlesand Chapters of the Charter, that principle, whose ob­servance must be ensured by each State, conflicts withthe provisions of paragraph 7 of Article 2, which de-

1 See Official Records of the General Assembly, Fifth Session,Supplement No. 1.

A/PV.283

82 General Assembly-Fifth Session-Plen.ary rdeeiings

fines domestic jurisdiction. That is a barrier whichblocks our efforts to guarantee universal rights whichare the basis of democracy and the vital prerequisite forthe maintenance 6f peace and sect1rity.8. Finally, there is another inconsistency, which doesnot derive from the letter of the Charter br-t from thefacts. I refer to Chapter XII, concerning the Interna­tional Trusteeship System, whose purpose is to promotepeace and to ensure the economic, political and socialadvancement of the Trust Territories by the grant ofall the freedoms, rights and guarantees likely to leadto their independence. The Latin-American countries,whi~h have developed from the status of colonies to thatof free States, are following with keen interest theprogress of those territories towards libera.tion, but wemust be careful not to fall into the trap which almostalways exists when an attempt is made to speed up theprocess of emancipation without a careful analysis ofthe circumstances which qualify a territory for self­government but with political ends in view, the aimbeing th~t these populations, dazzled by freedom and aneasy prey to communism, should fall under a totalitarianregime which would lead them into a form of slaverymuch more degrading than trusteeship, which is merelya passing pha.se in their progress toward independence.This is a situation in which we have to move withprudence and caution.9. On Friday last I read an editorial in the New YorkTimes, which publishes in its distinguished columnssuch excellent comments on the problems which concernthe United Nations and the world. This editorial, whichdealt with "expansionism" in Asia, contained an im­pressive list of the achievements of the so-called im­perialist nations in Asia and of the territorial annexa­tions of the Soviet Union. The conclusion is that theUnited Kingdom, France, the United States and theNetherlands have done a great deal for the advancementand freedom of the countries of Asia. By contrast, theUSSR, which is always. talking about colonialism, hasvirtually annexed Mongolia, has annexed Tannu Tuvaoutright, as Wj~ll as the south of Sakhalin, and hastaken over complete control of' the Kuril islands; Itdominates western Manchuria, controls Dairen andPort Arthur and exercises economic control over Sin­kiang, or Chinese Turkestan, as well as North Korea,which it has now catapulted into a war.10. I think it would be sound procedure to use thesethree points of reference for the purpose of defining myGovernment's policy and indicating its attitude to con-temporary problems. .

11. We, the small nations, resigned ourselves to ac­cepting the principle of unanimity in San Franciscobecause we recognized that even in the most g-enuine.manifestati0t!s of equality of rights among' States, thefacts were bound to weigh heavily, for clearly princi­ples and declarations cannot remove the real fact of theexistence of the great Powers. All that could be donewas to give them certain privileges in return for theburdens and responsibilities which they were to assumeand to trust that they would be magnanimous, that theywould fulfil their obligations and be able to lead theway to world unity, and thereby to humarl greatness.Accordingly, as Mr. Belaunde of Peru explained soeloquently [279tlt meeting], the veto was granted, sotha.t the great Powers might be in a position to achieve

unanimity and so bring about political harmony in theworld. Even if we had some foreboding, we could notbelieve that in San Francisco we were forging the verychains which were to fetter our movements in the nameof power and in terms of power.

12. Unfortunately, that is what we have come to in ourfive-year experience. The process of paralysis is sosevere that the manipulator of the powerful magicspring had to be absent from the Security Council sothat the mechanism could be set in motion to cope withthe aggression against South Korea.

13. I agree with the representative of Brazil, Mr.Freitas Valle [279th meeting], that the system of theCharter is based on a division of functions, the SecurityCouncil exercising the executive powers while theGeneral Assembly is the deliberative organ which canmake recommendations. But I wonder what we can doabout the persistent abuse of the veto by a permanentmember of the Security Council which prevents thatorgan from fulfilling its functions. The only courseopen to us is the one poxnted out by Mr. van Zeeland,the Minister for Foreign Affairs of Belgium, whosemoving speech we applauded on Saturday [281st meet­ing]. The course he recommends is to seek out allthe measures and means offered by the Charter, scrutin­izing and analysing its wisely worded text to find pro­cedures which open the wa.y to pacific action within thesystem of collective security.

14. That is the object of the first point in the proposalof the United States Secretary of State, Mr. Acheson[279th meeting], whose firm resolve and nobility ofthought are worthy of that great democracy, the UnitedStates, and in keeping with his responsibilities. I firmlybdiewJ that the four-point proposal which he has pre­sented is the most important and most constructiveinitiative takeA since San Francisco, because it tendsto adjust the gears so that the machine which has beenslowed down can proceed. and removes the dishearten­ing impression that we have a broken-down machinein our hands.

15. My delegation will support the United States pro­posal and for the same reasons will support the Chileanproposal [A/1343], which on this point is identical andhence can be amalgamated with the United States Pi'l)­

posal. I wish to emphasize that these proposals do notseek to weaken .tJ:1e Security Council which all of usrespect, particularly after its prompt decisions in June;but we also do not wish the Security Council to becomea giant that is bound hand and foot. It would not benecessary to carry out the new measures proposed bythe United States and Chile if the Council worked andfulfilled its functions, and if no excessive use of the vetowere made. We understand the use of the veto inmoderation, but we condemn its abuse.16. I have said that another of the inconsistencies inthe Charter is related to respect for human rights andfundamental freedoms, so that by virtue of Article' 2,paragraph 7, the concern for that principle which isshown throughout the Charter becomes a mere aspira­tion and 'at .best has a persuasive effect. When we readthose paragraphs of the Charter and realize what I havejust said, we are reminded of the priest who from hispulpit threatens and exhorts the already repentant sin­ner kneeling in the temple, while the priest's admoni-

283rd Meeting-25 September 1950 83

tions fail to r~ach the cynical and disdainful hereticpassing the gates of the sacred precincts.17. Nevertheless it would be unjust not to recognizethat we have made great progress in the past twoyears. My country has the honour of having contributedto that progress by bringing the question of CardinalMindszenty to the attention of the third session of theGeneral Assembly. I recall that with only the supportof my firm convictions I pleaded for the inclusion ofthe item in the agenda from this very rostrum before asomewhat fearful and sceptical Assembly.2 The itemwas included. At the fourth session of the GeneralAssembly discussion was easier (tnd more convincing;the world had in that short interval become accustomedto accepting collective action in defence of respect forhuman rights and fundamental freedoms and the As­sembly had turned its eyes to the common man, realizingthat the individual was the nucleus of society and thatsociety was the substance of the State.18. At this present session, the leader of the Chileandelegation, Mr. Santa Cruz, has proposed that weshould take another step forward, and we shall reso­lutely follow our good neighbour along the path whichits delegation has indicated with that generous spiritwhich inspires its exemplary democracy. For the samereasons we shaH follow Chile in its initiative in eco­nomic questions, being convinced that the step pro­posed to us to give effect to the Assembly's recommen­dations will, if approved, represent a great advance.19. I should like to comment on the other points ofMr. Acheson's proposal, beginning with the establish­ment of a security force, a peace patrol. My Governmentnot only supports the creation of this body of observersbut also, as a country which has never transgressed oruttered threats, will feel strengthened and more con­fident because this new collective security force will bea concrete guarantee of peace.20. Further, my country will support the United Statesproposal that each Member State should designate aunit from its national armed forces, and we welcomeit not only as a technical means of promoting the train­ing and unification of the command, but as an admirablemethod of forming an international awareness in everycitizen of every country. When he sees the flag of theUnited Nations side by side with his national flagwaving in the calm breeze of international peace at thehead of the armies which symbolize and seek to defendsovereignty, it will be brought home to every citizenthat, without ceasing to be a citizen of his own country,he is a citizen of the world, and at the same time hewill feel that the world is open to all.21. The fourth point of Mr. Acheson's proposal isjudicious and necessary and my delegation will sup­port it, having been convinced by the experience of theimprovised action against the surprise aggression onthe Republic of Korea.

22. The question of the de facto recognition of gov­ernments has been and remains a very controversialtop~c in the regional group of Latin-American States.Some believe in the effectiveness of collective action inpreserving democracy and uphold the principle that

:. See Official Records of the Gmeral Assembly, Third Ses­sion, Part Il, Plenary Meetings, 189th and 190th meetings.

governments must be based on the express will of thepeople; others believe that the right of peoples togovern themselves a~; they wish or as they can s~~uldremain untouched and free from outside superVIsion.I do not intend here to go into this controversial sub­ject which has been exhaustively discussed; it would,however, be impossible. for me not to refer !o a newphenomenon: the effective, dangerous and Wldespr~adstrategy of fomenting internal revolutions as a tacticalmeans of achieving the transformation of the world, anew phenomenon which concerns each and everyoneof us and deserves to lYe discussed with the help ofdocumentary I~vidence and in the light of the facts. Thisis not the right time to make that study and I shallrefer merely tQ the merits of the case.23. Facts show that the Soviet Union annexed theBaltic States some ten years ago by diplomatic devices.The facts also show .that twice it laid hands on Polandand there are some here who could tell us somethingof what happened in Romania in 1945. The SecurityCouncil and the world know what happened in Czecho­slovakia in 1948 and all free peoples here have a feelingof solidarity with the heroic Greek nation which hasset a fine example in defending its internal and ex­ternal sovereignty. The events in Korea have beenimpressed upon our minds by the words of Mr. Austin,whose eloquence and above all whose integrity andgoodwill we respect and admire, and who producedevidence in the Security Council to show that theforces of aggression against the Republic of Korea aretrained in, Manchuria and armed by Moscow. In themeantime we have heard the voice of Peiping loudlyspreading the incredible falsehood that the UnitedStates and the United Nations are the aggressors inKorea. Nor can we think without alarm of what ishappening in Indo-China, the Philippines, Burma andelsewhere.24. But there is even more. Wherever we look wesee evidence of underground activity and the disguisedintervention of the person who hides the hand thatthrows the stone. Thus the stability of democratic gov­ernments is constantly threatened and our families, thatis, our peoples, who used to be friendly and happy, arenow being divided by hates and antagonisms and ourgovernments are forced to use their modest resourcesto fill their arsenals and reinforce their police insteadof filling their granaries with wheat and their store­houses with meat; they must buy guns instead ofploughs and must watch the battle fronts instead ofworking for the general well-being.25. Thus the message of hope which President Roose­velt, with his magnanimous smile, addressed to theworld, telling us that the world would live in freedomfrom fear:, is already a distant echo.26. Something' must be done to combat this phenome­non, which is destroying us from within. Somethingmust be done to prevent the occurrence of what ishappening in my country, where the Government, likethe United Nations, is carry~ng on an armed struggleto save democracy and its institutions on the homefront and, with the technical assistance of the UnitedNations, is striving to work its natural resources in theinterests of raising the standard of living, of improvingthe social conditions and the welfare of the people ofBolivia.

84 Genel'al Assembly-Fifth Session-Pl.-,nary Meetings

27. The first idea which occurs to me is that, just aoin earlier times, when their domestic jurisdiction wasrespected, the sovereign States signed pacts of non­aggression, in order, for example, to guarantee peace,it might now be necessary for us to begin consideringthe preparation of a new multilateral instrument tocombat the new political phenomenon, an instrumentwhich would take the form of a universal pact of non­intervention based on the provision in international lawwhich permits collective action to prevent intervention;such collective action would be entrusted to the UnitedNations, so that President Truman's doctrine might befurther strengthened.28. We cannot fail to point Qut, moreover, the wayin which, in the troubled world of today, the SovietUnion is exalting the principle of absolute sovereignty,exploiting toat principle which is so deeply rooted int!le hearts of all peoples. And while that country attacksthe freedom of other nations wherever it can, it rashlyattempts, in the name of absolute sovereignty, to under­mine the economic aid which the United States is givingEurope for its reconstruction and alsG) through itsgenerous contribution under the Marshall Plan, in aneffort to raise standards of living and improve socialconditions for all mankind.29. For this purpose, the USSR is furthering a coldwar in order to force the nations to divert theIr newlydeveloped resources to rearmament. I have oftenthought with bitterness and sorrow of the bread ofwhich the hungry in the old world have been deprivedand of the tremendous expense entailed by the highlyspectacular and co-ordinated effort deployed by theUnited States and the United Kingdom, with all theirmechanical resources, in feeding and supplying thepopulation ot Berlin by air for so long a time.

30. Fortunately, the democratic world has sufficientresources to arm itself in order to preserve peace whilea,t the same time contributing to the advancement ofunder-developed countries, which likewise constitutesa guarantee of peace through the promotion of humanwell-being, for the honour of our civilization.31. For that reason, we of the smaller countries arenot discouraged. We have faith in the expanded pro­gramme of technical assistance of the United N~tions,

and in "point foue' of President Truman's programme.We have faith also in the work of the Department I:>fEconomic Affairs and the Department of Social Affairsof the Secretariat, and in the constructive work of thespecialized agencies. This feeling of confidence isdeeply rooted in our hearts, in spite of the fact thatthe USSR does not contribute to or support this work.

~2. This is the proper moment to say that my cotm­tryPs experience in this direction has been full, seriousand constructive. That experience includes certain sig­nificant points to which I should like to draw attention.First, the Technical Assistance Mission which went toBoliv.la in April of this year was composed of fourteendistin~'uished experts from eleven of the highly de­veloped countries of the world. It was headed by theDeputy Minister of Mines and Resources of Canada,Mr. Keenleyside, who went to Bolivia in response toa requt:"t by the Secretary-General to the Governmentof Canada; Mr. Saint-Laurent, in a generous spirit ofinternational understanding, agreed to give hls col-

league temporary leave of absence to enable him to servethe United Nations in Bolivia. Was not this an ex­emplary and heartening action?33. The Mission arrived in my country, where it wasreceived with lively interest by my Government, al­though, it must be admitted, it met with indifferenceand scepticism on the part of the public. Nevertheless,it went about its task with such skill and devotion thatlittle by little it penetrated the national consciousnessand awakened the interest of the people throughout thecountry; requests were received by the Governmentfrom many different regions, asking that the Missionshould visit each of these regions in order to studyactual conditions, diagnose the ills, and prescribe theremedy. In this way the United Nations penetrated intothe very heart of Bolivia, and I am certain that evenwere a future government of Bolivia to oppose therecommendations of the Mission, it would be forcedto carry them out owing to pressure of public opinion.Meanwhile, Mr. Keenleyside, a distinguished Canadianstatesman, had become also a distinguished servant ofthe peoples of the wor1cl, since as a result of his ex­perience in Bolivia the Secretary-General appointedhim Director-General of the Technical Assistance Ad­ministration of the United Nations, an appointmentthat carries the guarantee of the constructive develop­ment of the programme.

34. I wish to extend my thanks from this rostrum toCanada and to all the other countries which have sentsuch di$tinguished experts to a less highly developedcountry, experts who have returned captivated by ourvigorous land and our good-hearted and long-sufferingpeople.35. I wish also to express my thanks to the Secretary­General and to stress the fact that the workers whoconstitute the t8chnical divisions ()f the Secretariat areimbued with an idealistic fervour; they represent a typeof worker whose time and energy are at the service ofthe entire world and who will form the vanguard offuture progress. Our gratitude extends also to thespecialized agencies, which generously and with de­termination have brought practical aid to Bolivia.

36. I should like to suggest that in each of the highlydeveloped countries a 1'011 of honour should be estab­lished, on which would be recorded the names of themost competent experts in each country, in order thatas a reward for their achievement these experts mightbe named as workers in the service of world economicand social progress. In this way, while at the same time,in accordance with the plan proposed by Mr. Acheson,we are organizing armed forces for the preservation ofpeace, we may also organize an army of civilian expertsto defen1 peace by promoting the well-being and prog­ress of t'ne p~oples of the world.37. Thus it can be seen that, in spite of the cold war,the United Nations and the democratic countries arestill undertaking positive and constructive action. It canbe seen that despite the "cold war", which is forcingthe western democracies to devote the greater part oftheir resuurces to the armaments race, a race whichthey did not desire since they have no aggressive de­signs and are guided only by considerations of legitimatedefence, those democracies believe it their duty to ensurepeace through a policy of balance of power. It can be

283rd Meeting-25 September 1950 85

seen that they are nevertheless concerning themselveswith assisting the unfortunate.38. The action of the United Nations has ayvakeneda new faith in the people of my country, a fatth com­parable to the hope aroused by Hpoint four" of PresidentTruman's programme. All this leads us to believe thatit is not necessary to throw the world into up~eavalor to instigate fratricidal wars in order to explO1t thenatural resources of th~ world, to place then~ ~t the ser­vice of humanity, to raise the standards of.ttVt~lg ?f thepeoples of the world and to enhance t~etr dtgmty associeties; rather, it is possible for socte~y to evolvepeacefully, without t~le ~eed of con~mu~1tsm, towardsa new social ideal whtch tS based on Justtce.39. And this faith is strengthened, in spite of the fln­sidiotlS campaign based on the old catchphrase ~b(,ut

Yankee imperialism and the greed of vVall Street, Ideaswhich disturbed us in our youth, twenty years ago, bt~t

which became ghosts of the past on the ~ay that Pr~sl­

dent Roosevelt inaugurated the good nelgh~our p'ol~cy.Today, thank God, the bogey of Yankee Impen~ltsm

produces 110 other reaction in us th~n wou~d the stndentand dissonant sounds of an old clarion which once upona time roused our energies but now merely irritates us.40. We should ask ourselves what the Soviet Unionis doing meanwhile. Is it contributing in any w~~ tothis civil mobilization for world welfare? In my op1Oton,it is doing the opposite; it is trying to sow distrust anddismay, because it knows that anarch~ feeds ?n hunger.And its conduct calls forth such mistrust m us thatin spite of what we have been told here in this v~ry

Assembly-that the USSR has reached ~uch a hlg.hlevel of industrial development that atomic energy ISused there to remove mountains8-we do not dare toapply for the services of its technicians, for we areafraid that in our countries they would leave the moun­tains where they are and remove the gov.ermr~ents. Forthe same reasons, we cannot trust the s10centy ?f thedraft resolution [A/1376] presented by. Mr. Vysh1Osk:y,which repeats the same themes on wh!ch he b~sed h~spropaganda in 1947 at Lake Success, m 1948 m Pa~lsand in 1949 again at Lake.Success. And as ~ope ~as ItSroots in faith my delegatton takes a scepttcal View ofthat draft res~lution and the way in which it is worded.41. Lastly my country reiterates its support of themeasures t~ken by the Security Council with reg~rdto the invasion of the Republic of Korea, rendermgheartfelt tribute to those who have died on the battle­field and expressing its admi.rat~on for those who a~efighting there for peace and dlgmty. My Government ISdeeply O'rateful to' those heroes who, in the war theywage :re the soldiers of peace, under their leaderGene~al ~(facArthur, symbol of the greatness of theUnited States a country which lends dignity to ourcivilization and the genius of which is shaping the prog­ress of the world.42. Mr. SARPH:R (Turkey): The era inauguratedby the creation of the United Nations has been one ofcritical tension in international relations. The atmos­phere of uncertainty an4 insecurity in wh!ch our .or­ganization has had to thrive has put the Umted Nationsto a continual test, which has become more arduous

8 See Official Records of the General Assembly, Foitrth Sei-$im~, Ad Hoc Political Committee, 33rd meeting.' .

with every passing ye~r. That is why, at the openingof each session of the General Assembly! we shouldtake a sincere account of ourselves, examine our con­science, and try to establish, with as much p~e~ision aspossible, whether, an~ to what extent, tl~e U111t~d N~­tions has been effecttve and successful 111 solv111g .t1.\eproblems entrusted to it. We must a~ th~ same tt~elook forward with courage and determ111e 111 good fauhthe course to be followed.43. At the beginning of the fifth session of t~e GeneralAssembly we are faced with the most crUCial test wehave yet gone through. Yet at this moment of graveconcern for the peace of the world, some rays of hopeand encouragement are als? visible. ~t;lportant s~~pshave been taken for the creation of conditions of stablhtyand well-being which are necessary for peaceful al1dfriendly relations among nati?ns. ~ndeed,.the p:ogres$achieved by the United Nations 111 dealmg With the,problem of the economic and social development okeconomically under-developed countries d~serves par­ticular mention. Specifically, the fund wIllch was set 'up as a result of the conference which met in June lastfor the first period of eighteen months for the expand~d

programme of technical assistance fo~ t~e econ0ll?-lcdevelopment of under-developed countnes! IS a p!OmlS­ing beginning. .such programmes of tec.hmcal ~sslsta~ce011 a larger scale for several consecuttve penods Will,we hope, follow.44. Although my delegation is convince~ that it w!J?ldbe essential to explore the field further Without waitingfor the results to be obtained from these programmesand to try to find more concrete ways of assistance tonations, such as private and public.inves~ment in eco­nomically under-developed countnes slmulta!1eouslywith technical assistance, we must still mention theresults obtained by the Economic and Social Councilthis year as progress in this direction. In our opinion,although this is a satisfactory beginning, great ~ffortsare still needed in this field, and when the questton ofthe economic development of under-developed countriesis taken up in committee, we hope to be able to makesIetailed observations and comments on this extremelyimportant subject.45. Along with the creation of conditions es~e~t.ialtor strengthening peace, we must survey the acttvlt~esand potentialities of the United Nations from the P0111tdf view of the steps to be taken in cases of threats tothe peace and breaches of the peace. In this directionwe observe that the spirit of the United Nations ha$,during the course of this year, manifested itself as alieality. Its existence can no longer be doubted, nor canits disappearance be feared. It has already become partof the dignity of civilized humanity, to have and to hold~nd to be proud of. This spirit must be made the per­petual guiding spirit of the United Nations.46. But the mechanism required for the most effectivemanifestation of this spirit in actual practice, for themaintenance of world peace within the provisions ofthe Charter of the United Nations, still leaves much tobe desired. For, unfortunately, this mechanism haseither not been set up at all, or the skeleton machinerywhich has been set up in certain cases does not functionproperly.

47. To illustrate these observations I shall mentionthe situation in Korea, which is a most striking example.

86 General Assembly...-Fifth

'/Aggressive elements in Korea have, by an actual breachof the peace, threatened the peace and security of theworld, and challenged not only the decisions and actionsof this atlgust Assembly, but also the very principlesof our Charter. In the face of this challenge, the highsense of responsibility and solidarity demonstrated tothe world by the overwhelming majority of the Mem­bers of the United Nations was an expression of thehigh responsibility of the United Nations, and a livingproof of the reality of a fundamental principle of thisOrganization, that is, that the peace and secnrity of theworld is one and indivisible and that all should joinhands in co-operation and devotion in order to safeguardthis sacred treasure. The action taken in Korea clearlyshowed that this principle was not only a theory des­tined to remain in the pages of the Charter, but theexpression of a living spirit.

48. My country, Turkey, although thousands of milesaWay from Korea, and although it had had to strive foryears, under considerable economic strain, to maintainthe forces necessary for its own d.efence and existence,has shown a typical exampie or this moral sense of re­sponsibility of the spirit of the United Nations, in par­ticipating in the common effort by making available tothe United Nations a combat force of 4,500 '-11elJ.·49. .The collective action taken in Korea, the suprememanifestation of international solidarity, seen for thefirst time in the history of mankind, was not the resultof sporadic enthusiasm but an indication of the maturityof the consciousness of civilized nations.

<"'. 50. This is the spirit of the United Nations" Let usnow look at the organization and mechanism providedin the Charter of the United Nations for the main­tenance of peace and security. Let us consider how farthis mechanism is able to respond to the spirit of theUnited Nations.51. We must admit frankly that the present mechan­ism is as yet far from satisfactory. We have, unfor­tunately, not yet been able to create the necessarymechanism to meet our requirements and to give thedesirable prompt and effective expression to the' spiritof the United Nations, and to convert it into actionin the material and practical field.52. The complete mechanism provided for in ChapterVII of the Charter has not yet been set up. The veto­to which the Turkish delegation as far back as the SanFrancisco Conference had registered its objection-hasbeen made a tool of obstruction.53. We have said before, and I shall repeat it now,that in dealing with matters of vital importance to theworld, we consider it improper to take advantage ofan expedient-designed to serve otherwise-to nullifythe will of the overwhelming majority.54. The procedure of voting in the Security Councilwhich allows the veto, coupled with obstructionist tac­tics, has made it impossible to put the provisions ofChapter VII into effect. But even assuming that theseprovisions had been given effect, it is unfortunately notdifficult to foresee that the mechanism to be set upwould be doomed to inaction and paralysis, again onaccount of the veto.55. The historic resolutions of the Security Councilof 25 and 27 June,4: respectively determining the exis-

Se,;:sion-Plenary Meetings

tence of a breach of the peace in Korea and providingfor United Nations action, are in complete h~rmony

with the letter and spirit of the Charter. As has al­ready been pointed out by' several speal{ers before me,the action which was taken by the Security Council inthat instance and which was made possible only throughparticular circumstances, has provided a most strikingexample of how the Security Council could function ifthe veto were to be eliminated.56. But the elimination of the veto is possible onlythrough a modification of the Charter, and it has becomeclear that any attempt in this direction would be doomedto failure in the present circumstances. On the otherhand, world events are pressing and leave no furtherroom for delay. The setting up of a mechanism of se...curity, able to function effectively and promptly, isimperative and the occasion urgent.

f1? In Korea, in the face of a premeditated action bythe aggressor, the United Nations had to imprQvisemeasures to safeguard the peace and security of theworld and, consequently, was at a disadvantage. Thatis why the sanctions tal<;en in Korea, in spite of thebrilliant direction and leadership, did not produce re­sults with the expected rapidity..Today it is gratifyingt~note that the situation in Korea is developing favour-.ably for the United Nations, and I pay tribute to theheroic men who have achieved that.58. But we may be faced with a new act of aggressionin some other part of the world; the United Nationsmay have to renew its action to safeguard peace byrepelling another armed attack. In such an eventuality,which we pray will never confront us, the time lost atthe beginning may be disastrous for the United Nationsand mankind. We may not be able to afford improvisa­tion a second time.59. It is' therettre incumbent upon the General Assem­bly to consider means which will enable the UnitedNations to meet such situations and to perform its taskas guardian of the peace of the world.

60. The United States Secretary of State, on 20 Sep­tember [279th meeting], outlined from this rostrum afour-point plan designed to "increase the effectivene:ssof the United Nations actiou against aggression".

61. Changing the order of these four points, andemphasizing particularly the means of implementationto be considered if this plan is to be put into effect, Ishould like to dwell on the third point first. I was verymuch pleased to note that the representative of Bolivia,who spoke a few minutes ago, stressed the same point.I do not think we can consider that as a mere coinci­dence., It is an indication of the prevailing opinion inthe General Assembly.

62. In our view, the third point of the programmeshould be considered first, for that is the point to whichall the others lead. The means to be determined underthe fourth point, the observation to be carded out underthe second and, finally, an emergency session of theGeneral Assembly under the first, would all lead toeventual action, and action can be taken only by theforces to be provided under the third point. In ouropinion, that is the key point of the whole programme.

4 See Official Records of the Security Council, fifth year,Nos. 15 and 16.

283rd Meeting-25 Septem.ber 1950 87

63. The tl'uth is that none of the countries in theworld today, including the most powerful among them,is in a position all alone to take adequate and sufficienteffective measures to safeguard the peace of the, world.That is why an international police force to s'ltppressaggression is one of the essentials for the pea~e andsecurity of the world. The first, second and fourthpoints ·of the programme outlined by Mr. Acheson arealso parts of a mechanism of security. It would benecessary to consider whether a threat might lead to abreach of the peace or to an act of aggression, to deter­mine if such a situation actually exists, to take appropri­ate step~ in ot'der to prevent it and, eventually, todecide to put into action the international police forceproposed in the third point.

64. It is in view of these considerations that mydelegation will wholeheartedly support, in its mainlines, the programme outlined here a few days ago bythe United States Secretary of. State. We believe thatthis proposal could be the basis for a mechanism whichwould help the United Nations to take immediate andeffective action if and when it is faced by a new act ofaggression.

65. The overwhelming majority of the Members ofthe United Nations have actually brought forth irrefut-

.able evidence, in the attitude they have taken on thequestion of Korea, that they have achieved a remarkablematurity in their sense of responsibility in mattersconnected with safeguarding the peace. On the otherhand, the Charter already embodies the provisionsrequired to translate this will of the majority intoaction. But we are being deprived of the benefits of theCharter through the abuse and exploitation of someprocedural possibilities which are equally open underthe Charter. Our Organization is thus being paralysedin this respect. But possibilities for preventing thisparalysis also are ~Qpl~n to us under the Charter. Wehave only to act, to act with courage, to act now. Worldevents make it incumbent upon this session of theGeneral Assembly to take this decision.

66. If at the close of this fifth session we leave theAssembly hall without having set up an effective andsmoothly running mechanism for the preservation ofworld peace, we shall have been fal~e to the ideal of theUnited Nations and failed to promote the cause ofuniversal peace. For it is highly disturbing for us tonote - and gratifying, on the other hand - that worldpublic opinion is far ahead of us, and the peoples of theUnited Nations now expect positive achievements oftheir Organization.

67. Mr. BEVIN (United Kingdom) : I do not intendto delay the proceedings of this Assembly very long,but I want to take this opportunity to try to explain toyou the approach of my Government to the problemsand difficulties,that confront the world today.

68. When I made my speech in the General Assemblythis time last year,ll I confess that, like many others,I felt somewhat pessimistic about the future of theUnited Nations. I wondered whether it had taken rootdeeply enough in the hearts and minds of the people ofthe world for the Organization to survive, and whether

li See Official Records of the General AssemblYI Fourth Ses­SiOl~1 Plenary Meeti,tgsl/ 229th meeting.

it was sturdy enough to weather the inevitable ittter..national storms. At the end I came to the conclusionthat this great institution, On which is set humanitylschief hope for dealing with the world's problems of warand peace, would recover its original impetus and spirit.That faith has been justified. The last few months haveshown with what credit the United Nations has emergedfrom a period of great trial. It has proved itself capableof doing what many doubted whether it co~ld do; it hasdisplayed the unity and determination required to takeprompt and effective action against aggression.69. Many people were taken by surprise by the recom..mendations of the Security Council regarding Korea.But our representatives on the Council correctly inte!'..preted the silent feelings of millions of people through­out the world - feelings which prompted a unity inresponse for which the aggressors had not bargainedwhen shaping their policy. It was clear that they badcounted on being able to present the world with a faitaccompli in Korea and to win a victory for aggression.But they had underestimated the almost immediate andoverwhelming reaction of the rest of the world inresentment at their conduct. I have no doubt that thisresentment would be felt and expressed just as keenlyin the country of those who are responsible for th~

aggression if their people were as free to learn the factsas we are.70. Now that this unity in resistance to aggression hasbeen forged, we must not allow the slightest suggestionof paralysis to creep back into this Organization. Wehave always wished to see it endowed with a greatmoral authority, and the events of the last few months ".indicate that, among the peace-loving nations, there is agreat respect for law in the conduct of internationalaffairs, as great as in their own internal affairs. I do notthink we need have any fear in the future about theresponse of mankind in resisting aggression. Much aswe all hate the idea of war, we realize that if aggressiontakes place, we must resist it by force. And we must beprepared to face any emergency.71. We must recognize that in order to deal with thislatest example of aggression, the Security Council andthe United Nations had to improvise, and that it Wasfortunate, that the centre and pivot of that improvisationwas a great nation like the United States. That countryhad the necessary power to hold the situation until thestrength of the United Nations could be mobilized. t amglad that my country was able immediately to contributesubstantial naval forces, which have played no meanpart in the operations at sea, while United Kingdomland forces are now also in the thick of the fighting.72. But we must not leave things to chance like thatagain; if we do, the world would not forgive us. There­fore we must give urgent attention to the plan putforward by Mr. Acheson on behalf of the United StatesGovernment for strengthening the United Nations ma­chinery against aggression. I am in full agreemel1t withits objectives and, if adopted, it will enSure that respon..sibility is shared by all of us~ great and sl11all alike.I am sure the United States Government will welcomeconstructive criticism in discussions of this plan so as tomake it widely acceptable and as effective as possible.73. We shall have before us, at this fifth session of theGeneral Assembly, a number of grave issues which havearisen as a result of developments in the Far East.

88 Genel'al Assembly-Fifth Session-Plenal'Y Meetings

74. The conflict still rages in Kore~1 but I ~m con~..dent that the authority of the Ulllted Natlons willprevail. Howeverl that is really only the. beginning:. Itis also our duty to look beyond the conflict and to nndmeans whereby peace and unity can be restored inKorea.75. In our view there must no lon~er be South Ko..reans and North Koreans l but just Koreans l who mustbe encouraged to work together to rebuild their countrywith the advice and the help and the support ~f theUnited Nations. It is difficult in w~r to see the picturein its proper perspectivel but in this General Assemblywe have a great opportunity to consult with one anotherand plan for the days that lie ahead.76. There has been l as I have alrea~y said l an.ove;..whelming response to the call to resist aggressIOn 111Korea and to defeat the intentions of those who soughtto use force to achieve their ends, but now another testwill be applied to our judgment in the settlement ofKorea. Public opinion will judge us not only. by t.heright use of our military power, but also by the s111ce;ltyand good intentions of every Member of the UllltedNations in the final settlement of the problem, and bythe effectiveness of our actions for the rehabilitation ofthe country when hostilities have ceased.77. For more than two centuries the British peoplewere responsible for the administration ?f .vast area;s ofAsia, and we believe that that long associatIOn has ~Ivenus some insight into the affairs ?f that.great con~111ent.In accordance with the great deSign which underhes t~econception of the Commonwealth, the peoples of India,Pakistan Burma and Ceylon have now emerged asindependent nations, controlling their own destinies andhaving a vital say in the destinies of Asia and the world.78. Vie are proud - and I think I.can say for every..one itL my country that we are espeCially proud - thatthe friendship between the British people and thepeoples of these new nations is firm and that we areable to work together with them in the interests ofpeace and economic development. .79. It is a matter of deep regret to us that Ceylon hasnot been admitted to the United Nations. Why shouldany Power try to keep a country like Ceylon fr01!1 jo!n..ing this Organization? Ceylon has a great contrlbutlonto make to the world, but it is kept out of the UnitedNations by sheer perversity. This sort of action makesfor bad feeling among the nations. I have no doubt thateverybody in the General Assembly, or.nearly every..body believes that the use of the veto 111 the case ofCeyl~l1 was a grave injustice. It is somewhat ironicalthat those who are responsible should claim to be thechampions of the emerging peoples of Asia.80 Here I would recall that in 1948 we tried, hi am~eting of the five great Powers, to establish a code ofconduct which would ensure that none of 11S wouldabuse our power to the detriment of the smaller nations.But it was of no avail. I feel that if only those chargedwith such heavy responsibility could agree among them..selves on a code of conduct which would be tolerant,helpful' and conducive to' the progress of this greatOrganization, it would be one of the best ways ofestablishing confidence in the world.

81. Another problem which we shall have to deal within this session of the General Assembly and endeavour

to settle is the question of the representation of China.A vote has already been taken on the question [277thmeeting] I which is now. to be studied by a specialcommittee set up by the Presidentl and approved bythe General Assembly. I do not want to say anything toprejudge the conclusions of that committee. I wish tomake it clear to this Assembly, howeverl that we do notintend to break our long..established friendship withChina. I can assure the Chinese people that we lookforward to the day when they will again take theirproper place as one of the great Powers. The questionof who shall represent them is a matter that can befought out in this Assembly. Then we shall have for­gotten these present difficulties and shall be ready tohelp China to fulfil her destiny, after so many years ofstruggle and civil war.82. We refuse to accept the concept of a world dividedinto East and West. This planet is too small for that.To us1 all peoples of the world are one family, and weare not going to allow a wall to be erected between usif we can help it. We are determined to follow in allour approaches to these problems the conception of theUnited Nations itself, which is a conception of oneworld dwelling in peace and contentment.83. Another problem which is now on the agenda isthat of Formosa. I do not believe that this problem is

. insoluble. I trust that the best constructive minds willbe brought to bear on it. It need not be the subject ofany bitter debate or ill-feeling. We can settle it together,just as we shall have to settle the Korean problem, andin so doing show the world that we are competent tosolve such problems in a manner that will contributeto world peace and justice.84. There exist other active or potential sources ofdanger, and particularly in Europe. At any momentsituations may ~rise which would call for action by theUnited Nations as well as the Powers concerned. Itremains to be seen whether the whole problem ofEurope can be discussed and settled in a dispassionateway and on its merits.85. Ever since the war ended in 1945 with the victoryof the Allied Powers over Nazi Germany and Japan,we have been struggling to settle Europe. We enteredupon discussions with our great Allies and, like theUnited States and France, we were animated by aspirit of conciliation and by a profound desire toestablish peace in that continent and to re-create thework of development and rehabilitation. We soon dis­covered, when we began discussions on the five peacetreaties, that the USSR Government was simultaneouslycarrying out policies"in Poland, Romania, Hungary andBulgaria which seemed to us to be a clear indication ofits intention to dominate those countries, to convertthem into satellites, to destroy all prospects of freeelections, to stage purges and political trials and to getrid of any fl'ee political expression. In so doing, theGovernment of the Soviet Union was disregardingagreements arrived at bet.ween the Allied Powers beforethe war itseIf terminated.86. It soon became quite clear to us that nothingwould satisfy Soviet policy except peace treaties de­signed to ensure that the countries of eastern Europeshould be under communist regilpes which were sub­servient to the ever expanding authority of Moscow.Looking backl I do not believe that the USSR Govern-

2831~d Meeting-25 September 1950 89 .

lllent ever had any sincere intention of acting in accord~

ance with the spirit of the agreements which had beenentered into during the war. Finally, in Czechoslovakia,the same end was achieved by means of a coup d'etat.87. We had the same difficulties when we tried totackle the problem of Germany. For two years myUnited States and French colleagues and I strove toachieve agreement with the Russians. We enunciatedprinciples which would have established a unifiedGermany, which was our aim throughout those dis~

cussions. And it is as far as my Government is con~

cerned - I can speak with sincerity - still our aimand I believe that of my colleagues as well.88. But it became clear that the Soviet Union Govern~ment did not want a unified Germany which was free tochoose its own form of government. We wanted theGermans to choose - just as the rest of us choose ­in absolute freedom. And I assert that history will notblame the western Powers for the failure to set up aunited Germany as a peaceful and democratic State andbring it back into the comity of nations.89. Now we are confronted with a divided Germany,on which we look with anxiety lest it may be the sceneof another act of aggression like that which took placein Korea.90. The present organization of eastern Germany, withits powerful .mi1itarize~.police force, justifies very realconcern on this score. We must naturally take this intoaccount in the shaping of our policy, and we are accusedof being warmongers because we do not ignore it, forhere is a threatening situation which" unless care isused, might plunge the world again into conflict. Ourattitude is· entirely different. We were reluctant tomove a single inch towards the creation of any warlikeorganization, even a purely defensive one. We ran ourdefences down very low; our expenditure was reducedto a minimum. But we should not have been doing ourduty to the world, to this Organization, and to thepeople, if we had not united our forces and built up OUt'military power to resist any possible threat from theEast.91. We had to meet the terrible decision two years agoof the Soviet Union Government to try to starve Berlin.Why starve a city to get one's way? We had to dealwith it by means of the famous air~lift to prevent thestarvation of those people. At any moment there mighthave been incidents which would have caused conflict.Happily, that particular episode for the moment is nowover, but the danger has not been removed, and so wehave had to make our position clear.92. If aggression takes place, it cannot be confined toGermany. As I have said, we are eager to see a unitedGermany, under proper democratic institutions, whichwould remove this constant menace to the peace ofEurope. And we are ready to devote all our energies tothe recreation of sound economic conditions in thatcontinent, and also in that country.93. While striving for a political settement of Europe,we have at the same time been endeavouring collectivelyto restore our economies and to repair the terribledevastation of war. I confess that at one moment itlooked an almost impossible task:94. Here I must once again pay my tribute to theUnited States and to its great soldier-statesman, General

........

Marshall. In a quiet, simple way his message came tous in his speech of 1947,° a message of hope and friend­ship, and I would remind the Assembly that it waslikewise offered to the Soviet Union and its satellites,and to all the countries of Europe alike. Indeed some ofthose countries were bursting to take part in it, butwere prevented. Here was a plan bringing succour andhope to millions of people, but it was immediatelyturned into a violent political issue, and all sorts ofthreats were made. But we went forward, and theEuropean peoples who took part are today filled withgratitude for the action of the United States.95. Subsequent events have belied the pretentions andprophecies that were made against it. It was claimedthat the plan was promoted for the prep.aration of wa.r,and for doing all the wicked things one can think of.As a matter of fact, the plan has been a great contribu­tion to peace. Europe is re~emerging. Europe has notfinished its contribution to humanity.96. This present difficult phase will pass and there aretwo factors which will help it to go quickly. One is thedetermination of the free peoples of Europe to defendtheir liberty; tt..; second is the growing economic pros­perity resulting from the combined efforts of thewestern world. The one will give us peace to till thefields, to work the factories, to win the wealth from themines, to transport it, and finally fabricate it for the useof our people. The other will give to the peoples theopportunity to express themselves and to develop thebest elements of culture in the fields of science, of artand of religion that Europe has yet known. No, Europeis not despondent in spite of all its trials. We are wellaware of the tasks that lie before us but we shall, webelieve, be a credit to the United Nations and to theworld.97. I must now turn to the problems of disarmamentand the control of atomic energy which have been raised.No country has in the past played a greater part inendeavouring to bring about world~wide agreement ondisarmament than my own. One of my predecessorsbetween the two wars, Mr. Arthur Henderson, strovevery hard to achieve this end at the last great Disarma­ment Conference in Geneva. But he could not get theconditions which would make it possible to bring aboutdisarmament. There were already factions growing upwhich, notwithstanding their talk of peace, really wantedwar. And what are the conditions needed for disarma­ment? It cannot be dealt with merely by a resolu.tion of

.the. United Nations, as proposed by the Soviet Unionrepresentative [A/1376].98. If we consider in the first instance atomic weapons,the point of dispute between us is extremely simple. AsI said at the third session of the United Nations GeneralAssembly in Paris 7 it is all a question of confidence.Thus if one country, when entering into an agreementof the kind proposed, closes all its doors and pullsdown all its blinds and will not even let you lookthrough, can you wonder that the rest of the nations,whose citizens' lives and liberty are at stake, say tothat country: t'We are quite ready to enter into anagreement, but will you please show us that your

6 See Official Records of the General Assembly, Second Se$~sion1 Plenary Meetings1 Vol. 11 82nd meeting,

7 See Official Records of the General Assembly, Third Ses~sion1 Part I, Plenary Meetittgs1 144th meeting.

90 General Assembly-Fifth Session-Plenary Meetings

country is also carrying it out? What is there to hide ifyou are abiding by the agreement and honouring it?No one wants to interfere with your sovereignty. But if1by every act1you give rise to suspicion1it is impossibleto get a firm basis for the establishment of the necessaryconfidence upon which disarmament must be built.'199. Then there is the USSR proposal for a one-thirdreduction in armaments. Well, really! And we are askedto accept that as a genuine proposition. The Sovietarmy today is larger than the armies of all Europe1andits armaments are greater than 3:11 of ours put together.This makes it look as though this talk of peace andsigning petitions and peace campaigns is really a kind ofpropaganda barrage to weaken the victim before launch­ing the attack.100. The Soviet Union Government must not be sur­prised if we are not taken in by it. Before there can bea change, there must be withdrawal of the fifth columnfrom the countries of free p~oples. There must be nointerference· in any form with other States in theirevolution. Let there be real sovereignty - for it issovereignty which the USSR c1a1ms it wants to main­tain. If that can be accepted, then we might reach astage where this problem of disarmament could be dis­cussed in an atmosphere of absolute confidence.

101.· The fact is, however, that during the last fiveyears in which we have been struggling to get out of themorass caused by war, we have been hampered at everystage by their fifth colunm, which is led by the Comin­form and instigated by Moscow to produce chaos,strikes and difficulties of all kinds, in order to preventthe common people from haVIng a decent standard oflife. It has been done on the basis of the philosophy thatif enough chaos is created it is possible to seize power.I say with all the solemnity at my command that this isa dangerous policy which has already been carried toofar for the liking of the free world. No amount ofsigning peace petitions, or anything of that character,can have any effect towards protecting peace.102. It is actions, not words, that are needed. Forexample, we have been struggling for years nowbto getagreement on a peace treaty for Austria. A year agowe appeared to be quite near to agreement. Now, for thewhole year, there has been complete deadlock, and itseems that we cannot have a treaty unless we are pre­pared to sacrifice the whole economic future of Austria.Why go on torturing a little country like that, and notgive it peace? If the Soviet Union representative wereprepared to act in accordance with his proclaimedwillingness to reach agreement, we could have a treatytomorrow.

103. Meanwhile, I repeat, no amount of calling uswarmongers or hurling names at us will divert us.We are determined to pursue peace and to maintainit. We are equally determined, if necessary, to fightto the bitter end for the liberty for which we struggledso hard and which we are resolved to defend.104. Since the foundation of the United Nations, myGovernment's policy has been based on respect for andloyalty to the principles of the Charter. We have playedour full part in the work of the General Assembly andthe Security Council, and we have co-operated closelywith the Economic and Social Council. We have doneout best to help to establish the principles of inter-

national law and have supported the reference of con­troversial legal questions to the International Courtof Justice. 011 more than one occasion we have shownour willingness to submit 'issues in which we were in­volved to the decision of the Court and to abide by theresult. We have also signed the optional clause. Thereis, indeed, no lack of facilitie,s for the settlement of anydisputes and difficulties that arise, if there is anxietyfor such settlement, and we for our part are fully deter­mined to make full use of everyone of these facilities.105. Considerable progress has been made during thepast year in the field of economic and social develop­ment. But the problems before us are still enormous.The nations which have made most progress in indus­trial development must be ready-as indeed they are­to assist those which, for a variety of reasons, are lessadvanced.106. In the areas for which my Government is respon­sible we have been working on two lines. One is \to pourin millions of money to help development. The secondis to adjust our institutions to bring about the gradualeducation and development of the people, so that ulti­mately they may be given freedom and self-government.107. I welcome the greater understanding of the partthe United Kingdom is playing in the development ofthese territories, as shown by the report of the Trustee­ship Council.8 It is very gratifying that most of therecommendations and resolutions of that Council havebeen adopted unanimously during its past two sessions.I have not time today to discuss these matters in detail,but in the work of the United Nations they must begiven high priority and must not be overlooked onaccount of the other problems with which we have beenoccupied so far.108. The work of the United Nations is such a vastsubject that ont is tempted to go on and on. One isbound to feel a thrill at having the privilege of beingassociated with such a tremendous institution as this.It will have its disappointments and setbacks. It willhave many difficulties to overcome. But I believe thatthis last year has seen the Organization turn the corner.As I said earlier in my speech, it must feel strongernow because it now knows that it lives in the hearts ofthe people. Before, we did not know whether it wasbacked by governments alone. Now we know that itis the whole people which is pinning its faith in it.But that increases our responsibility, for it puts uponus the duty of a wider and a higher statesmanship thanever. The people will not fail; and we must not fail them.109. General ROMULO (Philippines): I shall takeonly ten minutes of the Assembly's precious time.110. At the beginning of this crucial session, it isessential that we keep certain important facts in mind.111. The first is that the United Nations, for the firsttime in its history, has decided to use armed force toput down aggression. The application of military sanc­tions in Korea is in itself an act of the greatest signi­ficance. Even more significant, however, is the manifestdesire of a growing number of Member States to givethe practice regularity and permanence. The wish is notunreasonable, since it springs from a clear recognition

8 See Official Records of the General Assembly, Fifth Ses­sion, SuPPlement No. 4.

283rd Meeting-25 September 1950 91

of necessity, nor is it impracticable, since the frame­work already exists, and all that is required is to givelife to a hitherto dormant portion of the Charter.112. My Government welcomes the concrete proposalsto this end which the United States Government,through the Secretary of State, has placed before theAssembly. We are prepared to support these proposalson the general principle that the United Nations isgreater than any of its organs, and that the UnitedNations cannot permit the failure of any of its organsto destroy its own existence or threaten the peace ofthe world. The Organization's sovereign right of sur­vival becomes doubly paramount when it coincides withthe duty to safeguard humanity's right to live.113. Under the Charter, the greater Powers, actingin and through the Security Council, have primary re­sponsibility for the maintenance' of international peaceand security. The dead weight of the veto has hamperedthe effective discharge of this responsibility. The de­cision on Korea was an outstanding exception, madepossible only because there was none to cast the veto.We should not expect this fortunate accident to berepeated, nor leave to luck or chance the possibility ofour acting together to combat any future breaches ofthe peace or acts of aggression. The time has comewhen the other Member States must endeavour tokeep the door for such collective action open at alltimes through the instrumentality of a stronger GeneralAssembly.114. The Philippine Government, for its part, hasgiven concrete proof of its support of the principle ofcollective security by sending troops to help the UnitedNations forces in Korea. Those troops have actuallylanded in Korea and may now be in action. And, bythe way, the latest news reports are to the effect thatthe blue and white flag of the United Nations is nowflying in the heart of Seoul, the capital city of SouthKorea. By an act of the Philippine Congress, the troopssent to Korea were org:anized, equipped and dispatched,to use the language of the enactment, "for service in theenforcement of United Nations sanctions and policies",thereby making the Philippines one of the first MemberStates to make part of its armed forces available forduty with the internation~l police force envisaged bythe Charter. .115. Our duty is so to develop the residual powers ofthe General Assembly in matters involving internationalpeace and security that this accidental yet most hope­ful beginning towards collective security may be carried

· to a speedy and successful conclusion.116. The second fact which we should bear in mind isthat the accomplishment of this vitally important dutyneed not preclude the possibility of agreement by nego­tiation. I reject the careless thinking behind the un­happily popular notion that peace by negotiation is tan­tamount to appeasement. We are fightinQ' for the peaceand security of the world, and I cannot'agree that weshould let peace and peaceable intentions become themonopoly, even only apparently, of the States that con­tinually and most vociferously profess them.117. If these States have any proposals for peace, weshould examine them carefully. If the proposals aredishonest, we shall have enough sense, I am sure, tosee them for what they are and reject them as we have

rejected them in the past If, on the other hand, thereshould be even the slightest evidence of sincerity andgood faith in such proposals, then we must leave thedoor open, lest it be said that we betrayed peace throughblindness and the hardness of our hearts. This we canand must do without letting down our guard or allow­ing ourselves to fall into any wicked snares and decep­tions. The assurance of our own strength is excellentcapital to negotiate with while we can or to fight withwhen we must.118. There should be no question of accepting peaceon terms dictated by the other side or by any party, forthat matter. That would be surrender, not negotiation.We can and will negotiate only on the basis of theterms that were dictated and agreed upon in San Fran­cisco.119. The third fact is that, in the present state of theworld, moral power must be supplemented by adequatemilitary power to maintain a rule of law among nations.In the case of Korea, there was never any doubt as towhere the moral authority of the General Assembly layand still lies. Though that moral authority has nowbeen backed by military force and is, for the moment,overshadowed by it, we should ever remind ourselvesthat in the equation of force and principle, moral poweris and must remain paramount. We must rememberthat we are fighting in Korea not merely to compel re­spect for the authority of the Urdted Nations or torestore any particular political regime in Korea. Weare fighting in Korea for a way of life-the way oftruth, of freedom, and of human dignity-and we wantthe peoples of Asia, Africa and elsewhere to know thatthis is the road which we are preparing for them. Wemust, therefore, look beyond the military victory an.dformulate even now a programme that will ensure notonly the independence but the rehabilitation and uni­fication of the Korean people under a government oftheir own free choice. ,120. This leads us to the fourth fact, which is that thecase of Korea is in a sense only a symptom of deeper,more elemental problems affecting the stability andsecurity of all Asia. In many of its aspects, the Koreancrisis is the end-product of conditions that are well-nighuniversal throughout Asia. Those conditions have longbeen identified with colonial imperialism in the mindsof the Asian peoples, and the reminder that a new andmore hateful imperialism now threatens to overrun theregion will ;,mpress them but little unless we show themthat it is not the power to dominate and exploit themthat we seek to maintain but rather the opportunity tohelp them to improve their lot and achieve their free­dom. Military victory will give us this opportunity, butonly genuine understanding will enable us to exploitit. We must give proof of that sympathy and under­standing right now.121. Beyond the battle for Korea lies the far m~tecrucial battle for the faith of the Asian peoples. Thoughnot as spectacUlar, this latter battle must be waged withequal resolve and without delay. It is therefore highlyimportant that we should seek and continue all neces­sary measures to raise the standards of living and toadvance the political, economic and social well-being ofthe peoples of the under-developed countries and theNon-Self-G?v~rning Terri~ories. It is eq?ally importantthat the prmclple of seekmg counsel With the peoples

92 General Assembly-Fif1h Session-Plenary Meetings------------------------:--------------------of Asia on matters that concern them, which was pro­claimed by the recent Baguio conference of South-EastAsian countries, should be accepted as established policyand meticulously observed in practice.122. Asia is emerging as one of the principal provinggrounds of the United Nations. Korea has already putto the test the determination of the United Nations tomaintain the rule of law in international relations, bymeans of military sanctions if necessary. Greater stillis the challenge posed by Asia's poverty and the re­maining chains of Asia's bondage. The United Nationswill gain in strength and prestige to the extent thatit can help to achieve in Asia and in other under­privileged regions of the world the noble purposes pro­claimed in the Charter-Uto reaffirm faith . . . in theequal rights of men and women and of nations largeand small, and . . . to promote social progress and betterstandards of life in larger freedom". In the final reckon­ing, the United Nations will stand or fall by its successesor its failures in the places that are in direst need ofits assistance and protection.123. Mr. CASTRO (El Salvador) (translated fromSpanish): A year ago, in this same hall, I had thehonour, as repres~ntative of El Salvador, to congratu­late General CarIos R6mulo, representative of thePhilippine Republic, upon his election as President ofthe General Assembly of the United Nations. On that

.occasion I said, and I now repeat, that in choosing itsnew President from among its members the GeneralAssembly had carefully taken account, above all else,of his excellent personal qualities. General R6mulo,like our present President, Mr. Nasrollah Entezam,representative of Iran, was not chosen because of themilitary or economic power of the State he represents,but simply because in our debates in this somewhatheated atmosphere ot the General Assembly of theUnited Nations we had come to recognize in him, aswe recognize in our present President, the highestqualities of intelligence, experience and equanimity,together with the very essential quality of a high moralstature.124. Therefore, on behalf of my Government and ofthe delegation which it is my privilege to head, I wishto extend the most cordial congratulations to our col-.league, Mr. Nasrollah Entezam, upon his well meritedelection to the presidency of the most genuinely demo­cratic organ of the United Nations, the General Assem­bly, of which all of us are members. At the same time,I should like to congratulate the Assembly .itself onits wise choice of a new President to guide it in itslabours during this year of most serious problems andindescribable difficulties confronting all free States.125. In the months which have elapsed since the closeof the fourth session of the General Assembly, therehave been many events which have completely alteredthe atmosphere in which we should work. We hadbecome accustomed to heated controversies arising fromthe divergence of opinion between governments as tothe best way to conduct the affairs of the world so thatall humanity might maintain peace. We had also becomeaccustomed to the ideological clash between certaingovernments which believed that peace and freedomwere as indivisible as Siamese twins, which cannot liveapart, and certain other governments which held a verydifferent view and considered that peace was the out-

come of action by force, despite the fact that. suchaction entails the complete suppression of human idealsand freedoms.126. Those two very different ways of thinking andfeeling have naturally produced two opposing politicalsystems whose rivalry in the international field is plainlyinevitable. The resulting estrangement between two im­p01-tant gro~1,ps of nations has given rise to the so-calledcold war, a name chosen to distinguish it from thoseconflicts in which the roar of the cannon drowns thevoice of reason.127. The months which have elapsed since our lastsession have been sad, they have filled the peoples ofthe world with anguish and have created an atmosphereof pessimism in which it is very difficult to know whatto do to give the peoples what they want: they wantonly to live quietly in their own homes, profiting fromthe innumerable resources which nature offers to satisfymaterial needs and to enable man's creative spirit todevelop fully and to produce new levels of well-beingand progress.128. It is sad to have to recognize that the situationhas become much worse in such a short space of timeand that the United Nations, which was trying to bringopinions into harmony and to diminish friction, todayfinds itself engaged in armed conflict and for the firsttime is using the military force of its Member Statesto combat aggression and to restore international peacein a region where it has been violently overthrown.Our debates therefore cannot be pursued without takinginto account the serious considerations of the presentmoment, because we all recognize that the primarypurpose of the United Nations is the maintenance ofpeace.

129. When the aggression against the Republic ofKorea occurred'and while the invading forces from thenorth rapidly advanced thanks to their heavy militaryequipment, fifty-three free States gave their completeapproval to the resolutions of the Security Council con­demning that aggression and requesting all MemberStates to give military aid to the invaded nation. I wishto recall this incident because of its grave implications.

130. The United Nations number fifty-nine States andsome of them certainly ignored the appeal of the Se­curity Council; a more serious fact, however, was thatwithin the small group of dissident States, accusationsarose against our Organization on the one occasionwhen the Security Council had been able to act effec­threly in defence of peace.

131. In the Council itself, the representative of oneof the permanent members asked for the rescission ofthe resolutions passed and the withdrawal of the forcesfighting against aggression. It should be noted that itwas precisely the permanent members of the SecurityCouncil which, under the United Nations Charter, as­sumed a responsibility greater than that of the otherMembers of the Organization in the fundamental taskof maintaining peace and preserving world order. Itwas the insistence of some of the permanent membersthat created the problem of the veto in the SecurityCouncil voting, for it was the establishment in theUnited Nations Charter of the requirement of unani­mity among those five permanent members which wehave come to be called the great Powers, as an indis-

283rd Meeting-25 September 1950 93

].)ensable condition for the passage of any importantCouncil resolution, particularly resolutions requiringthe use of force to stop aggression, which produced thefactor that has paralysed the Council and, with thesingle exception of the case of Korea, prevented it fromfulfilling its task of maintaining peace and re-establish­ing it when it is broken.

132. When the United Nations Conference on Inter­national Organization met in San Francisco in 1945,the delegations of many of the materially less powerfulStates strongly opposed the requirement of unanimityon the part of the five great Powers in Security Councilvoting. Those delegations most rightly feared that thedesired unanimity would become a myth, as did infact happen. It is a distressing fact, but none the lesstrue, that the spirit of co-op'" ,:\tion upon which thatunanimity should be based has not since then been inevidence.133. We well remember how simple was the argumentused in favour of the veto. It was considered to be theessential condition imposed by the Soviet Union inreturn for its acceptance of membership in the systemof international co-operation envisaged in the Dumbar­ton Oaks proposals and previously at Yalta andTeheran. It became obvious that, if that requirementwere not accepted, the United Nations Charter wouldnot be adopted, because the representatives of variouspowerful States would not sign it if the USSR were notto be a party to it.

134. Again, we heard many fine stories about thespirit of co-operation among the great Powers duringthe Second World War; and that prompted the attrac­tive conclusion that with the coming of peace that spiritwould grow even stronger and the world would enjoycomplete security, thanks to the excellent understandingwhich could not fail to continue between the membersof the Security Council.

135. Although that illusion seemed almost childish tothe delegations of the small States, as the major warswhich have shaken the world have been the result ofrivalries between the powerful States, they did not wishto be held responsible for the failure of the San Fran­cisco Conference, for that failure would have preventedthe formation of the· United Nations Organization.Therefore most of them abstained from voting on thispoint, thus by their non-resistance making possible thebirth of the Organization, with all its inherent defects.

136. There is no doubt that at that time the smallStates had much more political foresight than the greatPowers, though I do not mention this in order tocongratulate myself, much less to blame anyone.

137. I merely wish to make some observations whichmay be of use in the future. It is not true to say that theonly reason for the requirement of unanimity among thegreat Powers in the voting procedure of the SecurityCouncil was the desire to obtain the co-operation of theSoviet Union at all costs and at any sacrifice. Therewas something which was never mentioned, not eveninformally, but which was present in the thoughts of allwho really studied the matter. The Soviet Union might,of course, have had special reasons for fearing thatother rival Powers, with their great influence in theworld, would succeed in dominating the young United

Nations Organization; but those other Powers also hadreasons of their own for defending the veto.

138. Those reasons were based on another fear, pos­sibly also shared by the USSR, namely, that if theproposed unanimity was dispensed with and if the votesof all members, p~rmanent or otherwise, had equalweight in the Security Council, as is the case in theGeneral Assembly, this might place the control of theUnited Nations, and hence of the fate of the world, inthe hands of the materially leP,?', powerful States whichform an overwhelming majority in our Organization.However, the development of events during the pastfive years, since the middle of 1945, has made itabundantly clear, whether it be in the case of Greece orChina or Korea, that the small nations always supportgood causes, because it is in defending the fundamentalprinciples of the United Nations, such as the equalityof rights of States, self-determination and non-interven­tion, that the materially less powerful States mosteffectively safeguard their own political stability. .

139. Of the fifty-three nations that have announcedtheir support of the Security Council resolutions con­demning aggression against the Republic of Korea, themajority are small, peace-loving States, ready to fulfiltheir international obligations, as Members of the UnitedNations. It is greatly to be hoped that this lesson willprove a fruitful one for the powerful States, particularlythe five permanent members of the Security Council, sothat when the Charter is revised, as it one day must be,the harmful privilege of the veto will be withdrawn anddemocratic principles will be fonowed in determiningthe rights of States Members and the structure of allUnited Nations organs.

140. Let us now return to the problem of Korea. It isdistressing to have to note that all the world's concernwith this problem turns upon the attitude of the USSRGovernment, which, in contrast to so many others thathave supported the Security Council resolutions, per­sistently condemns them as illegal and even supportsthe aggression by demanding the withdrawal fromKorea of the United Nations forces which are assistingthe invaded Republic.

141. We are accustomed by now to the lack of co­operation shown in previous cases and even to theSoviet Union's boycott of important recommendationsof the General Assembly, such as those which estab­lished the United Nations Special Committee on theBalkans, intended tf) help Greece against foreign inter­vention, or the United Nations Commission on Koreaestablished to help restore the country's unity andorganize it as a free State. But at that time we had notforeseen, and did not wish to predict, that the SovietUnion itself would come to the aid of the aggressor andwould make other efforts to nullify the effects of theenforcement measures which the United Nations hasbeen compelled to undertake to re-establish peace. Wecannot but openly condemn this attitude on the part ofthe USSR, because it endangers the very existence ofour international Organization. .

142..An ov:erwhelmin~ majority. of th~ delegationshere IS convmced that If the SOVIet Umon refrainedeye? n?w, after all that has already happened, fron~gIvmg ItS moral support to the aggressor forces and forthis purpose announced its approval of the 'Security

94 General Assembly-Fifth Se~sion-Ple:n~...y Meetings

Council resolutions, the present conflict in Korea wouldcome to an end and in a very short time.143. The 'Gnited Nations has two aspects. In the firstplace, it has the primary function of maintaining andre-establishing peace; secondly, it has the function,which is also very important, of organizing internationalco-operation for the advancement of the highest in­terests of humanity, such as the fundamental humanrights with which God has endowed man, and theimprovement of the standard of living of the peoples.

144. In this speech I shall deal only with the firstaspect, that is, with the United Nations in its primaryfunction of maintaining peace. In that respect, the UnitedNations is a defensive alliance against aggression andagainst any threat to international peace, with the veryspecial characteristic that the'protection offered by thatalliance is also extended to non-member States becauseour Organization, since its very foundation, hasalways sought to become universal in character. Thatexplains why protection is now offered to the Republicof Korea, which is not a Member of the United Nations.

145. We must recognize that the Security Councilacted in the case of Korea with relative effectiveness

I although there were notable deficiencies.146.· It is unpleasant, however, to have to note thatthe temporary absence of the representative of theSoviet Union from the Security Council was the solereason which enabled the Council to adopt its resolu­tions of 25 and 27 June 1950 condemning the aggressioncommitted against the Republic of Korea and callingupon States lVlembers of the United Nations to offermilitary assistance to the invaded nation.147. The return of the USSR representative to theSecurity Council made further resolutions impossible,although it could not cancel the effect of the resolutionsalready adopted, which promise the re-establishment ofpeace in the near future. If the Soviet Union wouldchange its policy and co-operate as a true Member ofthe United Nations, the conflict would end immediately.Nothing would be more conciliatory than such a changein policy, which would be welcomed by the majority ofthe delegations here ptesent as a promise of peace andtranquillity for the entire world. If this invitation, whichis in the minds of all of us, is not favourably receivedby the one nation which can carry it into effect, it isobvious that the only alternative remaining to the worldin order to protect its own security is to expandexisting regional systems and even increase the numberof such systems in order to establish an effective curbagainst all future aggression.148. Such regional systems, and the right to organizecollective defence, are recognized in Articles 51, 52,53 and 54 of the Charter. At the present juncture,when the Security Council is paralysed by the veto andtherefore unable to fulfil its essential function ofpreserving peace, the North Atlantic Treaty and theInter-American Treaty of Reciprocal Assistance of Riode Janeiro are the only hope of mankind for restrainingany imperialist tendency, from whatever quarter itmay come.

149. All of us know that much must still be done tomake those pacts completely adequatev so that they caneffectively ensure the collective defence of the States

which they include; but that development is bound tooccur and even to be intensified under the pressureof circumstances.150. All these considerations are based upon objectivefacts and not on conjectures. The world, or ratherhumanity, which is being bled white by wars, insists thatthe General Assembly of the United Nations, in whicha majority of free States is represented, should doeverything within its power to make possible the adop~

tion of all such measttres as are compatible with thespirit of our Organization and are uimed at remedyingthe effects of the chronic paralysis from which theSecurity Council suffers.151. The delegation of the United States has madevery important proposals in that direction. Those pro~

posals, as well as any others made by other delegationsseeking the same objective, will receive the most8ympathetic consideration on the part of the delegationof El Salvador.152. The principal agenda items of the General As~sembly have already been considered at previous meet~

ings of this important organ of the United Nations.The delegation of El Salvador has made its attitudequite clear in regard to those items; hence all I have tosay is that that attitude is the same as it was in previousye?!s. and that we shall continue to support the sameprmclples.153. I now conclude the statement whic.h I deemed itnecessary t9 make on behalf of the deltegation of ElSalvador. Its only object was to contribute as far aspossible to the debate and to help to guide us towardsthe practical solutions which are required at the presentmoment. I thank the repres'entatives for their kindattention in listening to me and I offer them the mostsincere co-operation of my delegation in attempting toobtain positive fruits of international understanding asa result of our present session.

154. The PRESIDENT (translated from French):Before calling upon the next speaker, I should like torecall that the time limit set for closing the list ofspeakers expires at 6 p.m. today.

155. Sir Mohammad ZAFRULLA KHAN (Pakis­tan) : May I be permitted to congratulate the GeneralAssembly on its choice of a President for the fifth ses­sion. It is a matter of gratification to my delegation thatthe deliberations of this crucial session will be controlledand guided by so distinguished a representative of acountry with which we have long-standing and intimateties of culture, faith and friendship. You are aware,Mr. President, in what high esteem and affection I havealways held you, and I repeat the prayer that I utteredto you when the choice of the Assembly became known:that God, of His grace, continue to bless you with thestrength needed for the discharge of your high respon­sibilities ~nd rightly guide your judgment at every step.

156. We are met at a time of crisis. Grave eventswait upon our words, upon our deeds. What we sayand what we do here may turn out to have been pregnantwith destiny.

157. Humanity h3s during oUr generation been astirwith strange yearnings: mankind has felt itself upliftedthrough glimpses of heavenly visions; it has seen itshopes d~shed in nightmares of despair. Which shall be

283rd Meeting-25 September 1950 95

ushered in, become a reality and prevail-the visionsor the nightmares ? We· and those whom we representare the instruments through which the consummationwill be achieved or the ruin compassed. We carry heavyresponsibilities; we have been called upon to pronounceon momentous issues. It is true that the decisions hererest mainly with the big Powers, but not altogether.On occasion a solitary voice charged with truth andsincerity may serve to avert a calamity. Passion orprejudice may, on the other hand, push us, and withus all those whose hopes are fixed on us, over the brinkof disaster.158. It behooves us, therefore-everyone of us-tothink, if not along lines of loftiness and serenity, atleast along those of sanity; and to tread, if not pathsof wisdom, at least those of circumspection. If we can­not at once soar to the sunlit heights, let us at leastsafeguard ourselves against being hurled into the darkabysses.159. Mankind is on the march ;-it may be guided butit will not be stayed. Are we competent to furnish theguidance? A new order is struggling to be born. Canwe provide the skill that is needed to ensure its safeand healthy birth? A new heav~n and a new earth havebeen decreed. Are we ready to assume the responsibili­ties of becoming their architects and builders? If theanswers are in the affirmative, then let us cast out allfear and step out boldly and with courage along thepaths of high endeavour and beneficial achievement,ready and willing cheerfully and joyously to renderin the fullest measure all that may be required fromeach of us to make man's existence upon earth pro­gressively fuller, healthier and happier than in each pre­ceding stage. Surely that is the task that confronts us,and that in plain language is the object that we havebeen organized together to achieve. All the rest is butthe means to this end; even the preservation and main­tenance of international peace is but a means towardsthis end.

160. The first realization that is needed-and it willbear reiteration-is that mankind· is one. Everythingthat calls that fundamental in. question or is in conflictwith it is based on falsehood and must be speedily setright and brought into accord with it. This applies toall spheres, spiritual, moral, social, economic, political.So long as any such conflict remains unresolved, allbeneficent effort will be obstructed and end in frustra­tion.161. With regard to our economic conflicts, the basicreality here is that we must eliminate want, exposureand sickness. A man who is hungry, ill-clad, exposedor disease-ridden will not long cherish ambition OJ; sus­tain hope and will soon become desperate. He will fallan easy prey to disorders and diseases of the mind,intellect and spirit that destruy more widely and effec­tively than hunger and disease of the body.

162. I shall not here enter upon a comparison of com­peting economic "isms" and ideologies. For my presentpurpose it is needless to institute any such comparison.The result is well expressed in the homely aphorism,~'the proof of the pudding is in the eating". Call a sys­tem what you will, give it any name you please, man­kind is bound ultimately to adopt that which fulfils itsneeds and is beneficent in its operation. Let us, there-

fore, make all speed towards fulfilling those needs asbeneficently as we may be capable of, lest ambitionflicker out, hope die and man in his desperation s(~ekrelease from suffering in ruin and annihilation.163. In this connexion we must not forget that eachof us, individuals as well as nations, is a trustee in re­spect of every gift that has been bestowed upon us,whether that gift be of the spirit, of the intellect, ofphysical prowess, material resources or other talents,treasures and possessions. The only beneficent exploita­tion of these gifts is to spend them in and devote themto the service of mankind.164. I am not, of course, forgetful of all that thisgreat Organization has undertaken and is projecting tothat end; nor am I unmindful of the generous effort:;and offers made by this great country in various spheresand regions. I fully appreciate all this and gratefullyacknowledge it. I endorse every word said in that con­nexion by Secretary of State Acheson in his speech ;here the other day. But what I desire to stress is thatthe economic crisis is as clamant and urgent as thepolitical crisis; indeed the former lies at the root of thelatter. What is needed and can alone prove adequate isaction on a generous-I might almost say-on an ex­travagant, a prodigal, scale. Nothing short of this willavail.' If properly applied, assistance of this kind willprove a blessing both to him who gives and to himwho receives. Everyone of us can in some respect orthe other be both a giver and a receiver. The greaternumber of our projects have, however, not yet pro­ceeded beyond the stage of programmes and planning.These are, of course, essential, but the pace must bespeeded up lest the patient expire while the diagnosisis in progress and the remedy is still undetermined.165. In the political sphere there are many dangerspots, each threatening the maintenance of internationalpeace, but the gravest of these threats proceeds at themoment from Korea. The elements of the Korean con­flict appear to us to be clear and to admit of no contro­versy. Resolutions 112(II), 195(III) and 293(IV) ofthe General Assembly dealing with Korea were directedtowards the establishment of a united, sovereign, in­dependent Korea. The Assembly set up a Commissionfor the achievement of that purpose. It was NorthKorea that withstood and obstructed every effort inthat direction. The Commission was thus compelled toconfine its activities to South Korea. A sovereign gov­ernment baeed on the freely expressed wishes of th('people was there set up which was recognized as suchby the United Nations, The Commission had certifiedthe withdrawal of occupation forces. A second electionhad been held and the government formed thereafterwas busy putting its economic and political affairs inorder when North Korea embarked upon its campaignof aggression against South Korea. What has sincetranspired is clear proof of the fact that this campaignmust have been preceded by long and careful prepara.,tion and was not the outcome of a chance or casual col­lision or conflict.

166. In these circumstances the duty of the SecurityCouncil was clear, and for the first time in its historythe Council gave an immediate and a bold reply to thechallenge, so grave and impudent, to the authority,nay, to the very existence of the United Nations. The'Assembly will recall that the Government of Pakistan

96 General Assembly-Fifth Session-Plenal'y Meetings

was among the very first to announce its support of theSec1trity Council action, through the mouth of the PrimeMinister of Pakistan, who was then recovering froma serious operation in a hospital in Bostml.167. The atttitude of the Security Council vis-a-visthe Korean conflict has been contrasted with its dilatoryand ineffective handling of other situations of a moreor less similar character. We too have noted that con­trast. But the fact that Security Council action in otherca~es has not been so speedy, so vigorous or so forcefulmakes 11S not less but more appreciative of the assump­tion by the Security Council of its proper role in thecase of Korea, and strengthens the hope that this wel­come recognition and acceptance of its responsibilitiesby the Council will prove an earnest of its resolve todischarge its responsibilities more vigorously and effec­tively in respect of other problems on its agenda also.168. I have referred to other danger spots. Some ofthem are prominently present to our minds. Kashmir isan instance. Sir Owen Dixon, United Nations repre­sentative, has just submitted his reportO to the SecurityCouncil. Unfortunately, it records the failure' of hismission. I have no douht; however, that the SecurityCouncil will take up the question at an early date andpurS11e its consideration with speed and vigour so asto d.etermine and prescribe t~e method by which theparties can be brought and, If necessary, constrainedto carry out what they have agreed to do, namely, toaccept and bring about the conditions which will ensurethe holding of a free and impartial plebiscite to enablethe people of Kashmir to determine whether the Stateshall accede to Pakistan or to India.169. But there are other danger spots, though mostof th~m are. no~ yet in er~ption. The. fatality is thateffectlve ,actIon IS delayed tIll an eruptIon takes place.I have 111 mind all Non-Self-Governing Territories.What is called for is active effort and sustained actionboth on the part of the Organization and what are calledcolonial Powers to push forward the setting up of allthese peoples and territories as independent sovereignStates. No doubt the preparatory period will differ ineach case, but what is needed is decision and determina­tion on the part of the governing authority voluntarilyto speed up the process of equipment and preparationand, .w~ere necessary, eyen of persuasion, promptinga!ld 111cltement towards mdependence. The subordina­tIon of 0!le people to anothe~ is an illness afflicting boththe dommant and the servient peoples of which bothmust cur~ themselves as .sp~edi~y as possible. It is alsoa t~mptatIon, aln:os! an mVltatIon, towards aggression,which must be ebmmated as fast as conditions make itpossible.170. Colonialism has already been one of the majorfactors leading 10 the two world wars. It is now impera­tive that the peopte of these territories should becomeconvinced that in each case the colonial Power con­cerned is keen, eager and anxious to speed them ontowards complete independence. This conviction alonecan create that sense of confidence which would guar­ante~ the peace and security of these territories.

,171: The f~ustration that. t~e Secu~ity Council and theUmted NatIOns have experIenced m the handling bythe Council of the Korean and other problems has

9 See document S/1791.

induced Secreta"y of State Acheson to sponsor a set ofpropos~ls de.signed to strengthen.the General Assemblym deahng With problems of security. The Assembly willrecall that this is not the first step that has beenproposed in that direction. The Interim Committee wasalso set up w;th the same object. We are constrainedto observe that that experiment has failed to justifyitself. These proposals, however, are of a much morefar-reaching character. It is obvious if the United Na­!ions is to achieve the objects and purposes for whichIt has been set up, it must be enabled to functioneffectiyely. In far too many instances has its actionbeen Impeded, obstructed or rendered ineffective byrecourse to procedural devices and tactics. Anythingthat is designed to enable the Organization to functionmore speedily and effectively deserves and will receiveour earnest and sympathdic consideration.172. I shall now proceed to comment on two or threespecific matters by way of illustration to show wherein our view, the United Nations action or approacl~has not been calculated to promote understanding andstimulate co-operation.173. The first of these, namely, the queJtion of China'srep:esenta;tion, ~as already been the subject of debatedUfl1'!g thiS sessIOn. That debate caused us deep dis­app0111tment, not because we f~und ourselves in themino~ity, for that is a situation in which each of usmay 111 turn find himself - and indeed, a minority mayas often be in the wrong as it may be in the right ­but because in the course of the debate we could discernlittle inclinatio.n to face the question at issue, and evenless to reason It out. There was noticeable much oratoryand great vehemence but in most cases the height of theoratory and the degree of the vehemence served merelyto emphasize the absence of relevance. There wasthroughout a stlstained appeal to sentiment, but this ise:ca;ctly the type of question that needs to be dispas­~lOnateJ_y .~amined a~d impartially determined. TheIssues afls111g out of It must not be permitted to beobscured by sentiment.

174: First, let me att~m~t to clear the ground bystat111g that the determ111atlOn of the question has noreference to personalities, and even ideologies. Werethat not so,. the ql1~stion would present little difficultyfrom our P0111t of view. Our own contacts and relationshave, until lately, been all with the Kuomintang. I hadthe honour of being selected, in the middle of the waras India's first diplomatic representative to China. I~that capacity. I was the recipient of many graciouskindnesses from Generalissimo and Madame ChiangKai-shek, Mayor K. C. Wu, now Governor of Formosaand many other dignitaries of the Nationalist Govern~ment. I have known Mr. T. F. Tsiang all these yearsand have always held him in the highest esteem onaccou~t ?f hi~ sterl~ng qualities a?d lofty character.The dlgmty With which he has cont111ued to sustain hisvery difficult role during these last few months compelsmy admiration. But these are not considerations on thebasis of which the issue with which we are faced hasto be resolved.

175. Equally irrelevant are considerations bearingupon the character and composition of the Peking-Government. Much stress has been sought to be laid onwhether that government is peace-loving or not andwhether it is able and willing to discharge the obliga-

283rd Meeting-25 September 1950 97

. tions contained in the C~arter. This is the language ofArticle 4 of the Charter itself, but those who havesought to base themselves upon it appear to forget thatArticle 4 relates to the admission of new Meni.bers andnot to the validity of representation, with which alone .we are here concerned. China is not applying for ad­mission to the United Nations. It is a Member State,a permanent member of the Security Council, one ofthe Big Five.176. I do venture to submit that whether it is peace­loving or not peace-loving, whether it is willing or notwilling to discharge the obligations contained in theCharter, it is entitled as of right to be represented inth~ United Nations like every other Member State,until it is - a contingency that might apply to everyother State also - expelled in accordance with theprovisions of the Charter.177. The sole question is: who is entitled to representChina, a Member State, in the Assembly? What are theundisputed, incontrovertible facts bearing upon thatquestion? The government from which the delegationpresent here purports to draw its authority has formonths ceased to exercise jurisdiction over any portionof the Chinese mainland. The struggle for supremacyin China between the two contending Chinese govern­ments has come to an end. The status of the island ofFormosa, where the Nationalist Government is nowbased, is itself the subject matter of determination, aswitness the question placed upon the agenda at theinstance of the United States delegation. In thesecircumstances, can it be pretended that it is the Na­tionalist Government that effectively represents China,in other words, the Chinese people? Or can it be deniedthat the Peking Government does in fact representthem?178. I have said that ability and willingness to dis­charge the obligations contained in the Charter are not afactor relevant to the issue before us. But, assuming fora moment that it were, where would it lead us? It hasbeen argued that there is an apprehension that thePeking Government would not be willing to dischargethose obligations. Even if that were to be conceded ­and it is no more than an assumption - can it bedenied that that government is certainly able to dis­charge those obligations were it so willing, and that itswillingness is a matter of its own choice, which it isfree at any time to make? As against this, howeverwilling the Nationalist Government may be, it must beadmitted that it has lost the ability to assume or dis­charge those obligations on behalf of and in respect ofthe people of China and that this lack of ability cannotbe remedied at its own choice.179. The truth of the matter is that the GeneralAssembly is unwilling to concede the existence of afact, not because the fact has not been established butbecause the majority regard it as unpleasant. It is easyto conceive what the verdict would have been had theposition been reversed, and it is this reflection that is sodisquieting. Instances have not been wanting in the past-and 1 need not further particularize the matter­where a State declared, while its application for ad­mission was pending, that not only was it not willingbut that it was determined not to carry out the obliga­tions incumbent upon it under the Charter - the obliga­tions which were the very foundations of that State

being brought into being - and in the face of such adeclaration, that State was admitted to membership.180. This question of the representation of China isimportant in itselt, but it is even more important asindicating the chances that the gulf that at presentdivides some of the great Powers and prevents under­standing between them may be bridged at an early date.The consequences of this gulf widening or remainingunbridged would be vast and incalculable and are ter­rifying to contemplate. There may yet be time, througha sober and realistic approach towards this and othercognate problems, to avert the deadlock which threatensto overtake the functioning of the United NationsOrganization. We humbly and earnestly plead for suchan approach.181. The second instance that I have in mind is thedeadlock that already exists and has for some time nowexisted over the admission of new Members. This isanother problem in respect of which a fresh effortshould be made so that a way may be found of movingforward. Is there not a single applicant from amongthose who have hitherto been blocked, or, perhaps, atleast one from each side, which may be regarded asfulfilling the conditions laid down in Article 4, andwhose admission may be recommended by the SecurityCouncil as a token of the fact that the permanentmembers of the Security Council are now prepared tomove forward in respect of this question on some reason­able basis?182. The third instance I have in mind is the treat­ment to which Spain has, from the very inception t.J£this Organization, been subjected. Four years ago theAssembly adopted resolution 39(1) barring Spain frommembership of the Organization and from participationin its activities, and calling upon Member States towithdraw diplomatic representation from Spain. Fromalmost the moment that Pakistan became a Member ofthe Organization, it raised a voice of protest against thatresolution. To say the least, that resolution ignoredrealities. At its worst, it was capable of causing gravemischief. In any case it is incomprehensible what theooject of that resolution was. Was it penal - to inflictsome penalty upon Spain for having accepted its presentregime? Or was it reformatory - passed in the hopethat the moment the people of Spain learned of theresolution they would rise in revolt against that regimeand set it aside? At the most it could but have beenpassed in some such hl)pe, but no consequences of thatkind have flowed from it. The General Assembly passedthe resolution and the walls of Madrid did not fall.183. Where do we stand today? The object of thisOrganization is to achieve, at as early a date as possible,universality in respect of its membership, and almostone of the first things that it does after it has been setup is to bar a particular great country from membershipfor reasons which, whether they were good, bad orindifferent, had all emerged before the Organizationitself came into being.184. Here are two outstanding matters which must betaken into consideration. However objectionable fromthe point of view of some Member States its characterand composition may have been, that regime remainedneutral during the war, when it was well known andfully realized that if it intervened at all it would inter­vene on the wrong side. That position could not have

98 General Aeeembly-Fifth Session-Plenal'y Meetings

been maintained without a great deal of courage and agreat deal of difficulty. Surely it required some apprecia~

tion on the part at le~~st of those who were anxious tomaintain and safeguard international peace?185. Since its establishment, that regime has beenguilty of no aggression against anyone. Surely, again,that is a record which might gain some appreciationfrom an Organization charged with the dttty of main­taining peace and pledged to the maintenance of peace?In the meantime, what has been the fate of the resoltt­tion itself? Numerous breaches and contraventions havedriven holes through the resolution, which must, ulti­mately, tend only to weaken the authority of thisOrganization.186. When action is taken in haste and in the grip ofemotion or sentiment, results of that kind are bound tofollow. We would again plead that all these and similarquestions be approached from a sober and realisticpoint of view. When a mistake has been made, weshould be ready and-when we realize it-anxious toundo such a mistake.187. I have used these as illustrations. In all theseinstances, the Government of Pakistan has acted not inaccordance with its likes and dislikes, accepting andsupporting the pleasant and agreeable and rejecting andopposing the unpleasant and disagreeable, but in ac-

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cordance with what we conceive to be the spirit of theCharter and inspired by the single..minded desire topromote international understanding and co-operation.I am here once again to reaffirm that Pakistan willcontinue pledged to that course.188. The PRESIDENT (translated from French):Before we adjourn, I should like to inform the Assem­bly that we shall begin tomorrow morning's proceed­ings with the consideration of the report of the GeneralCommittee [A/1386]. I venture to mention this sothat you may have time to study that document beforetaking any decision concerning it.189. I shall ask Mr. Cordier to read the list of thespeakers who are still to take the floor before theconclusion of the general debate.

190. Mr. CORDIER (Executive Assistant to theSecretary-General): The list is as follows: Sweden,Czechoslovakia, Colombia, Ecuador, Canada, France,Israel, Poland, Venezuela, Liberia, Uruguay, India,Norway, Panama, Syria, Argentina, Egypt, the Byelo­russian Soviet Socialist Republic, Lebanon, the Ukrain­ian Soviet Socialist Republic and Ethiopia. TheSecretary-General will also address the GeneralAssembly.

The meeting rose at 6.10 p.m.

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A-40464-0ctober 1950-3.600