First of all, may I congratulate you, Mr. President, on the General Assembly's felicitous choice in electing you to preside over our deliberations at the present session; may I also, on behalf of the Government and people of Honduras, congratulate the fifteen African countries and Cyprus on their recent admission to the United Nations family; I should like to wish them every success in their economic and political development, and to express the conviction of my Government and people that their contribution to the solution of the grave problems facing mankind will be of inestimable value.
97. At this beginning of the fifteenth regular session of the General Assembly, the peoples of tire world, torn between anxiety and hope, are looking towards us United Nations representatives who have been entrusted with the task of achieving universal peace, harmony and happiness.
98. Fourteen regular sessions have been held since the authors and signatories of the Charter met in San Francisco to discuss their aims; four emergency special sessions have been held, the Security Council has met 907 times, forty-eight new Members have been admitted, over 5,000 million words have been spoken and two international armies have been organized by the United Nations to watch frontiers and keep order. I could go on to give many more statistics illustrating the virtues and the defects, the successes and the failures of this great world Organization.
99. But, to keep matters in perspective, since we have eighty-six items on our agenda and several dozen statements to hear, my delegation will merely refer briefly to some matters of concern to the Western hemisphere which require urgent solution.
100. There is no doubt that the spread of communism is the major problem confronting the free world. This problem is, however, bound up with that of the low level of living in the Latin American countries and with instances of the infringement and violation of the territorial integrity of one or a number of those countries.
101. Poverty or rather the precarious existence led by peoples and the lack of respect shown for their dignity, integrity and sovereignty are continuing causes of the weakening of the ties which should bind us firmly together without fears, suspicions or reservations.
102. Thus, Honduras, and I think this applies to any other Latin American country, is much more concerned with the spread of communism in our continent than with reaching an agreement on the use of outer space; Honduras is much more concerned that the United States should respect its sovereignty over the Swan Islands than that nuclear tests should be suspended; Honduras is much more concerned with finding an honourable solution to the Cuban problem than with discussions on disarmament, which are never conducted in good faith; Honduras is much more concerned with raising the level of living of its people than with the strident hysteria of the cold war; and, lastly, Honduras is before all and above all concerned with the future of Latin America, which is also its own future.
103. The Swan Islands have been included in Honduran territory since colonial days when Honduras formed part of the Captaincy General of Guatemala; they have, in fact, formed part of Honduran territory throughout the country's history.
104. Article 6 of the constitution of Honduras, in describing the national territory, refers clearly and specifically to the Swan Islands, among many others, as an integral part of its soil or land area.
105. Historically, geographically and legally, the Swan Islands were, are and always will be Honduran territory.
106. Nevertheless, the United States Government, which maintains diplomatic relations with my country, and has thereby recognized the Government and the Republic of Honduras, as they are defined in our constitution, is in de facto occupation of the Swan Islands, quite illegitimately and against the wishes of the Government and people of Honduras.
107. My Government is already taking appropriate measures within the framework of the American system and is ready to use all means recognized by international law to defend the territorial integrity of Honduras and its position as a free, sovereign and independent Republic.
108. A few days ago we were given further evidence of the economic gap separating us from the United States. A candidate for the Presidency of this country accused the United States Government of having "deprived" United States families of an average per caput income of from $7,000 to $10,000 during the last eight years.
109. Now, let us compare this amount, which is not the income of the average person in the United States but only the sum he failed to receive, with our average per caput income, which in many parts of the country is not even $500 per year, and we shall understand why communist teaching finds ready listeners in America. In the light of this humiliating inequality, it is understandable why the Cuban revolution has been popular in the Latin American countries.
110. Until we realize that God has placed us in the same hemisphere to share one another's fate like true brothers; until we understand that the first and last concern of an American must be America; until we strengthen the backbone of the continent; until, with united hearts and wills under our various flags, we devote ourselves loyally to the fulfilment of America's destiny to achieve democracy in the true sense of the term, we shall not have accomplished the great mission history has entrusted to us, but rather we shall have been guilty of self-betrayal.
111. What protection or, rather, what assistance does Latin America need today to prevent its peoples from being tempted to try communism? Promises have been made, and agreements, conventions, treaties and formulas have been signed with a view to finding an answer. Although we have the Declaration of San José,-as well as the Inter-American Treaty of Reciprocal Assistance signed at Rio on 2 September 1947, and the Conferences of Buenos Aires, Santiago de Chile and Caracas and although we have now recently signed the Agreement or Act of Bogotá, the important thing, in our view, is to ensure that this last Agreement does not remain a pious hope but is translated forthwith into assistance for the effective development of the countries forming the backbone of the American continent.
112. President Eisenhower, in outlining his plan for the social development of Latin America, gave as its basic principle the fact that a well-fed man, with a degree of education, owning a piece of land and with a roof over his head, will better defend his way of life and more vigorously resist the blandishments of the Reds than a poor and hungry man living in a hut or hovel in the forest; and that the number of people in the latter category must be reduced and the way cleared for the achievement of the aspirations of the masses to a better life, with the moral and material support of the United States.
113. Thus, in the face of the threat of war, which may not come about because the great Powers are so armed that their very armament is the best guarantee of peace, or in the face of any other threat, America's fundamental task involves two courses of action- closing the ranks of truth against communist infiltration and simultaneously strengthening the economies of the under-developed countries of the continent.
114. If democracy Is not allowed in communist countries either in the form of a political party or as a theory or doctrine, communism, by the same token, should not be allowed in a democracy either as a political party, as a doctrine, or under any other guise. If to deny existence to any form of communism in the democratic countries is to be undemocratic, if this is to commit a crime against the very essence of democracy, then I am in favour of such crime.
115. Our only possible course Is to rise together in protest and propose a united, effective front to check the spread of communism, which is trying to undermine the entire foundation of our way of life.
116. And, lastly, the United States must surely revise its policy with regard to the Latin American countries and treat their dignity, integrity and sovereignty with respect, so that the level of living of these peoples will not remain so low that they may be tempted by the constant appeals of communism.
117. Democracy is a sacred course, and if we are to live and die for it, it is imperative that it should be both sacred and indivisible in practice, that it should be both political democracy and economic democracy.