YouSaid · the spoken record

DE LEQUERICA

lines on the record: 332
first: 1957-09-24
most recent: 1962-09-24
sittings or episodes: 6
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

“With all its peculiar virtues and powers, the Organization will always be largely a reflection of its membership, and in particular of its great Members, those having the greatest influence, those who from its foundation have reserved to themselves the leading positions and the power to prevent disorder by exercise of their united will—a fact which we by no means criticize, but indeed approve. This guiding Holy Alliance, as it were, formed after the Second World War to rectify an abnormal state of affairs, had positive advantages and gave strength to an entity which without it might have succumbed to chaos and dispersion of effort. 16. If, then, the countries represented here forget the moderation they should display and stand on rigid positions, the United Nations will be faced with breakdown.”
1961-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 16 (1961)
“Like others who have spoken here we believe that for the small and middle-sized nations lacking physical power the United Nations is a remarkable safeguard and a strong and universal bulwark. With its ability to understand the evolution of the world and to prevent possible conflicts by forestalling them, the United Nations has through the very process of assembly and deliberation acquired a personality of its own—a personality expressed principally in the office of Secretary-General. If it Is to achieve its end, all of its Members, beginning with the most powerful, must renounce many of their passions and much of what have traditionally been regarded as their rights. Despite our faith in the United Nations, however, we consider that it would be going too far to set the Organization up as the sole organ of peace.”
1961-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 16 (1961)
“And the more we take part in the proceedings of the United Nations and measure the high ability of the participants, the more this faith grows The training and experience of the representatives convened at this General Assembly of the United Nations give ground for comfort and optimism. Moreover they teach us, by example, the unity of the human race—confirming the convictions of those of us who follow theological doctrines—and show us the kinship of feeling and sentiment which exists between representatives coming from countries which were formerly quite strange to one another and even separated by a gulf of sinister legend, who have nevertheless, now that they have met and exchanged opinions, proved most akin in their aspirations and most capable of understanding and, indeed, loving one another. 15.”
1961-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 16 (1961)
“We see little to be gained by distributing our Organization's essential organs over various parts of the world, and still less by sending them to dubious places which would use the United Nations to win some colour of political standing. The essential work of the United Nations would benefit little by dispersion; the intentions of those who propose it may be sincere, but they are being led astray by side-issues and secondary considerations. 14. It is said that in the face of the Soviet threat the peace of the world depends solely on the United Nations. All of us who have come here believe in the benefits of such .international deliberations, in the clash of opinions which so often produces clarity and just decisions.”
1961-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 16 (1961)
“And the Secretary-General has to overcome this difficulty by dint of intelligence and imagination, together with the personal courage to remain steadfast in the face of powerful forces. That is why he must be an individual, a human being, an indivisible person. The repugnance felt by most delegations at the proposal to reduce the Secretariat to a deliberative organ, to give it over to the clash of opinions expressed in a "troika" or to make of it any other kind of multi-yoked vehicle is due to their understanding—conscious or subconscious, perhaps even intuitive—of how personal the office of Secretary-General must be. 13. We want a responsible Secretary-General, operating as hitherto from New York, the most suitable place for United Nations Headquarters.”
1961-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 16 (1961)
“The purposes for which the United Nations was founded are beyond dispute: to maintain world peace, to prevent any interference by countries in the affairs of others and to preserve the principle of self-determination among its original Members and those later admitted. But the difficulty of maintaining itself within the bounds of its own structure, in the complex problems which confront it, makes its task, and especially that of its Secretary-General, one of continuous creation. 12. In every conflict, the United Nations has both to abide by precedent and to establish precedent. We can all call examples to mind; there can be few if any judicial and political authorities—and the United Nations has something of both—which combine such indeterminacy with purposes and intentions of such ambition.”
1961-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 16 (1961)
“John of the Cross, and we shall always associate his memory with that invocation of the greatest of our mystics. 11. I shall not say that the end of Mr. Hammarskjold means the end of the United Nations as an independent organ with its own personality: the United Nations must survive, and it is the task of all of us to see that it does. But it would be naive in the extreme to blind ourselves to the difficulty of replacing the Secretary-General—and this precisely because of the indeterminacy of function to which our Organization in large measure owes its effectiveness. Because of the somewhat shadowy existence it lives, the United Nations needs to be led by men of clarity and dramatic character.”
1961-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 16 (1961)
“And such a man was Mr. Hammarskjold, who died at exactly the same age as Julius Caesar. I shall never forget how this Nordic son of other cultures and other ways of life—this son of his great country, Sweden, with its remarkable spiritual strength—had no difficulty at all, on his visit to Spain, in transcending the picturesque and the superficial in his comments and penetrating to the innermost spirituality of things and places. I remember accompanying him in Toledo, which has been the subject of so many brilliant literary descriptions but also of so many platitudes; and I was surprised at the unique understanding of what is pure, elegant and essential in this great historic city of Spain which was displayed throughout by the Secretary-General of the United Nations. It was in Spain, again, in a memorable address, that he spoke of St.”
1961-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 16 (1961)
“Hammarskjold, fills all that remains with real sadness. As the days pass, our feelings remain unchanged, He has been taken from us at the peak of his activity; and there are few men as capable of such activity as the eminent personality we have lost in the jungles of Rhodesia. He belonged to that choice and wholesomely aristocratic caste—a blessing of heaven for the peoples—in whose members are united genuine intellectual interest, the qualities of the man of action, and personal courage— a virtue not always found in men of the spirit, in their detachment and isolation from contact with the world. These select few men of action—their supreme example in history is perhaps Julius Caesar—bring a special fire to their actions by the very fact that they know them to be based on the sound analysis which belongs only to great minds.”
1961-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 16 (1961)
“We Spaniards, many of us Mediterranean in origin, find in Tunis a kinship of spirit and mutual understanding. Our President is the product of many intermingling cultures; but let me be permitted to see in him, particularly, the compatriot of that great Doctor of the Church St. Augustine. 9. The new President of the General Assembly will have to work hard—as he is well-qualified to do—to fill completely the place of our outgoing President, Mr. Boland, in whom we retain for the future, after his success in the Assembly, a great international magistrate whose services may more than once be needed not only by his country but by the whole world convened in international conclave. 10. And there end whatever thoughts of gladness we can have at this moment. The great shadow cast by the death of our Secretary-General, Mr.”
1961-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 16 (1961)
“In addressing the General Assembly at this sixteenth regular session, we can allow ourselves only one brief satisfaction—that of congratulating the President on his election to office. Those of us who have seen how rapidly he has adapted himself to the United Nations, who have watched him displaying outstanding political and administrative abilities and distinguishing himself serenely in our Committees and in plenary meetings by the particular authority of his comments in most difficult circumstances, can now express our profound satisfaction at having elected him to preside over our proceedings. We take pleasure, moreover, in witnessing the rapid rise to the summit of international affairs of a country—Tunisia—whose history is illustrious but whose independence and political coming of age are of recent date.”
1961-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 16 (1961)
“We are not afraid — through any false concern with immediate results and dry utilitarianism — to pass beyond these things to whatever lies beyond and above immediate experience and governs the development of national life, leading nations to obey the dictates of justice and to avoid aberrations. Which, as history shows us, are always punished. On the contrary, let us boldly take the higher way in this great experiment, carried on through so many practical, executive bodies but inspired primarily by idealism, which is the United Nations.”
1960-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 15 (1960)
“I mention this as a specific example, since this body, in cooperation with the International Monetary Fund and the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, is helping with the process of stabilization which is being carried out so successfully in Spain. Among so many generalizations, you must forgive me if I cite a specific example, which is very important for my country. 51. I have spoken in generalizations, but man lives by generalizations. In this very hall we are affected by currents of thought and doctrine, by principles and philosophies.”
1960-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 15 (1960)
“Spain is not rich in material resources, but it has a glorious tradition of education which it is happy to offer to all peoples, especially to its brothers in Spanish America and the Arab world, to whom it feels bound by the closest ties. Spain is ready to cooperate actively in the United Nations Programmes of Technical Co-operation. 50. Let us co-operate in everyway, to show our gratitude for the help we are receiving, both from the powerful nation which is responsible for this action — Spain had occasion to draw attention to it in the Economic and Social Council — and from the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development.”
1960-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 15 (1960)
“Spain can provide this by means of its School of Administrative Experts and Civil Service Training, through the United Nations Programmes of Technical Co-operation, and we have the advantage in regard to Africa, of knowing the continent and having some affinities with the African temperament. 48. We think that the question of technical assistance, with which many delegations have dealt here, is of particular importance. Economic aid would be of little use if it did not, at the same time, go to the root cause of this state of under-development from which the world still suffers — namely, the lack of administrative and executive officers properly trained to promote economic and social progress. 49.”
1960-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 15 (1960)
“May they begin their work by joining in this enterprise and may they be united in the common effort for improvement. As I said before, we are living in an age which is alive to the need to struggle against human poverty, backwardness and degradation. This public concern represents one of the advances of our age. Let us all join in this noble struggle, even those of us whose means are more limited. Let us do what has to be done and make whatever sacrifices maybe necessary. The new countries can be given economic and cultural aid. As several speakers, including the President of the United States, have Said here, the essential instrument for the life of a State is a trained civil service.”
1960-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 15 (1960)
“What more can we say, if we have nothing but our fervent approval and our good wishes to offer? Let us give them sincerely, and let us hope that grace will move all of us to cooperate for the common purpose, for which the peoples long so eagerly. Let there be no more hasty meetings, which imply a certain injustice and coercion towards those who now defend the cause of order. 46. These words of the President of the United States and their full endorsement in the speech by the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom [877th meeting] have so far been the most encouraging incidents in the fifteenth session of the General Assembly and allow us to face its future with optimism. 47. We Spaniards have greeted the new countries of the United Nations with high hopes, as indeed — and I say this with no false modesty — our history entitles us to do.”
1960-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 15 (1960)
“In another region, that of outer space, we may say that he has literally renounced national sovereignty, warlike activity and the means of destruction, and has invited international co-operation in using it for meteorological purposes and for communications. The President plainly proposed an agreement for complete disarmament. He proposed that the scientists of the nuclear Powers should stop producing nuclear weapons and should dispose of their stocks of fissionable materials, which his country is prepared to transfer to an international stockpile. The President also asked, in the clearest terms, for effective and reciprocal international inspection. Secrecy, he said, is not only an anachronism — it is downright dangerous. President Eisenhower, does not call for a super-State — but for a community.”
1960-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 15 (1960)
“In this survey of the situation I should like to say how much we are reassured by the position of those who, like the President of the United States, now have at their disposal the greatest strength, fortunately on the side of justice. In this hall we have heard President Eisenhower’s speech [868th meeting] containing straightforward and impressive offers of peace, of the abandonment of nuclear weapons and of the use of outer space for peaceful purposes alone. For all these he offered firm, unquestionable international, guarantees, which could be supervised by all and in the application of which the United Nations would play an important part. The President offered to begin the task of financing the new Africa and to help the United Nations forces to maintain the freedom of the African peoples.”
1960-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 15 (1960)
“It is trying to sweep away the United Nations, under the pretext of eliminating its Secretary-General, Until this imperialist storm dies down, as I hope it will, in a return to Christianity, perhaps already foreshadowed, the United Nations must inevitably be an organ standing for the respect and protection of law. The emancipated peoples owe so much to the Secretary-General that he must of necessity be the target for any attack by those who at present stand for violence. As the Assembly has shown several times by its warm applause, it is our duty to support and sustain our Secretary-General in this struggle, in which there can be no compromise solution, and not to go into more or less technical questions of organization, which are only a cover for very definite and dangerous purposes. 45.”
1960-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 15 (1960)
“Our delegation has complete faith in the United Nations. It is a body made for lofty tasks, scrupulously respecting the sovereignly of its Members, as established by the Charter, and not an instrument to be used in settling petty quarrels, which are beneath it. When we speak of armament and disarmament, let us not be discouraged by the weakness of those who are not armed and who can make little direct contribution to the task. Enthusiasm, resolution and the spirit of sacrifice for a cause are also useful weapons. 44. The Soviet hurricane we are experiencing these days, and to which I referred earlier, is like those which are now baptized with proper names and it might well be given one.”
1960-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 15 (1960)
“It is certainly very different from other anti-religious declarations which have sometimes come from the same source, but which, we like to believe, considering the great authentic heritage of centuries of Christianity, are only the last vestiges of the Voltairian attitude which is so typical of bourgeois civilization, which the Soviet leaders themselves have not yet been able to shake off. 43. No organization is as well placed to produce these happy results as the United Nations, with its very special position — due largely to its most discerning Secretary-General — whom we warmly admire and sincerely support. The United Nations oscillates between authority and advice on the one hand — and, oh the other, the vision of the abyss into which we shall fall if we do not make use of this mechanism, which is often unique and irreplaceable.”
1960-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 15 (1960)
“It was, and it appears in the records, in the speech made by the Chairman of the delegation of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. 42. It seemed, I thought, as if a Christian subconscious — not surprising considering the religious tradition of his country. Holy Russia — had led him to seek inspiration in the Gospel, though he did not mention the source. I have given the text and the chapter and verse. It is a paradox that this is the only quotation from the Gospel which I have heard in the debate. Only one representative, speaking my own language — although much more eloquently and at far greater length — began a quotation of the same kind but he quickly cut it short. It was the Soviet delegation which quoted the Gospel. Let us therefore seize on this good sign.”
1960-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 15 (1960)
“Luke and in chapter 8, verses 6 to 8,1 found the following, in the parable of the sower: "And some [of the seed] fell upon a rock; and as soon as it was sprung up, it withered away, because it lacked moisture. And some fell among thorns; and the thorns sprang up with it, and choked it. And other fell on good ground" and these are the seeds which will grow and flourish and develop into the tree of life. Then the Evangelist explained that the good ground was those who, having heard the word of God, kept it and brought forth fruit with patience. 41. I was impressed by the similarity of ideas and I must say that this quotation from the Gospel, introduced into our debate for a solemn purpose, was not in the speech of a representative whose religious beliefs or practices would have led one to expect such a quotation.”
1960-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 15 (1960)
“I say this because, in yesterday morning’s debate, I heard with emotion some beautiful words on sowing the seeds of peace: "The young shoots", it was said, "may encounter drought, storms and hurricanes. And it may even happen that some of these seeds will simply fall on stony ground." [882nd meeting, para. 61] And the speaker added that some of the seeds would grow and develop into the tree of life. But, I thought to myself, is this not the parable of the sower in the Christian Gospel, a little changed, of course — to make it more optimistic, but on the same lines and even in the very words of the sacred text? 40. I turned at once to the Gospel according to St.”
1960-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 15 (1960)
“I saw the Baltika as a great galleon in that fleet and, thinking of the Armada, I reflected how fate cheats such arrogant ventures of success. I hope this reminder will be some consolation to those who fail to take a foreign shore by storm. Such misadventures can be followed by useful lives and valuable reconciliations. Perhaps — and I say this with all respect and consideration — God will touch the hearts of the aggressors against mankind. 39. From time to time unexpected signs appear. They are probably irrational — "There are more things in Heaven and earth, Horatio...", as Shakespeare said — but who knows whether those signs may not have some meaning which is beyond our powers of observation?”
1960-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 15 (1960)
“We listen to them with all due respect, in the hope — for they are human, like the rest of us — that they will soften as a result of contact with others, when they discover better qualities than they had expected in the other peoples sitting with them in the General Assembly Hall. 38. This time the Soviet leaders came in quite a spectacular manner, looking rather like a naval expedition, in a ship filled with doctrinal theses and important men of their group, and they cast anchor on the democratic banks of the Hudson. As a Spaniard, with a strong sense. of history, I could not help thinking — it was not the pleasantest of thoughts, but I have such faith in the history of my country that gloomy memories do not affright me — of the "Invincible Armada" which Philip II once sent on a warlike mission which I need not describe.”
1960-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 15 (1960)
“Why should we misrepresent a bitten reality as a sentimental comedy? To speak of disarmament without control is to misrepresent the problem and to give free scope to preparations for violence on the part of countries which find it convenient to prevent the world observing their movements. 37. I have confidence in the result of this harsh procedure. I believe that, after many disillusions and under the confused pressure of universal discontent, the Soviet leaders, like others in history who were driven by similar impulses to threats and fury, will finally give up their aggressive intentions and will concentrate happily on their own national affairs and on improving idle lot of their people, instead of thinking constantly of violence. Their authorized representatives are sitting with us today.”
1960-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 15 (1960)
“Nothing that we have said excludes the desire for peace and for agreement. On these points we feel as do all other delegations. Who can want anything else? Who can love violence for the sake of violence and reject the use of specific measures to prevent it? To recognize the enemy in a war, including a cold war, and to ascertain his intentions is the principle of wise strategy and, at the same time, the only basis on which peace, even a cold peace, can be established. We want a guaranteed and solid agreement, with adequate precautionary provisions to make it durable and effective. There is usually more bargaining and negotiating between nations which are competing and seeking the same objects, which do not like each other and have fought for a long time, than there is between close friends. Why then should we delude ourselves about others?”
1960-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 15 (1960)
“It is a fact, moreover, that the strength throughout these last fifteen years has resided, and still resides, particularly in the American continent and it has been used to contain aggression and to preserve the peace, 35. We Europeans are wont to cherish some pretension of greater diplomatic maturity and to ascribe to ourselves the wisdom of Nestor, born of time and experience. I doubt whether there is any truth in this. All nations are responsible for the violent events of the last five decades; no special American responsibility is apparent in them, nor has the experience of Europe helped to avert them. Let us Europeans, then, give up the illusion that we are better experts in international affairs and devote ourselves with all our hopes to this unity, which one day will be the unify of the whole world. 36.”
1960-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 15 (1960)
“An excessive emphasis on Europeanism may conceal the resurgence of local preferences of parts of the old continent, preferences based on a long history which has been both glorious and harsh. The cooperation of Europe and America, above all, and of other countries from different areas — as f will undoubtedly be the case with the new countries — is too fortunate a circumstance to be jeopardized by such exercises. The world, threatened since 1945 with destruction as a free and civilized entity, has been saved by the unity of America and Europe, A common culture unites the two continents. The differences are slight, and the extent of agreement on objectives and similarity of outlook is almost unlimited.”
1960-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 15 (1960)
“If Europeanism means a belief in the unity of our European civilization and a desire to strengthen its might in unity with that of other countries inspired by the desire for peace and freedom; if it means making more effective and coherent the will to resist of 250 million free Europeans , many of them at a high economic and, in particular, industrial level, with great traditions and stability in the service of political causes, sharing common frontiers, moreover, with the Bolshevist nations, then the strengthening of Europeanism seems to us reasonable and useful. We should not find Europeanism so attractive if it were merely used to provincialize the great civilized resistance, to give it local colour and to weaken Western unity, even with thought and concern. 34.”
1960-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 15 (1960)
“When we review our country’s position, we find its attitude towards neutralism irreproachable, and we have no desire to change or modify it. For instance, we are a nation of Europe and sometimes Europeanism is spoken of as a distinct or special force within the Western defences against communism. What do we think of it?”
1960-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 15 (1960)
“I am well aware that some of the most war-hardened and indomitable peoples on earth, whose heroism we have always respected, are following that path. But we think they are mistaken; we are not prepared to relinquish our rights and duties, to efface ourselves and to hand over life itself and its problems to gatherings of powerful countries. Nor do we think we can appeal to these overbearing conquerors with cries and lamentations. It would not seem fitting to us that Members of the United Nations, which have obligations with respect to all problems, should wash their hands of these problems or delegate them. Here no one can be neutral with respect to any problem; we must think, act and decide on all problems according to well-considered standards. 33.”
1960-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 15 (1960)
“Such appeals are more to be feared by the Western Powers, which are joined together voluntarily in a world of order and freedom and are not bound, as are; those of the other group, by the rigid relationship of subjugation to a dominant country. IE those who freely support the West weaken, the hour of peace will be delayed and its attainment and maintenance may be seriously endangered. 32. Nervous appeals for conciliation strengthen the aggressor countries and, by placing them on the same moral plane as others, add to their stature and influence. As people who do not belong to that exalted brotherhood, we find — and I say this with due respect for contrary opinions — this idea of relinquishing our duties and going as defenceless suppliants to the powerful countries, asking them to be good and condescending in return, somewhat humiliating.”
1960-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 15 (1960)
“Therefore, let the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics and the countries associated with it continue under a system which we disregard except to pay it all due international respect. 31. It is their proselytizing activities outside their borders, their eager intervention in the politics of other nations, their imperialist ambition and their lack of scruple in using violence far beyond their own borders and in imposing their power indirectly, through infiltration, that make us suspect their public action. It is that that leads us to unite with those who defend the Western cause and to mistrust the appeals of the neutralists, despite our great regard for them.”
1960-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 15 (1960)
“There we join hands with countries as different as Brazil and Yugoslavia, whose opinions on this point we support. It was with sincere emotion and intellectual assent that we listened to much of the eloquent and well-informed speech of the eminent Head of State of Indonesia [880th meeting], Indeed, there is nothing more wearisome than dogmatic assertions concerning the systems which each country has adopted in accordance with its history and requirements, or definitions, by inclusion or exclusion, of such systems. Let us, like President Sukarno, reserve the right to political originality, without foolish acquiescence, which is sometimes purely superficial and intended to flatter. The Spanish Minister for Foreign Affairs expressed this point very ably at a private meeting of Members of Parliament in London this summer.”
1960-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 15 (1960)
“Nevertheless, our view of the possibilities for peace is not pessimistic. We believe peace is possible, even with political forces so incapable of inspiring us with confidence as the Soviet world led by the USSR, We are speaking in a purely political sense and with the respect which we owe to all its representatives and institutions. The internal principles of the Soviet system, its organization and its history have never concerned us from the international point of view; As many speakers have urged, it should be one of the principles of United Nations procedure to refrain from statements implying moral meddling, still less sharp criticism, and least of all any direct or indirect action with regard to the internal political systems of any nation.”
1960-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 15 (1960)
“We cannot rise to speak in the United Nations without remembering, in the midst of so many earlier achievements, that grievous Hungarian misfortune, which we do not regard unmoved, even though normal caution and the fear of unleashing immeasurable evils may prevent the adoption of decisive measures. 29. The United Nations Representative on Hungary, Sir Leslie Munro, former President of the General Assembly, has not yet succeeded in entering Hungary, which is occupied by Soviet troops. When we see him talking through these corridors and consider the obstacles to that journey, which is normally not unduly difficult, we cannot say that the European world has regained its freedom and its non-colonial status. We think, too, in face of the wave of Soviet violence, of the Tibetan affair. We have already mentioned the Congo. 30.”
1960-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 15 (1960)
“We Europeans may have sinned in the colonial past, but we are paying for it now in full measure with the Soviet colonization of Europe. There can be no clearer case of the infringement of the historical rights of a country than the occupation of East Germany, which divides one of the oldest and best defined nationalities on earth into two. And there are threats to Berlin; they have been made known here upon the highest authority. The fate of the Baltic countries, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, still cries out to the heavens. And what about Hungary?”
1960-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 15 (1960)
“At Ibis very time, we have seen how, in the Congo (Leopoldville), that group has unleashed a campaign to discredit the world organization, the skilful work of the Secretariat and the combined and capable intervention of neutral armed forces. What is even more disturbing, we have witnessed the imperialistic sending of agents of the Soviet Powers to split the country and deliver it into the hands of the oppressors. The United Nations reacted well in its votes; in particular, the attitude of the African-Asian nations has been a lesson in judgement and responsibility, which fully justifies my optimism, as a Spaniard, in welcoming them here fraternally. But the danger of Soviet imperialism is not restricted to Africa; it is beginning in Europe itself.”
1960-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 15 (1960)
“In our view, simply to leave any doubt about our enthusiastic adherence to the great force defending world order and peace is harmful to the peaceful aims we pursue. For the very reason that we respect the intentions of the neutralist countries — we have many excellent friends among the countries that are so called — and appreciate the special situation in which many of them find themselves, and that they too may have the same peaceful aims as our country and our delegation — we say this with deliberate plainness, as one should in speaking to friends — we respond more readily to the appeal of the Powers who stand for good than to the appeal of the powerless neutralists. 28. The opposing group, that of the Soviet, today represents the only threat to world peace.”
1960-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 15 (1960)
“My delegation considers it bad policy to vacillate between one group and the other, or to be remiss or hesitant in doing, each one of us; what we can to support the peace-loving group. It was once said: whosoever is not with me is against me. When we lack decisive strength of our own, the only way in which we can help to avert those dangers which may perhaps destroy the human race is to show full confidence in those who serve our cause and to assist them with the means at our command, whether they be bases — I stress bases since we in Spain have honourably and satisfactory obligations in that respect— or any form of military preparations or other specific measures that may be indicated. 27.”
1960-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 15 (1960)
“Why should the same thing not happen today, if a tremor in the glacier, an accident, can provoke cosmic catastrophe? No, we do not place complete confidence in the fear of peril, since mankind in its folly has overcome that fear many times. 26. Our delegation considers that nothing can do so much to prevent war as the strengthening, with full support and co-operation, of that one of the contending groups which is animated by a desire for peace; whose resistance, already put to the test, has so far prevented violence; and whose superiority will, we trust, be able to make violence impossible in the, future as well. In saying this, we are thinking of the so-called Western group, which, spread over several continents, is armed, thank God, with all the necessary weapons of war to ensure respect and success for its designs for peace.”
1960-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 15 (1960)
“Back in 1939 — how well I remember it — the danger and the destructive capacity of the machinery of war were tremendous. The risk was apparent at that time and even if it was perhaps slow in making itself felt, the possibility was recognized from the very day that war broke out. In 1939, at the beginning of the war, we were protecting our buildings with simple sandbags and, armed with gas-masks, we who lived in the various threatened capitals went about in dread of the conclusion, essentially the same as that which we now anticipate, the possible total destruction of all that we personally care for. Yet the military preparations did not cease on that account, nor did the nations hold back from the final breaking-point of war.”
1960-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 15 (1960)
“24. To those countries which have long been Members of the United Nations and to those recently admitted to membership, the world presents a spectacle that is very far from reassuring. To us, the world appears to be divided into two great blocs with different political objectives; at any moment, through any careless act, the conflict between them may erupt into a universal cataclysm of incalculable dimensions. How well Dr. Beladnde, the former President of the General Assembly, expressed it when he spoke of the huge Swiss glaciers, where a vibration or the echo of a voice is enough to unleash an avalanche, and with it catastrophe! 25. That may happen. Let us not, with more dry logic than humanity, think that fear of such overwhelming evils may prevent the impassioned clash of war.”
1960-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 15 (1960)
“We found relief from our always troublesome economic problems and today we can present a distinctly satisfactory picture of progressive accomplishments. It is only right to express our gratitude for this and I recall with emotion the words of the eminent senators who voted at that time to authorize economic aid, which was then continued by the United States Government and Congress. It is our wish that the specific example to which I have referred, as also similar efforts which have been made on a much larger scale in other countries, should be known to everyone and should promote further results of the same kind. These programmes of world economic assistance are obviously designed to promote peace and prevent subversion. That object does not detract from the gratitude of those who have received aid and have no reason to conceal that fact.”
1960-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 15 (1960)
“That sense of world responsibility on the part of those who, after all, attained their advanced economy and high standard of living through their own efforts, must spread throughout the international organizations and be one of their major concerns. Spain, midway in economic development between the present-day industrial countries and those that are relatively backward, has also experienced such assistance and is eager to express its gratitude, I myself cannot forget the $62.5 million voted ten years ago, when I was Spanish Ambassador to the United States, by the Congress in Washington under the Mutual Security Programme to assist Spain in solving its economic problems. After that, further large sums were allocated to us, as also to other countries of the world, particularly the European countries.”
1960-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 15 (1960)
“The large loans granted by the United States, economically the most powerful nation in the world, and the help it gives to those in need, have shown the way and have helped to improve or rebuild the lives of other peoples after periods of crisis. When the time for polemics has passed, it will remain one of the fine and comforting signs of conscience in our day. I have already had the honour of telling the Assembly with what unconcerned frankness our delegation dares to praise the work of the powerful nations, not caring whether what it regards as a just tribute and enlightenment for the future may be considered by some to be adulation. 23.”
1960-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 15 (1960)
“The representative of Panama has said in this debate [876th meeting], in plain words of which we should take note, that poverty in these days is an injustice, and that the reasons traditionally given for its inevitability are no longer valid. This is a sound comment. 22. It is the duty of the more advanced and wealthier nations to assist the poorer ones and it is only fair to say that they are doing so to a very considerable degree. I certainly noticed, in the statistics cited before the Assembly [877th meeting] by the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, that the Soviet countries are doing so much less than the others.”
1960-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 15 (1960)