Permit me first to reaffirm from this high rostrum the special significance which the Romanian people and their Government attach to the United Nations as the Organization whose principal aim is to ensure the development of multilateral co-operation among peoples and States, to save mankind, from the calamities of war and constantly to consolidate peace,
2. The debates in the General Assembly, from the very beginning of "the present session, have aroused a wide echo all over the world. The reason is, first of all, that the present session is, called upon to discuss the burning issues, of international life, the solution of which may have a profound impact on the whole evolution of the contemporary world. I have in mind chiefly the question of the abolition of the colonial system and the achievement of general and complete disarmament.
3. Another factor that underscores the special significance of this session is the participation in its work of a number of Heads of States and Governments. This participation is inspired by a sense of high responsibility for the fate of humanity and for the prospects of peace and good understanding among peoples. The valuable initiative taken to this end by the Head of the Soviet Government enjoyed a wide response despite the reservations which it encountered on the part of some Governments.
4. I venture to express the hope that favourable conditions have thus been created for a thorough consideration of the main questions on the agenda and for their actual solution.
5. The beginning of the session was highlighted by an act of great significance: the admission among us of the new African States and the Republic of Cyprus which recently won their independence. On behalf of the Romanian people and Government, I wholeheartedly welcome the new independent States, and I express to them our deep sentiments of solidarity with the just struggle of peoples for freedom and national independence. The emergence of new States and the forward movement which it generates is one of the affluents of the large and powerful stream of social forces that determines in our days the direction of historical development.
6. The increase in membership brings the United Nations closer to the day when it will become a truly universal organization and contributes to the strengthening of its authority and effectiveness. The uneasiness generated in the West by the increase in the number of African States in the United Nations reflects the state of mind of that group of States which are afraid of losing their dominant position in the United Nations. However, such a concept has nothing in common with the principles of the United Nations and even less with the task for which it was created: the safeguarding of international peace and security.
7. The United Nations Charter was elaborated to serve the interests of all States and contains the principles which are to underlie their common action for the maintenance of peace and security, the development of friendly relations among nations and the achievement of international co-operation. Romania, like other socialist States, considers that the more faithfully this Organization reflects the picture of the contemporary world, the greater will be its prestige and effectiveness. We have been guided and continue to be guided by the concept that respect for the Charter is a vital prerequisite for the United Nations and that sooner or later more and more States will reach the conclusion that the interests of peace make it imperative that the principles of the Charter shall not be sacrificed for the sake of narrow interests and expediency.
8. We cannot fail to note that the attitude of the United States Government and its allies regarding the recognition of the rights of China and the admission of the Mongolian Peopled Republic to the United Nations is guided by interests and calculations alien to the Charter. It is inadmissible that in a question as important as the rights of the Chinese people, an international organization such as the United Nations should be subordinated to the interests of one State or group of States. The fact that the United Nations was deprived of the contribution of one of the great Powers, the Peopled Republic of China, that the great Chinese people is systematically prevented from occupying its legitimate place in the United Nations, is one of the most serious blows to the prestige of this Organization, to its effectiveness in the fulfilment of the tasks entrusted to it by the Charter.
9. To be able to live up to its great historic mission, that is, to save mankind from the cataclysm of destructive war, the United Nations must become a truly universal nation upon which all States and people can rely, a just and impartial arbiter, an organ which by its very composition and structure would be true to the great principles inscribed in the Charter.
10. The importance the Romanian Government attaches to the present session of the General Assembly derives, first of all, from the fact that the Assembly is called upon to discuss the most important and central question of contemporary international life — the question of disarmament. It is the solution of this question which may, in the last analysis, decide whether mankind will undergo the endless sufferings of a nuclear war or will be saved from them.
11. The Soviet Union’s proposal for achieving general and complete disarmament corresponds to the noble endeavour of mankind to inaugurate in the development of human society a new era in which wars would forever be eliminated and relegated to the past and the people would make full use of the resources of our planet and of their own energy to build up a world in which backwardness, poverty and hunger would be eradicated for good, while peaceful relations, fruitful co-operation and friendship among countries and peoples would flourish.
12. It is impossible nowadays for a State, irrespective of its location and economic military power, to plunge mankind into an armed conflict without suffering the consequences itself. By the same token, it is inconceivable in the case of such a conflagration that any people, belligerent or not, would avoid its fatal consequences. It follows that the liquidation of the means for unleashing and waging war has become a problem directly concerning all States.
13. The General Assembly is therefore the most appropriate forum for working out, with the contribution of all States, the ways and means for the attainment of the common, goal — general and complete disarmament.
14. The Romanian Government, as a member of the Ten Nation Committee on Disarmament, has examined this problem with the greatest attention. I shall briefly present to the Assembly the conclusions we have reached.
15. First of all, I deem it necessary to reaffirm from this rostrum that although we do not underestimate the obstacles and difficulties to be found on the way towards general and complete disarmament we think that they can be overcome provided the Western Powers shall display a realism and lucidity.
16. Voices are heard in the West to the effect that general disarmament would be "utopian" or "a chimera", as one of the previous speakers told the Assembly. Is it utopian courageously to analyse the dangerous situation mankind finds itself in as a result of existing Stockpiles of atomic and hydrogen weapons with the capability of destroying human civilization? Is it utopian to draw the conclusion from this, the only logical and sensible conclusion, that the safest method to avoid such a disaster is the radical and complete destruction of the very means that could produce it? Is it more realistic to continue the insane armaments race, to pile up more and more bombs, one of which is enough to destroy a city of the biggest size? Is it more realistic to keep a permanent airborne alert of hundreds of American and English bombers carrying nuclear weapons and to send them on patrol missions, when one single bomber of that type could produce disaster through negligence or an irresponsible act or miscalculation?
17. General and complete disarmament, unanimously approved by the General Assembly, has become a must, an urgent and necessary task which requires a solution. But, in spite of the resolution on that subject [1378i (XIV)] and in spite of the efforts made by the socialist States in the Ten-Nation Committee on Disarmament to engage the negotiations on a constructive path, the representatives of the Western Powers adopted a negative attitude, considering impossible the continuation of the negotiations. The repeated endeavours of the USSR and of the other socialist States to meet half-way the Western position were treated by the United States representatives and their allies with a refusal to negotiate and to work out an agreement on general and complete disarmament. They engaged in obstructionist tactics which showed in fact their unwillingness to proceed to the fulfilment of the task assigned by the resolution of the General Assembly.
18. Thus, it became clear that the Western Powers conceived these negotiations as a screen to cover up the arms race. There had to be an end to such a manoeuvre meant to mislead public opinion, which was following these negotiations in the hope that they would conduce to positive and concrete results.
19. We believe that the impasse in the disarmament negotiations which was due to the position of the Western Powers can and should be overcome, and this is precisely the task of the General Assembly.
20. It is the opinion of the Romanian delegation that the basic provisions of a treaty on general and complete disarmament [A/4505] submitted to this session by Nikita Sergeevich Khrushchev, offers a solid basis for a constructive approach to the problem and gives the General Assembly the possibility to find the way out of this deadlock.
21. To judge the sincerity and effectiveness of the plans or proposals for disarmament before the Assembly, a safe criterion should be and remains the impact their implementation Would have on the arms race.
22. On that score, the attitude of the United States is expressed in various statements by American leaders and generals to the effect that the United States must gain by all means a position of strength. This attitude is a leitmotiv which is reiterated time and again in all these statements. In practice, this attitude has, been translated by a further intensification of the armaments race.
23. Is it not clear that, should the course followed by the United States be maintained in the future, any constructive and positive approach to disarmament would become difficult, if not impossible.
24. It follows that the General Assembly should accept those disarmament proposals whose implementation may have as a result an immediate halt of the insane arms race. At the same time, it should consider as unsatisfactory and inadequate those proposals which, if adopted, would allow the arms race to continue unhindered.
25. It is the view of the Romanian Government that one of the greatest merits of the Soviet proposals for disarmament lies precisely in the fact that their implementation would immediately put a brake on the race and would reverse the tide towards the reduction of arms and armed forces, towards their eventual elimination.
26. The signing of a treaty on general and complete disarmament, providing for the disbanding of all armed forces, for the prohibition of their rebuilding, the prohibition and destruction of all stockpiles of weapons and the cessation of the manufacture of all kinds of armaments, including atomic, hydrogen, chemical, biological, bacteriological and any other weapons of mass destruction, the liquidation of all means of delivering weapons of mass destruction to their targets , the liquidation of all kinds of foreign military bases, the abolition of conscription, military service, military training, war ministries and general staffs, as well as the cessation or discontinuance of budgetary allocations for military purposes — all these measures would not only bring the arms race to an immediate halt but would also make any effort to build up armaments illegal and senseless.
27. The essential element of the treaty submitted by the Soviet Union is that from its very entry into force it provides for the elimination of all means of delivering nuclear weapons; the reduction of armed forces, especially of those of the United States of America and the Soviet Union, to the level of 1.7 million soldiers; the liquidation of foreign bases; the prohibition of the launching of rockets for military purposes; the obligation not to transmit to other States nuclear bombs or information for their manufacture; and the corresponding reduction of military expenditures. Precisely this essential element, operating from the first moment, is designed to put an end to the armaments race and to reverse the present tide, turning it towards the reduction and the destruction of armaments, the reduction and liquidation of the armed forces.
28. What would be the situation-in this respect if the United States proposals were to be implemented? A careful study of those proposals, including that of 27 June 1960 [DC/154], clearly shows that from the first stage, which has no time-limit, the United States proposal provides only a series of measures regarding control and inspection, technical studies, the storage of armaments in depots situated in the territories of the respective States, but no actual measure whatever to cut armed forces or to destroy armaments. The level of 2.5 million men in the armed forces for the United States and the Soviet Union, provided for in the first stage, has no significance at all, since the armed forces of both States are below that level already.
29. Let us suppose, for the sake of argument, that the United States proposals were to be implemented. What would be the result? The control organization would be constituted; various technical teams would begin their activities and studies; the controllers and the inspectors would begin to travel; and meanwhile, — and this surely goes for a long period of time — the arms race would continue unrestrictedly and in full swing. It is necessary to point out that the United States plan provides for the negotiating parties to conclude a treaty only for the first stage, whereas for the second and third stages a draft would have to be worked out to be submitted to a world conference on disarmament. This means, however, that the signatory States would have no guarantee whatever as to what might happen after the completion of the first stage, since no treaty will bind them to implement all necessary measures until the attainment of the final goal — general and complete disarmament. In these circumstances, nothing can prevent one State or another from feeling free to act at will after the completion of the first stage, after all the military information has been collected. After all, anybody could argue that the signed treaty covers only the first stage and nothing more. It is obvious that this is not at all in keeping with the resolution on general and complete disarmament which was unanimously adopted at the fourteenth session of the General Assembly.
30. I come now to the question of control. The Western Powers, while turning this question into a subject of fancy speculation, actually avoided submitting any. serious proposal in this respect. In fact, the only concrete and comprehensive plan for the detailed and systematic organization of effective international control over disarmament was put forward by the Soviet Union. That plan covers the control of disarmament starting with the first day, going through all the stages until the end of the process of general and complete disarmament.
31. The Soviet proposals for the organization of effective international control over general and complete disarmament amply prove that the Soviet Union and the other socialist States are interested to the highest degree in seeing the implementation of disarmament scrupulously observed. Hence, the discussion on control has been moved out of the realm of abstract speculation into a specific, businesslike and fruitful debate, which is the best method of taking a controversial issue out of a deadlock.
32. The Romanian delegation considers that the "basic provisions of a treaty on general and complete disarmament" submitted by the USSR offers to the General Assembly a solid basis for a constructive examination of the question of disarmament at the present session. It is our hope that these proposals will facilitate the adoption of appropriate decisions meant to further the cause of disarmament.
33. I should like to join a number of previous speakers in stressing one more aspect of the question of disarmament, namely its relation to the question of economic assistance to the under-developed countries. The sad economic, social and cultural backwardness of quite a number of countries of Asia, Africa and Latin America constitutes one of the sharpest contradictions of the contemporary world. This is the result of imperialist domination, of monopolistic looting, of the colonial rule that oppressed these countries for centuries.
34. Although in the last year the question of aid for the less developed countries has been widely debated the situation continues to be critical. What is more, the statistics of the United Nations show that the per caput national income of these countries, instead of increasing, has continued to decline. The United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America noted in its economic survey for 1959 that, during that year, the Latin American economies were beset by a further deterioration in the terms of trade and a decline in their per caput agricultural output for domestic consumption, both basic factors which impeded the campaign to check inflation. It is made clear that the downward trend has been going on since 1956.
35. The actual solution of that problem would be to foster industrialization in the less developed countries of Asia, Africa and Latin America, to modernize their agriculture, to improve the conditions of the populations, to expand the system of public education and health protection. This is an enterprise so great that only the allocation of the huge financial resources that could become available as a result of disarmament would cover the needs. It is, of course, imperative that such aid should be free of any political strings and of any interference in the domestic affairs of the recipient countries. It should be granted in such circumstances as would contribute to the strengthening of the political and economic independence of those countries and to the upsurge of their productive forces so as to enable them to meet increasingly the material and cultural requirements of their peoples.
36. We live in a world with tremendous wealth, with modern technological facilities capable of ensuring higher standards of living for the entire population of our planet. A substantial reduction of military expenditures would open new avenues for making use, to an ever larger extent, of these huge possibilities.
37. The attainment of the aims of the United Nations is inextricably linked to the fulfilment of the aspirations of all peoples to freedom and independence, to the definite and radical abolition of colonial rule in all its forms. It is high time that in the conflict between the enslaved peoples and the colonial Powers the United Nations should take its side, resolutely and without any reservation, with the enslaved peoples.
38. Colonialism is synonymous with extreme national and social oppression; it evokes the image of tens of millions of people sold as slaves, locked up in reservations and concentration camps, decimated by hunger and disease, kept in the darkness of ignorance. Colonialism means the arbitrary splitting of large territories, the abusive maintenance of many States outside international life, the creation of dangerous hotbeds of disturbance and conflict on the international plane.
39. The bloody war in Algeria, the punitive expeditions in Kenya, the dark regime of terror and violence in Angola and Mozambique, the denial of the most elementary human rights of the native population in South Africa, the aerial bombardment of the population in Oman — all these show the methods to which the colonialists resort in order to stifle the just struggle of brave and heroic peoples for their liberation.
40. The colonizers displayed remarkable efficiency in plundering the colonial countries. It is well known that the African soil and subsoil hide tremendous wealth, from huge deposits of diamonds, uranium and other minerals of all sorts to immense areas of land favourable to the most diversified cultivation. But all these riches are in the hands of big foreign corporations which are squeezing fabulous profits from their exploitation and from cheap African labour. Even official statistics show that the rate of profit of American direct investments in Africa between 1947 and 1954 amounted to 33 per cent of the invested capital; that is to say that during a record three-year period the invested capital is fully amortized.
41. The consequence, as United Nations statistics indicate, is that the per caput income in such countries as Kenya, Uganda and Tanganyika is respectively twenty-four, thirty-two and forty times lower than in the United States and approximately fourteen and sixteen times lower than in the United Kingdom and France.
42. No fairy tales about the colonialists’ "civilizing mission" can conceal the startling fact that after more than a century of such a "mission" undertaken by the Belgian Colonialists in the Congo, only fourteen Congolese with university degrees, and not one Single physician, officer or trained administrative cadre, existed in the country at the moment of its independence.
43. The Romanian people strongly demands the final and immediate abolition of this horrible system which makes everyone who feels human shudder for shame. The Government of the Romanian People’s Republic welcomes and supports the declaration on granting independence to colonial countries and peoples submitted by the USSR [A/4502], which asks that all colonial countries, Trust Territories and other Non- Self-Governing Territories should be granted forthwith complete independence and freedom in building up their own national States in accordance with the freely expressed will and desire of their peoples and the elimination of all colonial strongholds in the form of possessions and leased areas in the territory of other States.
44. We consider that adherence to the principles of the United Nations Charter has become incompatible with colonial oppression perpetrated by Member States of the United Nations. Consequently, it is high time for the United Nations to call upon all Governments strictly to observe the provisions of the Charter on equality and respect for sovereign rights and for the territorial integrity of all States without exception, rejecting any manifestation of colonialism, any exclusive right or privilege for the benefit of some States to the detriment of others.
45. The attitude toward the system of colonial slavery has become a touchstone for the Governments of States Members of the United Nations: are they for or against the noble principle of the Charter concerning equality and respect for the sovereign rights of all peoples?
46. You cannot be for freedom on the one hand and on the other for supporting colonialism; which is the harshest denial of the freedom of peoples.
47. How can one conceive of the implementation of a programme of economic, political and cultural development in Africa, to which the President of the United States referred in his statement [868th meeting] , without taking a firm stand for the eradication of colonialism, this merciless cancer which has made and makes the African peoples suffer, which has prevented and prevents economic, political and cultural progress in Africa?
48. Voicing the thunderous demands of Africa from this rostrum, Mr. Nkrumah, the President of the Republic of Ghana, said: "As long as a single foot of African soil remains under foreign domination, the world shall know no peace ... The United Nations must call upon all nations that have colonies in Africa to grant complete independence to the territories still under their control." [869th meeting, para. 5.]
49. Now, when we are going to discuss the item entitled "Declaration on granting of independence to colonial countries and peoples" submitted by the Soviet Union, it may perhaps be appropriate to remind the United States delegation about the Declaration of Independence adopted by the United States Congress in 1776, a document which proclaimed the liquidation of the United Colonies, liberation from the British yoke and the transformation of the United States of America into a free and independent State.
50. Is it too much to ask today, 184 years after the adoption of that Declaration, that the peoples who are still under the colonial yoke should enjoy the liberty and independence which the American people then attained? How many hundreds of years should pass in order for the United States Government to agree that other peoples have the same right to be liberated from colonial domination? The accomplishment of its very main task, the safeguarding of international peace and security, makes it imperative for the United Nations resolutely to cope with the problem of the elimination of the colonial system. Colonial slavery is not only the shame of our age, not only the most inhuman form of political oppression and economic plunder of the peoples, but also one of the most perilous sources of military conflict too.
51. In that connexion, it should be mentioned that in a great number of African States naval and air force bases belonging to the United States and other NATO States are to be found. Such foreign military bases exist not only in the countries of the northern shore, but also deep in the African Continent, Not long ago the Belgian. Prime Minister declared that Belgian military bases in the Congo which had cost Belgium $70 million were created "on NATO insistence"; the bulk of the Belgian troops withdrawn from these bases were transferred in the immediate vicinity, to Ruanda-Urundi. Moreover, South African newspapers have informed us that thirty kilometres southwest of Salisbury in Rhodesia a military airfield was under construction. It is designed to serve as the main NATO base for jet fighters and bombers carrying nuclear weapons. The American magazine Time described Wheelus Airfield near Tripoli as "a key airfield in the encirclement of Moscow by the Strategic Air Command".
52. If we bear in mind that the majority; of States composing NATO are colonial Powers, it becomes clear that all military bases, troops, air forces and naval units belonging to NATO are directed not only against the socialist States and other peace-loving States, but also against the liberation movement in Africa, serving to preserve through armed terror the political and economic positions of imperialists in Africa.
53. The African peoples, their Governments and political leaders who represent the aims of liberation from the colonial yoke and consolidation of independence when it has already been won, cannot fail to see the extreme danger to which they are exposed by those NATO bases and troops on African territory. The old and outdated hoax about the "communist danger is being disseminated in Africa by the colonialists, apparently with a view to distracting attention from their plans to transform Africa into a huge base for NATO military operations.
54. As the representatives of the Algerian Provisional Government have repeatedly pointed out, the bloody war against the Algerian people, which is fighting bravely for its freedom, would not have been possible without the support that the NATO allies of France have granted it in armaments and supplies as well as in the political and diplomatic fields.
55. The aggressive plot against the independence and territorial integrity of the Congo organized by the colonialist circles with NATO Support is a new and tragic case in point.
56. The concern with which world public opinion has followed the evolution of the situation in the Congo is fully justified, and the more so if we take into account the feet that in these developments the very authority and prestige of the United Nations are involved.
57. It is by now crystal clear for all those who are sincerely devoted to the cause of the liberation of the colonial peoples that instead of supporting the Central Government which called on the United Nations for help in restoring law and order in the Congo and instead of faithfully implementing the resolutions of the Security Council concerning the support to be provided to the Central Government in safeguarding the independence and territorial integrity of the Republic of the Congo, the United Nations Command and the Secretary-General have systematically acted so as to whittle down the authority of the Central Government while taking sides with the secessionists and the rebels who had the Belgian colonialists and their NATO allies behind them.
58. No legalistic argument, no alibi can justify the indisputable fact that during the three-month period of United Nations operations in the Congo the Central Government has actually been undermined and deprived of the means of asserting its authority; the parliamentary organ expressing the will of the people has been practically banned while the secessionist forces, trained and armed to the teeth by the Belgian colonialists, under the permissive eyes of the United Nations Command, have become more active and aggressive than ever before,
59. It is obvious that the situation existing in the Congo is fully consonant with the plan and the aims of the Belgian colonialists and their NATO supporters, thus revealing the real character of their policy.
60. It is the considered view of the Romanian delegation that an imperative task falls upon the General Assembly, that of examining with the highest sense of responsibility the situation in the Congo in order to create, at last, for the Congolese people those conditions to which they are fully entitled by reason of their heroic fight for national independence, freedom and a better life.
61. The promotion among States of the principles of peaceful coexistence and the development of relations of multilateral co-operation among them with a view to maintaining and strengthening peace is the very "raison d’être" of the United Nations, Only two or three years ago one could witness attempts to exclude the term of peaceful coexistence itself from the United Nations vocabulary. Today, we note with satisfaction that from the United Nations rostrum many representatives recognize peaceful coexistence as a vital necessity deriving from the complex of contemporary realities. The representative of Brazil correctly pointed out in his statement [868th meeting] that, whether one likes it or not, the recognition of the existence of States with different social regimes is a prerequisite for peaceful relations among States. He went on to say that the solution of war is inadmissible, the only path leading to a solution of the problem of our age is that of negotiations.
62. It is encouraging that the principles of peaceful coexistence are gaining an ever wider support throughout the world. We would, however, do a poor service to the cause of peace if we passed over the fact that these principles have their obstinate enemies.
63. As was shown from this very rostrum, two trends of the contemporary world, two orientations in the international relations, are confronting each other. One of them, based on the principles of peaceful co- existence, aims at the strengthening and the continuous development of good relations among States, at the elimination of international tension and at solving conflicting issues at the conference table. The other trend, that of the promoters of the cold war and of the arms race, boils down to the organization of aggressive actions and to gross interference in the domestic affairs of other States, to the creation and maintenance of hotbeds of unrest, thus gravely endangering the world peace.
64. It is true that in our time, owing to the fact that public opinion judges with severity the enemies of peaceful coexistence, even those who are undermining and hindering its implementation in the international life feel obliged to invoke these principles since they fear that their true thoughts and intentions might come to the light of day. That is why the peoples of the world and their representatives should display a high sense of lucidity and vigilance and judge the position of Governments by their deeds and not by mere declarations.
65. How can declarations of attachment to the cause of peace be reconciled with the policy of increasing every year the expenses for armaments and the war preparations of the United States, with the promoting to the rank of State policy of such things as military espionage and the violation of sovereignty of other States which has found its expression in the well known aggressive incursion of the United States U-2 and EB-47 aircraft over the Soviet territory? How could such declarations be reconciled with the hostile actions against the heroic people of the Republic of Cuba, who firmly defend their national independence?
66. Right now, when in the General Assembly we are witnessing attempts to put the blame for the international tension on the Soviet Union and on the other Socialist States, which are making great efforts to reduce international tension, in Europe, large-scale military exercises of NATO are taking place, bringing about unrest and increasing the war psychosis. While we hear statements expressing the desire to prevent the outbreak of an accidental war or of a surprise attack, flights of American and British strategic units with nuclear bombs on board are being organized, thus creating the danger of the outbreak of an accidental war and maintaining a state of permanent threat of surprise attack.
67. Romania is one of those countries which suffered heavy destruction, one of those peoples who had to endure severe hardships from the German militarism in the First World War as well as in the Second World War, Together with all peace-loving peoples, we are following with legitimate concern the rearming, at a rapid pace, of the militarists and revanchists in West Germany, with the blessing of the NATO Powers. At present, the command of the Bundeswehr, with the endorsement and the open approval of the Federal Government, is balling for the equipment of the Federal Republic of Germany with nuclear weapons, and the leading circles of the NATO do not make a secret out of their intention to satisfy this claim, which is so dangerous for the cause of peace. Hence, West Germany has again become the main hotbed of tension and of danger of war in Europe and in the whole world,
68. The interests of peace require the implementation of the proposals of the Soviet Union and of the German Democratic Republic regarding the liquidation of the consequences of the Second World War and the conclusion of a peace treaty with Germany.
69. We consider that the decisions of the General Assembly at its present session should contribute to the elimination of the grave dangers threatening peace. There should be an end to the practice of violating generally accepted rules for interstate relations and to the disregard of the sovereign rights of other peoples.
70. The attempts made at this session by the United States representative to absolve the promoters of the cold war and the supporters of the colonial regime prove that the quarters he represents do not adequately evaluate the maturity of the international public opinion. Irritation is a poor adviser and offensive words cannot substitute for arguments against the concrete and constructive proposals for the settlement of the main problems of the international relations and of the historic evolution of humanity.
71. The items inscribed by the socialist countries as well as by other peace-loving countries on the agenda of this historic session, as well as the proposals they have put before the General Assembly, pursue the settlement of fundamental problems, the strengthening of general peace and security and the safeguarding of the rights of all peoples to enjoy real independence and national sovereignty.
72. Starting from the conviction that every Member State — large or small — has the duty to make its own active contribution to the concrete affirmation of the principle of peaceful coexistence in international relations, the Romanian Government has proposed the inscription on the agenda of this session of the General Assembly of an item entitled “Actions on the regional level with a view to improving good neighbourly relations among European States having different social and political systems”.
73. The Romanian Government considers that the development and the continuous improvement of the relations among States situated in geographic regions where the two economic and social systems are in immediate or close vicinity acquire special significance for the States directly concerned as well as for general peace and security. The Governments of the States concerned could at the same time initiate negotiations in order to settle outstanding issues among them. They could conclude treaties of mutual understanding and multilateral co-operation or any other form of regional agreement, which would help to eliminate such important sources of distrust and tension it the relations among States as foreign military base, launching pads for missiles, the stationing of aircraft loaded with nuclear weapons and so on. |
74. The undertaking by the great Powers of a pledge to observe the arrangements agreed upon among the States of certain geographical areas would increase their effectiveness and their value for the cause of general peace. As is known, the Romanian Government as early as 1957 proposed such an agreement among the States of the Balkan region and it renewed these proposals in 1959. We put forward our proposals with the conviction that the Balkan region could be turned into a zone of peace, free of atomic weapons, of rocket launching pads and of foreign military bases. This would correspond in the highest degree to the fundamental interests of the peoples of Balkan countries. Its importance would extend far beyond the limits of that geographical area. The realization of such an understanding would create at the same time the most favourable conditions for the intensification of economic exchanges as well as for multilateral cooperation and mutual aid for the benefit of all peoples from that area.
75. The fact that there are still differences among some of the Balkan States pleads not against the initiative of the Romanian Government but rather in its favour. Balkan socialist countries have repeatedly expressed the desire to settle through negotiations the outstanding issues which they have with the other countries and have advanced proposals accordingly. The Romanian Government's own experience confirms that when there is good will on both sides outstanding issues can be solved to the satisfaction of all parties.
76. The conclusion of an understanding among the Balkan States does not imply the renunciation of alliances to which one or the other State may belong. By the same token the development of multilateral relations between Balkan States does not exclude the development of bilateral relations, for which there are much greater possibilities today than ever before
77. We have noted with satisfaction that the proposals of the Romanian Government are supported by a number of States from the Balkan region and that they enjoy the interest and sympathy of public opinion of all countries of this region. With the profound conviction that the realization of Balkan understanding wholly corresponds to the fundamental interests of the peoples of this region, as well as to the preservation and consolidation of peace in the whole world, the Romanian Government renews its proposal for the signing of a treaty of entente and collective security with the aim of strengthening peace in the Balkan- Adriatic region and of transforming it into a zone free of foreign bases, rocket-launching pads and nuclear weapons.
78. May I express the hope that the Greek Government as well as the new Turkish Government will favourably receive our proposals for the development of understanding and co-operation and for enhancing the security of the peoples of this region.
79. Irrespective of our political or philosophical concepts, if we are for peace, if we cherish life and the creative work of man, we cannot remain indifferent before the question whether the young generation is brought up to respect man and his material and spiritual achievements, or, on the contrary, whether it is raised in the spirit of racial and national hatred, of militarism and war. Recent events have shown that influential circles of certain countries are making efforts to inoculate the youth with the venom of intolerance towards men, especially towards those of other races, to educate them in a spirit of "revanche” and aggression, with a view to adjusting them to adventurous plans which are dangerous for the cause of peace.
80. Proceeding from the viewpoint that the young generation can and should play an important active role in furthering peaceful coexistence, the Romanian Government has proposed the inclusion in the agenda of the present session of the item entitled "Measures designed to promote among youth the ideas of peace, mutual respect and understanding between peoples”.
81. We feel that the General. Assembly would serve the cause of peace if it recommended to the Governments and to the specialized agencies that they pay an increasing attention to the problems related to the promotion among youth of the ideas of peace, mutual respect and understanding between peoples and if it initiated the working out of an international convention to that effect.
82. The Romanian Government hopes that both its proposals — the one regarding regional understanding as well as the one regarding the education of youth- will meet with the understanding and support of the Member States of our Organization.
83. Consistently pursuing a policy of peace and of multilateral co-operation with all States, the Romanian People’s Republic has concentrated its efforts for the continuous development of its national economy and the raising of the material and cultural well-being of the people. The old Romania was known as one of the backward European countries; it had an undeveloped industry, a primitive agriculture, an economy subordinated to the foreign monopolies; under the old regime, life in our country was characterized by hunger and poverty, by mass illiteracy, by high child mortality, and by endemic diseases that wrought havoc among the population. We know from our own experience the disastrous results which dependence on foreign monopolies means to the political and economic life of a nation. The foreign monopolies, which occupied over many decades a predominant position in our country, hindered the economic development of the country, plundered its natural resources and cruelly exploited the industrious Romanian people. Romania had to import almost all the machinery and the equipment which it required while selling its grains at the expense of the chronic malnutrition of the population.
84. As the Romanian people took their fate into their own hands and became the master of the riches the country they began to make use of them in conformity with their own interests. The economic potential of the country increased continuously. The national industry is rapidly developing. Its production exceeds five times the pre-war output and in 1965, according to the six-year plan, the total production of our industry will be twice as large as the production of 1960 and approximately ten times larger than in 1838, the record year in old Romania.
85. A higher stage of development was reached by the iron and steel industry, by the machine-building industry, chemical and oil industries and power production. Today the Romanian factories are manufacturing various machine tools, tractors, combines and other agricultural machinery, means of transportation, electrical equipment, and so forth. We now hilly meet the needs of equipment for the extraction and complex processing of oil and produce two-thirds of the industrial equipment necessary for new enterprises as well as for the development of the existing ones, while important quantities are already available for export.
86. Agriculture has received over 80,000 tractors made in Romania and by the end of ,1965 will be fully mechanized utilizing approximately 150,000 tractors as well as other equipment required by modern agriculture.
87. As a result of the economic development, the national income is at present 2.7 times higher and in 1965 it will be approximately 4.5 times higher than in 1938. The standard of living of the whole population has increased continuously, the purchasing power of the population has doubled and the general consumption is two to three times greater than in 1938.
88. Expenditures in the social and cultural fields have increased in recent years by four to five times, thus representing in 1958 a quarter of the total State budget.
89. Free education and the development of the network of schools has rendered education of all degrees accessible to all children and youth. The cultural level of the entire population is continuously being raised.
90. Special attention is paid to the training of technicians and other specialists for the needs of industry and transport, science and culture. The number of engineers increased from 9,000 in 1938 to 60,000 in 1960.
91. The population enjoys a free and wide medical security system; today Romania is one of the first ten countries in the world as far as the number of physicians per thousand inhabitants is concerned.
92. This rapid progress became possible only after the Romanian people put an end to their economic and political dependence on the imperialist Powers; the results obtained are the fruits of a policy dictated by the fundamental interests of the country, by the requirements of its development on the path of socialism.
93. In the attainment of the results briefly set forth, a significant role was played by the close co-operation and mutual assistance among socialist countries and the permanent and multilateral support from the Soviet Union which we have enjoyed. Our people, the Romanian people, highly appreciate the assistance provided by the Soviet Union specifically for the building of industry, the basis for the whole upsurge of our national economy.
94. All these profound changes and achievements in our country naturally have caused discontent among the opponents of social progress, the imperialists who cannot reconcile themselves to losing so much wealth, cheap labour and influence. They are the organizers of various acts of provocation and gross interference in our domestic affairs.
95. A recent case in point is the debasing masquerade of the so-called Captive Nations Week promoted by official personalities in the United States. The promoters of the cold war often take the liberty of addressing to our people, which is the master of its own destiny, promises of so-called liberation. May we ask these uncalled-for "liberators” what they are trying to liberate the Romanian people from? Do they mean to liberate the Romanians from their national industry, now in full Swing, from the riches now exclusively possessed by the Romanian people and used in the interest of their welfare? Do they mean to liberate the Romanians from the right to work, to free education, to free medical assistance, from the freedom effectively safeguarded by the socialist order?
96. The Romanian people are well aware of the way the imperialists are conceiving and applying freedom in those countries where they can still impose their will and loot the riches with impunity. I have in mind those acts of provocation that were unmasked in this hall, too, in order to draw the attention of the General Assembly to one of the aspects of the cold war which foments international tension, violates the established norms of relations among States and which shouldbeseverely condemned by the United Nations.
97. In conclusion, allow me to express the position of the Romanian delegation on the question of improving and perfecting the activities of the United Nations. In this respect, we proceed from the idea that, in a world where States with different economic and political systems exist, the United Nations can successfully fulfil its tasks only if it remains true to the principles of the Charter, which states that the United Nations must be a centre for harmonizing the efforts of all nations in the attainment of the common ends: the maintenance of peace and security, the development of friendly relations among nations, the achievement of international co-operation.
98. One must take into account the fact that the capability of this Organization to play its role in preserving peace diminishes to the extent that attempts are made by a group of States, a military bloc, to secure a dominant position in the United Nations and to impose accordingly decisions serving their own interests exclusively and harming the interests of other States or groups of States. This is quite natural. Who would accept an arbiter, knowing in advance that he would take sides with the opposite party?
99. Therefore, I should like to point out that to propose the removal of a certain state of affairs which has allowed the United Nations to be used.as an instrument of a group of Powers to the detriment of other States, to propose measures designed to assure the confidence of all Member States in the executive staff of the United Nations and to guarantee its objectivity in the application of the decisions of the United Nations, means not to weaken but rather to strengthen the United Nations and to make it a real and powerful instrument for the maintenance of peace and international security.
100. It was certainly to be expected that those who have up to now used their dominant positions in the United Nations to impose their policy would react to these proposals in the same way as forces confronted with the prospect of losing their privileges have always reacted in-history. Progressive changes that required the abolition of certain privileges were always accompanied by the screams and outcries of the privileged, who predicted that with the loss of their privileges a crisis would erupt which would cause everything to perish. In fact only the privileges have perished, while the world has continued to live and to develop. This is also valid for an international organization such as the United Nations.
101. The reorganization of the general secretariat is a matter of principle for our Organization. The reorganization of the executive body of the United Nations, and especially of the general secretariat, is a requirement raised by international life itself, by the imperative necessity that the United Nations become an effective instrument for the solution of the great problems included in the agenda of the General Assembly. This is demonstrated by the events in the Congo, where the Secretary-General of the United Nations, Mr. Hammarskjold, actually acted as a spokesman of the colonialist policy, instead of ensuring the implementation of the decisions of the Security Council in accordance with the interests of the freedom and independence of the Congolese people.
102. In its present structure the general secretariat does not assure the objective implementation of the resolutions of the United Nations. Even less so can the general secretariat in its present composition ensure the fulfilment of the new prospective tasks that the executive staff of the United Nations may have to assume in the future. It is well known, for instance, that in connexion with the realization of general and complete disarmament the question will arise of the creation of international armed forces of the United Nations, which forces would have to serve in conformity with the decisions of the Security Council, the organ entrusted by the Charter with the task of maintaining international peace and security. The implementation of these decisions will naturally be assigned to the executive staff of the United Nations.
103. The question therefore arises: what guarantee will the groups of States which form the United Nations have that the executive staff will scrupulously enforce the decisions adopted and that no attempt will be made to serve the narrow interests of a State or a group of States against the interests of other States or groups of States? It is clear that anyone who seriously and with a sense of responsibility considers the problem of the safeguarding of peace and international security cannot but agree that this question has to be answered satisfactorily.
104. The Romanian delegation believes that such a satisfactory answer is offered by the proposal of the USSR to the effect that the executive organ be constituted not of one person, the Secretary-General, but of three representatives of the groups of States which form the United Nations; that is, the States belonging to the Western alliances, the socialist States and the neutral countries. Such a solution of the problem represents a guarantee that the executive staff of the United Nations will act with full objectivity.
105. The Romanian delegation wishes to endorse the views expressed by several previous speakers regarding the inconveniences created to the normal activity of the United Nations by the location of its headquarters in New York,
106. The Romanian delegation came to this Assembly inspired by the desire to bring its contribution to the solution of the problems on the agenda. We stepped on American soil expressing the sentiments of esteem and appreciation which the Romanian people nourish for the American people; like other delegations, we were entitled to expect that in the city where the supreme forum of the United Nations meets we would find favourable conditions for its activities and a propitious climate for understanding between peoples. We had, however, to note that, when delegations of almost a hundred States are gathered here for the session, a large number of them led by Heads of State and Government, here in New York one of the most lamentable attempts has been made to poison the international atmosphere by merging the hostile, harassing and discriminatory measures taken by the United States authorities with so-called "demonstrations" carried out by hoodlums, hooligans. Fascist refugees and common-law offenders hired by the hour or by the day. This is probably, in a nutshell, the largely advertised "free world" as it is conceived by the inspirers of these provocative actions.
107. The Romanian delegation considers justified the opinion that the problem should be examined of finding another place for the headquarters of the United Nations in a country which can assure the normal development, in suitable conditions, of the activities of the delegations and of the Organization as a whole.
108. The peoples of the world have pinned great hopes on this session. They expect that the General Assembly will find a way out of the disarmament deadlock and a way to achieve general and complete disarmament, turning into reality the noble aspirations of mankind for the achievement of a war less world. They expect that the General Assembly will take a stand in favour of the final abolition of the colonial system and will open to the peoples that are still suffering under the yoke of colonial slavery the doors of freedom and human dignity. They expect the General Assembly to request that there be an end to the actions which endanger peace and violate the sacred principle of national sovereignty. Such actions, in fact, must be unequivocally condemned. They expect the United Nations to become a really effective instrument for the defence of international peace and security.
109. In conclusion, permit me to thank you for your attention and to express the wish that the fifteenth session will live up to the great expectations of the peoples of the world.