YouSaid · the spoken record

PADILLA. NERVO

lines on the record: 205
first: 1948-09-24
most recent: 1962-09-24
sittings or episodes: 6
sources: un-general-debate

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“It depends on us whether civilization will continue to hand on the torch from generation to generation.”
1962-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 17 (1962)
“What now seems to us impossible will become practicable, and the springs of human conduct will be adapted to the new reality and necessities of the atomic age. Perhaps we do not quite grasp the importance and the implications of this new age of science and technology. The most realistic of scientists and the most imaginative of thinkers cannot conceive the limits, the speed and the physiognomy of a civilization which is developing at an unsuspected tempo, and in an unsuspected direction. 199. Our generation, is a bridge and a link between two epochs. The transition from the present to the future involves painful and radical changes in thought and action. On our ability to measure up to the responsibilities of the present hour depends the future of mankind.”
1962-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 17 (1962)
“World opinion sees with disquiet the threats to peace involved in this situation, and hopes and prays that the Powers concerned can solve the problem peacefully. 197. The Berlin problem is not among the items on the agenda of this session of the General Assembly, but we believe that it would be useful if you, Mr. President, with the high authority vested in you and with the respect which you deservedly enjoy, could perhaps consider and explore the possibility and desirability of making, with the consent of this Assembly, an appeal to the Powers concerned to do all they can to solve this grave and perilous problem by peaceful means, so that world peace may not be disturbed by this issue. 198. I have already said that the principles on which both national policies and international life are based will change.”
1962-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 17 (1962)
“Outer space is res communis; the high seas are res communis; but since the start of the competition in nuclear weapon tests, the great Powers have treated the res communis as their private property and have exercised their jurisdiction in outer space and on the high seas limiting the rights of others whenever they chose to do so. We hope that this situation will change and that the great Powers, with the help of the General Assembly at its present session, will be able to reach that indispensable agreement which will ensure maintenance of peace and remove, for ever, the danger of a nuclear war. 196. The Berlin question is one of the critical problems of the current international situation.”
1962-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 17 (1962)
“Thus, the Government of Mexico has decided neither to own, nor to admit to the national territory, nuclear weapons of any kind, or vehicles which might be used for their delivery." 194. As we have said before, we regard the establishment of denuclearized zones as a temporary and partial measure, because we are opposed to nuclear weapon tests wherever they may take place and what ever Power may be responsible for them. 195. The world views with alarm the prospect of series after series of nuclear weapon explosions, of greater and greater power and at greater and greater altitudes in out space.”
1962-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 17 (1962)
“We have noted with interest the observation made by the chairman of the Brazilian delegation in his statement of 20 September last to the General Assembly. Mr. de Melo Franco said: "Brazil also favours, in principle, the establishment of denuclearized zones in the world, provided that proposals to that effect are not merely made for the purposes of the cold war, from which we have always held aloof. Latin America might form such a zone." [1125th meeting, para. 25.] 193. I wish to point out in this connexion that the Minister for Foreign Affairs of Mexico spoke at Geneva as follows: "In our view, denuclearization can and must be carried out — while world agreement is being sought — by spontaneous decisions of States.”
1962-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 17 (1962)
“To call on the nuclear Powers to continue, as a matter or urgency, negotiations for the conclusion of binding agreements which will prohibit all nuclear and thermo-nuclear weapon explosions for ever." 191. The cessation of nuclear weapon tests not later than 1 January 1963 — the date we suggested at Geneva — would have salutary effects on the international climate and would help to solve other related questions on the agenda of the Eighteen-Nation Committee on Disarmament, such as the question of halting the spread of nuclear weapons, the question of denuclearized zones, the problem of how to avoid a war by accident, error or break-down of communications the problem of the peaceful use of outer space, and so forth. 192.”
1962-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 17 (1962)
“"Considering moreover that the effects of such fall-out range beyond the national jurisdiction of the State which produces the explosions and encroach upon other jurisdictions, entailing serious peril to the health of other peoples and of mankind in general, "Considering that nuclear and thermo-nuclear weapon explosions are the most dangerous manifestation of the arms race which, if continued, can have no other outcome than war; "Decides: 1. To call on the nuclear Powers to suspend all nuclear and thermonuclear weapon tests — underground or at sea, in the atmosphere, or in outer- space — as soon as possible and in any event not later than 1 January 1963; 2.”
1962-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 17 (1962)
“With the aim of contributing to this end, the delegation of Mexico is prepared, at the appropriate time, to submit in the First Committee a draft resolution, which might be in the following or similar terms: "The General Assembly, "Concerned at the continuation of nuclear and thermo-nuclear tests, "Bearing in mind that the cessation of nuclear and thermo-nuclear weapon tests is urgently necessary, since radio-active fall-out causes grave damage to present and future generations.”
1962-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 17 (1962)
“We have been told that existing nuclear and thermo-nuclear weapons, and the means and vehicles for delivering them to the intended targets, are enough and more than enough to wipe from the face of the earth absolutely everything that is worth preserving — the treasure accumulated through the efforts, the sufferings and the spirit of man down the ages, since the dawn of his history. Why, then, try to "perfect" existing weapons which are already so diabolically effective? 189. The delegation of Mexico believes that the General Assembly, echoing world opinion, must express its ardent desire and its conviction that nuclear and thermo-nuclear weapon tests should cease at the earliest possible moment. 190.”
1962-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 17 (1962)
“We have repeated time and again that we denounce the tests of both parties, and we regret that the clamour of world opinion has not yet been able to prevent them; but if the nuclear Powers have persisted in ignoring the passionate demands of all peoples and in snapping at the bait of a lasting military advantage, we Members of the General Assembly must all strive to help those Powers to fix by mutual agreement a date — here and now, before the series of either party is completed — on which, this year or early next year, a final and definitive end will be put to the senseless competition in nuclear weapons. 188. The statesmen and rulers of both the conflicting groups have said, at one time or another, that a nuclear war would mean the end of civilization as we know it, the destruction of mankind and of all life on this planet.”
1962-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 17 (1962)
“If we postpone the negotiation of a treaty until both series, of tests are concluded, it is very unlikely that either party will refrain from advancing, once again, the same reasons of military balance which they have now advanced in justification of the present tests. 185. When the scientists and military leaders of one Power discover that the opposing Power has gained important information or made technical and scientific progress in the direction of perfecting nuclear weapons or defence against them, and when they argue that this entails a nuclear imbalance or a military advantage, the Governments of both Powers will be unable to resist the scientific and military pressures which impel them to answer tests with tests, and so on ad infinitum. 186. Who or what would then be able to halt them in their downward course? 187.”
1962-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 17 (1962)
“In these circumstances, we feel that it becomes daily more urgent and essential to work out an agreement for fixing forthwith the date for the ending of the tests, even if it unfortunately proves impossible to achieve this before the conclusion of the series of tests now in progress. 184. A final date must be set to the test programmes of both parties, and that date must be established forthwith in a treaty, because it is dangerous to wait until the completion of both series of tests in the hope that an effective agreement, setting a final date for the end of the nuclear race, can then be negotiated.”
1962-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 17 (1962)
“From this standpoint, the President of Mexico, Mr. López Mateos, and the Prime Minister of India, Mr. Nehru, in a joint communique issued a few days ago at New Delhi, stated as follows; "The President [of Mexico] and the Prime Minister [of India] agreed that the preservation of world peace is the most important task before mankind if the human race and its civilization are to survive. They believe in the abolition of war as an instrument of national policy and in the settlement of international disputes by peaceful means. "They are resolved therefore to continue to work for the early realisation of agreements to achieve general and complete disarmament under international control and a total ban on all nuclear tests" 183.”
1962-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 17 (1962)
“But if a date for the final cessation of nuclear weapon tests, acceptable to the parties, was established by mutual agreement, the fear that one of them might disturb the existing balance would be removed, and it would then be less difficult to reach agreement on the nature of the control, functions and powers to be exercised by an international scientific body of the type suggested at Geneva in the eight-Power memorandum of April 1962. 182. It must be recognized that the nuclear competition is a race leading, not to security or the maintenance of peace, but to negation and nothingness. It is a race in the dark between the abyss and the tempest. Human intelligence and the instinct of self-preservation should be capable of finding another solution and preparing the future of peace and progress merited by mankind.”
1962-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 17 (1962)
“So long as a date for the final ending of tests is not established by mutual agreement, no Power will find it desirable to drop out of the nuclear weapon testing race or see any scientific or political reason for doing so. 181. So long as the Powers remain free, juridically speaking, to carry out tests with a view to perfecting their nuclear weapons and trying to obtain a military advantage, mutual fear will persist and it will be hard for the Powers to find a suitable moment for ending the nuclear competition by a treaty.”
1962-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 17 (1962)
“Where the testing of nuclear weapons is concerned, the great Powers are governed by one another. They say; "We shall not carry out any more tests unless we are forced to do so", and what happens is that one party continues to force the other and is forced by the latter in tarn, 180. it is hardly to be supposed that the studies which scientists make of nuclear tests by the opposing party lead them to conclude that such tests have been repetitive, useless and negative and have given the enemy no technical advantage. On the contrary — every Study which one party makes of the tests carried out by the other will yield evidence, or at least a reasonable scientific presumption, that technical improvements and a nuclear advantage have been secured.”
1962-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 17 (1962)
“We do not think this is possible, since no one is unaware that, if there is not a change in direction soon, the danger of a cataclysm of ravaging destructiveness — the only possible outcome of this suicidal struggle — will increase day by day. 178. One of the greatest obstacles to a treaty banning nuclear weapon tests is the fear that the Power which tested last might, as a result, have gained some military advantage or made discoveries and completed experiments marking a significant advance in the nuclear field. The Power entertaining that fear would not readily be disposed to sign a treaty prohibiting tests until it, in turn, had attempted to re-establish the military balance regarded by it as having been upset by the tests of the rival Power. 179. World opinion is weary of listening to bad arguments in defence of a worse cause.”
1962-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 17 (1962)
“Every series of nuclear tests carried out by each Power will make it scientifically and politically necessary for the Power which tested previously to analyse the latest tests and in turn to reply with new tests, on the pretext that it has been compelled to carry them out for reasons of national security or military balance, with an eye to reprisals, or because it is entitled to the last turn; and so it will go on. How long? 177. The reasons now advanced to justify answering one series with another will, in the opinion of the nuclear Powers, still be valid next year and the following year, and every year thereafter until the end of the twentieth century.”
1962-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 17 (1962)
“have the right to destroy our civilization. Who has given the nuclear Powers the right to do as they please with mankind, to annihilate it or to allow it to continue its progress? 175. Life is a process of movement and change. Nothing on this planet remains static and immutable. This inviolable law governs the constant flow of international life, which is never stemmed in its inevitable process of growth and transformation. 176. The longer the nuclear Powers delay their agreement, the more time and opportunity is allowed for other Powers to compete in the arms race. With each new entry into the nuclear "club", the national security of each of its members and the security of the world as a whole are irremediably diminished.”
1962-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 17 (1962)
“The peoples wish to live in perpetuity not simply as long as the nuclear Powers will allow; and they want to live without the continual poisoning of the air they breathe. By what right do those Powers act? Who has given them the title-deeds to the high seas, the atmosphere and outer space? The only title-deeds they can produce are those of right based on might, which is not quite the same as might based on right. 174. Universal requirements, and duty of stopping this deadly competition, should not be subordinated to the wishes of a single Power. No single Power, we believe, has the right to choose between the path of explosions and the path of their cessation. No Power has the right to prescribe life or death for its own people; far less does it possess that right in respect of the other peoples of the world, and even less, does it.”
1962-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 17 (1962)
“The nuclear Powers are unleashing upon the nations forces of which they are not the masters but the slaves—forces beyond their command and control, which will ultimately destroy both them and all others. 172. There is a dear and deep conviction in the minds of scientists and statesmen, and in world opinion, that general and complete disarmament is an illusion unless an end can first be put to all nuclear weapon tests. To seek disarmament while the nuclear competition which whips up the arms race continues is just as illogical and useless as it would be to seek factual confirmation of theoretical astronomy and of the scientists' findings and conclusions without special rockets or vehicles for that purpose. 173.”
1962-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 17 (1962)
“The most urgent problem of our time, the most urgent problem facing this session, is that of halting the arms race. 170. The most serious manifestation of this race is the competition in nuclear and thermo-nuclear weapon testing. We want all tests to be suspended, and we want the suspension to last and to be reinforced by a legally binding obligation, contained in a treaty. We also want nuclear competition to cease and a date to be set as the final limit for all tests. We do not want our atmosphere to be contaminated with radioactivity, or any more explosions to take place under water or in outer space; When and where should we begin? We are not unaware of what to do; whatever we can do, we should do now. 171.”
1962-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 17 (1962)
“In order that the use of outer space may be truly peaceful, it must become an international cooperative venture, legally regulated in the common interest. Otherwise, competition in the conquest and mastery of space cannot be peaceful, any more than nuclear competition at present is; one attempt at competition will soon give rise to another, and it will then be impossible either to separate or to restrain them. The exploits of the cosmonauts, while admirable in themselves, increase the seriousness and urgency of the need for the Powers to put a permanent end to their nuclear weapons tests. 168. The rockets propelling space-craft may in the future be fed by nuclear fuel, and this would completely change our present concept of international inspection and control. 169.”
1962-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 17 (1962)
“Our people rejects all injustice and every form of foreign hegemony, and its voice has been raised in defence of every just Cause. From the time of our birth as an independent nation, we have linked the Concept of equality between States with the no less generous - idea of equality between men. We condemn the unjust and despicable practice of racial segregation and discrimination, as being in absolute conflict with our faith in human dignity, our national feeling and our history. 166. The exploration of outer space, made possible by the formidable progress of technology and science, is, together with the impetus towards freedom and decolonization, an essential characteristic of our age. 167.”
1962-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 17 (1962)
“We share their present joy, and shall co-operate with them in the arduous task which independence and sovereignty lay upon them. History teaches us that the attainment of independence is not the end of the struggle, but the beginning. To reach independence is to reach the point of departure, the start of an endless battle to defend sovereignty, territorial integrity, social justice and human rights. Freedom's defence lies in the exercise of freedom. 165. Mexico wishes all the new Members of the United Nations a happy destiny. Our people has unceasingly demonstrated its devotion to freedom; we proclaim and defend the right to self-determination and the right of every nation, in the exercise of its sovereignty, to opt for the structures best suited to it.”
1962-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 17 (1962)
“We have also witnessed the extraordinary undertakings of contemporary science and technology, which have opened outer space to man's curiosity and enterprise. 163. I have already had occasion to say that we men of today are taking part in the bringing to birth of a new era, characterized by two equally impetuous and encouraging forces: the irresistible impulse towards freedom, and the liquidation of colonialism, and the scientific and technical potential which opens man's way to outer space. The first of these forces is a revolutionary and unifying one, born of the irrepressible yearning of individuals and peoples and effectively brought to bear, with compelling urgency, in despite of political and ideological differences and inter-national conflicts. 164. Our fraternal welcome to the new States has already been expressed at this session.”
1962-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 17 (1962)
“In restating my faith in the United Nations I am moved by one more consideration, and that is the increasing tendency to involve the United Nations in the process, of combating want and poverty and disease and in helping the advancement of the developing countries." [A/5201/Add.l, p, 5.] In order that these noble goals may be attained; it is necessary to preserve peace in freedom. 162. The survival of the human species and the continuity of our history require, above all, that the arms race, the continuance of which will inevitably lead to a nuclear conflict, be halted. The present scene is not entirely gloomy. At this session, we have welcomed the admission of new States and their accession to independent life.”
1962-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 17 (1962)
“The General Assembly, wherein so many States are represented, can and must serve as a centre to harmonize the nations' efforts for the achievement of those purposes, which are also those that we proclaim in the preamble and in Chapter I of the Organization's Charter. 161. In the introduction to his Annual Report, the Acting Secretary-General tells us: "I have faith that the United Nations will survive this 'crisis' and emerge stronger than before as a force for peace.”
1962-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 17 (1962)
“Let them be ready to make the sacrifices that are necessary to save the world's peace. The nations will then be, able to work in an atmosphere of serenity; all the discoveries of science will assist progress and help to make life on this earth, which is already marked by so many other inevitable sufferings, ever more delightful" 159. These concepts, and others parallel in spirit expressed by persons in high places whose authority and influence over the minds of millions of men constitute a moral and political force, are useful in the present hour of peril to orient the behaviour of Governments and peoples towards international concord and co-operation. 160.”
1962-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 17 (1962)
“This General Assembly, as the parliament of mankind, has as its paramount duty the exercise of this function for peace and concord, as the essential condition for the achievement of all the lofty purposes set forth hi the United Nations Charter. 158. A few days ago, Pope John XXIII, speaking in the Sistine Chapel to the diplomatic representatives of eighty Governments, urged the statesmen responsible for the fate of the nations to heed the anguished cry for peace arising from all parts of the earth, and said; "May this thought of the reckoning that they are to face spur them to omit no effort to achieve this blessing, which for the human family is a blessing greater than any other. "Let them continue to meet each other in discussions and reach just and generous agreements that they' faithfully observe.”
1962-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 17 (1962)
“The world is not divided into good peoples and bad peoples: the peoples as a whole constitutes world of nations which respond to different spiritual Impulses, have different histories and are characterized by different trends of philosophy. 156. Instead of persisting in judging each other one-sidedly, we should strive to learn to understand one another and to recognize, in the voice of each nation, the universal voice of man, the common essence Which belongs to the heritage of mankind. Only to this spirit shall we be able to create a climate favourable to negotiation, agreement and the peaceful settlement of international disputes. 157.”
1962-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 17 (1962)
“Action and practice, departing from the principles and goals of the Charter, daily strike a note of propaganda and polemics, in which not even theoretical lip-service to concord and peace is paid. Recriminations and threats resound on all sides. Actions are based on mutual distrust and fear. 154. We know that no people is ignoble or given over to evil. Yet the policy of recrimination, which keeps mistrust alive, tends to give the impression that there are such peoples, and fosters in nations continually exposed to arbitrary denunciation a feeling of rancour and inflexibility. What people, what nation, what Government can honestly affirm that it has a monopoly of justice and truth? What unclouded mind can believe that error and evil exist only in our opponents? 155.”
1962-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 17 (1962)
“Each of us, spokesmen for our Governments and peoples, has proclaimed in this forum his determination to pursue social justice in peace and freedom; each has affirmed the supremacy of right over might; each has spoken out for the peaceful settlement of disputes, respect for fundamental freedoms and human rights, the self-determination of peoples, non-intervention in domestic affairs, and international cooperation to raise levels of living and to combat the poverty, disease and ignorance which still afflict man in every region of this planet. 153. Who could rightly claim that the conduct of Governments has been in keeping with the preachings of their representatives? Oral faithfulness to the loftiest principles is daily belied by conduct and deeds.”
1962-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 17 (1962)
“150. Mr. President, my delegation has already expressed at this session of the General Assembly our congratulations to you on your election to the Presidency, but I think that the friendship between us which has lasted for so many years justifies my voicing, once more, my satisfaction that the Assembly has appointed you to conduct our debates and to lend us your wisdom and your guidance towards the attainment of the lofty goals to which all Members of the United Nations aspire. 151. Since the end of that murderous, period of the Second World War, the General Assembly of the United Nations has brought here, year after year, first fifty and now 109 States, all having the same objective — to free every people of the earth from fear, insecurity, enslavement and poverty. 152.”
1962-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 17 (1962)
“Some day our perseverance will open the way to reason and the higher interests of mankind will prevail. 116. The world hopes that the great Powers will never plunge into the inferno of mutual atomic destruction. It hopes that the balance of power may some day be replaced by the power of the spirit and the balance of understanding. Throughout history, men have recognized the basic and eternal values in life's changing pattern. They know that no conflict can last forever, no anguish is interminable and they look forward to being able to perform their daily labours in peace. 117. We believe that it is necessary and possible to convert those hopes into realities. Mexico has faith. Mexico continues to have faith. Mexico knows that will is as strong as hope and that even the greatest hope may be fulfilled in the future.”
1958-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 13 (1958)
“We shall not advance a single step towards the peaceful settlement of disputes if we align ourselves blindly in hostile and inflexible camps which seem to be incapable of slowing their headlong rush towards a fatal collision in the midst of a growing clamour of arms. 115. Let us proclaim prudence and moderation while we seek unremittingly those solutions which we believe appropriate. Let us proclaim them with sincerity and firmness, undeterred by the fear that our voices will not be heard in the wilderness, because there will come a day when the wilderness will be peopled by those who know how to listen. Let us now take first steps, contenting ourselves with modest tasks and humble beginnings in the search for means and methods to lead us out of our present dilemmas.”
1958-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 13 (1958)
“There is no act of power which cannot be attributed to someone, and we must recognize that in the United Nations we are all responsible for the fate of mankind. We therefore believe that the so-called small and medium-sized countries are exercising and must continue to exercise the lofty responsibility of exerting their moderating, constructive and mediating influence. 113. It is time to ask the great Powers — which have a greater responsibility commensurate with their power — for effective co-operation and assistance, and to examine their general behaviour and their specific actions not for the purpose of judging them before world public opinion, but in order to contribute to the solution of the problems which beset us through a dispassionate and honest analysis of international questions. 114.”
1958-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 13 (1958)
“At this point, I should like to add, using the terms of Article 73 of the Charter, that we recognize the principle that the interests of the inhabitants of the Non-Self-Governing Territories are paramount, and that in developing self-government, due account should be taken of their political aspirations, freely and genuinely expressed. Accordingly, I believe, and I am sure that I am reflecting the profound feeling of the Mexican people, that Mexico, when the time comes, will not neglect to take into account that a solution of the question of Belize must be based on freedom and independence for the people of that territory. 112. The exercise of power always carries with it responsibility.”
1958-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 13 (1958)
“We have always rejected the claim of other States, however powerful, to assert their hegemony, because it is incompatible with our sovereign rights, just as we scrupulously respect the rights of others. 110. This explains why Mexico has been watching with growing and friendly interest the formation in Belize of a country, neighbouring ours, and endowed with definite characteristics and a distinct personality. Our position on Belize is that, if its present status is altered, Mexico will claim its rights in accordance with well-known historical and legal precedents and by the peaceful and friendly methods by which it conducts its international affairs. 111.”
1958-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 13 (1958)
“108. I shall dwell only briefly oh the third and last of the three points which I enumerated: the right of peoples to self-determination. The efforts of the peoples of the Non-Self-Governing Territories to attain full self-government deserve our warmest sympathy. That is why we welcomed with real gratification the admission to the United Nations of new Member States from Asia and Africa, whose entry into the international community is a happy augury of an era when the colonial system will have been entirely liquidated. 109. The principle of self-determination enshrined in the Charter and its corollary, non-intervention, have been steadfastly championed by the Mexican people since it won its independence over a century ago.”
1958-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 13 (1958)
“The narrow limits of this course — which might be. justifiable for private banking institutions, but is wholly unsuitable for co-operation in financing the economic development of the under-developed countries — should be altered if such financing is to produce constructive results. We are confident that existing international credit institutions are becoming increasingly aware that loans should be directed towards strengthening the economic infra-structure of States. This would lead to better utilization of national resources for the process of industrialization. We therefore believe we are entitled to hope that this will be the policy underlying the operations of similar agencies to be set up in future, such as the Inter-American Bank on which agreement was reached in principle at the Washington Conference to which I referred earlier.”
1958-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 13 (1958)
“In this connexion, we noted with satisfaction the reorganization of the Commission on International Commodity Trade during the twenty-sixth session of the Economic and Social Council, and we hope that, as a result, the Commission's work will increase in scope and effectiveness, Similarly, we find it encouraging that study groups have been set up on the-situation and prospects of certain primary commodities, like those in London which recently dealt with copper, lead and zinc. 106. We believe it would also help to achieve our purpose if due attention were paid to the financing of economic development. Too much emphasis has frequently been placed on the necessity for loans to be repayable in convertible currencies, which, in some cases, has given rise to an overproduction of certain primary commodities such as lead, zinc and copper. 107.”
1958-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 13 (1958)
“It is a loss due solely to the decline of prices and not to a falling off in the volume of exports. Fluctuations have recently ranged from 20 per cent in the case of cotton to 55 per cent in the case of copper, 105. The case of Mexico is far from exceptional. I am sure that many representatives here could give us similar examples relating to their respective countries. That is why it is so urgent to find a satisfactory solution, and we think it should be sought through continuous consultation and the conclusion of multilateral agreements. It is essential for us to find ways of eliminating, excessive and violent price fluctuations. We believe that that task offers the United Nations its greatest opportunity in the economic field to make a truly important contribution to the welfare of mankind.”
1958-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 13 (1958)
“Unfortunately, we must recognize that what has been done thus far, whether under the inter-American system or within the United Nations, towards achieving a solution of this problem is very Utile compared with the magnitude of the task. As an example and in order to illustrate the serious effects this has on countries in the process of development whose essential commodities constitute an important source of income, I shall cite the case of Mexico. In a single year, 1957, Mexico experienced a loss of about 15 per cent of the total value of its exports in its sales abroad of five of its main primary commodities — cotton, coffee, lead, zinc and copper — as a result of the decline in the prices of those commodities. This figure is computed on the basis of the volume of what we sell, not of what we might have sold.”
1958-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 13 (1958)
“Thirdly, in the opinion of the Mexican delegation, the only change which can reasonably be expected to occur, and which should occur as soon as possible in the interest of everybody, is the acceptance of a flexible rule with a maximum limit of twelve nautical miles, which is a reasonable limit in keeping with prevailing legislation, practice and the claims of about two-thirds of the States of the world. 103. Turning now to questions relating to promotion of the economic development of the under-developed countries, I should like to say that on the regional level — as shown by the recent Conference of the Foreign Ministers of the American Republics, held in Washington — as on the international level, the most urgent and overriding problem appears to us to be the stabilization of prices of primary commodities. 104.”
1958-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 13 (1958)
“Secondly, another United Nations conference on the law of the sea would have on its agenda only those problems which the first conference failed to settle, Consequently, the convening of such a conference will have to depend on whether there are any new developments showing a change in the divergent positions held at Geneva. So long as there are not, the holding of a second meeting, which would surely end in a discouraging failure, would only defeat the intended purpose. 102.”
1958-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 13 (1958)
“What I have said, and particularly what I stated regarding the argument upheld by Mexico in Geneva, explains to a great extent, I think, our position with regard to the agenda item dealing with the possible convening of a second United Nations conference on the law of the sea. Briefly, that position maybe summarized as follows: 100. First, the Geneva Conference may rightly be counted as a success of the United Nations. It avoided the mistake of The Hague Codification Conference (1930) in that, while it did not succeed in concluding. agreements on two basic problems — the breadth of the territorial sea and the width of the zone in which the riparian Stale has exclusive fishing rights — it did succeed in drafting four conventions of indisputable value. 101.”
1958-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 13 (1958)
“The head of the Relegation "of Canada, one of the principal members of the British Commonwealth, was not speaking in vain when he stated emphatically at the recent Geneva Conference: "It might be Said that it would not be" legal for a State to take unilateral action substantially to enlarge the width of the sea under its control. But what sanctionative law would it be violating if we fail to agree on a law here? How could any nation fishing in remote waters prevent the application of the laws and regulations enacted by the riparian State, if we fail to reach agreement? Certainly, not by force. The day is past when any action of that kind could seriously be contemplated." 99.”
1958-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 13 (1958)
“The problems of the regime of the sea provide an excellent opportunity for us to translate into deeds the principles of cooperation among nations and repudiation of force, in accordance with the spirit of the eloquent statements we are accustomed to hearing in his forum. For example, my delegation feels that there is no justification for the situation created by the United Kingdom's incursion into the territorial waters of Iceland, which the Icelandic Foreign Minister described here the other day [759th meeting] in a statement which was all the more forceful because it was so sober and thoughtful. We share the speaker's confidence that the United Kingdom statesmen will soon recognize that their position is untenable and can cause Incalculable harm, even from a purely practical point of view.”
1958-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 13 (1958)