YouSaid · the spoken record

Benegal RAU

lines on the record: 40
first: 1949-09-24
most recent: 1951-09-24
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

“All this shows how keen and anxious is the interest which a good many people outside the United Nations are taking in its affairs. The United Nations is their great, hope and, in some measure, they are the hope of the United Nations. Let the United Nations not fail them.”
1951-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 6 (1951)
“I started by referring to the manner in which the activities of the United Nations were influencing even private individuals, but the reverse is also true. During the past twelve months, scores of men and women have come to me with their hopes and fears the United Nations, with plans and suggestions for the solution of this or that problem, with proposals for improving our system of representation or our mode of voting, with draft resolutions on disarmament and the creation of a world peace force, and so on. I remember, in particular, one old man of ninety, hardly able to walk without support, or even with support, coming to my apartment repeatedly with detailed suggestions for ending the war in Korea. He was a distinguished lawyer in his day and, in spite of his years, his mind was as active and clear as ever.”
1951-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 6 (1951)
“If the Union of South Africa would accept those ideals of partnership and brotherhood in the Commonwealth of which the distinguished Foreign Secretary of the United Kingdom reminded us two or three days ago, the problem would be largely solved. 133. We in India have been witnessing for some years the rising tide of nationalism not only in our own country but also in various other parts of Asia and Africa. Our own experience shows us that nationalism when thwarted creates difficult problems; but if it is dealt with sympathetically and with understanding and in good time, it responds with friendship and generosity. We greatly hope that this will be borne in mind in dealing with those remaining areas of the world where the natural urge of nationalism has not yet been satisfied. 134.”
1951-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 6 (1951)
“Of the subjects on the agenda of this session, India is directly concerned in the one relating to the treatment of Indians in the Union of South Africa. It will be recalled, as I said a day or two ago, that in December last the General Assembly adopted a resolution [395 (V)] containing two recommendations the second of which was to be operative if the first one failed. The first one has unfortunately failed because the Union of South Africa was unable to accept it as a basis for any conference and so the General Assembly has now to consider what should be done to implement the second recommendation. It is no pleasure to my delegation to have to bring this subject year after year before this Assembly.”
1951-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 6 (1951)
“So much importance does my delegation attach both to disarmament and to the aiding of under-developed areas that we brought forward a draft resolution linking the two together in the First Committee last year. The idea of the draft resolution was to create a United Nations fund for war against human misery in the under-developed areas of the world and to divert to the fund at least a fraction of the vast sums which nations now spend, or feel compelled to spend, on armaments for war against each other. Even a small fraction would go a long way. The draft resolution was ultimately withdrawn, because a number of delegation that were sympathetic to the proposal wanted time to study it in detail. If sufficient support is forthcoming, my delegation may revive the proposal during the present session. 132.”
1951-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 6 (1951)
“This would make discussion less acrimonious and more fruitful. Particularly, as regards disarmament, unless there is a plan agreed to by all the Powers having large armed forces, a proposal to reduce or abolish armaments or forces would necessarily be unilateral and therefore impracticable. The smaller Powers would probably readily agree to any programme of control of armaments upon which the great Powers were agreed. My delegation knows only too well the difficulties as well as the importance of this subject and will consider most carefully every plan put before us. If any particular plan does not go far enough or is otherwise defective, by all means let us examine the defects and if possible remove them. 131.”
1951-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 6 (1951)
“The first and most obvious reason is that once war, as a possible solution of any question, is finally ruled out — and this is what is implied in a joint no-war declaration — the minds of those concerned must inevitably turn to peaceful solutions. And as peaceful solutions emerge, tension will ease and progressive disarmament can be expected to follow. So long as existing tensions continue unabated, it would be unrealistic to expect disarmament. The other reason is that there is a point beyond which “open disagreements openly arrived at” merely vitiate the atmosphere and retard a solution. We appear to have reached this point now and it is therefore better that outstanding questions should be first discussed privately between those chiefly concerned; any agreements reached can then be put forward publicly in the United Nations.”
1951-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 6 (1951)
““Perhaps such discussions have not been very fruitful in the past; they may fail again; but the attempt is worth making. Even if nothing else came of them, the Ministers could at least reaffirm jointly what each of their countries has already affirmed separately in signing the Charter, namely, that they would settle all their international disputes by peaceful means, and the psychological effect upon an anxious world would be far from negligible [286th meeting, paras. 93-96].” 130. That is the suggestion which I ventured, very diffidently, to make last year. I am emboldened to repeat it now, because a somewhat similar suggestion occurs in the inaugural address of the President of the French Republic to which we had the privilege of listening last week [333rd meeting]. Two good reasons can be adduced in favour of the suggestion.”
1951-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 6 (1951)
““We may be sure that the people of no part of the world, whether in the West or in the East or in the Far East or anywhere else, want war, and yet they feel compelled to spend vast sums of money on preparations for defence against aggression. Can we do nothing to dissipate this constant and wasteful dread of war? “I speak with great diffidence, but the subject is so important that I cannot refrain from making a suggestion or two. The Ministers for Foreign Affairs of the United States, the Soviet Union, the United Kingdom and France are all present [here]. Could they not meet... and discuss or re-discuss at least the most outstanding matters of disagreement between them? Could they not have something corresponding to one of those... periodic meetings of the Security Council which are prescribed in Article 28... of the Charter?”
1951-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 6 (1951)
“New China is a fact, and if the United Nations continues to ignore this fact, its deliberations may become somewhat unreal. It is therefore a matter of deep regret to us that the General Assembly should have decided to postpone almost indefinitely consideration of the question of the representation of China in the United Nations. 129. Another obvious failure is that we have not yet been able to implement the Article of the Charter relating to the regulation of armaments. This is an old theme and it is difficult to say anything new on it. I shall, therefore, repeat what I said last year, apologizing for the length of the quotation. This is what I said: “At the root of all the conflicts inside and outside the United Nations is a pervading fear of aggression...”
1951-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 6 (1951)
“We have not yet achieved universality of membership or representation and we cannot yet claim to be an organization fully and truly representing all the countries and the peoples of the world. This is not merely a formal defect; it may seriously impair the usefulness of our deliberations. For example, to mention only one point, we shall soon be discussing plans for reduction of armaments and armed forces, in the absence of any representative of the government controlling one of the most important armies in the world, namely, the Central People’s Government of the People’s Republic of China. My Government’s views on the subject of China’s representation have been fully explained here more than once and are well known to you all.”
1951-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 6 (1951)
“I have dwelt at some length and in some detail upon this part of the activities of the United Nations because it is of particular significance to India. India is now in the midst of a general election with a total electoral roll of about 175 million voters, based on universal adult franchise. It has been described as the biggest experiment in democracy the world has yet seen. This immense democracy will face formidable problems of low and deteriorating standards of life and if it fails to solve them quickly, democracy as a form of government may be discredited among the vast populations of the East. We in India are therefore straining every nerve to make it a success, because of our fundamental faith in the ideals of democracy. 128. Let me now turn for a moment to what the United Nations has so far failed to achieve.”
1951-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 6 (1951)
“It may inspire others to like generosity and there is also the possibility that the village receiving the gift may, in its turn, out of its increased crop production, repay the donors by making a similar gift to a neighbouring village, and so on, until there is a whole network of wells over a large area. Thus the original gift may multiply and spread from village to village, carrying with it a message of friendship and goodwill between people and people. In these days when there is so much depressing talk of international tension, it is well to remind ourselves that it is not the whole picture and that there is still a reservoir of goodwill among the peoples of the world, upon which we can. draw if we will only try. 127.”
1951-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 6 (1951)
“The spirit of our Charter, with its promise of “better standards of life in larger freedom” has begun to influence the activities of governments and groups of governments, of private foundations and even private individuals. I have said that this spirit has begun to affect even private individuals. I have had several proofs of this in recent months in New York; it will suffice to mention only the latest. A few weeks ago an American couple who have honoured me with their friendship offered in effect to make a gift of the cost of two tube-wells to be sunk in any Indian village where they were needed. Quite a small project: in terms of money it may mean some $10,000 to $15,000, but as a seed of goodwill between the peoples of the two countries it is of incalculable value.”
1951-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 6 (1951)
“Undoubtedly, our most important achievement has been in the economic and social field, particularly the systematic aid which the United Nations has begun to give to under-developed countries. The scale of this aid will have to be multiplied many times before it can perceptibly reduce the dimensions of the problem, for two-thirds of the world’s total population has still, among it, less than one-sixth of the world’s total income, and nearly one-half of the world’s population still lives well below the minimum necessary for health and efficiency. But the important point is that the United Nations has made a beginning, and more important still, there is a general awareness today, as never before, of the responsibility of governments and individuals in the more advanced countries of the world for the uplift of the under-developed.”
1951-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 6 (1951)
“I should like to begin, as so many others before me have done, by expressing my delegation’s grateful appreciation of the warm welcome extended to us by the Government of France. 125. The United Nations has now completed the first five years of its life, a period long enough to permit a review of its activities and the drawing up of a balance sheet of its achievements and failures. Such a survey would show that we have no ground for undue pessimism or for undue complacency, and that while there is room for hope, there is also need for ceaseless effort. I have, however, no time for a comprehensive review and must content myself with a brief reference to what appears to us to be the most promising achievement of the Organization during the last five years, and then to one or two of our main failures. 126.”
1951-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 6 (1951)
“The second occurred in the concluding article of the declaration, which laid down the principle “that the sovereignty of each State is subject to the supremacy of international law”. Reading the two together, it followed that the Charter was to be looked upon as a kind of fundamental law for every State. That that proposition should have received the authority of such a body as the International Law Commission was a development of immense significance, and it was to be hoped that the General Assembly would endorse the declaration.”
1949-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 4 (1949)
“It was a matter of general principle valid for all the countries of the world that no irrelevant considerations should ban the admission of a State which satisfied the provisions of the Charter. India particularly deplored the exclusion of Ceylon and Nepal, both neighbours, with long-standing ties in every sphere, and also that of Ireland. 94. In conclusion, Sir Benegal Rau referred to the draft declaration on the rights and duties of States, submitted by the International Law Commission as the first fruits of its activities. It was a short and unpretentious document, but it had two provisions of cardinal importance. The first was to be found in the preamble, which contained a tacit recognition of the Charter of the United Nations as part of contemporary international law.”
1949-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 4 (1949)
“Rank political injustice, fanned by racial passion expressing itself in a policy of complete segregation, was utterly repugnant to every principle embodied in the Charter and. could not but undermine the foundations of peace and security. 93. The deadlock in the Security Council on the application for membership in the United Nations of fourteen countries was a matter of deep disappointment. The consequences of refusing admission to peace-loving and sovereign States on grounds which had nothing to do with the merits of their applications would be disastrous alike for the prestige and the authority of the Organization. If such a policy should be pursued for any length of time, the United Nations would degenerate into a close corporation, and forfeit humanity’s faith in its capacity to save succeeding generations from the scourge of war.”
1949-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 4 (1949)
“Ignoring both the terms of those recommendations and the strongly-expressed sentiments of a number of delegations which took part in the debates, the Union Government had completed the process of what it called the closer political association of South West Africa with itself; and it had informed the Trusteeship Council that it would no longer supply information on the administration of South West Africa. The question would come up in due course before the current session of the Assembly. For the time being Sir Benegal Rau would only say that the Indian delegation viewed with grave concern the incorporation of the Mandated Territory of South West Africa into the Union, without any authority, moral or legal, for such a step.”
1949-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 4 (1949)
“With regard to the question of South West Africa, Sir Benegal Rau recalled that on 26 November 1948 the General Assembly had adopted resolution 227 (III), recommending that the Mandated Territory of South West Africa should be placed under international trusteeship and urging the Government of the Union of South Africa to propose a Trusteeship Agreement for the Territory. Later in the same resolution, the Trusteeship Council was authorized to examine such information on the administration of South West Africa as the Government of the Union of South Africa might continue to supply. 92.”
1949-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 4 (1949)
“The first type did not rule out the second; in fact, it stressed the importance of the second. The specialized agencies, as organs of the United Nations, would bring to bear on the problems entrusted to them the outlook of the introductory paragraph of Article 73, namely, “the principle that the interests of the inhabitants of these Territories are paramount”. The future of the Special Committee which focused the attention of the United Nations on the problems of the Non-Self-Governing Territories in the spirit of Article 73, would be determined at a later stage by the Assembly. The Indian delegation was convinced that a Committee so useful in its achievements and so promising for the future could not be brought to a premature end without creating serious misgivings in the minds of the dependent races of mankind. 91.”
1949-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 4 (1949)
“For the specialized agencies, therefore, the Non-Self-Governing Territories, as part of the underdeveloped regions of the world, offered a unique opportunity for investigation and assistance. But they could labour in their respective fields only to the extent that the Administering Authorities invited their co-operation. 90. During the preceding twelve months there had been a good deal of evidence that Administering Authorities were building up machinery for international collaboration among themselves for the more efficient handling of certain economic problems. The Indian delegation would remind the General Assembly of the two types of international collaboration envisaged in sub-paragraph d of Article 73: one, outside the United Nations among the Powers themselves, the other with the specialized agencies.”
1949-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 4 (1949)
“The Indian delegation had always taken a keen and active interest in the all-round development of Non-Self-Governing Territories as provided for in Article 73 of the Charter. It considered the Special Committee on Information transmitted under Article 73 of the Charter to be a most useful and, indeed, an indispensable institution. The establishment of such a Committee constituted an assurance to the millions of people living in those Territories that the General Assembly was Conscious of its obligations towards, races and regions not directly represented-in the United Nations. It was satisfactory that the services of the specialized agencies were being made increasingly available to the Non-Self-Governing Territories, because nowhere else were economic, social, educational and cultural problems in greater need of expert handling.”
1949-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 4 (1949)
“On 14 May 1949 the General Assembly had adopted resolution 265 (III) inviting the Governments of India, Pakistan, and the Union of South Africa to enter into discussions regarding the treatment of Indians in the Union at a roundtable conference, taking into consideration the purposes and principles of the Charter and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Preliminary discussions were taking place. India had lost no time in acting upon the resolution, but the response so far had been disappointing. Although the outlook at the moment was not bright, Sir Benegal Rau hoped that his delegation would not be compelled to bring up the matter before the Assembly again during the current session. 89.”
1949-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 4 (1949)
“At the previous session of the General Assembly, India and Australia had jointly sponsored a draft resolution on the problem, suggesting a postponement of the debate to the fourth session, for the reason that statements made- in the course of the debate on the one side or the other might introduce embarrassing complications for the participants at the Round Table Conference. It was to be hoped that the negotiations would be concluded satisfactorily before the end of the current session and that the necessity for discussing the question during the session would therefore not arise. 88.”
1949-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 4 (1949)
“If that were done, the question as to who should be the Administering Authority would become relatively unimportant, because it would be bound by a constitution approved and controlled by the United Nations. 86. Those, broadly speaking, were the lines along which the minds of the Indian delegation were moving; when their ideas had fully crystallized they would embody them in a draft resolution to be submitted at the appropriate time. 87. With regards to Indonesia, the Indian delegation had noted that discussions were proceeding at the Round Table Conference at The Hague.”
1949-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 4 (1949)
“Perhaps the best way of securing that object would be to ask the same commission to draw up a constitution for the Trust Territories. The constitution should, of course, be appropriate to the existing stage of development of those Territories, but it should contain an article providing for a periodic review of the administration by the United Nations through its appropriate organs and also reserving power to the United Nations to amend the constitution so as to ensure the realization of full self-government within a period of ten years. The constitution as prepared by the commission should be subject to the approval of the General Assembly, and the Trusteeship Agreement should contain a provision requiring the Administering Authority to administer the Territory in accordance with the provisions of the constitution prescribed for it.”
1949-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 4 (1949)
“How long the process would take would depend on the constituent assembly itself and on the nature of the questions which arose for its decision. It was important that the constitution should reflect the genuine will of the people. As soon as the constitution was ready, steps should be taken to transfer power from the existing regimes to the authorities under the new constitution. Meanwhile the existing regimes might continue, but they would have no part in the Working of the Constituent assembly. 85. With regard to the territories to be placed under the International Trusteeship System, it should be remembered that one of the basic objectives of that system was to promote the advancement of the inhabitants of the Trust Territories and their progressive development towards self-government or independence.”
1949-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 4 (1949)
“India had had some experience in those matters; in the light of that experience it appeared that the most satisfactory way of creating the necessary organs of self-government was to set up a constituent assembly to draw up a constitution for those territories. 84. The General Assembly might well appoint a commission of experts to examine that question on the spot and, if possible, to set up a constituent assembly, much as the British Cabinet had sent out a mission to India for a similar purpose in 1946. The commission might get to work at once, and once a constituent assembly had been set up, the task of drawing up a constitution might be left to that body. The constitution so framed should be subject to the approval of the General Assembly of the United Nations.”
1949-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 4 (1949)
“They must convince the peoples of the world that they were worthy of the confidence placed in them, so that other problems which defied solution outside the Assembly might be turned over to them with the same confidence. Approaching the matter from that point of view, the first question was what the wishes of the inhabitants of those territories were and what their welfare demanded. It might be that some of the territories desired and. were fit for immediate independence, and that others would have to be placed under the Trusteeship System or be dealt with in some other way. With reference to the first category, though they might be fit for independence, the organs of self-government were not yet in being; they would have to be created by some process. The main problem was how to create them and how long the process would take.”
1949-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 4 (1949)
“It followed, therefore, that the General Assembly would have to be guided by the same factors in making its own recommendations on the subject. In other words, the wishes and welfare of the inhabitants of the territories were to be the paramount consideration. 83. It should be borne in mind that in that matter the Assembly was acting, for the first time, as a world parliament invested with the power of giving final decisions, which those concerned were bound to carry out. In exercising that power, its members should therefore be most careful to see that they dealt with the problem strictly on its merits and that no extraneous considerations deflected their judgment.”
1949-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 4 (1949)
“If the four Powers were unable to agree upon the disposal of any of those territories within the period mentioned, the matter was to be referred to the General Assembly of the United Nations for a recommendation, and the four Powers undertook to accept the recommendation and to take appropriate measures to give effect to it. Since the four Powers had not been able to agree, the matter had come before the General Assembly at the previous session. As the General Assembly had then failed to reach any decisive conclusion, the matter would come up again during the fourth session. 82. Sir Benegal Rau repeated that the disposal of those territories was to have been made by the four Powers in the light of the wishes and welfare of the inhabitants and certain other considerations.”
1949-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 4 (1949)
“Whether the Kashmir problem or any other problem was concerned, India was as anxious as any other loyal Member of the United Nations for a peaceful and stable solution. 81. One of the most important subjects which would come up for discussion during the fourth session was that of the disposal of the former Italian colonies. Under the peace treaty with Italy, the final disposal of those territories was to be determined jointly by the Governments of four Powers, France, the United Kingdom, the United States and the USSR, within one year, “in the light of the wishes and welfare of the inhabitants and the interests of peace and security, taking into consideration the views of other interested Governments”.”
1949-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 4 (1949)
“When such a vast country as India, which had developed as a single political and economic entity over a long period, was suddenly split into two, a large number of complex questions were bound to arise requiring both time and patience for their solution. Problems which had previously been of a domestic character were suddenly projected into the international sphere. 80. As far as Kashmir was concerned, India was not opposed in principle to arbitration. Indeed, arbitration was one. of the methods of peaceful settlement enjoined by the Charter. But unless the arbitration was upon agreed issues, clearly defined beforehand, and upon well recognized principles, it might merely lead to further complications.”
1949-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 4 (1949)
“The Commonwealth justly prided itself on that tolerance which permitted freedom of judgment and of expression of opinion and there was, therefore, no reason for fearing that that freedom would be lacking in the Assembly. Unless such freedom existed no country could make its full contribution as a Member of the United Nations. A country might make mistakes but, even if it stood alone, it would be reassuring to the world to realize its integrity and its freedom to act as it thought right. 79. The United Nations Commission for India and Pakistan had announced its intention to report upon Kashmir once again to the Security Council and it would therefore be inappropriate to discuss the subject at that time. The Indian delegation would, however, make one general observation.”
1949-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 4 (1949)
“But even to render that service, it must exist and defend itself against all disintegrating forces, whether from within or without; that too India was firmly resolved, to do. 78. The other event of special concern to India was the decision taken the previous April that when India became a Republic under its new Constitution — as it would tin a few months’ time — it would continue to remain a member of the Commonwealth of Nations. The moment was not opportune to discuss the reasons for that decision, but he would reply to a question that was often put, namely, how that decision would affect India’s attitude towards the various problems which came up for consideration in the Assembly. It would not affect it at all; India would continue to judge each question on its merits, as it had always done in the past.”
1949-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 4 (1949)
“They did not contemplate an exclusive Asian bloc; but as the process of cooperation developed among those countries, they would, discover paramount common interests and the conflicts that unhappily divided some of them would assuredly dissolve. India, with its many religions and cultures and its long and chequered history, had an important part to play. It was an ancient country with roots going down thousands of years in time; it had sounded the depths and shoals of fortune; it had had periods of greatness and periods of decline and had learned not to be unduly elated by the one or unduly depressed by the other. India had realized that power and glory did not last forever and there was no abiding satisfaction, whether for States or for individuals, except in the service of high ideals and great causes.”
1949-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 4 (1949)
“The occasion was momentous and the resolutions passed at the Conference had materially influenced the subsequent course of events; but more important than the occasion or the resolutions was the fact that such a conference was held. It was the first time Asian Governments had come together for a political purpose; if the cultural Asian Conference of March 1947 had been a symbol of Asia’s awakening to a new life, the political Conference of January 1949 might be said to mark the coming of age of Asia and the beginning of a process of active co-operation among the countries in that region of the world.”
1949-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 4 (1949)
“Sir Benegal RAU congratulated the President on his election and pointed out that it was a matter of special gratification to all Asian delegations, since it was the first time their continent had been so honoured. 77. Since the opening of the third session of the Assembly, a number of events of outstanding international importance had occurred, which necessarily affected, directly or indirectly, all the countries of the world: the North Atlantic Treaty, the Council of Europe, the happenings in the Far East, and others. He would confine himself to those of special concern to India. In January 1949, representatives of nearly twenty Asian Governments had gathered in Delhi to consider the Indonesian situation.”
1949-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 4 (1949)