YouSaid · the spoken record

Ammoun

THE RECORD WRITES THIS SPEAKER AS AMMOUN

lines on the record: 95
first: 1952-09-24
most recent: 1962-09-24
sittings or episodes: 3
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

“It is the duty of the United Nations, as one of the high places of the human spirit, to endow the international community, this great body which now extends to the uttermost ends of the inhabited world and which is called upon to carry its rule to space, with a soul worthy of it.”
1962-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 17 (1962)
“The authority of the General Assembly, the authority of that august tribunal of the Court, must be constantly expanded so that right and justice may be substituted, in international life, for force and unbridled violence. The rule of law must be complete; that is, it must be applied everywhere and at all times to all the principles of the Charter, to every sphere of international life and to all fields of human endeavour. 162. If the international situation does not at present permit us to revise the Charter so as to adapt it to the new circumstances engendered by its universal extension, then at least the Charter must be applied without reservation, in both its letter and its spirit.”
1962-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 17 (1962)
“But those who make such appeals or who support them must not forget that there is no peace without justice, and that our great Organization would be forsaking its principles and abandoning its objectives if it bowed — as did the League of Nations, which brought its death upon itself in doing so — to the fait accompli, which is the embodiment of injustice and the very negation of law. We must not resort to force in the solution of conflicts. But neither must we endorse, through an unjust settlement, results obtained by resort to force. Let us bear this in mind whenever the martyrdom of Palestine is spoken of. 161. It is our fervent wish that none of us should oppose a decision of this Assembly or a decision of the International Court of Justice.”
1962-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 17 (1962)
“Such a force would not only have ensured the security of the Congo, or of the armistice lines in Palestine; it would also have repelled aggression in the Holy Land, and, particularly, would have protected a territory which is legally under the jurisdiction of the United Nations — the city of Jerusalem, which was internationalized by General Assembly resolution 194 (III) of 11 December 1948. It will never be too late to turn our minds to the fate of that eternal city, which is held sacred by more than one great religion, thus establishing the rule of law by the will of this Organization itself. We have heard appeals, and we shall probably hear others, for negotiations on the problem of Palestine and the Holy Places. 160. The conflicts which are echoed in this hall are numerous, and we all fervently desire to find solutions to them.”
1962-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 17 (1962)
“It is prepared to do so despite the burden it has assumed on behalf of the Palestine refugees, whose numbers amount to 12 per cent of the population of Lebanon and whom it has wholeheartedly welcomed to its territory until such time as they can return to their occupied, devastated or destroyed homes. 159. As regards United Nations security forces in general, I should like to recall that in 1950, in the course of our general debate [288th meeting], Lebanon suggested the creation of an international force.”
1962-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 17 (1962)
“So far as the Congo is concerned, we trust, like the States of Africa, whose concern we share, that peace and understanding will be established once and for all in that strife-torn country, so that it can at last devote itself to the task of economic and social reconstruction. 157. We are confident that our Secretary-General, U Thant, will pursue to its conclusion the work he has undertaken in this noble cause, just as we are fully confident that he will continue, during his new term of office, to discharge the mission that the General Assembly has unanimously entrusted to him. 158. As I have said, the Lebanese Government is ready to fulfil its financial obligations in connexion with the forces stationed in Gaza.”
1962-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 17 (1962)
“Last year the countries of Africa and the Middle East held at Lagos a conference of lawyers and scientists which made a notable contribution to our work by stressing the ideal of world peace through the rule of law. 155. The representative of the United States, too, referred to the rule of law [1125th meeting] in speaking of the advisory opinion of the International Court of Justice concerning the financial obligations of Member States [A/5161]. My delegation cannot but endorse that opinion, which is based on the law and which emanates from a body symbolizing the rule of law in the world. In accordance with that opinion, the Lebanese Government is determined to discharge its financial obligations with respect to the financing of the United Nations forces in the Congo and in Gaza. 156.”
1962-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 17 (1962)
“It has not been sufficiently emphasized — because the question has never arisen as it does today — that we are all entitled, whoever we may be, to respect for our religious convictions as much as for our liberty, our personality and our political, social and ideological beliefs. Respect for individual rights and respect for international law are two essential conditions for the maintenance of peace. They are contained in the Charter, which is our law: the law of humanity. 153. We must admire the perseverance with which Ireland emphasizes at session after session, the importance of the rule of law, which it would like to see extended to one area after another until it encompasses the world. 154.”
1962-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 17 (1962)
“Is that to be regarded as a catastrophic rate of growth, when we consider that according to a well-known scientist’s estimate there is at present enough land available to feed, at a level equivalent to the American standard of living — an idea which we all find attractive — a population nine times greater than the existing world population? Thus the Conference on the Problems of Economic Development held at Cairo acted advisedly when it adopted, by the unanimous vote of the thirty-six participating nations, a motion which — after citing, incidentally, the encyclical Mater et Magistra — condemns any illegitimate measures of birth control. 152.”
1962-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 17 (1962)
“The rise in its level of living, therefore, has been due not so much to the volume of its material resources as to human effort, the multiplication of which has in turn multiplied the country's wealth. Additional factors have been the freedom allowed to individual enterprise and the facilities made available to international co-operation. For Lebanon's institutions have always been based on commercial, economic, financial, cultural and political freedom; and thanks to that freedom, capital, persons, enterprise and ideas circulate without hindrance in Lebanon and between Lebanon and foreign countries. 151. In any event, the world population, according to information published in 1960 in the United Nations Demographic Yearbook is growing at the rate of 1.7 per cent annually.”
1962-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 17 (1962)
“How, then, can an economy be developed while at the same time one of its component elements is destroyed? Far from ensuring prosperity, birth control leads to economic decline. That was the case, for example, with a great European country, whose economy stagnated when its birth-rate was the lowest in Europe, but which began to prosper as soon as its birth-rate rose and its population increased. 150. May I venture to cite my own country as another example? Lebanon is one of the most densely populated States in the world: it has almost 200 inhabitants per square kilometre of territory. Yet, its per caput income is $400, a figure markedly higher than that of most countries in the world. Yet, Lebanon is not a rich country so far as natural resources are concerned.”
1962-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 17 (1962)
“Having said this, I realize that this is not the time to go into greater detail on the programme of the future conference. It will suffice that I have stressed the importance of balanced trade, which can unquestionably do much more to promote development than economic aid or technical assistance. 148. Nevertheless, I must here and now draw attention to one pitfall which might jeopardize the results hoped for. The purpose of economic development, in the final analysis, is to raise, as equally as possible, the standard of living of peoples. Must we assume that this objective can be attained only by restricting the growth of population? That would be a profound mistake. 149. Economic development depends on two factors: a material factor and a human factor.”
1962-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 17 (1962)
“The basis of economic relations, like that of political relations, is equality. In economic life, this equality is called the balance of trade or the balance of payments. Such equality must be the goal — or ideal — to be attained. There are no major problems in this respect so far as the COMECON countries are concerned, since trade with the socialist States is balanced on the basis of bilateral clearing agreements. The United States has just enacted legislation offering good prospects for the liberalization of trade. We shall have to wait to see how that legislation operates in practice. The European Common Market system provides for negotiations, and non-member countries are entitled to expect such negotiations to take place. 147.”
1962-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 17 (1962)
“The European Common Market, the British Commonwealth, the COMECON formed by the socialist Republics, and large economic entities such as the United States must not deny entry to the products of the small-scale industry of the developing countries; or to their agricultural products. Nor must they multiply the barriers to these countries exports. 145. The members of the Commonwealth expressed their grave concern on this subject, with a voice that resounded throughout the world, when the Government of the United Kingdom applied for membership in the European Common Market. The same concern is felt by all the other developing countries, not only with regard to the Common Market but also with regard to the Commonwealth itself, and to any economic group showing the tendency to close itself into its giant shell. 146.”
1962-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 17 (1962)
“All efforts, from whatever quarter they may come, should be combined to ensure that the proposed conference meets as soon as possible with a programme drawn up in advance and a firm will to succeed. 143. If the industrialized countries are called upon to change their economic institutions in order to adapt them to the needs of a new world economy, the countries with primitive or young economies wish to develop their economic institutions organically. Their aim is to make rapid strides towards an industrial economy that can meet their essential needs and raise their level of living rapidly. 144. If this aim is to be achieved, it is essential to begin with that world markets should not be closed to the manufactured goods of the countries in process of industrialization.”
1962-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 17 (1962)
“Indeed, did it not decide to appeal to the United Nations not only for co-operation within the Organization and its competent agencies but for the convening of a conference at which co-operation would be the keynote and which would be open to all countries of the world? 141. The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics [see A/5219] and the Economic and Social Council both proposed the convening of a world economic conference. The General Assembly has combined the two proposals, which are directed towards the same end. 142. World economic and social co-operation, whether proposed by Cairo, Moscow or Geneva, is consistent with the objectives of the United Nations, objectives to which so far relatively little attention has been paid.”
1962-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 17 (1962)
“Will the United Nations Development Decade manage to bridge the gulf of poverty which separates the well-fed peoples from the hungry peoples? This aim was already embodied in the 1942 Declaration by the United Nations. It appeared in the United Nations Charter in 1945. Will the Development Decade, like the two previous texts, be no more than a historic document? 140. The Cairo Conference wanted to give it life. I need scarcely point out that the aim of this conference was not, as had been feared, to draw up an indictment against the various existing economic organizations; on the contrary, what it had in view was co-operation with those organizations on fair terms.”
1962-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 17 (1962)
“The General Assembly has had the happy though belated inspiration of launching the United Nations Development Decade [resolution 1710 (XVI)]. How will the next ten years be able to advance this project, which consists, as the Secretary-General has said, in mobilizing, "the accumulated experiences and resources of mankind in a full scale and sustained attack on poverty, disease, hunger and illiteracy" [A/5201/ Add.l, p. 3]? 138. According to the results of an inquiry made by the commissions established for this purpose, the world population is roughly divided as follows: 1,000 million people are well fed, 1,000 million are underfed and 1,000 million are hungry. Each of us knows where he stands in this sad classification. 139.”
1962-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 17 (1962)
“Let me hasten to explain that these are not so much unilateral claims as an awareness of the mutual debts between economies, between societies and between civilizations. 136. This Cairo meeting was preceded by the creation, with the assistance of. UNESCO, of centres where cultures and civilizations could meet, at Tokyo, at New Delhi, at Bucharest and in Lebanon, with the noble aim of bringing men together and sowing the seeds of a universal human civilization. Next year, the centre established in Lebanon will be the meeting- place of men placing their gifts and their knowledge at the service of this magnificent task of understanding and solidarity. Thus, in the cultural and economic fields we hope to progress from the stage of claims to the stage of mutual enrichment. 137.”
1962-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 17 (1962)
“For this reason, thirty-six nations, in whose economies an abundance of resources goes hand in hand with scarcity of means, nations of Asia, nations of Africa, nations of the New World, including those which sowed the first seed of corn and domesticated the first animal, invented the alphabet and paper, figures and counting which formulated the basic notions of chemistry and algebra and used the first techniques; which were the first to explore the earth and probe the sky, to measure space and divide time; nations which, however, as far as arms are concerned, invented only the spear and the javelin, Greek fire and gunpowder; these thirty-six nations met peacefully at Cairo, the capital of one of them where they made an inventory of their claims, which are the claims of any feeling and suffering man.”
1962-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 17 (1962)
“This life, so full of dangers for us all, this life so unhappy for most of us will this generation see the end of it? Each passing year brings us nearer to the catastrophe which lies in wait for us at the end of the arms race; similarly, each passing year further postpones the day when all peoples alike will enjoy the gifts which God, when He created man, created for all his descendants, without distinction, without discrimination and without preference, 135.”
1962-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 17 (1962)
“The result of the settlement of the conflict, thanks to mutual concessions, will be to safeguard peace and to restore friendship. It will make the contribution of the Netherlands and Indonesia to the work of the United Nations and to human advancement all the more effective. 133. Truth obliges us to recognize, however, that to a great extent the life of the United Nations exhibits a disconcerting antithesis. War-like activities, exemplified by the frenzied arms race, are proceeding at an ever-increasing rate, while, to judge by its effects, action to promote the advancement and wellbeing of peoples is far from receiving the necessary impetus. Action on the one hand, quasi-inaction on the other: this is the tragic antithesis of our times, which is fraught with uncertainty for the fate of the world. 134.”
1962-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 17 (1962)
“General De Gaulle, the President of the French Republic, who in the eyes of the world and of history already has to his credit the wise policy of decolonization in Africa, understood this and defended it unremittingly until success was achieved. 131. Moreover, the consequences of the Evian Agreement are felt beyond the borders of the two countries. In the Arab and African world, co-operation with France, a country of great civilization, can be pursued in friendship, peace and mutual respect. 132. The reception given by the General Assembly to the agreement between Indonesia and the Netherlands [see A/5170, annex] shows how important it considers the agreement to be, from the point of view both of principles and of the development of relations between two great countries. It will not be forgotten that they were on the brink of war.”
1962-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 17 (1962)
“For seven years we have followed Algeria's epic, struggle for independence. There is a place waiting here for Algeria, which has increased in stature as a result of its struggle and of the experience and maturity it has acquired through its ordeal. 130. We must also include France in the brotherly congratulations which we extend to Algeria. The struggle might have been longer and more painful, although there was no doubt about its outcome. It might even, to the prejudice of their interests, have separated two nations which enjoy a common heritage and were made to understand one another and to cooperate usefully.”
1962-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 17 (1962)
“Although it has only just started, this session has already witnessed more than one memorable event: the admission to the United Nations of four new Member States, the end of two great international conflicts, one in Africa — the Algerian conflict — and one in Asia, in the neighbourhood of Indonesia. 127. The admission to the United Nations of Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago, the Rwandese Republic and the Kingdom of Burundi was a source of satisfaction and joy to our Organization. 128. Lebanon's joy is all the greater and its satisfaction the deeper in that thousands of Lebanese who have for generations been living among the peoples of America and Africa and sharing their joys and sorrows have been the admiring witnesses and often the fellow combatants of these peoples struggling for independence and sovereignty. 129.”
1962-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 17 (1962)
“Mr. President, in voting for you we were convinced that we were once again voting for the very principles of the Charter, of which you are one of the outstanding personifications. Can we forget the action which you have undertaken, with more than one of your colleagues, in order to ensure respect for the right of peoples to self-determination and for the sovereign equality of nations and to prepare the way for the independence of dozens of nations? The wisdom of your advice, the soundness of your judgements and your unflinching loyalty to the ideal of the United Nations allow us to predict that this year, which we enter confidently, will be one of the most fruitful in the life and achievements of this Assembly. 126. This happy portent is confirmed by the facts.”
1962-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 17 (1962)
“If, therefore, we can settle the question of the Secretary-General rapidly in the spirit of co-operation and confidence which we all desire, we shall have taken a step to strengthen our Organization so that it may once more become an instrument for peace and for the unity and progress of mankind. This is the hope expressed, on behalf of my country, as this session of the General Assembly opens in one of the most critical phases of history for the destiny of man and of human civilization.”
1961-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 16 (1961)
“Hammarskjold and agreeable to the two conflicting parties may therefore well be found in one of the non-aligned nations, in the widest sense of that word. Have not these two parties already agreed that the non-aligned nations should take part in the solution of a problem which is vital to each of them and to the whole world — the problem of disarmament? 202. I should like to add that I fully share the opinion expressed this morning by the Guinean Minister for Foreign Affairs on the participation of all nations of Asia and Africa, as the equals of every other nation, in all bodies of the United Nations. This is necessary in the interest of the United Nations itself. 203.”
1961-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 16 (1961)
“Non-alignment is as hard to define as aggression, or even law, and jurists and diplomats who have exercised their best wits for dozens of years have not been able to agree on definitions of those terms. However, I am quite willing to adopt the excellent definition of non-alignment given by the Minister for Foreign Affairs of Senegal, and I infer from it that the countries which attended the Belgrade Conference are not the only non-aligned countries. They themselves declared, in fact, that they held no monopoly. What is even better, they expressed the hope that their numbers would increase. The influence of the non-aligned countries can thus only tend to increase and serve more effectively the interests of peace. 201. A Secretary-General worthy to succeed Mr.”
1961-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 16 (1961)
“Following the painful loss we have suffered, we must preserve the unity which is still embodied in the person of the Secretary-General, the only survivor of the shipwreck of our first illusions, and we must cling to it with desperation* 199. It is, in fact, a question of choice. Until now the small nations have been called upon — first Norway and then Sweden. The field of choice has become wider since appearance of the non-aligned nations, and by non-aligned nations I do not mean only those which went to Belgrade. f200. I should like to remind you that the search for a definition of non-alignment was a rather delicate matter when it was taken up in Cairo.”
1961-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 16 (1961)
“It is true that unity has sometimes been achieved in support of certain causes the justice of which was so obvious that none could ignore them who was not moved by wrongly understood self-interest or by outdated ideas belonging to the past. This was the case at the time of the bloody conflicts of Suez and Bizerta. Almost complete unanimity was achieved or restored, to the honour of the United Nations, in these two cases which raised questions of general principle for all nations. But our Organization has suffered from a disastrous disunity since its foundation, particularly towards the end of this year. 198.”
1961-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 16 (1961)
“Lastly, I should like to raise a matter about which we are all anxious and on which Members of the Organization should unite, instead of creating another open split, because it concerns one of the strongest pillars of the United Nations: I refer to the question of the Secretary-General and of the succession to Mr. Hammarskjold. 196. Throughout this statement I have referred to the unity which prevailed when the United Nations was established, the unity which existed among the founders of the Organization at San Francisco and which had already been lost the following year at London and the year after that at Flushing Meadows. We deplored the division and the split which occurred in our ranks and dominated our work, and we called for the restoration of this lost unity. 197.”
1961-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 16 (1961)
“While we continue our efforts to conclude a treaty providing for the banning, under effective control, of the testing of such weapons by certain great Powers, all States possessing reactors, theoretically for peaceful purposes, should immediately be brought under some control. This control could be the responsibility of the International Atomic Energy Agency at Vienna, which is an agency of the United Nations. Any country not complying with such a decision would thus afford adequate proof of its lack of good faith, and could then be deprived of any supplies and any aid in this field. This control of the nascent nuclear Powers should be established without delay. 195.”
1961-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 16 (1961)
“Although we voted for a separate discussion on the question of the cessation of nuclear tests, any of the parties is free to ensure that the negotiations on this subject and on disarmament go forward together and if the disarmament discussions make no progress, the discussions on present testing can be held up. 193. The danger of these tests lies perhaps less in the developing knowledge of the nuclear Powers themselves than in the possibility that other States may- seek and acquire the same knowledge. Does not the real danger lie in a more wide-spread possession of nuclear weapons? 194.”
1961-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 16 (1961)
“In other words, the annual, per caput income in Africa would immediately rise from $100 to $600 and would thus equal the figure for Europe. 190. In the circumstances we should speak not of reducing births but of reducing armaments. Whatever may be done through birth control can be matched only by the reduction or abolition of armaments. The latter is in any case inevitable, but we must immediately set about smoothing the path of negotiations leading towards it. 191. Each passing day, particularly since the resumption of nuclear tests, increases the danger that the new weapons will spread, until they are in the hands of even the smallest countries. 192.”
1961-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 16 (1961)
“In the present world situation, which is that of a world arming to the teeth, the solution does not lie in birth control but in control of armaments. Above all, the curbing of the population must not be allowed to supply the policy of general armament with fresh means. That would mean killing the embryo to obtain the means of killing the man. 189. We must remember that over $120,000 million a year is being spent on armaments by the two camps. We must also recall, for example, that the combined national income of the whole of Africa is $20,000 million, which means an average per caput income of $100. What does this mean? It means that if the military budgets of the two blocs were spent on assistance to Africa, they would raise the African's income by 600 per cent.”
1961-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 16 (1961)
“In order to justify the linking of these two problems, they are both described as "social factors". The birth of a human being is not a mere social factor. There is a spiritual and moral element in the birth of a man, it even has something of the divine. Humanity, if I may say so, is not a herd whose rate of growth can be fixed according to the pasturage available. Moreover, Malthusianism is a way of explaining the cycle of wars and epidemics, and a dubious one at that. In any event, it cannot be used to justify a new kind of massacre of the innocents, or an attack on God's work. 187. The problem of the sacred rights of man, whether born or unborn, can best be stated by asking: how can we increase production in order to meet the needs of humanity? 188.”
1961-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 16 (1961)
“The admission of this neutral element is likely to create an atmosphere of confidence, to temper the discussions, to avoid conflicts and to help in the search for practical solutions free from all special interests, provided the neutral countries entrusted with this delicate mission realize its full importance and carry it out with an efficiency and impartiality matching the good will by which they are animated. 185. I now want to digress for a moment and speak about the economic aspect?* of the question, and about the proposals tying economic recovery to population growth. I am one of those who are painfully surprised by the proposal on the Assembly's agenda to link two problems, economic development and population growth, with the clear intention of limiting the latter by birth control. 186.”
1961-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 16 (1961)
“But if the question of Berlin and of Germany is amenable to negotiation — and we hope we may look forward to fruitful negotiations on that subject in the near future — the problem of disarmament, which is likewise negotiable, appears on the agenda of this session with new prospects of success. We were glad to learn from the address by the President of the United States [1013th plenary meeting] as well as from the statement by the Soviet Foreign Minister [1016th plenary meeting] that they were agreeable to the participation of the non-aligned countries in the negotiations which were envisaged. These statements were encouraging on two counts: the prospect of negotiations, which was thus accepted by both parties, and the objective participation of the non- aligned countries.”
1961-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 16 (1961)
“In the past year the United Nations has looked to negotiation as a means of securing general disarmament, and twenty-five heads of State or Government leaders of non-aligned countries, responding to the present crisis, have urged negotiation upon the leaders of the two great countries which hold in their hands the keys to war and peace. You will agree that the effect of such an appeal will be considerable and that it. will bear fruit sooner or later, for it is an unambiguous expression of the ardent desire of all peoples for peace. We "believe, moreover, that it meets the wishes of the leaders of the great Powers concerned, who did not conceal this fact in the statements they made to an attentive and highly interested Assembly. 184.”
1961-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 16 (1961)
“We recall in particular the fine analysis of peaceful coexistence made by the distinguished Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Senegal at the 1012th plenary meeting, which could have found ready support, I think, among the non-aligned countries of Belgrade or of the Afro-Asian group. 183. Whatever hope we may place in peaceful coexistence as a blanket solution to the problems whose persistence continues to disturb the world, it remains a long-term solution which does not exclude a positive examination of each of these problems. We are of course in favour of negotiated solutions, provided neither law nor principles suffer in the process.”
1961-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 16 (1961)
“Why should it not be the panacea for these crises which break out at different places and at different times but which all stem from a single cause? 182. It is true that peaceful coexistence certainly needed to be rehabilitated in the eyes of certain people who regarded it with apprehension, if not with mistrust, probably because the idea had been advanced by one of the parties at issue. But have these apprehensions not subsided since the concept of peaceful coexistence has gone round the world, so to speak, having been adopted by the Colombo Powers, the Bandung and Belgrade Conferences and, finally, by the representatives of States of the Monrovia group, like Senegal? And has not the Secretary of State of the United Kingdom just given it his Government's support?”
1961-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 16 (1961)
“However, we must not minimize the efforts being made by men of good will to find a solution to each incipient conflict, whether those efforts are made inside or outside the United Nations. The United Nations sets about this Sisyphean task year after year. It is preparing to do so at the present session. But there is a danger that every effort will be vain or lead only to a provisional solution so long as we do not tackle the initial cause of all these conflicts, culminating today in the Berlin crisis through which we are living so dangerously, so long as we do not tackle the basic cause which is common to them all and which lies in the contradiction between two worlds. 181. For ten years we have been talking about peaceful coexistence. Any why should peaceful coexistence not be the remedy for the evils created by this division?”
1961-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 16 (1961)
“They are the cause of the extreme danger which is threatening the immediate future of mankind and they are the effect of the situation which has resulted from the rift in the United Nations and of the desperate competition which has supplanted the Charter's spirit of co-operation. 179. All the events of our time fit into this picture of division and competition. After the crises in Iran and Greece, after the first Berlin crisis, after Korea and Viet-Nam, after Laos, the Congo and Cuba, it is once again Berlin. It is the fire smouldering incessantly under the ashes, periodically releasing sparks which may set fire to the whole world and the sky above it. 180.”
1961-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 16 (1961)
“The battlefields which were adequate for the greatest conquerors of the past no longer satisfy the ambition of our modern strategists who now include interplanetary space in their plans. 178. In this state of affairs, arising from the division of the world, was it not inevitable that crises would follow one another, each more dangerous than the last for the peace of the world? The renewed Berlin crisis coupled with the problem of Germany, which is pushing humanity to the brink of the precipice, cannot be considered in isolation from the competition which, since the end of 1945, has thus cast its gloomy shadow over the whole globe. Berlin and Germany are both cause and effect.”
1961-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 16 (1961)
“However, no sooner was the Organization founded both as a symbol of and an instrument for the unity of the world, a world united in peaceful co-operation, than a split occurred which set the great Powers against one another and drew the peoples into one or other camp. The objectives of the United Nations were lost from sight. Instead of adhering to the principles of collective security, the world reverted to the old system of alliances and the balance of forces in which advanced defensive positions and strategic and military bases confront one another. There was no longer any question of disarmament as envisaged in the Charter. Instead of disarmament, we have had an arms race, made more terrifying by the new weapons, to which, if nuclear tests are not immediately suspended, will be added the neutron bomb.”
1961-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 16 (1961)
“The clearly expressed will of the United Nations to put an end without delay to colonization in all its forms implied a solution to these painful problems, a solution which brooks no further delay, for the negative attitudes towards the United Nations, beginning with that relating to Palestine and continuing with those adopted with regard to other problems connected with the ending of colonialism must be denounced once and for all. 176. Let us therefore agree to help all dependent peoples to free themselves from their bonds so that justice may reign at last and one cause of insecurity and one danger of war be banished forever. 177. That is the ideal of the United Nations.”
1961-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 16 (1961)
“We should bear in mind all those sacrifices and resume without delay the negotiations which have been suspended — the Algerian people have agreed to negotiate for their independence and the protection of their territorial integrity. 174. In other countries, in Angola, Portuguese Guinea, South West Africa, South Africa, the Congo, Palestine — I shall not name them all — blood has flowed freely in the struggle for independence or racial equality or national unity — as freely as that shed, at least once in its history, by every nation represented here, in its struggle for liberation. 175.”
1961-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 16 (1961)
“Have we not in the same way allowed the resolution on decolonization to remain without effect for nearly a year after its adoption, with the result that now we are again confronted with problems like Algeria? 171. If the greatness of a nation is measured by the sacrifices it makes for its independence and freedom, then great is the Algerian nation, which has made tremendous sacrifices for its liberation. 172. Indeed, do we realize that the number of Algerian men and women who died in the struggle for freedom exceeds the losses suffered by more than one great Power in the war to free the world from the menace of Hitler? The United Nations remembers the Korean war in which sixteen of its Members took part. Those sixteen countries together did not lose as many men as Algeria alone. 173.”
1961-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 16 (1961)
“After Bernadotte, after Hammarskjold, will there be men of courage to break that resistance and to devote themselves, as they did, at the risk of their lives, to the implementation of the principles of the Charter and the decisions of the United Nations? 169. For what indeed is the use of the most solemn principles and resolutions if they are not translated into action? By allowing Israel just once to violate the Charter and disregard decisions based on its principles, by leaving unpunished the murder of the representative of the United Nations who tried to give effect to those principles, have we not encouraged similar attitudes on the part of other countries? 170.”
1961-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 16 (1961)