Panama

The Republic of Panama comes to this sixth session of the General Assembly of the United Nations with the same confidence and the same hope that it has always had in this great international Organization from the time it signed the Charter in San Francisco in 1945. 154. Since its inception and throughout the harsh trials which the United Nations has experienced and continues to experience, Panama has remained firm in its belief that this Organization, notwithstanding natural defects and, I might even say the setbacks necessarily attending its development and growth, is the most efficient instrument hitherto conceived and created for ensuring the peaceful settlement of disputes between nations and for establishing agreement and good understanding between them. Thus at this time of anxiety and tension, it embodies the world’s greatest hope for the maintenance of peace. 155. This statement does not mean that my country is blind to reality or that it refuses to recognize flaws and to admit mistakes. On the contrary, it is aware that this sixth anniversary of the United Nations which we have just celebrated, has been viewed by many with mixed feeling of disappointment and hope; disappointment because it is felt that much less has been done than was expected, and hope because, all things considered, the United Nations clearly affords the only possible means of avoiding war and disaster. 156. In view of past experience, and also considering the future of the grave international problems looming on the horizon, my country believes that, the United Nations being a social and political means for avoiding war and ensuring peace, it is essential that its various organs should be strengthened and that its work should be intensified in the economic and social sphere. 157. In carrying out this task, which would give greater efficiency and authority to the United Nations, it may perhaps be a good omen that the sixth session of the General Assembly is being held in Paris, the intellectual centre of the world, where from the time of the Middle Ages people from all countries in the world have come to seek inspiration and knowledge at the fountains of its famous and learned Sorbonne and other brilliant centres of civilization, culture and art; in this Paris, the heart of a great, noble and generous nation, which in all ages has radiated light and encouragement to all peoples that have risen against tyranny seeking justice and claiming freedom. This courageous country, France, which we have seen emerge unscathed from the most violent upheavals and the most appalling ordeals known in history, ever surrounded by a halo of light, ever heroic, ever with fresh strength for the struggle, as we see at the present time, reaffirms beyond the shadow of a doubt its claim to the title of “immortal France”. 158. It is well to recall or; occasions such as this that, when the United Nations was established, the intention, in the last analysis, was to give the five great Powers control over the destiny of the world. However, sufficient attention was not perhaps paid to the way in which the small countries would react and to whether or not they would in all cases accept such a system of super-control. Neither, apparently, were any doubts expressed as to whether international law had acquired sufficient force and stability to serve as the basis for that control, or as to whether — and that would appear the most serious consideration of all — the five Powers had become unified to an extent which would enable us to believe that they would in future arrive at their decisions unanimously. 159. This perhaps explains not a few of the difficulties which have stood in the path of the Organization and also why the solution of some of its most pressing problems is sometimes delayed and paralysed. Nevertheless, it does not in any way detract from the value and importance of what the United Nations has done and continues to do in its various spheres of activity to halt aggression, abolish the causes of future wars, and defend and maintain peace and understanding among peoples. 160. Today, following a fateful succession of circumstances, we find ourselves at the crossroads in our fight for peace. We must choose between orderly international co-operation which could maintain harmony and peace, and undisciplined international anarchy which, if unchecked, would inevitably lead us to chaos and ruin. 161. However, we must state that if, at the present time, the world is filled with confusion, anxiety and tension, and if war and rumour of war exist, that is not the fault of the United Nations. Let us speak frankly: it is the fault of nations and governments which have sought solely to derive the greatest benefit from the Organization without rendering sufficient assistance in return, or without even sometimes contributing, to the extent of their capacities and resources, to the maintenance of its authority and to the strengthening of that authority still further. 162. Nevertheless, if ever there was a time when it was necessary to strengthen the United Nations and to enhance its authority, that time is now. The horizon is heavy with dense, dark and threatening clouds. As some heated and intemperate speeches we all have heard in this hall serve to prove, the coming months promise to be critical, especially for the principle of collective security which — and this is no pessimistic forecast — will be sorely tested. 163. We may recall that the League of Nations was born weak and perished through its weakness. The United States of America was not a member. No State had any faith in collective security. A series of well-known events resulting from indecision and a lack of firmness undermined its authority and brought about the end of its existence, lis downfall was tragic and complete. 164. The United Nations came into the world under happier auspices. It is built on the granite-like foundation of the Charter, and the nations subscribing to that instrument have faith in the Organization. They rightly believe that where there is a will there is a way, and that if the will is there, an ideal international community can be established which will provide the best means of abolishing war. 165. But we have to confess that we need more than faith when it comes to dealing with the problems of peoples and governments. For the maintenance of peace, strength must be added to faith. We cannot forget that, if over the centuries man’s ideas have changed, his passions have not, and that it is against his passions that we shall always have to fight. 166. My country, like every small country that builds its hope of survival on the maintenance of peace and on the guarantees for its sovereignty and territorial integrity, is particularly interested in the action being taken here to strengthen the structure of the United Nations and in the effectiveness of the measures that may be adopted the better to achieve its objectives. 167. Some noteworthy steps have already been taken in that direction, such as, in the first place, the welcome response of Members States to the Security Council's; appeal of June 1950 with a view to repelling the aggression in Korea, a response that has enhanced the moral authority of the Organization and brought about greater cohesion between the nations of which it is composed; secondly, the adoption by the General Assembly at its fifth session in November 1950 of various resolutions under the name of “ Uniting for Peace ” [377 (V)], which provide for cases where the General Assembly may adopt such measures as circumstances demand, should the Security Council, for any reason, not be able to discharge its duties in the event of an aggression. 168. These measures and the fruit of our experience indicate that we must at all times preserve unimpaired the authority and prestige of the United Nations, and that in moments of crisis we must take a firm stand and maintain it, however disquieting its consequences. The fear of unpopularity or of causing displeasure must in no circumstances prevent us from adopting and resolutely pursuing a clear and decided line of action. 169. Lack of resolution, fear, doubt or hesitation in taking decisions, a tendency to accept compromises that were at times cowardly, the failure to act boldly or to make a definitive stand when confronted with certain difficult problems — all this, we must remember, was what ruined the League of Nations and brought it to disaster and dissolution. 170. Panama therefore desires the United Nations to be strengthened, but this does not mean that my country believes the Organization to be at present a feeble body, still less a useless one. We do not in any way share the view of the sceptics or of those impatient people who assert that nothing has been or is being done by the United Nations. 171. Of course we have no intention of denying that, as some critics point out, the structure of world peace and security still leaves much to be decided in spite of the six annual sessions which the General Assembly has held, of the numerous meetings of the Security Council, and of the work of the various organs and specialized agencies of the United Nations. Neither do we deny, when many worthy candidates are refused admission to the Organization, that the principle of the universality of the United Nations has been violated and is still being arbitrarily violated. Nor can we deny that so far no regulation of armaments has been achieved and that, as a result, the present armaments race constitutes a constant threat of war. 172. All this cannot and should not be ignored, even although the efforts of the United Nations to promote peaceful relations between all nations are being intensified daily and although much has been done in the economic, social and educational fields, to contribute to the maintenance of peace. In this last respect, in particular, Panama believes that increased international co-operation is required if the material difficulties of the peoples who are today living in poverty and want are to be overcome. 173. In this field we should try to solve our problems, not by the methods sometimes employed in the past, but by the application of ideas and impulses in harmony with the development of the peoples, not by competition but by co-operation, and free from the poisonous influence of rivalry and strife. 174. Indeed, any attempt to maintain peace without at this same time improving the living conditions of peoples would only provide a partial solution with precarious results. If, however, the various United Nations bodies were strengthened so as to be able to deal with aggression wherever it occurs, while at the same time under-developed peoples were given increased economic aid and technical assistance, educational work was promoted and the campaign against want and disease vigorously prosecuted, then we should have created world conditions in which a breach of the peace would be practically impossible. The free world has vast resources at its disposal and these should be mobilized for a crusade against human misery and social injustice in the confident belief that by overcoming these great evils we shall also destroy the real causes of war. 175. Wars do not break out unexpectedly. They have their causes which are generally remote and at times unseen. But these causes are always human causes, and are found in the conditions under which peoples live and work. It is therefore a truism to say that increased activity by the Economic and Social Council and the Trusteeship Council will lighten the task of the Security Council. 176. Panama feels that the programme of assistance to under-developed countries must be expanded and must be accompanied by intensified action by the specialized agencies so as to lead to the establishment of higher standards of living in all parts of the world, to the banishment of unemployment, to the attainment of real social and economic progress, to the winning of greater respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms, and in order to assist the backward peoples to advance towards self-government and towards a position of equality with other peoples. Without these factors, and without the beneficent influence of education, there can be no hope of real and active democracy in any country. 177. We cannot repeat too often that the most serious threats to peace and freedom have their origin in human poverty, in social injustice, in ignorance, superstition and economic backwardness, since it is a fact that when a people is suffering from these serious evils, even though it has political freedom, it becomes disillusioned. It falls an easy prey to disrupting and extremist ideas and becomes a fertile soil for war. And war is not always necessarily armed conflict. War exists when there is not peace, and there is not and cannot be peace when poverty, sickness, anxiety, tears, sorrow and hunger are present. 178. Many parts of the world are in need of economic and social reconstruction and rehabilitation. Many peoples are suffering from the serious wants which have been pointed out and which give rise to tension and conflict. In America, itself, particularly in the centre and the south, there are regions of weakness and peril which are a potential threat to peace. The eyes of the United Nations must be turned towards those regions as well as to other parts of the world. 179. Our twenty Latin-American nations are today at different stages of political evolution, but notwithstanding these differences, which at times represent limitations, it is encouraging to note that progress is everywhere being made towards stable peace and genuine democracy. An effort is being made by every country, including my own, to bring about a continuous improvement in living conditions and to put an end to illiteracy; and in all these countries, as is not always the case in the great nations which are in the forefront of world affairs, there is true equality of race, colour and class. Urbanization, industrialization, immigration, the development of the middle class, the penetration of ideas from abroad by means of the Press and the radio, and the growth of workers’ organizations are eliminating from our midst the last traces of the authoritarian systems of the past. 180. In many cases, however, we need more technical assistance and more economic aid and I have therefore no hesitation in bringing this point up for discussion at this time. The fact that our problems are not always spectacular, like those of Iran, of Greece, of Palestine, of Indonesia, of Korea and now or Kashmir, and like other problems which the United Nations has faced and is continuing to face, does not mean that these problems do not exist. They exist and they merit an attention which they have not so far received. 181. To work to bring about the disappearance from the world of conditions of want and political, social and economic disequilibrium whether in Asia, Africa, Europe or America, is undoubtedly to work for peace. And we must all labour for peace. It is not the task of a few countries only but a collective responsibility. Peace is not something which comes about by itself. It is not a problem which can be rapidly solved. In order to achieve it we require great patience and great faith. We must work without ceasing. We must have recourse to every means. We must maintain constant vigilance. We must make a continuous effort. If not, peace disappears or at least it is not achieved. 182. The Republic of Panama is here today to make its contribution to the work now being undertaken by the sixth session of the General Assembly; it has come here to cooperate in the maintenance of the basic principles of the United Nations and to give its support to everything that will increase the strength and authority of this great Organization, because is convinced that only thus will the Organization be enabled to achieve its aims, which may be summarized as the defence and maintenance of peace. This peace is not, however, peace at any price, and still less a peace which imposes tyranny and turns the free man into a slave, but the only peace of which the Member nations of this Organization can be proud, the only peace which deserves to be maintained and defended, the only peace which can be lasting: peace with honour, peace with justice, peace with freedom.