YouSaid · the spoken record

Barrington

THE RECORD WRITES THIS SPEAKER AS BARRINGTON

lines on the record: 63
first: 1952-09-24
most recent: 1955-09-24
sittings or episodes: 3
sources: un-general-debate

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“With this experience behind us, we feel that we are well qualified to play a constructive and useful part in the work of the Trusteeship Council. 58. To conclude, Mr. President, may I offer you the sincere congratulations of my delegation on your well- deserved election to the Presidency of this Assembly. May this Assembly, under your wise guidance, usher in a period of peaceful change and truly constructive effort.”
1955-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 10 (1955)
“But when the request for inclusion is based also on the fact that there has been violence and bloodshed and repression, then I submit that there is far less ground for denial of the discussion on the ground that it is untimely. Common humanitarianism would call for the adoption of a more liberal rather than a more restrictive attitude. I would appeal to all delegations to ‘take this into account when they come to decide on the votes which have still to be cast. 57. Burma has all along held to the position that all the peoples of the Trust and Non-Self-Governing Territories should be led to full and complete self-government as early as possible. Its record of activities in the Fourth Committee and on the Committee on Information speaks for itself.”
1955-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 10 (1955)
“To the subject peoples, such discussion will always be timely. Those who are not directly involved will fall somewhere in between these two extremes. Countries like mine will naturally tend to be closer to the point of view of the subject peoples. Other countries may not be as close, but unless they are colonial Powers themselves, their sympathies would, I am sure, be more with the subject peoples than with the colonial Powers. This would be particularly true of those countries which themselves were colonies at one time or other. So far as inclusion is concerned, therefore, we would expect the balance of sympathy on all colonial issues generally to be with the subject peoples, that is, in favour of the view that discussion would be timely rather than untimely.”
1955-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 10 (1955)
“That is why we, in common with the other members of the Afro-Asian group, have sponsored the inclusion in our agenda of the items relating to Algeria, Morocco, and West Irian. 55. The old and familiar argument put forward by those who oppose inclusion is that these questions come within the purview of Article 2, paragraph 7, of the Charter. This is an argument which has been debated threadbare and rejected by the majority of members at past General Assemblies, so I do not propose to dwell on it. 56. But now a new argument is being introduced against inclusion. It is that the discussion of a question would not be “timely”. Now it will be readily conceded, I think, that this matter of timing is strictly one of opinion. To the colonial Powers, United Nations discussion of such issues will never be timely.”
1955-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 10 (1955)
“Our view is that the time is not yet ripe for an attempt to be made to revise the Charter. We would therefore be opposed to any suggestion that a Charter revision conference should be held at this time, or even at any foreseeable date in the future. We would not object to a decision in principle being taken at this session that there shall be a Charter review conference provided that the date on which the conference is to be held is left open for future determination. 54. A brief reference to colonial and trusteeship matters, and I will have finished. Burma’s attitude towards all colonial questions is well known. A country which only recently emerged from colonial rule itself, it is but natural that we should be joined by the strongest bonds of sympathy with those who still unfortunately are compelled to live under colonial domination.”
1955-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 10 (1955)
“Much has been done, through the Colombo Plan in our part of the world, through the various United Nations bodies and agencies and the United States bilateral programmes on a world-wide scale. For the help which we have received, we are grateful. But year in and year out the same conclusions are finally forced upon us. These are that a much greater effort is called for if a real impact is to be made on the extremely low standards in which two thirds of the world’s population is now compelled to live. Now that the improvement in the international climate enables the more fortunate countries to begin to think in terms of cutting back expenditures on armaments, we trust that they will keep the urgency of this crying need in mind. We urge this as much in their interest as in ours: 53. A word now about Charter revision.”
1955-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 10 (1955)
“My delegation sincerely trusts that the countries of Africa, Asia and Latin America will be given an adequate voice in the running of this agency. As I stated when this matter was being discussed last year, these are the countries which were passed over by the industrial revolution. Now that the world seems to be on the verge of the atomic revolution, they would naturally be anxious to ensure that they are not passed over again. 52. From the peaceful uses of atomic energy to economic development is but a short step. This is a matter with which I have dealt year after year, so I do not propose to dwell on it. All I need to say is that the problem of raising the living standards of the people of the under-developed countries still faces us in all its stark reality.”
1955-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 10 (1955)
“The phenomenal success of the Conference on the Peaceful Uses of Atomic Energy was a tribute alike to the United Nations and to the United States Government, which took the initiative in bringing the matter before the United Nations. 50. Progress in this field seems to be so rapid that it would be desirable to hold such conferences frequently so as to enable the world to keep abreast of developments. We were glad to hear, therefore, that the United States will again propose a similar conference to be held in three years or earlier if the increasing development of peaceful uses of atomic energy will so warrant. 51. A matter which will come up for consideration soon is the establishment of the international atomic energy agency.”
1955-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 10 (1955)
“On the main question of disarmament, we have encouraged and heartened by what we have read seen since the unanimous adoption of the resolution 808 IX on disarmament during the ninth session. We have watched with appreciation the initiatives taken by the major Powers. The road will be long and often bumpy, but we feel that a promising start has been made and that, given goodwill and understanding on all sides, it should not be long before we begin to get some results. 49. Any discussion of disarmament inevitably brings to mind the peaceful uses of atomic energy, since in a sense it is the other side of the same coin.”
1955-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 10 (1955)
“Popovic suggested, it could at least be agreed that there should be no increase in expenditure on armaments and armed forces while the negotiations on disarmament continue, its psychological impact could be considerable. And perhaps similar interim agreements could cover other areas. For instance, both sides might agree to stop all further atomic and nuclear explosion tests. As I said in my statement last year [485th meeting, para. 21], the fact that all such explosions can be detected should serve as a guarantee that any such agreement would be honoured. Such interim agreements would not only be useful in themselves, but they would generate a better atmosphere for reaching comprehensive Agreements. 48.”
1955-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 10 (1955)
“46. It seems indisputable that the most important single problem which faces the world today is that of disarmament. This is so because really meaningful disarmament would mean not only the removal of the threat of war, but also that more of the world’s population would be able to get more of the good things of life. At least, that is the hope of those of us who represent the underdeveloped countries of the world. 47. But we have no illusions about the complexities and difficulties which lie astride the path leading towards disarmament. It is clear that it will be a long time before any comprehensive agreements can be reached. This would make all the more desirable broad interim agreements of the kind referred to by the Chairman of the Yugoslav delegation in his statement of 26 September 1955. If, as Mr.”
1955-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 10 (1955)
“Those- of us who had the privilege of attending the Bandung Conference could not help but be impressed with the high degree of understanding, goodwill and co-operation displayed by the Chinese delegation, and particularly with the great respect which they showed towards the United Nations Charter and the United Nations as an institution, a remarkable performance for a country which, year , after year, has been denied the seat to which it is entitled in our Organization. If ever proof were needed that the Central People's Government of China is fully qualified to take its place in the United Nations, Bandung furnished it. My delegation trusts therefore that it has seen for the last time the perennial procedural device which so far has succeeded in keeping the door bolted and barred to the legitimate representatives of the Chinese people.”
1955-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 10 (1955)
“As the representative of a Government which has worked, along with others, to bring about an easement of tensions in the Far East, I cannot help but deplore what might be regarded as a display of undue rigidity on the part of the Assembly. After all, the improvement in the international climate is not confined to any one part of the globe. It has been general, and we feel that it might have been wiser to make its reflection also general. 45. Indeed, my delegation wonders how much longer the United Nations can afford to continue to keep the door locked to the People’s Republic of China without doing itself serious, and perhaps irreparable injury.”
1955-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 10 (1955)
“However much my delegation may wish to see the People's Republic of China occupy its rightful place in this Organization, we were not so unrealistic as to believe that this event could take place in this session. Nevertheless, the use this year of exactly the same device and formula as was used in past years to postpone the consideration of the question came as a disappointment to my delegation. While my delegation would not have been able to support any formula which sought to postpone consideration of the question, we cannot help but wonder whether the Assembly was wise in adopting exactly the same device and formula as had been employed in recent years to deal with the same question in a somewhat different context.”
1955-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 10 (1955)
“To enable it to carry out its enlarged responsibilities fully, the Organization will need all the authority and prestige which it is in our collective power to confer on it. The most effective way of doing this is to make the United Nations a world organization both in fact and in name. Let us therefore make one supreme effort to break this dead-lock before we come to the close of this session. 43. I said earlier that the speeches which we had heard in the general debate had reflected the new spirit. It is consequently with regret that I have to point to one matter which has already been considered and disposed of by the Assembly, and which in our view was disposed of in a manner which failed to reflect the new spirit I refer to the seating of China in the United Nations. 44.”
1955-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 10 (1955)
“Our objection to the admission of the divided States rests solely on the fact that the admission of each divided part to separate membership of the United Nations would only tend to put a seal of United Nations approval on the division of the country, and so add considerably to the difficulties of eventual unification. 42. My delegation sincerely hopes that this tenth session of the General Assembly will be able to chalk up progress with regard to this question. In our view, the admission of the new members is long overdue. With the improvement in the international atmosphere, the role which the United Nations may be expected to play in world affairs would become enlarged.”
1955-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 10 (1955)
“And this gives us hope that this session may turn out to be more fruitful than any of its predecessors. 41. One of the most important issues facing the United Nations, and one of the very few on which the new spirit might possibly be able to have an immediate impact, is that of the admission of new members. We believe that the Assembly as a whole is moving towards a less legalistic and more realistic attitude towards this problem, and we are greatly heartened by this development. We ourselves have always stood for universality of membership. We would favour the admission of all those States that have applied for membership, under any formula which may be generally acceptable, except the States which are now divided.”
1955-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 10 (1955)
“In our view, those who spread this view do a great disservice to humanity, for, if their view prevailed, it would be impossible for the world to find its way out of the deadly dilemma in which it finds itself. Admittedly this new spirit is a matter of faith, but it is faith based on the very strongest of human instincts, the will to survive. 40. I think it will be generally agreed that the improvement in the international climate has been reflected in the speeches which we have heard so far in the general debate. No one can expect that solutions will suddenly be found during the tenth session to problems which have defied solution for nearly a decade. But we have been heartened to see on the part of all delegations a willingness to review positions taken in the past.”
1955-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 10 (1955)
“If we can utilize the improved international atmosphere to move towards solutions of our major differences — I deliberately say “move towards solutions” because it is obvious that it is going to be a long time before final solutions can be reached — each step forward would bring about a further improvement in the inter- national climate, and tins in its turn would make it easier for the next step forward to be taken. That is the process as we visualize it. It is going to require great patience, perseverance and determination. The starting point of this process, as we see it, is the spirit of Geneva. Yet there are those who, putting the cart before the horse, say that the Geneva spirit is unreal and mere wishful thinking because it has no foundation in concrete progress.”
1955-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 10 (1955)
“For it is certain that this new spirit and atmosphere will not last unless it is sustained by progress in the further elimination of tension. This does not mean that it is not real, not live. We have only to cast our minds back to the situation which prevailed in the world less than two years ago to realize that there is indeed a new spirit abroad in the world today. But, like all things of the spirit, it cannot be taken for granted or regarded as an end unto itself without being gradually dissipated. 39.”
1955-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 10 (1955)
“And we see in the current talks at ambassadorial level between the United States and the People’s Republic of China yet a further projection of the same spirit. 38. The change which has come over the world was described most eloquently by the leader of the Canadian delegation when, in his speech of 26 September he said: “Confronted by the appalling spectre of disaster, the world has sobered up in the nick of time” [523rd meeting, para. 7]. That, I believe, is an accurate description of what has actually happened. It has brought with it a relaxation, though not an elimination, of tension. The tension will not be eliminated until solutions are found to those problems which have divided the world. The need of the hour is to make the most of this new spirit and atmosphere in order to move towards solutions of these problems.”
1955-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 10 (1955)
“For it was the ninth session of the General Assembly which produced something which had become a rarity in the annals of the United Nations: unanimity among the 60 Members assembled here on two of the fundamental issues of our day — disarmament and the peaceful applications of atomic energy. 36. It is true that the agreements reached were only in regard to the methods of approaching these problems. But even that was significant, because, for the first time in many long years, such limited agreement seemed to open up the possibility of the birth of a new spirit in international, relations, even though this was no more than a willingness to try to work together. 37. Subsequent events, including the Bandung Conference and culminating in the Geneva “summit” meeting, have confirmed the emergence of this new spirit.”
1955-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 10 (1955)
“34. Almost exactly a year ago, in opening my statement in the general debate at the ninth session of the Assembly I said: “We meet... in the shadow of the hydrogen bomb, a shadow which grows in size with every month that passes. Man has at last mastered the secret of his own extinction. This is the most significant development in the entire history of mankind, and one which calls for a new set of values and a new way of thinking.” [485th meeting, para. 12] 35. Little did I realize it, but it seems that even as I was speaking the world was already edging towards new sets of values and new ways of thinking.”
1955-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 10 (1955)
“Finally, I turn to the item on our agenda with which my delegation is most intimately concerned. As Members of the Assembly will have seen from the report [A/2739] which my Government has recently submitted to the United Nations, the problem has been eased but not liquidated. There are still several thousand Kuomintang troops on our soil. Their continued existence represents a threat, not only to our country, but to the peace and tranquillity of the whole of South-East Asia. We shall continue our efforts to liquidate this problem in its entirety, and in this endeavour we are confident that we shall continue to have. the moral support which this Assembly has so generously extended to us in the past.”
1954-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 9 (1954)
“There is no under-developed country which is not putting everything it can afford into meeting this challenge. Burma, for instance, has an eight-year programme of economic and social development which engages the attention of every leader and draws on our every resource. In spite of this, however, we will need assistance if the programme is to be successfully implemented. 30. Once again we would like to urge the Assembly to give its earnest consideration to this problem. In the realization that we live in a world rushing towards interdependence, we should resolve that we shall not rest until a solution has been found. Indeed, it is our conviction that the prime need of the under-developed countries is economic and technical assistance, and not military assistance. 31.”
1954-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 9 (1954)
“The results of any long-range plan will take decades to become apparent, even with all the acceleration that man can devise. This surely makes it imperative to get off to an immediate start. 27. The various programmes already instituted have done little more than scratch the surface. If proof of this is required, it is amply demonstrated by the fad to which I have already referred, the widening in recent years of the gap in living standards between the more fortunate and less fortunate parts of our globe. 28. The United Nations technical assistance Programme has done excellent work in this field within its extremely limited resources. But its achievements have been pitifully inadequate in relation to the overall need. 29. We of the under-developed areas do not ask charity.”
1954-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 9 (1954)
“The existing and widening gap in the living standards between the highly industrialized and the under-developed countries of the world poses a threat to world peace which might quite conceivably over-shadow the current cold war. We regret to have to say that the urgency of this problem does not seem to be fully appreciated. The tendency is unfortunately to subordinate this colossal problem to the more immediate problems brought on by the cold war. Those Member States which are in a position to make the most effective contribution towards finding a solution to this problem seemingly take the attitude that it is something that can wait until better times. In our view, it cannot wait. By its nature, it is a problem which calls for a long-range solution.”
1954-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 9 (1954)
“This problem was put in a nutshell by the Foreign Minister of the Netherlands in his speech on 27 September last [480th meeting], when he said: “If I may venture to make a prognosis, I might say that history’s verdict on the success or failure of this ninth session of the Assembly will depend largely on the outcome of one particular item of the agenda now before us: the question whether we shall be able to find a solution for the problem of the financing of the economic development of the under-developed countries.” 26. Apart from the hydrogen bomb, this is without doubt the gravest of the long-term problems facing the world.”
1954-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 9 (1954)
“The first of these is the continued existence of colonialism in various forms on the face of this planet. Colonialism, as we see it, is the domination of one people by another; and since it is a violation of fundamental human rights and a threat to the peace of the world, we condemn it without exception, wherever it may occur, and in whatever form. It has been Burma’s consistent policy to support the cause of all colonial peoples in their struggle for national freedom. At this session, as in the past, we shall adhere uncompromisingly to this stand. We believe that good government is no substitute for self-government, and we will not swerve from this view. 25. A second problem is one to which we have adverted in our previous interventions in the general debates of the Assembly.”
1954-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 9 (1954)
“Like so many delegations which have preceded us, we warmly welcome the initiative taken by the United States with regard to the development of an international pool of atomic energy for peaceful purposes. The unanimous decision of the Assembly to include this item on its agenda [478th meeting] is to us one of the most important and significant developments of the year, and we look forward to the discussion with the hope that unanimous agreement will be reached to establish such a pool. 23. Now for a quick survey of some of the other grave problems which face our world. Though these problems often tend to take a back seat compared with the questions which I have already discussed, it would be a grave error to underrate their importance. 24.”
1954-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 9 (1954)
“Any violation of an agreement to stop further experiments would therefore become known at once, and the violator would earn the condemnation of the entire world. In addition, we would urge that an attempt should be made to agree on publishing authoritative information regarding the destructive capabilities and the known and probable disastrous effects of these weapons. As the Prime Ministers of Ceylon, India, Indonesia, Pakistan and Burma said in their final communique after the Colombo Conference: “. . . such publicity, by arousing the conscience of the world, would help in the search for an agreed solution of the grave problem that threatens humanity”. 22.”
1954-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 9 (1954)
“If what we read in the newspapers is correct, the type of hydrogen bomb already in existence has sufficient potency to extinguish life on this globe. Surely, then, we have already reached the ultimate. To continue the search for more powerful types would, in the circumstances, seem to us to be particularly senseless. Such experiments would only add greatly to the existing tensions, thereby bringing nearer the day when these weapons of mass destruction might be brought into use. One of the principal obstacles to an agreement on disarmament has been the difficulties inherent in inspection and control. In regard to new experiments with atomic and thermonuclear devices, however, it seems that this difficulty does not exist since all atomic and hydrogen bomb explosions can be readily detected.”
1954-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 9 (1954)
“Such resolutions are inevitably still-born, and in our view do not help to advance the cause of disarmament. Rather they tend to retard progress because they leave the dissident minority with a sense of defeat and isolation. We do not know of any rule which prescribes that every discussion in the United Nations must end with a vote. In many cases, we feel that it would be better to have no resolution at all than to have a self-defeating resolution. 21. Having said this, I should like to refer to a matter on which it should be possible to reach agreement despite the cold war. This is the question of the cessation of all further experiments designed to produce bigger and better thermo-nuclear and atomic weapons.”
1954-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 9 (1954)
“The current armaments race is, of course, a symptom of the cold war. Unless and until the cold war abates, there can be little prospect of securing any meaningful agreement on disarmament. This does not mean that no attempt should be made to obtain such an agreement; such attempts should proceed concurrently with our attempts to obtain an easing of the tensions of the cold war. We therefore stand firmly behind the Disarmament Commission and the General Assembly in their efforts to find a solution which would cover both conventional and nuclear armaments, since the two are inseparable. However, we deplore the tendency which has been exhibited by the General Assembly to adopt resolutions on disarmament which lack the unanimous agreement of all the principal parties concerned.”
1954-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 9 (1954)
“Indeed, the ideal United Nations, as we see it, would be one in which there are no blocs at all, and in which each Member State can consider each issue strictly on its merits and not be bound by some degree of loyalty to one bloc or another. Consequently, we cannot help but deplore the present trend whereby some Member States tend to drift away from a policy of non-alignment. As a country we have no desire to criticize them, nor do we feel we have the right to do so. But as a Member of this Organization, we regard it as a development which augurs ill for the future of the United Nations, and we feel that it is our duty to express our concern. 20. So far, I have been discussing what might be termed the impact of the hydrogen bomb on all our lives. I turn now to the bomb itself, and this inevitably brings up the question of disarmament.”
1954-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 9 (1954)
“The effectiveness of this Organization as a place for discussion and for seeking compromises would then be greatly reduced, if not completely destroyed. Since, as we see it, one of the principal tasks facing the United Nations is to try to work out some means of peaceful coexistence, we would regard the division of the entire membership of the United Nations into two clear-cut blocs as a tragedy for all concerned. In short, we feel that our position of non-alignment serves a useful and what might become an essential purpose to the United Nations and to the cause of world peace. By maintaining friendly relations with all States and by aligning ourselves with none, we feel that we, and those who share our view, may eventually serve as some kind of bridge.”
1954-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 9 (1954)
“A number of speakers who preceded me at this rostrum have been critical of those of us in the Organization who follow a policy of non-alignment in the cold war. I do not need to go into the reasons for our maintaining this position since they are well known to all. Nor do I have to justify our attitude since this is a matter of exercising our sovereign rights. Strictly from the viewpoint of the United Nations, however, we should have thought that the existence within the Organization of a neutral group of countries is more of an asset than a liability. Surely the usefulness of the United Nations would be seriously impaired if every Member of the Organization were to align itself with one or other of the two major blocs.”
1954-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 9 (1954)
“Paragraph 4 of the communique issued at the conclusion of that Conference reads: “The Prime Ministers considered the question of the representation of China in the United Nations by the Government of the People’s Republic of China. They felt that such representation would help to promote stability in Asia, ease world tensions, and assist in bringing about a more realistic approach to the problems concerning the world, particularly in the Far East.” Therefore, while the present session of the Assembly is precluded from taking up this question for the remainder of the year, we would like to urge, in the interests of the United Nations and of world peace, that the serious consideration of this matter should not be much longer delayed. 19.”
1954-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 9 (1954)
“The failure of the United Nations to face up to this fact has been a major source of weakness to the Organization, since all discussions on questions in which China is interested — and there are many, since China is one of the great Powers — tend to be unreal. Furthermore, the denial by the United Nations to the Central People’s government of its legitimate rights as the successor of the former Nationalist Government has inevitably caused that Government to take a jaundiced view of the United Nations, thereby adding to the tensions which already exist. 18. In this connexion, I should like to recall to the Members of the Assembly the unanimous agreement reached on this question by the Prime Ministers of Ceylon, India, Indonesia, Pakistan and Burma at the Colombo Conference in May of this year.”
1954-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 9 (1954)
“I wish to make it clear that what I have to say now is no way motivated by ill-feeling or vindictiveness towards Formosa for what it has done in my country. We do not forget that it was the then Government of Nationalist China which sponsored our membership in the United Nations. In urging the seating of the Central People’s Government of China in this Organization we are merely taking cognizance of an existing fact. The fact is that the authorities of Formosa have long ceased to have any control over the Chinese mainland, and their representatives at the United Nations therefore do not represent the Chinese people.”
1954-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 9 (1954)
“A divided world stands in greater need of a common forum to keep it from becoming even more divided. Here we are in entire agreement with the views expressed by the Foreign Minister of Norway from this rostrum last Friday [476th meeting]. We would like to see every sovereign State represented here. We need them here to assist us in our quest for a modus vivendi. A situation in which so many influential States are kept out of our Organization is bad for the United Nations, for the States kept out, and for world peace. We shall therefore continue to strive to secure the admittance to the United Nations of all those independent States who wish to join it, including the newly independent States of Laos and Cambodia. 17. A related question is that of the representation of China, which is already a Member of the United Nations.”
1954-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 9 (1954)
“We feel that the general acceptance of this basic fact would, in itself, go a long way towards removing some of the current cold war tensions. It is a matter of mental attitude or approach. If only all of us here could make this adjustment, we feel sure that it will be possible to work out a modus vivendi which would make life on the earth more tolerable for all of us. It is in trying to bring about this modus vivendi that this Organization can play not only a leading, but even a crucial role. 16. Burma, as a small nation, has always been a firm believer in the United Nations. Despite the obvious shortcomings of the Organization, we continue to have faith in it. If it was necessary nine years ago, it is even more necessary today. If it did not exist, we feel sure that the world would today be busily engaged in trying to establish it.”
1954-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 9 (1954)
“As long as this cold war continues to plague the world, the fate of mankind will remain in doubt. It consequently behooves all of us, even if we cannot bring the cold war to an end, to do all in our power to bring about an easing of that war. There are some who say that peaceful coexistence between the two ideological blocs is impossible because of the basic conflict between the two systems. To accept this contention against the background of the hydrogen bomb is, in our view, to submit to a counsel of despair. It seems to us that both systems have come to stay for the foreseeable future since neither can destroy the other without itself suffering fatal injuries. In other words, the alternative to coexistence seems to be no existence.”
1954-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 9 (1954)
“Those whose duty it is to ensure compliance with the armistice agreements shoulder a tremendous responsibility towards the entire world, and we are sure that they will fully discharge that responsibility. Perhaps more than most other nations, Burma has a vital interest in the final result, not only because of our geographical proximity to Indo-China, but also because we have a special interest in the outcome so far as concerns Laos and Cambodia, countries which are linked to us by ties of religion and culture. 15. The end of the fighting in Korea and Indo-China is indeed a matter for satisfaction and congratulation. But the conclusion of these conflicts represents only the first steps towards the restoration of peace to this unhappy world; it merely removes the symptoms of a deeper malady which has come to be known as the “cold war”.”
1954-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 9 (1954)
“The almost audible sigh of relief which went round the world when the Indo-China agreement was signed at Geneva was proof of the growing realization that this is indeed an interdependent age. It was a most heartening sign for the future. The people of Burma welcome the agreement, and on their behalf I wish to congratulate all those who participated in the Geneva Conference on their statesmanship and untiring efforts to bring to an end, at least temporarily, a dangerously explosive situation. The armistice agreements have still to be implemented, so that we are not yet out of the woods; but we are confident that this can be done successfully, given the same wise statesmanship and restraint which marked the final stages of the Geneva Conference.”
1954-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 9 (1954)
“We have heard before of wars to end all war. But the next one will end all war, and with it the human race. 13. We are sure that everyone in this hall is aware of this grim fact. But we make no apology for mentioning it because it is important that we keep it constantly in mind; and, furthermore, it is imperative that every man, woman and child on this planet should be made aware of its implications, since their future, and even their very existence, may depend on their understanding and appreciating them. Every opportunity should be seized to drive this lesson home. From this point of view it is unfortunate that hydrogen and atomic bomb tests, by their nature, have had to be carried out in the most sparsely populated areas of this globe. 14. It is against this background that we view the cessation of the fighting in Korea and Indo-China.”
1954-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 9 (1954)
“Man has at last mastered the secret of his own extinction. This is the most significant development in the entire history of mankind and one which calls for a new set of values and a new way of thinking. Throughout the ages, war has been abhorred, but nevertheless it has occurred with sickening regularity. Out of this has developed the feeling that war, despite all its horrors, is inevitable. The hydrogen bomb serves notice on mankind that it must banish all such thinking. Not only must mankind cease to think of war as inevitable, but it must be seized constantly with one overriding determination — the determination that there shall be no more war, big or small, limited or otherwise. The supreme need of the hour is to think straight, and man finds it difficult to think straight when the world is beset even with small or limited wars.”
1954-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 9 (1954)
“On my first appearance at .thus rostrum since the election of the President of the General Assembly, permit me to offer him the congratulations and best wishes of my delegation. I should like also to seize this opportunity to associate my delegation with the well-earned tributes which have been paid to Mrs. Pandit, the outgoing President. We of Asia are proud of the gracious, skilful and impartial manner in which Mrs. Pandit conducted and guided the deliberations of the eighth session of the General Assembly, and our satisfaction and appreciation are not diminished in the slightest by the fact that Mrs. Pandit’s notable achievement has been just what we had come to expect of her. 12. We meet once more in the shadow of the hydrogen bomb, a shadow which grows in size with every month that passes.”
1954-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 9 (1954)
“We are aware of the steps which have already been taken to meet this problem. Unfortunately, progress so far has been slow and the results extremely meagre. Obviously what is required is that a much more imaginative programme of economic development should be introduced and, since such programmes are inevitably slow to produce results, that such a programme should be brought under way as early as, possible. We are aware of the difficulties which exist and have no desire to belittle them, but we are by no means convinced that everything that is possible within the means now available is in fact being done to meet this challenge.”
1952-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 7 (1952)
“Unless the world as a whole takes steps to meet this challenge, possibly by diverting part of what is now spent on armaments to more productive purposes, it seems that we shall all be heading towards disaster, 115. We all know that this challenge would have come forward even if the ideological conflict had never come into existence and that it will remain even after this conflict is dissipated. Yet there is a very strong tendency to merge this problem with the ideological conflict and to gauge its importance strictly in relation to the extent to which it can be so merged. What seems to be required is a fuller realization, particularly in the more fortunate countries of the world, that this is a problem which has come to stay, regardless of any other conflicts or problems which have already developed or may develop in the future, 116.”
1952-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 7 (1952)