YouSaid · the spoken record

Serrano

THE RECORD WRITES THIS SPEAKER AS SERRANO

lines on the record: 99
first: 1954-09-24
most recent: 1958-09-24
sittings or episodes: 3
sources: un-general-debate

Every line below is reproduced as it was said and linked to the record it came from. Nothing here is summarised or generated. Directory · Search · Corrections

“For thirteen years we have carried on patiently and painfully, through crisis after crisis, to bring peace to our troubled world. We know not where our efforts will find surcease; whether in the survival of man with a promise of a richer life or in his total destruction. Wisdom may lose to folly, but let it not be said that, in the lifetime of this Organization, we who gather under its canopy year after year have faltered in our resolve to work out man's salvation.”
1958-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 13 (1958)
“It is in this light that we must view the approval last year of the establishment of the Special Fund. The aim of the Fund is to increase technical assistance by a substantial margin and ultimately to provide capital for the development of less-developed areas, particularly in Asia, Africa and Latin America. The new programme thus touches on two of the principal problems facing most of the States Members of the United Nations. 136. There are no quick or certain nostrums for the problems of economic stability, which are patently incapable of being solved in isolation. But those of us who are concerned most of all with the strengthening of the United Nations will do well to keep in mind that in the end the strength of the Organization can have its source only in the strength of its individual Members. 137.”
1958-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 13 (1958)
“As we see it, the role of the General Assembly is to encourage the parties in their search for a mutually acceptable formula of conciliation and compromise. 134. It remains for me to speak of a principal concern of a majority of the Members of our Organization: the economic development of less developed countries. It might be more true to say that this is a principal concern of all the Members, since in the last analysis world stability is directly dependent on the economic health of the whole earth, not just of a few favoured segments of it. The greater the imbalance in economic progress, the more certain the possibility that social tensions and upheavals will occur and pose lasting threats to international peace. Fortunately, the principle of common responsibility and joint action in this respect is now an accepted one. 135.”
1958-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 13 (1958)
“Since the unfortunate incident at the Tunisian border, France and Tunisia have entered into certain agreements concerning French troops on Tunisian soil, suggesting the possibility of restoring harmony between the two countries. It may then be possible, the French having achieved their constitutional reform, to look forward to informal discussions with a view to exploring possible solutions to the Algerian problem. 133. It is clear, however, that both problems have reached the point where they cannot be permitted to deteriorate further. The overriding necessity of reaching an accommodation of the interests of the parties in each case must compel them before long to discover an appropriate solution to their difficulties and create a favourable climate for a just, peaceful and democratic settlement.”
1958-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 13 (1958)
“We note, too, with mixed feelings of misgiving and hope the persistent efforts to discover some feasible common ground among the complex rival claims of the three countries involved. In the present circumstances, precipitate efforts to press too far or too fast any conceivable adjustment could wreck the chances of a permanent solution. The danger, as we see it, is not so much that there seems to be no solution in prospect as that, if the breach is so widened between the countries involved, a future solution may be rendered even more difficult. 132. In the case of Algeria, the situation has, for well-known reasons, clearly deteriorated, or at any rate has not advanced materially towards a solution. It will be recalled that at its last session the Assembly suggested that pourparlers be entered into by France, Morocco and Tunisia.”
1958-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 13 (1958)
“We hope that Communist China will not insist on conditions so obviously unacceptable as to wreck every fair prospect of reasonable agreement. 130. If the. talks break down — and let us hope that they, do not — and the current situation persists, the Assembly or the Security Council, I assume, will not fall to bring the influence of its collective wisdom to bear upon the issue in such form and manner as are suitable to the circumstances of the situation and in conformity with the principles of the Charter. 131. Elsewhere, on the periphery of the Middle East, lie the two problem spots of Cyprus and Algeria, in either case, the issue has shifted from the essence of self-determination to the form and process by which it should be applied. In the case of Cyprus, we cannot but deplore the violence which has raged periodically therein.”
1958-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 13 (1958)
“In consonance with the Charter of the United Nations, my country cannot accept or condone the use of armed force in the settlement of international questions. We recognize no valid substitutes for the peaceful procedures of the Charter. 129. The talks now being conducted between the United States and communist Chinese ambassadors in Warsaw have given us some ground for relief. While we may indulge in guarded expectations as to the outcome of such talks, my delegation supports the suggestion already put forward that, as evidence of good faith, Communist China should observe in the interim a facto cease-fire in the off-shore islands area. This will serve to insulate the Warsaw negotiations from the varying fortunes of opposing military action in the Asian "rimland".”
1958-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 13 (1958)
“The United States has in turn repeatedly warned that it will not relinquish its responsibility to defend Formosa, including the related areas of Matsu and Quemoy, if in the judgement of its President the attacks on those areas could be a prelude to an attack on Formosa. 127. As we watch day by day the varying pressures that are made to bear upon the crisis, we can only express the fear that beyond a certain point it may no longer be possible for the countries concerned to keep control of all the factors of the situation. This dire possibility and the ever-present danger that wide areas may be engulfed if the crisis reaches unmanageable proportions, make the question of the off-shore islands a critical case of profound concern to us all. 128.”
1958-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 13 (1958)
“Of the specific situation before us it is appropriate only to repeat, pending the receipt of the Secretary-General's report, the truism uttered by the preceding President of the Assembly to the effect that deeds, not words would supply the ultimate test of the wisdom or lack of wisdom of the Assembly's decision. In the meantime, we remain vastly encouraged by the mounting evidence of good faith among the Arab nations in their relations with one another. 126. In the Western Pacific, some two hundred miles from my country, the world attention has been riveted on the two tiny islands of Quemoy and Matsu. Since 23 August, Communist China has subjected these Islands to sustained artillery action of varying intensity with the avowed Intent of seizing them and the Nationalist stronghold of Formosa.”
1958-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 13 (1958)
“We feel that we can sum up the Middle East problems as follows: first, the power rivalries in the region; second, the existing difficulties between the Arab States and Israel, principally as they centre on the question of refugees; and, finally, the growing strength and direction of Arab nationalism. All of these Issues have been before the Assembly in one form or another ever since the United Nations began. But to say so merely emphasizes the scope and the intractable nature of the problem which, before this session is too old, will confront us once again. 125.”
1958-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 13 (1958)
“It will hardly escape notice, however, that the Middle East problem has three aspects which are so intimately interlocked that a solution on one level, while fully desirable, may not necessarily produce the kind of lasting peace that we all ardently wish for the peoples of the area. In other words, the problem has to be viewed in its widest context. 124. There are no. magicians in the Assembly, but only a group of burdened men trying as best they can, in a spirit of common humanity, to help solve each other's difficulties. It may well be that a completely viable solution to the Middle East problem is at this time beyond our grasp. But it may also be that by keeping the broad issues in view, as a whole and in their naked reality, we will be kept from being led too far astray in our quest.”
1958-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 13 (1958)
“We all know the happy results that attended the efforts of the Assembly in the crisis of 1956 — results which have exceeded even our most sanguine expectations at the time. As for the more recent crisis, we have every reason to hail the decision of the Arab States themselves to shoulder the primary responsibility for the stability and peace of their region. Apart from its special relevance to the immediate problem of the Middle East, the reaffirmation of the principle of non-interference has served as a healing touch to| those who have suffered from its violation and as an emphatic warning to those inclined to flout it for selfish ends that they can do so only at their own peril. 123.”
1958-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 13 (1958)
“It must, however, be abundantly clear that if we procrastinate any longer, hoping merely to stumble on a solution instead of actively working to achieve it, the pace of events will inevitably overtake us and result in irretrievable loss of the opportunity to utilize outer space to man's advantage rather than for his own destruction. It is hoped therefore that any scheme, even of an interim nature, for the peaceful utilization of outer space will not become inextricably involved in the general context of disarmament negotiations and that it will be made a subject of separate agreement. 122. Twice in the last two years special emergency sessions have had to be convoked to deal with problems arising out of the troubled situation in the Middle East.”
1958-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 13 (1958)
“We must therefore hope that the projected conferences will confirm our high expectations and that their results will enhance, in turn, the prospect for an early accord on the control of outer space and its exclusive use for peaceful scientific purposes. 121. The success of space satellites, if dedicated to the arts of peace, holds out for mankind a promise of rich and unimaginable rewards. It would be manifestly unfortunate if that hope were again frustrated by our failure to agree on such controls as would insure the use of outer space solely for peaceful scientific purposes. As early as two or three years ago proposals to that effect were initiated, but it is now apparent that they have become entangled with considerations of a different sort.”
1958-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 13 (1958)
“While the conclusion of the United Nations Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation is not final, and may be considered debatable in some quarters, it does tend to support the growing view that, the less radiation, the better for the human race. It Is a view which must certainly be taken into urgent account in the coming negotiations on the halting of nuclear tests, 119. From all this, certain instructive conclusions emerge. First, the wisdom of the Assembly in enforcing over the past four years the "stage-by-stage" measures approach to disarmament and related questions has been amply vindicated. Secondly, it would appear that technical agreements may hereafter become an essential pre-condition of disarmament negotiations, providing as they do a basis which may well influence favourably the course of such negotiations. 120.”
1958-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 13 (1958)
“It may be stated that none of these developments has a direct bearing on actual disarmament measures. But if It is accepted that the safest way to test the workability of any disarmament measure is to place it on an empirical basis, and that only such schemes as could be properly controlled at a given time should be adopted, then we submit that any agreement on enforcing the temporary cessation of nuclear tests, which may be reached by the Powers principally concerned cannot fail to yield the widest implications for the disarmament problem as a whole. 118. There is one aspect of this matter about which there can be no argument, namely, that the provisional agreement to suspend tests is a positive response to the deeply human emotion of fear aroused by the dangers of radioactive contamination.”
1958-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 13 (1958)
“Four recent developments, however, add considerably to our hopes that & "breakthrough" might be developing in the interminably protracted discussions: first, the apparent understanding among the principal Powers to suspend, on a provisional basis, further experimental explosions of nuclear weapons; second, the Geneva accord on the feasibility of policing a ban on nuclear test explosions; third, the report of the United Nations Scientific Committee on the effects of Atomic Radiation concerning the hazards of radioactivity resulting from such explosions; and, fourth, the projected meeting in Geneva of technical experts from the signatories of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and of the Warsaw Pact on the problem of preventing a surprise attack. 117.”
1958-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 13 (1958)
“The refusal of a principal Power to participate in the discussions constituted a distinct disservice to the cause of peace. 115. It may be true that the procedures and techniques of the Disarmament Commission have not been altogether perfect, but such imperfection is hardly ground for a course of action which, if obstinately pursued, would have reduced the Commission to ultimate impotence, 116. Disarmament, in the view of my delegation, is not one of those questions which can be negotiated on the principle of "the more, the merrier".”
1958-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 13 (1958)
“We cannot, however, be released from the inescapable obligation to persist in seeking solutions to the problems with which the life of mankind is sorely beset. 113. Of these problems, none confronts us so starkly as the Issue of whether man in his lack of wisdom shall cause his own extinction, or whether man in the fullness of his wisdom can achieve his own redemption. The resolving of this issue permits, I dare say, no compromise with time tor, until we resolve it, the race of man on earth must remain a haunted and tormented one. 114. Disarmament has been a perennial problem with us. Undismayed by lack of results, we have tried to carry on as patiently as we could. But the past year, I must confess, was a disappointment. The inability of the Disarmament Commission to meet was a severe setback to the disarmament negotiations.”
1958-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 13 (1958)
“The first affords a sure indication of growth and emerging maturity of the Assembly; the Second augurs well for the weight and force of its influence wherever its "presence" has been invoked. It is heartening that this inclination to comprehensive accord could manifest itself even in those central issues of our time on which one would expect a bitter divergence of views. May the General Assembly at this thirteenth session, stimulated by past example, voice its universal sentiments in the same universal fashion. 112. This development, however gratifying, should not mask from our view the realities which today so harshly divide our world and fragment man's allegiances. In a sense there are no ultimate solutions; there are only ultimate problems. But this is merely to say that we acknowledge the frailties of man; that we are not gods.”
1958-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 13 (1958)
“110. Mr. President, it is both my privilege and my pleasure to congratulate you, on behalf of my delegation, on your election to the presidency of this Assembly. I would say that this is a signal honour which you richly deserve If for no other reason than your long and useful association with this body. We have every reason to hope for, and to look forward to, a most successful session of the Assembly under your leadership. 111. Two profoundly encouraging signs have, of late, been widely noted in this Assembly, namely, the remarkable self-possession which has been exhibited in the midst of tempestuous discord and the Increasing tendency to approximate unanimity in the decisions taken.”
1958-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 13 (1958)
“The task that confronts us in this eleventh session is a heavy one, rendered more complex and more difficult by the forbidding international climate. But, in the spirit of mutual understanding and tolerance, there is no obstacle, however formidable, which we cannot overcome. The Philippine delegation is prepared to hear its sustainable share of the common task with the fullest measure of goodwill and co-operation.”
1956-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 11 (1956)
“Finally, we note with gratification the advances over the past year in the work of this Organization in the economic and social fields. The momentum of progress along traditional channels offers every hope of continued acceleration. But fears have been strongly expressed about the persistent failure to halt the widening gap in the rate of development between industrially advanced countries and the under-developed countries. The consequences of such a trend, unless arrested, may prove disastrous to the desirable balance of economy among nations. Here, therefore, is another area of immediate and urgent interest; for the future stability of the world will depend on whether we succeed today in eliminating those causes of tension and unrest which have their roots in economic and social inequalities. 133.”
1956-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 11 (1956)
“What the world Organization has achieved with spectacular success is to ride the wave of history — which contemporary nationalism is — and transform a usually violent agitation into a constructive and peaceful process. 131. In the field of human rights, we have advanced with giant strides in the task of spelling out the precious rights of men. We have entered the second phase of our labour — the system of annual reports and studies in specific human rights and the institution of advisory services. My delegation, however, feels we can now commence to explore the possibilities of working out genuine programmes of action by which the rights we have defined and declared, may find progressive application in countries where they are not observed. 132.”
1956-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 11 (1956)
“On 6 March 1957, the territory of Ghana, comprising the present Gold Coast and Togoland under British administration, will become a fully independent State within the British Commonwealth. The establishment of this prospective new State became a reality last May when Togoland under British administration voted for incorporation in the Gold Coast in a plebiscite held to determine whether it desired union with the Gold Coast or continuation as a Trust Territory. And in 1960 Somaliland is scheduled to gain independence under the terms of an earlier Assembly resolution. 130. There have been instances of dependent peoples being guided or prepared for the eventual assumption of independence, but the evolutionary procedures of the United Nations in this respect are certainly without parallel in history.”
1956-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 11 (1956)
“The Philippine delegation desires to reaffirm its full support of the principle of self-determination for Cyprus, but within such time and under such conditions as will fit into the context of the security requirements of the free world. And it is our fervent hope that such an objective will be attained through the orderly and peaceful processes of negotiation. 129. In this connexion, we cannot fail to note the great progress towards the exercise of self-determination among dependent peoples. Tunisia, the Sudan and Morocco have just joined the ranks of the United Nations. I am happy to announce that my Government has formally extended diplomatic recognition to these three new Members of the world community.”
1956-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 11 (1956)
“However, the negotiations over the constitution of the proposed Cypriot Assembly broke down, and shortly thereafter Archbishop Makarios was exiled for his alleged complicity with the supposed terrorists on the island. Further negotiations are contemplated by the United Kingdom on the basis of a Cyprus Constitution which is now being drafted. In the meantime, the question is before us on two antagonistic pleas: one by Greece, invoking self-determination for Cyprus, and the other by the United Kingdom, seeking an examination of alleged Greek support for terroristic activities in the island. 128. Now, as in the past, the quest for solution revolves around efforts at striking a happy reconciliation between the Cypriot claim for freedom and the just recognition of the strategic value of the island in the security set-up in the area.”
1956-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 11 (1956)
“Granted the complexity of the problem of Korea, it is not one, we believe, which the Assembly can ignore, except at peril to the principles of the United Nations. We cannot abdicate our responsibility in promoting the search for fresh solutions. If we do, then we shall have justified the insistent fears that the division of Korea is, in fact, permanent. We surely cannot permit this tragic result by our sufferance or default. 127. A problem of equal complexity on this year’s agenda is the question of Cyprus. Under different circumstances, it would be pleasant to note that the question is not quite what it was when the Assembly discussed it during the ninth session. Since then the United Kingdom has accepted the principle of self-determination in regard to Cyprus and has agreed to institute limited self-government for the Cypriots.”
1956-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 11 (1956)
“It is, however, disquieting to note at the same time that while we had, for the last two years, hoped for, and urged, some progress towards the basic aims of free elections in, and unification of, Korea, not one forward step has been taken to realize them. Indeed, when UNCURK adjourned sine die on 1 January 1956 and virtually relinquished its functions and responsibilities to a mere committee of four nations, it took a step that may induce the South Koreans to a sombre belief that they eventually may be left alone to work out their own salvation. It, too, places in serious doubt our oft-repeated avowal of continuing our quest for an early solution to the Korean problem. We cannot view this situation without grave concern.”
1956-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 11 (1956)
“In the example of the successful constitution of the International Atomic Energy Agency, we may take the needed courage to find our way through the thorny problems which face us year after year. 125. There is, for instance, the question of Korea. In its sixth annual report [A/3172] the United Nations Commission for the Unification and Rehabilitation of Korea (UNCURK) describes the great gains being made by the Republic of Korea in establishing a representative Government and in rehabilitating its economy through the aid of the United Nations. 126. It is a source of gratification to hear that the once embattled Republic is rapidly progressing towards stability and widening international recognition.”
1956-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 11 (1956)
“I have briefly traced the consecutive steps in the establishment of the International Atomic Energy Agency by way of emphasizing the kind of prompt and vital response possible among nations when the cause is worthy and the spirit of co-operation is enlisted in the service of humanity. In the creation of an Agency for the peaceful utilization of atomic energy, the Assembly found a cause that transcended ideological and political differences among nations, for it promised a future for all mankind that will be free from poverty and disease and in which the labours of man can coax the fabled abundance of the earth. The manner in which the Agency will marshall its capacity in the immediate years ahead will provide the test of whether our vision of the atom can be translated into terms of actual abundance on a world-wide scale.”
1956-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 11 (1956)
“On 8 December 1953, President Eisenhower proposed its creation, and, following the successful International Conference on the Peaceful Uses of Atomic Energy in Geneva, the negotiating Governments completed the draft statute of the Agency, submitting it in September 1956 to the International Conference on the Peaceful Uses of Atomic Energy of Member States of the United Nations and specialized agencies. In the following month, the Statute was unanimously approved and, after ratification by the Governments of Member States, the Agency is expected to come into being in 1957. 124.”
1956-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 11 (1956)
“It has become abundantly clear that, in the face of the continuing deadlock, a less ambitious approach to the problem, timed under propitious circumstances and narrow enough to inspire confidence and a spirit of conciliation, may pave the way to partial achievement. My delegation will accordingly support any proposal calculated to promote such limited agreements in the hope that eventually they will help build a climate conducive to the ultimate settlement of this most intractable of the problems that ever confronted this body. 123. There is a lesson to be learned in the dispatch with which agreement was reached on the establishment of the International Atomic Energy Agency.”
1956-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 11 (1956)
“Lately, Moscow suggested a non-aggression accord between the members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and those of the Warsaw Pact, and aerial reconnaissance within the area of disposition in Europe of their principal forces to a depth of 800 kilometres east and west of the demarcation line. Against the immediate background of an announced fresh nuclear test, and calculatingly timed in the present context of the Middle East crisis, this new Soviet proposal is, however, being viewed by the Western Powers as another distasteful piece of propaganda. 122. We are thus compelled to admit that no substantial progress has been achieved in settling this vexing question.”
1956-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 11 (1956)
“Following a resolution [914 (X)] of this body last year, the main efforts of the Disarmament Commission were directed at framing proposals of a confidence-building nature. Towards this end, the United States proposed the creation of technical exchange missions and allocation of demonstration test areas in which both President Eisenhower’s “Open Skies” plan and Marshal Bulganin’s “control posts” idea would be given a trial. 121. However, efforts at an approximation of views notwithstanding, the United States, the United Kingdom and France, on the one hand, and the Soviet Union, on the other, could find no common ground nor mutual trust in each other’s proposals.”
1956-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 11 (1956)
“In itself, the action of the Assembly in admitting the new Members bespoke the spirit of goodwill and co-operation which marked the relations among nations then. Looking towards a larger purpose, however, it was clearly the intention of this body to move towards the realization of the principle of universality of membership within the permissible ambit of the Charter. 119. There is every indication that the day is not far off when the Assembly can truly speak of itself as representing the voice of humanity. As it is now, the Assembly has been immeasurably strengthened, and a new confidence has been gained which will serve us well in deliberating over the issues in the present session, 120. The problem of disarmament has long been an unmanageable one.”
1956-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 11 (1956)
“The urgent and pressing interest with which my Government regards the Hungarian situation has been demonstrated by its token contribution towards the relief of Hungarians made destitute by the recent clashes in Budapest and elsewhere. We express the ardent hope that the energy and the formidable pressure of the collective moral force of this body will cause the Soviet Union to desist from any further attempts to stifle the legitimate aspirations of the Hungarian people. 118. Last year sixteen new nations were admitted into the fold of the United Nations, and three more nations were welcomed just over a week ago. A once unmitigated deadlock which had lasted for years has thus been broken.”
1956-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 11 (1956)
“Fortunately, this Assembly is lacking neither in patience nor in determination — patience and determination born of the profound yearning of mankind to overcome its afflictions. 116. We therefore venture the hope that with respect to the Middle East question, whatever might be the ultimate fate of the issue of the management of the Suez Canal, the principle of free and continuous passage through the waterway shall be ensured. On the Egyptian- Israel dispute, we look forward to an immediate restoration of peace in the area, and, in a more favourable climate, energetic steps should be taken to reach a final and conclusive settlement of the obstinate causes of friction. 117.”
1956-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 11 (1956)
“Assuredly, none of the problems connected with the recent Middle East hostilities and the Hungarian situation has been solved, except possibly the immediate — but, I should say, considerable — issue of halting the continued destruction of human life. But it is a condition which necessarily precedes the larger solutions. It now remains for the Assembly, in its collective wisdom, to turn the grievous loss into a positive gain, to feel its healing way to every wound and woe, to use the tragic events as points of transition to a permanent and enduring peace. We realize, even as we speak these words, the scope and difficulty of the task which faces us in our efforts to achieve this great aim.”
1956-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 11 (1956)
“Which one it shall be depends on the energy, the wisdom and the strength of purpose of the leaders of nations. But for all of us, undoubtedly, the occasion presents an opportunity for the purification of conscience. Unfortunate as recent events have been, they have a positive and redeeming side. The speed and firmness with which the General Assembly acted to meet these situations is one cause for rejoicing. As on similar occasions in the past, this body has conclusively proved that it could bring to bear the full weight of its moral force whenever the peace and security of the world are endangered. 115.”
1956-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 11 (1956)
“We open our deliberations this year — the eleventh in the life of the United Nations — under the shadow of menacing events. In the past three weeks, developments of fearsome portent have cast the issue of peace in very grave doubt. In the Middle East, war reared its ugly head again; and in Central Europe a subject people traced once more the ancient pattern of rebellion in the name of human freedom. 114. The full significance of these developments is not clearly visible to us at the moment. It may be that a new order of things is struggling to be born; or it may be that the brief but bright era of good feeling which followed the summit meetings at Geneva has trailed away and humanity is back again among the travails of spirit which marked the painful years after the Second World War.”
1956-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 11 (1956)
“My delegation is particularly pleased to join the other delegations in congratulating Prince Wan Waithayakon on his election to the presidency of this body. It is a high honour seldom endowed in so rich a fashion; but he deserves it as richly by his selfless labours in the cause of amity and international co-operation. Enhanced by his winsome ways, his enviable experience and familiarity with the problems which regularly confront the General Assembly, hold out every happy augury for a fruitful and rewarding session. 112. Withal, my Government views his election with every feeling of friendly elation. Our two countries have had the closest connexions, not only because of our alliance in the Southeast Asia Treaty Organization but also because we share in large measure the problems of nation building peculiar to our region of the world. 113.”
1956-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 11 (1956)
“Let me close with a friendly reminder that, in present as in past Soviet Union proposals, deeds — I say “deeds” — not words will be the ultimate test upon which the Soviet Union will be judged by an anxious world.”
1954-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 9 (1954)
“My Government does not propose to express its views on the merits of the draft resolution. All that it hopes to see is the day when weapons of mass destruction shall be completely eliminated from the armaments of States and when the new discoveries of man’s genius shall be made available, by common consent, for the advancement of his comfort and happiness. My Government wants to view the draft resolution as a happy indication that the Soviet Union has not utterly shut the door to the solution of an issue upon which hangs the fate of human civilization. We take it to mean that the Soviet Union shares with the free world the dreadful recognition that, with free use of atomic and hydrogen weapons, there is no more survival for the victor than for the vanquished in the total annihilation that will descend upon all. 149.”
1954-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 9 (1954)
“Fortunately, the Philippines, in common with a large number of the other free countries of the world, is keenly alive to the sinister implications of this deceptive formula for peace, and chooses to rest its security on firmer grounds. 148. There is, however, one comforting feature in the speech of the Soviet Union representative. I refer to the draft resolution which he proposed [A/2742 and Corr.1], entitled “Conclusion of an international convention (treaty) on the reduction of armaments and the prohibition of atomic, hydrogen and other weapons of mass destruction”, calling for the establishment of an international control system for the observance of the convention, on the basis of the proposal made on 11 June 1954 by France and the United Kingdom [DC/53, annex 9].”
1954-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 9 (1954)
“The essence of democracy is freedom, which necessarily implies tolerance of opposing systems or of antagonistic political or economic thoughts. I am quite certain that there is no desire on the part of the democracies to impose their political or economic concepts and ways of life upon any unwilling people. 147. The unfolding pattern of international communism, however, has disclosed conclusively that peaceful coexistence has been foisted on us as a peace formula, not for the aims that the phrase implies, but as a weapon of subversion and the ultimate domination of the world. More accurately, peaceful coexistence is, to the Communists, a euphemism for cold war or a camouflage for incursions into free areas to undermine their political and economic structures.”
1954-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 9 (1954)
“We trust, however, that these differences will narrow with time, and it is in this confidence that the Manila Pact has left the door open to our other Asian neighbours. 145. Our attention has once again been called to the necessity for peaceful coexistence between the Soviet Union and the free countries of the world. We are again told that only by recognizing the reality and importance of peaceful coexistence among States of diverse social structures and political ideologies can we expect to normalize international relations and establish the peace of the world on an enduring basis. 146. On the face of it, the plea for peaceful coexistence made by the Soviet Union and the allied Communist countries is by no means unacceptable to the free world.”
1954-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 9 (1954)
“If any signatory has other remaining colonial possessions in South-East Asia, it is the hope of my Government and the other signatories to the treaty that, in pursuance of the solemn declarations of the Pacific Charter, it will take such progressive steps as are necessary for the eventual emancipation of those subject areas. 144. True, some South-East Asian countries have not for the present seen fit to join the defence agreement. It is the hope of my Government that, in God’s appointed time, they will. They cherish identical freedoms with us. They recognize the existence of a common danger to those freedoms. Our differences lie only in the appraisal of the imminence of such danger and in the manner of combating it.”
1954-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 9 (1954)
“My Government knows of no colonial interest which the United States has to promote in Asia. On the contrary, after a successful experiment in democracy in my country, which theretofore had no parallel in history, the United States voluntarily withdrew its sovereignty. The United Kingdom has similarly granted independence to India, Pakistan, Burma, and Ceylon. By virtue of the Indo-China truce, France has agreed to the holding of elections throughout Viet-Nam, Cambodia and Laos to permit their peoples to set up a government of their choice which would be, of course, a faithful expression of their right to self-determination.”
1954-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 9 (1954)
“The Soviet Union representative said [484th meeting, para. 90]: “It is ... a perfidious scheme to set one group of Asian peoples against another.” The accusation is none too complimentary to the South-East Asian signatories of the Treaty. It considers them willing pawns of the Western Powers in the promotion of their alleged colonial interests. The historic struggle for freedom of these Asian countries, and the firm stand they have always taken against the continuance of colonialism on any relevant issue before the United Nations, are adequate guarantees that they will not be privy to any scheme of colonial advancement by any Western Power. On the other hand, the accusation flies in the face of the contemporaneous history of the Western participants to the defence agreement.”
1954-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 9 (1954)