I speak to you today as the representative of a country which has evolved in the Short span of a decade from a state of dependency to independence. This evolution reflects not only the realization of the hopes and convictions of the Government and people of Indonesia but also the renewed spirit which gave inception to the United Nations.
63. For, seven years ago, the distinction between political idealism and political realism was apparently obliterated at San Francisco, where an ideal Was reborn in new and promising form. The ideal, cherished for centuries, contemplated men and nations dwelling together in peace and friendship, respecting each other's rights, upholding each other’s dignity and sharing the task of promoting the welfare and development of all.
64. But history itself had continued to dramatize the chasm between this vision and the reality of the rule of force, both direct and indirect. And the rule of force, destructive alike to ruler and ruled, had finally culminated in the greatest explosion of force yet seen.
65. The impact of the Second World War, however, was philosophically as well as physically shattering. It blasted the traditional adherence of the political realists to the conviction that world peace, however desirable, could never be more than a dream of impractical visionaries. It joined the sceptical realist and the visionary idealist in mutual recognition that the maintenance of world peace was a fundamentally practical necessity if even the most elementary rudiments of civilization were to survive. Towards this end, the former was now prepared to renounce the habitual primacy of national self-interest; the latter was ready to sacrifice customary demands for purity of motive and perfection of conception.
66. It was in this atmosphere of idealism blended with realism that the United Nations was born. This new spirit — call it realistic idealism or enlightened realism — animated the representatives of fifty nations in their endeavour to create a new structure dedicated to the concrete realization of the old ideal. The product reflected the fusion of aspiration and common sense in its recognition of two principles, the neglect of which had undoubtedly contributed to the failure of the League of Nations.
67. The first principle was that responsibility, to be exercised effectively, must reside foremost in those who have the power as well as the will to exercise it. The fifty nations represented at San Francisco might equally have desired the prohibition of war and the peaceful settlement of international disputes, but only a few of them possessed the power to wage war on an international scale or to enforce the maintenance of peace. To those few, therefore, were entrusted greater rights and, consequently, greater responsibilities, in the expectation that they would continue to co-operate in sharing the obligations to achieve the common goal which they had assumed in numerous declarations.
68. The second principle was that concrete and continued steps must be taken to eliminate, not merely war itself but the conditions which ultimately generate war. Experience had demonstrated that it was not enough to establish an international mechanism for the peaceful settlement of problems between nations. Nor was it enough to seek to prevent a resort to violence when disputes had reached the point of violence. These measures could only temporarily arrest the disease; they could not eradicate it.
69. Peace, like health, was seen to require positive renditions of well-being. Its prerequisites were defined as including self-determination for all peoples; equal protection for the small and weak as well as for the large and strong; access on equal terms to the world’s sources of wealth; equal respect for and observance of the basic human rights and freedoms of all peoples, regardless of differences in race, sex, language or creed. In short, they comprised the sustained and unremitting promotion of world-wide social, economic and intellectual development within a framework of political security, in order that this security might endure.
70. Implicit throughout the Charter was the acknowledgment that there would no longer be a divorce between the narrowly-defined interests of any one nation or group and the total interests of the world at large. Enlightened realism recognized the identity of individual interest and total world interest in ultimate effect — if not in time — and consequently the identity of interest and principle. It was apparent that the only valid solution to the problems which would confront the United Nations would be based solely upon the application of the criteria of the Charter and not of any individually-defined criteria. Issues would have to be analysed and decided on their merits in relation to the prerequisites and objectives of positive peace defined in the Charter.
71. This, then, was the enlightened realism of the foundation upon which fifty nations committed themselves to membership in the United Nations and to observance of its Charter, simultaneously looking forward to additional membership and universal observance. If this accomplishment meant renewed faith to the peoples of countries whose independence had been lost or threatened in war, if it meant renewed hope to those of countries whose independence had been hardly more than nominal, how much more did it mean to those in countries where independence was withheld, such as my own.
72. For centuries the history of almost half the people of the world has been a history of denial of political freedoms, of deprivation of the legitimate fruits of their labour, of subjection to social and individual indignities and of impediments to their cultural growth. These inequities, inherent to a greater or lesser degree in any colonial system, we were determined to endure no longer.
73. The Charter held out to us the promise of the achievement of our aspirations with the sympathy and assistance of those nations which were instrumental in its creation. Ostensibly they were prepared to repudiate colonialism, some as the result of a new awareness of the destructiveness of external domination derived from their own experiences with war-time occupation, others through recognition that the relationship of dominance and subordination impeded the development of those democratic values and institutions which they sought to maintain and whose survival and spread they deemed vital for the maintenance of peace.
74. I have dwelt at some length on this feature of the Charter, since it was this very spirit which accompanied the re-emergence of Indonesia as an independent nation. It was the participation of the United Nations and it was the active implementation of the original spirit of its Charter which finally translated the desire and gallant struggle of our people into a settlement of transfer of sovereignty, an arrangement which otherwise might have been achieved only at the expense of more invaluable human lives and dislocation of the national political structure, which in turn, might have become an everlasting peril to world security.
75. Now, after a lapse of some two years, which may even be for the historians far too short a time to make a conclusive interpretation, the progress achieved fully justifies the wisdom of the United Nations in rendering its mediation in any conflict between dependent nations and their metropolitan governments. By saying this, I do not mean to be self-complacent about our success — achievements which, after all, are just the first products of the toil, sweat, tears and blood expended in the tricky and almost never-ending slope of every human life. But what cannot be denied is that, with the termination of colonial domination in the greater part of Asia, a sound living growth has emerged as real as life itself.
76. I am sure that, given a certain period of peaceful labour, reorganization and reconstruction, the almost unbelievably ill-equipped organization, from the technical point of view, left behind in the ex-dependent countries, could be transformed into means just sufficient to fulfil the primary requirements of a simple national life. Then the political renaissance in Asia could develop itself into forces which, with all the other forces in the world, could give a more solid foundation to the United Nations.
77. It is for this reason, apart from all others, that we are filled with great anxiety, sometimes even with a sense of frustration, to see that the experience of recent years indicates that the atmosphere of San Francisco was indeed fleeting. It is difficult to recapture today the sense of hope and optimistic expectation which this Organization at its inception inspired amongst the submerged peoples of the world, who foresaw a rapid end of political domination, economic exploitation, social degradation and cultural frustration. Despite sincere and repeated affirmations by representatives of sixty nations, now Members of the United Nations, of the continued desire of their peoples for peace and the opportunities for self-fulfilment for all, the Charter is often appealed to in vain; the implementation of many of its provisions is notable for its absence in many parts of the world; other provisions have been interpreted in what amounts to a distortion Of their original intention. We still hear reiteration of the noble phrases and sentiments first voiced seven years ago, but their continued repetition in a near vacuum of action gives them, at times, the unreality of the Cheshire Cat’s smile.
78. I do not, of course, intend to disparage or demean the notable successes of this Organization. For many issues brought before it have indeed been very creditably settled. In the case of Indonesia, as I have noted already, the very fact of my addressing this Assembly today makes it clear that our confidence was not entirely misplaced. And much of its work, particularly that of the economic and social organs and the specialized agencies, is deserving of high praise. But I should like to remind this General Assembly that the many issues of the 1920’s and 1930’s settled at Geneva and the excellent work of the same specialized agencies or their predecessors did not ensure the survival of the League nor prevent the onset of the Second World War. It was precisely the failures of this period that the United Nations Organization was designed to overcome.
79. And if — although we are reluctant to admit it — this Organization shows unmistakable signs of suffering the lamentable fate of its predecessor, it is because it is attempting to function in the midst of a retrogression to the very power conflicts and alliances it was set up to supersede. Two hostile blocs, led by two nations which were most instrumental in the creation of this Organization, now face each other across a barrier which neither can bring itself to bridge. One result is that basic action envisaged by the Charter, such as disarmament, has been constantly thwarted. We witness instead an armaments race vaster and more terrifying than anything that has gone before. And the large Powers, ignoring the principle which gave them their added special privileges within the Organization, use these privileges to further their own ends while failing to carry out their responsibilities to exercise their power jointly and co-operatively to further the aims of the Charter. They play their game of chess on the board of the United Nations, constantly seeking to checkmate each other, and the smaller nations which become the pawns in this game are expected to do little more than to deplore and exhort.
80. We find even more deplorable, and perhaps just .as dangerous as this precarious equilibrium or mutual paralysis between the two blocs, the fact that almost every issue of the last few years has tended to be sucked into the vortex of the cold war.
81. Fewer and fewer have become the debates on the merits of the problems under discussion; more and more has the cold war cast its baneful shadow over the deliberations of this Organization. It would be almost comic, were it not so tragic, to sec now accurately can be predicted the positions of many countries on a given issue on the basis of their situation vis-a-vis the so-called East-West conflict. While it is true that their positions have been verbally rationalized to accord with the various articles of the Charter, these articles have gained a flexibility of interpretation that goes far beyond what was envisaged at San Francisco.
82. In this atmosphere, where it is apparently no longer fashionable to analyse issues on their merits and strictly in accordance with the Charter, Indonesia has steadfastly attempted to do so. Perhaps that is why we have been called naively idealistic. In this atmosphere, where voting records tend to reflect more and more a priori decisions based on an alliance with one or the other bloc, Indonesia has found itself voting on some issues with one bloc, on others with the other. Our steadfast refusal to adhere to either bloc, except as a given issue may warrant it, has been termed politically unrealistic, for a smaller nation, we are told, cannot afford an independent policy in which it risks the enmity of both blocs while enjoying the protection of neither.
83. Nevertheless, we shall continue to pursue our policy of actively working towards peace and assisting every genuine effort on its behalf, of striving for the observance of the spirit of the Charter, and of viewing every issue on its merits and refusing to prejudice it on extraneous grounds. Nor do we consider this policy naive and unrealistic, for is not the abdication by the big Powers of responsibility to preserve peace and security more unrealistic? Is not the sacrifice of genuine issues upon the altar of the cold war the height of unrealism? Therefore we shall continue to pursue our course in the conviction that it is actually realistic within the definition of the enlightened realism, of San Francisco. And we urge and hope that this session of the Assembly will recognize, as was recognized in 1945 and since then often forgotten, that only this enlightened realism will prevent chaos and preserve civilization.
84. On this basis, we. hope that this session of the General Assembly, meeting for the first time in its new home, will find the major Powers sincerely resuming their responsibility to exercise their power on the precepts of amicable co-operation and understanding; that there will be fewer determined words and more determined action in the cause of peace. Every such gesture and act genuinely in furtherance of the intent and spirit of the Charter will have our support, regardless of its origin.
85. We have noted with interest that the attention of this Assembly was drawn to the possibility of putting into effect Article 109 of the Charter, which provides for a general conference of the Members of United Nations for the purpose of reviewing and, if deemed necessary, altering, the present Charter. We believe that this is a constructive proposal which deserves close and unprejudiced consideration. But as the representative of New Zealand has noted [380th meeting], imperfections in the Charter or the Organization itself are due more to the frailties and perversities of human nature than to the form of the Charter itself. Therefore the common temper and humanitarian spirit which animated those who founded this Organization upon the principles set forth in the Charter must first be recaptured and revitalized. Then, and then only, can we attempt to strengthen the Charter and the Organization itself; then, and then only, can we hope to make real progress on such crucial issues as disarmament and Korea.
86. The problem of Korea has reminded us again how painfully swift is the resort to violence when the spirit of co-operation and understanding is lost in a swirl of suspicion and distrust, and how difficult is the road back to conciliation and peace. But in the anticipation that the present session will strive for and achieve a solution to this urgent problem, we intend to contribute our utmost towards attaining the peaceful unification of Korea.
87. In the interest of strengthening the prestige and influence of this Organization, we expect to work for a rapid solution to the impasse on admission of new Members. We deplore seeing applicants being refused admission because either Power bloc has suspected that they might tend to support the other. The goal of international co-operation and understanding, of freedom and human rights for all, of world peace and security, cannot be gained by shutting out those views one dislikes or with which one may disagree. Progress towards universality of membership is thus a pressing need in order that no peoples are deprived of the right to participate in and benefit from the work of mis Organization.
88. In the hope that this session will forego the unrealistic tendency to ignore issues that threaten peace in the interest of the cold-war conflict and instead accord them the attention they deserve, we firmly intend to assert, in common with other Asian and Arab nations, the question of Tunisia and Morocco. Those of us who, because of our own history, are particularly sensitive to the desires of still submerged nations, have been alarmed to note their inability even to obtain a hearing out of fear that a debate might embarrass a pillar of one of the blocs and possibly work to the benefit of the other. But we cannot conceive that the major Powers, having fought both verbally and literally for freedom and independence, could wish to withhold them from others equally deserving. Therefore we shall not believe that me legitimate rights of nations and peoples to freedom and self-determination will be sacrificed for the sake of expediency.
89. And we shall continue to press for concrete action on the policy of apartheid pursued by the Union of South Africa. Here we again find the moral principle subordinated in the immediate interest of the cold-war controversy. We have heard continual concern expressed for the maintenance of human rights in general, but specific violation deemed a matter for United Nations action if alleged to occur within the other bloc, a matter of domestic jurisdiction if alleged within one’s own. Enlightened realism, however, demands tire recognition that in any legitimate grievance, whenever and wherever it may occur, lies the kernel of a future war.
90. It is with great optimism that we look forward to continued action in the sphere of economic development, because the technical assistance programme is one whose efforts are bearing visible fruits and which will contribute more to the foundation of lasting peace than the many words expended on the desire for peace. In Indonesia, the work of the United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund, the World Health Organization, the International Civil Aviation Organization and the other specialized agencies is visible evidence to our people that this Organization is still a living entity fulfilling part of the promise of the Charter. It is hoped that the constructive efforts of technical assistance will further the greatly needed improvement of the standard of living.
91. But our optimism is again tempered by our awareness that the present technical assistance programmes will not in themselves succeed in alleviating the economic disabilities of the under-developed countries. At most, they will help the latter to mobilize their resources more efficiently in the direction of further development. They will undoubtedly aid these predominantly agricultural and raw material producing countries to improve their methods of production in this respect.
92. But economic assistance which can accomplish little more than to retain these countries as productively more efficient reservoirs of the world’s raw materials will not solve their population and unemployment problems, will not give them a balanced economic structure and will not ensure the conditions of economic stability. These under-developed countries have experienced an economic, as well as political and social, awakening. They are now aware that their position vis-à-vis the more highly industrialized countries has been and stilt is an inferior one, and they are determined to realize the necessity and possibility of readjusting their position on the world market to one of equality. To cushion their economies against the violent shocks of world market fluctuations, they realize that a more balanced economic structure is essential. And this can be achieved only by some measure of industrialization.
93. The economic organs of the United Nations and the experts who have assisted them in studying this problem for the past two years have recognized this need and devoted attention to the problem of financing economic development. They have also recognized that the low level of income in these countries precludes the accumulation of sufficient domestic capital for national financing of such development. Although noting that private foreign capital should be encouraged to flow into these countries, they have conceded that such investment, even under optimum conditions, is generally not attracted to the very projects that will most accelerate sound industrialization. They have further acknowledged that existing international financial institutions are inadequate to mobilize even a small portion of the needed capital, either public or private.
94. They have consequently advocated a more comprehensive international approach to the financing of economic development and the creation of additional international institutions for its application. It is therefore with the most profound interest that we are anticipating the results of the current studies of the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development of the possibilities of creating an international finance corporation for the financing of productive enterprises in under-developed countries, and of the efforts undertaken with a view to setting up a special fund for grants-in-aid and low-interest, long-term loans to underdeveloped countries which will enable the latter to accelerate greatly the execution of non-self-liquidating projects basic to economic development.
95. While welcoming this realistic awareness of our problems, we of the under-developed countries regret that on the part of the developed countries this recognition has been more in the form of verbal concern than of concrete action. They deplore the disease but withhold the remedy.
96. My country’s experience over the past year, primarily in regard to rubber, has again borne out the truth of the well recognized truism that producers of raw-materials are the most susceptible to world market fluctuations. The impact of recent developments in the world pattern of trade and prices was evident in the sharply reduced volume and value of our exports. This adverse turn of our trade balance has directly influenced our import possibilities. The consequent loss of foreign exchange proceeds has even forced us this year to suspend some development projects for which we could no longer purchase the capital equipment so vital to their undertaking. The consumer’s section was likewise severely affected. In order to protect our balance of payments, my Government had to curtail drastically the import of many consumer goods.
97. This is why, in concert with other under-developed countries, my Government will continue to urge the establishment of international commodity arrangements in order to achieve a stable market which will greatly aid the under-developed countries to secure a sustained source of foreign exchange to further our development projects, and to raise our standard of living through increased production. For this is a genuine issue, a real problem whose solution calls for effective and realistic action on the part of the developed countries.
98, A realistic solution of both the economic and political issues facing this Assembly requires a rebirth of the spirit of enlightened realism which attended the birth of this Organization. The immediate welfare and ultimate survival of our peoples, whose confidence is wavering but whose hope is still firm, demand the revival of this enlightened realisms Time itself challenges the Members of this Assembly to observe the principles of the Charter faithfully, to view each issue brought to their attention on its merits strictly in relation to the Charter, to show as fervent devotion to its observance nearer home as they show concern for its violation at a distance, to endeavor to remove the impediments to self-determination and the enjoyment of basic human rights with conviction and without evasion, to rearm for a war against poverty, starvation and disease instead of for a military war against each other — to do these things not only with words and speeches but with deeds and actions. For the measure of the desire for peace is not what one says about it, but what one does to attain it.