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Eden

THE RECORD WRITES THIS SPEAKER AS EDEN

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55

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1951-09-24

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1952-09-24

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2

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un-general-debate

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1. “They can make it also by setting themselves certain standards in international conduct and by observing those standards scrupulously in all their dealings with other countries... The greater the power any State commands, the heavier its responsibility to wield its power with consideration for others and with restraint upon its own selfish impulses.” 34. These words, I suggest, are as true today as when they were spoken. With them in my mind I take this opportunity to declare that my own faith in the principles and purposes of our Charter is unshaken. That faith is not daunted, either by the disappointments of the past or by the critical challenge of the present. It is only too true that we are today confronted with difficulties enough and to spare. They loom and vex us in every continent.”

   1951-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 6 (1951)

2. “It was this conviction which, even before the war with Germany had ended, led me, on behalf of my country, to give the fullest support to the initiative of the United States which resulted in the conference at San Francisco. When I spoke at the opening of that conference, in April 1945, I outlined the reasons which made some kind of international organization even more necessary then than it had been before. I would like to quote to you these few words: [Our proposals], I said, “impose obligations equally on all of us, on every Power here represented. But I am conscious that a special responsibility lies on great Powers in these days when industrial potential is so decisive a factor in military struggle... Great Powers can make a two-fold contribution. They can make it by their support of this organization.”

   1951-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 6 (1951)

3. “I can only tell you, in reply to these doubts, that I am more than: ever convinced that, if we are to succeed in this task, the nations of the world must submit to the rule of law and abide by it. Confidence can only be created and maintained on a basis of respect for international engagements. It is therefore the duty of all nations, as indeed it is their interest, to respect international authority and to uphold it. 33. It was this conviction which led me, as Foreign Secretary, to put forward in 1943 the United Kingdom plan for a new world organization. Much of this plan was eventually embodied in the Charter of the United Nations.”

   1951-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 6 (1951)

4. “The abrupt division of the nations into two confronting camps, their failure to resolve the many problems which face them, the use of force by aggressors in an attempt to compel the solutions which they seek, all these are clear enough evidence of a change for the worse. And to this I now find added, here in the United Nations, another experience which is new to me: the bitter vehemence of the polemics exchanged at international gatherings. It is small wonder if in such conditions some should ask, can we breathe life into an international order and build the peace and security for which the whole world yearns? 32. As many of you know, the greater part of my public life has been concerned with the international scene.”

   1951-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 6 (1951)

5. “All civilization is under a debt to France. For centuries those who have visited this brave nation and its capital city have been inspired by its graceful culture and enlightened by its intellectual clarity. It is therefore appropriate that today, in the year when Paris celebrates her two thousandth birthday, the United Nations should be meeting in her midst. We are all grateful for her greeting. 30. It is six years since I had the privilege to address the founder Members of this great Assembly. Unhappily, we can none of us pretend that in the interval the world has made any notable progress towards unity, toleration and enduring peace. In 1945 at San Francisco the great Powers were united in a joint endeavour. In good faith, as we sincerely hoped, this Organization was set up. 31. How different is the scene today.”

   1951-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 6 (1951)