YouSaid · the spoken record

Stephanopoulos

THE RECORD WRITES THIS SPEAKER AS STEPHANOPOULOS

lines on the record: 33
first: 1954-09-24
most recent: 1955-09-24
sittings or episodes: 2
sources: un-general-debate

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“In the United Nations, however, the role of the small States is as important as that of the large, for the concepts of law and justice are just as much the prerogative of the small and weak as of the large countries; indeed, they may be even more the prerogative of the weak. These concepts are their only defence against the arbitrariness which exist, by definition, in any concept of strength and power. The union of small countries for the defence of these principles constitutes a guarantee for the advent of a rule of law in international life.”
1955-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 10 (1955)
“Trujillo, the representative of Ecuador, made a speech from this rostrum [519th meeting] which moved us profoundly by its lofty thought and compelling inspiration. This hall echoed with the most noble pleading of a just cause. In his great humility, Mr. Trujillo said repeatedly that his voice was that of a small country. Nevertheless, there could be no difficulty in recognizing true greatness in the voice of that small country. 145. There will always be large and small countries in the world or, to use a more accurate expression, the strong and the weak. No one could or would deny this fact.”
1955-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 10 (1955)
“In the midst of the confusion created by die-hard diplomacy and controversies, he recognized the only valid truth. Mr. Menon said that Cyprus was inhabited by a people which belonged to no one, only to itself, and that it must remain master of its own fate. In saying this, the Indian representative conveyed to us the message that, henceforth, under the rule of the United Nations Charter, the “human factor” must be the fundamental and determining factor. In the colonies which are still to be found in the world, the people are no longer pawns of the geographical considerations of some nations or of the security and the economic interests of others. Their fate must depend solely on their own will. 144. My second remark is as follows. A few days ago, Mr.”
1955-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 10 (1955)
“It cannot, without jeopardizing the achievement of its aims, hesitate to play its part of peacemaker. It must fulfil the expectations of the peoples and gain their confidence by courageously assuming the responsibilities which are incumbent upon it. The great principles of the Charter must always illuminate the action of our Organization. To disappoint the peoples who have placed their confidence in us might lead to grave disaster. 142. Before concluding my statement, I should like to present two general Observations which, in my opinion, arise from the discussion of the inclusion of the question of Cyprus in the agenda of this session. 143. During the debate [521st meeting], the representative of India summarized the essence of the problem of Cyprus with admirable clarity.”
1955-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 10 (1955)
“The warmth of a better international climate might be expected to lead to the gradual melting of unduly rigid discipline and alignments. There will always be friendships, preferences and concurrence of opinions and interests. But the Assembly can and must be reborn into a greater independence. Only a decline of constellations will make world unity possible. 140. As I have just said, we are glad to see signs of an international truce on the cold war front. We should not forget, however, that the course of events in other parts of the world is extremely disturbing. Distress signals are lighting up. A breath of freedom is stirring the oppressed peoples. Blood is flowing. Ruins are piling up. 141. The United Nations cannot close its eyes to this sad reality.”
1955-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 10 (1955)
“The initial stages of our work at this session do not give grounds for any great optimism. Of course we must not lose hope, especially in view of the salutary reactions that are increasingly to be observed. Moreover, we cannot but rejoice at the courage of certain States which, through simple loyalty to the principles of freedom and justice, are successfully resisting the discipline and the alignments of opinion imposed by the dynamics of our Assembly. 139. The favourable developments in international relations that have been reported in recent months, the end of the cold war and the efforts made by both sides to bring about a real peace between East and West, should promote similar developments, all too long awaited in our Assembly.”
1955-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 10 (1955)
“The great danger lies in doing the opposite of what one says. The peoples are listening to our words. They will be our judges. 138. That observation leads to another important problem. How are opinions with regard to political questions, controversies and disputes formed in this Assembly? What are the determining factors in a vote? No one questions the right of each Government to determine its policy in accordance with its national interests; on the other hand, it is obvious that, in so far as national interests are not directly concerned, it is the interest of our international community, in accordance with the letter and spirit of the Charter, that should be the sole guide for the actions of our delegations to this Assembly. But is that really how things are done? Judging by the past, it would not seem so.”
1955-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 10 (1955)
“After the Atlantic Charter, after the Potomac Charter, after the Pacific Communique, after Bandung and after the adoption by the United States Congress, only a few weeks ago, of a resolution which roundly censured colonialism and its evils, we are witnessing developments which lead to a contrary practice. 137. We must bear in mind the fact that, especially in this Assembly, no one has the right to set himself up in judgement over another. Every opinion, provided that it is sincere, must be respected. Moreover, we all know that even the weakest thesis contains some grain of truth. There is absolutely no need for the colonial Powers and their supporters to profess beliefs which they do not hold and which they have no intention of applying because they consider them to be contrary to their interests. But that is not where the danger lies.”
1955-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 10 (1955)
“Why should those who have assumed certain obligations by signing the Charter be entitled to ignore or even to violate them whenever they see fit to do so? The Charter is not merely a treaty; it is the treaty of treaties. 135. It is true that the Charter contains general principles governing certain sectors of international life and activities. That is perfectly understandable; the Charter cannot provide for every specific case that may arise. This does not mean, however, that these principles do not represent concrete and definite obligations and that we are free to deal with the relevant specific cases otherwise than within the framework of, and in conformity with, these Obligations. 136. In this connexion, it is rather strange to note that the gap between the principles proclaimed and the practice followed is becoming wider and wider.”
1955-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 10 (1955)
“It is not a breviary which enables some more or less hypocritical voices to murmur appropriate prayers from time to time. We are not here to preach sermons. We are here to settle political questions. The United Nations Charter is a political instrument. The United Nations Charter is a contract, a contract between each signatory State and the other signatories, a contract between each Member State and the international community created by the Charter. And a contract is valid only to the extent to which it is observed by those who have signed it. 134. We have heard all too many statements here about respect for treaties. It is, of course, quite tight to stress the overriding necessity not to undermine the contractual basis of international relations but, that being so, why should the Charter be an exception to the rule?”
1955-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 10 (1955)
“I would ask those who, only two days ago, preached from this high rostrum the virtues of “quiet diplomacy”, whether they consider that this action by the United Kingdom Government comes under the heading of the “quiet diplomacy” which that Government proposes to use for the settlement of the Cyprus question. 132. We are greatly concerned. As we saw the other day, our anxiety is shared by many delegations. That is perhaps the only ray of hope that we can see in an extremely dark picture. But our anxiety is justified. Is the tenth session of the Assembly, this session which forms the link between the first and second periods of the existence of the United Nations, called Upon to pass on to the future all that was bad, unjust and deplorable in the past? 133. The United Nations Charter is not a proclamation of principles and intentions.”
1955-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 10 (1955)
“Only two days ago, the General Assembly decided [521st meeting] not to discuss the question of Cyprus at this session, but events are already moving fast. 131. According to an official dispatch published by Reuters this morning, Sir John Harding, the Chief of Staff of the British Army, has been appointed Governor of the island of Cyprus, with instructions to conduct a campaign of extermination against those whom the United Kingdom Government describes as “anti-British terrorists”. According to a statement by the Colonial Office, the reason for the appointment was the need for concerted action by all the security forces on the island, so that law and order might be maintained. The United Kingdom, having removed the obstacle represented by the United Nations, is going to war against the people of Cyprus.”
1955-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 10 (1955)
“It is a working session in which the General Assembly is called upon to take the first step along the road of its own future. To quote a familiar saying, it is always the first step that is the hardest. To make a bad start would be to tarnish this as yet unblemished future with a dark stain. 130. The present session is only just beginning, but the few opening meetings that we have held do not augur well. Greece — the whole of Greece, its Government and its people — is voicing its disappointment and anxiety at the first words pronounced in the Assembly, and you know full well the reason. They were negative words, words lacking in courage; instead of opening the path to hope, they closed the doors of the United Nations and blocked the way of justice and international agreement with regard to urgent and serious problems.”
1955-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 10 (1955)
“128. The United Nations has just turned a page in its history. The present session is called upon to take the first step towards that future which we all hope will mark an improvement as regards peace, justice and well-being in the world. The commemorative session at San Francisco drew up a balance-sheet of the first ten years of the existence of the United Nations; it also illuminated with its hopes the road which our Organization must follow in order to fulfil the expectations of the peoples and gradually to transform the promises of the Charter into realities. 129. The present session, which is the first in what may he called the second period of the existence and activities of the United/ Nations, thus assumes vital importance.”
1955-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 10 (1955)
“Our delegation will sustain and support the Secretary-General in his efforts whenever he needs out backing. The Greek representatives on the Committees which will consider, directly or indirectly, every question connected with the problem, have received instructions to this effect. 158. Lastly, I wish to emphasize particularly that the Greek delegation supports the co-ordination of work and action which should first and foremost be directed towards helping the under-developed countries. In this respect, the Secretary-General has been guided by the primary and predominant interests of the international community, as repeatedly expressed and specified in the relevant General Assembly resolutions. I am convinced that the Secretary-General will find the General Assembly ready to support him fully in his most laudable initiative.”
1954-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 9 (1954)
“Viewed in this light this problem calls for the General Assembly’s most earnest attention, and should, in my opinion, be made the subject of an appropriate study with a view to arriving at constructive and generally acceptable solutions. My delegation reserves the right to consult with other delegations in order that the question may be dealt with at a suitable moment in accordance with the interests of the United Nations. 157. Before concluding I wish to refer to the plan for the reorganization of the Secretariat proposed by the Secretary-General in the final part of the introduction of his report to the General Assembly [A/2663, pp. xiv-xv]. The Secretary-General’s efforts towards better organization, improved output and the implementation of programmes are of considerable importance.”
1954-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 9 (1954)
“Presumably all Member States, independently of the legally binding force of this or that resolution, admit that the United Nations has a certain authority which they have undertaken to respect. The United Nations would be threatened with mortal danger should the time come when each Member State recognized as valid only those of the Assembly’s decisions which coincided with the views of its own Government. All Member States, more especially the democratic countries whose Governments are responsible to the people, should weigh the grave responsibility they assume in undermining the authority and prestige of the United Nations. 156.”
1954-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 9 (1954)
“In this connexion I cannot help pointing out to you that certain delegations have stated even from this rostrum, that their Governments intended to disregard any action and any resolution adopted by the General Assembly which did not meet their own views or suit their own interests. It is particularly regrettable, and absolutely inadmissible from the point of view of the essential interests of the United Nations, that representatives should come here to show us the “waste-paper basket” to which certain Governments propose to consign the resolutions and recommendations of the General Assembly. 155. These disturbing demonstrations which deal a serious blow to the prestige and usefulness of the United Nations cannot be overlooked.”
1954-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 9 (1954)
“First, the widest possible application of the fundamental principles of the Charter should be sought and guaranteed by all, regardless of any current political or other considerations. We all know the pressure exerted on governmental decisions in all countries by circumstances, necessity and special interests. The principles of the Charter, however, express the common interest, and that interest should never be sacrificed to selfish inclinations or compromise arrangements.. 154. The second consideration is respect for General Assembly resolutions and for the Organization itself on the part of all Member States.”
1954-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 9 (1954)
“It is especially comforting to note that the great Powers are firmly committed to the rule of law; they realize that might is something relative, that the one who is supreme in strength today may fall from his eminence tomorrow, that sometimes the .strong prove to be weak, and the weak strong, and that in any case none is more powerful than all the others together. In this way the rule of law is, in the final analysis, the best safeguard both for the weak and for the strong. 153. It would, I think, be to the advantage of all Member States, if they wish to strengthen the rule of law within the United Nations, to be guided by certain general considerations, of which I should like to mention two as specially significant.”
1954-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 9 (1954)
“I do not intend to inquire into this question more searchingly, though in so far as it affects the very future of the United Nations, it should be weighed and studied by us. Nevertheless, I should like to mention, as an example, the principle of the equality of all Member States for voting purposes which is not only an emanation of the democratic spirit underlying our Organization, but also a positive element of law. In this connexion we should appreciate the valuable contribution made by the great Powers towards the building of peace when they accepted the principle of equality for voting purposes, for this principle is the motive power in the General Assembly’s proceedings. I need hardly recall that law and the legal order serve the interests of the weak rather than of the strong.”
1954-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 9 (1954)
“Whether it is regarded as a permanent diplomatic conference or as a political assembly, harbinger, as it were, of the democratic organization of the future, in any case the General Assembly is assuredly the main centre for the development of the international community, one might say the mould of the world of the future; and, unless plunged into suicidal war by blind passion, that world will be built on the rule of law. National communities passed through similar phases before they succeeded in imposing a legal order commanding universal respect on their social groups. 152. There are, in the General Assembly, positive elements capable of furthering the progressive development of law and respect for certain rules to be followed in the conduct of international affairs.”
1954-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 9 (1954)
“It is in that spirit that the Greek Government, holding that the fundamental principles of the Charter constitute definite international obligations and pertinent rules of conduct for all, has always placed its trust in the United Nations, the supreme authority and inner conscience of which are represented by the General Assembly. 151. The General Assembly has a particularly important function to perform in giving effect to the peaceful purposes of the United Nations. Irrespective of the nature of its functions and structure, the General Assembly is the principal United Nations body responsible for the organization of peace.”
1954-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 9 (1954)
“Accordingly, in the Secretary-General’s view, the United Nations should not be merely a “tool” in the hands of the international community for working out constructive and peaceful solutions, but, more than that, a virtual mental reflex, a reminder to all persons at all times that the world has now set out on the road to organized co-operation and that this new development in international relations cannot be ignored. The United Nations is tracing the path which international affairs should follow in the future and so far as possible we should not deviate from this path.”
1954-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 9 (1954)
“Even in cases where, for particular reasons, it seems necessary to avoid the normal procedure of recourse to the United Nations and instead to seek peaceful solutions by other means, it would be most desirable to ensure some co-ordination between the United Nations and action undertaken outside the Organization, if only for the sole purpose of keeping the Organization officially informed of all important developments in international life.”
1954-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 9 (1954)
“When the issue is how to further the cause of peace, one should not exclude in advance any method or procedure likely to lead to this goal. It would however, be helpful if the Member States, realizing the great possibilities and the effective safeguards offered by the United Nations, were always to consider the Organization as the normal and regular channel through which to approach the settlement of international problems and disputes. 150.”
1954-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 9 (1954)
“Without respect for these fundamental principles of freedom and justice it is impossible to establish relations of trust and understanding. Without these principles the United Nations will never be able to fulfil its beneficent mission. Its authority will soon be undermined if the Organization itself does not respect the principles inscribed in its Charter, or if it fails to secure universal respect for them. 149. In the introduction to his annual report [A/2663] on the work of the United Nations, the Secretary-General raises the problem of the use of the Organization by Members whenever current international problems call for pacific settlement. I must say that in this report, which is particularly noteworthy for its generous spirit and moderation, the Secretary-General offers us extremely useful guidance.”
1954-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 9 (1954)
“Earlier in my remarks I emphasized that only respect for the fundamental principles — legal and moral — which govern international life can offer a yardstick of the progress made towards peace. The proper aim of our efforts should be the application of these principles. We shall be assisted in our endeavour by the fact that these principles are laid down and consecrated in the United Nations Charter. The road to peace lies through the Charter. This is the road of justice and freedom, of law overcoming arbitrary power, of international co-operation fostered by respect for the fundamental freedoms of all of the general interest prevailing over special interests, of the equal rights of peoples, of respect for the human rights which now have been recognized by the international conscience as the “raw material” of the international community.”
1954-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 9 (1954)
“The Governments of these three countries were at pains, furthermore, to bring this treaty into line with the structure of the United Nations in such a way that it is intimately, I might even say organically, related to the relevant Articles of the Charter. The defensive language of the Treaty of Bled and of the corresponding provisions of the Charter testify as to the devotion of the signatory States to the United Nations. 147. While speaking of matters of special interest to Greece, I should mention the improvement in our relations with Bulgaria. To the extent that the Bulgarian Government manifests its intention of continuing to act in accordance with the rules of international law, we may hope for progressively normal relations between Greece and Bulgaria. 148.”
1954-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 9 (1954)
“Apart, from the great cardinal points which determine the general course of international relations, we should also take note of the efforts to strengthen peace which are made at the regional level. While failures have occurred in some regions, particularly gratifying results have been obtained in others. For example, viewing recent developments in South-East Europe in this light, I take great satisfaction in drawing the General Assembly’s attention to the constructive contributions made to the building of peace by the tripartite Treaty of Alliance signed at Bled on 9 August 1954. It should be emphasized that this treaty, which is purely defensive in its terms and nature, makes the present close and friendly co-operation between Greece, Yugoslavia and Turkey in security matters even more effective.”
1954-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 9 (1954)
“This factor can be none other than international law and respect for the principles on which that law is founded. 144. For my part, although not wishing to interpret recent developments in the international situation one way or another, I feel bound to admit that the steady decline in the number of armed conflicts creates, at first sight, a favourable impression. Less blood is now being shed. That may be considered as a noteworthy achievement of peace on the march. 145. That by itself should not, however, be a reason for premature optimism for we should not forget that in many parts of the globe we are still faced with disturbing and tense situations which are potentially so explosive and menacing that all who bear the heavy burden of international responsibilities must be ever vigilant. 146.”
1954-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 9 (1954)
“It is not always easy to judge events in which we ourselves are caught up, and it is even harder to isolate in these events the objective truths which may be helpful in guiding the development of the international situation steadily in the right direction. 142. Every individual, acting in accordance with his own views, interests and beliefs, forms his own opinion of events, but this opinion is not always shared by everybody else. This means that facts, which each of us sees in his own way and on his own terms, rarely offer a common ground for understanding and action. 143. That is why, after noting the facts as they occurred and the various opinions of all who express serious judgments on them, we must look for some other factor which could serve as a common denominator and a better guide in our efforts to establish peace.”
1954-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 9 (1954)
“Mr. President, I wish first of all to congratulate you on your election. The Greek delegation is glad to see that the conduct of the proceedings of the ninth session of the General Assembly has been entrusted to a person who represents the European spirit in its most universal form. My delegation wishes you, in the performance of your duties, all the success which you deserve. 141. During the general debate with which each regular session of the General Assembly opens, it is customary for most of the speakers on this rostrum to draw up what might be called the balance-sheet of peace. This balance-sheet usually consists of an appraisal of the past and of an expression of hope for the future.”
1954-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 9 (1954)