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

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“Bet not the tempters deceive themselves; if, at some stage in the process of emancipation, these peoples show weakness or seek the help of Chose who, in contrast to the Western countries, seem to be helping them, this is a mere accident, a slip by the way. In view of their moral integrity and of the helpful attitude of the former colonial Powers, they will, we are sure, come to occupy a position of freedom and respect for international law in keeping with their highest qualities. 21. World politics today are dominated by concern for material progress, which is also spiritual improvement, since it gives man the means of self-perfection. We have not always recognized this.”
1960-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 15 (1960)
“They will hear enticing speeches, full of violence, real oratorical intoxicants, designed to divert them from collaboration with the other free peoples of the world. Their good sense will show them the extreme self-interest of these proposals, as dangerous to them as they have been to others, and basically insulting to their natural ability and experience of life, they are capable of resisting the sterile and deceptive blandishments of revolutionaries. 20. To address the former colonial peoples in this somewhat extravagant style is to treat them as infantile, which, thank God, they are not.”
1960-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 15 (1960)
“For us, with this spiritual conviction, there are no masses; the multitudes are not a dark mass nor a crowd in the background of a picture, but the sum total of individuals. In improving the lot of these individuals, we believe that we shall be improving the political situation as a whole. The responsibility for this task cannot remain for ever in the same hands. As man, created by God, grows and rises ever higher, new and more complete projections of His will and His purposes are needed, and these will follow from the participation of the new actors on the stage of history in the most responsible activities. 19. The recently established countries will certainly be subject to the temptations of organized demagogy in its present communist form.”
1960-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 15 (1960)
“In every period of history men become accustomed to a particular political trend, and when time brings new developments, it is understandable that they should give rise to surprise and more than surprise. We had been accustomed to a fairly stable existence in the United Nations with an established distribution of votes, and now an unknown factor has appeared. But there is no cause for alarm, and I am confident that the spirit of the United Nations will be little changed. 18. We must have faith in the ability of mankind at large to act as the circumstances require; we must not cheat it, for the benefit of the entrenched minority, of its legitimate right of participation. To the Spanish people, whose civilization is essentially Christian, such lack of confidence in the potentialities of man is not Christian.”
1960-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 15 (1960)
“If reference is made to possible lapses, this must be our ultimate justification. 16. Despite such possible collapse, there will remain, to quote the eloquent words used in the debate by a man of our race and language, the distinguished President of Uruguay, Mr. Haedo: “a handful of free men who would survive the fearful catastrophe and raise again the banners of liberty, independence, and justice, under which all material progress and the amazing advances of science have been achieved, for they are the watchwords of God.” [875th meeting, para. 7] And there can be nothing more practical or pragmatical than these watchwords, the supreme guide of the peoples. 17. It would be idle to deny that the appearance of new peoples causes concern, and perhaps fear, to some.”
1960-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 15 (1960)
“It may seem surprising that I am dealing at such length with a topic that is apparently of no practical importance and far removed from our present preoccupations. It may be thought that I am simply trying to calm an atmosphere that sometimes becomes overheated, but that is not so, anxious though I am that it should become calmer and more serene. Some may be surprised that I should quote humanitarian and liberal friars of the sixteenth century in a debate on immediate and urgent matters. But my delegation believes that the words and the states of mind of peoples are a decisive factor in maintaining peace and the dignity of men. Our basic moral attitudes are sound and, as Toynbee recognized, they are reflected in the way of life of the new peoples the Spanish have brought into being.”
1960-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 15 (1960)
“Felix culpa, if indeed it be a fault to give practical effect, here in our life on earth, to the eternal truth of the equality of man. And what I have said of the past still holds good today. 14. I would point out, in passing, that our Spanish past was not entirely American and, as is very well known, the same process occurred in other continents where the Spanish settled. The Spanish system and way of life persists today wherever Spaniards are found, Spaniards are equal whatever the colour of their skins in all continents. What a vital philosophy in contrast to the cold geometrical approach of those who would separate human beings and confine them to areas of land with purely geographical names! 15.”
1960-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 15 (1960)
“When the peninsular Powers ceased to exercise their authority as rulers, they left behind their piety, their culture, their language, their love of beauty, their creative capacity and a generally recognized high standard of life. These qualities were absorbed and fabulously enriched in the development of the new countries, which today form one of the strongest bastions of the free world against barbarism. 13. The truth is that the Spanish forged not only new cultures but new men. Thus, a race, at once old and new, the mestizo, came into being and we are proud of this contribution to the improvement of mankind. Throughout our history we have produced mestizos, and ideas of racial purity have been, and still are, foreign to us.”
1960-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 15 (1960)
“And does not the sense of a need for a higher authority to adjudicate among the nations, which emerges from Vitoria’s words, foreshadow world-wide international organizations such as the United Nations? 11. The Minister for Foreign Affairs of Argentina, the Chairman of his country's delegation, and Mr. Amadeo, the Argentine representative on the Security Council, have both recalled this Spanish sense of justice and have said that they count it part of their country’s moral debt to Spain. We thank them from our hearts. 12. Was the work done by Spain in America actually in keeping with these principles? Broadly, yes, in spite of some mishaps and acts of violence. We created about a score of nations of our tongue and culture by a fusion of races mingling with the indigenous population.”
1960-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 15 (1960)
“The only cause for a just war is an offence by one people against another, which can be expiated only by arms, in cases where no higher authority can be invoked." 10. Remember that this was written early in the sixteenth century, and that it was Spanish thought which guided and enlightened governments and kings. Translated into the language of today, it is a complete indictment of those who, in the name of a more progressive way of life or of allegedly superior principles, conquer and occupy foreign territories or remain there contrary to justice and right. Take the idea further and you will find implicit in it the right of these peoples to form states.”
1960-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 15 (1960)
“Carro, of the same Order of Preachers as these great theologians and jurists, has written some excellent studies of the Spanish theologians and theologian-jurists and their views on the conquest of America, which I should like to see better known by cultured and experienced representatives of Spanish America, such as sit here. His work has been most useful to me in clarifying my ideas, which were too general and even confused, about this phase of Spanish thought and activity. "Neither in respect of Indians, nor of any other people, do the sins of the subject race give to foreign Powers the right of intervention," said Vitoria. "Provided no offence is committed against foreign and sovereign Powers, there is no justification for a war of conquest.”
1960-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 15 (1960)
“I quote Domingo de Soto, whose words must be read in the light of his age and of his religion: "The Christian, sanctified by grace, does not possess an iota more natural right than the savage infidel, white or black." The great Spanish Dominican, Francisco de Vitoria, the father of international law, held that the Indians were the lawful owners of their lands and estates, that their princes and lords were legitimate rulers, and that other princes should respect them and not use their unbelief and their customs as a pretext for imposing domination over them. "War and conquest, therefore, are not legitimate, even though they refuse to believe, and persist in their unbelief and idolatrous practices", wrote Vitoria, 9. My distinguished colleague of the Madrid Academy of Moral and Political Sciences, Father Venancio D.”
1960-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 15 (1960)
“Father Montesinos, of the Order of Preachers, defended the rights of the Indians faced with Spanish settlement in America in the following words "Are they not men? Are they not rational souls?" Here, then, were the rights of man being served by the thought of the Spanish jurists and theologians of our golden age, and of other ages.”
1960-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 15 (1960)
“But I do not believe that it was the Moslem conception of the equality of man which determined cur attitude to people of other races with whom we came in contact, as Toynbee says in the passage I have just read. That attitude was typical of, and innate in, the Spanish people when America was discovered — the great occasion on which our principles were put to the test — and the creative process, which might be described as colonial in the finest Roman sense of the term, was initiated by the first Spaniards transported to the continent recently discovered by Spain;, it was the Spanish instinct, the Spanish outlook, Christian, Catholic and filled with the humanity that is always alive in us, which revealed to us the equality of all men. 8. As early as the beginning of the sixteenth century.”
1960-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 15 (1960)
“It is true that the Spanish and the peoples of Spanish origin gained much — and I have made this very point both here and in the First Committee — from the culture and way of life of the Moslems during their centuries in the Iberian Peninsula. Things of beauty, moral qualities, spirited words incorporated in our language — these are the legacy of the tremendous conflict, which was followed by coexistence in many parts of Spain, and now there remain a cultural heritage of which we are proud, and a sentimental bond between us and the Arab and Moslem peoples as a whole, a bond of which we have been conscious here in the United Nations.”
1960-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 15 (1960)
“"It is no accident, I believe, that those, Western peoples who have had the closest contact with Islam Should also be the Western peoples with the best record in the matter of race relations. "Anyway, the freedom of the Spanish and Portuguese-speaking peoples from race feeling is an unquestionable fact whatever its historical origins maybe." This is a complimentary opinion, and I am grateful for it as far as Spain it Concerned — Portugal has an authorized spokesman here who can speak for his country — and I think there is much truth in it. 7. I believe, however, that a different interpretation should be placed on Spanish motives from the one given by the British historian.”
1960-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 15 (1960)
“An eminent British historian, Arnold Toynbee, whose opinions deserve attention, whatever one’s estimate of his work or even of the system underlying his work may be, wrote on 7 August 1960 in The New York Times magazine: “Among the Western Christian peoples, those that speak Spanish and Portuguese are conspicuously free from race consciousness. Is this a heritage of their Islamic past? For about 500 years the best part of the Iberian Peninsula was under Moslem rule. Islamic culture was at the time higher, and therefore more attractive, than the contemporary Western Christian culture. Consequently, the Christian subjects were deeply influenced by the culture of their Moslem rulers, and this cultural influence lasted after the Moslem rule in Spain and Portugal had passed away.”
1960-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 15 (1960)
“The American States, throughout most of the nineteenth century, were newly independent and more inclined to isolation than to participation in world affairs. But now they, together with the Asian and African peoples, are playing the predominant role in the making of history. 6. I should like to say — and even to dwell on the point a little — that, for Spain, this final emergence into the sunlight of world political life of these peoples who have acquired the status of new nations represents a moment of justice.”
1960-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 15 (1960)
“What could be more heartening to Spaniards and to others who, like us, believe that human development is divinely ordained and who share our firm and unshakable faith in the equality of all men and in their capacity to develop the same faculties and to achieve the same goals in life, than to see so many nations seated here today in this world forum of the United Nations? 5. We had, perhaps, become accustomed to a small ruling world, walled off from large sections of mankind living in areas remote from the centre of the stage. The monopoly of Europe, of the Congress of Vienna, lasted a long time. But now the world, politically (but not culturally) has become non-European and has taken over the stage. Countries of ancient civilization, those of Asia, formerly cut off from the ruling centre, have moved into the forefront.”
1960-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 15 (1960)
“This great event, rather than others which may seem more important or may cause more stir, will probably go down in history as the highlight of the fifteenth Session of the General Assembly. 3. The story of the peoples of the world is not yet a closed book. This meeting of the United Nations, attended by eminent Heads of State and important leaders of so many countries, bears a resemblance to the Congress of Vienna? — to different music and with a different score — in so far as history changes, which is in fact very little — a wider, less exalted. Congress of Vienna, in which the new countries, whose flags now fly. before our doors, are rightly occupying their places. 4.”
1960-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 15 (1960)
“When, therefore, the Spanish delegation sees an eminent Irishman assume the presidency of the Assembly, we must greet him, not with reserved silence, but with warm affection. 2. Nor is the fact that an Irishman is presiding over the fifteenth General Assembly of purely formal significance; the Presidents country is an example of how, even in the face of age-old difficulties, a people with a true sense of nationhood not born of fantasy or of baseless agitation, may win through to its objectives and fulfil its high purposes in the world. It is a particularly relevant example today, when the representatives of several new nations, most of them African, have just taken their seats, nations raised to the higher status of independent countries by a continuing process which promises well for the future of mankind.”
1960-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 15 (1960)
“We offer to the President a most cordial and heartfelt welcome. He combines in his person qualities of integrity with the mental accomplishments of his illustrious race, which has produced so many politicians and writers. Ireland is a chapter to itself in the history of the world, one with which we in Spain have been associated for centuries; I might also say we have been accomplices. To this day there are to be seen in Spain some fine Irish houses — as they are commonly called — where, not long ago, were educated the sons of the green isle of saints, who were driven by the political turmoil of their times to seek refuge in our country, linked to theirs by so many bonds of religion and outlook.”
1960-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 15 (1960)
“And it is food for thought that the general debate opened with a remarkable speech [797th meeting] by the Brazilian representative inspired by a very promising plan, "Operation Pan-America" — which we might call "Operation Kubitschek" — devoted to relief of this great human need, so that the Assembly opened on an auspicious note.”
1959-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 14 (1959)
“In conclusion, I should like to point out that these actions on our part are similar to those taken in other countries. We take pleasure in coincidence, repetition, the wholesome monotony of the words spoken by powerful human groups in connexion with progress, improvement, and the work of justice. We must not omit a reference, now we are touching on this theme, to the industrious search for the material improvement of mankind as a basis for its spiritual advancement. St. Thomas considered extreme poverty as a condition ill-adapted to the practice of virtue. On that subject we have heard not just statements, but pleas: we have been moved and impressed by the number of speakers who have appealed for action on these lines.”
1959-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 14 (1959)
“Economically speaking, Spain is not confining itself to this very important regional group but is hoping to widen its relations in this field with other countries, other continents and especially with the Spanish-American world, with which we have particularly close ties, as I have already said. We share the hope that all the countries of Spanish origin place in international economic assistance from the United Nations and the agencies connected with it. 79. We fully agree with the Argentine Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr. Taboada [797th meeting], in his chivalrous expression of gratitude to the United States for the aid which it has provided out of its own flourishing economy, and is still providing, to countries needing economic assistance to help them transform their economies and utilize their resources. 80.”
1959-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 14 (1959)
“For that reason we have a better understanding of the peoples which are seeking aid and only receive it through international bodies. 78. I must mention a new and decisive step taken in Spain through our currency stabilization and trade liberalization plan, recently initiated as a consequence of our admission to membership in the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development, the International Monetary Fund and the Organisation for European Economic Co-operation (OEEC) and with the special assistance and co-operation of the last two bodies. Our membership in OEEC has brought us into the European movement.”
1959-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 14 (1959)
“Luns, Netherlands Minister of Foreign Affairs [809th meeting], that the Organization’s sphere of action should be widened and that the Economic and Social Council — of which Spain is a member — should both deepen and widen its activities. 76. The programmes of technical assistance and the recently established Special Fund are both directly connected with international aid. The proposed International Development Association will provide a valuable contribution in this field. Its establishment will help in the vast problem of helping and raising the standards of the under-developed areas. 77. In recent years Spain has undertaken an agricultural, hydraulic and industrial programme which has transformed the entire country, and this, in a country with an economy which has until quite recently developed in enforced isolation.”
1959-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 14 (1959)
“Our delegation hopes that at the Second United Nations Conference on the Law of the Sea an international agreement may be reached on the question of the delimitation of territorial waters and similar problems. Spain attaches the greatest importance to the maintenance and respect for the traditional principle of freedom of the sea and does not agree that the limits of territorial waters can be changed by unilateral action without reference to international conferences. 75. On reading the reports we note with satisfaction the progress achieved by the United Nations in the vast economic and social field. We agree with the comment made by Mr.”
1959-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 14 (1959)
“For that reason, we voted for it, on the understanding that the authority of the United Nations and 'he principles of the Charter should not be impaired. 73. Our delegation considers it a matter of urgent necessity that outer space should be placed under international law. This would entail the collaboration of those countries which have hitherto not taken any active part in the work of the ad hoc Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space, set up by the last Assembly [resolution 1348 (XIII)]. It is a strange and significant fact that statements of leading scientists of a country which has recently achieved great successes in this field seem to concur with the principle recognized in that Committee’s report [A/4141] that outer space should be explored and exploited by all on a basis of equality. 74.”
1959-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 14 (1959)
“It is satisfactory to have heard that the incompatibility between the two theories which were until recently so diametrically opposed (disarmament preceded by control or control after disarmament has been achieved) may be removed by a new formula which provides for both simultaneously. 72. We believe that all negotiations of the "armed" Powers and their allies in the military blocs they direct must proceed in close touch with the United Nations, so that all countries may hear and receive information about them. Only on that basis can we accept the principle of parity as a realistic concession. We have already said in the debate here that the establishment of a body which could provide practical results should not be opposed on grounds of principle.”
1959-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 14 (1959)
“We have heard several Ministers of Foreign Affairs suggest that they might go so far as to agree with the Soviet proposals. We shall not go into the substance of the matter. It is a practical issue, but it may well encourage hopes for a solution. We are among those who think that control and inspection must precede, or at least be simultaneous with, all disarmament operations. It seems extremely obvious. Only control can banish mistrust and provide a safeguard. And that seems even more obvious to those who, like ourselves, think that negotiations should still go on, even in an atmosphere of mistrust.”
1959-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 14 (1959)
“the purpose of an army is not merely to defend the independence of a country against external aggression, but rise to maintain law and order”, the Foreign Minister of Peru rightly observed in commenting on the implications of the Soviet proposal. He also pointed out that in the American countries — and I would add not in the American countries alone — the army "has an educational role; it makes good citizens of outcasts from society; it instructs the people; and it helps to inculcate a sense of social discipline." [810th meeting, para. 74.] 71. I shall not conceal our preference for the proposal outlined by Mr. Selwyn Lloyd [798th meeting], which is more realistic and accordingly appears likely to achieve mutual acceptance.”
1959-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 14 (1959)
“The establishment of the ten-Power committee, which is governed by the principles of "parity" in the representation of the two major military blocs, and which, so far as its composition 70. Two statements in particular have recently been made in this hall on the problem. The one so categorically made by the Head of the Soviet Government [799th meeting] does not seem to us very effective. It is not so much a disarmament plan as a demagogical appeal for the abolition of armies, the annihilation of the military virtues, and the destruction of the traditional order. It seeks to replace the army, with its discipline and significance, by popular party militias in the use of which the Communist countries have had much experience and enjoy a monopoly. “...”
1959-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 14 (1959)
“Despite international tension, and a succession of disputes, some hope has grown up in recent months of a better understanding and a more constructive approach. It is hardly nece 3ary to point out that the immense power of modern weapons and the fear of the havoc that they can wreak have also contributed to this welcome change of outlook. 69. The goal that was not achieved in the days when disarmament would have applied to what are known as conventional armaments now seems to be becoming the subject of negotiation. We have seen the signs of progress in this Organization. While it is true that no conclusive results were achieved at the Geneva Conference on the Discontinuance of Nuclear Weapons Tests, the fact that nuclear weapons tests have been suspended and not resumed since November 1958 is an encouraging sign.”
1959-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 14 (1959)
“Let us take the example of disarmament. No "concrete terms" are in sight. In recent days, there have been references, in connexion with the declarations made in this Assembly, to earlier disarmament negotiations, those undertaken by the former League of Nations in 1927 and 1932. The so-called "arms race" has been a cause of concern since the early days of the present century, but it was only after the First World War that the problem received official consideration and disarmament negotiations were undertaken in the League of Nations at Geneva. For a number of years there was no progress. Then the Second World War broke out; the United Nations was established, and the problem was taken up again, this time with better prospects of success.”
1959-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 14 (1959)
“To give the administering Powers their due helps to establish a better spirit of understanding; the culmination of the evolutionary process can only be peaceful and successful if there is unity of purpose between the administering Powers and those who will one day take over the administration from them, and whose destinies are now closely linked with theirs. 68. The more general aspects of the problems I have mentioned should not distract our attention from immediate considerations. Human suffering is often allayed by the creative activity of work. It is not enough to weep and complain; we must face our daily task, we must divide our day into small sections appropriate to what is after all our very humble spiritual and temporal stature. The most acute and general political problems must be dealt with in concrete terms.”
1959-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 14 (1959)
“We also wish to welcome in advance the territories on the threshold of nationhood which will join us in 1960 — Togoland, the Cameroons, Nigeria and Somalia — all of which will become independent next year. Their contribution to the work of the United Nations will be as valuable as that of the other African countries which are already participating in our work. Those countries, as I have said, will become independent, but there are other territories in Africa that have reached maturity and have followed a different road. Three of the countries I mentioned have been Trust Territories and are achieving independence in that way; others may achieve their political maturity in co-operation with the former metropolitan Powers, and I should be remiss if I did not pay due tribute to the admirable work those Powers have done.”
1959-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 14 (1959)
“Spain is traditionally open to contact with all races and was a pioneer, during the period when the overseas countries were created, of the practical equality of the human race in accordance with the religious doctrine of the Council of Trent, to which we contributed very largely. Accordingly we rejoice in the achievement of nationhood by so many peoples, particularly in Africa. 67. We became a Member of the United Nations three full years ago; since then there has not been a single session of the General Assembly at which the number of Members has not been increased by at least one country from the African continent, and we have welcomed them all, one by one.”
1959-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 14 (1959)
“With regard to our relations with Europe, there is no need to add anything to what has been said, and further underlined by the visit to London by Spain’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, to which I referred earlier. There has never been a greater need for unity among the nations of Europe, and strange as it may seem it is through American efforts that we have joined with them in the military defence of our continent. That is due to circumstances on which we prefer not to dwell, but it does not lessen our respect for all the nations of Europe or our close friendship with many of the countries with which we are working to safeguard peace and security, 66.”
1959-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 14 (1959)
“We must not forget that we live in an age when the 200 million Christians of the USSR have been reduced, according to the most kindly estimates, to 50 million; this process is continuing, and many of these people are being persecuted or are too old to resist pressure. In this connexion, we drew attention last year to the situation in the Holy Land, and urged observance of the United Nations agreements concerning this area, to. which so many millions of believers proceed in pilgrimage. We shall not cease to put forward this plea, in the sure knowledge that the religious peoples who are territorially responsible in the matter will see the importance of freeing the conscience of so many Christians, instead of debarring them from the performance of their supreme earthly devotion. 65.”
1959-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 14 (1959)
“Under these agreements, a Chilean, Peruvian or Paraguayan national can have Spanish nationality without losing his own; vice versa, a Spanish national can enjoy the nationality of any one of those three sister countries without losing Spanish citizenship. 63. The Iberian pact and our friendship with Portugal continue to be a basic feature of Spanish policy. This partnership, inspired by affection and common interests, has proved its worth in the most difficult days. Its present and future stake could hardly be sounder or more effective. 64. From this consideration of spiritual values, the religious factor — which for us is all-important — cannot be omitted. Much as the material poverty of the world grieves us, our deepest concern is with its moral and religious plight. We have already had occasion to deplore the Tibetan catastrophe.”
1959-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 14 (1959)
“"The opportunities which language, geography and history have extended to the Latin American nations are exceptional factors making for the achievement of political unity on the international plane." [800th meeting, paras. 38 and 39.] 61. The same point was made [810th meeting], with masterly precision, by the Foreign Minister of Peru. 62. Recently our association with the great Latin American bloc took the practical form of a common Spanish supranationality, with the agreement for dual nationality concluded between Spain and Chile on 28 October 1958, and with that concluded by Spain with Peru and Paraguay respectively on 16 May and 25 June 1959.”
1959-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 14 (1959)
“But it will never in fact feel small if it is a member of this spiritual community. It is the unity and effort of the Latin American States, for which the Foreign Minister of Argentina [797th meeting] pleaded so eloquently, that the world needs at this crucial time. The Foreign Minister of Colombia has rightly said, speaking of the Latin American countries: "The numerical, importance of these countries enables them to play a more significant part in major international decisions. We are the greatest combination of nations linked together by the ties of a common language, united by the same religious beliefs, and defending the same spiritual and political values.”
1959-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 14 (1959)
“The religious fervour, morality, sense of honour and nobility of soul transferred from Spain to America by the ancestors of the Latin American peoples have flourished, fusing admirably with the virtues of the original inhabitants and with their own noble creations in a new land. You, Latin Americans of Spanish origin, must know that we, the Spaniards of Spain — presumptuously perhaps, in view of our distance from America, though that distance seems less every day — take up our stand beside you, and that in our actions in this world, guided by motives higher than those provided by diplomatic treaties and agreements, we keep constantly in mind the considerations which for you must be determinative. In a few decades the Latin Americans will be a solid bloc of States, beside which the Iberian peninsula may seem small.”
1959-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 14 (1959)
“Our ships discovered it and brought our first settlers to its shores, and Spanish laws, implanted by Spanish peoples, established there a rule of law almost a century before any other people descended upon the future "Virgin of the world, innocent America" spoken of in bad verse, but with a genuine if faltering tenderness, by our poet Quintana. Of this we are now reaping the harvest. 60. The Spaniards who transplanted their spirit and culture to America have formed an impressive group of nations, already powerful but destined in the near future to exercise a still greater and more decisive influence in international disputes.”
1959-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 14 (1959)
“And since we are speaking of Spanish affinities, there is none closer than the authentic relationship, rising above circumstance, which unites us with the America of Spanish origin and foundation, and indeed with all America of Iberian origin, in which the history and spirit of Portugal have played so illustrious a part. Here it is a question, not of vague and general cultural trends, but of a relationship as spare and unadorned as our own imagery. As we look upon the present predicament of the world, and remember that the American continent has protected it almost continuously since 1945, we are justly proud to think, now that 12 October is at hand, that it was the Spaniards who threw that continent open to the others.”
1959-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 14 (1959)
“If, as we all hope, the new language spoken by the competent authorities in regard to the problem of Algeria clears the way to understanding and perhaps to a settlement, then we shall be able to claim that one great section of the world, blessed with the necessary virtues for human progress, is recovering its stability and is entering, perhaps unawares, into the family of nations with its authority and influence increasing year by year. Our affinity and long-standing friendship with the Arab peoples, which has never been belied, finds expression in these words of encouragement and in our approval of any step towards peace and reconciliation. 59.”
1959-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 14 (1959)
“Greater understanding between its peoples and the Western world — which God grant may some day turn into understanding between all peoples — places them, as soon as they begin to feel that the justice of many of their aspirations has been understood, on a better basis for resisting the revolutionary temptation of universal communist violence, to which they would never yield on fundamental issues, since they are peoples possessing outstanding virtues incompatible with materialism as a way of life. But for understandable reasons of expediency they might temporize with it, wounded as they have been by what they regard as insults from the Western Powers.”
1959-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 14 (1959)
“While the vast majority of countries, discussing the problem of relations between the two blocs — including the countries which, like my own, make to their bloc a contribution of men, bases and moral obligations — have no great armaments, we must remember that firm moral positions are of enormous influence in the present debate. 58. If responsibilities so serious as those now facing us are to be assumed, the world must be in a sound state of health. Our own health, in certain important respects, certainly seems to have improved. For instance, feeling in the Middle East seems to be better than it was at the time of previous Assemblies, and there is less bitterness there.”
1959-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 14 (1959)
“No greater danger could confront humanity than this blurring of vision, against which we must all be on our guard if we are to distinguish between good and evil, between Ormazd and Ahriman, not trying to revive the past as if the essential postulates of fifteen years ago had not become extinct. Only with our conscience clear and our eyes open can we accept partial solutions in the interest of avoiding extreme calamities. 57. We lesser Powers are able to influence events by the integrity and firmness of our attitude. I have noticed in many speakers, and have myself felt a slight uneasiness in speaking of problems which in the last resort are war problems, when our means do not match our words.”
1959-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 14 (1959)