YouSaid · the spoken record

John F. Kennedy

lines on the record: 62
first: 1961-09-24
most recent: 1963-09-24
sittings or episodes: 2
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

“And Archimedes, in explaining the principles of the lever, was said to have declared to his friends: "Give me but one firm spot on which to stand —and I will move the earth". 78. My fellow inhabitants of this planet: let us take our stand here in this assembly of nations. And let us see If we, in our own time, can move the world towards a just and lasting peace.”
1963-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 18 (1963)
“And if it is cast out there, then no act, no pact, no treaty or organization can ever hope to preserve it without the support and the whole-hearted commitment of all people. So let us not rest all our hopes on parchment and on paper —let us strive to build peace, a desire for peace, a willingness to work for peace, in the hearts and minds of all our people. I believe that we can. I believe the problems of human destiny are not beyond the reach of human beings. 77. Two years ago I told this body that the United States had proposed and was willing to sign a limited test-ban treaty. Today that treaty has been signed. It will not put an end to war. It will not remove basic conflicts. It will not secure freedom for all. But it can be a lever.”
1963-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 18 (1963)
“The United Nations cannot survive as a static Organization. Its obligations are increasing as well as its size. Its Charter must be changed as well as its customs. The authors of that Charter did not intend that it be frozen in perpetuity. The science of weapons and war has made us all, far more than eighteen years ago in San Francisco, one world and one human race with one common destiny. 75. In such a world, absolute sovereignty no longer assures us of absolute security. The conventions of peace must pull abreast and then ahead of the inventions of war. The United Nations, building on its successes and learning from its failures, must be developed into a genuine world security system. 76. But peace does not rest in charters and covenants alone. It lies in the hearts and minds of all people.”
1963-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 18 (1963)
“I believe that the Assembly should do what is necessary to preserve the gains already made and to protect the new nation in its struggle for progress. Let us complete what we have started for "No man having put his hand to the plow and looking back", as the Scriptures tell us, "is fit for the Kingdom of God". 72. I also hope that the recent initiative of several Members in preparing standby peace forces for United Nations call will encourage similar commitments by others. This nation remains ready to provide logistic and other material support. 73. Policing, moreover, is not enough without provision for pacific settlement. We should increase the resort to special missions of fact finding and conciliation, make greater use of the International Court of Justice and accelerate the work of the International Law Commission. 74.”
1963-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 18 (1963)
“We cannot take its peace-keeping machinery for granted. That machinery must be soundly financed, which it cannot be if some Members are allowed to prevent it from meeting its obligations by failing to meet their own. The United Nations must be supported by all those who exercise their franchise here. And its operations must be backed to the end. 70. Too often, a project is undertaken in the excitement of crisis and then it begins to lose its appeal as the problems drag on and the bills pile up. But we must have the steadfastness to see every enterprise through. 71. It is, for example, most important not to jeopardize the extraordinary United Nations gains in the Congo. The nation which sought this Organization's help only three years ago has now asked the United Nations presence to remain a little longer.”
1963-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 18 (1963)
“For as the world renounces the competition of weapons, competition in ideas must flourish —and that competition must be as full and as fair as possible. 68. The United States delegation will be prepared to suggest to the United Nations initiatives in the pursuit of all these goals. For this is an Organization for peace, and peace cannot come without work and without progress. 69. The peace-keeping record of the United Nations has been a proud one, though its tasks are always formidable. We are fortunate to have the skills of our distinguished Secretary-General and the brave efforts of those who have been serving the cause of peace in the Congo and the Middle East, in Korea and Kashmir, in West New Guinea and Malaysia. But what the United Nations has done in the past is less important than the tasks for the future.”
1963-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 18 (1963)
“I hope that not only our nation but all other multiracial societies will meet these standards of fairness and justice. We are unalterably opposed to apartheid and all forms of human oppression. We do not advocate the rights of black Africans in order to drive out white Africans. Our concern is the right of all men to equal protection under the law —and since human rights are indivisible, this body cannot stand aside when those rights are abused and neglected by any Member State. 67. New efforts are needed if this Assembly's Declaration of Human Rights, now fifteen years old, is to have full meaning. And new means should be found for promoting the free expression and trade of ideas, through travel and communication and through increased exchanges of people, books and broadcasts.”
1963-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 18 (1963)
“Through legislation and administrative action, through moral and legal commitment, this Government has launched a determined effort to rid our nation of discrimination which has existed far too long —in education, in housing, in transportation, in employment, in the civil service, in recreation and in places of public accommodation. And therefore, in this or in any other forum, we do not hesitate to condemn racial or religious injustice, whether committed or permitted by friend or foe. 65. I know that some of you have experienced discrimination in this country. But I ask you to believe me when I tell you that this is not the wish of most Americans, that we share your regret and resentment and that we intend to end such practices for all time to come, not only for our visitors but for our own citizens as well. 66.”
1963-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 18 (1963)
“And, finally, a world-wide programme of farm productivity and food distribution, similar to our country's "Food-for-Peace" programme, could now give every hungry child the food he needs. 62. But man does not live by bread alone —and the Members of this Organization are committed by the Charter to promote and respect human rights. Those rights are not respected when a Buddhist priest is driven from his pagoda, when a synagogue is shut down, when a Protestant church cannot open a mission, when a Cardinal is forced into hiding, or when a crowded church service is bombed. 63. The United States of America is opposed to discrimination and persecution on grounds of race and religion anywhere in the world, including our own nation. We are working to right the wrongs of our own country. 64.”
1963-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 18 (1963)
“But more, much more, can be done: a world centre for health communications under the World Health Organization could warn of epidemics and of the adverse effects of certain drugs as well as transmit the results of new experiments and discoveries; regional research centres could advance our common medical knowledge and train new scientists and doctors for new nations; a global system of satellites could provide communication and weather information for all corners of the earth; a world-wide programme of conservation could protect the forest and wild game preserves now in danger of extinction for all time —improve the marine harvest of food from our oceans— and prevent the contamination of air and water by industrial as well as nuclear pollution.”
1963-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 18 (1963)
“Other industrialized nations —whose economies were rebuilt not so long ago with some help from us— are now in turn recognizing their responsibility to the less developed nations. 60. The provision of development assistance by individual nations must go on. But the United Nations also must play a larger role in helping bring to all men the fruits of modern science and industry. A United Nations conference on this subject, held earlier this year at Geneva, opened new vistas for the developing countries. Next year a United Nations Conference on Trade and Development will consider the needs of these nations for new markets. And more than four-fifths of the entire United Nations system can be found today mobilizing the weapons of science and technology for the United Nations Decade of Development. 61.”
1963-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 18 (1963)
“The earth, the sea and the air are the concern of every nation. And science, technology and education can be the allies of every nation. 58. Never before has man had such capacity to control his own environment: to end thirst and hunger; to conquer poverty and disease to banish illiteracy and massive human misery. We have the power to make this the best generation of mankind in the history of the world —or to make it the last. 59. The United States since the close of the war has sent over $100 billion worth of assistance to nations seeking economic viability. And two years ago this week we formed the Peace Corps to help interested nations to meet the demand for trained manpower.”
1963-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 18 (1963)
“The contest will continue —the contest between those who see a monolithic world and those who believe in diversity— but it should be a contest in leadership and responsibility instead of destruction, a contest in achievement instead of intimidation. Speaking for the United States of America, I welcome such a contest. For we believe that truth is stronger than error —and that freedom is more enduring than coercion. And in the contest for a better life, all the world can be a winner. 57. The effort to improve the conditions of man, however, is not a task for the few. It is the task of all nations —acting alone, acting in groups and acting in the United Nations. For plague and pestilence, plunder and pollution, the hazards of nature and the hunger of children are the foes of every nation.”
1963-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 18 (1963)
“Surely we should explore whether the scientists and astronauts of our two countries —indeed of all the world— cannot work together in the conquest of space, sending some day in this decade to the moon, not the representatives of a single nation, but the representatives of all humanity. 54. All these and other new steps toward peaceful co-operation may be possible. Most of them will require on our part full consultation with our allies —for their interests are as much involved as our own, and we will never make an agreement at their expense. 55. Most of them will require long and careful negotiations. And most of them will require a new approach to the cold war —a desire not to bury one's adversary but to compete in a host of peaceful arenas, in ideas, in production, and ultimately in service to all mankind. 56.”
1963-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 18 (1963)
“Finally, in a field where the United States and the Soviet Union have a special capacity —in the field of space— there is room for new co-operation, for further joint efforts in the regulation and exploration of space. I include among these possibilities a joint expedition to the moon. Space offers no problems of sovereignty; by resolution of this Assembly, the Members of the United Nations have forsworn any claim to territorial rights in outer space or on celestial bodies, and declared that international law and the United Nations Charter will apply. Why, therefore, should man's first flight to the moon be a matter of national competition? Why should the United States and the Soviet Union, in preparing for such expeditions, become involved in immense duplications of research, construction and expenditure?”
1963-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 18 (1963)
“We must continue to seek agreement, encouraged by yesterday's affirmative response to this proposal by the Soviet Foreign Minister, on an arrangement to keep weapons of mass destruction out of outer space. Let us get our negotiators back to the negotiating table to work out a practicable arrangement to this end. 52. In these and other ways, let us move up the steep and difficult path toward comprehensive disarmament, securing mutual confidence through mutual verification, and building the institutions of peace as we dismantle the engines of war. We must not let failure to agree on all points delay agreement where agreement is possible. And we must not put forward proposals for propaganda purposes. 53.”
1963-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 18 (1963)
“There can be no doubt about the agenda of further steps. We must continue to seek agreement on measures which prevent war by accident or miscalculation. We must continue to seek agreement on safeguards against surprise attack, including observation posts at key points. We must continue to seek agreement on further measures to curb the nuclear arms race, by controlling the transfer of nuclear weapons, converting fissionable materials to peaceful purposes, and banning underground testing with adequate inspection and enforcement. We must continue to seek agreement on a freer flow of information and people from East to West and West to East. 51.”
1963-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 18 (1963)
“But I would say to the leaders of the Soviet Union, and to their people, that if either of our countries is to be fully secure, we need a much better weapon than the H-Bomb —a weapon better than ballistic missiles or nuclear submarines— and that better weapon is peaceful co-operation. 48. We have, in recent years, agreed on a limited test-ban treaty; on an emergency communications link between our capitals; on a statement of principles for disarmament; on an increase in cultural exchange; on co-operation in outer space; on the peaceful exploration of the Antartic and on tempering last year's crisis over Cuba. 49. I believe, therefore, that the Soviet Union and the United States, together with their Allies, can achieve further agreements —agreements which spring from our mutual interest in avoiding mutual destruction. 50.”
1963-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 18 (1963)
“We believe that the people of Cuba must be free to secure the fruits of the revolution that has been betrayed from within and exploited from without. 45. In short, we believe that in all the world —in Eastern Europe as well as Western, in Southern Africa as well as Northern, in old nations as well as new— people must be free to choose their own future, without discrimination or dictation, without coercion or subversion. 46. These are the basic differences between the Soviet Union and the United States and they cannot be concealed. So long as they exist, they set limits to agreement, and they forbid the relaxation of our vigilance. Our defences around the world will be maintained for the protection of freedom —and our determination to safeguard that freedom will measure up to any threat or challenge. 47.”
1963-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 18 (1963)
“We believe the Soviet Union also has these special responsibilities —and that those responsibilities require our two nations to concentrate less on our differences and more on the means of resolving them peacefully. For too long both of us have increased our military budgets, our nuclear stockpiles and our capacity to destroy all life on this hemisphere —human, animal and vegetable— without any corresponding increase in our security. 44. Our conflicts, to be sure, are real. Our concepts of the world are different. No service is performed by failing to make clear our disagreements. A central difference is the belief of the American people in self-determination for all peoples. We believe that the people of Germany and Berlin must be free to reunite their capital and their country.”
1963-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 18 (1963)
“Chronic disputes which divert precious resources from the needs of the people or drain the energies of both sides serve the interests of no one —and the badge of responsibility in the modern world is a willingness to seek peaceful solutions. 42. It is never too early to try; it is never too late to talk; and it is high time that many disputes on the agenda of this Assembly were taken off the debating schedule and placed on the negotiating table. 43. The fact remains that the United States, as a major nuclear Power, does have special responsibility to the world. It is, in fact, a threefold responsibility —a responsibility to our own citizens, a responsibility to the people of the whole world who are affected by our decisions, and a responsibility to the next generation of humanity.”
1963-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 18 (1963)
“The cold war is not the only expression of tension in this world, and the nuclear race is not the only arms race. Even little wars are dangerous in a nuclear world. The long labour of peace is an undertaking for every nation, and in this effort none of us can remain unaligned; to this goal none can be uncommitted." 41. The reduction of global tension must not be an excuse for the narrow pursuit of self-interest. If the Soviet Union and the United States, with all their global interests and clashing commitments of ideology, and with nuclear weapons still aimed at each other today, can find areas of common interest and agreement, then surely other nations can do the same —nations caught in regional conflicts, in racial issues, or in the death throes of old colonialism.”
1963-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 18 (1963)
“And if we fail to make the most of this moment and this momentum, if we convert our new-found hopes and understandings into new walls and weapons of hostility, if this pause in the cold war merely leads to its renewal and not its end, then the shaming indictment of posterity will rightly point its finger at us all. But if we can stretch this pause into a period of co-operation, if both sides can now gain new confidence and experience in concrete collaborations for peace, if we can now be as bold and far-sighted in the control of deadly weapons as we have been in their creation, then surely this first small step can be the start of a long and fruitful journey. 40. The task of building the peace lies with the leaders of every nation, large and small. For the great Powers have no monopoly on conflict or ambition.”
1963-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 18 (1963)
“I have come to salute the United Nations and to show the support of the American people for your daily deliberations. 38. For the value of this body's work is not dependent on the existence of emergencies —nor can the winning of peace consist only of dramatic victories. Peace is a daily, a weekly, a monthly process, gradually changing opinions, slowly eroding old barriers, quietly building new structures. And, however undramatic the pursuit of peace, that pursuit must go on. 39. Today we may have reached a pause in the cold war, but that is not a lasting peace. A test-ban treaty is a milestone, but it is not the millennium. We have not been released from our obligations —we have been given an opportunity.”
1963-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 18 (1963)
“36. I refer, of course, to the treaty to ban nuclear tests in the atmosphere, outer space and under water —concluded by the Soviet Union, the United Kingdom and the United States and already signed by nearly one hundred countries. It has been hailed by people the world over who are thankful to be free from the fears of nuclear fallout, and I am confident that on next Tuesday, 24 September at 10.30 in the morning it will receive the overwhelming endorsement of the Senate of the United States. 37. The world has not escaped from the darkness. The long shadows of conflict and crisis envelop us still. But we meet today in an atmosphere of rising hope, and at a moment of comparative calm. My presence here today is not a sign of crisis but of confidence. I am not here to report on a new threat to the peace or new signs of war.”
1963-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 18 (1963)
“Those were anxious days for mankind —and some men wondered aloud whether this Organization could survive. But the sixteenth and seventeenth sessions of the General Assembly achieved not only survival but progress. Rising to its responsibility, the United Nations helped to reduce the tensions and helped to hold back the darkness. 35. Today the clouds have lifted a little so that new rays of hope can break through. The pressures on West Berlin appear to be temporarily eased. Political unity in the Congo has been largely restored. A neutral coalition in Laos, while still in difficulty, is at least in being. The integrity of the United Nations Secretariat has been reaffirmed. A United Nations Decade of Development is under way, and, for the first time in seventeen years of effort, a specific step has been taken to limit the nuclear arms race.”
1963-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 18 (1963)
“As one who has taken some interest in the election of Presidents, I should like to congratulate the President of the General Assembly on his election to this high office. 33. Mr. President, Mr. Secretary-General, representatives of the United Nations, ladies and gentlemen: We meet again in the quest for peace. Twenty-four months ago, when I last had the honour of addressing this body, the shadow of fear lay darkly across the world. The freedom of West Berlin was in immediate peril. Agreement on a neutral Laos seemed remote. The mandate of the United Nations in the Congo was under fire. The financial outlook for this Organization was in doubt. Dag Hammarskjöld was dead. The doctrine of "troika" was being pressed in his place and atmospheric nuclear tests had been resumed by the Soviet Union. 34.”
1963-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 18 (1963)
“But however close we sometimes seem to that dark and final abyss, let no man of peace and freedom despair. For he does not stand alone. If we all can persevere, if we can in every land and office look beyond our own shores and ambitions, then surely the age will dawn in which the strong are just and the weak secure, and the peace preserved. 99. The decision is ours. Never have the nations of the world had so much to lose — or so much to gain. Together we shall save our planet — or together we shall perish in its flames. Save it we can — save it we must — and then shall we earn the eternal thanks of mankind and, as peace-makers, the eternal blessing of God.”
1961-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 16 (1961)
“But inevitably they fail- either because men are not afraid to die for a life worth living, or because the terrorists themselves came to realize that free men cannot be frightened by threats and that aggression would meet its own response. And it is in the light of that history that every nation today should know, be it friend or foe, that the United States has both the will and the weapons to join free men in standing up to their responsibilities. 97. But I come here today to look across this world of threats to a world at peace. In that search we cannot expect any final triumph — for new problems will always arise. We cannot expect that all nations will adopt like systems — for conformity is the gaoler of freedom and the enemy of growth. Nor can we expect to reach our goal by contrivance, by fiat or even by the wishes of all. 98.”
1961-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 16 (1961)
“And we in this Hall shall be remembered either as part of the generation that turned this planet into a flaming funeral pyre or as the generation that met its vow to "save succeeding generations, from the scourge of war". 95. In the endeavour to meet that vow, I pledge every effort that this nation possesses. I pledge that we shall neither commit nor provoke aggression, that we shall neither flee nor invoke the threat of force, that we shall never negotiate out of fear and we shall never fear to negotiate. 96. Terror is not a new-weapon. Throughout history it has been used by those who could not prevail either by persuasion or by example.”
1961-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 16 (1961)
“But we believe a peaceful agreement is possible which protects the freedom of West Berlin and allied presence and access, while recognizing the historic and legitimate interests of others in assuring European security. 93. The possibilities of negotiation are now being explored; it is too early to report what the prospects may be. For our part, we would be glad to report at the appropriate time that a solution has been found. For there is no need for a crisis over Berlin threatening the peace — and if those who created this crisis desire peace, there will be peace and freedom in Berlin. 94. The events and decisions of the next ten months may well decide the fate of man for the next ten thousand years. There will be no avoiding these events. There will be no appeal from these decisions.”
1961-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 16 (1961)
“And if there is negotiation, it must be rooted in mutual respect and concern for the rights of others. 91. The Western Powers have calmly resolved to defend, by whatever means are forced upon them, their obligations and their access to the free citizens of West Berlin and the self-determination of those citizens. This generation learned from bitter experience that either brandishing or yielding to threats can only lead to war. But firmness and reason can lead to the kind of peaceful solution in which my country profoundly believes. 92. We are committed to no rigid formulas. We seek no perfect solution. We recognize that troops and tanks can, for a time, keep a nation divided against its will, however unwise that policy may seem to us.”
1961-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 16 (1961)
“And, as I have said before, if anyone doubts the extent to which our presence is desired by the people of West Berlin, we are ready to have that question submitted to a free vote in all Berlin and, if possible, among all the German people. 90. The elementary fact about this crisis is that it is unnecessary. The elementary tools for a peaceful settlement are to be found in the Charter. Under its law, agreements are to be kept, unless changed by all those who make them. Established rights are to be respected. The political disposition of peoples should rest upon their own wishes, freely expressed in plebiscites and free elections. If there are legal problems, they can be solved by legal means. If there is a threat of force, it must be rejected. If there is a desire for change, it must be a subject for negotiation.”
1961-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 16 (1961)
“If there is a dangerous crisis in Berlin — and there is — it is because of threats against the vital interests and the deep commitments of the Western Powers, and the freedom of West Berlin. We cannot yield these interests. We cannot fail these commitments. We cannot surrender the freedom of these people for whom we are responsible. A "peace treaty" which carried with it provisions which destroyed the peace would be a fraud. A "free city" which was not genuinely free would suffocate freedom and would be an infamy. 89. For a city or a people to be truly free, they must have the secure right, without economic, political or police pressure, to make their own choice and to live their own lives.”
1961-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 16 (1961)
“Established international rights are being threatened with unilateral usurpation. Peaceful circulation has been interrupted by barbed wire and concrete blocks. 86. One recalls the order of the Czar in Pushkin's Boris Godunov: "Take steps at this very hour that our frontiers be fenced by barriers .. .that not a single soul pass over the border, that not a hare be able to run or a crow fly." 87. It is absurd to allege that we are threatening a war merely to prevent the Soviet Union and East Germany from signing a so-called treaty of peace. The Western allies are not concerned with any paper arrangement the Soviets may wish to make with a regime of their own creation, on territory occupied by their own troops and governed by their own agents. No such action can, however, affect either our rights or our responsibilities. 88.”
1961-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 16 (1961)
“But now the negotiations over Laos are reaching a crucial stage, the cease-fire is at best precarious. The rainy season is coming to an end. Laotian territory is being used to infiltrate South Viet-Nam. The world community must recognize — and all those who are involved — that this potent threat to Laotian peace and freedom is indivisible from all other threats to their own. 85. Secondly, I wish to report to the Assembly on the crisis over Germany and Berlin. This is not the time or the place for immoderate tones, but the world community is entitled to know the very simple issues as we see them. If there is a crisis it is because an existing peace in that area is under threat — because an existing island of free people is under pressure — because solemn agreements are being treated with indifference.”
1961-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 16 (1961)
“Nor are these aggressions any less real because men are knifed in their homes and not shot in the fields of battle. 82. The very simple question confronting the world community is whether measures can be devised to protect the small and the weak from such tactics. For if they are successful in Laos and South Viet-Nam, the gates will be opened wide. 83. The United States seeks for itself no base, no territory, no special position in this area of any kind. We support a truly neutral and independent Laos, its people free from outside interference, living at peace with themselves and with their neighbours, assured that their territory will not be used for attacks on others, and under a Government comparable — as Mr. Khrushchev and I agreed at Vienna — to those of Cambodia and Burma. 84.”
1961-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 16 (1961)
“Finally, as President of the United States, I consider it my duty to report to this Assembly on two threats to the peace" which are not on its crowded agenda, but which cause us, and most of the Members of the Assembly, the deepest concern. 80. -The first threat on which I wish to report is widely misunderstood: the smouldering coals of war in South East Asia. South Viet-Nam is already under attack — sometimes by a single assassin, sometimes by a band of guerrillas, recently by full battalions. The peaceful borders of Burma, Cambodia and India have been repeatedly violated. And the peaceful people of Laos are in danger of losing the independence they gained not so long ago. 81. No one can call these "wars of liberation". For those are free countries living under their own governments.”
1961-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 16 (1961)
“And that is why there is no ignoring the fact that the tide of self-determination has not yet reached the communist empire where a population far larger than that officially termed "dependent" lives under governments installed by foreign troops instead of free institutions — under a system which knows only one party and one belief — which suppresses free debate, free elections, free newspapers, free books and free trade unions — and which builds a wall to keep truth a stranger and its own citizens prisoners. Let us debate colonialism in full — and apply the principle of free choice and the practice of free plebiscites in every corned of the globe. 79.”
1961-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 16 (1961)
“Those problems will be solved, with patience, good will and determination. Within the limits of our responsibility in such matters, my country intends to be a participant, and not merely an observer* in the peaceful, expeditious movement of nations from the status of colonies to the partnership of equals. That continuing tide of self-determination which runs so strong has our sympathy and our support. 77. But colonialism in its harshest forms is not only the exploitation of new nations by old, of dark skins by light — or the subjugation of the poor by the rich. My nation was once a colony — and we know what colonialism means; the exploitation and subjugation of the weak by the powerful, of the many by the few, of the governed who have given no consent to be governed, whatever their continent, their class or their colour. 78.”
1961-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 16 (1961)
“And development can become a co-operative, and not a competitive, enterprise — to enable all nations, however diverse in their systems and beliefs, to become in fact as well as in law both free and equal nations. 74. My country favours a world of free and equal States. We agree with those who say that colonialism is a key issue in this Assembly. But let the full facts of that issue be discussed in full. 75. On the one hand is the fact that, since the close of the Second World War, a world-wide declaration of ^dependence has transformed nearly 1 billion people and 9 million square miles into forty-two free and independent States. Less than 2 per cent of the world's population now lives in "dependent" territories. 76. I do not ignore the remaining problems of traditional colonialism which still confront this body.”
1961-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 16 (1961)
“Political sovereignty is but a mockery, without the means of meeting poverty, illiteracy and disease. Self-determination is but a slogan if the future holds no hope. 73. That is why my nation — which has freely shared its capital and its technology to help others help themselves — now proposes officially designating this decade of the 1960's as the "United Nations Decade of Development". Under the framework of that resolution, the United Nations existing efforts in promoting economic growth can be expanded and co-ordinated. Regional surveys and training institutes can now pool the talents of many. New research, technical assistance and pilot projects can unlock the wealth of less developed lands and untapped waters.”
1961-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 16 (1961)
“To this end, we shall urge proposals extending the United Nations Charter to the limits of man's exploration in the universe, reserving outer space for peaceful use, prohibiting weapons of mass destruction in space or on celestial bodies, and opening the mysteries and benefits of space to every nation. We shall propose further co-operative efforts between all the nations in weather prediction and eventually in weather control. We shall propose, finally, a global system of communications satellites linking the whole world in telegraph, telephone, radio and television. The day need not be far away when such a system will televise the proceedings of this body to every corner of the world for the benefit of peace. 72. But the mysteries of outer space must not divert our eye? or our energies from the harsh realities that face our fellowmen.”
1961-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 16 (1961)
“And unless man can match his strides in weapons and technology with equal strides in social and political development, our great strength, like that of the dinosaur, will become incapable of proper control — and, like the dinosaur, will vanish from the earth. 69. As we extend the rule of law on earth, so must we also extend it to man's new domain: outer space. 70; All of us salute the brave cosmonauts of the Soviet Union. The new horizons of outer space must not be driven by the old bitter concepts of imperialism and sovereign claims. The cold reaches of the universe must not become the new arena of an even colder war. 71.”
1961-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 16 (1961)
“In the world we seek, United Nations emergency forces which have been hastily assembled, uncertainly supplied and inadequately financed will never be enough. 67. Therefore, the United States recommends that all Member nations earmark special peace-keeping units in their armed forces — to be on call to the United Nations, to be specially trained and quickly available, and with advance provision for financial and logistic support. 68. In addition, the United States delegation will suggest a series of steps to improve the United Nations machinery for the peaceful settlement of disputes — for on-the-spot fact-finding, mediation and adjudication for extending the rule of international law. For peace is not solely a matter of military ^technical problems — it is primarily a problem of politics and people.”
1961-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 16 (1961)
“Test ban negotiations need not and should not await general disarmament; Second, stopping the production of fissionable materials for use in weapons, and preventing their transfer to any nation now lacking in nuclear weapons; Third, prohibiting the transfer of control over nuclear weapons to States that do not own them; Fourth, keeping nuclear weapons from seeding new battlegrounds in outer space; Fifth, gradually destroying existing nuclear weapons and converting their materials to peaceful uses; and Finally^ halting the unlimited testing and production of strategic nuclear delivery vehicles, and gradually destroying them as well. v 66. To destroy arms, however, is not enough. We must create even as we destroy — creating world-wide law and law enforcement as we outlaw world-wide war and weapons.”
1961-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 16 (1961)
“Our tests are not polluting the atmosphere. Our deterrent weapons are guarded against accidental explosion or use. Our doctors and scientists stand ready to help any nation measure and meet the hazards to health which inevitably result from the tests in the atmosphere. 65. But to halt the spread of these terrible weapons, to halt the contamination of the air, to halt the spiralling nuclear arms race, to remain ready to seek new avenues of agreement. Our new disarmament programme [see A/4891] thus includes the following proposals: First, signing of the test-ban treaty, by all nations. This can be done now.”
1961-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 16 (1961)
“For fifteen years we have sought to make the atom an instrument of peaceful growth rather than of war. But for fifteen years our concessions have been matched by obstruction, our patience by intransigence, and the pleas of mankind for peace have met with disregard. 63. Finally, as the explosions of others beclouded the skies, my country was left with no alternative but to act in its own interests and in the interests of the free world's security. We cannot endanger that security by refraining from testing while others improve their arsenal. Nor can we endanger it by another long, un-inspected ban on testing. For three years we accepted those risks in our open society while seeking agreement on inspection. But this year, while we were negotiating in good faith in Geneva, others were secretly preparing new experiments in destruction. 64.”
1961-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 16 (1961)
“I therefore propose, on the basis of this plan, that disarmament negotiations resume promptly, and continue without interruption until an entire programme for general and complete disarmament not only has been agreed* upon but has been actually achieved. 60. The logical place to begin is already assuring the end of nuclear tests of all kinds, in every environment, under workable controls. The United States and the United Kingdom have proposed such a treaty that is both reasonable and effective and ready for signature. We are still prepared to sign that treaty today. 61. We also proposed a mutual ban on atmospheric t^. ting, without inspection or controls, in order to (I le the human race from the poison of radio-active rail-out. We regret that that offer has not been accepted. 62.”
1961-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 16 (1961)
“It would not usher in the era of the super-State — but it would usher in an era in which no State could annihilate or be annihilated by another. 58. In 1945 this nation proposed the Baruch plan to internationalise the atom before other nations even possessed the bomb or demilitarised their troops. We proposed with our allies the disarmament plan of 1951 while still at war in Korea. And We make our proposals today, while building up our defences over Berlin, not because we are inconsistent or insincere or intimidated, but because we knew that the rights of free men will prevail — because, while we are compelled against our will to rearm, we look confidently beyond Berlin to the kind of disarmed world we all prefer. 59.”
1961-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 16 (1961)