The Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic as a founding Member of the United Nations, has always believed that this international Organization should be the centre for co-ordination of the actions of the peoples in achieving the common aims and principles enunciated in the Charter. This is especially true of the development of friendly relations among nations based on respect for the principle of equal rights and self-determination, respect for human rights and for freedoms for all without distinction as to race, sex, language or religion.
2. The processes going on in the changing world move to the fore the problems which are agitating the whole of humanity. Nobody invented these problems, but life itself has posed them and they coincide with the tasks of the United Nations. The fifteenth session of the General Assembly is called upon to display a great awareness of its extremely important role in settling the most urgent and acute problems of today. The importance of this session is emphasized by the fact that it is faced with the task of deeper and more responsible consideration of the proposal on general and complete disarmament [A/4505], the Declaration on the granting of independence to colonial countries and peoples [A/4502 and Corr.1] and elimination of causes which have led to the deterioration of the international situation.
3. The extremely great importance of the fifteenth session is especially stressed by the fact that many Heads of States and Governments and many statesmen enjoying the full confidence of their peoples are taking part in it. In this connexion the Ukrainian delegation, in the name of its Government and people, expresses its deep gratitude to the Government of the Soviet Union, and personally to its Head, Nikita S. Khrushchev, for the initiative of holding this session with participation by the most responsible statesmen in order to settle the most important problems concerning the destinies of the world.
4. We are heartily glad to greet the Heads of States, Governments and outstanding statesmen who responded to Nikita S. Khrushchev’s appeal and headed their delegations to this international forum with the aim of constructive and business-like participation in the work of the Assembly.
5. Already we may note with satisfaction that personal participation by the Head of the Soviet Government, Nikita S. Khrushchev, and the heads of other peace-loving countries in the work of the session and their statements in the general debate were truly inspiring. They submitted very valuable proposals directed to strengthening the cause of universal peace, the liquidation of colonialism and strengthening of the authority of the United Nations.
6. The beginning of the work of this session of the Assembly was marked by the admission to United Nations membership of new States of Africa and the Mediterranean. This event once again reminds us that the disintegration of the colonial system and liberation of peoples is an irresistible and irrepressible process, the sign of the twentieth century. I take this pleasant opportunity to convey the congratulations of the Ukrainian people to the new States admitted to the United Nations and wish their peoples happiness and prosperity in conditions of complete independence.
7. There is complete unify in realization of the fact that disarmament is the most important, most acute and most urgent problem nowadays. The future of humanity will depend on its settlement: either humanity will take the path of peaceful development, or it will always fear that world disaster may start. Armed peace is always no more than a shaky armed armistice fraught with the danger of outbreak of war. The unrestrained armaments race becomes extremely dangerous, and at the same time senseless, because of tike disastrous consequences which the use of modern weapons may have for the fate of humanity.
8. It is not accidental that millions of peoples the world over welcomed the proposals on general and complete disarmament submitted by the Head of the Soviet Government at the fourteenth session of the General Assembly [799th meeting] as a great act of love for peace and humanism. The General Assembly unanimously endorsed the resolution [1378 (XIV)] approving the idea of general add complete disarmament. I remind you that, in this resolution, the General Assembly considered that the question of general and complete disarmament was the most important one facing the world today, called upon Governments to make every effort to achieve a solution of this problem, and also expressed the hope that measures leading to general and complete disarmament under effective international control would be worked out in detail in the shortest possible time. Thus the resolution, in fact, outlined a programme of actions and direction of the future disarmament negotiations.
9. Unfortunately, the year which has elapsed since the fourteenth session approved, this resolution has not fulfilled the expectations of the peoples of the world. Five members of the Ten-Nation Committee on Disarmament, namely: the United States of America, United Kingdom, France, Canada and Italy have turned the Committee from a body for constructive negotiations and the working out of an acceptable agreement, into a body for futile talks, into a screen which they use to cover up their policy that is as far from disarmament as the sky is from the earth. The Government of the Ukraine followed the negotiations in the Ten-Nation Committee very attentively and it could not help concluding that in the course of the Geneva negotiations two principal lines were clearly revealed: the first, that of the Soviet Union and the other socialist States, was aimed at the implementation of the General Assembly resolution; the second, that of the United States of America and other Western Powers, was aimed at substituting control over armaments for disarmament and at bringing the negotiations back to the time when there was no resolution of the fourteenth session on general and complete disarmament. The United States and her partners in the Ten-Nation Committee did their utmost to bring the settlement of the disarmament problem to an impasse,
10. After the work of the Ten-Nation Committee had been wrecked. Western propaganda raised a hullabaloo about the allegedly new United States proposals which, as was alleged, could not be discussed because the socialist countries had ceased to take part in the Committee’s work. In fact, the United States, in submitting its proposals of 27 June 1960, in no way strove for general and complete disarmament in keeping with the resolution of the fourteenth session of the General Assembly. Neither are they striving for it now at this session.
11. What was the essence of these "new proposals"? Did the United States plan envisage the disbandment of the armed forces of States? No, it did not. Did it envisage the destruction and prohibition of all stockpiles and the termination of production of armaments of all kinds? Did it envisage the destruction of all means of delivery of weapons of mass extermination to their targets, the dismantling of military bases of every kind? No, it did not. Did it envisage the withdrawal of foreign troops from the territories of other States and their disbandment? No, no, and once more, no.
12. What did that plan really envisage? It reflected "new United States efforts", which, as Secretary of State Herter said even before the Geneva negotiations started, supplemented the United States national ministry programme. One can imagine in what direction international relations would develop if the socialist States accepted the highly original viewpoint of the United States Government, that the aim of the disarmament talks should be the working out of measures supplementing the national military programmes of States, i.e., in fact adding to the armaments race.
13. The sense of the "new" United States plan boils down to avoiding, at all costs, genuine general and complete disarmament, substituting for it "control over armaments". From this position the United States did not move an inch. The President of the United States, Mr. Eisenhower, speaking from this rostrum [868th meeting], once again stated that it is armament that should be controlled, and not disarmament. All those present here clearly realize that the "control over armaments" formula does not envisage disarmament, that there is a wide gap between "control over armaments" and "control over disarmament".
14. Representatives of many Member States emphasized — and quite reasonably — the special responsibility which rests on the great Powers due to historic development; the choice between disarmament or the armaments race depends to a large extent on the great Powers.
15. As is known, not all the great Powers speak against disarmament. Not all the great Powers see in the armaments race a source of enrichment and profits. On the other hand, not all the great Powers agree to destroy their armaments, atom and hydrogen bombs included. If the great and mighty Soviet Union is sincerely and passionately striving for the realization of general and complete disarmament to release humanity from the danger of annihilation once and for all, the Government of the United States, on the contrary, is basing its policy on retaining atomic and hydrogen weapons — the weapons of aggression.
16. At the same time, I cannot but stress the affinity between the United States policy and that of the Federal Republic of Germany as regards the disarmament question. The ruling circles of these countries regard disarmament as an evil that must be staved off. The Bonn militarists and "revanchists" need the atmosphere of international tensions and arms race for the implementation of their new plans of unleashing war and enslaving peoples.
17. We are witnessing the repetition of the tragic history of the period between the two world wars, when, to the accompaniment of endless arguments in the halls of the Palais de Nations in Geneva, weapons were being forged at a feverish pace in the Ruhr arsenals. In our days, in the course of the disarmament talks, the Western Powers are opening for West German militarists the door to their arsenal of rockets and nuclear weapons. While in the course of the recent Geneva negotiations Western diplomacy was looking for arguments against disarmament, the Bonn "revanchists" issued the well-known memorandum in which they demanded with impudent frankness that the Bundeswehr be equipped as soon as possible with all kinds of atomic and rocket weapons and that universal military conscription be established in the country.
18. Day by day it is becoming more evident that Western Germany is following the same path as was followed by the Germany of the Kaiser and Hitler. The revival of German militarism has always led to war, that like a raging hurricane swept many countries, including the Ukrainian land, bringing innumerable calamities in its wake. During the years of the Second World War the fascist hordes caused to our Republic damage estimated at more than 70 billion dollars. Millions of sons and daughters of the Ukraine fell in action, perished in German concentration camps, gas chambers and crematoria. By sacrificing the blood and lives of many of its sons for the sake of freedom, the Ukrainian-people won the right to demand that an end be put to the criminal policy of the revival of German militarism that is being carried out by the Western Powers and the rulers of the Federal Republic of Germany.
19. Mr. Macmillan, defending the West German "revanchists", advised us here [877th meeting] not to look back, to forget the past. He may, of course, forget completely the recent past, when the United Kingdom was repelling the cruel air raids of Hitlerite aircraft. We are sure, however, that British people will never forget the tragedy of Coventry, the barbarous bombing of London, and the lives of their sons who died fighting against Hitlerite Germany. Peoples never forget the past; they cannot ignore the lessons of history. To turn to the past is sometimes very useful, at least in order not to allow it to repeat itself. Have we the right to close our ears today to the warlike speeches of Chancellor Adenauer, to the impudent demands of the "revanchists" who throw aside all restraints, to ultimatum statements by West German Bundeswehr generals? No, we have not.
20. It is not fear that makes us speak about the revival of militarism and "revanchism" in the Federal Republic of Germany. We are not afraid of the noise made by the tramping of the new Wehrmacht soldiers’ heavy boots. The Soviet Union and all the socialist countries have all that is needed to crush any aggressor in its own den. But do the Governments of the United States of America, the United Kingdom and their NATO allies realize what responsibility they are taking upon themselves in rearing German militarism in our days? It is quite evident that the policy of the so-called canalization of German militarism against socialist countries completely outlived itself long ago. Should it ever be unleashed by the Bonn "revanchists", from the very first moments atomic war with all its fury would engulf the whole world and, in the first place, those countries whose rulers with their own hands are restoring militarist Germany. That is why it is in the interests of all countries and all peoples to do everything for the elimination of this most dangerous potential hot-bed of war in the heart of Europe.
21. The fight for complete and general disarmament is at the same time the fight against the revival of West German militarism and "revanchism", which is guilty of unleashing the First and Second World Wars and of the annihilation of millions of innocent people.
22. It has already been underlined that the disintegration of the colonial system, the rise of new independent States, the achievement of freedom by the erstwhile enslaved peoples, who won the right to determine on an equal footing with others the destiny of the world, is one of the most significant hallmarks of this century.
23. There is deep meaning in the words of the President of Ghana, Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, who stated from this rostrum [869th meeting] that as long as a single foot of African soil remained under foreign domination the world would know no peace.
24. It is quite true. As long as the colonial regime, which has always existed with the help of bayonets, arbitrariness and deception, is not destroyed and buried once and for all, there cannot be reaffirmed everywhere faith, in fundamental human rights, in the dignity and worth of the human person, in the equal rights of men and women, and of nations large and small.
25. More than forty years ago the founder of the Soviet State, the great champion of friendship and equality of nations, V. I. Lenin, prophetically declared that peoples of the East were awakening for practical action so that every nation could help to decide the destinies of all mankind.
26. Today, wave after wave of new, fresh strength representing a great part of mankind is flowing in a mighty stream, as it were, into the world comity of equal nations. Long-awaited freedom attained in hard struggle is coming to the peoples of Asia and Africa. The history of the so-called coloured continents is ceasing to be a matter of concern to several imperialist States, which divided those continents in the past into spheres of their domination and influence.
27. However, more than 100 million people continue to languish in colonial bondage. Blood is shed by the heroic Algerian people whose only guilt is that they do not want any longer to tolerate the yoke of French colonialists but want a free life in a free and independent Algerian State. That is a lawful right of every nation. That is why all honest people extend a helping hand to the oppressed peoples fighting for their independence. That is where their genuine humanism is manifested. There is no doubt that this assistance will steadily grow until not a single colonial and dependent country is left on our planet. The Ukrainian people know what colonial oppression means. They have helped and will continue to help peoples in their struggle against colonialism and for full independence.
28. It is time to accelerate and to complete the process of the collapse of the colonial system and the liberation of all the oppressed peoples. The Declaration on the granting of independence to colonial countries and peoples, submitted by the Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the USSR for consideration by the fifteenth session of the United Nations General Assembly, is directed to the achievement of this historical necessity. This Declaration is a genuine manifesto of peoples which are freeing themselves from colonial oppression. It demands that lofty and humane ideals of equality and self-determination should be realized with respect to all nations and all peoples. However, hardly was the declaration made public when the colonialists and their advocates attacked it with an avalanche of abuse and insinuations. They are ready to extend themselves in order to find in it alleged appeals to revolt in all the colonial territories.
29. The Secretary of State of the United States, Mr. Herter, was the first who "discovered" intrigues and horrors allegedly concealed in the Declaration. He imagines he sees the flame of revolts in colonies kindled by the Declaration. One may think that peace and prosperity reign in the colonies, that slaves shackled in chains of colonialism are humbly waiting for the day when the colonialists will deign to grant them freedom. The Minister for Foreign Affairs of Belgium, speaking before the Assembly [880th meeting], used all his eloquence to persuade people who do not believe fairy tales that all that the Belgian colonialists were doing was just seeking means of bringing benefit to the Congolese people and of leading them to freedom and independence. Yesterday [883rd meeting] the Belgian representative made a refutation of the criticism and denunciation of the Belgian colonialists’ actions in the Congo-this time in connexion with the statement made [882nd meeting] by the Prime Minister of India, Mr. Nehru. But it proved impossible both, for him and for his Minister for Foreign Affairs to refute anything, just as it is impossible to refute the long and dark history of colonial domination in the land of the Congolese people.
30. Colonial peoples can only laugh at such statements by colonialists. The peoples who were or still are in colonial bondage know from their own bitter experience what the "benefits” of their oppressors mean. If Mr. Herter and others are so perturbed by uprisings in colonies — in other words, by the struggle of the oppressed nations against their oppressors — the best way to put an end to these disturbances is to eliminate without delay inequality and enslavement.
31. One cannot fail to recall in this connexion a remarkable novel by the classic author of Ukrainian literature, Panas Mirny, who gave a moving description of the struggle of the Ukrainian peasantry in the second half of the nineteenth century against social injustice and oppression. Depicting this struggle full of drama he gave the following very apt title to his novel: "Do the oxen low when the mangers are full?" No, the oxen do not low when the mangers are full. Let us eliminate colonialism and then these gentlemen, the colonialists, will not be haunted by the fears of uprisings of the colonial peoples.
32. In making attempts to cover up the traces of their crimes against the colonial peoples, the colonialists bend every effort to present to the eyes of the world public as a great humane act on the part of the colonial Powers their forced concessions to the oppressed countries. They advertise their economic aid to underdeveloped countries as a fatherly concern for the peoples who have attained political independence. Mr. Macmillan, the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, who spoke here recently [877th meeting], gave some data which in his opinion should prove how much more humane towards the economically under-developed countries the capitalist countries are in comparison with the socialist countries. He said that the aid rendered to the under-developed countries by the United States of America, the United Kingdom and other capitalist countries is greater than that rendered by the socialist States.
33. First and foremost, it is necessary to stress that in the matter of granting economic aid one cannot put those who do not participate and who never participated in the exploitation of the colonial countries on the same level with those who continue without a twinge of conscience to extort the riches from the under-developed countries. It would be lawful and just, as has been said here, if foreign exploiters returned at least part of those riches which they accumulated from the exploitation of the oppressed peoples so that, returned to the under-developed countries in the form of aid, they could be used for the development of their economy and culture and for the raising of the standard of living of the people.
34. In order to understand how far from reality Mr. Macmillan's assertions are, it is necessary to look into the real meaning of the notion of "economic aid" of a capitalist State to an under-developed country. Mr. Macmillan painstakingly passes over in silence the undeniable fact that capitalist "benefactors", in granting aid to one or another country, are interested in two things? on the one hand, in maximum profit from their investments, and, on the other hand, in how strongly this aid attaches the underdeveloped country to the capitalist chariot.
35. It is doubtful whether the most authoritative organs of statistics could count up all the incalculable wealth pumped by the colonial Powers out of the enslaved countries, and those countless resources which are being pumped out of the under-developed countries to this day. What fairy-tale ruler from tbs Thousand and One Nights could dare to compare his treasures with those riches which have been pumped out from dependent and under-developed countries by capitalist monopolies? What is called today by the United States of America, United Kingdom and other capitalist countries "economic aid to the under-developed countries" is actually only a miserable pittance in comparison with the profits received by them from the exploitation of those countries. And I make no mention of the grief, tears, and sweat of the colonial peoples, or of the terrible poverty inherited from colonial brigandage, I shall not dwell on the fact that the programme of economic aid, about which Mr. Eisenhower, Mr. Macmillan and some other representatives of the capitalist world spoke from this rostrum, does not envisage the creation in underdeveloped countries of a strong and independent national economy, whereas that precisely is the real basis of healthy and rapid prosperity of a country.
36. It is asserted that one of the effective means of assistance to under-developed countries is a stimulation of foreign capital investments. But is it so in reality? During the period 1950-1958 the United States increased private direct investments in economically under-developed countries of Asia, Africa and Latin America by $4.1 billion, but they imported from those countries in the form of profits $11.3 billion. Thus in the course of some nine years the United States of America has received $7.2 billion — a huge sum which is a net deduction from the national wealth of under-developed countries. Another example. According to the data of the Bank of England, capital investments of the United Kingdom in the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland at the end of 1956 totaled 130 million pounds sterling. For the year, the interests and dividends on these investments totaled 17.7 million pounds sterling. The nominal joint-stock capital alone of 44.8 million pounds sterling gave 14.8 million in dividends, which means that the rate of profit was 33 per cent; in some companies the rate of profit exceeds 50 per cent. Is that not robbery in broad daylight? If it is not, then what is it?
37. No. If the colonialists wish to be the benefactors of under-developed countries, let them return everything they have taken by robbery, or at least a part of those riches which they have squeezed and continue to squeeze out of them. Let them grant such aid as would promote the creation of economic independence of the peoples that have got rid of oppression. Let them cut the greedy tentacles of the monopolies stretching out toward the young bodies of the peoples striving for a free life. Otherwise the peoples would not believe either Mr. Eisenhower, or Mr. Macmillan, in spite of all the many honeyed speeches they may deliver here.
38. As to the socialist countries, they have always sincerely wished to aid economically under-developed countries. Nobody, even our greatest enemy can charge that the socialist countries, in rendering assistance, try to make economic or political capital. Our only aim, corresponding to our ideas and aspirations, consists in helping under-developed countries to liquidate as soon as possible the heavy inheritance of colonialism, to create the prerequisites for their quick economic and cultural development. All the forms of assistance granted to the under-developed countries through the United Nations, should be directed to the fulfilment of the aim of final and speedy liquidation of the colonial regimes.
39. Life persistently demands the elimination of colonialism everywhere, after which friendly relations among all the peoples will develop wherever there burn at present the flames of anti-colonial struggle. The way to achieve this consists in approving and putting into practice the noble provisions of the Declaration on the granting of independence to colonial countries and peoples, submitted by the Government of the Soviet Union.
40. All of us are deeply concerned about the developments in the Congo (Leopoldville), the more so as the tension of the situation in this Republic is being connected with the name of the United Nations, and, consequently, directly concerns each of its Members. However, the Government of the Ukraine is not inclined to put the blame for the existing alarming situation in the Congo on the United Nations as a whole, since the colonial Powers and those who support them are only a part of the United Nations Organization.
41. It is necessary to point out that it is on behalf of this part that the United Nations Secretary-General acted, as a faithful servant of the imperialist Powers. It was he who covered up the disgraceful deeds of the colonialists in the Congo with the name of the United Nations. It was he who gave instructions to use the United Nations Force not for rendering help to the lawful Government of the Republic of the Congo in establishing order in the country but for the persecution of the lawful Government and the lawful Parliament of this young Republic. It was he who assisted the colonialists in conducting the policy of dismembering the country and came out as an accomplice of the dissenters acting in the interests of big foreign monopolists. Replying here to the just charges, Mr. Hammarskjold stated on 26 September 1960 [871st meeting] that in putting into practice the decisions of the Security Council in regard to the Congo, he was guided by what he described as “my own conviction". All his actions speak more eloquently than words about the nature of these convictions of the Secretary-General and about whose interests they serve.
42. Our charges against the Secretary-General are not without proof; they are based on undeniable facts. I would invite the Assembly to pay special attention to such an important and authoritative document as a memorandum [A/4518] of the Senate and the House of Representatives of the Republic of the Congo which was recently received by the General Assembly. This memorandum openly says that: “... wrongful interference by United Nations officials in the political affairs of the Congo has long paralysed the country’s legislative and executive organs, thus plunging the country into anarchy"; that the United Nations Organization “... is preventing the legal Government from accomplishing the- task of safeguarding the unity of the country and of restoring order".
43. In this document the Congolese Parliament requests that the United Nations should co-operate solely with the legal Government of Patrice Lumumba, the powers of which were confirmed twice by the Congolese Senate and the House of Representatives.
44. The document quoted by me is a serious charge against Mr. Hammarskjold, by whose actions the honour of our Organization has been soiled. The Congolese memorandum is an indictment of the colonialists and their protectors, who crushed democratic order in the Congo and disgraced, with the help of Mr. Hammarskjold, the United Nations Organization, which is called upon to defend firmly the interests of the peoples freeing themselves from the colonial yoke.
45. The just condemnation at this session of the General Assembly of the Secretary-General’s "activities" caused a hysterically sharp reaction on the part of the United States. In response to the constructive proposals made before the Assembly [869th meeting] by the Head of the Soviet Government, N, S, Khrushchev, which are aimed at the strengthening of the United Nations executive organs and the elimination of the one-sidedness in their functioning, the Secretary of State, Mr. Herter, hastened to declare that these proposals were "a general attack, a declaration of war against the structure, personnel and the location of the United Nations", Mr. Herter alleges that the Soviet Union is trying to undermine the United Nations by resorting to fabrications.
46. But let us impartially look at the facts, at the real situation obtaining in the executive bodies of the United Nations. The structure of the United Nations Secretariat was established fifteen years ago in historical conditions that radically differ from those of our time. Today it clearly fails to correspond to new demands. The present United Nations Secretariat finds itself in a position when its actions run counter to the interests of many of the countries represented in the United Nations, and this is due both to the imperfection of the Secretariat structure and to the specific selection of its personnel.
47. I should like to cite here certain data which show by what principles the Secretary-General was guided in recruiting his staff. Article 101 of the United Nations Charter directly states that in the staffing of the United Nations bodies due regard should be paid to the recruiting of personnel on as wide a geographical basis as possible. In fact, this requirement, so important from the point of view of principle, is flouted most flagrantly.
48. Beginning with the Offices of the Secretary-General, the staff consists mainly of persons pursuing the policy of Western countries. At present, about 1,170 officials selected under the principle of geographical distribution are working in the United Nations Secretariat. Of these, 800 officials, that is about 65 per cent, are citizens of the United States and of the United States' allies in the military blocs, while the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics and other socialist countries have only eighty-four officials, neutral Asian countries about ninety officials; that is, each group of these countries has about 7 per cent of the total number of officials, and the countries of Africa have thirty-two officials, approximately 3 per cent. The Government of the Ukrainian SSR considers it inadmissible that there are only two citizens of our Republic in the United Nations Secretariat, though the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Ukrainian SSR has repeatedly made representations on that score to the Secretary-General.
49. United States nationals in the United Nations occupy sixty higher posts, the United Kingdom nationals, thirty-two. At the same time, fifty-six countries of the world, including Indonesia, the United Arab Republic, Mexico, and Afghanistan, are barred from any form of participation in the United Nations administration. It is not without reason that people say that the majority of the United Nations Secretariat bodies have been turned in fact into branches of the United States State Department.
50. Or let us consider such a question as United Nations technical assistance. Last year, for instance, of 2,291 experts sent to various countries, 1,420 were sent from the NATO countries. The Soviet Union’s share was forty experts and that of other socialist countries, only twelve.
51. What do these facts show? They show that the United Nations administrative body preserved the correlation of forces that existed many years ago, that the Western Powers have for all emergencies such positions as will enable them to pursue their own line, acting in the name of the United Nations. Finally, these facts testify to the fact that there exists a situation in which the United Nations administrative body can act, and does ,act, against the will of the peoples, translating into reality the interests of one group of States bound by the ties of military and political blocs.
52. So it follows that the question of changing the Structure of the Secretariat, in accordance with the new correlation of forces in the world and the task confronting the United Nations, has already matured and calls for a solution. That is why the Ukrainian delegation fully supports the proposal on the changes of the Secretariat’s structure, on establishing the offices of three United Nations Secretaries in accordance with the present correlation of forces and on determining a new Headquarters for the United Nations. Without the United Nations Secretariat’s structure being changed, we shall not be able successfully to solve the major problem of our time, the problem of disarmament, which by nature acquires a particularly strict co-ordination of actions in the interests of all nations and not of one group of States. Without this, we cannot ensure the effectiveness of the United Nations and we shall doom our Organization to futility in the solution of the most pressing questions of international life.
53. Yesterday’s statement 1883rd meeting] by Mr. Hammarskjold made in reply to the criticism of his activities reaffirms once again, the fact that the Secretary-General is ready, as before, to remain in future in the service, not of the United Nations, but of a certain group of States whose policy runs counter to the Purposes and Principles of the United Nations, Set forth in the Charter. This leads us to the conclusion that so long as the executive power of the United Nations machinery is concentrated in the hands of Mr. Hammarskjold, it will not be able to function normally and efficiently, and it will be deprived of international character, to the detriment of the United Nations itself.
54. Many of those who have spoken here have noted with regret that international tension has lately grown in the world as a result of the aggressive acts of the United States imperialist circles, with the knowledge and approval of the United States President,
55. The flights of the U-2 and RB-47 aircraft into the Soviet air space for spying and reconnaissance purposes have shown that the maintenance of friendship with States and respect for their sovereignty are thrown overboard by the ruling circles of the United States, which regard them as obsolete and unnecessary norms of law. Instead of this, a conception of the deliberate and carefully planned undermining of the lawful basis of international relations was advanced. The Ukrainian Government regards acts based on violation of the principle of sovereignty of States as a most dangerous expression of the policy of the position of strength. The slightest connivance with or lenience towards the aggressive acts of American military and diplomatic circles may lead the world to the disaster of war.
56. It is our duty to condemn the aggressive acts of the United States directed against international security; it is the call of conscience and justice. Such condemnation would be received by all the peoples as a curb to the frantic and impudent violators of foreign frontiers, whose manoeuvres are particularly dangerous in this age of atomic weapons. This is all the more necessary since disregard of the sovereignty of other States, proclaimed by Washington, is manifested in various forms in the foreign policy of the United States.
57. The delegation of the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic deems it its duly to state before the General Assembly teat the responsible officials of the United States continue to pursue a policy of interference in the internal affairs of the Ukrainian people, as well as of other peoples of the socialist countries. Although the Ukraine signed the United Nations Charter on equal terms with the United States as a sovereign and free State, the official bodies of the United States, including Congress, systematically carry on the campaign of slander against the Ukrainian State, using for these purposes Hitlerite riff-raff who have perpetrated crimes against the Ukrainian people. Some members of the United States Congress, who apparently are not too busy with State affairs, deliver “moving” speeches, using the same mimeographed crib concerning the so-called "week of captive nations” or “the day of Ukraine’s independence” by which they mean “independence" brought on German bayonets,
58. These cheap masquerades arouse the indignation of the 42 million Ukrainian people. They also affect the deep feelings of love for their mother Ukraine among the working Ukrainian emigrants who live in the United States and Canada and they insult their national dignity, since for all of us Ukrainians the Soviet Ukraine is an embodiment of free life and real independence.
59. The rude and slanderous statement made in the General Assembly by Mr. Diefenbaker, the Prime Minister of Canada, has also aroused profound indignation among the Ukrainian people and wide circles of the Ukrainian emigrants. Our delegation has received many letters not only from the Ukraine, but also from the Ukrainian emigrants in the United States and Canada, containing expressions of resolute protest against this affront.
60. Listening to Mr. Diefenbaker’s statement [871st meeting] one can think that he has apparently mistaken the audience of such a high international forum as the United Nations for a dozen shouters who picket the delegations which arrive here to attend the session, or for the NATO Council, where anything can be said that has an anti-Soviet character. Be this as if may, it is precisely the United Nations rostrum that the Canadian Premier has chosen for unseemly attacks on the peoples of a number of States Members of the United Nations, including the Ukraine. He tried to pose almost as the "liberator" of the Ukrainian people, and this is not his first attempt. But he looked, if you will excuse me, simply absurd and ridiculous. He rather looked like a man who had been sleeping during the last forty years and now, as we say in the Ukraine, he cannot get either through the fence or through the gate.
61. And if he wants to have a simple lesson in history, I can inform him that many years have already elapsed Since the Ukrainian people liberated themselves from capitalist slavery. As far back as 1917, they rose together with the other peoples of the former Czarist Russia in the great socialist revolution, and drove both their native and foreign oppressors out of their country. Having taken power in their hands, the workers and peasants of the Ukraine, by their heroic labour, of which only a free nation is capable, have built within a short period of history the beautiful and strong Ukraine, within the friendly and fraternal family of socialist nations, which is a matter of pride not only for the population of our Republic, but for every honest Ukrainian wherever he may live.
62. The economy of the Ukraine surpasses the economy, I would say, of several such countries as Canada. According to the level of industrial and agricultural development, the Ukraine is among the most advanced countries of the world. We have surpassed the United States in the per caput production of steel, pig iron, and iron ore, as well as of some other industrial and agricultural produce. The country which in the past was illiterate has become a republic of highly developed culture, of advanced science and technology. The number of students in the Ukrainian schools of higher education is equal to that in such schools in the United Kingdom, France, Spain, Sweden and Austria taken together, and ten times more than that in such schools in Canada. A whole army of scientists, who have made a great contribution to the solving of important scientific problems in the creation of artificial earth satellites, spaceships, etc., are working in 500 scientific research establishments. Is it not clear that an oppressed nation cannot achieve such full prosperity of its land as has been achieved by the people of the Soviet Ukraine?
63. Indisputable facts of modern history show that, wherever socialism comes to replace the old, obsolete and unjust System of capitalism, the system of oppression and exploitation of man, people become really free and attain achievements in all the spheres of life which cannot but be recognized by every impartial person.
64. The Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic is a free and equal member of the mighty family of the Soviet Republics and we need neither help nor care of self-styled trustees.
65. If Mr. Diefenbaker is really anxious to "take care" of the peoples and to "liberate" them from the economic and political domination of other Powers, he need not go very far. His own country could become a good field for precisely such activities on the part of the Prime Minister.
66. I want to stress here that the Ukraine is a peace-loving country and that our people and Government want to live in peace and friendship with all nations, including the Canadian nation, a considerable part of which consists of the Ukrainian emigrants. Having left their motherland in the hard times of the domination of Russian Czar ism and the Austro-Hungarian empire in the Ukrainian lands, the Ukrainian emigrants have made a great contribution to the economic and cultural development of Canada. This fact should but promote friendly relations between the Canadian and Ukrainian peoples. We hope that this will be so.
67. The present session of the General Assembly should use its great opportunities to justify the hopes of the peoples and make a positive contribution to the solution of pressing international problems, to facilitate the general improvement of the international situation to translate into reality the noble ideas of peaceful co-existence.
68. We cannot but see that flagrant attacks continue against the idea of peaceful co-existence of States with differing social and economic systems. But we see as well that this idea has won wide support among the peoples of the world today. It is beyond any doubt that humanity will highly appreciate the United Nations if it does not spare its efforts for the triumph of the principles of peaceful co-existence among all peoples and States.
69. As Nikita S. Khrushchev, the Head of the Soviet Government, said, we know that all peoples want peace, the American people included. But it will not suffice only to wish. This wish should be substantiated by active actions. Now it is more important than ever before to sharpen the vigilance of peoples, to expose the manoeuvres of the aggressive forces, to seek that the principles of peaceful co-existenee should become a genuine basis in relations between States with differing social systems.
70. I do not think that there is a single statesman who realizes his responsibilities who would not share these views.
71. The peoples are demanding from their Governments and responsible statesmen that the saddled cold war horses should be hobbled, that preponderance should be given to common sense, that all the energy and skill of statesmen should be directed to finding constructive ways of securing lasting peace.
72. The Assembly, in my opinion, could be compared with an X-ray penetrating the whole complicated international situation, the actions and aspirations of States and Governments. The General Assembly has devoted not a few busy days to important political discussions. It appears that there is a different approach to questions in one way or another pertaining to the idea of peace and peaceful co-existence. Some people submit to the Assembly constructive proposals calling for close attention, others add such "problems" for us as the so-called "Question of Hungary" provoking the cold war. Some propose that measures should be taken to put an end to the colonial system once and for all; others, by exerting pressure, are trying to side-track the Assembly from the solution of vital questions of life. Some propose measures to enhance the effectiveness of the United Nations; others respond with shrieks about “the United Nations crisis”, about a "war" allegedly declared on the United Nations, thus hoping to mislead and agitate the world public.
73. It is noteworthy that the United States delegation and those of other leading NATO countries up to now have been doing everything to belittle the significance of the present session of the Assembly, to hinder its fruitful activities and ”prove” the uselessness of Heads of State and Government participating in its work. But in doing so they only show that the Governments of these States are seeking to keep away the United Nations and its supreme body, the General Assembly, from discussing and solving essential world problems. That it is so is graphically shown by the fact that the Western Powers refuse to discuss in the plenary meetings the questions of disarmament and the abolition of colonialism, the most important problems of today, putting forward at the same time the farfetched and provocative proposals like the ”questions” of Hungary and Tibet. The lack of any serious constructive proposals on the part of the delegations of the Western Powers and at the same time their desire to hamper discussion by the Assembly of the very important and really urgent questions put on the agenda by the Soviet Union and other peace-loving countries — that is the position of these Powers at the present session which exposes them before the whole world as the opponents of refreshing the international atmosphere, consolidation of peace and security of peoples.
74. Speaking today in the general political debate, I wish to state categorically that the Ukrainian SSR will never assent to the flagrant violation of the legitimate rights of the People’s Republic of China. Indeed, it is obvious to everyone that until the 650 million- strong Chinese people are represented in the United Nations, the Organization will not be able to solve successfully the most important international problems and cannot be considered a really representative world organization. Our delegation intends to make a more detailed statement on this question during the discussion of the agenda of this session. We also resolutely favour the admission to Ignited Nations membership of the Mongolian People’s Republic.
75. The way to mutual understanding, to the triumph of the peaceful aspirations of humanity, requires great courage, restraint and wise persistency that overcomes all obstacles in its way. We, the people who have gathered here, must clearly realize this and do our utmost, so that our practical decisions and deeds pave the way and help peoples in their advance,
76. The delegation of the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic, speaking here in favour of the proposals contributing to the preservation of international peace, acts in accordance with its instructions from the Ukrainian people. Our people wish that the only master of the world may be creative labour, that man may live and improve himself in peace and freedom — the only conditions worthy of our great age. We are convinced that the United Nations can do much to make the brightest hopes of peoples come true. This aim is worthy of effort and it is. this effort that we are calling upon all the participants of the present session to make.