YouSaid · the spoken record

Falcon Briceño

lines on the record

94

first

1961-09-24

most recent

1963-09-24

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

1. “At the beginning of my statement I said that the present session of the General Assembly was opening in an atmosphere of less international tension. I pray that this atmosphere will continue, so that we shall be able to fulfil our mandate in the search for world peace. Let us seek peace also for the benefits that it engenders, for the material and spiritual development and growth that it fosters, and not only because its alternative is destruction.”

   1963-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 18 (1963)

2. “Last year, both in the General Assembly and in the Special Political Committee, I referred to this matter and as a result of the friendly conversations held with the representative of the United Kingdom, acting on behalf of his Government and that of British Guiana, we agreed to examine the documentation on the frontier dispute and to report back to the United Nations. I am glad to say that the last stage has been reached in the review of the documentation that led to the Arbitral Award of 1899, which was unfortunate for us in that it did our country a grave territorial injustice which we are now endeavouring to correct. 48. I am also happy to announce that early in November of this year I am to meet the United Kingdom Minister of State for Foreign Affairs in London in order to complete the conversations arranged on that occasion. 49.”

   1963-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 18 (1963)

3. “Despite some important progress in the task of implementing the Declaration on the granting of independence to colonial countries and peoples and the great efforts made by the United Nations in that direction, we must recognize the fact that there are still territories in which the obstacles to the implementation of the Declaration have not yet been removed. 47. In conclusion, I should like to inform the General Assembly of a matter of singular importance to us. I refer to the question of the frontier between Venezuela and British Guiana.”

   1963-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 18 (1963)

4. “Venezuela shares with other Member States the responsibility conferred upon it by the General Assembly in the Special Committee on the Situation with regard to the Implementation of the Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples. We have maintained our anti-colonialist position and have worked to ensure that the recommendations and decisions of the Special Committee should satisfy the aspirations to freedom of the peoples who are still under colonial domination. 46.”

   1963-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 18 (1963)

5. “Venezuela's term on the Security Council will expire at the end of this year, since we were elected at the sixteenth session of the General Assembly. We accepted the office in full knowledge of the responsibility we were assuming, but we did so unhesitatingly because of our belief in peace and our respect for the purposes and principles of the United Nations. We also felt that we could contribute to the solution of the serious problems dealt with in the Security Council. 44. My country's participation in the work of the Security Council is enshrined in the archives of the United Nations, which bear witness to the fact that Venezuela's action was always prompted by concern for the maintenance of international peace and security, recognition of the principle of self-determination, and respect for human dignity. 45.”

   1963-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 18 (1963)

6. “We consider that the way to such a policy is to be found in part III of the joint statement, where it enumerates four fundamental points on which the Conference might approve specific measures: expansion of trade between countries at a similar level of development and at different stages of development; the reduction of barriers and restrictions impeding trade; increasing the volume of exports of the developing countries in primary products to the industrialized countries; and the expansion of the markets for exports of manufactures and semi-manufactures from the developing countries. These should certainly be the fundamental points for discussion and the basis of the new world trade policy sponsored and supported by the United Nations. 43.”

   1963-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 18 (1963)

7. “At its seventeenth session, the General Assembly adopted resolution 1785 (XVII) calling for a United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, whose consequences and repercussions on the development and very nature of international trade will inevitably be far-reaching. 41. Venezuela has carefully studied the conclusions of the Preparatory Committee set up by the General Assembly, and especially the joint statement by representatives of developing countries. We now await with interest the comments on the provisional agenda that the Preparatory Committee has proposed, through the Economic and Social Council. 42. We share the view that if international trade is to be a "powerful instrument and vehicle of economic development", then a "dynamic international trade policy" is required.”

   1963-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 18 (1963)

8. “"The contiguity of the territories of the area and the fundamentally complementary nature of their natural resources, as also the common sources of the cultural heritage and historical traditions of both nations, are conditions that will ensure good results from this policy". In the opinion of my Government, and doubtless in Colombia's opinion, too, as far as economic co-operation between our two countries is concerned, the San Cristóbal Agreement constitutes a valuable contribution to Latin American economic integration and is fully consonant with the new and rational trend of these integration movements. 40.”

   1963-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 18 (1963)

9. “Despite the caution and interest with which my Government is following the evolution of the movements towards regional economic integration, it is still my country's policy to give priority to the permanent features of the economies that are susceptible of integration, because it is precisely these lasting traits that will later produce a favourable balance in the movement towards the development of the region and of the world in which we live. As evidence of this point of view, I am happy to mention the recently concluded Agreement of San Cristóbal, signed on 7 August of this year between the Presidents of Colombia and Venezuela, which recognizes the need for joint efforts to ensure a balanced economic development of the Táchira River Basin.”

   1963-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 18 (1963)

10. “For Venezuela, as for any other country, membership of LAFTA entails decisions that not only bind the members to comply with the minimum commitments set forth in the Treaty of Montevideo but also mean adopting new criteria in the general economic policy of the country, both as far as foreign trade and its organization are concerned and in regard to other branches of the national economy. 38. Venezuelan imports amount to about $1,200 million a year, $30 million of which represents purchases from Latin American countries. Some 70 to 80 per cent of that sum represents trade between Venezuela and countries committed to LAFTA. These figures give some idea of the potential of our market and at the same time of the possibilities of increasing our trade with the Association. 39.”

    1963-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 18 (1963)

11. “It is clear that the liberalization and intensification of Latin American trade will strengthen the productive capacity of all our countries and raise the social standard of our peoples. 35. Those reasons have led us to be present at the meetings so far held by LAFTA. Last April, for instance, Venezuela sent an observer to the meetings on trade policy held at Bogota and on the planning of industrial development held at Lima. We were also represented at all the branch meetings that the Association has held since last June. 36. Last May the national Government set up a Commission for the Study of the Economic Integration of Latin America, composed of representatives of the Ministries of Production and of the private sector. 37.”

    1963-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 18 (1963)

12. “My country is intensely interested in maintaining and expanding those traditional European markets, from which we receive a high and varied percentage of goods and to which we send considerable amounts of raw materials. 34. Venezuela has also followed very closely the development of the Latin American Free-Trade Association (LAFTA), which we consider to be the most important step taken in the contemporary Latin American economy. We live in a continent embroiled by its economic and social weaknesses, and we are fighting against time, within our freely chosen democratic institutions, in our search for solutions to those problems that hamper the development of our peoples.”

    1963-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 18 (1963)

13. “I wish to repeat here what my (government has already stated at previous sessions of the General Assembly; it is becoming more and more imperative to take into account the negative repercussions on the less developed countries of the trade policies of regional economic groupings of the highly industrialized nations. Since for the expansion of their trade the developing countries depend on their raw materials as an indispensable means of exchange, it is essential that certain lines of conduct should be laid down for the highly developed countries and that the terms of trade should be kept within equitable limits. 33. At the beginning of this year, the Government of Venezuela accredited a special embassy to the European Economic Community in order to maintain constant and close ties with that association.”

    1963-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 18 (1963)

14. “I shall not go on citing figures but shall only mention that in our universities there are at present more than 5,000 engineering students, almost 6,000 students of economics and 4,189 persons studying the humanities. I apologize, but I could not resist the temptation of giving a few facts which are essential for the development of a democracy possessed of social and human meaning. 32. The main trend in world economic movements at present is towards regional integration. My country is following these movements with interest in so far as they may lead to the expansion or contraction of our foreign trade.”

    1963-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 18 (1963)

15. “31. The population of Venezuela is barely 8 million. It is essential to bear that in mind in order to appreciate the statistics that I shall give. For example, the population of school age (7 to 13 years) is 1,400,000, or 17 per cent of the total population. For the school- year 1957-1958, the last year of the dictatorship, the pre-school and primary school registration amounted to only 752,000 pupils, with 21,000 teachers in 6,700 schools. Registration has now risen to 1,400,000 pupils in 12,600 schools with 37,200 teachers. This means a total of 600,000 more children enrolled, or an increase of 80 per cent, during the constitutional five years, while the number of teachers has increased 78 per cent and the number of schools by 89 per cent during the same period.”

    1963-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 18 (1963)

16. “With reference to education in Venezuela, I am happy to be able to state here that the general educational policy of my country has the following characteristics: it is democratic; it is a right that belongs to every inhabitant of the country; it concentrates on the all-round development of the human person; it is neutral in both political and religious matters; at the primary level it is compulsory; it is free at all levels; the state universities are autonomous and free; it collaborates in general and zonal plans for the economic and social development of the country; it provides a compulsory literacy course for those over fourteen years old; it is "contributional", that is, without lessening the responsibility of the parents the State provides means of access to education; and, lastly, Venezuela education shares the common cultural aims of the world.”

    1963-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 18 (1963)

17. “I may point out, however, that our industrial, agricultural and livestock production has increased and that new products have been exported; that we now have a life expectancy of 66 years; that we are producing iron and steel; that the country can be crossed from one end to the other on paved roads; that, thanks to land reform, more than 60,000 families, totalling 300,000 persons, in the zones of greatest demographic pressure have been resettled; that our petroleum production rose from 151 million cubic metres in 1959 to 185 million in 1962 and exports of petroleum during the same period rose from 109 million to 128 million cubic metres. 30.”

    1963-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 18 (1963)

18. “At this moment, my countrymen are in the process of electing a President of the Republic and the Members of Congress, Already more than 3,300,000 persons have registered, representing 92 per cent of the electorate of Venezuela. 29. In order to give some idea of what we have accomplished in Venezuela in our four years of constitutional government, I could cite figures revealing our achievement in the economic, social and cultural fields, but I must not tax the patience of representatives.”

    1963-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 18 (1963)

19. “He was handed over by the United States of America in compliance with the Extradition Treaty in force between our two countries. This is a most significant fact, not only because it is the first time in the history of America that an ex-dictator has been extradited but because it draws attention to a matter that cries out for settlement, namely the recovery of the illegally appropriated public funds. At the Interparliamentary Union held at Brasilia in 1962, a draft convention was considered "on measures to be taken in the international field against those guilty, in the exercise of public office, of fraudulent enrichment prejudicial to the public interest." 28. I think that we are treading the right democratic path. We in Venezuela believe in the power of votes.”

    1963-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 18 (1963)

20. “Democracy cannot be a reality if at the same time it is not endowed with a social meaning and does not effect the reforms required to ensure a better distribution of the wealth of the country and thereby raise the level of living of the population. 26. Furthermore, by its very nature, the democratic form of government promotes the honest use of the country’s resources, whereas under dictatorships those resources are dishonestly manipulated to the detriment of the economic and social development of the people and for the exclusive benefit of the dictator. 27. The hallmark of American dictatorships has been speculation. Such was the case of the last one suffered by my country, but the dictator, who had settled in the United States, is at present in prison in Venezuela awaiting trial.”

    1963-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 18 (1963)

21. “We earnestly hope that this system will in the course of time prevail in our continent, not only because it corresponds to the deep-rooted love of freedom of our peoples, but because, practically speaking, it is the best and surest guarantee against any system of totalitarian stamp. 24. We want to keep Venezuela a modern State. We have had our setbacks, but the balance sheet is favourable. We believe that, politically speaking, our position is the right one and the one that is most in conformity with our character and our traditions. 25. The only way in which we shall manage to establish democracy as a system of government in our own country or in any other American country is by practising it, since the effective exercise of democracy is also a matter of education.”

    1963-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 18 (1963)

22. “If tomorrow the Organization of American States —whose aim is to ensure the existence of democratic governments in our continent— were to be composed of a majority of representatives of dictatorships, it would be not only a challenge to the Organization itself, it would be more serious than a contradiction; it would be a farce. 23. The doctrines upheld by my Government are based on the Charter of the Organization of American States, which stipulates: "The solidarity of American States and the high aims which are sought through it require the political organization of those States on the basis of the effective exercise of representative democracy." The coup d’état against a legitimately constituted Government is, as I said before, a challenge to the other American States and to the Organization itself.”

    1963-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 18 (1963)

23. “The last, only a few days ago, was the Government of the Dominican Republic. 20. This is a real misfortune, for the Dominican Republic is one of the countries in Latin America and the world at large which has suffered most from dictatorships. The last, which ended with the death of the dictator, lasted for thirty years. Children who were ten years old in 1930, lived until they were forty without having known any other system than a cruel, ironclad dictatorship. 21. Those of us who have faith in democratic government, in freedom and respect for human dignity, are deeply concerned over the proliferation of regimes of this kind in America, and it would be most serious for the Organization of American States if on this occasion we were merely to look on with our arms folded. 22.”

    1963-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 18 (1963)

24. “We lacked enough votes to convene it, but at least we placed on record the feelings of a group of democratic countries about the need to study coups d'état in Latin America. 16. I should explain that the Organization of American States does not consist merely of peace-loving countries, as does the United Nations, but of countries which, besides being peace-loving, must be democratic, 17. The basis and the aim of the Organization of American States is the existence, in Latin America, or in America, to include the whole continent, of democratic regimes. 18. As I said before, this meeting of Foreign Ministers, which we wanted to hold in July of last year, did not take place. 19. In the last six months, three lawfully constituted Governments have been overthrown in Latin America by force.”

    1963-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 18 (1963)

25. “We desire it just as strongly for the rest of America. 13. In line with these views which President Betancourt has held for many years, and held long before he became our Head of Government in 1945, Venezuela does not recognize Governments arising out of coups d'état. This has been our practice and we do not regard it as constituting intervention in the affairs of the States whose de facto Governments we do not recognize. 14. On one occasion, when a coup was carried out against the legitimate Government of a country to the south of us, Venezuela proposed a meeting of the American Foreign Ministers to consider the situation. In so doing we had the support of Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, the Dominican Republic, Honduras and Bolivia. 15. In spite of our wishes, this meeting was not held.”

    1963-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 18 (1963)

26. “This dictatorship was overthrown in 1958, and in 1959, by the popular will, as a result of elections of exemplary legality, Romulo Betancourt became President of the Republic. The name of this distinguished Venezuelan —who will shortly complete, for the first time in the history of Venezuela, his term of office as constitutional President, elected by his people by an overwhelming majority— is closely linked to the fight for the political and democratic regeneration of Venezuela. 12. All Latin American democracy owes a debt to Betancourt. Faithful to Bolívar's best and most noble tradition, he has always been concerned about democracy in Latin America, being convinced that a democratically strong America can withstand the onslaught of totalitarianism, whether of the right or of the left. We want effective democracy in Venezuela.”

    1963-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 18 (1963)

27. “From that moment changes were introduced into Venezuelan public life but it was not until 1945 that a democratic revolutionary movement-led by Romulo Betancourt and his Democratic Action party —introduced for the first time direct suffrage in the election of the President of the Republic. Before that time —in 1936 and 1941— the President was elected by Congress. One of Venezuela's oldest and most heart-felt aspirations has now been realized. 10. In 1948 Venezuela elected as Its Head of Government, by popular vote one of its most distinguished nationals and its greatest novelist, Romulo Gallegos. In the same year, however, a coup d'état defeated this attempt to establish a democratic system in Venezuela. For ten long years the country suffered under a new dictatorship, the cruellest and most immoral in all its history. 11.”

    1963-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 18 (1963)

28. “Like other Latin American countries, Venezuela, despite an illustrious past, a tradition of freedom and a strong desire to set its affairs in order to attain that degree of economic and social development to which it is lawfully entitled, was subjected to the most cruel dictatorships after it achieved political independence on the battle-field. These, without exception, have hampered its progress in every respect. 9. Despite this grave drawback, Venezuelans never lost their faith in freedom and fought for it constantly. They never forgot their democratic vocation. During the last century dictatorial governments, with one or two exceptions, were in power and this went on until 1935, the year in which the death of the dictator put an end to one of the worst dictatorships the country has ever suffered.”

    1963-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 18 (1963)

29. “Yepes says that Bolívar was the precursor of the League of Nations, and this is so, for Article 10 of the Covenant of the League of Nations which guarantees the political independence and territorial integrity of all Members of the League, was a copy or literal reproduction of certain articles in the Treaty of Panama of 1826. 7. In a commentary on this article, Albert de la Pradelle, a professor of the University of Paris, said that Article 10 of the Covenant of the League of Nations was simply the extension of Simón Bolivar's doctrine to the whole world. 8.”

    1963-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 18 (1963)

30. “The supreme authority of the confederation was defined: i.e., the 'General Assembly’, a democratic body in which each member State was represented on a footing of complete juridical equality with the rest. The policy of the association was also specifically defined: maintenance of peace, collective security, mutual defence and assistance against aggression; guarantees of the political independence and territorial integrity of member States; peaceful settlement of all international disputes, whatever their nature or origin; codification of international law; finally, the just use of force to safeguard the rule of law.". 6. Dr.”

    1963-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 18 (1963)

31. “In 1826, on Bolívar's initiative, a Congress was held in Panama for the purpose of setting up a great continental confederation consisting of all the American nations, which would maintain peace among its member States and between them and the rest of the world and provide a common defence for the rights of the members of the confederation. Dr. J. M. Yepes, the distinguished Colombian student of international affairs, has the following to say of this Congress: "Nothing was lacking that we should today consider essential for the proper functioning of an institution of this kind. The qualification for membership of the proposed confederation was laid down: all American States, the only requirement for admission being signature of the articles of confederation.”

    1963-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 18 (1963)

32. “I mention this here, in the United Nations, because this Organization, like the League of Nations at Geneva before it, is closely bound up with the ideas of Bolívar, who created the first association of nations that the world has known. I want to stress this historical fact in order to show that we in Latin America are not simply nations with a past made up of civil war, tyrants and dictators; we have a noble and illustrious political and diplomatic tradition that explains our faith in international organizations. 5.”

    1963-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 18 (1963)

33. “We were a Spanish overseas province, poor and forgotten, which achieved its first university in 1725 and its first printing press in 1808, but Venezuelans ran an active contraband in ideas. Books prohibited by the civil authorities or banned by the Inquisition were read and commented on in the silence of colonial nights. My compatriots were familiar with all the literature of the time, with the great current of liberal thought. Thus was nurtured our most brilliant generation, the generation of 1810, restless men possessed by the Romantic demon of liberty and glory. The leader of this generation, and one of the great political thinkers of his time, was Simón Bolívar.”

    1963-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 18 (1963)

34. “The usual picture of Venezuela and Latin America in general is false more often than not. Stress has been laid on the picturesque. Even the general use of the term Latin America or Latin Americans leads to confusion. Someone once asked what was the capital of Latin America. It should be made quite clear that Latin America is a conventional expression. Although we have common denominators, each of our countries has its own personality and basic characteristics. Venezuela is one of the richest countries in the Americas but it is only in the last few years that its wealth has begun to be exploited. During the nineteenth century and well into the twentieth it was a poor country, whose economic life depended upon the export of coffee and cocoa. We had no university or printing press in the sixteenth century, like Mexico and Peru.”

    1963-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 18 (1963)

35. “Thus there is no need to stress the responsibility which would lie with the atomic Powers if their political and diplomatic relations were not governed by caution and reflection, and a desire for understanding. 4. The position in the United Nations and in the Organization of American States of those countries which, like Venezuela, have no stronger arsenal than their respect for principles and their international undertakings, is clear and sincere. We are a country which loves not only peace but also freedom and democracy. Venezuela's history is one of a long fight for freedom to live in a democratic society, grounded in the deep egalitarian convictions of our people. For many of you, it is not easy to understand our dramatic history and the change that has taken place in the last few years.”

    1963-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 18 (1963)

36. “I have pleasure in announcing that Venezuela has affixed its signature to this treaty as a sign that it shares with the other signatories the desire for peace that is so deeply felt by all mankind. 3. The health of an international organization depends on the will for peace and the spirit of understanding displayed by its members. Without these essential ingredients, the doors are open to anarchy and the path to war is swift. The existence of nuclear weapons —and this cannot be said too often— so increases the gravity of any action not directed towards peace, which is our fundamental problem that a solution of force would mean the wreck of all man's hopes and achievements.”

    1963-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 18 (1963)

37. “The atmosphere at this session of the General Assembly seems less charged with tension than at last year's session and although it is impossible, no matter how optimistic one would wish to be, to ignore the difficulties which threaten the peace and security of the world or some parts of the world, there is one outstanding event of such scope and significance that I must mention it at the very beginning of my speech. I refer to the treaty recently signed in Moscow by the United States of America, the Soviet Union and the United Kingdom, on the prohibition of nuclear tests in outer space, in the atmosphere and under water. This treaty has been greeted by nearly all countries as an augury of peace.”

    1963-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 18 (1963)

38. “We welcome the election of His Excellency Dr. Carlos Sosa Rodríguez, the representative of Venezuela, as President of this General Assembly at so important a moment in international affairs, as a sign of the esteem in which our country is held and a recognition of the devoted service to peace rendered by my distinguished compatriot over so many years. On behalf of my Government, I should like to express our deep gratitude to all who have honoured him with their vote. 2.”

    1963-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 18 (1963)

39. “Because of these good relations we are able to make Great Britain and British Guiana the following proposal: that we should seat ourselves round a table like friends and discuss, with minds free of prejudice, the redress of the injustice perpetrated on Venezuela at a time of misfortune which our people cannot forget, with a view to finding a solution giving due weight to the legitimate interests of Venezuela and of the population of British Guiana. 74. May the spirit of understanding guide us all along the road to redress and justice.”

    1962-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 17 (1962)

40. “The decision in the Venezuelan case, as a compromise, gave to Venezuela the strategic points but robbed her of a great deal of territory which I do not question would have been given to her by an impartial judicial tribunal. The modern European idea is that there is nothing illegal or even immoral in the appropriation of territories of weaker states." 73. We are linked by good and cordial relations with Great Britain and our neighbours in British Guiana, whose political independence we look forward to celebrating with particular warmth.”

    1962-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 17 (1962)

41. “On another occasion, on 15 January 1900, Harrison said: "As to Lord Russell's advice that a judicial spirit be exercised in these matters, I have only to say that neither he nor his British associates practised that good doctrine. I could tell, but will not write, some incidents that would surprise you. I believe that it is possible for an American judge, and perhaps for judges of some other nations, to exercise that judicial spirit in international controversies; but I do not believe it is possible for an Englishman. "In controversies between individuals the English courts are conspicuously fair and independent, but when it comes to a question of extending the domain of Great Britain, and especially when gold-fields are involved, it is too much to hope.”

    1962-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 17 (1962)

42. “That there should be, upon such a tribunal, representatives is an anomaly and an outrage. "If the findings of arbitration tribunals are to be influenced by the votes and private arguments of the representatives of the two nations and their decisions are not to establish the right but to enforce compromises, then arbitration can never be an institution. It will remain as it has been — a mere expedient." 71. On 7 October 1899, four days after the arbitration award was made, Harrison had already spoken as follows: "The British judges were as always aggressive advocates rather than judges. Law is nothing to a British judge, it seems, when it is a matter of extending British dominion." 72.”

    1962-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 17 (1962)

43. “The result is that the ultimate decision of every American question is in the hands of a European umpire. The diplomatic habits and purposes of the great European Governments are wholly out of line with ours. "The seizure and appropriation of the territories of weak nations is a practice to which all of them are committed, and our Central and South American States can hardly secure fair treatment. "In the Venezuelan case I thought the Tribunal was constituted upon a judicial, and not a representative, basis and I made the strongest appeal I ever addressed to a court for the determination of the questions before the Tribunal in a purely judicial spirit. It was an utter failure. "The British judges were almost as distinctly partisan as the British counsel.”

    1962-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 17 (1962)

44. “Foster, with whom I dined here the other day, said Fuller and Brewer had come home pretty sick of arbitration." 70. Ex-President Harrison, like Mallet-Prevost and others whom we shall quote in due course, also left on record his displeasure and indignation at the treatment meted out to Venezuela by the Arbitration Tribunal. In December 1899 Harrison made the following statement: "My experience in Paris last summer developed in my mind some very grave difficulties in the way of a satisfactory arbitration of international disputes, and more particularly of American questions. The European Governments decline absolutely to allow that any American State except the United States is competent to furnish an umpire or even one of several disinterested members of a court.”

    1962-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 17 (1962)

45. “On one of my New York visits I asked him to dine — with the result that he consumed less food than time and that the feast was not so much a flow of solid or liquid refreshment as of intense wrath and bitterness of soul at the course and decision of the arbitral tribunal. I refrain from going into particulars because no doubt you have already heard them from some other source. The worst result to be feared, apparently, is not the loss of territory to Venezuela but the general discrediting of the cause of arbitration. According to my informant, both the Chief Justice and Brewer are down on arbitration as a mode of settling international disputes unless some new safeguarding of the rights of parties can be provided, Ex-Secretary John W.”

    1962-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 17 (1962)

46. “Nor was this the only occasion on which Mallet-Prevost, a man of honour and discretion, referred to the matter. The injustice perpetrated on Venezuela made a permanent impression on him and left him with an unpleasant memory. Thanks to a careful inquiry recently made by my Government, we have been able to obtain evidence which corroborates Mallet-Prevost's testimony. 69. In due course we shall publish all this evidence. For the time being we shall confine ourselves to citing a few statements. In December 1899 Richard Olney, ex-Secretary of State of the United States, wrote the following, which I shall quote in its original English text: "Upon his return to New York Mr. Mallet-Prevost, Venezuela's junior counsel, was anxious to tell me how the thing went and why it went as it did.”

    1962-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 17 (1962)

47. “What Martens proposes is iniquitous, but I see nothing for Fuller and Brewer to do but to agree.' "I concurred with General Harrison and so advised Chief Justice Fuller and Justice Brewer. The decision which was accordingly rendered was unanimous but while it gave to Venezuela the most important strategic point at issue it was unjust to Venezuela and deprived her of very extensive and important territory to which, in my opinion. Great Britain had not the shadow of a right.” 68. Mallet-Prevost’s account is of special importance. In the first place, it coincides with the view widely held from the very moment of the court's award, namely, that that award was the outcome of a political compromise rather than of the application of the rules of law to which the parties had agreed.”

    1962-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 17 (1962)

48. “I so stated to the two arbitrators and I asked for permission to consult General Harrison. This they gave and I immediately went to General Harrison’s apartment to confer on the subject with. him. "After disclosing to General Harrison what had just passed he rose in indignation and paring the floor described the action of Great Britain and Russia in terms which it is needless for me to repeat. His first reaction was to ask Fuller and Brewer to file dissenting opinions, but, after cooling down and considering the matter from a practical standpoint, he said; 'Mallet-Prevost, if it should ever be known that we hail it in our power to save for Venezuela the mouth of the Orinoco and failed to do so we should never be forgiven.”

    1962-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 17 (1962)

49. “The question for us to decide is as to whether we shall agree to Martens' proposal or whether we shall file dissenting opinions. Under these circumstances the Chief and I have decided that we must consult you, and I now state to you that we are prepared to follow whichever of the two courses you wish us to do.' From what Justice Brewer had just said, and from the change which we had all noticed in Lord Collins, I became convinced and still believe [continues Mallet-Prevost] that during Martens' visit to England a deal had been concluded between Russia and Great Britain to decide the case along the lines suggested by Martens and that pressure to that end had in some way been exerted on Collins to follow that course, I naturally felt that the responsibility which I was asked to shoulder was greater than I could alone bear.”

    1962-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 17 (1962)

50. “'However', he added that, 'he, Martens, is anxious to have a unanimous decision; and if we will agree to accept the line which he proposes he will secure the acquiescence of Lord Russell and Lord Collins and so make the decision unanimous.' What Martens then proposed was that the line on the coast should start at some distance south-east of Point Barima so as to give Venezuela control of the Orinoco mouth; and that the line should connect with the Schomburgk Line at some distance in the interior leaving to Venezuela the control of the Orinoco mouth and some 5,000 square miles of territory around that mouth. "That is what Martens has proposed. 'The Chief and I are of the opinion that the boundary on the coast should start at the Moruca River.”

    1962-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 17 (1962)