YouSaid · the spoken record

Acheson

THE RECORD WRITES THIS SPEAKER AS ACHESON

lines on the record: 147
first: 1949-09-24
most recent: 1952-09-24
sittings or episodes: 4
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

“This would enable us to work out specific arrangements for the regulation, limitation and balanced reduction of national military establishments while the process of inventory and inspection is taking place. Moreover — and this is of the greatest importance — the continuing disclosure and verification? which we propose would provide quick and certain knowledge of any violation. In a world charged as ours is with suspicions and dangers our peoples want the safeguard that disclosure and verification can provide. As we move from stage to stage, we would have increasing evidence of good faith and honesty. We would not go forward without that evidence. 93.”
1951-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 6 (1951)
“As I have said, each stage would be completed before the next began, until all arms and armaments of every kind had been included. 92. Since 1949, there has been before the United Nations a proposal, supported by the United States, for a census and verification to be carried out on a one-time basis. We are now moving forward from that proposal in two ways. One is that while the process of disclosure and verification is taking place, we would be working out the further steps of regulation, limitation and balanced reduction. And we are also proposing to alter the earlier proposal so as to include in the system of disclosure all of the aspects of atomic energy. In short, the first step of the general programme we are now putting forward would be the disclosure in stages of all military matters.”
1951-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 6 (1951)
“The national inventories of all armed forces and armaments must be checked and verified in each country by inspectors who are nationals of other countries and who are working under the United Nations. These inspectors must have the power to find out what are the real facts. This system of disclosure and verification must be a system which progresses from stage to stage as each one is completed. 91. As our three Governments have already stated, this will mean revealing, in appropriate stages, all armed forces whether military, para-military, security or police forces, and all armaments, whether atomic or non-atomic. The least vital information would be disclosed first, and we would then proceed to more sensitive areas.”
1951-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 6 (1951)
“Last night, the President of the United States discussed our proposals in a broadcast to the American people, and assured them that we, for our part, would approach these discussions with the most sincere desire for a successful outcome. I wish to repeat here the essential elements of the programme as outlined by the President. 90. The first element is disclosure and verification on a continuing basis. It is impossible for the nations to proceed with such a programme unless each one has knowledge of what armed forces and armaments other nations possess. This knowledge must be continually up to date. It must be full knowledge and there must be guarantees that the knowledge is accurate. This in turn means that there must be a system of inspection.”
1951-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 6 (1951)
“After a long period of study, we have arrived at a series of proposals for the regulation, limitation and balanced reduction of armaments and armed forces which meets the test of reasonableness and feasibility. Last night the three Governments announced their intention to submit such proposals to this sixth session of the General Assembly. We are therefore asking that a discussion of these proposals [A/1943] be added to the agenda as a matter of urgency and importance. I firmly believe that these proposals can lead to an agreed programme here in the United Nations, if all nations approach them with goodwill and a sincere desire for peace. 89.”
1951-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 6 (1951)
“The principles are three in number: first, such a system must include all types of weapons; second, it must be accepted by all nations having substantial armed forces; third, it must be based on safeguards that will ensure the compliance of all nations. In other words, it must be foolproof. 87. The United States Government, together with the Governments of France and the United Kingdom, has been studying earnestly the real problems that must be dealt with if we are to make genuine headway toward the reduction of armaments. The world does not want catchwords and tricks. It does not want propaganda gestures! It wants an honest programme which will protect the safety of free men and not be a cloak for aggressive designs. 88.”
1951-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 6 (1951)
“A year ago, before this body, the President of the United States proposed the merging of the two United Nations commissions dealing with the problem of armaments [295th meeting]. We have before us the report of the Committee of Twelve [A/1922] recommending that this be done and I hope that the Assembly will approve this recommendation. At that time the President expressed the determination of the United States to find ways of bringing about -control and reduction of armaments as a means of moving forward toward the ultimate goal which the United Nations has set for itself, the goal of a peaceful world in which disagreements are settled by peaceful means. He outlined the basic principles for a real, workable system for reducing armaments and the General Assembly endorsed those principles.”
1951-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 6 (1951)
“The Soviet Union has talked a great deal about peace, but when it comes to achieving peace through deeds, or to uniting for peace, they obstruct. They call for a new five- Power peace pact, but refuse to carry out our sixty-Power peace pact, the Charter of the United Nations. 85. One of the most urgent of international problems is the level of armaments among nations. Soviet policies have obliged the free nations to begin building up their armaments to levels necessary for their defence. But we do not want an arms race. We are determined to do all in our power to ensure our safety, but we are no less determined to continue to explore, as we have been doing for many years, every possible way of bringing about a safe reduction of armaments. This effort is too important to the world to leave a single stone unturned. 86.”
1951-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 6 (1951)
“Let ail who desire peace and talk of their peaceful intentions demonstrate their good faith by putting an end to slavery, rather than seeking to extend it. 83. But the record of the past year — and I say this with real sorrow — does not reveal a single action — and I am talking about action not words — by the Soviet Union to indicate that it is willing to co-operate with the rest of the world in abating tensions and the danger of war. Its only contribution has been an artificially created “mass movement”, built around slogans for peace. Despite these slogans, the familiar methods of threat and subversion are today being used against Yugoslavia as once they were used against Turkey. The method of attack by guerilla forces to upset governments is used today in Indo-China as it once was in Greece. 84.”
1951-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 6 (1951)
“Culture and religion have been made the special victims of this tyranny. Scientists and scholars, artists and churchmen are all forced to conform to the single dogma of the all-powerful State. The result is not just sterility; it is the dangerous subservience that results from thought control and makes aggression possible. 81. It was a matter of proper concern to the entire world recently when a foreign correspondent, William Oatis, honestly seeking to report the news in Czechoslovakia, was thrown into prison without a fair trial and on the flimsiest of charges. Tins man is much more than an individual victim of tyranny. He is a reminder to the world of how free journalism is deliberately throttled by totalitarian regimes. 82. These calculated denials of basic human rights are a matter of concern to the world community.”
1951-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 6 (1951)
“I should like to cite one example of these brutal mass deportations, because it is important for us to remember that these are human beings we are talking about and not mere statistics. 79. In the city of Budapest this spring thousands of innocent and helpless families were aroused by the police at dawn and given twenty-four hours in which to prepare for departure. With just a few of their belongings, these people — including infants, the sick, the aged — were transported from their homes to camps and hovels in the country. As one of these unhappy victims wrote in a letter which reached the outside world, “ It is very bitter to have to dissolve everything in the course of twenty-four hours ”. The hopes of the civilized world that the mass persecutions of the Hitler regime would never be repeated have proved to be in vain. 80.”
1951-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 6 (1951)
“Here again the Soviet leaders can speak the word which will fulfil their promises to Austria. 77. Again, in the case of Italy, as Mr. Stikker has just, mentioned, the Soviet Union could fulfil its obligations and make a contribution to the international community by withdrawing the obstacles it has placed in the way of Italy’s entry into the United Nations. 78. Another example of an area in which the Soviet Union, could demonstrate its desire for peace through action is in the field of human rights, in which the Charter also expresses a profound interest. In a large area of the world, human freedom is being crushed. Millions of persons now work as slaves in forced labour camps, and tens of thousands of persons are being compelled to leave their homes by mass deportations.”
1951-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 6 (1951)
“It must be done in a way which will ensure the re-establishment of a free Germany able to play her part in the peaceful association of free European nations. This is a constructive effort, and it presents those who claim to support the reunification of Germany with an opportunity to prove their good faith. 76. Austria is another example of an opportunity to demonstrate by action a will to peace. For more than five years now, the United Kingdom, France, the Soviet Union, and the United States have been discussing the the conclusion of a treaty for Austria. The four Powers have promised the Austrian people independence. The Austrians have long ago fulfilled all the conditions for the restoration of their complete sovereignty. But the country is still under occupation.”
1951-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 6 (1951)
“There are many other areas in which the Soviet Union could demonstrate by action its desire for peace if it chooses to do so. Another example can be found in the case of Germany. A proposal has been submitted [A/1938], for inclusion in the agenda of this Assembly for the establishment of an impartial international commission under United Nations supervision to carry out a simultaneous investigation in the Federal Republic of Germany, in Berlin, and in the Soviet Zone of Germany. The purpose of this investigation would be to determine whether existing conditions there make it possible to hold genuinely free elections throughout these areas. 75. We have consistently maintained, and we continue to maintain, that Germany should be reunified as soon as this can be brought about on democratic lines.”
1951-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 6 (1951)
“At a word from them the fighting could end in Korea. Some months ago, it seemed that the word had been spoken. But has it been spoken? 72. The United Nations Command has been negotiating since July to try to bring about an armistice, so far without success. It is only now that the aggressors have agreed to negotiate on the basis of a military and not a political line, taking into account the current military situation. 73. We are hopeful that the achievement of an armistice in Korea might make it possible for this Assembly to bring about a final settlement for Korea, a settlement which will be in accord with the established United Nations objectives in Korea. A settlement such as this, if reached in good faith, could open the door to broader consultations on other aspects of the Far Eastern situation. 74.”
1951-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 6 (1951)
“The aggressor did not know that the young international organization, the United Nations, could also act with unity, speed, .and eventual military superiority. But that is how it did act. 70. The United States is proud to have been able to play a leading part.in this great practical demonstration of collective security. Until there is peace in Korea, the United Nations will urgently need the maximum contribution — in armed forces and in other means — from every loyal Member of this Organization. And when peace has been restored to Korea, the United Nations must be able to marshal the material aid of all its Members in the great task of reconstruction and rehabilitation. 71. But when will there be peace? We all know that it depends upon the will of those who support, maintain, and defend the communist armies.”
1951-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 6 (1951)
“When Korea was liberated from Japanese rule and the Republic of Korea was established under the auspices of the United Nations [resolution 195 (III)], the Soviet Union withheld-from the Republic all that part of Korea which was under communist control. The iron curtain clanked down on the 38th parallel. Suddenly, on 25 June 1950, the iron curtain was raised to allow Soviet-armed and Soviet-trained armies to pour across the border in their brutal assault on the free people of Korea. 68. With courage and determination, the Koreans resisted the alien aggression, resisted the familiar imperialist expansion. But as the aggressors knew, the young Republic was not strong enough to stand alone against an aggression so carefully planned and so thoroughly equipped. 69.”
1951-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 6 (1951)
“The great constructive accomplishments in the past five years, and those which lie before us, are the sort of international co-operative effort in which my countrymen and those of most of you here join whole-heartedly. This is the work we like — to develop, to build, to expand opportunity for the pursuit of happiness. Our country, as its history and institutions show, is dedicated to this objective. But actually what has been done, and apparently what lies before us, must be done in the face of obstacles made by man and undoubtedly made to impede progress toward peace and human welfare. Again we have a symbol. The symbol is Korea. 67. Korea was the place chosen by those who plan aggression on a world-wide scale as the scene for an imperialist blitzkrieg. The Russian State has repeatedly in modern times tried to make Korea a province.”
1951-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 6 (1951)
“With this possible increase in productivity of existing plants, and with the emphasis on the direction of new capital toward undertakings that will add to the output of the world’s supply of needed goods, it should be possible, within a decade, to increase the world’s real annual income by more than 200 thousand million dollars. This would add to the present production in the world the equivalent of the entire productive output of the United States only four years ago. Think what this would mean in terms of numbers of pairs of shoes, of clothes, housing, education and all the other basic requirements of mankind. This challenge, this opportunity for expanding the economy of the world, should be one of the principal concerns of this Organization and of all its members. And it could be if the will to peace were universal. 66.”
1951-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 6 (1951)
“Here, too, it is not revolutionary technological discoveries which are required. Even with the present rate of new investments, we have the means at hand to secure an enormous increase in productive output. The more efficient use of existing factories, mines, and transportation facilities could, so we are told by the experts, boost the world’s production on the order of about ten per cent within a relatively short period of time. At the same time, we should be on our guard to see that a fair distribution of the increased output that would flow from this increased productivity results in higher wages for workers, and in lower prices for the consumers. 65.”
1951-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 6 (1951)
“Time and again, there have been amazing examples of what a few technicians and a few simple implements, like a hoe or a steel-tipped plough, can do with a few bags of seed in countries where people have long gone hungry. These examples ought to inspire us to further effort. 63. I am also encouraged by the attention and study which has been given during the last year to the problems concerning the ownership and use of land. The report of the Secretary-General, and the action of the Economic and Social Council point the way by which individual governments and the United Nations can provide farmers in many parts of the world with both the incentive and the means for increasing their output of food for the world. 64. Hand in hand with the increase in food supply must come an increase in the world’s industrial output.”
1951-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 6 (1951)
“We would welcome the establishment of targets setting forth practical agricultural and industrial goals to be attained in a definite period of time. 61. In the field of agriculture, the Food and Agriculture Organization has already indicated the increase needed to provide adequate nutritional diets in the year 1960. The magnitudes required are by no means staggering, and the advice of experts is that the goals can be attained. The world has the natural resources and the technical knowledge to meet these needs, and it should be our goal to do so. 62. The progress which has been made during the past year in the field of technical co-operation should give us encouragement to go further.”
1951-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 6 (1951)
“Under the expanded programme of technical assistance, experts are at work in forty-three countries. This is merely a beginning. This points the way in which we must move. As President Truman has already stated, our rate of advance has been impeded by the necessity of building up the defences of the free nations. If we can be relieved of some of this burden, the possibilities of improving the lot of mankind should be limitless. 60. As for the future we recognize that there can be no lasting peace, no real security, while hunger, disease, and despair hold millions in their grip. Every people must have a stake in peace worth defending. By the energetic application of known techniques and without any great increase in expenditure of funds or resources, we can make substantial inroads against poverty and famine.”
1951-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 6 (1951)
“We must use our strength with moderation and restraint. We must work for peace, for understanding, for a reduction of tensions and differences. We must neglect no opportunity to reduce the danger of war in any way that is open to us, and to get on with our main job which is to work toward the kind of a world we want to build. 58. While we have worked to build up the strength of the free nations, we have also been deeply concerned with the economic and social needs of the peoples of the world. Much has been done this year in international co-operation for economic and social well-being. 59. Some two thousand million dollars of new capital have been made available for economic and social development by private investors, by the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development and by governmental institutions.”
1951-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 6 (1951)
“This progress will in time bring us to the threshold of a new period in the affairs of the world. Then the forces of aggression and tyranny will no longer be in a position to attack free nations and find them helpless to resist. 55; The tasks presented by this stage in our efforts are as difficult as any that statesmanship has ever been called upon to fulfil. They are difficult because we must at the same time build strength and work for peace. These are not contradictory; they are two sides of the same coin. 56. We are building strength for one reason, and one reason only — that is, because there will be no peace so long as the peaceful nations are weak and vulnerable. There is no way of escaping this requirement, as the last six years have shown. 57. But building arms alone is not enough.”
1951-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 6 (1951)
“The nations which believe in peace and which support the United Nations’ system of collective security have now been forced to reverse their post-war programmes of demobilization, not to threaten their neighbours, but to protect the peace of the world. They are laying a foundation tor the strength that will protect the world against a renewal of aggression. The structure is not complete; the world is not yet secure against the danger of a third world war. But we have made a beginning. The peaceful nations of the world are more united and better equipped to prevent aggression, than would have seemed possible only a few years ago. Centres of defensive power have been, and are being, built up, not only within individual States but to an increasing degree in mutual defence arrangements and in the United Nations. 54.”
1951-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 6 (1951)
“The Atlantic community is building its strength in support of the principles of the United Nations. In particular, the Atlantic community is building its armed strength so that free Europe will not be powerless in face of an armed attack from none too peaceful neighbours. We are, as I shall explain later in my speech, eager and anxious to discuss effective means of reducing the burden of armaments. But we are not willing to discuss unilateral disarmament or the holding of armaments at a level which will guarantee the existing armed superiority of the Soviet Union and leave free Europe powerless to meet aggression. 53.”
1951-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 6 (1951)
“If we are to carry out the resolution [377 (V)] entitled: “Uniting for Peace” which we accepted at our last session, we must develop the capacity of the United Nations to act promptly and effectively in the event of aggression. Such preparation is important. It will do much to discourage and deter potential aggressors from carrying out their evil designs. To carry out the resolution of “Uniting for Peace” effectively, we must be prepared in case of need to muster our strength in various parts of the world. No area should be completely unprepared to meet aggression if it strikes. 52. In this part of the world where we now meet, the group of nations in the Atlantic community, acting in accordance with the Charter of the United Nations, is fast building bulwarks of peace.”
1951-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 6 (1951)
“The signatures of many free nations on a just and unvengeful treaty are worth far more on the balance sheet of history than the signatures of those who, by fraud or compulsion, subscribe to vague slogans whose promise is belied by the deeds of those who prefabricate the slogans. 50. Those who unite far peace have also laid solid foundations in the report of our Collective Measures Committee. The report wisely stresses the need for a “mutually supporting relationship” between the United Nations and the regional collective defensive arrangements. This expresses well the direction in which we must work, and I strongly urge that we seek ways of translating this principle into action. 51.”
1951-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 6 (1951)
“We came into existence as an organization at the end of a great war. Our business is peace. The victories of peace are the victories of the United Nations wherever they take place. 48. Since we last met, forty-eight nations have signed a peace treaty with Japan. The way has been opened for other nations to do the same. A long period of tree negotiation was crowned with success. For much of this negotiation the meeting of many statesmen here at the United Nations offered fruitful opportunities. 49. These nations did not merely talk about peace, they achieved it. Some prefer to mouth the word “peace” and to oppose the reality. But the peace treaty was concluded. This is fact, not fiction. It is a tangible accomplishment, not a mere empty protestation.”
1951-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 6 (1951)
“All of us are indebted to the people and the Government of France for the excellence of the arrangements of this meeting. We meet here in Paris on her two-thousandth anniversary. We offer our congratulations and see in the monuments of her great history the symbol and the promise of our United Nations which is still at the threshold of its existence. 46. We, the United Nations, are young indeed but we, too, mark the monuments of our progress. As Paris is the symbol of European culture and beauty, so the United Nations is the symbol of world peace. This city has seen its wars, its strife, and its sorrows, as well as its triumphs. Since we last met in this General Assembly, there have been tensions and crises and armed conflict in the world, but the cause of peace has prospered in tangible ways. 47.”
1951-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 6 (1951)
“We speak here as representatives of governments, but we must also speak the hearts of our countrymen. We speak for people whose deep concern is whether the children are well or sick, whether there is enough food, whether the roof leaks, whether there will be peace. But peace, for them, is not just the absence of war. The peace the world wants must be free from fear — the fear of invasion, the fear of subversion, the fear of the knock on the door at midnight. The peace the world wants must be free from want, a peace in which neighbours help each other and together build a better life. The peace the world wants must be a moral peace, so that the spirit of man may be free and the barriers between the hearts and minds of men may drop away and leave men free to unite in brotherhood. This is the task before us.”
1950-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 5 (1950)
“It is our hope that the relaxation in international tension, which we seek, will be accompanied by a great restoration of human liberty, where it is now lacking, and progress everywhere towards the “larger freedom”. But the safeguarding of human freedom is not a distant goal, nor a project for the future. It is a constant, immediate and urgent concern of the United Nations. The United Nations should keep forever in mind the objectives set forth in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and we should press forward with the work of our distinguished Commission on Human Rights. While we are engaged in creating conditions of real peace in the world, we must always go forward under the banner of liberty. Our faith and our strength are rooted in free institutions and the rights of man. 93.”
1950-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 5 (1950)
“When the time comes that a universal collective security system enables nations to reduce their burden of armaments, we hope that other nations will join with us in pledging a good part of the amount saved to such productive United Nations activities as I have been describing. A world such as that, in which nations without exception work together for the well-being of all mankind, seems a very distant goal in these days of peril, but our faith in its ultimate realization illumines all that we do now. 91. In building a more secure and prosperous world, we must never lose sight of the basic motivation of our effort: the inherent worth of the individual human person. Our aim is to create a world in which each human being shall have the opportunity to fulfil his creative possibilities in harmony with all. 92.”
1950-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 5 (1950)
“Out of the ashes of destruction, the United Nations can help the Korean people to create a society which will have lessons in it for other people everywhere on the earth. What the United Nations will be able to do here can help set a pattern of co-ordinated economic and social action in other places, where the need is for development rather than for rehabilitation. 90. We look forward, then, to a time when Members of the United Nations will be able to devote their energies and their resources to productive and creative activities, to the advancement of human welfare, rather than to armaments.”
1950-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 5 (1950)
“My Government is prepared to join with the other Member nations in making resources and personnel available. When the conflict in Korea is brought to a successful conclusion, many of the doctors, engineers and other technicians, and much of the resources now being used to support the United Nations military action, will be made available by my Government to a United Nations recovery force. 88. I suggest that the General Assembly should call upon the Economic and Social Council to set up a United Nations recovery force to harness this great collective effort. 89. These measures not only will aid in restoring the people of Korea quickly to a condition of peace and independence, but they will demonstrate to the people of the world the creative and productive possibilities at the command of the United Nations.”
1950-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 5 (1950)
“Here, by focusing on one place of extreme need, the United Nations and the specialized agencies can demonstrate to the world what they have learned about helping people to combat disease, to build hospitals, schools and factories, to train teachers and public administrators, to make the land fertile. 86. This is a job that can be done. It will take substantial effort and resources, but those are available. Fifty-three governments have pledged their support to the United Nations defence of Korea. Some of these governments have been unable to contribute military personnel or equipment. But all of them, I am sure, will want to contribute food, transportation and industrial equipment, construction materials and technicians to the great task of reconstruction. 87.”
1950-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 5 (1950)
“The devastation which has overtaken Korea is a, consequence of the aggression from the north. It is probably unrealistic to expect that those who might have prevented or recalled this aggression will make available the help needed to repair the damage caused by the invasion. The lives lost as the result of this aggression cannot be recalled, but as the people of Korea set about the task of re-establishing a free and independent nation, as they begin to rebuild their country, the United Nations must be prepared to marshal its resources and its experience to help them. 85.”
1950-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 5 (1950)
“A vast opportunity awaits us to bring, by such, means as the United Nations has been developing, new hope to millions whose most urgent needs are for food, for land and for human dignity. These efforts, and this, experience, if concentrated on areas of particular need, can have a combined impact of exciting proportions. The place to begin, I submit to the Assembly, is Korea. 82. Just as Korea has become the symbol of resistance against aggression, so it can become also the vibrant, symbol of the renewal of life. 83. A great deal is being done through the United Nations and under the Unified Command for the relief of the Korean people. This aid needs to be vastly increased. But there is another job which needs to be done, and a greater one than relief. As peace is restored in Korea, a tremendous job of reconstruction will be required. 84.”
1950-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 5 (1950)
“Control of soil erosion, better seeds, better tools and better fertilizers are needed in almost every country, but especially in parts of Asia, Africa, parts of the Middle East and Latin America, where people suffer greatly from the inefficient use of land. 80. The major responsibility in these fields rests, of course, with governments, but the United Nations should make special efforts to advise and assist governments in improving land use and productivity. A considerable portion of the funds pledged for the technical assistance programme is already available, to enable us. to push ahead with an attack on such problems as these, as well as problems of health, education, industrialization and public administration. 81.”
1950-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 5 (1950)
“In each of those countries, the result of redistribution of the land has been to give the individual, farmer an opportunity to work for himself and to improve his status. 78. These examples I have cited are not slogans or phrases. They suggest what can be done on a cooperative, democratic basis, by processes of peaceful change, which respect the dignity of the individual and his right to self-reliance and a decent livelihood. The result has not been what has been called land-reform in certain other parts of the world — to collectivize the farmer and to place him under the complete control of the government instead of the land-owner. 79. Equally important is the problem of the better use of the land.”
1950-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 5 (1950)
“In many parts of the world, especially in Asia, nations have been seeking to achieve a better distribution of land ownership. Leaders in India and Pakistan, for example, are keenly aware of this problem, and are taking steps to deal with it effectively. 77. In Japan, as the result of a land-reform programme, three million farmers — well over half of all the farmers in Japan — have acquired land. In the Republic of Korea, where previously there had been twice as many tenants as owners of land, a redistribution of farmlands had, by the time the invasion took place, changed that ratio so that those who owned land outnumbered those who held their land in tenancy. Plans which were scheduled to be put into effect this summer would have made farm owners of 90 per cent of the farm families, in Korea.”
1950-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 5 (1950)
“Unlike the medieval monks who all through life kept before them a skull as a symbol of death, we must keep before our eyes the living thing we are working for — a better life for all people everywhere. 74. We have it in our power now, on the basis of the experience of the United Nations and the specialized agencies, and of many of the Member governments, to transform the lives of millions of people, to take them out from under the spectre of want, to give people everywhere new hope. We can meet, and we must meet, the challenge of human misery, of hunger, poverty and disease. 75. As an example of the kind of need to which we must put our efforts, I should like to speak of the problem of the use and ownership of land, a source of misery and suffering to millions. 76.”
1950-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 5 (1950)
“Stabell’s excellent image, we must plan and we must work now. 71. I have stressed the work we must do to strengthen and develop our collective security system. This is something that none of us wants to have to do, but in the world in which we live we have no choice but to push ahead energetically with this task. 72. Does this mean that all the other things we should like to be doing — the creative things, the productive things — should be put aside for a later time? Not at all. We must keep pushing ahead at the same time with our efforts to advance human well-being. We must carry on with our war against want, even as we arm against aggression. We must do these two things at the same time because that is the only way we can keep constantly before us the whole purpose of what we are doing. 73.”
1950-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 5 (1950)
“Bredo Stabeli, the representative of Norway, put it so well at a meeting of the Commission for Conventional Armaments: “No good farmer fails to prepare for the summer’s sowing and harvest during the dark and cold days of fall and winter. In my country, lying astride the Arctic circle, the farmer would never reap any harvest at all if he were to postpone his labours until the growing season is upon him.” He went on: “It requires courage and steadfast adherence to the principles of the United Nations to explore the possibilities of regulating and reducing armaments when rearmament to oppose lawless aggression is the dire need of the day. I trust, however, that the United Nations will not be found wanting in foresight and steadfastness in this important field.” 70. To reap the harvests of peace in the future, if I may make use of Mr.”
1950-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 5 (1950)
“To those who advance various disarmament plans for propaganda purposes, the United Nations has only to ask this simple question: if you mean what you say, are you willing to take the first step? That first step is the acceptance of effective safeguards under the United Nations. There can be no other basis for disarmament. Only when every nation is willing to move into an era of open and friendly co-operation in the world community shall we begin to get genuine progress towards disarmament. We believe nevertheless that efforts in this direction should continue, that plans should be made, and negotiations should go on. This subject is of such vital significance that no stone should be left unturned in the hope that these efforts will some day be successful, 69. As Mr.”
1950-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 5 (1950)
“We reaffirm our support of the efforts of the United Nations to work out the basis for effective regulation and reduction of conventional armaments and armed forces. 67. In talking about disarmament, we must keep one elementary point absolutely clear; that is, that the heart and core of any real disarmament is confidence that agreements are being carried out by every armed nation. No one nation can have that sort of confidence unless it has knowledge of the real facts in other countries and such knowledge can come only from international controls based upon free international inspection in every country. There are no safe shortcuts. 68. . Disarmament has been the subject of a great deal of propaganda, and this will doubtless be the case in the future.”
1950-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 5 (1950)
“Advances which can be made on these specific issues, and the improvement which can result from an effective collective security system, may help the United Nations to move in the direction of a settlement of further disputes as well. We also anticipate that, as our collective security system is strengthened, our efforts to achieve the regulation of armaments may begin to be productive. 66. My country reaffirms its support of the United Nations plan for the international control of atomic energy which would effectively prohibit atomic weapons. We shall continue to give sympathetic consideration to any other proposals that would equally or more effectively accomplish this purpose.”
1950-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 5 (1950)
“We believe that the international community has a legitimate interest and concern in having this matter settled by peaceful means. Accordingly, the United States delegation proposes that the General Assembly should direct its attention to the solution of this problem in circumstances in which all parties concerned and interested have a full opportunity to express their views, and in which all parties concerned agree to refrain from the use of force while a peaceful and equitable solution is being sought. We shall therefore request that the question of Formosa should be added to the agenda as a matter of special and urgent importance. 65.”
1950-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 5 (1950)
“The President of the United States, in announcing on 27 June the measures taken to effect that neutralization, emphasized that those measures were to prevent military attack by mainland forces against Formosa and by forces from Formosa against the mainland. The President made it clear, at that time, and he has made it clear on several occasions since, that those measures were taken without prejudice to the future political status of Formosa, and that the United States had no territorial ambitions and sought no special privileges or position with respect to Formosa. 64. It is the belief of my Government that the problem of Formosa and the nearly eight million people who inhabit it should not be settled by force or by unilateral action.”
1950-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 5 (1950)