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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“The aims of the United Nations in Korea are unchanged, and the political conference has been charged with achieving them; in that task it can count on the moral support of all peace-loving countries. No matter what the vicissitudes of the conference, both in its successes, for which we hope, and in its difficulties, which we trust will be overcome, we must bear constantly in mind the goal, so often restated, of achieving our ends by peaceful means. 113. The United Nations had recourse to collective military action with the sole aim of resisting aggression and re-establishing peace. In Korea, its aim has always been, as it has proclaimed, the unification of the country by peaceful means, and the reason for its use of armed force was precisely in order to resist the attempt to unify Korea by violence. 114.”
1953-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 8 (1953)
“That opinion, which we openly stated at the appropriate time, does not prevent us from agreeing with those who think that at this juncture a reopening of the exhaustive debate held during the meetings last August would merely create fresh obstacles to delay the proposed conference. The vital and urgent point is that the conference should begin forthwith. The question of the co-operation of other States in its work now depends on agreement between the parties; we hope and trust that agreement will be reached. 112. The suggestion made by the United States representative, Mr. Lodge, in the General Committee [88th meeting] and in the Assembly [440th meeting], is a most important step toward an understanding. We trust the other party will consider this suggestion, and will co-operate in achieving an early meeting of the political conference.”
1953-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 8 (1953)
“The moral support of all the free nations of the world in a common cause justifies that cause in the eyes of history. 110. For those reasons my delegation expressed its doubts at the seventh session, when the draft resolution U the First Committee [A/2450], originally sponsored by fifteen Powers, was debated in the Assembly. Nevertheless, we are always prepared to respect the Assembly’s decisions, and we feel that in the present circumstances it would be inexpedient to reopen the question; on the contrary, we support those whom the General Assembly has nominated to represent us, leaving to them the choice of any peaceful means available to them for reaching agreement with the peoples’ republics of North Korea and China on all the questions referred to the political conference. 111.”
1953-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 8 (1953)
“This exclusion of States which could make a most valuable contribution to the success of the peace conference has deprived us, at least temporarily, of what we consider to be one of the most promising ways of achieving our aims without too serious difficulty. 109. We believe that the system and structure of the Charter are opposed to such a division into belligerents and neutrals, friends and foes, of the Member States of the United Nations associated in the same collective action. In our opinion, the spirit of the Charter does not justify such a division, even in the case of coercive action decided by the Security Council. We believe that Member States, united in collective actions of the Organization, bear an equal moral responsibility, however different may have been the nature or the magnitude of their material contribution.”
1953-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 8 (1953)
“Now a new task lies before us, no less important than resistance to armed aggression: to consolidate the uneasy truce agreed on at Panmunjom and unite Korea by peaceful means. 107. Paragraph 5 (a) of General Assembly resolution 711 A (VII). of 28 August 1953, recommended that only Member States with armed forces in the peninsula, and the Republic of Korea, should attend the political conference mentioned in paragraph 60 of the Armistice Agreement on behalf of the United Nations. It thus established the precedent that in a collective action carried out in implementation of a United Nations decision, only those countries which made a military contribution to the dispute are entitled — as was the case with the alliances of history to take part in the subsequent peace conference. 108.”
1953-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 8 (1953)
“When we turn our eyes towards Korea, the least we can do is to bear constantly in mind the prolonged and difficult negotiations which led to the signing of the armistice, and the constructive debates in the Assembly which finally led to the exchange of prisoners of war on the humanitarian basis of voluntary repatriation. 105. We can say with true satisfaction that this Assembly made a mighty contribution to the cessation of hostilities in the devastated peninsula, thereby fulfilling one of the noblest of our Organization’s aims. 106. The United Nations has done what the League of Nations was never able to do and has thus enormously strengthened the collective security system. I wish publicly to record my delegation’s gratitude to those who answered the Security Council’s call to defend the Republic of Korea.”
1953-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 8 (1953)
“Under that resolution, any attempt to promote economic development internationally must be based on respect for the political and economic independence of countries receiving aid, so that under-developed nations may not be obliged to accept, as the price of progress, economic subjection, the undermining of their democratic systems or perpetual threats to their national sovereignty. With these considerations in mind, the General Assembly earnestly recommended that Member States should “refrain from acts, direct or indirect, designed to impede the exercise of the sovereignty of any State over its natural resources”. 104. The Korean question continues to be the most immediate problem for our Organization and for world public opinion.”
1953-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 8 (1953)
“Until that final aim is achieved, we must seek to balance foreign trade and to establish a fair relation between the prices paid for raw materials and those demanded for industrial products. Exports of raw materials constitute the main source of revenue of the underdeveloped countries, and any fluctuations in the terms of trade which are unfavourable to those countries make it difficult for them to obtain foreign exchange to pay for their imports from abroad and to accumulate the national savings required to finance their economic development. 103. May I, lastly, draw attention to another measure of prime importance to the economic development of insufficiently developed countries, namely, the strict observance of resolution 626 (VII) approved by The General Assembly at its last session.”
1953-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 8 (1953)
“Although we in Mexico are convinced that economic development should be founded primarily on the rational and efficient utilization of each country’s resources, we consider that in specific circumstances, countries should receive supplementary financial assistance from abroad, such as that given through international development agencies or that which it is hoped will be forthcoming from the bodies envisaged in the report of the Economic and Social Council [A/2430]. 102. We need, too, a technical assistance programme which can be integrated with national development plans, and encouragement should be given to all measures of an international character that are calculated to diversify the economies of the under-developed countries, promote their industrialization and lessen their dependence on exports of raw materials.”
1953-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 8 (1953)
“That standard was raised long before all the “isms”, and will outlast them so long as large sectors of the world’s population cannot satisfy their basic needs and fulfil aspirations which they consider just and legitimate. 99. The countries which have set themselves up as leaders of the free world can and must win the friendship of those groups and convert their ideal into the basis of a programme of action designed to gain their confidence in democratic principles. 100. At this eighth session, we have again to deal with problems of economic development and technical assistance. There is unquestionably general agreement that the improvement of the living standards of the economically under-developed peoples is an essential factor in the maintenance of peace. 101.”
1953-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 8 (1953)
“In discussing that problem, which, like all the others, is affected by the international tension arising from the ideological struggle of our era, we should avoid injecting into our debates factors which do not concern either the origins of the problem or its development. We must recognize that the standard raised by the masses in the modern world, both in the dependent and Trust Territories and in some independent States, bears the device, not of subversive ideologies, but of the basic needs which have gone unsatisfied for centuries: the need for bread, land, freedom, peace, the desire for self-determination and development of their own cultures.”
1953-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 8 (1953)
“The continued existence of large groups deprived of the fundamental right of peoples to political self-determination cannot but weigh heavily and menacingly upon the destinies of all States, with their growing interdependence, and is a matter which especially involves the moral responsibility of the United Nations. 98. No purely legal argument, no circumstantial explanation of political expediency, will persuade peoples who consider themselves fit to exercise their right to sovereignty that they must abandon their aspirations or delay their realization until some later time.”
1953-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 8 (1953)
“We reject the idea, frequently expressed, that the task of safeguarding our democratic institutions, our way of life and our culture, as well as the duty to maintain order and defend ourselves against the inroads of foreign ideologies, has ceased to be exclusively a matter of domestic jurisdiction, to be dealt with by our respective governments, and has become a matter of international concern, susceptible of collective action. That doctrine violates the principle of non-intervention, which has received full recognition within the community of American States and is enshrined among the principles of the United Nations. 97. Another question of great concern to our Organization is that of its relationship to the dependent territories and peoples who have not yet achieved self- government.”
1953-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 8 (1953)
“He was certain, he said, that the Republic was less in danger from the abuse of those freedoms than from the most moderate exercise of dictatorship. 95. There is another danger that causes us concern in the same connexion: I refer to the tendency in some sectors of opinion to attribute to communist infiltration every national aspiration to economic and social betterment, and to see a threat to democratic principles in the. methods adopted by a government, in conformity with its laws and in the exercise of its sovereignty and constitutional powers, to satisfy such aspirations. 96.”
1953-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 8 (1953)
“The greatest danger to democratic institutions in free countries does not always, we believe, come from the outside. It is often to be found at home and takes the form of threats to freedom of thought and expression, and the growing use of antidemocratic methods on the pretence of protecting democracy and its institutions. 94. Allow me to quote from a speech made by the President of my country to the Union Congress, in which he emphasized that Mexico must remain unswervingly true to its principles and uphold the rules and laws guaranteeing freedom of thought and expression, freedom of the Press, of work and of belief, and freedom to criticize the government; in short, spiritual and economic freedom.”
1953-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 8 (1953)
“By a new apostolate, which will wrest man from apathy and doubt, and strengthen his faith in the highest spiritual values, it will be possible to chart the right course for us to follow and to relieve the anxieties of our time. This new apostolate has its gospel to preach which might be summed up as the observance of human rights and the fundamental freedoms of individuals and nations. To defend the exercise of those rights and freedoms, to respect them in practice, each of us in his own home, and to encourage their institution and enforcement everywhere is beyond doubt the noblest and most effective way of serving peace. 93. The fight for freedom can be won only by the practice of freedom. Freedom is protected by exercising it. It is spread and strengthened by example more than by preaching.”
1953-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 8 (1953)
“In the struggle of ideologies to destroy each other, victory over the mind of man is the primary and ultimate objective. We therefore believe that countries with a liberal tradition should energetically reaffirm what the democracies stand for, not what they stand against. It is urgent that the united democratic nations should mobilize, not in order to win the armaments race, which can only lead to the annihilation of mankind, but to strengthen, or, rather, to reconquer, the sympathy and confidence of the peoples of the world. That will be the only effective and authoritative answer to the riddle of our time, and the only moral force capable of counteracting and overcoming the effects of the most insidious propaganda on the minds of men.”
1953-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 8 (1953)
“It is urgent, for example, to reopen negotiations and to seek agreement on the following questions: the international control of atomic energy and other weapons of mass destruction; the limitation and reduction of armed forces and of all types of armaments; forced labour, and the admission of new Members. It will be easier to settle other important problems, such as the unification of Germany and the liberation of Austria, if the General Assembly makes some progress in the political matters on the agenda of the eighth session. 91. In our endeavour to revise our attitudes and return to the spirit of the Charter we should bear in mind that peaceful coexistence is, it seems, the only alternative to the disaster which would be visited upon mankind by another world war. 92.”
1953-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 8 (1953)
“We are certain that it is possible, without detriment to principles, justice and honour, to relax the opposing attitudes originally adopted on each particular problem. In many matters, the opposing positions are neither completely true nor completely false on either side. With sincerity of effort and purity of motive we can reach a common ground where understanding would be possible. The periodic restatement of irreconcilable positions will never shorten the distance between them. 90. We hope that the governments represented here will take advantage of the special circumstances in which this eighth session of the General Assembly is meeting, to examine their consciences and realize that the last word has not yet been said on any problem.”
1953-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 8 (1953)
“In these dramatic circumstances, fraught with fear and hope, it is the duty of the United Nations — now that it has been successful in organizing collective action against aggression — to concentrate all its efforts on setting in motion and applying the means laid down in the Charter for the pacific settlement of disputes. 89. The time has come for us to strive to restore negotiation to the place of honour which it deserves in international relations and to its primary function in maintaining peace. We believe that the first step in creating a political climate more favourable to negotiation might be a revision in the attitudes and positions previously taken by Member States on outstanding political problems.”
1953-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 8 (1953)
“We cannot escape the overwhelming fact that the great Powers have devised methods of warfare and developed weapons of destruction of such magnitude that their use would result not only in their own annihilation, but in the end of civilization and the extermination of mankind. If we ponder the opinions of scientists and experts on this subject, we can safely say that the very existence of hydrogen and atomic weapons has irrevocably abolished the old concept of victors and vanquished. The potential adversaries have become united through those weapons in a common destiny — to live or die together. 87. Faced though we are with that stark prospect, the armistice in Korea gives grounds for hope of a just and lasting settlement which will lead to a gradual solution of other problems, so that step by step we may consolidate the peace. 88.”
1953-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 8 (1953)
“We are also gratified by the accession of Mr. Hammarskjold to the difficult office of Secretary-General. When the world learned of his appointment only a short time ago, it was conscious not only of his many personal and professional qualifications, but also of the traditional role of conciliation so admirably played by the Swedish people, who have given so many noteworthy proofs of their equanimity and lofty idealism in the story of contemporary civilization. 86. This eighth session of the General Assembly is opening at an historic moment which may be decisive for the future of mankind.”
1953-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 8 (1953)
“83. Two distinguished representatives of the first generation of architects of the United Nations, Mr. Pearson and Mr. Lie, have left us the memory of their devotion to the Organization and their faith in its objectives. They have been succeeded by persons whose selection, in each case, represents a genuine achievement for the United Nations. 84. I should like first to express my great satisfaction at the election of Mrs. Pandit, leader of the Indian delegation, to the highest and most responsible office in the United Nations General Assembly. By her elevation to that lofty position in international life, we have given due recognition not only to her brilliant intellectual qualities and unquestionably outstanding executive ability, but also to the contribution her great country has made to the United Nations. 85.”
1953-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 8 (1953)
“Those circumstances had enabled Mexico to guide its activities in international bodies by the desire to serve the universal cause of peace, whose triumph, as President Aleman had said recently, could be achieved neither by the intimidation of the weak by the strong, nor by the forced subjugation of peoples to ideological principles conflicting with their historical tradition.”
1949-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 4 (1949)
“The Government and delegation of Mexico were justly proud and greatly encouraged to note that their initiative, as embodied in a unanimous resolution of the General Assembly, had been the humble origin of a great moral force in the service of conciliation and peace. 66. Mexico was engaged on far-reaching domestic enterprises. Every year, thanks to government programmes which were carried out systematically, the realization of the people’s aspirations reached new heights in the fields of labour, production, health and culture. In international relations, Mexico cherished no territorial ambitions and no plans for domination or for unilateral or unfair advantages; it could pride itself on the reward it received for that policy in the friendship and quiet confidence bestowed upon it by other nations. 67.”
1949-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 4 (1949)
“Schuman had continued, the wish expressed in resolution 190 (III), adopted by the General Assembly on the initiative of the Mexican delegation, and of which the President had appropriately reminded the Assembly in his opening speech, would be fulfilled. 63. The great Powers should persevere in that attitude, and the General Assembly, for its part, should help and encourage them to retain it, for thus alone would the world believe in progress, slow perhaps, but sure, towards the building of a world order of freedom, peace and well-being for all, 64. The Government and the delegation of Mexico reaffirmed their faith in the United Nations and their intention to co-operate in the everyday tasks and in the achievement of the noble purposes of the Organization. 65.”
1949-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 4 (1949)
“He had added that the policy of the United States in that important matter was in full conformity with the General Assembly resolution 190 (III), which was aimed at securing the composition of differences among the major Powers and the establishment of lasting peace. 62. At the 225th meeting, Mr. Schuman, the representative of France, had said that although the Council of Foreign Ministers had failed to reach an agreement on Germany, it seemed to have opened the way to the conclusion of a treaty with Austria, a treaty which would make it possible to put an end to the military occupation of that country and to restore to it its real sovereignty. Thus at least in that respect, Mr.”
1949-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 4 (1949)
“That resolution, in addition to having been a moderating factor which helped to decrease existing tension, had set in motion other conciliatory forces; it continued to be the expression of the unanimous will of the United Nations and a basis for further and more effective efforts towards international conciliation and the establishment of lasting peace. 61. Mr. Acheson, the representative of the United States, had told the General Assembly (222nd meeting) that his Government could be depended upon to contribute fully to the creation of the necessary conditions of confidence and, with their attainment, to play its full role in the regulation and reduction, under effective safeguards, of armaments and armed forces.”
1949-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 4 (1949)
“The resumption of negotiations in the Council of Foreign Ministers and the efforts of the great Powers to come to terms regarding Berlin and with respect to the peace treaty with Austria, were tire real cause of the relative improvement in the international situation; those facts showed the General Assembly the aim which it should pursue during the current session, and the use which it could and should make of the powerful moral influence of the United Nations. 60. Nobody failed to realize that the General Assembly, by unanimously adopting its resolution 190 (III), which appealed to the great Powers to increase their efforts toward peace, had exerted that moral influence with satisfactory results.”
1949-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 4 (1949)
“In addition, there could be no doubt but that the determining factor in that improvement in the international political atmosphere was the welcome fact that the great Powers had resumed their consultations and negotiations in the Council of Foreign Ministers, which had been suspended for eighteen months, That single fact, though seemingly unimportant, that direct contact among Powers, that entering upon the path which the Charter had indicated for the pacific settlement of disputes, meant that it was the intention of the great Powers to attune precept and practice and to listen to world opinion, which desired beyond all things that its faith in the principles of the Charter should be confirmed in everyday action. 59.”
1949-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 4 (1949)
“The nature and operation of the causes should be analysed. 57. It was a fact that regional arrangements for co-operation and mutual aid had strengthened, in the nations concerned, the confidence in international brotherhood and had simultaneously reinforced the faith of each and all in their individual and collective capacities. Hence, alarm and despondency concerning the immediate future had lessened. 58.”
1949-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 4 (1949)
“What influences had led to the relative slackening of international tension? What were its causes? How could the Assembly use the auspicious pause for the better achievement of its task? 55. The Secretary-General said in his annual report that the fear of war had decreased. The President of the General Assembly had made a similar statement (220th meeting), exhorting the Assembly to take advantage of the improvement by renewing its efforts on the lines of its resolution 190 (III), introduced by Mexico and unanimously adopted on 3 November 1948, which urged the great Powers to settle their differences by peaceful means. 56. Why could the fear of war be said to have decreased? Why were nations and Governments no longer facing current problems in an atmosphere of confused panic, but with coolness and a constructive attitude?”
1949-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 4 (1949)
“The problems on which the great Powers still held stubbornly opposed points of view, such as the international control of atomic energy, the regulation and reduction of armaments, the organization of the armed forces of the United Nations and the admission of new Members, were still -unresolved and had not progressed one step towards solution. Nor had it been possible as yet to create a propitious atmosphere of mutual trust in which those problems might be reconsidered without fear or suspicion. 54. How was it, then, that despite such obstacles and despite the continued existence of the unfavourable circumstances and events referred to, the opening of the fourth session of the General Assembly was marked by a more peaceful political atmosphere than that of the previous year?”
1949-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 4 (1949)
“The news should lead the Assembly to make a renewed effort at its current session to prevent an unbridled atomic arms race and open the way to the conclusion of an agreement for effective international control of atomic energy, since the very serious problems which had kept the world in a state of unrest since the end of the war were still unsolved and represented a grave threat to peace. The disputes or situations which had been brought to the Assembly’s notice and which had disturbed or were likely to disturb international peace, had not progressed towards favourable solutions except where the great Powers had been in agreement, as had happened in the case of Palestine, of Kashmir and of Indonesia. 53.”
1949-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 4 (1949)
“Mr. PADILLA NERVO said that the fourth session of the General Assembly was opening at a time when the international political atmosphere was decidedly calmer than that which had prevailed at the opening of the third session in Paris. 51. The event which had led to President Truman to make his speech of 23 September had stirred public opinion, even though the great Powers had doubtless already taken that event into account in their policies. It would not, therefore, affect the auspices under which the current session was opening. 52.”
1949-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 4 (1949)
“Padilla Nervo said that all the members of the United Nations expected from the great Powers the will and the capacity to settle their differences and bring about peace. It was necessary that they should listen to the unanimous hope for peace expressed by millions of men and women in all the countries of the earth.”
1948-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 3 (1948)
“Whereas the United Nations, in the performance of its most sacred mission, is bound to afford its assistance and co-operation in the settlement of a situation the continuation of which involves grave dangers for international peace, « The General Assembly resolves; «First, to express its confidence that the great Allied Powers will determine their policy in the' spirit of the declaration to which they subscribed in the Crimea, and in which they reaffirmed their faith in the principles of the Atlantic Charter, their pledge in the declaration of the United Nations and their determination to build, in co-operation with other peace-loving nations, a world order under law, dedicated to peace, security, freedom and the general well-being of all mankind; «Secondly, to affirm its adoption of that part of the declaration signed at Yalta on 11 February 1945, by Churchill, Roosevelt and Stalin, which proclaims that «Only with continuing and growing co-operation and understanding among our three countries and among all the peace-loving nations can the highest aspiration of humanity be realized — a secure and lasting peace which will, in the words of the Atlantic Charter, « afford assurance that all the men, in all the lands, may live out their lives in freedom from fear and want»;» « Thirdly, to recommend the Powers signatories of the agreements of the second Moscow Conference to redouble their efforts, in a spirit of solidarity and mutual understanding to achieve in the briefest possible time the final settlement of the war and the conclusion of all the peace treaties; «Fourthly, to recommend the aforementioned Powers to associate with them in the performance of such a noble task, the States signatories of the Washington Declaration of 1 January 1942 either through the General Assembly of the United Nations or by means of a special conference at which all States which subscribed or adhered to the said Declaration should be represented.» In conclusion, Mr.”
1948-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 3 (1948)
“Whereas the great Allied Powers which bore the heaviest burden in the war and whose common sacrifice and effort were the prime cause of victory have reaffirmed, on many solemn occasions, their determination to maintain and strengthen in peace the unity of purpose and action which made possible the triumph of the United Nations; « 5. Whereas the aforementioned Allied Powers which undertook, at the second Moscow Conference, responsibility for drafting and concluding the peace treaties have not been able, after three years of effort, to obtain the full realization of their high mission by building a just and lasting peace; «6. Whereas the disagreement between the said Powers in matters of vital importance to all the United Nations is at the present time the cause of the deepest anxiety among all the peoples of the world, and «7.”
1948-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 3 (1948)
“Whereas it is the essential purpose of the United Nations to maintain international peace and security and to that end it must co-ordinate its efforts to bring about by peaceful means the settlement of international disputes or situations which might lead to a breach of the peace; «2. Whereas the United Nations should be a centre for harmonizing the actions of nations in the attainment of this common end; «3. Whereas the United Nations cannot fully attain its aims so long as the recent war remains in process of liquidation, and so long as all the peace treaties have not been concluded and put into force; «4.”
1948-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 3 (1948)
“Mexico had faith in the moral force of the Assembly’s recommendations, even though, in some cases they had not been observed, for it considered that whoever ignored them was merely weakened thereby. The Mexican Foreign Minister had recently said that there was nothing in the Charter to prevent the United Nations as a whole, or through a special conference, or by some other means, from studying the matter of the peace treaties. A recommendation of the Assembly to that effect would be in conformity with the spirit of the United Nations. The Mexican delegation, accordingly, for the reasons given and in order to affirm and proclaim in a concrete formula the desire for peace of the small Powers, suggested that the Assembly should adopt a resolution reading as follows (A/662/Rev.1). «1.”
1948-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 3 (1948)
“His delegation would give its opinion in due course when they were discussed in the Committees, and it proposed to support every constructive and sincere idea, from wherever it came, that contributed to a just solution of the problems. His delegation would, in its work, follow the lines laid down by his country’s Foreign Minister when he said that his country would co-operate in so far as such co-operation meant agreement between States and would in full awareness support every effort to bring about the organization of peace within a framework of law. The fact that the great Powers had not yet been able to come to an understanding did not diminish his country’s faith in the fundamental value of the United Nations, as the only international machinery able to maintain world peace and security through world co-operation.”
1948-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 3 (1948)
“The representative of Mexico hoped that the universal cry for an understanding between the great Powers would not be taken up only by the representatives speaking for their peoples and Governments but would also find an outlet in a joint statement of the Assembly, crystallizing the universal desire for redoubled effort in the quest of a just and lasting peace. He also hoped that the Assembly would unanimously decide to co-operate with those who could and should bring about peace in the accomplishment of the highest and most urgent of the tasks before it. Mr. Padilla Nervo did not consider it necessary to give his Government’s opinion on each of the main questions on the agenda.”
1948-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 3 (1948)
“It was essential to correct the course in time; otherwise the day might come when — if the ordinary sessions of the Assembly were no longer regarded as a place and opportunity for the harmonization of interests and the settlement of differences endangering the peace — it might be considered preferable to suspend the meetings rather than convert the Assembly into a field of sterile conflict and a seat of discord. The Assembly could not continue to be year after year, a world tribunal used primarily for spreading disagreement.”
1948-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 3 (1948)
“It was not contrary to the provisions of the Charter that the great Powers should accept, in the search for a solution of such differences, the disinterested co-operation of the United Nations. In the last three years the great Powers had not been able, by themselves, to find a common basis of agreement, and if they did not associate other nations in their attempt, those other nations might perhaps find themselves inclined to recognize the futility of looking on as impotent spectators at the aggravation of a fundamental problem the solution of which was so deeply desired by all.”
1948-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 3 (1948)
“The Members of the United Nations which made up the Assembly, which was the authentic organ of world opinion and its most powerful means of expression, were fully dispose — and in conformity with the Charter, obliged — to co-operate in the search for a peaceful solution of the differences between the great Powers, whether such differences concerned the uncompleted war settlement or arose from opposition of views and interests relating to the peace treaty. Reference had been made to tribunals set up for the settlement of differences through the impartial opinions of international society. In no other tribunal was international opinion so perfectly represented as in, the General Assembly, and its share in the adjustment of such differences was necessary and of great value.”
1948-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 3 (1948)
“The mutual co-operation sought by the great Powers when they submitted to the General Assembly the political problems dealt with in previous sessions could not, and should not, be limited to those matters, but should be extended as well to the basic problem of ensuring that the great Powers reached a settlement on the organization of peace. That was the essential problem, which affected and included in itself all the others and if solved would, as a consequence, lead to the solution of all lesser problems. If the problem of peace were not solved quickly and in a spirit of justice, no other political question submitted to the Assembly would have a proper and final solution.”
1948-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 3 (1948)
“While the only disputes and situations submitted to the General Assembly were those in which small nations were involved, and as the disputes between the great Powers, which were precisely those the continuation of which most seriously endangered peace and security, were not submitted to the Assembly, any solution of the problems listed in the agenda would be inadequate and precarious. Even if it were admitted that the problems arising as a result of the war and the conclusion of all the peace treaties should be dealt with exclusively by the great Powers, the differences between them, which had in the past years become intensified as regards their negotiations on the peace settlement, should not be kept from the General Assembly, as the peaceful settlement of such differences was of vital importance to all the United Nations.”
1948-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 3 (1948)
“Those problems formed yet other obstacles in the way of a final organization of the peace and they continued to exist largely because the co-operation of all the Members of the United Nations had not been obtained for their settlement and because the resolutions adopted had not been observed by all the Members. The principle obstacle in the way of a complete settlement of the political problems before the Assembly was the fact that they could not be solved independently of the problems raised by the aftermath of the war and independently of agreement among the great Powers.”
1948-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 3 (1948)
“Interdependence and common destiny were the incontestable facts of the modern world, reflecting a historical reality from which contemporary humanity could not escape. For the preservation and improvement of the present-day modes of civilization; and indeed for them merely to continue to exist, it was essential that peoples and governments should adjust their conduct in the light of that truth. Dealing with the Secretary-General’s annual report, Mr. Padilla Nervo said that the problems with which the Assembly would deal, especially those of a political character, had in general already been dealt with by the Assembly or by the Security Council. Although conclusions had been reached, they had not led to any final or full solution.”
1948-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 3 (1948)
“The world was eager for concrete results which bore a relation to the lofty ideals professed; it hoped and indeed insisted that the profession of faith should be translated into and proved by everyday deeds. Humanity could not free itself from fear unless it saw daily that great and small nations alike were using their will and their perseverance to attain gradually a real solution of existing problems and not to carry out their national policies in the international field. It was the supreme duty of the United Nations to restore meaning to their declarations; the salvation of the world demanded that they should practice what they preached. Their discussions should be carried on in a real international spirit which could arise only from the persuasion that there was one indivisible world and one human community.”
1948-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 3 (1948)