EQUIPO NIZKOR |
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24Oct46
Minutes of the 35th Plenary Meeting of the General Assembly during which the
"Spanish Question" was addressed
THIRTY-FIFTH PLENARY MEETING
Held on Thursday, 24 October 1946, at 11 a.m.84. Introduction of the Assistant Secretaries General
85. Reference of Credentials to the Credentials Committee
86. Elections to vacant posts in Committees of the General Assembly
87. Supplementary Report of the Secretary-General on the Work of the Organization
88. Reports of the Security Council and of the Economic and Social Council
89. Opening of the General Discussion: Speech by Mr. Castillo Najera (Mexico)President: Mr. P.-H. Spaak (Belgium).
84. Introduction of the Assistant Secretaries-General The President (translated from French) : The first item on the agenda is the introduction and confirmation in office of the Assistant Secretaries-General.
The General Assembly, in a resolution relating to the organization of the Secretariat adopted on 13 February 1946, decided that the Assistant Secretaries-General should take the oath at a public meeting of the General Assembly.
(On the President's invitation, the Vice-Presidents of the Assembly came to the rostrum and the Secretary-General introduced the Assistant Secretaries-General.)
The Secretary-General: In accordance with the resolution concerning the organization of the Secretariat, adopted by the General Assembly on 13 February 1946, I have the honour to inform you, Mr, President, that I have appointed eight Assistant Secretaries-General, each one to be in charge of one of the eight principal units.
I take pleasure in presenting Arkady Alexandrovitch Sobolev, Assistant Secretary-General in charge of the Department of Security Council Affairs; Arthur David Kemp Owen, Assistant Secretary-General in charge of the Department of Economic Affairs; Henri Laugier, Assistant Secretary-General in charge of the Department of Social Affairs; Victor Hoo Chi-Tsai, Assistant Secretary-General in charge of the Trusteeship Department and information concerning Non-Self-Governing Territories; Benjamin A. Cohen, Assistant Secretary-General in charge of the Department of Public Information; Ivan Kerno, Assistant Secretary-General in charge of the Légal Department; Adrian Pelt, Assistant Secretary-General in charge of Conference and General Services; John B. Hutson, Assistant Secretary-General in charge of Administrative and Financial Services.
The President (translated from French) : I thank you, Mr. Secretary-General, for your communication. I feel sure that I am voicing the sentiments of the whole Assembly in congratulating you on the choice of Assistant Secretaries-General you have made.
I am happy, also, on behalf of the General Assembly, to congratulate the persons whom you have chosen. I am convinced that they will fulfill their duties with the greatest conscientiousness and devotion. The task they have undertaken is a most important and difficult one, particularly during the present period of organization. I am sure that we can rely on them, and on their effort to make our Organization a success.
I will now read the words of the oath which each of the Assistant Secretaries-General is about to take:
"I solemnly undertake to exercise in ail loyalty, discretion and conscience the functions entrusted to me as a member of the International Service of the United Nations, to discharge those functions and regulate my conduct with the interests of the United Nations only in view, and not to seek or accept instructions in regard to the performance of my duties from any Government or other authority external to the Organization."
The following took the oath in turn:
Mr. Arkady Alexandrovitch Sobolev, Assistant Secretary-General in charge of the Department of Security Council Affairs.
Mr. Arthur David Kemp Owen, Assistant Secretary-General in charge of the Department of Economie Affairs.
Mr. Henri Laugier, Assistant Secretary-General in charge of the Department of Social Affairs.
Mr. Victor Hoo Chi-Tsai, Assistant Secretary-General in charge of the Trusteeship Department and information concerning Non-Self-Goveming Territories.
Mr. Benjamin A. Cohen, Assistant Secretary-General in charge of the Department of Public Information.
Mr. Ivan Kerno, Assistant Secretary-General in charge of the Légal Department.
Mr. Adrian Pelt, Assistant Secretary-General in charge of Conférence and General Services.
Mr. John B. Hutson, Assistant Secretary-General in charge of Administrative and Financial Services.
85. Reference of Credentials to the Credentials Committee The President (translated from French) : During the first part of the first session of the General Assembly a Credentials Committee was elected in accordance with rule 23 of the rules of procedure. The Credentials Committee elected m London comprises one representative of each of the follo wing countries: Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic, China, Denmark, France, Haïti, Paraguay, Philippine Republic, Saudi Arabia and Turkey.
The representative of Denmark is Chairman of the Committee; I would ask him to call a first meeting of the Committee as soon as possible in order to examine the credentials.
I presume that there are no observations regarding this item of the agenda?
Décision: The procedure proposed by the President was adopted.
86. Elections to vacant posts in Committees of the General Assembly (document A/140/Rev.l) The President (translated from French): The offices of chairman, vice-chairman and rapporteur of certain Committees are vacant. A list of these vacancies is given in document A/140/Rev.l, and is as follows:
Committee Post First Rapporteur Mr. Viteri Lafronte (Ecuador) Second Rapporteur Mr. Portillo (Bolivia) Third Chairman Mr. Fraser (New Zealand) Vice-Chairman Mr. Soto Harrison (Costa Rica) Rapporteur Mrs. Dalen (Norway) Fourth Rapporteur Mr. Kerno (Czechoslovakia) Sixth Rapporteur Mr. Read (Canada) There is, however, one correction to be made : the Rapporteur of the First Committee, Mr. Viteri Lafronte of Ecuador, will be present.
The immediate task is to elect a Chairman and Vice-Chairman for the Third Committee. Mr. Peter Fraser, New Zealand, will unhappily not be present and must be replaced. I propose that the Third Committee should meet today at 3.15 p.m. in Committee Room A, here at Flushing, and appoint a Chairman and Vice-Chairman. The election is urgent since, as you know, the Chairman of this Committee is a member of the General Committee of the General Assembly which must meet as soon as possible.
I should now like to make a recommendation to the members of the Third Committee. In London the choice of the chairmen was governed by two principles: firstly, their special qualifications, and secondly, a certain geographical distribution. These two principles should be respected, and we think that, in electing its Chairman, the Third Committee might bear in mind the fact that Mr. Fraser was elected in London and that it would be a good thing if a representative of New Zealand could again be elected Chairman.
87. Supplementary Report of the Secretary-General on the work of the Organization (document A/65/Add.l) The Secretary-General: The Secretary-General's report to the General Assembly was finished on 30 June (document A/65). As much has happened between that date and the opening of the General Assembly I have found it desirable to give the Assembly an oral, supplementary report.
Since June 1945, when the Charter was signed, the United Nations has led a wandering existence.
From San Francisco the journey led to London where the Preparatory Commission began its work in September of last year. The United Nations' scene of operations remained in London for six months, concentrated in one place, namely, Church House. It is an odd fact that, until now, the United Nations has had its longest stay in any one place at Church House, London.
In March we began to establish the Organization in New York. First we were at Hunter College in the Bronx, then, from the middle of August, at Lake Success.
In these circumstances it has obviously not been possible to organize the United Nations Secretariat as satisfactorily as I should have wished.
At the same time that circumstances have compelled the United Nations to lead this wandering existence, there has been such a great interest in international co-operation, during the year 1945-1946, that all international organizations have been subjected to a severe test. This has been particularly true of the central organization, which must lend assistance to all types of international work.
Seven international organizations, in addition to the Paris Peace Conference, have held congresses or conferences with the assistance of the United Nations Secretariat. No less than twenty-eight additional international conferences have been held during this period. . As far as the United Nations' own work is concerned, there have been frequent meetings of the Security Council and the Economic and Social Council and there have been meetings of an additional seventeen bodies, under our auspices or with our assistance.
The main difficulties which we have met, as far as practical facilities are concerned, have been in connexion with office space and the housing of the staff.
Office Accommodation
I have already explained the consequences of the building shortage in my main report to the Assembly.
As you know, we are now occupying the leased portion of the Sperry Plant at Lake Success. An additional 100,000 square feet is now being converted to our use. We have retained our two offices in Manhattan. In addition, leases have been signed for premises for the Headquarters Commission and for 64,000 square feet of space in the Empire State Building for delegation offices.
The total amount of office space which has thus been made available, together with the additional space to be occupied at Lake Success, is still far from sufficient. Moreover, some of the space which we now have is unsatisfactory. It is difficult, for obvious reasons, to transform a factory into an office building.
After considering this situation carefully, I have decided that our problem can be solved satisfactorily only by the creation of an additional United Nations office building, conveniently located and specially designed for our purposes. Accordingly, I shall ask you, at the appropriate time, for authorization to construct an additional temporary building.
Personnel Accommodation
Of the four housing projects which I mentioned in my earlier report, one, situated at Great Neck, has been partially completed and occupied. The three larger ones are still under construction and will not be ready for several months. I have also been able to lease from the United States Government, the Lido Beach Hotel for temporary accommodation.
Recruitment of Staff
The operation of the Secretariat during the period since it was transferred to New York has necessarily been affected by the problem of recruiting properly qualified personnel.
The number of the staff at headquarters has increased with the growth of the work, and at 15 October stands at 2,516 at New York and 476 in the London and Geneva offices, making a total of 2,992. A detailed report will be given to the Fifth Committee when it begins to study the budget.
In recruiting staff we have attempted constantly to observe the policy of broad geographical distribution, and there are now citizens of forty Member States serving on the Secretariat. Gradually, we have increased the geographical distribution in the higher positions. In the junior grades, we have deliberately followed a policy of local recruitment as a temporary measure.
In the interest of efficient work, and at the same time to attain a proper degree of geographical distribution, I plan to continue the process of building up the permanent staff of the Secretariat over a period of one or two years.
In connexion with the general problem of personnel I may mention that some dissatisfaction has been expressed with salaries in the lower brackets. This must be viewed in the light of rising living costs in the United States.
Our problems, as far as mechanical services and accommodation are concerned, are out of all proportion to those of any previous international organization.
Contributions of Member States
A resolution adopted at the first part of the General Assembly's first session fixed the amount of the working capital fund at twenty-five million dollars. It also determined the provisional scale of advances to the working capital fund to be made by the Member States.
Of the total of twenty-five million dollars the sum of $23,500,000 or ninety-four per cent, has now been received. Of the fifty-one Member States, thirty-eight have paid in full, six have paid in part and seven have not paid any contribution.
The General Assembly may wish to consider means for ensuring the punctual payment of contributions in the future. While there has been no shortage of funds during the financial year it is only fair and desirable that advances and contributions from ail Member States should be forthcoming when they are due.
Specialized Agencies
One of the signs of vitality of international co-operation has been the creation of specialized agencies for the performance of specific operating tasks.
We already have the International Labour Organisation, the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, the Provisional International Civil Aviation Organization, the International Monetary Fund and the International Bank. With the first four of these, the Economic and Social Council has negotiated agreements providing for general coordination of their activities and for bringing them into effective working relationship with the United Nations itself. The World Health Organization should soon be constituted. In addition, I trust that we shall have the International Trade Organization and the International Refugee Organization.
I have proceeded on the self-evident proposition that the United Nations should display all possible understanding and helpfulness in regard to the needs of the various specialized agencies. On the other hand, it has been my policy to avoid "overlapping" and any wasteful use of men and money.
It is, however, the privilege of the Member States to decide what specialized agencies they want to establish and to determine what functions they shall have. The time is perhaps now approaching when it may be proper to ask ourselves whether the family of specialized agencies is not already large enough. The larger the number of agencies the greater is the financial burden on Member Governments and the greater are the dangers of overlapping and duplication.
As new problems arise it would be well to consider whether it would not be better to assign them either to the Secretariat of the United Nations or to one of the organizations which now exist, rather than to create new machinery.
Information Services
Plans are now being developed for a considerable expansion in the activities of the United Nations Department of Public Information in order to improve the flow of information to Member nations, and particularly to those countries which are located outside North America.
We plan to establish information centres at strategic news centres throughout the world. In addition, a broadcasting network is being developed to enable people in all parts of the world to receive broadcasts from our headquarters. Thus, we hope to reach millions of readers and listeners who, at the present time, receive little or no news regarding our activities. I expect to submit to you later during this session plans for a permanent short-wave broadcasting station.
Privileges and Immunities
I have been asked repeatedly, since arriving in the United States, about the Convention on Privileges and Immunities. Members of delegations and of the Secretariat have suffered certain inconveniences because neither the Convention on Privileges and Immunities nor the draft convention with the United States, relating to the headquarters, has yet been made effective in the United States.
Certain immunities and privileges are now in effect under American law. The Secretariat has proposed to the United States State Department that other necessary privileges for representatives and Secretariat personnel should be. put into effect for an interim period, by executive agreement.
The State Department has informed me that it is not in a position to commit the United States Government to extend these privileges and immunities. However, in specific cases relating to official acts, it has undertaken to commend requests by the Secretary-General to the sympathetic consideration of the appropriate authorities.
I hope that every other Member of the United Nations will proceed, with ail possible speed, to ratify the Convention on Privileges and Immunities, as has already been done by the United Kingdom.
Switzerland
I have already reported to the General Assembly that an interim arrangement on privileges and immunities of the United Nations in Switzerland was concluded with the Swiss Federal Council in the early summer. In the minutes, attached to that arrangement, the Swiss representatives made a reservation that "in the event of new agreements being concluded, problems likely to affect the safeguarding of Swiss interests would have to be reconsidered."
When I visited Switzerland in August, I took the opportunity to discuss this reservation with the authorities. I felt that it was impossible for me to make any recommendation concerning the future use of the United Nations buildings in Geneva until and unless ail doubts were removed that the United Nations would have the necessary freedom to use those buildings for the meetings of any of its organs or for the work of any of its services.
The discussions begun in Berne with the President and the Head of the Federal Political Department were continued by my representative in Geneva; a few weeks ago the Federal Council was good enough to send a representative to New York to renew direct conversations with me. As a result of this visit, a draft exchange of letters was prepared, which I agreed to recommend to the General Assembly for approval, if the draft were approved by the Swiss Federal Council.
Thus, a practical solution would have been found to meet the existing need of a European Regional Office. In my opinion there is equally a need for such an office in the Pacific area.
Trusteeship
On 29 June 1946, I addressed a letter to the States administering territiories under League of Nations mandates, namely: Australia, Belgium, France, New Zealand, the Union of South Africa and the United Kingdom, enquiring as to the prospects for trusteeship agreements for the territories under mandate and the progress of negotiations on such agreements.
Replies to this letter have been received from ail the States to which it was addressed. The reply of the Government of France, received on 30 September, was accompanied by two proposed trusteeship agreements for Togoland and Cameroons, the two territories administered by France under mandate. These constituted the first trusteeship agreements officially submitted for United Nations approval.
During the past week, the Governments of Australia and the United Kingdom have officially submitted proposed trusteeship agreements for territories administered by them under mandate: New Guinea, Tanganyika, Togoland and the Cameroons.
Furthermore, I have been informed that two other Mandatories, Belgium and New Zealand, have drafted proposed trusteeship agreements for the territories mandated to them and that these agreements, the transmission of which has been delayed solely by mechanical difficulties, will be delivered to the United Nations within a matter of hours or days.
The Government of the Union of South Africa has requested the inclusion in the agenda of an item relating to South West Africa.
I wish to emphasize the importance which I attribute to the submission of trusteeship agreements and their approval by the General Assembly in order that the Trusteeship Council may be speedily established. The Trusteeship Council is one of the principal organs of the United Nations, and our Organization, as envisaged by the Charter, can never be complete without it.
Moreover, it must be kept in mind that there is a solemn obligation to the Non-Self-Governing Peoples, so m any millions of whom staunchly supported the cause of the United Nations in the recent war, and made great sacrifices toward our victory. We must remember, also, that these peoples have no direct voice here and we must give them ail possible reassurance that their well-being is ever in our minds and hearts.
I earnestly hope that no difficulties will be permitted to stand in the way of the early establishment of the Trusteeship Council.
Non-Self-Governing Territories
The effective application of the principles of Chapter XI of the Charter, principles which affect the lives of all the hundreds of millions of peoples who have not yet attained a full measure of self-government, is another important aspect of the work of the United Nations. These principles and obligations of Chapter XI are especially significant since they apply to the many Non-Self-Governing Territories which may not come under the international trusteeship system.
These principles and obligations of Chapter XI are already fully in force. Accordingly, on 29 June, I addressed a letter to ail Member States calling to their attention certain practical problems in connexion with this Chapter. The numerous responses thus far received have been both helpful and encouraging. Furthermore, it is especially noteworthy that three of the States administering territories, Australia, France and the United States, have already transmitted to me the information on their Non-Self-Governing Territories required by Article 73, paragraph e.
The General Assembly will surely wish to make good use of this information to the end that the peoples of the colonies and territories as well as of the Trust Territories will have reassurance of the concern of the United Nations for their progressively improved standards of living, their gênerai well-being, and the full realization of the promise held forth by Chapter XI.
Human Rights and the Status of Women
The Charter of the United Nations contains noble phrases with regard to human rights and the fundamental freedoms.
Some cynics may have the feeling that these words will never be anything more than words. They are wrong. Millions of people throughout the world look to these principles to bring them the rights and freedoms to which they are entitled. They will demand the fulfilment of these principles, Unhappily, there are too many cases, even in some of our most highly developed countries, in which elementary human rights are denied to certain sections of the population.
It is a source of gratification that the status of women is now under consideration by the Economic and Social Council. We cannot close our eyes to the fact that the emancipation of women has still not reached, in many parts of the world, the point which the opinion of civilized humanity regards as just and decent. We must not rest until women everywhere can enjoy equal rights and equal opportunities with men.
All Members of the United Nations must employ their efforts to make a living reality of the principles to which they have given their assent. For my part, I pledge that the Secretariat will devote itself, within the limits of its authority, to helping to make the Charter a document of real and vital meaning to the common people.
International Law
Under the Charter, the United Nations is charged with the duty of encouraging the progressive development of international law and its codification. An item referring to the implementation of Article 13 is on the provisional agenda.
I am happy to report that the Secretariat has taken steps to fulfill this important task. A special Division of the Legal Department is now engaged in a survey of international legislation and codification through informal contacts established with officials of Member Governments of the United Nations and with private organizations and persons eminent in this field.
The Nürnberg trials have furnished a new lead in this field. This is the first time in history that, as President Truman said yesterday, through co-operation between nations, founded on democracy and the rule of their people, it has been possible to agree on the establishment of an international court to judge war criminals and the leaders of a people which have brought a war upon mankind.
Eleven of the most evil men in modem times have been judged according to international laws by an international court.
In the interests of peace, and in order to protect mankind against future wars, it will be of decisive significance to have the principles which were employed in the Nürnberg trials, and according to which the German war criminals were sentenced, made a permanent part of the body of international law as quickly as possible.
From now on the instigators of new wars must know that there exist both law and punishment for their crimes. Here we have a high inspiration to go forward and begin the task of working toward a revitalized System of international law.
I cannot fail to draw the attention of the General Assembly to the Spanish question arising out of the existence in Spain of the fascist regime which was imposed on the Spanish people with the armed intervention of the Axis Powers.
The Spanish question has again and again demanded the attention of organs of the United Nations. I do not need to remind you of the resolution on this question which was adopted at the first part of this session of the General Assembly. Since then the Security Council has discussed it in detail, and it has been discussed in connection with several items which have come before the Economic and Social Council.
It is probable that other organs of the United Nations as well as of the specialized agencies will also be impeded by the Spanish question.
In these circumstances, the General Assembly, at its current session, can do a valuable service by giving comprehensive guidance to the organs and to the Member States of the United Nations regarding their relationship with the Franco regime.
It is an unhappy fact that the fascist control of Spain has continued unchanged despite the defeat of Germany and Japan. It seems to be clear that as long as the Franco regime continues in Spain, it will remain a constant cause of mis-trust and disagreement between the founders of the United Nations. It is therefore my hope that those who gave us victory and peace may also find ways and means by which liberty and democratic government may be restored in Spain.
Atomic Energy Commission
The work of the Atomic Energy Commission has continued steadily during the summer, resulting in a number of developments.
The Commission began its work with declarations of policy by the Member Governments.
Without pursuing questions of general policy to a conclusion the Commission decided to pave the way for further discussion by obtaining a fuller understanding of the fundamental facts relating to the scientific and technical aspects of nuclear fission.
Accordingly, at the end of July, the Scientific capital and Technical Committee entered upon an intensive study of these questions. As a result, it prepared a report concerning the processes in the production of nuclear fuel and indicating the points in this process at which nuclear fuel might be diverted from peaceful use. It came to the conclusion that there was no basis in the available scientific facts for supposing that effective control would not be technically feasible.
It is significant that this report represented the unanimous opinion of scientific experts from the twelve nations represented on the Commission.
This report was placed before Committee 2, the policy committee of the Commission, on 8 October. This Committee, in turn, adopted a resolution in which it agreed "to proceed to examine and report on the safeguards required at each stage in the production and use of atomic energy for peaceful purposes to prevent the possibilities of misuse."
Thus, attention is now concentrated on the actual operations which are required for the production of atomic energy.
I think we can say that there has been progress, but this progress has been strictly limited and it has been slow. The problem is deeply involved and it clearly requires time to solve. It is enough to say that nobody in this world can sleep peacefully until it is solved and that it is up to the United Nations, through the Atomic Energy Commission, to do the job.
Economic and Social Problems
The founders of the United Nations have placed high hopes in the Economic and Social Council and events are justifying these hopes. The results of three sessions of the Council are now before the General Assembly. It would take hours to review that work in detail; I shall only mention a few items. The World Health Organization and the Commissions of the Council have been set up. The proposed International Refugee Organization holds forth promise of progress in the settlement of the problem of hundreds of thousands of displaced and home-less persons. You are aware of the urgent necessity of setting up this Organization, in order to prevent the tragic gap which may otherwise result from the liquidation of the activities of UNRRA.
Special mention must also be made of the proposal for the creation of an international children's fund. The United Nations has here a great opportunity to relieve human suffering in its most pitiful form.
In the economic sphere you have before you the report of the Temporary Sub-Commission on the Economic Reconstruction of Devastated Areas. It is full of solid economic information, but behind it ail there is a human story of the suffering and the ceaseless reconstruction efforts of the peoples of the war-devastated countries. But it 1S more than that; it provides a basis for positive action by the United Nations, a basis for international co-operation in accelerating the progress of reconstruction.
Some of the work was conducted in the devastated areas themselves. Field teams of the Temporary Sub-Commission made visits to a number of European countries, contacted the responsible authorities and experts and discussed with them the various reconstruction problems. This, I think, was the first occasion on which a United Nations body has undertaken enquiries on the spot, and I can assure you that it has proved a most valuable method of work. The Secretariat is following up this work in many ways. In particular, it is making a preliminary estimate of the relief needs in 1947 of certain countries now being helped by UNRRA.
Of course, a lot still remains to be done. Not only must the economy of the devastated areas be rebuilt; we must also work for the revival of international trade everywhere in the world. This is the aim towards which the Preparatory Committee on Trade and Employment is now working in London. All countries, whatever their domestic economics, whether based on State control or free enterprise, need foreign trade in order to prosper and develop. The peoples of the world need the support and co-operation of each other for the progress of their economic development.
But we cannot stop at efforts to revive international trade. The peoples need and desire high and stable levels of employment and economic activity. The United Nations and the specialized agencies in the economic field are the prime instruments for achieving international co-operation towards that end. Let us see that these instruments are used energetically and effectively.
Conclusion
The one important fact about the United Nations today is that the Organization is a living, working body, fully engaged in the greatest series of tasks which ever faced any organization.
Fifty-one nations are devoting their full energies to solving the problems which we have inherited from the past, and from the most destructive of all wars in history. As the representatives of these nations meet here today, nobody can doubt their determined desire to solve these problems by common effort. The desire for comradeship and co-operation which inspired the United Nations to join in war against a powerful and atrocious array; of enemies still endures.
Talk of war may be exciting for those who do not know what war means. War may still appear to be a happy escape or a source of revenge for those remnants of fascism who have survived our victory. They must not be allowed to transform those notions into action.
For peoples of the United Nations who have experienced the full horrors of the war, the mere mention of armed conflict must arouse feelings of abhorrence and disgust.
Many of our countries still suffer deeply from the outrages of the enemy. They have seen their plans for a better life for their people delayed and disrupted by invasion, by the disorganization of their economics, by lavish expenditure of life, money and material.
It is the united purpose of the nations today to begin life anew, and to achieve that fuller life for their peoples which is the goal of every Government worthy of the name.
The months since the conclusion of hostilities have brought to light many differences between the United Nations relating to the peace. During the past summer the Paris Peace Conference has made a strenuous effort to ensure that the peace treaties shall be lasting and satisfactory. We are ail grateful to the delegates for their efforts and wish ail success to the Council of Foreign Ministers in its further deliberations.
The Charter of the United Nations was based upon the assumption that there would be a proper peace and that there would be firm agreement among the great Powers. The conclusion of the peace treaties will provide the United Nations with solid ground upon which to work, and will eliminate many of the differences which have disturbed the work of the Organization during the first months of activity.
The United Nations will then be able to de-vote itself to preserving a stable peace and to the prosecution of its programme of human betterment throughout the world. We are already deeply involved in that programme and we will continue to become more deeply involved as the months and the years go on.
This task, to make life richer for ordinary human beings everywhere, must occupy us throughout our lifetimes and it will occupy those who follow us in the time to come. The world will not forgive us and we will not pardon ourselves if we fail to understand this ultimate and everlasting constructive aim of the United Nations.
88. Reports of the Security Council and of the Economie and Social Council The President (translated from French): I have to make a statement to the General Assembly concerning items 5 and 6 of the agenda.
By virtue of Article 24, paragraph 3, of the Charter, the Security Council has to submit an annual report for examination by the Assembly. This report is contained in document A/93.
The Charter does not require the Economic and Social Council to submit an annual report to the General Assembly. At its third session, however, the Economic and Social Council decided to make a report to the General Assembly on its work during its first, second and third sessions. This report has been submitted to you in document A/125.
The General Committee has decided to recommend to the General Assembly that the reports of the Secretary-General, as well as the reports of the Security Council and of the Economic and Social Council, shall form the basis of the general discussion to which the General Assembly will now proceed under item 7 of the agenda of the present meeting.
Decision: The General Committee's recommendation was adopted.
89. Opening of the general discussion The President (translated from French) : I should like to point out that representatives desiring to participate in the general discussion are requested to give their names to one of the Secretaries of the Assembly, attached to the President.
I should also like to point out, and this is very important, that, in accordance with our rules of procedure, speakers must, except in very special circumstances, be called upon to speak in the order in which their names are put down; this prevents me from complying with the wishes of speakers who ask to be put on the list either before or after one or other of their colleagues, or who desire to select a precise date and hour for their speeches.
I would add that if, at any time, there are no further speakers on the list, the debate will be declared closed, and not adjourned.
At its meeting on 22 October, the General Committee decided that, in order to expedite the debate, any representative who so wished could have a translation of his speech circulated. The distribution of such translations would replace oral interpretation. The Secretary-General will arrange for the translation of the speeches into one or the other of the working languages and their distribution, provided that complete texts are sent in, at the latest, on the day preceding the date on which the speech is to be delivered.
Decision: The Assembly agreed that the discussion should be organized in the manner proposed by the President.
The President (translated from French) : I call upon the first speaker on my list, Mr. Castillo Najera, representative of Mexico.
Mr. Castillo Najera (Mexico) (translated from Spanish): Our presence in New York affords objective proof of the conviction of our Governments that just as a city cannot develop without the foresight and watchfulness of the municipal authority, so there is an absolute necessity for the existence, in a world tormented by doubt, of an international organization which, rising above individual interests and conflicting passions, exerts a tempering influence to further justice and peace.
The small nations, and Mexico in particular is one of them, feel that States should live together in harmony, under the rule of law. They feel it now more strongly than ever before be-cause they are not unaware of a grave danger, which we have seen foreshadowed in recent months, namely, that in international decisions political considerations rather than justice may prevail.
We do not believe in the imminence of war but we feel bound, in spite of the consciousness of our material limitations, or perhaps for that very reason, to stress the duty devolving upon ail nations alike to strengthen the peace organization which we so laboriously erected at San Francisco. In this connection, our words, the words of Mexico, will here, as in Geneva, bear the mark of courage, of disinterestedness and the strength of conviction.
An objective--even benevolent--examination of the world situation compels us to admit that the relations between the States fall very far short of that idéal of living together in peace as good neighbours which we adopted of our own free will when we drafted the Charter. We should be deceiving ourselves, and mocking the peoples we represent, if we endeavoured to draw optimistic conclusions from the mere fact of our attendance at the Assembly.
The holding of a General Assembly or the meetings of the Security Council, apart from the pomp with which they are attended, are no more than the purely formal expression of a determination to carry out a purpose. But that is not enough; after ail, the failure of the League of Nations became inevitable at the very time when its prosperity was at its height, when it moved from the Quai Wilson to the Palace at Ariana.
Neither can we accept as valid the argument that our Organization is barely one year old and therefore needs time to consolidate itself. Such a complacent attitude contains within ' itself seeds of destruction similar to those which resulted in the downfall of the League of Nations, from whose experience we ought to profit, since it constitutes, or should constitute, part of our assets.
The support of Governments will not be sufficient to enable the United Nations to carry out its great task; what it needs above all is the confidence of the peoples, and this will be forthcoming only in the measure of our success.
The Government of Mexico sees no solution for the serious problems of peace and war other than those which may originate from an international organization; it is for that very reason ready at all times to collaborate in the work of the United Nations. It is, however, deeply concerned to see that phenomena which were typical of the years preceding the last war are reappearing and that the same errors are being committed. Conferences and negotiations outside the United Nations follow one another, while the political activity of the latter shows results which, in order not to be too severe^ we will only say do not satisfy the expectations of our peoples.
In my opinion, there are two reasons for our lack of success--I say "our" because, in varying degrees, ours is a collective responsibility. The first consists in the difficulty we are experiencing in consolidating a peace which was so pain-fully won on the battlefields. The second results from the System of voting which was included, with no less difficulty, in Article 27 of the San Francisco Charter.
The discussions concerning the treaties of peace, some of which have not yet taken tangible form although their general outline is becoming apparent in phenomena of secondary importance, do not correspond to the obligations which we contracted during the war. The man in the street who accepted in good faith the promises of his leaders, who welcomed the Atlantic Charter as the dawn of a new day and who greeted with joy the declaration of the United Nations, cannot understand how it is that decisions in which he believed he was en-titled to have a voice are presented as accomplished facts. His inability to understand such a state of affairs is transformed into suspicion when he thinks he sees certain moves on the international chessboard being made for strategic purposes, either from the political or from the economic point of view.
In such a delicate situation, it is of secondary importance to ask who is right; in view of the complexity of the problems before us, it is childish to seek ready-made solutions. The important thing is that the problems exist. They are mentioned by statesmen in their speeches, they are written about in the daily press and commented upon by the man in the street.
And since the problems exist it is our duty to solve them. How can we do that? By strengthening the United Nations Organization, by ensuring that it does not fall into discredit, and by preventing its work from being limited to registering events of world importance which take place without its intervention. This is why, in the opinion of the Government of Mexico, it is absolutely essential to accelerate the consolidation of peace by means of international instruments which will put an end to uncertainty; moreover, the discussion of these agreements must take place within the framework of our Organization or at least with the active participation, on a basis of equality, of all the countries which made up the nucleus of the United Nations.
As I said before, the other factor which has had an unfavorable influence on our decisions is the veto, or to be more precise, the way in which the veto has been used. At the last meeting of the Security Council over which I had the honour to preside, I gave my opinion on this matter. As it is now on our agenda here, the Mexican delegation will have an opportunity to revert to it; consequently, my observations will be limited to certain of the fundamental aspects of the problem.
In San Francisco we were told that the voting System in the Security Council, as it was finally included in the Charter, was intended to guarantee the unanimity of the great Powers. If the results of the application of this procedure had corresponded to what was foretold, we should have no objection to raise. The small, or medium-sized, nations are those most concerned that the fullest possible understanding and harmony should exist among the permanent members of the Security Council. They have nothing to gain from differences of opinion among those members which, we see no objection to admitting, are the result of intense patriotism and concepts both just and expedient in the eyes of the States concerned; nevertheless, they have unfavourable effects on the political, economic and social conditions of the whole world and even create dissension within our own countries.
We desire ardently and sincerely the unity of the great Powers. We desire it in our own interest; we desire it as citizens of an indivisible world. We désire it for the sake of the peace and prosperity of all countries.
Unfortunately, experience has shown that the veto, far from helping to achieve this unanimity, is undermining it in a way which we cannot but regret and which we trust will be only temporary. We do not think it would be rash to assume that the elimination of the veto would help to strengthen that unanimity which we ail desire. While there exists the certainty that there can be no légal defeat, there is no need to compromise nor to go half-way to meet the opposing view. If, on the other hand, there exists the latent danger of such a defeat, it is natural to seek a compromise and thus to achieve unanimity.
We, the representatives of the small and medium-sized nations, have never possessed what we might call the collective veto of the great Powers. We realize that with those Powers rests the main responsibility for safe-guardmg the peace, and we recognize, with a clear sensé of reality, that they should have certain special privileges. We are not worried by the possibility that the five permanent members of the Security Council, with the aid of two non-permanent members, might attempt to impose arbitrary decisions. Apart from the fact that this is a purely theoretical hypothesis, we have sufficient confidence in the conception of equity of the great Powers not to have any fears in this respect. What does worry us is the probability, not the mere possibility, that the veto may paralyze the best intentions of our Organization, and, as a result, destroy our main hope of arriving at a permanent peace by means of justice.
Perhaps the discussions which are now starting will succeed in exercising, in the future, a psychological influence in favour of unanimity in the voting in the Security Council, as a result of which the use of the veto will become less and less frequent. If future events demonstrate that we have obtained this victory on behalf of peace and understanding, then the work of the General Assembly, whatever conclusions it may adopt, will not have been useless.
The President (translated from French) : I must point out now that, unless other arrangements are made, we run the risk of wasting tomorrow and Saturday. Only two speakers are on the list for tomorrow and three for Saturday. Everybody is preparing to speak on Monday, Tuesday or Wednesday. It is essential that certain heads of delegations should try to be ready to take part in the discussion tomorrow or Saturday; otherwise the general debate will be declared closed, as nobody is ready to speak.
The meeting rose at 1.45 p.m.
Impunity in Spain and Francoist crimes
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