YouSaid · the spoken record

Couve de Murville

THE RECORD WRITES THIS SPEAKER AS COUVE DE MURVILLE

lines on the record: 179
first: 1958-09-24
most recent: 1967-09-24
sittings or episodes: 5
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

“Peace is, of course, especially endangered when a great Power is involved and is engaged in actual fighting. That is why, always and everywhere, we firmly oppose war. That seems to us to be in the interests not of France alone, but of all mankind. That is also why, always and everywhere, we stand for the independence of peoples and aid among nations, against the power game and the struggle for influence, and for genuine disarmament. 46. We are well aware that there will always be great and small countries, national rivalries, conflicts of interests, overweening ambition and even ideological conflicts. But over and above all these, in this atomic universe of ours, the first need is for man to survive, and that is why our first duty, as well as our primary interest, is peace.”
1967-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 22 (1967)
“I have endeavoured to define clearly France's views and positions on the major questions, all too often the major crises, which concern and divide the world today, I have also tried to bring out my country's greatest concern with regard to each of these questions and crises; and, because it knows of none more vital, in every case France's primary concern is for peace. 45. Generally speaking, world peace is at stake. It always is in matters of development, because these affect the lot of hundreds of millions of men, and their future relations among themselves and with the privileged nations. It always is when there is a local conflict, because there is always a manifest danger of a spread — known today as escalation — of hostilities.”
1967-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 22 (1967)
“It also means — provided that the above conditions are fulfilled — leaving the Viet-Namese, both North and South, the former to manage, the latter to continue to manage their own affairs in complete liberty and on their own responsibility, under whatever form of government they may choose. The question of reunification would be... a purely Viet-Namese problem, to be settled, when the time comes, in full independence between the parties concerned.” [1420th meeting, para. 76.] 43. I think that if all this were publicly and unequivocally accepted by all, prospects of settlement would not be long in opening up. 44.”
1967-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 22 (1967)
“The 1954 Geneva Agreements are often mentioned in this connexion, and indeed no settlement is conceivable without reviving the Agreements. May I take the liberty of quoting what I said in this Assembly a year ago to describe what would have to be done? Reviving the Geneva Agreements, I said, “... means agreeing to evacuate all foreign troops and to prohibit their return and forbidding any outside interference whatsoever in the affairs of Viet- Nam, which will undertake to maintain in future a policy of strict neutrality. These directives would be embodied in an international treaty which would be signed by — and hence would be binding upon — all the great Powers and other countries directly involved.”
1967-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 22 (1967)
“Could this new and decisive element be, as many have said, the unconditional suspension for an unlimited time of the bombings by which North Viet-Nam is being laid waste? France would be the first to approve of such a decision, to begin with, because it would put an end to the suffering of many Viet-Namese. If following such a measure, discussions could be considered, as the Hanoi Government has repeatedly declared since January, we too should be happy, for that would indeed constitute a first step. 42. Over-all negotiations, i.e., discussion of a political solution to the conflict, imply that South Vietnam, which in this war is both the stake and the champion, must also be directly and validly represented. They also mean that both sides know and recognize what such a solution should comprise.”
1967-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 22 (1967)
“This is a very different crisis from the one in the Middle East, since it so happens that one of the greatest Powers of our epoch, if not the greatest, is directly concerned in it. That is of course a reason — in addition to other reasons, often cited and legal in character - why it would be futile to submit the matter to the United Nations for its judgement. It is also the reason why we have said repeatedly that a decisive Initiative by that Power can alone constitute that new element failing which the only prospect Is a sterile and endless continuation of what everyone has long since admitted, to be pointless fighting, since it is generally agreed that no military solution is possible. 41.”
1967-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 22 (1967)
“But we must also bear in mind the world context, which presents a formidable obstacle to that entente between the great Powers the need for which I have stressed. 39. The world context obviously means primarily the war in Viet-Nam, with all its consequences both there and elsewhere. We have been speaking about it from this rostrum interminably, session after session, and the only changes we can note are that the fighting constantly grows more bitter, the ruins multiply, the military and civilian losses mount, and there is no prospect ahead save that of further escalation. Must we indeed despair? Is there no chance of putting an end to the incredible trials of the Viet-Namese people and of stopping a conflict which beyond any doubt has a direct and most unfortunate effect on international relations as a whole? 40.”
1967-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 22 (1967)
“Such are the duties which we must discharge and which, in the last analysis, are the direct consequence of the fundamental responsibilities assumed by the United Nations at the outset, in 1947, in what was then known as the question of Palestine, which is to say, the creation and evolution of the State of Israel. If tomorrow or the day after, thanks to our Organization, there should appear the first signs of the beginning of a thaw, we should feel amply rewarded. 38. I realize that in expressing such a hope, or rather in envisioning such a prospect, modesty must be exercised. We must take into account the regional context I have sought to define, without concealing but certainly without exaggerating the difficulties involved.”
1967-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 22 (1967)
“To give expression to world opinion, to lend the resources it has, particularly in staff, for the necessary work of supervision, control and liaison, and to formulate reasonable suggestions, using persuasion rather than force — that, we believe is in the present circumstances the mission of the United Nations. 36. Nothing can be done in this respect unless the major Powers agree, for we are well aware that if some of them say no tomorrow, as they did yesterday, all action, supposing that any action were possible, would be futile. 37.”
1967-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 22 (1967)
“I would even say that it would mean believing in miracles, for the interests at stake are contradictory, the passions aroused to a high pitch, the traditions different and the habits of thought and judgement incompatible, and all this against a background of ancient and recent history which has never known the meaning of moderation or tolerance. 34. It takes as much courage and perspicacity to surmount a victory as to overcome a defeat; so the road will be arduous and the effort long for both sides. Equally, it is not conceivable that this great community of States, the United Nations, could wash its hands of the matter, could fail to proffer assistance in every possible form. What better proof can there be of that than the discussions which now will be resumed and which no doubt will go on year after year? 35.”
1967-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 22 (1967)
“Can anyone really think that the way to achieve this, today or in the future, lies simply through direct negotiation, without intermediaries, between the Israel Government on the one hand and each of the Arab Governments concerned on the other? Is it to be believed that natural evolution, the pressure of circumstances, will necessarily bring this about sooner or later? 33. Even though, since the Khartoum Conference, some of the larger Arab countries have been admitting that a peaceful solution is the only conceivable solution, surely this would mean assuming the problem solved in advance.”
1967-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 22 (1967)
“Is there any need to say that for the Arab world it would mean a retardation of its efforts to overcome a trauma whose internal and external effects are far from disappearing? Lastly, for Israel it would mean perpetuating, and perhaps aggravating, the abuses which conquest brings with it, and therefore also the insecurity it has known in its twenty years of independent existence; this is certainly borne out by each day’s news. It would also mean leaving for future generations, if not making altogether impossible, that settlement of which I spoke and which should one day enable Muslims and Jews to live at last side by side in peace and reconciliation. 32.”
1967-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 22 (1967)
“In the same spirit, it had co-sponsored other resolutions, which were adopted, concerning the lot of the refugees [resolution 2252 (ES-V)] and Jerusalem [resolutions 2253 (ES-V) and 2254 (ES-V)], where the real problem is not so much the definition of a status as sovereignty itself. 31. As follows from my comments, what we must now do is ascertain whether, and to what extent, the situation can be moved from the dead point at which it has been since the cease-fire. That question arises because no one can expect to derive any long-range benefits from perpetuating the status quo. For the international community that would mean allowing to subsist a hotbed of disturbance and agitation, all the more dangerous as outside Powers might confront each other there with their opposing policies and actions.”
1967-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 22 (1967)
“These problems — it being understood that each of the States concerned is entitled to existence and to security — are basically, in our view, apart from the question of navigation, the position of the Palestinian refugees and the relations between these neighbouring States. I do not feel it appropriate to say more on the substance of the matter, save to repeat once again that no fait accompli as regards the territorial boundaries and the status of the citizens of the countries concerned should be regarded as irreversible. That is why in the voting on 4 July at the emergency special session my delegation supported the draft resolution stating that evacuation of the conquered territories was an obvious pre-condition for any useful action towards a peaceful settlement.”
1967-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 22 (1967)
“Can there be any doubt that such action might have, to begin with, prevented the worst, that is to say the use of arms; secondly, led to settlement through negotiation of the immediate cause of the conflict — freedom of navigation in the Gulf of Aqaba — and, lastly, resulted in the pacification of a region then shaken by military movements and incendiary declarations? 29. There is no point in dwelling on the past, unless we draw from it lessons for the future. How do we visualize this future, if we want peace to be restored in the Middle East and, as the French Government said in June as soon as hostilities ceased, if we want a freely negotiated settlement, accepted by all the parties concerned and sanctioned by the international community, to solve one day the various problems involved? 30.”
1967-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 22 (1967)
“Surely no more eloquent demonstration is needed of division that leads to impotence than the spectacle offered by the recent emergency special session, which was split almost equally on the substance of the matter before it and adjourned without having arrived at a conclusion, if not without bitterness? 28. Yet that was a case which might have taken another turn, if it were recognized, as common sense dictates, that concerted action by the major Powers is one of the pre-conditions for the proper functioning of the United Nations.”
1967-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 22 (1967)
“Admittedly, the Charter has its gaps and shortcomings. Basically, however, it establishes a proper balance between the principal organs and a realistic distribution of powers. Yet there have been very few cases in the past twenty-two years which were dealt with as the founders had hoped they would be. At a time when opposing blocs confronted each other, during the period of the cold war, the situation with regard to the outside remained ambiguous for a long time, because the General Assembly, in which there was a solid majority for a definite point of view, served as a recourse. Today, now that so many new States have joined us, there is no longer a built-in majority for anything, save perhaps for the feeling of disenchantment I mentioned earlier. Thus, the true situation can no longer be dissimulated.”
1967-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 22 (1967)
“Of course the difficulties are enormous; but let us also recognize that one of the greatest is persistent disagreement among countries, and especially among those which bear the main responsibility, i.e., the most highly developed countries. 26. May I now say that the disenchantment I have mentioned is even more general and more profound in the United Nations. It is a state of mind which grows and gains ground as disappointments and failures multiply. How could a wind of optimism blow in the United Nations when a war has just been interrupted and no means of restoring a peaceful situation in the region is within human sight; and when another, a cruel and devastating war, whose end no one can reasonably foresee, has been going on for years, with increasing violence, in another part of the world? 27. The fault is not in our institutions.”
1967-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 22 (1967)
“In anticipation of the second session of the Conference, to be held at New Delhi next year, we can perhaps discern some more favourable prospects, as regards both the organization of commodity markets and sales of manufactured goods from the developing countries. If this should prove to be so, France would be the first to rejoice, for we have always thought that these two questions, and more especially the first, must be given priority. 25. Nevertheless, I shall not hesitate to say — for it is the truth — that more, and probably much more will be needed to dispel the spirit of disenchantment in which such discussions are approached today and which stems from the paucity of the results obtained.”
1967-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 22 (1967)
“Such action should supplement — wherever these are unavoidably inadequate or ion suitable — on the one hand the national effort, which naturally is the starting point and pre-condition of development, and on the other, bilateral aid, which by its very nature is primarily directed to investment and, secondarily, to training, where affinity or tradition make such training particularly desirable and worthwhile. The obvious field for international action, apart from financing, is everything having to do with trade and the world markets, That had, of course, been the principal aim of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, which held its first session at Geneva in 1964 and whose disappointing results I have commented on in this very hall [1420th meeting].”
1967-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 22 (1967)
“It is a responsibility France has never shirked, in particular as regards condemning and combating racial discrimination in all forms and helping to complete the process, already well underway, of the accession of African peoples to genuine independence. 23. The fact remains, however, that for the African continent the primary concern is development. Thai is true of many other parts of the world, including Latin America, even though the latter is also beset by political problems, for these, in our view, are closely related to its long-standing economic and social problems. 24. We all know that global action for development is essential; I believe we all accept this in principle.”
1967-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 22 (1967)
“It will be clear from what I have said that we are deeply concerned with the present state of affairs in a world where, in other continents, we find serious reasons for apprehension, if not out-and-out war. 22. When we met last year, Africa — and I mean Africa south of the Sahara — was suffering from the last manifestations of decolonization. Since then, some of the newly independent countries have encountered or reencountered difficulties in finding their balance or firmly establishing their statehood. In the second case, there can of course be no question of outside intervention, and what each of us must do is scrupulously maintain the relations that are normal between sovereign countries. In the first case, on the other hand, the community has a responsibility.”
1967-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 22 (1967)
“But that is a matter for the wisdom and determination of the European countries themselves. 20. Nothing of what I have just said to this great world assembly that we are should be taken to mean that France wants Europe to withdraw, as it were, to stop taking an interest in anything that occurs outside or to forget its international responsibilities. What France wants is that Europe should recover the means and the will to exercise those responsibilities independently. There can be no doubt in anyone's mind that Europe’s first concern would be solidarity among men, and its primary goal, peace. Certainly that is France's concern and France’s goal. Wherever peace is threatened, endangered or breached, no one can remain indifferent, and the scope of the action to be taken depends only on the means and influence at one's disposal. 21.”
1967-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 22 (1967)
“France feels that there is no other way for the continent of which it is a part to regain its proper role and exert its influence for the benefit of all, supplying that element of balance and peace which the world today so woefully lacks. The diversity of the national units of which Europe is composed, provided these can affirm themselves freely because no one, within or outside the continent, seeks to dominate them, should present no obstacle to the unity we seek. On the contrary, it should be an enriching and vitalizing element, provided also that the great problem I have mentioned has been solved and no longer divides Europe into two camps. There is, of course, one more condition, which is that Europe as such should not be affected by some external crisis whose repercussions would inevitably spread to it.”
1967-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 22 (1967)
“For the time being, thanks to the current evolution, which must continue and grow, we can but set the stage for that broad European discussion the need for which is becoming increasingly manifest and whose culmination would be, within a sound system of general security, to enable a pacific Germany, in concord at last with all its neighbours, near and far, to play in the international community, and in particular here in the United Nations, the part which is the due of this great people, once it has exorcised and cast out the demons that have caused its misfortune and Europe's. 19. That is the task with which my country intends to grapple, to the extent of its possibilities and in the light of its immediate interests.”
1967-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 22 (1967)
“The European peoples are at last beginning to see that the future may not limit them to a choice between perpetuating that rigid and hateful division which they are beginning to get rid of, and returning to the bloody quarrels of the past thousand years of their history. 18. Of course such an advance towards reason is still predicated upon the settlement of the great problem which is a legacy of that same history and which is known as the German problem. Who has better reason to know this than France? It will require on everyone’s part, over and above feelings and memories, not only time, which is to say patience, but also determination and courage, or, in the last analysis, realism and common sense.”
1967-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 22 (1967)
“It was time, it was high time, to set a seal of approval on the transformations that have occurred in our old continent, twice ravaged in the past half-century by cataclysmic wars and then petrified, as it were, for twenty years by the cold war, i.e,, the existence of two blocs opposing each other and risking a confrontation in Europe for world domination. Now that countries everywhere are once again becoming aware of their national identity, and although a balance of nuclear terror is hardly the best manifestation of human wisdom, conditions are gradually changing and normal relations in all areas are being established across what used to be called Iron Curtain.”
1967-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 22 (1967)
“16. Mr. President, the French delegation is highly gratified at your virtually unanimous election to the high office which you will hold during this session of the General assembly and, in fact, during an entire year. To begin with, we have known you for a long time and appreciate your personal and political qualities. Secondly, you are here as representative of Romania, a country with which France has certain ties whose names are civilization, history and friendship. Lastly, we view the choice that was made this year without opposition from any country whatever as a recognition by the international community of the welcome evolution which has been taking place in Europe for some years and to which in France we often apply the terms détente, understanding and co-operation. 17.”
1967-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 22 (1967)
“For France, peace and progress are the supreme objective of its international policy. It is with a view to peace and progress that France makes its judgements on major issues and endeavours to direct its action. These principles are its sole concern when it speaks of Europe, Africa or development assistance, And similarly when it speaks of Viet-Nam it has no other aim. It is world peace that is at stake wherever fighting is going on; it is world peace that is at stake wherever there is poverty and hunger. Let us all strive together to make that peace a universal reality.”
1966-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 21 (1966)
“All things in our universe are inevitably interdependent and this interdependence has increased with our technical progress and our growing feeling of solidarity evidenced, among other things, by the development of international institutions such as this. For that reason, beyond all legitimately national concerns, beyond individual views or interests, beyond regional and continental viewpoints, beyond our preoccupations as individuals or groups of individuals, there is a good common to all, which belongs to no one in particular because it is universal, which imposes a standard of behaviour and certain obligations on each of us, a common good which must, in the nature of things, find its primary expression in an assembly such as ours and which is called the peace and progress of mankind. 93.”
1966-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 21 (1966)
“I said from this very rostrum last year, with regard to the policy of co-operation: "We also believe that such a policy must be subordinated to the express condition that we refrain from linking aid, whatever form it may take, to any political condition whatever, and that we refrain from any intervention, in that connexion, in the affairs of our partners."[1341st meeting,para, 109.] It is clear that strict respect for such a rule of conduct is closely dependent on the international situation. If the cold war rages, it is bound to make its effect felt everywhere,' even in relations between the major Powers and the developing countries. The latter cannot conceivably avoid being regarded by the major Powers as a stake in their rivalries, rather than as the object of their generous and unselfish concern. 92.”
1966-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 21 (1966)
“Evidence of this may be found in my country's achievements in its own co-operation with the developing countries, starting with those for which it was formerly responsible, and in the volume of resources which it has devoted, is devoting and will continue to devote to such work. However, as always in this field, the way of doing a thing is almost as important as the thing itself.”
1966-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 21 (1966)
“This is, moreover, their primary responsibility, not only with respect to themselves, but also with respect to the international community, if they want to be in a position to play In It their rightful role. Just now 1 was somewhat pessimistic about the prospects for co-operation in this field between the major Powers in the present circumstances. But that does not mean that the duty of those Powers is any the less Imperative. To help their less fortunate comrades to the full extent of their capacity and in every possible form still remains an essential obligation. The results of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development held in Geneva in 1964 have been far from satisfactory. No one regrets that more than France. None is more firmly resolved to continue studies and discussions in a desire for progress and success.”
1966-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 21 (1966)
“It is in this spirit that we shall take part in the forthcoming discussions, aware of the need to make our positions clear beyond any possibility of doubt and aware too that, above and beyond those positions, we must strive to determine what will be useful, practical and effective, within the framework of our principles and in accordance with the rules of our Charter. 91. With these words on the African problems, which are by no means of secondary importance, I have completed the survey of the major international issues facing us at this time. There are, I know, for many, still other sources of concern. At least three quarters of the Organization's members are faced, each in its own way, by the major problem of their own development.”
1966-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 21 (1966)
“These anomalies or anachronisms, which are in such flagrant contradiction, with the general current of events and of mankind, have created local situations which are or which are liable to become tragic and have given rise throughout Africa to understandable feelings of distress which time will not assuage. France Is too firmly committed everywhere, and especially where its responsibilities are concerned, to respect for man's right to self-determination, not to share those feelings.”
1966-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 21 (1966)
“They are all rooted in the same cause, namely, the fact that there are still some parts of that vast continent which are still untouched by the great movement of liberation, or decolonization if you prefer, which has entirely reshaped that continent over the past fifteen-years and brought into our Organization so many new sovereign independent States. The basic principle of this emancipation has been the recognition of the right of peoples — of all peoples — to self-determination, In a certain number of cases, this right has not been recognized, or else, if recognized, confined to a minority by virtue of a racial discrimination which is contrary to all our convictions and to the very principles of the United Nations Charter. 90.”
1966-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 21 (1966)
“Thus, the conditions would gradually be created for a general opening up of Europe from the inside, for a broad development of political, economic, human and cultural exchanges, and for a constructive discussion of all the major problems facing the European Powers, foremost among them as always being that of Germany. If no outside factor interrupts the incipient course of this development, we have reason to feel reasonably optimistic, and I am sure that the General Assembly welcomes the fact as much as we do. 89. This year again, Africa is a major preoccupation. Some of the important issues there are already or doubtless soon will be included in our agenda.”
1966-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 21 (1966)
“France is happy, for its part, to contribute to the full extent of its powers to a movement which is healthy because it marks the return to normality and to old ties broken by the cold war and because it paves the way towards the future. France is happy to see that in Western Europe, as in Eastern Europe, it is meeting with approval and encouragement. It has good reason to hope that, if no outside catacLysm occurs — a cataclysm which would inevitably affect our old continent once it became world-wide — the movement thus started will be continued and extended.”
1966-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 21 (1966)
“We know full well that there will be no lasting and truly peaceful settlement in our part of the world so long as this major problem remains without a solution achieved in peace, that is, with the agreement of all concerned and, in the first place, the Germans themselves. Doubtless, as in the case of the other European questions, this solution will be found only at the end of a long and difficult process. But it is perhaps not out of the question to think that this process is, in a way, already mapped out, For some years now Europe has been free of the crises which, so long after the war was over, continued to divide it in the rigid and inhuman way that we remember only too well. The iron curtain and the ideological and military bloc are beginning to give way before the general desire to normalize relations and affirm national identities.”
1966-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 21 (1966)
“Non-dissemination itself is meeting unexpected obstacles, even though there seems to be nothing opposing it when one Looks at the well-defined policy of the nuclear Powers and the general goodwill of the non-nuclear Powers. 87. It will not be today nor tomorrow that we shall be able to expect a meeting of Western and socialist Powers to plan a concerted and effective policy towards the less developed countries, whether in the matter of financial aid, increased sales of primary commodities at fair prices, or simply technical assistance. 88. In this dark picture, I should like, however, to point out a few bright spots which offer some hope for the future. I am thinking especially of Europe. There too no lasting solutions have been found, in particular with regard to the future of Germany.”
1966-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 21 (1966)
“I would Like to think that nothing is irrevocably jeopardized; but there is a total blockage or hold-up on the path which would lead to a relaxation of tension, to co-operation and, finally, to understanding. 85. It will not be today or tomorrow that the United Nations will be in a position to settle the problem of China and to give that vast country, whatever its attitudes, its rightful say in the discussion of major problems, and above all those of Asia, to bring into this Organization an element of realism that is sorely lacking and, in short, to pave the way towards what must one day — saving a world conflict beyond the bounds of human imagination — be the new concert of nations. 86. It will not be today or tomorrow that any progress will become possible in the field of disarmament and, primarily, of course, nuclear disarmament.”
1966-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 21 (1966)
“We know its power and its determination; and we know too how generous are its sentiments and how firm its belief in its ideals, I think I need say no more. 83. Pending the new developments which the world anxiously awaits, each month that passes can only increase the tension and the risks of a widening of the conflict. Should we be surprised, then, if the Viet-Nam issue gradually draws us back into an era which we thought belonged to the past, provoking a new flare-up of the cold war which we thought, not so long ago, was about to become a part of history? That is the scene we are witnessing right here in the General Assembly, as we hear, day after day, all these divergent speeches and proposals. Could we really have expected otherwise? 84.”
1966-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 21 (1966)
“That initiative made it possible to open negotiations, while at the same time defining the basic objective of the agreements to be concluded. Who, at that time, sincerely thought that by so doing France was compromising its interests, weakening its position or jeopardizing its prestige? On the contrary, what an impact that memorable decision had! What an audience we gained in the world as a result of the ensuing agreements and the ending of the cruel fighting that could no longer lead to anything! 82. The United. States needs neither support nor advice, even though it told us, through its eminent representative, who knows the friendly esteem in which the French delegation holds him, that it wanted discussions.”
1966-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 21 (1966)
“It speaks in the name of its unique and 200-year-old friendship for the United States and the idea it has so far had of that country, seeing it — as the United States sees itself — as a country which upholds the view that peoples must be allowed to determine their own destiny in their own way." 81. May I recall that, not so long ago, France itself was involved, although for quite different reasons and in a quite different situation, in a war that likewise could only continue fruitlessly so long as a political solution was not forthcoming? Although the French forces unquestionably had the upper hand, France opened the doors to negotiation by declaring, of its own accord, Algeria's right to self-determination and thus putting independence within its reach.”
1966-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 21 (1966)
“Less than a month ago at Pnom Penh, General de Gaulle stated: "The possibility and, a fortiori, the actual opening of such extensive and difficult negotiations would obviously depend on the decision and the commitment which the United States would first have to make to withdraw its forces by a suitable and predetermined date." The President of the French Republic added: "France says this on the basis of its experience and disinterestedness. It says this by reason of the task it has performed in that part of Asia, the ties it has maintained there and the interest which it still has in the peoples living there—an interest which it knows to be reciprocated.”
1966-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 21 (1966)
“This is not at all surprising if we observe that, from the moment a military solution is excluded and hence when weapons are no longer considered to be the deciding factor, the negotiation of a political solution is conceivable only if both sides realize and admit what such a solution must involve. And this solution, in our opinion, cannot be other than the one I have just outlined. 79. With the escalation continuing, how could such an overture conceivably come from anyone but the great Power directly involved, whose intervention, has been one of the basic contributing factors and which is, therefore, the only party in a position to make the move which will open up all possibilities and, first of all, that of peace? As was said in the General Assembly a few days ago, the greater the power and influence, the greater the responsibility. 80.”
1966-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 21 (1966)
“The question of reunification would be recognized as a purely Viet-Namese problem, to be settled, when the time comes, in full independence between the parties concerned. 77. Is the execution of such a programme, which presupposes the opening and successful conclusion of negotiations of the highest importance, conceivable in the face of continuing escalation and the irreconcilable character of the United States and Viet-Namese positions? This war is shrouded in a gloomy fatalism which constantly prevents the adversaries from declaring their readiness to negotiate. 78.”
1966-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 21 (1966)
“This means, agreeing to evacuate all foreign troops and to prohibit their return and forbidding any outside interference whatsoever in the affairs of Viet-Nam, which will undertake to maintain in future a policy of strict neutrality. These directives would be embodied in an international treaty which would be signed by — and hence would be binding upon — all the great Powers and other countries directly involved. It also means- provided that the above conditions are fulfilled—leaving the Viet-Namese, both North and South, the former to manage, the latter to continue to manage their own affairs in complete liberty and on their own responsibility, under whatever form of government they may choose.”
1966-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 21 (1966)
“As a result, in Laos, there is a virtual state of war; in South Viet- Nam, for years, there has been a very real war which for the last eighteen months has been extended to North Viet-Nam. 76. For years France has been arguing that there, is only one way to break the present military deadlock, for one cannot conceive either that United States power will be defeated or that a people who desire their independence, regardless of their ordeals and suffering, will yield. Since only a political solution is conceivable — and that has been universally recognized — we must, by common consent, enter into negotiations aimed at reviving the Geneva Agreements.”
1966-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 21 (1966)
“Together with its neighbours, Laos and Cambodia, Viet-Nam might have believed twelve years ago that its sufferings had been ended by the Geneva Agreements, whose aim was to establish throughout former Indo-China a permanent cease-fire and an international control system which would ensure the independence of the four States, provided that they remained neutral and that outside Powers did not intervene in their internal affairs. In Cambodia an enlightened and courageous Government has wisely rejected all foreign interference; hence it has not been touched by the war and has preserved its national unity. Viet-Nam and Laos have not been so fortunate — or perhaps so meritorious.”
1966-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 21 (1966)