YouSaid · the spoken record

CASEY

lines on the record: 388
first: 1951-09-24
most recent: 1959-09-24
sittings or episodes: 9
sources: un-general-debate

Every line below is reproduced as it was said and linked to the record it came from. Nothing here is summarised or generated. Directory · Search · Corrections

“Australia heartily welcomes the establishment of the International Atomic Energy Agency and will contribute as actively as possible to its success. 46. Australia supports an expansion of the Security Council by two non-permanent seats, and will deal with proposals for the expansion of other United Nations organs on their merits. 47. Australia has pledged itself to develop the people of New Guinea to the stage of running their own affairs, and we shall carry out our tasks with vigour and in good faith. Meanwhile, we are strongly opposed to any doctrinaire application of the concept of “attainment targets”, as they have been called, for various stages of development — particularly when this concept is applied to stages in political development.”
1956-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 11 (1956)
“The Australian delegation will make every effort to contribute constructively to this Assembly’s work. 43. There are, however, a few things which I should like to mention very briefly — almost in telegraphic form — in order to save the time of the Assembly. Australia welcomes the great advance made towards universality of membership of the United Nations. We look forward confidently to the admission of Japan to the United Nations during the present session of the Assembly. 44. Australia takes most seriously its present responsibilities as a member of the Security Council and the Disarmament Commission. Australia pledges its best efforts to assist in finding a safe way to control modern weapons, with their fearful destructive power. 45.”
1956-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 11 (1956)
“What remains of sea-borne colonialism today is subject to the benevolent and ever-vigilant eye of the United Nations — whereas the vast area of land- borne colonialism of the Soviet Union and the tens of millions of human beings who are subject to it are totally and wholly removed from the protection of the United Nations and indeed made a mockery and a sham of our benevolent efforts. One need only mention, of course, the name of Hungary in this regard. 42. I have devoted some little time to matters that I like to believe are of some importance. We shall explain our point of view on the large agenda of items before this session as the work of the Assembly develops. I would not wish it to be thought that, because I have not dealt with a particular subject this evening, Australia does not attach importance to it.”
1956-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 11 (1956)
“Perhaps it is worth remembering, however, that throughout history colonial expansion overland has been just as frequent and more permanent than sea-borne colonialism, and that overland colonialism has vastly increased in the last generation at precisely the time that colonialism from overseas has vastly decreased. 41. I have enough imagination, I think, to understand an emotional feeling which associates colonialism exclusively with rule from overseas, but this does not provide a rational basis for consideration of this general subject of colonialism.”
1956-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 11 (1956)
“Another point occurs to me in this regard, and that is the peculiar fact that the concept of colonialism is usually only applied to rule from overseas and not to cases where two territories have a common land frontier. This narrow concept of colonialism as being something that comes only from overseas would, of course, rule out Russian and Chinese colonialism. I believe one has only to point out this anomaly for it. to be appreciated. 40. This difference in man’s attitude of mind to what may be called “overseas” and “overland” colonialism no doubt springs from the fact that in the past almost all the ex-colonial countries in the United Nations have experienced foreign rule from overseas.”
1956-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 11 (1956)
“I have a fear, however, that resentment against alleged exploitation by colonial Powers in the past is still colouring the minds of even young people with but little personal memory of colonial days. I would appeal to our friends in Asia and in other under-developed areas to accept our friendship in the spirit in which we offer it. I would ask our friends if they are helping the cause of peace and stability by maintaining resentment and adopting a posture of suspicion. We all want the good life; we all want to survive and build up what is good in our own countries. Yet none of us can ensure this by the strength of our own right arm alone. Let us expand the area of friendship and mutual confidence, and not diminish it. 39.”
1956-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 11 (1956)
“I certainly do not attempt to defend all that was done by colonial rulers in other parts of the world in the past. Whatever may have been, on net balance, of advantage or disadvantage, of good or of bad within countries under colonial rule in the past, it is understandable that the memories of foreign rule should not be expected to disappear quickly. In particular, the failure to achieve good human relations in former days has now to be paid for. We are all suffering from the whip-back of past resentments. 37. For our part we in Australia sincerely offer our friendship to all peoples on a basis of complete and frank equality. We are determined to continue to work with our friends, in Asia and elsewhere, for the strengthening of mutual security, and for the improvement of understanding and of social and economic conditions. 38.”
1956-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 11 (1956)
“The one great Power which since the last war has denied freedom of political choice to a great many millions of people is permitted to pose here, in this Organization, as the champion and protector of those who, during those same years, have been honestly given national independence, real sovereignty, genuine political freedom and generous economic assistance. The attitude and actions of Soviet Russia are the very antithesis of all that the United Nations stands for. 36. As we look out upon the world, we in Australia are impressed by the fact that there are still great mental barriers between the peoples which were until recently under colonial administration and the countries that previously ruled them. This is understandable.”
1956-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 11 (1956)
“It is surely bitter and bloody irony and hypocrisy to find Soviet leaders writing this very month to the Prime Minister of India to reaffirm the “five principles of peaceful coexistence” while at the same time they were ordering Soviet forces to wipe out bloodily the political freedom of the Hungarian people. 35. A situation now exists in this Organization which must be regarded, in the perspective of history, as one of the most incredible examples of international delusion of all times.”
1956-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 11 (1956)
“The Charter provisions should have ended all new claims to colonial territories by other sovereign Powers. 34. The past year has brought many changes in the over-all international situation. A year ago, at the General Assembly, I ventured to speak about peaceful coexistence and the conditions under which it might be possible. Since then such evidence as has been forthcoming from Communist sources leads one to believe that peaceful coexistence will come about and continue only so long as it is regarded as in Communist interests! for it to do so. In other words, peaceful coexistence, even in such limited areas as it may be found to operate, is a temporary tactic — which does not engender any confidence in the hearts of democratic countries.”
1956-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 11 (1956)
“There is also the important point that peoples which are for the time being dependent should be protected from becoming pawns in international conflicts for control over the colonial territories themselves. The Assembly should encourage the emergence of all lands and peoples to or towards self-government or independence and thus bring colonial rule — even in its modern and enlightened form — in due course to an end. But it would be disastrous to our purposes if, in the name of ending colonialism, we encouraged the development of new colonial aspirations and withdrew from the dependent peoples the Charter safeguards assuring them a free life in the years to come. In short, the Charter was designed to bring colonialism to an end by fair and orderly means and bearing the interests of the dependent peoples in mind.”
1956-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 11 (1956)
“This is particularly the case when territorial claims are made, no matter how specious the guise under which these claims are presented — the most popular here being the magic words “self-determination” and “anti-colonialism”. But take off the wraps, take off the disguises, and you will often find a barefaced national interest. It is surprising that in cases where anti-colonialism is invoked to justify claims, too little account is taken in most cases of the provisions of the Charter which safeguard the interests of the indigenous inhabitants. 33. The provisions of the Charter on colonial matters were drawn up primarily to safeguard the interests of dependent peoples against abuse by the sovereign Power concerned.”
1956-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 11 (1956)
“We are all in favour of having full, free and frank discussion of problems which are legitimately brought before the United Nations, but the trouble is that, in the circumstances of the General Assembly, one does not get full, free and frank discussion. As I see it there are three pre-conditions for any chance of success of a conference to solve international problems. First, there must be understanding of the problem; second, there must be good faith; and, third, there must not be irreconcilable national interests. 32. Very often in the General Assembly there are national interests which are completely irreconcilable.”
1956-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 11 (1956)
“What I say is particularly relevant, of course, to the new type of item which seems to be becoming more popular in the General Assembly — problems, one might call them, of acquisitiveness in which one Member State says in effect to the Assembly, “I want a piece of territory which at present is attached to another Member State, I want to ask the Assembly’s moral support in furthering my claim.” 31. The present philosophy in the Genera! Assembly is based on the assumption that if enough people get round a table and talk about a particular problem — even though they may know little about it and are almost wholly unaffected by it — a solution will be forthcoming.”
1956-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 11 (1956)
“I believe it would be a very good thing if there were more decentralization and specialization in the work of the General Assembly, particularly in the political field. To do this effectively would probably involve the elaboration of new techniques, such as, for example, the establishment of sub-committees comprising specially interested Member States to report to main committees on particular problems. 29. I think there is a great deal to be said for having those primarily acquainted with a problem and primarily concerned with its solution sitting down together to discuss it; at least in such circumstances one might have a chance of a solution which dealt with the real facts of a situation as they impinged upon the countries principally interested. 30.”
1956-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 11 (1956)
“More than ever before it is the result of our debates which counts, not the debate itself. The experience of the past leads me to say that I hope we shall be able to curtail the tendencies which have grown in recent years for the Assembly to interfere more and more in what might be called in plain terms, other people’s business. 27. For my part, I do not come to the Assembly to inject Australia into what may reasonably be held to be essentially domestic and regional interests of countries sometimes half the world away from us. I think we would get on with our work far better if countries concerned themselves less here with matters of which they have no first-hand knowledge and in which, frequently, they have no direct and immediate interest. 28.”
1956-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 11 (1956)
“This is of urgent and crucial importance to 90 per cent of the countries represented here, including of course my own country Australia. 25. I would like to turn now, if I may, to other matters connected with this present Assembly. First of all it is good to see so many Prime Ministers and Foreign Ministers leading their respective delegations this year. The value of close personal relations is undoubted between responsible persons in various countries, many of whom are dangerously ignorant of each other and of each other’s countries. By no means the least part of the value of the United Nations Assembly is the opportunity for us all to meet and to mix and to discuss privately. Personal contact is a considerable solvent. 26. On still another question.”
1956-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 11 (1956)
“From a practical point of view, I would believe that we are unlikely to reach any practicable, workable solution of Egyptian-Israel relations in other than a small body. Indeed I would not be without hope that the two parties principal might be brought into direct contact, with the aid of a small committee of this Assembly in association with the Secretary-General. 24. Now on another subject. A most important matter in the Middle East situation is the future relationship between the United Kingdom and the United States. This relationship is not something that concerns these two countries alone. It is of world-wide importance that there should be the most confident and unshakeable trust between these two great democratic countries. Any disturbance of this intimate relationship must rapidly be bridged.”
1956-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 11 (1956)
“At the recent emergency session of the General Assembly the United States introduced a resolution [A/3272] pointing in this direction — establishing a committee to make recommendations to the parties or the United Nations for a settlement of outstanding problems, and asking the Secretary-General to continue his good offices with the parties. I know that this may be a controversial question, but it is precisely because it is controversial and involves so many fundamental differences that it is urgent for us to tackle it. I hope that the Assembly will support something in the spirit of this American approach, which will offer a hope of a lasting and just settlement of the problems of the Middle East. 23.”
1956-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 11 (1956)
“Even Australia; a geographically very distant country, has contributed nearly $1,250,000 towards the maintenance — the keeping alive — of the Arab refugees. In such a comprehensive approach, perhaps we should remember that the original idea for the partition of Palestine envisaged an economic union: is it entirely fantastic to hope for some form of economic association of the Middle East States, which could open the door to substantial economic aid from abroad, which present discord and conflict is making impossible? 22. I hope that before the present session of the General Assembly adjourns some real progress will have been made in approaching these basic, region-wide problems.”
1956-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 11 (1956)
“Nor do I see how there can be real economic advancement in the area until, where appropriate, more of the resources of the region — such as the Jordan River — can be used to the advantage of several States. To achieve these purposes Israel must make a contribution; the Arab States must make a contribution; and countries outside the area must make a contribution. 21. Up to now we have had a series of piecemeal approaches and nobody could pretend that we have achieved much more than a series of unsatisfactory palliatives. So far little progress seems to have been made in achieving a permanent and firm settlement of the refugee problem. This basic aspect of the question of the resettlement of the Arab refugees, as distinct from their mere maintenance — keeping them alive — has to be tackled as part of a comprehensive approach to the region.”
1956-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 11 (1956)
“The two problems — the Palestine question and the economic development and well-being of all the peoples of the region — have been considered exhaustively inside and outside the United Nations for several years, and many countries have made strenuous efforts to help bring about a settlement, and yet comparatively little, if any, real progress has been made. We must make quicker and better progress, and we must regard the latest flareup in the Middle East as being not a deterrent to such work, but a warning against the perils of failure to make progress, and as a spur to further efforts. 20. I do not see how economic welfare and political contentment can be achieved in the Arab States while the very large body of nearly a million Arab refugees from Palestine remains unsettled and unsatisfied.”
1956-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 11 (1956)
“I believe that an important part of our duty at this present Assembly is to insist on watertight arrangements for the physical security of the countries concerned in the Arab-Israel dispute. Only when both sides are convinced that there is nothing to hope for or to fear from the use of force, will they be prepared to make a real peace. As an immediate measure, I think that the expansion this year of the United Nations observer group under General Burns was a good move. I would like to see more widespread use of United Nations observers and their complete acceptance by each side. We might also well consider the establishment of adequate demilitarized zones in all the areas of particular tension. 19.”
1956-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 11 (1956)
“In any case, it seems to me that an essential preliminary to any reconciliation would be for this Assembly to seize this opportunity of examining the whole situation in the Middle East and to work out the main lines of a new settlement on the basis of what seems to be fair and right. We know very well that any such settlement would not be anything like 100 per cent acceptable to everybody, but we cannot let a search for an obviously unattainable best be the enemy of the good. This operation would entail an examination of the original arrangements approved for the establishment of Israel and the directions in which these arrangements have not been carried out. In this we have to have in mind the politically practicable which will be some way short of the ideal, we may be sure. 18.”
1956-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 11 (1956)
“In respect of the slightly longer-range problems, I believe that at this time we must again in this Assembly examine the decisions that we took when the State of Israel was established pursuant to a resolution [181 (II)] of the General Assembly of the United Nations in 1947, To avoid a continually running sore, we have to work to ensure that the continued existence of Israel is an accepted thing in the area. To attempt anything less would be to deny one of the facts of international life, which would be sure to boomerang on us in the future. 17. Israel and the Arab States at present look like irreconcilable entities. If they are to be brought together, the only way will be to work by stages — one step at a time.”
1956-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 11 (1956)
“As regards the Suez Canal, the main purposes that the great body of international users of the Canal seek to achieve, in the interests of freedom of world trade, are these: internationally guaranteed freedom of passage without discrimination; fair cost of transit through the Canal; proper provision for maintenance and expansion of the Canal; and its insulation from any national political interests. 15. There can be no substantial argument in the mouth of any country against these principles. They contain nothing that is inconsistent with the legitimate expression of Egyptian sovereignty. The problem is clear-cut and urgent. The United States has covered these principles in a draft resolution which I expect will be before us very shortly. 16.”
1956-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 11 (1956)
“One lesson of all this is that our machinery for maintaining international stability in the Middle East — and probably elsewhere — was defective and that, if peace is now to be preserved, we must try to evolve machinery that is more in line with realities. But machinery is not the whole answer; it is not even at the real root of the problem. Many of our troubles in the Middle East stem from the refusal of Egypt and others to recognize the right of the State of Israel to exist. 14.”
1956-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 11 (1956)
“The prospect was that the Suez Canal area would be a continuing area of armed conflict, which would have stopped Suez Canal traffic indefinitely and for which there was no reasonable prospect of practical United Nations remedy. As has been pointed out from the start, the Anglo-French intervention had limited aims. We should now move on rapidly to the next stage — the placing in position of the United Nations Emergency Force and the cleaning up, under United Nations auspices, of the sources of the trouble, namely, the Egyptian-Israel relationship and the problem of the Suez Canal. 12. If we shirk this, or if we half do it, then the world will almost inevitably face the prospect of another crisis — and the world and the United Nations cannot stand another shock of this prospective magnitude. 13.”
1956-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 11 (1956)
“At the same time, we must get the United Nations Emergency Force performing the function for which it was intended; otherwise we risk a possible recrudescence of fighting in the area. Passions are still high, and there must be created what is in effect a demilitarized zone between Egypt and Israel, which it will be the particular function of the United Nations Emergency Force to achieve. 11. So far as Suez is concerned, it is easy to castigate the United Kingdom and France for their action if one comfortably ignores the fact that such action was the lesser of two evils. When the Israel invasion of Sinai occurred, something had to be done quickly and in a practical way.”
1956-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 11 (1956)
“Are objections, similar to those which Egypt has raised about the composition of the Force, to be raised about the clearing operation? If so, those who welcomed the overthrow of international control of the Canal and the assumption of exclusive responsibility by Egypt now have an excellent example of what this means in terms of the interests of the world community at large. First, Egypt sabotages the Canal as an act of spite, not an act dictated by the needs of war, and then it makes difficulties over its clearance in the shortest possible time. This is something which the United Nations must not accept. We must insist on the most rapid clearance possible, so as to limit the vast economic loss that is being borne by half the countries of the world, including my own country. 10.”
1956-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 11 (1956)
“Before I speak of the longer-term objectives in the Middle East, let me say something about the immediate situation which is still critical and which could still flare up again at any moment. It is plainly most urgent that all haggling over the admission of the United Nations Emergency Force should cease and that the Force should take up its duties at once and in such numbers that it inspires confidence and creates some stability in the area. It seems to me quite absurd that there should be a long argument about what contingents are acceptable and what are not acceptable. Such objections, if pursued, make a farce of the very idea of a United Nations operation and a United Nations Force. 9. There is also the deplorable situation of the Canal itself. It has been wantonly blocked. It must be quickly cleared.”
1956-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 11 (1956)
“In short, a delicate and sensitive balance of interests was violently upset in the Middle East by the action of President Nasser. No reasonable person could have objected if Egypt had asked for reconstruction of the Canal arrangements if it considered them unsatisfactory; but no such approach was ever made. Most Governments read of the act of nationalization for the first time in the newspapers. It was this unilateral and violent upsetting by Egypt of working and generally accepted arrangements that has led in due course to the recent fighting. In other words, there was a great deal of dry tinder lying around, into which President Nasser threw a lighted match. 8.”
1956-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 11 (1956)
“There were many persistent causes of difference between Israel and neighbouring States: the absence of a peace settlement; the Egyptian blockade of Israel shipping and cargoes through the Suez Canal; the long continued Egyptian commando operations into Israel. There is such a thing as a slow motion aggression that is never quite recognized as the real thing but which can build up to what becomes uncontrollable proportions. 6. It would be utterly wrong to picture President Nasser as a man who had been walking along quietly, minding his own business, when suddenly somebody hit him. The plain fact of the matter is that it was Egypt that upset the balance in the Middle East without any prior consultation with other countries in the region or with others having interests in the region. 7.”
1956-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 11 (1956)
“Was it not reasonable to expect that, if Egypt wished to revise its position in relation to the Suez canal, an action fraught with such wide international implications, it would at least have consulted in advance with other countries, that it would have seen that Egypt’s national interests, however interpreted, had to be fitted in and asserted in a way that took account of other interests and rights already existing in the area? 5. Just picture the situation in the Middle East as it was a few short months ago. There was the Suez Canal, which was so vital a part of the economic life stream of more than half the countries of the world. There were many vital national interests centred in the Middle East.”
1956-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 11 (1956)
“I do not want to argue here whether President Nasser had a legal right to nationalize the Canal, although the Australian view on this has already been clearly and publicly stated. It is undoubted that, irrespective of the rights of national sovereignty, Egypt was a party to international undertakings which, to say the least, should have inhibited an arbitrary, unilateral act of nationalization without any prior consultation with other countries with important interests in this great international waterway.”
1956-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 11 (1956)
“When the alleged aggressor comes before a magistrate, evidence is collected to establish the background, as to whether there was provocation and, if so, the nature of it, and whether or not the alleged aggressor was justified in taking the law into his own hands, for instance by reason of the police being either absent or unable to provide the necessary protection. This analogy is relevant to our consideration of the Middle East situation. 4. Do not let us lose sight of the real origin of all the strife of recent weeks. That origin was the arbitrary, unilateral and abrupt seizure of the Suez Canal by President Nasser. Until that day, 26 July, the Middle East, though unsettled, still presented a manageable situation in which any local violence or fighting could be restrained or kept localized.”
1956-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 11 (1956)
“We meet under circumstances that make it difficult to speak of anything much other than the two big issues dominating the world situation: the urgent need to find a solution to the critical problems in the Middle East; and the tragic situation in Hungary. 3. Of the Middle East situation, it is essential to try to see things in perspective. It is dearly wrong to judge any one particular international incident by itself and to ignore all that proceeded it. To use an analogy, when one man assaults another, there is usually something that went before.”
1956-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 11 (1956)
“First of all, may I offer the warm congratulations of the Australian delegation to the President on his election. We from Australia are familiar with his work as the distinguished Foreign Minister of Thailand, one of Australia’s closest friends and neighbours. Our two countries co-operate closely in a number of regional organizations in South-East Asia. As President of the General Assembly, Prince Wan Waithayakon will bring further credit to himself and to his country. To the former President, Señor Maza of Chile, we extend our thanks. The Australian delegation is happy to have served under him. 2.”
1956-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 11 (1956)
“In some of these directions our individual national interests are involved, but in the larger matters, the top-level matters which vitally concern us all, the interests of all countries of the world are alike: what is best for all is best for each, in particular the preserving of the peace of the world. In these great matters of vital and overriding importance, let us all remember — those of us who are large and those of us who are small — the remark of a wise man of the past: “Let us beware of that splendid smallness which is local patriotism.””
1955-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 10 (1955)
“I look forward to visiting Karachi, New Delhi, Rangoon, Bangkok, Singapore, Kuala Lumpur and Djakarta, and spending at least several days in each. In the course of those visits, I hope to renew many personal contacts and friendships of the past to have the opportunity to discuss many matters of mutual concern. The Colombo Plan Ministerial Conference in Singapore, in mid-October, will provide an opportunity for the Foreign Ministers of a wide range of countries to meet together to discuss a lot of things in a relatively unhurried way. Personally I value these contacts highly. Their importance, I think, cannot be overestimated for the development of mutual understanding, which is the basis of friendly relationships. 65. We are all here in an effort to work out what is best to do in a variety of directions.”
1955-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 10 (1955)
“Usually I devote a good deal of my time in these annual surveys to affairs directly concerning Australia’s relationship with the countries of South and South-East Asia. This, I think, is understandable by reason of the geographical position of Australia. This year I have devoted less of my time in such matters, although I hope I need not say that this does not indicate any lessening of Australia’s interest in our immediate friends and neighbours. Perhaps it means that there are fewer problems to discuss. 64. Australia’s continued interest in the countries of South and South-East Asia is reflected, I think, in the fact that I will shortly be visiting the capitals of most of these countries before I return to Australia.”
1955-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 10 (1955)
“In considering the scale of these contributions to United Nations programmes, it should be remembered that they are additional to Australia’s contributions to the Colombo Plan, which during the current year will amount to the equivalent of nearly $11 million. Thus the total Australian contributions to international projects of economic aid, technical assistance and humanitarian relief, during the financial year 1955-1956, will amount to over $12 million. 62. I am also glad to say that the Australian Government has agreed to participate in the International Finance Corporation, which will provide a useful channel for the investment of capital in under-developed countries. 63.”
1955-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 10 (1955)
“I am therefore glad to say that, subject to Australian parliamentary approval, the Australian Government has decided to make the following contributions for the current year: to UNICEF, for the calendar year 1955, $566,720, which is a 20 per cent increase over our contribution of last year; to UNRWA, for the year ending 30 June 1956, $112,000, which is the same as our contribution last year; to the United Nations Refugee Fund, for 1955, $112,000, which is double our contribution of last year. 60. The Australian Government is at present considering a further contribution to the Expanded Programme of Technical Assistance, and would hope to be in a position to make an announcement as to the amount in the near future. Last year’s contribution by Australia was $500,000. 61.”
1955-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 10 (1955)
“All of these activities are supported by voluntary contributions by Member States — and in some instances by non-member States — and are carried on through the devoted service of men and women whose work reflects the greatest credit on the United Nations. Australia has always considered it a duty and a privilege to Participate in these schemes, and to contribute to the extent of its capacity. 59.”
1955-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 10 (1955)
“In the more strictly humanitarian field, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for -Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), and the organization of the High Commissioner for Refugees, have provided relief to, and in many cases assisted in the rehabilitation of, many of the hundreds of thousands of unfortunate people who have been dislodged by war from their former homes and communities in the Middle East and Europe respectively. 58. The Australian Government has always believed that activities of this kind provide the United Nations with valuable opportunities to develop the bonds of friendship and human co-operation between nations.”
1955-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 10 (1955)
“The past year has seen further significant achievements on the part of those organs of the United Nations which have been established to assist in efforts directed to the relief of human suffering, to the general improvement in living standards and to the development of under-developed economies. The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has continued its considerable assistance to national projects for the improvement of the health and welfare of children, at a cost of mere than $15 million.”
1955-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 10 (1955)
“I do not intend in any way to underestimate the very definite progress towards assisting the underdeveloped countries which has been made by the United Nations itself. The United Nations Expanded Programme for Technical Assistance which, in the current year, will make available approximately $30 million for training individuals in the under-developed countries and providing experts to assist their own plans in many fields, is achieving very considerable success. It represents a fine achievement in international co-operation, embracing as it does practically all the nations of the world. There has been nothing quite like it before. Australia is a substantial contributor to this programme and has been fortunately able to provide many experts and to furnish facilities for the training of a great many individuals in Australia itself. 57.”
1955-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 10 (1955)
“Even in respect of the operation of the Colombo Plan, we have yet , to evolve what may be called catalytic techniques, which will trigger off local initiatives and activities. We are constantly seeking for new initiatives in this matter. 55. I may say that we will shortly welcome the thousandth Asian student to come to Australia for training under the Colombo Plan. Perhaps even more important is the fact that, since the end of the war, no fewer than 10,000 Asian students have had training in Australia, including Colombo Plan trainees. By far the greater part of these 10,000 students have come to Australia in the ordinary way, paying their own way. I have no doubt that these large numbers of ordinary students have been encouraged to come to Australia by reason of the welcome that their Colombo Plan colleagues have had. 56.”
1955-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 10 (1955)
“In some respects, the Colombo Plan may be regarded as a pilot project for this purpose, which endeavours to keep in view the considerations which I have mentioned. The Colombo Plan deals with countries of a specific area, and there have been developed under it some interesting and imaginative techniques. And the outstanding feature of the Colombo Plan is that aid from outside, whether given as technical assistance or in the form of equipment, is complementary to the plans being developed by the recipient countries themselves. The initiative rests with them, and the external assistance takes the form of a contribution, perhaps a valuable contribution, to their own resources.”
1955-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 10 (1955)
“Even if the problem of allocating aid to underdeveloped countries is considered on some basis of relative needs such as those I have suggested, the solution cannot be found merely by providing financial contributions, even if sufficient funds were available to do this on a much larger scale than is at present possible. Much more important than the mere injection of capital from outside into under-developed economies is the capacity and determination of recipient countries themselves to mobilize such local resources as are available, and to develop an administrative structure in which modern techniques can be applied to raise productivity without damage to the traditional structures of their societies. 54.”
1955-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 10 (1955)