It is a source of great satisfaction to have an opportunity of taking part in the deliberations of the General Assembly. It is the more gratifying because there are many and unique factors adding to the gravity of this session.
111. First, at this particular session participation in the work of the United Nations has achieved world scope to a degree never achieved before. Thirteen new African States, as well as Cyprus, have joined the family of nations. They were enabled to do so after the peoples of those countries had struggled for their political independence and had made great sacrifices to achieve it.
112. Secondly, at the same time as the scope of the United Nations has been enlarged to this extent, we feel that there are great dangers which threaten the very foundation on which the United Nations has been built. This makes It an imperative duty for all those who have joined the Organization and who believe in the principles of the Charter to rally together now for its defence, since the Organization is the primary means through which the community of nations can pursue its peaceful development and achieve its high ideals.
113. Thirdly, the fifteenth session of the General Assembly opens at a time when international tension has increased on an unprecedented scale and the cold war has reached a climax unknown since the end of the Second World War, bringing with it a serious threat to mankind and to human culture accumulated throughout the ages.
114. All that makes the work of safeguarding peace and establishing its solid foundations not only a vital necessity but, equally, a moral duty.
115. Thus, it is a source of great happiness for me to add my voice to. the voices which have preceded me in congratulating the States that have joined the body of the United Nations, and to extend a hearty welcome to our colleagues in freedom, to our partners in the defence of peace, to our associates in the responsibility for world progress. If I were to add anything to this hearty welcome and to these congratulations, it would be to stress the hope that larger participation in the international Organization may be realized so that its doors may lie open without discrimination or fanaticism, without hindrances or obstacles, and so that this world rostrum may become the real echo of the aspirations of the peoples and an accurate balance for their sense of their responsibilities as members of the community of nations.
116. That is why I take this opportunity of reiterating once again the desire of the United Arab Republic that the doors of the United Nations should be open to the People’s Republic of China. Our people cannot, in fact, imagine or conceive that this door should remain closed to a quarter of the inhabitants of our globe. We firmly believe that, if the widening of the membership of the United Nations is an important matter, it is equally important to work for safeguarding the basis on which the United Nations has been built. The United Nations on which we have pinned our hopes and our faith is not these grand, magnificent halls in which we sit, it is the principles and provisions of the Charter of the United Nations that have brought us all together here.
117. Allow me, then, to raise this delicate question with the utmost frankness. I do so because I believe that the future of the United Nations in its entirety, and consequently the future of the peaceful development of mankind, faces at this particular hour a grave test. The United Nations is now at the crossroads and it is incumbent upon us, as we face history and the future, to know precisely where we stand so that we are not led astray.
118. Before attacking the heart of the matter, however, I wish, in confirmation of the faith that our people have in the principles of the United Nations, to declare the following now before all of you.
119. There is no problem which concerns our homeland, the United Arab Republic, or which concerns our nation, the Arab nation, or which relates to the two continents, Asia and Africa, through which the frontiers of our country extend, or which relates to any of the world problems — I say that there is no such problem for whose solution we are not ready to accept the Charter of the United Nations and its principles, the resolutions of the United Nations and its recommendations for a just settlement, with the best of good will. From this hope in the United Nations, from this unrestricted readiness to co-operate within its framework, we derive our absolute right fearlessly to confront the circumstances that have lately surrounded the work of the United Nations. We are inspired with zeal to this end and with the greatest concern for its good,
120. Four years ago the African continent witnessed the end of one era of colonialism, and today it is witnessing a new form of imperialism. The aggression on Suez was the end of unmasked imperialism and its graveyard. Today we find the Congo presenting us with masked imperialism, which does not shrink from exploiting the United Nations itself in order to realize its hidden designs and aims. The real meaning of Suez to liberation movements in Asia and Africa was that an era had gone forever, an era in which imperialist forces were able to possess and mobilize armies and launch fleets to strike deadly blows at the liberation movements. The Suez war has proved that the victim of aggression has its own armies and that freedom has its supporters everywhere in the world. You yourselves, in this very hall, are between the arms of freedom and among its supporters. It is due to you and to your efforts, embodying the highest human hopes in freedom, that our people were able to withstand aggression. As a result, the imperialist tide withdrew from our shores and was defeated. Its defeat marked the end of armed ambitions, after which it was necessary for imperialism to look for other means to achieve its aims. Thus, after Suez we witnessed what may be called the period of "imperialist vacillation". It was a period in which imperialism stood perplexed in the midst of its designs and ambitions, and the strongholds of freedom — the various liberation movements — were able to strengthen themselves. Thus we witnessed imperialism hesitating between aggression and retreat. Its ambitions summoned it to strike and strike boldly; the realities of life told it to refrain.
121. This period of imperialist hesitation was most clearly apparent during the revolt of the people of Iraq. When this, glorious people rose to liberate their homeland from foreign influence, we saw imperialism, seething in anger, mass its armies and organize its fleets. When the second hour struck, following the first hour of anger, we saw imperialism awake to the realities, find itself uncertain, not knowing what to do with the armies that were gathered and the fleets that had been sent across oceans.
122. When the recent events in the Congo unfolded, they showed us how imperialism had tried to benefit from the lesson of Suez by finding for itself an answer to its uncertainties. Thus we saw the tide of Belgian imperialism in the Congo fail to meet with force the African wave of liberation; on the contrary, we saw Belgian imperialism confront this liberation movement not with hesitation but with a quick withdrawal — or, rather, an outward show of a quick withdrawal.
123. In reality, this apparent imperialist retreat was not that retreat represented the real design, but — as was proved later by events — that it was a manoeuvre to strike at freedom, and to strike at it from behind. Imperialism thought that the surge of freedom was but an emotional eruption, which sooner or later was bound to consummate itself, become exhausted and die away.
124. The trial which the courageous people of the Congo faced — a people whose struggle we uphold and support — was to prove to imperialism that, if freedom with its arms and friends is able to defend itself against armed aggression as was the case in Suez, freedom has also its thought, awakening and self-consciousness by which it is able to pierce the mask of imperialism and destroy the veils behind which it tries to hide.
125. However, the greater danger that confronts the people of the Congo, a danger which we ourselves share, is that imperialism is trying to use the United Nations as a mask to conceal its designs. This imperialist manoeuvre today has two victims: the people of the Congo and the United Nations. It is for the sake of both, who face the same danger, that we call on all who believe in freedom and in the United Nations as the foremost way to the development of human society to stand together in their defence.
126. The United Nations went to the Congo invited by the legitimate Government of the Congo, which was born the same day of independence and was, so to Speak, its fruition, entrusted with the realization of two aims — to safeguard the independence of the Congo and to preserve its national unity. The first necessitated the withdrawal of imperialist armies, the second imposed the necessity of removing the artificial barriers whereby imperialism and its agents sought to disrupt the country’s unity and divide its people.
127. What happened? Where is the independence of the Congo? The answer is that imperialism with its armies and armaments is still in parts of the Congo. Let us inquire: where is the national unity? The answer is — an appalling paradox — that the legitimate national government of the Congo is unable to function, while the dissident group, manipulated by imperialism, alone has a free hand in Katanga. It is a situation which is dangerously deteriorating, but the greatest danger is that all this happened while the flag of the United Nations was flying over the Congo. How did it happen? Who is responsible for it? These are questions to which we have the right — nay, the duty — to answer, not for the sake of the Congo people alone, but also and equally for the sake of the United Nations and the honour of its flag.
128. After that, this one last question remains to be answered: how to face the situation. The answer, in the opinion of the United Arab Republic, is that matters should be restored to what they were. Rectification of the error necessitates that we should re-establish the situation as it was. If it occurs to any one of us that the way back is hard to take and that the "fait accompli” is now the true basis for rectifying the whole situation, I shall permit myself, because of our own experience and the sufferings in our part of the world, to raise my voice in warning and admonition. To condone a mistake will most assuredly engender a series of mistakes, the sheds of error which, if left to take root — no matter how small — time will not cover with oblivion. The seeds will grow bigger and bigger as the days go by. The passing of a year will add to their ramifications and complexity.
129. In our part of the world, the-Arab East, the United Nations has forgotten its Charter and disregarded Its responsibilities towards the rights of the people of Palestine.
130. Have the days and the years led to a solution of the problem? Have the people of Palestine forgotten all about their country, their land and their homes? Bid the Arab nation forget the tragedy of the Arab people of Palestine, against whom imperialism conspired — with a mandate from the League of Nations — taking upon itself to promise to certain groups a country belonging to another people? Since when have the motherlands of peoples been the property of the imperialist, to dispose of arbitrarily and to give to others?
131. Imperialism has its own logic. The logic of imperialism, as manifested in its crime against the people of Palestine, has been to break the geographical unity of the Arab world, on the one hand, and, on the other, to create for itself in the very heart of the Arab world a base from which to threaten the Arab peoples. I believe no stronger proof of this could be given than the conspiracy which led to the tripartite aggression against us in 1956.
132. Have the peoples of the Arab nation accepted the geographic division imposed on them by imperialism?
133. A phenomenon worthy of reflection is that the drive of Arab unity has extracted its great power from this aggression; in fact, we find that in its footsteps came the birth of the United Arab Republic.
134. Have the people of Palestine accepted the loss of their motherland? Did the Arab nation accept that loss? It is certain that the determination of the Arab peoples to restore the Arab rights in Palestine has since this aggression become one of the major driving forces in the Arab East.
135. But, now, what is the solution? The only solution to Palestine, just as it is the only solution to the Congo, is that matters should be restored to normalcy and should return to the condition prevailing before the error was committed. In the Congo, matters should return to the situation prevalent when the legitimate government in Leopoldville requested the help of the United Nations and when the United Nations accepted this request with the object of safeguarding Congolese unity. As for Palestine, the United Nations has to bear its responsibilities towards Palestine and the Arab people. These things are basic to people who have faced a tragedy unknown in history.
136. This is the only solution to the problem of the Arab refugees from. Palestine. The United Nations here knows enough about the desperate condition of the refugees to sketch a sad picture of the darkness that surrounds one million human beings ousted from their motherland and their homes and robbed of all their possessions — or, rather, robbed of their very lives.
137. We do not intend to solicit pity for the Arab refugees of Palestine, but we demand the restoration of the full rights of the people of Palestine. We do not ask for pity for these people.
138. Justification based on acceptance of the “fait accompli” is sinful and harmful to principles; should we accept such a pretext, we would have no right to pursue the thief to recover from him what he has stolen and to make him pay for his crime in accordance with law, for, once committed, his theft would become a "fait accompli”. The "fait accompli” which is not based on justice and the rule of law is a perversion which society must remedy.
139. One of the extremely important matters is that the United Nations should not forget itself. It should not forget its Charter and it should not forget its resolutions. Otherwise, we would be encouraging those who tried to disregard the United Nations and ignore its existence.
140. We have before us the shocking and flagrant example of ignoring the United Nations in the policy of France towards Algeria. The French Government has hampered every attempt by the United Nations aiming at putting a stop to the imperialist slaughtering in Algeria. This Government imagined that with its guns it could change the will of God which made of Algeria part of the African Continent, and made of its people part of the Arab nation. Yet France tries to make of the land of Algeria a geographic extension of France, and of its people an enslaved, dependent people.
141. Despite all the endeavours of the free Algerian Government-which expresses the determination of the Algerian people and which symbolizes independence for its free people — despite all the endeavours of the Algerian Government to reach a peaceful solution, all these attempts have not reached a positive result.
142. In fact, it so happened, at the beginning of 1956, that the Foreign Minister of France passed then through Cairo, and our talk, of course, was on the war in Algeria; the war at that time was less than a year old. The French Government asked me through its Foreign Minister to mediate for a peaceful solution. My answer was that I was ready to mediate to safeguard the rights and avoid bloodshed. Nothing is dearer to us than to reach an honourable peace guaranteeing to everyone the rights due to him.
143. At the time, the French Government expressed the wish of sending a mission to Cairo to negotiate with the leaders of the Algerian Resistance. I invited those leaders to meet in Cairo to meet with the French mission on its arrival, hoping the attempt might lead to a glimpse of hope. Unfortunately, the French mission did arrive in Cairo, met the Algerian mission, and then flew back to France to consult with its Government. The Algerian mission waited in Cairo, but the French mission never returned until this very moment. What is more regrettable is that the French Government was awaiting an opportunity, until it succeeded in intercepting a civil aircraft flying over the sea, among whose passengers were those leaders, and in forcing it to land at one of the airports under French control, where those leaders were arrested.
144. If this wish for peace based on justice on the Arab Algerian side, or, rather, on the Arab side, had met with the good will it deserved, this bitter war would not have gone on for four more years. It is really deplorable that the French Government persisted in setting up concentration camps and resorted to all sorts of brutal torture against the free men and women of the Algerian people, in a manner which aroused the human conscience all over the world, including France itself.
145. It is painful that the Algerian Government mission, when it went recently to Melun in France with the hope of negotiating a solution, met only with rude treatment and an attempt to impose conditions. But the mission of the free Algerian Government did not go to Melun to surrender. It went for peace.
146. There is no doubt that the war going on in Algeria today, and for which the Algerian people have willingly offered the lives of one million of their sons up to now, cannot but end with the triumph of liberty
147. Today the United Nations should perform its duty. I do not think that we would be exaggerating in our demand if we now pressed for the right of the Algerian people to self-determination based on a plebiscite carried out under the supervision and protection of the United Nations.
148. In all that and in other matters, particularly in the deplorable problem of racial discrimination and in the struggle of the Arab people in Oman and in the protectorates in southern Arabia the United Nations must recall its existence, so that it may impose itself as the only concept of peace based on justice.
149. Here I wish to make two observations concerning certain aspects of the existence of the United Nations.
150. The first is that we sometimes feel that there is an attempt on the part of some big Powers to look upon the United Nations as a tool they can use in the cold war. Should our feeling be justified, such a way of looking at the United Nations is an illusion that will be, and ought to be, discarded. The United Nations exists for us all, and by us all. It is not for one country or another; it is not for one bloc against another; it is not for one camp at the expense of another. Its voice should always be on the side of truth, because truth is freedom, and freedom is the road to peace. This is one observation.
151. The other observation relates to the atmosphere which surrounds some of the countries' delegations to the present session of the United Nations General Assembly. Some of the delegations that came here -and, since our delegation was not one of them, we feel free to make a remark without any embarrassment- have not met with the spirit of understanding and tolerance which, in our consideration, should have been extended to them. We believe that the United Nations is fortunate to be here enjoying the hospitality of the great American people, but we believe equally that it is an honour for the American people to be host to the United Nations.
152. I felt it my duty to say all I have said of the United Nations, of its Charter, of its activities and of the circumstances surrounding the Organization, not with the purpose of criticizing or embarrassing anyone, but out of concern for the United Nations and its Charter and because of the full faith which we place in it, we who lived with the United Nations throughout its most glorious days during our struggle and fight against imperialism, we who consider the co-operation extended to us by the United Nations during the difficult conditions through which our fatherland passed to be one of the brightest hopes for the future of the international community, we who have witnessed the United Nations record in our country its greatest triumph for its principles and Charter, we who in our country have seen the existence of the United Nations emerge as a reality above imperialist ambitions and the interests of the big Powers.
153. I now pass on to the third reason for the importance we attach to the fifteenth session of the General Assembly, namely, the aggravation of world tension and of the cold war to an extent unparalleled since the end of the Second World War. Our most cherished hope is that this fifteenth session should go down in history as the session of peace. This does not mean that we believe that the major problems which confront our world today, complicated and deep rooted as they are, can be easily solved at meetings held or through discussions conducted within the short period of time devoted to this session of the General Assembly. All we desire — and we would be completely satisfied if we, in co-operation with others, succeeded in achieving it — is the creation of a more favourable atmosphere, and this would be a preliminary step in seeking solutions to the problems now facing us. This would be the first step for the creation of an atmosphere where reason rather than emotion and the requirements of the future rather than the remnants and complexes of the past should prevail.
154. You all know that the United Arab Republic believes in the policy of non-alignment and adheres to it as a strict yardstick. I hardly need to repeat the story of the sacrifices made by our Arab nation to hold to the policy of non-alignment, animated by our conviction that it ensures its independence on the one hand, and is conducive to the preservation of lasting peace on the other.
155. In spite of all pressure, we refused to become tools in the cold war. We also spared no efforts to explain underlying principles of that policy, namely that peace cannot prevail while the world is divided up into antagonistic parts or blocs with no link between them but trenches and barbed wire behind which lie the weapons of aggression and the arms of death and destruction. This policy is based on the belief that peace prevails only when there is more understanding among peoples and when fruitful contacts and creative interrelationship exist on the largest scale possible. The Bandung Conference of African-Asian peoples is one of the greatest landmarks on the road of our national struggle in defence of our principles.
156. This very hall has also witnessed the peak of our readiness to defend these principles, when the Arab nation stood to repel the armed aggression against Egypt in the months of October and November 1956. What honoured our struggle and added to its significance was the support to our cause manifested by the civilized international community represented by the General Assembly and its stand with us against aggression.
157. Such is our belief in the policy of non-alignment as the road to peace and positive struggle to maintain it. With this faith in justice as the basis of peace, the United Arab Republic comes to this session and participates in its activities with all its energy and potentialities.
158. I hereby declare before you, in the name of the United Arab Republic and in expression of its thoughts and conscience, that we believe that the problem of peace and war should be shared by all peoples inasmuch as it determines their future and destiny. The big Powers do not alone have the right to speak about peace and war; it is mankind as a whole that has the final word, having obtained this right through the sacrifices of its different peoples for the sake of civilization and the promotion of its development, and its long yearning for security.
159. Thus, when peace is at stake, we do take sides; ours is the side of peace. If we have any qualification to attach to this definite position against war, it is that the peace we aspire to is that based on justice without discrimination.
160. With this faith deep in our conscience and with this aim in sight we come to this session confident that within the United Nations effective efforts by all of us should be made for the cause of peace. While we believe that every effort should be made for the sake of peace, wherever it maybe, it is our conviction that the possibilities of success are much stronger within the United Nations than without it. For that reason we gave our support to the Summit Conference which was scheduled to open in Paris on 18 May, and for that reason we sincerely hoped that the Conference would meet all, or at least part, of our expectations.
161. Though we believe that the era when the big Powers alone had the power to shape the future is gone, this had not weakened the importance we attached to the Paris conference or lessened our anticipation of the hopes vested in it. For, in the problem of peace, any effort, whatever its source and whatever its form, provides hope. When the Paris conference came to its regrettable ending, as a result of what preceded it and of prevailing circumstances, we believed that we should not allow our hopes for peace to be destroyed. In fact, we saw in this blow a new urge to mobilize all energies for wider and more extended efforts. The world had no other alternative, and mankind was left to doubts and fears, lurking and spying — a situation in which our world is driven without any guiding light.
162. We had hoped that the United Nations would furnish the field and the scope for these efforts, for we believe that the common destiny of the world, should war break out, imposes, the duty of wider participation in bearing the responsibility for the maintenance of peace. No system can provide a wider participation than this Organization, which represents in its essence the personification of the peoples’ desire for peace, as well as the framework which all free peoples have accepted to govern this desire. Yet, the necessity of facing the situation sincerely makes it imperative for us to define clearly that the share of each of us in shouldering the responsibility has to be determined by its power and capacity. Thus, the big Powers carry a greater share of responsibility within their material possibilities than other nations, although we are all equal in moral responsibility. If we all hold an equal share of the hope for peace, the big Powers hold the major keys to this hope.
163. Hops alone cannot, however, ease world tension; it cannot eliminate doubts and fears; it cannot remove lurking military bases and it cannot drown in the ocean the nuclear weapons of destruction piled up in the stores or the atomic warheads of the intercontinental missiles. If the peace-loving peoples can be the echo of the conscience of our world, the big Powers may be considered as the nerves of this world, and on the soundness of these nerves depends the safety of the entire universe.
164. We cannot imagine that cur position here consists of our attachment to hope alone, but — and I do believe that in this I do not speak for the United Arab Republic alone — I convey to you also what we understood and felt during the important meetings of the African and Asian peoples and the conferences they held at Bandung, Delhi, Cairo, Accra and Conakry, in which the peopled of those two great continents reaffirmed their hope in peace and readiness to work in the service of its cause to the greatest possible extent.
165. On this basis, we consider that there are two practical problems facing our world today, and it is there that we can find the real explanation of the events which are taking place around us. The first problem is that of disarmament. The second is the strong drive towards freedom, whether from the political point of view or from the equally important economic point of view.
166. Regarding the question of disarmament, we find that there is a preparatory stage which is unavoidable before we come to the details of the problem and the solutions thereof. This necessitates the existence, not only of the desire to solve the problem, but of the actual will to act for its solution. This will cannot be achieved before eliminating the features of the sudden tension which affected the world events after the collapse of the Paris conference.
167. We are of the opinion that non-aligned countries have a big role to play on this stage. We believe that the extension of the scope of consultation and contacts is in itself a positive contribution to facing the prevailing strain and tension.
168. We are also of the opinion that holding such consultations and contacts within the framework of the United Nations is an attempt to assure that none of us would trace for himself a path separate from the international group. Yet we reiterate that facing the problem within the framework of the United Nations does not absolve the large nations from their great share of the responsibility; for the problem of disarmament is connected with highly complex, scientific and technical considerations.
169. The big Powers, whose potentialities enabled them to achieve scientific and technical supremacy, which in its turn enabled them to produce nuclear weapons, are more able than others to find the effective means of removing the danger that threatens the world and, thanks to these potentialities, to shift the nuclear energy from the field of destruction to the peaceful sphere, where it becomes a driving power for progress towards unlimited horizons, where God has revealed to us the secrets of the universe.
170. Thus, on our part, we — the non-aligned nations — are entitled to make the call for peace. We can bridge the gap separating the distant parts with a view to achieving peaceful coexistence among the nations of different social beliefs, and we can contribute to the creation of the atmosphere that helps ease the tension and brings tranquillity to the peoples of the world. Subsequently, we cannot hesitate to participate in laying down general rules which can lead us to fruitful results. We cannot help calling for the removal of military bases. We cannot help demanding that an end be put to the nuclear weapons tests and that the big Powers get rid of the huge piles of nuclear weapons stored in their storage areas. We cannot help urging the establishment of a system of controls conducive to tranquillity and security. We cannot help calling for a continuous reduction of the armaments budgets. Then there remains the duty of the big Powers to seek the technical and practical solutions to the problems emanating from the scientific supremacy — a duty that must be performed here at the United Nations.
171. There is no doubt that in the presence of this large number of Heads of State and world leaders now assembled in this hall lies an opportunity which is difficult to repeat, an opportunity for the sake of peace. I do not think our peoples would ever forgive us if we allowed this opportunity to pass without mobilizing our thoughts and our energies in a way that ensures benefits from it.
172. You have heard here the words of Mr. Dwight D. Eisenhower, President of the United States of America, who said that his country was ready to enter into negotiations for disarmament. You have also heard the same words by Mr. Nikita Khrushchev, Premier of the Soviet Union. I wonder why, after those two leaders whom our peoples hold in high respect and esteem have expressed this desire, we are waiting to ask them immediately to embark without delay on what they have put before the General Assembly. We therefore suggest that the General Assembly recommend that the two great leaders should, under the standard of the United Nations, meet either by themselves or with whoever may be selected among those who are present here in order for them all to set up, under the aegis of the United Nations, guiding rules fora new attempt toward disarmament.
173. There remains then the problem of the great drive towards freedom, particularly economic independence. We see, and you can see with us, those free and glorious drives going on in Africa, in Asia and in Latin America.
174. We have but to observe this encouraging increase in the number of States Members of the United Nations. While only forty-eight nations participated in the first session of the General Assembly, we find almost a hundred nations represented here today. We do not doubt, as we see the remnants of imperialism retreating everywhere before the march of the peoples looking forward to liberty, that the scope of the United Nations will increase and strengthen and that the next few years will bring with them new flags representing new victories in the sphere of political freedom. We can, however, observe from now that this great expected development will not completely solve the problem of the drive for freedom; we might even say that, if the matter is not dealt with in a spirit of conscious appreciation, the problem of the drive for freedom will grow in dimension as a result of the struggle behind it .and of the pull and clash of forces latent in it.
175. Those peoples who have obtained their political freedom or who expect to gain it in the near future look forward to economic independence and are preparing to fight for it. These newly independent nations are firmly convinced that, if they do not obtain their economic independence, they will not find the sound basis upon which they can preserve their political freedom. Much of what goes on in Africa, Asia and Latin America today — the acute aspects of which may astonish many of us here — constitutes in fact some features of that drive towards economic liberation. The newly independent peoples are convinced that true freedom lies in reaching a higher standard of living for their sons. The newly independent peoples — and this I must state here frankly — are hastening their steps along the road to economic development, and they feel that they cannot afford to waste any time after a long period of lagging behind.
176. Some may believe that haste leads to error. Yet, if we admitted this, we should be making a greater error — we should be overlooking the nature of circumstances. The nature of the circumstances in which we live today makes a long wait unbearable. Scientific progress is probably the first aspect of the present circumstances. Any farmer in our country, from the extreme south in Aswan to the extreme north in Kamechlieh, for example, may, by means of radio and the Press, observe the high standard of living of the ordinary United States citizen, or he may observe the magnificent achievements performed by the people of the Soviet Union. If this farmer should compare his condition with that of others, he would feel a surge in his breast urging him to raise his standard of living to the level enjoyed by others. Our peoples maybe told that patience is necessary and that other nations had to have it, but allow me to state here that any generation’s capacity to endure patience is measured according to the circumstances of that generation, and not according to the circumstances of others. Those who had the patience to endure crossing the sea in small boats directed by the winds differed completely from those who are able to cross it now in a few hours by jet aircraft.
177. These are not. mere words. This is a true picture of our times. Our people felt that they had missed the era of steam and the era of electricity, and they feel that they are almost missing the era of atomic energy with all its unlimited potentialities. Hence the people's determination to achieve their economic independence; hence their resolute drive in the fields of agricultural and industrial development and of social equality. If we find that the United Nations has a big role to play in promoting this development, we must declare in all honesty that nations looking forward to economic independence will not wait. They will accept every assistance given to them through the United Nations, and they will not. hesitate to accept any unconditional aid offered to them outside the United Nations. They will set forth on every step which they can take. They will eliminate with determination every barrier that stands between them and their aim, while they will be grateful for every assistance which brings them nearer to their goal. They believe sincerely that in a closer approach to their aim lies their road, as well as other people’s road, to peace.
178. In this resolute, historic drive will be found a true interpretation of the striking movements in Africa, Asia and Latin America; and it is in the light of this alone that the real meaning appears of the revolutions which break out in the various countries on these continents. This is the explanation of the revolution towards large-scale industrialization. This is the true explanation of the revolution against the social injustices inherited by our peoples from the age of feudalism. This is the explanation of the revolution against the policy of spheres of influence. This is the explanation of the revolution against the attempts at imperialist exploitation and monopoly and attempts at arbitrary control over the prices of raw material, which aim at hampering the development of the countries producing those materials and keeping them as mere storage areas in a manner inconsistent with the practice of the farmers, and offering a price amounting to no more than a small percentage of the loans and aid offered to them.
179. We do hope that the United Nations will be able to fulfil the mission of advancing economic independence side by side with political freedom. We conceive of disarmament as a far-reaching revolution in this field if the budgets which are marked for armaments, or fractions of them, are directed towards the industrial and agricultural development of the countries which are eager to achieve their economic independence.
180. I hope equally that we may become aware of the fact that here there is no such thing as tinder- developed peoples and advanced nations. Bather there are peoples who have had the chance to learn and others who have been denied this opportunity by force and oppression; peoples who took the test and reacted to it, and peoples who were denied the chance to test their capacities or discover their potentialities and to withstand the trial of life.
181. We used to be told that we had no right to demand the restoration of the Suez Canal from all aspects- because, they said, the administration of the Canal was a most complicated problem, and because our men, whatever their standard of education and technical knowledge, would not be able to shoulder the responsibilities of administering the Suez Canal before a period of fifty years had elapsed.
182. Now you all know that the Suez Canal under Arab administration performs its role in the, service of world economy more ably and efficiently than was the case before its restoration to the people who dug it as a waterway for the advancement and prosperity, of the world. We faced the test of our development and reacted to it. We have proved that, in spite of all the difficulties we faced and in spite of what we had to face through trial and error, the average yearly revenue of the individual in the Egyptian region of the United Arab Republic has increased by 70 per cent in the course of seven years following the achievement of our freedom.
183. I have endeavoured not to allow our preoccupation with our own problems to divert our attention from the grave international problems. If I have referred to some of our problems without embarking on the details, it is because I tried to confine my approach to the general aspect that relates those causes to peace and to the United Nations. It is obvious, however, that we believe that serving peace in its world context is in fact serving our own cause.
184. We believe also that the supremacy of the United Nations means the supremacy of principles and the triumph of law and justice over the dreams of conquest and domination. We believe that the spirit of peace based on justice provides the most favourable atmosphere for our country to promote its development and for paving the way for the fulfilment of its hopes for rebuilding our society on a new basis. You all know that a national revolutionary current sweeps our country today; or, in fact, our country, the United Arab Republic, is living three revolutions running side by side.
185. First, a political revolution made itself felt in resisting imperialism in its various stages, from the time it was overt in the shape of occupying forces till the days when it hid itself behind military pacts, in which we saw nothing but an attempt at subjugating us to the policy of zones of influence.
186. Second, a social revolution manifests itself in resisting feudalism and monopoly. In its devoted task for increased production with a view to raising the standard of living and affording equal opportunities to all citizens — in compliance with the implementation of which a ten-year plan to double the national income has starred in both regions of the United Arab Republic — this revolution is but an aspect of the unwavering effort and the determination of our people to build their country.
187. Third, an Arab revolution found expression in resisting artificial dissension and the material and moral obstacles set up by those who tried to rule our country by the well known Machiavellian method of “divide and rule”. We declare that we believe in the unity of our nation. The Arab nation was always characterized by the unity of language, and the unity of language is the unity of thought. The Arab nation was always characterized by the unity of history, and the unity of history is the unity of conscience. We cannot find another basis of nationalism stronger and more stable than this. It is not by pure hazard that the Arab nations which obtained their independence stipulated in the post-independence constitution that their “people are part of the Arab nation”. Moreover, it is not merely an emotional reaction that the Arab peoples sincerely believe that any aggression against one of them is an aggression against them all; and that there was no trial that faced the Arab nation without its becoming one strong front to meet it. The birth of the United Arab Republic is the biggest symbol of the faith of the Arab peoples in Arab nationalism and in Arab unity.
188. We believe that conscious development which is based on the call for peace and which relies on setting examples through creative and positive work is our path to this unity, in which we have faith.
189. If what you have heard in the echo of events in our part of the world has caused you to wonder, may I take this opportunity to declare here before you that that echo emanates not from the flowing tide of Arab nationalism but from those who oppose this tide or try to change its course. It is the noise of the artificial barriers as they are being destroyed. It is the sound of illusory borders imposed by imperialism as they collapse. It is the voice of the remnants of reaction, feudalism and exploitation as they try in their desperate retreat to check the resolute development. What we and you hear is the voice of history charting its course and remedying the errors committed against logic, nature, and truth.
190. These are the three revolutions of our nation. In fact they all make up one revolution which aspires to freedom in all its forms, political, social and national, and considers its attainment a high ideal worthy of all sacrifices.
191. The time has come for me to leave this rostrum and to give to others among my colleagues the chance to participate in the discussion of the problems facing us today with a view to reaching solutions to them.
192. If I may propose solutions to the problems facing us, the, best I can do is to tell you the thoughts we had at the Bandung Conference. In April 1955, twenty-nine African-Asian States met at Bandung and discussed the world problems of the time. It is regrettable that they happen to be the same problems still facing us today after five years, with some differences in detail. Regarding the general basic rules that should govern the development of our peaceful society, the Conference declared, two important principles: full support of the fundamental principles of human rights, as set forth in the Charter of the United Nations and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, foremost among which is the right to self-determination; full equality among peoples of all races and colour, considering that racial discrimination is a denial of the fundamental values of civilization and a disregard of the dignity of man.
193. With: regard to colonial problems the Conference declared four steps that should be taken: first, that colonialism in all its manifestations is an evil which should speedily be brought to an end; second, that the subjection of peoples to alien domination and foreign exploitation constitutes a denial of fundamental human, rights, is contrary to the Charter of the United Nations and is an impediment to the promotion of world peace and co-operation; third, that it was necessary to give full support to the causes of freedom and independence for all such peoples; fourth, that it was necessary to call upon the Powers, concerned to grant freedom and independence to all such peoples.
194. Regarding world peace and its consolidation, the Conference declared two outstanding principles for achieving peace: first, that membership In the United Nations should be open to all States; and second, the necessity for disarmament and the prohibition of the production and testing of nuclear and thermonuclear weapons.
195. Regarding the promotion of world peace and cooperation, the Conference adopted the following three principles: first, that the problem of peace is the problem of international security, and that the best way of facing it is through the United Nations; second, that there is an urgent necessity for promoting social development and raising the standards of living, particularly as regards Asia and Africa; the direction of nuclear energy for peaceful purposes can solve the problem of development and progress in the countries that look forward to them; third, that the establishment of peace and freedom from mistrust and fear calls upon nations to practise tolerance and to live together in peace.
196. To define the framework of this peaceful coexistence, the Conference laid down a draft of the moral rules that can govern the relations among States. These principles and rules to which I have referred were approved by twenty-nine States Members of the United Nations which participated in the activities of the Bandung Conference. We believe that these principles have gained much wider support and can be the basis for humanity's progress towards peace, freedom and prosperity for all mankind, without discrimination as to race, colour, country or religion. The real significance of these principles does not lie in the military might of those who have adopted them, nor in the atomic weapons they possess; these principles are inspired rather by their experience alone and their hopes for themselves and for others.
197. The General Assembly should adopt these principles and rules as an expression of the unanimous will of all the peoples of the world. Five years have elapsed since the time of the Bandung Conference and its principles need to be sanctioned by the United Nations. The time has come when the aspirations and rights of the peoples should move from the world of theory to the world of reality. All the struggling nations today are ready for freedom; they are ready to shoulder their responsibilities and they are ready to cooperate on the largest possible scale with a view to consolidating this freedom.
198.What increases the burden of our responsibilities here is the fact that the situation we are facing is dangerous, the problems that surround it are complex and the atmosphere in which we live is one of doubts, fears and suspense. A miscalculation by any party can in minutes destroy the greatest and most beautiful achievements of mankind throughout its long and glorious struggle.