YouSaid · the spoken record

Robert SCHUMAN

lines on the record: 90
first: 1951-09-24
most recent: 1952-09-24
sittings or episodes: 2
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

“Though France remains ready to take its large share in all dangers and in all enterprises of common interest, it has no intention of placing on others responsibilities which are its own and to which it lays claim before you with full consciousness of its duty.”
1952-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 7 (1952)
“In voicing such criticism, we are discharging a duty towards all the countries represented here, towards our Organization and towards ourselves. 157. I should like everyone to be able to feel the sincerity, the feelings, which have motivated my words, and to realize that what is most important for France is not the protection of its national interests, however legitimate such an aim might be, but the future of the United Nations, which is now at stake. A crisis like that which now threatens the United Nations cannot be resolved by a trial of strength or by adopting some motion or resolution. Just as a surgeon avoids operating when the patient's condition is at the acute stage, so just and lasting solutions cannot be worked out when feelings are at fever heat. 158.”
1952-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 7 (1952)
“I entertain the firm hope that the means whereby that principle, which is intended to ensure the protection of the prisoners, can be put into practice, will be worked out by the First Committee, in which all delegations have unanimously expressed their desire to reach a just and honourable settlement which would put an end to the suffering and distress of an unhappy country. 156. This picture of our fears and grounds for hope would perhaps seem gloomy and discouraging, were it not illumined by our absolute goodwill and our faith in the future of the work that was undertaken seven years ago. Even criticism is constructive if it is intended to ensure a better knowledge of our task, to guide our joint efforts.”
1952-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 7 (1952)
“We knew already that except on one point — the exchange of prisoners — the armistice negotiations had succeeded. The discussions in the First Committee have confirmed that. They have also fully revealed all the complex aspects of this problem of the liberation and repatriation of prisoners, whose solution, we think, can be based only on the immediate liberation of all prisoners as soon as hostilities come to an end and the exclusion of any method involving repatriation or detention by force.”
1952-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 7 (1952)
“It considers that disarmament remains an ideal to be attained, and it hopes the Organization’s present and future work will not disappoint the peoples of the world. 154, In Korea, the United Nations has achieved the triumph of international justice. It has opposed flagrant aggression with its collective force, and, thanks to the sacrifices which have been made, the brunt of which has been borne by the American people, on? Organization has remained faithful to its calling. Its principles have survived; at the price of severe fighting, the armies under its hag have stopped and driven back the aggressor and freed all the invaded territory. 155. Thus aggression has been punished, and for a year and a halt the United Nations, has been attempting to re-establish peace.”
1952-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 7 (1952)
“Trygve Lie's resignation is to be regarded as final, for it would break the personal continuity of which I have spoken. 152. In all justice, we must recognize that in some respects the United Nations has achieved tangible results. Thus, so far as economic and social matters are concerned, I pay tribute to its successful efforts to give effective aid to the under-developed countries. Such aid also promotes solidarity, and is an enterprise with which we shall always associate ourselves to the full extent of our resources. 153. Similarly, France will remain closely associated with other countries in the defence of peace and freedom. In that connexion, my country is gratified at the success which the United Nations has achieved and must still achieve in political matters.”
1952-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 7 (1952)
“Consequently my Government can agree to discuss neither the principle nor the manner of such interference. 150, France will not be failing in the respect it owes the United Nations, or in the loyalty which it has pledged and still pledges in respect of all its international commitments, if it feels bound to protest against what it regards as a fatal mistake and a dangerous misunderstanding of one of the fundamental principles of the Charter. 151. Against these misgivings and reservations which I have just expressed on my country’s behalf, there is fortunately a positive side to the balance sheet, an aspect which reveals the continuity of our joint efforts. That continuity is in a way embodied, in our Secretary General. I shall be sorry if Mr.”
1952-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 7 (1952)
“France considers that it would be making a serious and unpardonable mistake if territories still imperfectly developed, for which it is now responsible in varying degrees, set themselves up as independent States before they were able to meet the heavy responsibilities which that would imply. The dangerous mirage of a premature independence, fictitious rather than real, would imperil not only the legitimate interests of France and of others, which France has undertaken to safeguard, but also the further development of those same territories, which we cannot expose to chance and anarchy. 149. For all these reasons, which we have frankly explained to you, my Government declares itself compelled in all conscience to warn the Assembly against the consequences of an interference to which in no case and under no conditions could it consent.”
1952-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 7 (1952)
“Two months ago it took substance and became a reality in the form of a coal and steel community established among six European States with a total population of 156 million inhabitants, which by a fifty-year treaty have pooled the production of those two basic industries. In the same way, there will be established a common army — no longer a coalition army, an aggregate of national armies, but a single and unique institution serving a jointly determined policy. By taking such an initiative and — it must be said — this risk, France has shown the way which will lead us beyond nationalism. France submits of its own accord to this common discipline; by its own example it evinces a new ideal which will be the foundation of a renovated organic structure. 148, All this, however, presupposes education and a prudent and methodical development.”
1952-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 7 (1952)
“France sees in this idea a means of building a new world, a more coherent and more peaceful world, in which vast tasks extending beyond national structures would be jointly undertaken in the interests of all, in which peace would no longer rest only on fragile treaties, on transactions rapidly repudiated or forgotten at the behest of ephemeral power groups, but in which peace and peaceful co-operation would be organized by joint and permanent institutions, expressing the solidarity of merging and intermingled interests. 147, That is the idea which is also at the basis of our European policy. It is no longer a mere project.”
1952-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 7 (1952)
“Just as freedom is an inalienable right both of the individual and of the nation, so independence is relative and involves degrees. One is truly independent only to the extent to which one is to face one’s responsibilities and satisfy one’s needs. All peoples today are subject to the imperative requirements of solidarity and interdependence. No problem of importance can any longer be solved within the frontiers of a single nation. 146. The same is true of the concept of sovereignty, which has lost its absolute validity. France, as permitted by its Constitution, accepts for itself — but only under the condition that there is reciprocity — the idea of a freely agreed transfer and division of sovereignty in favour of supra-national agencies.”
1952-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 7 (1952)
“For the peoples thus bound to France by a common destiny, it would be a mistake to follow a policy that might dissociate or disunite them, or set them against one another. I can assure you that we are imbued with the spirit of the Charter and wish to attain its objectives. Some believe they can attain those objectives by establishing separate entities and leaving them to waste away in an isolation where racial passions might have free rein and at the same time lead to economic ruin. We, however, wish to attain those objectives by forming large political and economic communities. To a policy of division, we oppose a policy of association. 145, We regard as an all-too-common fallacy the belief that the supreme good for a people lies in unlimited and absolute independence.”
1952-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 7 (1952)
“The French Union is the outcome of a development towards an association of States and territories in which each retains,, its identity and chances for the future, each is given institutions adapted to its particular status and its capacity for self-government and responsibility, but in which all the participants, whether in Europe or overseas, subordinate themselves to the performance of a common task, the service of a common interest, and in which each co-operates in the defence and development of the whole, In that common setting, each people must progress, materially and politically, towards ever higher levels at which their native abilities, their aptitudes for the free management of their own affairs, will unfold and assert themselves. 144.”
1952-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 7 (1952)
“in its institutions, and even to rise above nationalism itself, selfishly confined within its narrow frontiers. 142. France considers that it is neither failing in its national duty nor disregarding its true interests by joining enlarged communities which are the result of historical development or are made necessary by geographical or economic factors; for such communities always express solidarity among men and nations. 143. One of them is the French Union, established by our Constitution of 1946, contemporary with the Charter of San Francisco and born of the same spirit.”
1952-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 7 (1952)
“I tell you this with the absolute frankness which I owe you, whether you are friends or enemies. I tell you this because you all, without exception, are aware — you have yourselves experienced during the history of your own peoples — that France has traditionally defended the cause of the oppressed, that France is deeply attached to the freedom and dignity of the human person and of nations. More than any other country, France respects the feeling of nationhood, which it is proud to have served in every circumstance and which it does not confuse, and will never confuse, even if it calls itself nationalism, with blind and criminal fanaticism. More than any other nation, France endeavours for its own part to rise above the outmoded concept of colonialism, which it has repudiated once and for all in its Constitution and.”
1952-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 7 (1952)
“Does anyone really believe that that would serve the cause of peace among nations, in accordance with Article 1 of the Charter? 140. To take action on the suggestions made to you would, moreover, jeopardize the internal cohesion of States by giving rise within them to misgivings and dissensions which would thenceforth be encouraged from outside. The more I think of it, the more I am convinced that what is involved in this matter is not only North Africa, not only the interests of France — vital interests which France is entitled to protect and will protect with all its strength — but also a sound conception of the United Nations itself. The Organization is threatened by a distortion which would be pernicious to itself, to the, Member States and to the cause of peace. 141.”
1952-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 7 (1952)
“As long as you go on discussing, as long as there remains the slightest chance of your intervening, the fanatics will do everything to prevent the possibility of a friendly solution. 138. This is the case with Tunisia, this could become the case with Morocco, but it would also end by being the case with other States as well. 139. Is there a single country without any difficulties arising out of antagonisms based on race, language or religion? Let me ask whether such countries believe that, they could remain free from all outside interference or from any attempt at interference if the United Nations admitted the principle, or even the possibility, of such interference in the case of Tunisia or Morocco? Sooner or later the United Nations would be asked to set itself up as the Judge of these extremely delicate problems of minorities.”
1952-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 7 (1952)
“Foreign propaganda is also being used to mislead people, and the result is the useless sacrifice of several dozen human lives, loss of time, and a slowing down of activities at a time when the people as a whole want merely to work and live in peace and security. Some persons are fostering the dangerous illusion of being granted an audience by the Assembly; they are speculating about your possible intervention against us, This is the only remaining expedient, the last resort of those who have undertaken the serious responsibility of breaking off the negotiations in which the French Government has, never ceased to associate with them. 137. You owe it to yourselves to put an end to these speculations, to this uncertainty.”
1952-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 7 (1952)
“You could not be deceived by such methods, become the pawns of coldly premeditated terrorism, or give way to such criminal blackmail France alone is responsible for the maintenance of order and security; it protects both French and Tunisians impartially and will continue to do so firmly and with composure in spite of all provocations. 136. An assembly such as this must weigh its responsibilities very carefully, for they are commensurate with its high authority. The mere possibility that the Assembly might intervene in Tunisian affairs has encouraged the agitators. It has caused great bewilderment and has troubled the negotiations, which were previously conducted quite calmly. A minority of extremists would like to delude the masses by the mirage of a fruitless debate in this Assembly.”
1952-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 7 (1952)
“We have recently given an assurance of these aims to His Majesty the Sultan, and we are always prepared to reach an understanding on these principles and the methods of applying them, just as we have been and still are prepared to do in Tunisia. 134. In Tunisia, unfortunately, some have preferred violence and intimidation to free and friendly understanding. Terrorism is always a most hateful method; it will never serve as an argument against us. It is criminal and cowardly to murder innocent victims, women and children, the great majority of them Tunisians, by the haphazard explosion of bombs thrown or placed by ill-doers who have been turned into fanatics or hired by those who prefer to remain under cover. Those who organize terrorism do irreparable damage to the cause they claim to serve. 135.”
1952-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 7 (1952)
“Then, as these reforms are gradually put into effect and tested in practice, France will be prepared gradually to give up the powers which it holds under the treaties and exercises at present on behalf of sovereign Tunisia by virtue of a contractual delegation. 133. In Morocco, the development started thirty years later than in Tunisia and has proceeded along very different lines. The final objective, however, is the same: to establish Morocco with its dynasty as a sovereign State, to develop its political and social institutions on democratic foundations within a progressively expanding area of self-government, to protect all interests, and to make the best use of all resources and help, so that, working harmoniously together, we may ensure the welfare of Morocco and all its inhabitants.”
1952-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 7 (1952)
“With regard to Tunisia, the French Government has submitted to the Bey a detailed programme of new reforms which would constitute a step forward towards internal self-government. They would bring about extensive participation by the Tunisians in public affairs. Our purpose is that the Tunisians should be able to assume ever-increasing responsibilities. We particularly want the support of young Tunisians, who are given priority in all the administrative careers in their country. In this way we are trying to spread democratic organization at all levels, starting at the bottom, in the municipalities and other local communities.”
1952-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 7 (1952)
“Need I recall that it was at the request of the French Government that Tunisia and Morocco were both unanimously admitted last year to associate membership in the World Health Organization? Need I refer to Cambodia, Laos or Vietnam, which have gained their independence within the system of the French Union, which are Today members of most of the international organizations, and whose application for admission to the United Nations recently received the favourable votes of all but one of the States members of the Security Council? France’s policy is flexible; it is adaptable, and it adapts the progress of political institutions to the resources and requirements of each territory. The same arrangement would not be applicable everywhere at the same time. 132.”
1952-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 7 (1952)
“France will not disavow this mission. Did anyone challenge this mission when together we founded the United Nations and signed its Charter? In those days no one thought of making any reservations about our right to be in North Africa, or our conception of our duties. If this mission is to be fruitful and lasting, it must be carried out by means of friendly contractual agreements, freely debated and, entered, into, without external interference of any loft, either individual or collective. It must be carried out progressively and quietly, with full regard to the aspirations, concerns and interests of all sectors, of the population, irrespective of race, language, religion or social status. 131. The policy which France has set itself is perfectly clear; it cannot be suspected by anyone.”
1952-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 7 (1952)
“Some perhaps might not be sorry if they merely succeeded in ousting France, without caring what happened afterwards. Well, France is not going to let itself be ousted. I give them that firm and solemn assurance, supported up to the hilt by the vast majority of the affected peoples, who know better than anyone else that France is essential to them and that no one could effectively take its place. 130. The goal which France has set itself is dictated by its conscience, inspired by its ideals and imposed by the principles laid down in the preamble to its Constitution and by its commitments to the United Nations. It intends — and I quote the words of our Constitution: “to guide the peoples for whom it has assumed responsibility towards the freedom to govern themselves and to manage their own affairs democratically”. That is the aim.”
1952-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 7 (1952)
“The Moroccan and the Tunisian problems alike consist basically of how to ensure for the future, as in the past, that all these elements in the population, each essential to the life of the country, shall be able to live and work together in peace and friendship. The indigenous populations themselves are not homogeneous; they differ in their origins, traditions, beliefs and aspirations. The successes achieved under the authority, the responsibility and the protection of France in the past must be maintained and guaranteed by a new regime. That is the political problem before us. 128. It is relatively easy to criticize and to express wishes. It would, I think, be extremely rash to attempt? to burden the United Nations with the responsibility for determining the future organization of two rapidly developing countries. 129.”
1952-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 7 (1952)
“Without going back to the legal aspect Much I dealt with a moment ago, without asking under what power, what text, the United Nations would seize itself of these problems, I should like to know how our Organization could possibly define what reforms should be undertaken, by what stages, and through what institutions. For that is the proposal. You are to be made the judges, not only of the existing situation, but also of what should be done in the future: that is to say, of the way to protect the interests of 3 million Tunisians, 8 million Moroccans, 500,000 and 150,000 other Europeans who are at present working hard together to lead the two territories towards a maximum of prosperity and welfare. 127.”
1952-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 7 (1952)
“The fact that lengthy and laborious discussions are sometimes inevitable in matters of this complexity is no cause for surprise; still less should it arouse indignation, in which passion plays a greater part than reason. Simply solutions can doubtless be applied in countries still in the initial stages of their economic and social evolution, but no longer in Tunisia and Morocco, because of the great complexity of their problems, which cannot be dealt with by improvisation or by a breach in continuity. 126. Is it really intended to challenge France’s right to discuss the various stages and the pace of this evolution, seeing that France first started and directed the process? Who, then, is to take these decisions in France’s stead?”
1952-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 7 (1952)
“France has undertaken to educate and initiate those peoples in democracy, as provided in the treaties, and it is responsible for completing its task. Considerable strides nave already been made. Many, of even greater importance, are being prepared, and France is ready to discuss them with properly authorized representatives. 125. Everything is done completely in the open. These are not secret negotiations carried out under cover tb force the weaker party to agree. The Sultan of Morocco and the Bey of Tunis are perfectly free to make their attitude known, and can state it formally in public. Who, then, can allege that freedom is being stifled?”
1952-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 7 (1952)
“France remains faithful to its liberalism, which accepts all trends of thought and all aspirations of the human soul. Far from hindering or neglecting the development of the peoples Under its care, it encourages and desires that development as one of the essential purposes of its presence among them. 124; All aspects of this joint undertaking, which is constantly developing, are closely linked to each other, and it is hard to imagine on what theory some persons base their claim to isolate political problems and ignore their close connexion with economic, social and cultural development. Political institutions must be an expression of that development and of the increasing maturity of a people.”
1952-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 7 (1952)
“A systematic programme enables the schools to accommodate a larger percentage of Tunisian and Moroccan children each year and makes it easier to satisfy the needs of a rapidly growing population. It is well to recall that the educational system had to start virtually from scratch. I shall say no more than that, at the present time, the number of pupils is increasing at the rate of 20,000 a year in Tunisia and 25,000 a year in Morocco, and that 16.5 per cent of the general budget in Tunisia and 17,18 per cent of the Moroccan budget is devoted to education. Once more, let me discreetly add that the same cannot be said of some of the countries that are accusing us. When these pupils leave school, the French universities are open to them just as to the French themselves, while at the same time their traditions and religion are respected.”
1952-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 7 (1952)
“France is a strong supporter of the Point Four programme, and will therefore accept and solicit whatever outside assistance may be capable of fully developing these territories, which have a great future before them. As to what my country is doing, suffice it to say that, in 1951 alone, French Government funds directly or indirectly invested under the Plan de modernisation et d'equipement of the French Union amounted to 23,500 million francs for Tunisia and 67,000 million francs for Morocco. 123. Thus provided with a suitable livelihood and delivered from the plagues that were destroying them, the people have been given access to the benefits of culture. France has consequently been anxious to develop all forms of education.”
1952-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 7 (1952)
“Everyone knows that whereas in 1912 the port of Casablanca in Morocco handled very little traffic, it now handles by itself 7,500,000 tons of goods, while the total traffic handled by all Moroccan ports amounts to almost 10 million tons. 121. This economic expansion originated in the harmonious partnership between France and Tunisia and Morocco. French technical methods and equipment, and the investment of French and local funds, government and private, have aided the indigenous inhabitants and the Europeans in their work and have welded together their efforts and interests, producing an ever closer and more powerful solidarity among all elements of the population. It is thus that Morocco has become the world's largest exporter and second largest producer of phosphates. 122.”
1952-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 7 (1952)
“Mines, modern communications — roads, railways, and now air transport — ports, the most famous of which is Casablanca, electrification, especially by water power— all these have enabled Tunisia and Morocco to become countries with complex economic systems which, with a growing variety of resources and activities, should be able to cope easily with the population increase that I have just referred to. Everyone knows that in 1,881 Tunisia had only trails, and that now there are more than 15,000 kilometers [9,360 miles] of carriage roads; that it then had no port but now has 22 ports open to trade and navigation.”
1952-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 7 (1952)
“A glance at the population graphs will give ocular proof of what has been accomplished. I shall cite only two figures, but they are conclusive. The indigenous population of Tunisia has tripled since 1880 and that of Morocco has doubled since 1920, whereas formerly, as I said before, they were steadily declining. 120. This very increase in population, however, has brought new problems. In order to adapt and develop their economies while remaining in essence agricultural countries, Tunisia and Morocco have had to develop their other resources, especially minerals, and to establish industries. The technical and financial contributions of France have here again been a decisive factor. It is clear that these countries would never have found within themselves the means to exploit their wealth.”
1952-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 7 (1952)
“At the same time, a developing social legislation, modelled directly on that of France, has given the workers a minimum wage (which, incidentally, is really observed, as is not everywhere the case), maximum working hours, weekly rest and, generally, the various protective measures which it is to the credit of our age to have initiated. The law is effectively enforced by labour inspectors. France has also furthered the protection and welfare of workers by introducing trade unions. They have had a remarkable growth in Tunisia and are bound to become much more important in Morocco, where, by the way, Moroccans are admitted to European trade unions — the practice here being ahead of the law. 119. A tangible, irrefutable proof of how beneficial all these measures have been is the growth in population.”
1952-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 7 (1952)
“The plague, cholera and typhus, regularly recurring horrors of past centuries, have now disappeared. Let us hope that the methods that have succeeded in Tunisia and Morocco may ultimately rescue all countries still ravaged by those diseases. Statistics show that the systematic campaign against malaria, smallpox and tuberculosis has greatly reduced their incidence. Infant mortality, which formerly was widespread, has been reduced by more than one-half. In Tunisia, the death rate is being rapidly reduced and is now 140 deaths per 10,000 inhabitants, a figure below that of many other countries. In Morocco, free clinical treatment was given in 1919 to barely a million people, but today the figure exceeds 13 million a year. 118.”
1952-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 7 (1952)
“Statistics show that in Tunisia 90 per cent of the farmland is owned by Tunisians, and in Morocco 94 per cent is cultivated by Moroccan owners. In both countries there is a large reserve of arable land that by well-tried methods, can be made to meet the needs of a constantly growing population. I should like to give some additional figures. In 1881, the farm land in Tunisia amounted to 700,000 hectares [1,729,000 acres]; today it amounts to well over 4 million hectares [9,880,000 acres]. In Morocco, 3,000 tons of fertilizer were used in 1925; the yearly figure now is 60,000 tons. 117. It was at the same time urgently necessary to improve health and sanitary conditions, first of all by conquering the diseases and epidemics that Were decimating the population.”
1952-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 7 (1952)
“At the same time, the government services began to modernize agriculture, chiefly by establishing model plantations, the most famous of which is at Sfax in Tunisia, where thousands of hectares of sand and scrub have blossomed into a magnificent olive orchard, 80 per cent of which is owned by Tunisians. These results have been achieved either by reforestation and small-scale irrigation schemes, which have gradually improved the former miserable conditions of the peasants, or by large-scale irrigation schemes with great dams which have either already been constructed or are now under construction. These long-range plans have together greatly influenced water control generally and, through it, the climate. 116. No one can justly maintain that the French have carried out these achievements for their own benefit.”
1952-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 7 (1952)
“Various reasons accounted for this — the defects in the land-tenure system, the nomadic habits of a large part of the population, the fact that farm implements had not been improved for centuries, and the absence of any kind of economic system, especially of credit facilities, so that usury was rampant. The reorganized land-tenure system, which over much of the territories has become one of the most modern in the world, has given Tunisian and Moroccan peasants a firm title to their holdings and thereby firmly established their rights and met their financial needs.”
1952-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 7 (1952)
“I think I may say that in the usefulness, and efficiency of those administrative bodies, and public services, Tunisia and Morocco compare favorably with many other States whose position has been similar to theirs but which have not achieved anything like the same level of progress. 114. The first concern of France was to raise the standard of living and improve the social conditions of the people, who were living in misery. By establishing peace and order, France was able to give them the hope and confidence without which no human effort is possible. 115. Although Tunisia and Morocco were then exclusively agricultural countries, their production was very low.”
1952-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 7 (1952)
“We sought, thereby, to transform the ancient province that was Tunisia, and the mass of warlike and mutually hostile tribes that was Morocco, into true states as understood in the language of modern public law. Far from impairing the sovereignty of those countries, as is sometimes claimed by those who deliberately ignore historical facts, France has actually re-established and strengthened it and is helping it to reach full maturity. 113. While strengthening the political power of Tunisia and Morocco, France has also helped them to build up administrative bodies and public services adapted to the: political, economic, and social needs of our times.”
1952-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 7 (1952)
“Politically and administratively, they were crudely organized and almost in a state of anarchy. The standard of living was very low and conditions of health and sanitation terrible. Their very rudimentary economic systems could not support even their decreasing populations. The financial situation was so bad that foreign creditors had to come in and set up controls. Culturally, these countries had not yet opened their doors to the new trends in human thought and co-operation. 112. In both Tunisia and Morocco France began, as it had agreed in the treaties, by strengthening the sovereignty of the reigning dynasties, whose stability and authority had been threatened in Tunisia by financial difficulties and in Morocco by internal dissension.”
1952-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 7 (1952)
“Finally, as regards culture, the nationals of Tunisia and Morocco have access to the cultural heritage of France on the same terms as French citizens; at the same time France has scrupulously respected their traditions, institutions, civilization and religion. 110. The arrangement resulting from the treaties may be briefly described as a partnership, in which each partner both contributes and receives. If, especially in the beginning, one partner must be junior, the reason is not the desire to give a privileged, partner special benefits, but rather the inequality means and resources. The intention is that this inequality shall progressively disappear and the partnership remain. 111. What was the situation in Tunisia and-Morocco when these treaties were signed?”
1952-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 7 (1952)
“In Morocco, in 1951, imports amounted to 159,000 million francs, but exports only to 88,000 million. The deficit of 71,000 million francs was also met by France. 108. As to social progress, France has introduced social legislation and practices in these States, which it is thus assisting, that enable the workers to reap the benefits of the great emancipating movement of our times and to enjoy conditions, in respect of health and sanitation as well as of the general standard of living, which are infinitely superior to those, prevailing before and also to those which still prevail, unfortunately, in many other countries. I shall be excused if I refrain from making specific comparisons,. 109.”
1952-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 7 (1952)
“This is an economic advantage to the two territories and relieves them of the crushing burden that States must bear in these times. 107. As to national economy, the economic systems of those countries were originally quite rudimentary, but through the efforts of France have now become prosperous, complex and stable. They are now developing with the aid of France, and find markets and economic assistance within the more extensive economic system of our country, which equips them, balances their budget, and stabilizes their balance of trade and of payments. Here are some figures in this regard. Last year Tunisia's imports amounted 59,000 million-francs, and its exports to only 35,000 million. The deficit of 24,000 million francs was met by France.”
1952-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 7 (1952)
“What is the general relationship between France on the one hand and Tunisia and Morocco on the other, first, as embodied in those treaties and, secondly, practice. Essentially there is an exchange of reciprocal rights and duties between the signatory States. In return for the special powers conferred by the treaties on France as possessing sovereignty over Tunisia and Morocco, those two territories receive various kinds of advantages. 105. In the first place, in dealings with other States, they are represented by France, and their citizens, when abroad, are protected in the same way and to the same extent as French citizens. 106. As to security, Tunisia and Morocco are included in France’s national defence perimeter and plans.”
1952-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 7 (1952)
“I repeat that the United Nations was not established and is not equipped to perform that task, and if it tries to do so it will be overwhelmed by the weight of its imprudently accepted responsibilities or by a storm of provocative and sterile recrimination. I say this as a general statement of principle. 102. It remains for me to show, by describing the problem to be solved, how this statement applies in particular to Tunisia and Morocco. 103. In 1881, France concluded the Treaty of Bardo and later, in 1883, the Treaty of La Marsa with the Bey of Tunis. In 1912, France's concern, then developing rapidly, for the security of North Africa, induced it to intervene in unhappy and strife-tom Morocco and to conclude the Treaty of Fez with the Sultan. 104.”
1952-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 7 (1952)
“No, as the President of this Assembly so rightly emphasized on the day of his election [377th meeting], our Organization is not a universal court, nor is it a world government. It has neither the vocation nor the mean to be such. Its purpose is to develop friendly relations and co-operation among the nations. Would this purpose be served by involving it in every dispute which might arise? In the present disturbed situation, too often systematically fostered by vehement propaganda, is it reasonable or desirable for the United Nations to interfere in affairs which ordinarily can and should be settled by the countries themselves?”
1952-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 7 (1952)
“France claims no privileges for itself, but neither will it submit to any adverse discrimination. Those who disparage France may be tempted to believe it particularly vulnerable because of the freedom of expression which it practises without reservation and because of the controversies, even though unfair and tendentious, which it tolerates within its territories. The plaintiffs do not enjoy the same freedom everywhere; they do not perhaps practise it in their own countries. By listening to them too readily, by giving your Organization automatic and general competence to deal with any matter referred to it, you would countenance the paradoxical situation whereby a country in which criticism is free and agitation easy would be more readily indicted before you than a country in which contradiction is not permitted. 101.”
1952-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 7 (1952)