Guinea

Rarely in the history of the United Nations has a General Assembly session been followed with more intense or hopeful interest than was the fourteenth session. All the peoples of the world believed, and justifiably so, that that session was to be the Assembly of peace, ushering in the new era of friendship and brotherhood of which the world has never ceased to dream. The fourteenth session was, moreover, not only the "Assembly of peace" but the Assembly of Africa. The problems of African development and of the establishment of lasting peace are indeed closely linked and attempts must be made to solve them simultaneously. 2. Unfortunately, the hope conceived by the nations, barely twelve months ago, that succeeding generations Would be saved once and for all from poverty and destruction, was soon disappointed. New difficulties ate now appearing to hinder the development of the African continent and to darken the international horizon. Thus, at the fifteenth session, the General Assembly is beginning its work at a time when the peoples are anxiously wondering what the future holds in store for humanity, and when the glorious past of the United Nations is in danger of being effaced from man's memory. 3. Every day reports come to our notice of individual or collective actions which conflict with the ideals of the international community, actions constituting faring violations of the spirit of the United Nations Charter. In other words, at a time when the world knows that all the ingredients of safety and prosperity are within its grasp, respect for law and for the equality of peoples seems to be declining, as does respect for self-determination, which has always been considered as the very basis for the settlement of international disputes. 4. Numerous obstacles stand in the way of the irresistible advance of the colonial peoples and the forces of peace and progress. Colonial Powers — Members of the United Nations — are still striving to maintain their privileges at the expense of the African peoples. It is an undeniable fact that the colonial question is one of the major issues at the fifteenth session, which is distinguished by the presence of so many Heads of State. The fifteenth session can still become a turning point in human history, if we can lift our discussions above our own selfish interests, if we can act in a spirit of mutual Understanding and rid ourselves of prejudice and suspicion. 5. In Africa, the struggle of peoples for liberty and prosperity has gained momentum. Breaking their fetters. States are now emerging where once there were only vast spheres of influence, or rich areas of exploitation. In spite of repression, bloodshed and torture, colonialism is steadily losing ground. This general advance of the African peoples towards a better fixture cannot now be halted or arrested, no matter what resistance may be offered by imperialist forces Political crises, procrastination, attempts at economic strangulation — all weapons employed by the champions of the colonial regime — are powerless to impede the rise of nations which were until recently enslaved, but whose strength is multiplied tenfold as they find new dignity and confidence, and unite for their continued struggle. 6. Such a profound metamorphosis in a continent which for more than a century has remained inarticulate on the fringe of history is inevitably producing a swift and decisive change in the whole aspect of the international community. In our opinion, that community cannot continue to cling to its old beliefs about Africa and the Africans, or to remain inactive in the face of the new prospects opening up before it. Africa has ceased to be a source of wealth and profit to those Powers which once controlled it politically and economically. Those who fear that Africa may fall under the sway of a particular bloc and who tremble at the thought of thus being deprived of their former privileges are tilting at windmills. Africa is no longer a prey or a bone of contention — it is simply becoming itself. 7. This idea of the steady advancement of peoples, which is clearly postulated by the purposes and principles of the United Nations, is often overlooked, if not disregarded, by those who are now invoking the bogey of imaginary foreign domination for the unavowed purpose of masking or justifying the control they exercise over certain African territories and peoples. 8. There are some who still cling to a belief in their own superiority and have not yet rid themselves of their ingrained illusions with regard to those whom they have subjugated by force and whom they treat as inferior peoples. In the past, the excuse given for exploiting subjugated peoples, who became the victims of injustice and despotism, was those peoples' lack of any moral sense or culture. Until the false creeds of racial discrimination and cultural superiority are discarded, it will be impossible to tackle or to solve the basic problems of our time relating to world peace and stability. There are no inferior peoples, nor has any people the right to think or say that it brings the ideal of liberty to another people. We condemn exploitation and domination and are equally strongly opposed to the spirit of superiority which leads some to think that the fate of colonial peoples should depend on their charity. 9. The imperialist philosophy which restricts human development by force and makes it a prerogative of the so-called superior peoples is the main source of the conflicts in Africa between the oppressors and the colonized peoples, conflicts which lead to major crises and constitute a serious danger to international peace and security. It is the duty of the United Nations to free the world from the burden of colonialism, which has become unbearable. To proclaim the immediate and general independence of all colonized peoples is to comply with a fundamental objective of the Charter. There are some who list with pride and complacency the countries to which they claim to have brought liberty. We, on the contrary, are consumed with indignation at the fate of the millions to whom they are still denying their enduring and legitimate right of self-determination. The international community must recognize that it can never establish lasting peace in the world while the colonial Powers are still able to oppress other peoples. All peoples wish to express themselves directly, freely and as sovereign States, and any attempt to prevent them from doing so will lead only to chaos and misery. Humanity as a whole should mobilize in defence of a lasting peace, put an end to wars of conquest and re-conquest and turn its face resolutely towards the future, a future of justice and of progress through labour and brotherly love. 10. When we addressed the General Assembly on 5 November 1959 [837th meeting], we solemnly affirmed in the name of the people and Government of the Republic of Guinea, which upholds the ideals of justice, solidarity and unity of the African peoples, that the liberty of Africa is indivisible and indissolubly bound up with the liberty of the whole world. We then stressed the fact that Africa was once again phasing through a decisive and critical phase in its history. In less than a year, more than fifteen African countries have freed themselves from foreign control and have attained full and complete sovereignty. I should like once more to greet the representatives of these new States on behalf of the Republic of Guinea and to congratulate their peoples on the victory they have just won. 11. All these profound changes were the result of a hard and ceaseless struggle for national independence, though that struggle did not always assume the form of armed revolt, as in the case of Algeria. Imperialism, too, has deviated from the conventional methods of oppression and has modernized the instruments of tyranny; it continues none the less to use brute force, for example, in the Congo (Leopoldville), South Africa and, of course, Algeria, A year ago, speaking from this rostrum, we urged the Members of the United Nations to remember that a world divided cannot stand, and that a state of affairs can no longer be tolerated in which one half of the world lives in bondage and misery while the other half enjoys liberty and plenty. Our appeal, which merely voiced the feelings of the whole African continent, far from having received a favourable response from the colonial Powers, has been met with arrogance, stupidity, selfishness and incomprehension. The living forces of Africa in revolt against tyranny have come up against the strong defences of colonial oppression and exploitation. 12. On 21 March 1960, the entire world was shocked to hear of the appalling slaughter that took place in South Africa when the defenceless African population of Sharpeville was attacked by the South African police, On that date men, women and children peacefully proclaiming their right to freedom were shot down by colonialist bullets. International opinion, sickened by that unspeakable measure, reacted most vigorously by condemning the infamous laws enacted by the racist Government at Pretoria. 13. Portugal, alarmed and disturbed by the vast emancipation movement now embracing the whole black continent, is feverishly strengthening its military forces in Angola, Mozambique, and so-called Portuguese Guinea, with the full approval of its allies, who wish to keep Africa in a state of permanent subjugation. 14. The situation created in the Congo as a result of Belgian aggression today threatens the peace and security not only of Africa but of the whole world. In central and eastern Africa, colonialism is paving the way for further conflict in its efforts to curb the rightful aspirations of the peoples of countries which are henceforward bent on independence and unity. Quite apart from the artificial maintenance of all the measures of political and human oppression, every form of economic exploitation is being continued. Africa is therefore at present in a state of underdevelopment, which yearly assumes a more and more disturbing aspect. It has often been said that the central theme of the United Nations Charter, as it emerges from the discussions at the San Francisco Conference, is that peace cannot be safeguarded if oppression, injustice and economic exploitation persist in the world, if peoples are deprived of the barest minimum and, finally, if certain governments are free to impose on other peoples systems of tyranny and violence conducive to the perpetuation of their own privileges. 15. Faced with a movement of revolt, the rumblings of which can be heard throughout the African continent, the colonial Powers show no signs of willingness to relax their economic, political and military stranglehold of their own accord, Africa, despised and cheated of its rights, today occupies a prominent place in the expansionist plans of imperialist Powers. By means of subtle manoeuvres and under the cloak of economic agreements, these Powers are pooling their resources and co-ordinating their efforts for the construction of the military bases required for the exploitation of the vast riches they covet. Thus, colonialism is beginning to appear in an international guise in which it naturally tolerates the flags and anthems of African nationalism, but will not allow any interference with its own interests. 16. Political independence does not in itself mean complete national liberation, though it is certainly a necessary and decisive step forward. However, we must recognize that national independence presupposes not only political liberation but also, and above all, total economic liberation. No social progress is possible unless those two essential conditions are met. If Africa is to be liberated economically, it must cease to be considered as a reservoir of raw materials. It is worth, emphasizing that the present underdeveloped state of practically the whole African continent is a direct consequence of the absence of any typically African economy. The new States emerging from servitude are confronted with the serious problem of the fragmentation of the African economy and its integration with the economies of metropolitan countries. The present economy of Africa has the characteristics of a colonial economy, the essential purpose of which is to make the colony an economic appendage to the metropolitan country, Africa being considered as a market in which any competition likely to prejudice metropolitan interests is studiously eliminated. As a result of the accidents of colonization, neighbouring African countries having identical economic features belong to completely different economic and commercial systems. In the majority of cases there is no capital accumulation which would enable our countries to make the investments needed for their economic and social development from their own resources. 17. Can a system under which the economy is completely deprived of funds, has very few indigenous specialists at its disposal and is, in practice, compelled to contribute to the development of metropolitan countries that are already highly industrialized, lead to anything but ruin? This is why, despite all the philanthropic speeches, no colonized country has yet attained a social level comparable with what are considered the lowest levels in Europe. There is therefore a vicious circle which must be broken: the enrichment of the rich and the impoverishment of the poor; in other words, the colonial relationship must be totally eliminated if Africa is to have an economy of its own individual type, which will ensure a better future for its peoples. As we know, the idea of an African common market has recently made headway and it is beginning to be recognized that an authentically African economic entity must be created. On the basis of the peoples’ own interests. 18. The imperialists still need to be Convinced that, in the last analysis, all industries, however highly developed, will benefit if Africa creates its own economy and achieves the necessary conditions for its own industrialization. The false colonial idea that Africa cannot be industrialized must make way for a new outlook, for recognition of the inevitable evolution of all continents, including Africa, and hence of the absolute necessity of industrializing the African countries. We are confident that the industrialization of Africa, far from lessening the opportunities for the development of other continents, will considerably increase them, since Africa’s needs are steadily multiplying in every field. Those who at present control the world economy must therefore be induced not only to accept the political emancipation of the African continent, but also to recognize that its economic emancipation is a basic factor in world harmony and the new balance of power, 19. The struggle of the peoples for their economic liberation is only beginning. We are in a better position today than ever before to achieve victory in that struggle. But we are also convinced of the absolute necessity of outside aid if we are to attain our goals speedily; we therefore attach great importance to frank and direct discussion with other peoples who are willing to lend us their fraternal support. 20. But our young States in Africa and Asia must, above all, be self-reliant. They must mobilize their entire population to eliminate the after-effects of former domination, and embark courageously on their new tasks. The Republic of Guinea has accordingly never ceased to proclaim that the struggle of the Guinean people is inseparable from that of the other peoples of Africa, Asia and the rest of the world. For the same reason, we warmly welcome into this international family our new sister States, which, by taking their place beside us, reinforce our means of action and increase the prospects of the liberation of other peoples still deprived of their freedom and their sovereignly. Like us, these new States will discover the satisfaction of proudly withstanding all the tactics for isolating them adopted by the imperialists, who still dream of remaining the masters of Africa. The imperialists no longer oppose the liberation of Africa, but they each hope to have Stages in Africa loyal to themselves. The sanctimonious expressions of joy emanating from the colonial camp at the admission to the United Nations of a large number of, young African States should therefore be received with caution. 21. Some Powers imagine that they can dissemble, behind enthusiastic applause, their secret desire to procure African votes in the United Nations, votes which can be used not to promote African emancipation and the struggle for world peace, in accordance with the high ideals of the Charter, but purely to advance their own cause — in other words, the consolidation of their economic position, principally in Africa and Asia, Yesterday's oppressors, speaking in the accents of pure philanthropists, are hoping to cajole the independent Governments of Africa and Asia represented in our Organization into supporting their reactionary policy. 22. Certainly, not all the applause greeting the new Members of the United Nations has the same significance; far from it. The leaders of the new African States are fortunately not children. They will not accept this new form of colonialism at a time when the need for liberty and dignity is becoming the primary concern of the whole African continent. They will show that the true objective of their peoples’ heroic struggle was not to secure a flag, a national anthem, and as has been well said, a seat in the United Nations, but to put an end to every kind of domination and to participate effectively in all measures for the promotion of peace and progress. 23. Our peoples have undergone oppression, but have never had a vocation for being slaves, and their leaders cannot accept the role of puppets which they are being asked to play in the United Nations. Those who are relying on sympathetic African votes in order to stay in Algeria, in South Africa, and in the colonies, will be the first to be bitterly disappointed. Any others who have been making the same calculations in respect of other lost causes will be able, we hope, to draw the obvious conclusions. 24. There is no easy road to the achievement of complete liberation for Africa. The imperialists must renounce their privileges. There is no other solution. The men and women, the old people and the children of Africa have clearly grasped that fact. Although the paths of progress are not uniform and the form of the struggle differs from country to country, depending on the prevailing conditions, the struggle for liberation in each African territory constitutes part of the whole immense effort for the complete emancipation of the continent from poverty and servitude. This means that all the traps set for us will be avoided, one after another. It must henceforth be clearly understood that, as we affirmed in this very hall on 5 November 1959, paternalism, or any attempt to intervene in Africa otherwise than in accordance with authentically African wishes and aspirations, will be doomed to failure. 25. The surest guarantee of the victory of our peoples lies not so much in the more or less forceful declarations of their leaders, as in the dynamic strength of our peoples themselves, now firmly wedded to the sacred cause of their emancipation. If the world Organization wishes to carry out a constructive programme of co-operation in Africa, free of all prejudice and over-sensitively, it is essential that it should heed the clear voice of the true Africa. 26. Some look only for traces of their own ideological antagonism in Africa, and are interested only in what may reflect their own prejudices, when what is needed is to understand the true facts and to see that a new way of life with its own values is being built up. 27. The United Nations has certainly acquired great prestige in Africa by reason of the hopes which it has awakened in consequence of a series of positive measures in the cause of human freedom, dignity and brotherhood. Africa sets great store by those ideals, because they have been familiar to it for centuries. It would be altogether wrong to imagine that Africa is only now becoming acquainted with the noble ideals on which the United Nations Charter is based. There is no degree of moral sublimity, no human emotion and no refinement of civilization to which Africa and the Africans are strangers. Imperialism must not introduce its philosophy and methods into the institutions of the United Nations, for that would be to jeopardize the moral authority and the esteem which the Organization enjoys in Africa. 28. Although, on 10 June 1960, the peoples of Africa and all the democratic forces of the world united in rejoicing over the political progress made by the former Belgian Congo in becoming an independent and sovereign State, a democratic republic, it must be generally recognized that hardly a week after the birth of this new State, there were profoundly disturbing developments which cast a shadow over our picture of the Congolese nation. The Belgian Government had just ordered its parachutists on a mission whose only purpose was to attack the freedom and sovereignty which that very Government had only recently announced that it had granted to the Congolese people. 29. Since that aggression, international opinion has been bombarded by increasingly contradictory, fantastic and discouraging news from a Press which fears neither God nor man, to the point where people are wondering who is now the aggressor in the Congo and who is the victim of aggression. Day after day, as part of the campaign of lies organized by a certain Press, the simplest facts are being presented in such a way as to cause ordinary people to wonder whether the independence of the Congo was not, after all, a regrettable event mote damaging to the interests of the Congo than the Belgian colonization. 30. Our fears are fully justified by the negative role assumed by the United Nations in the drama of the Congo. The confusion and intrigue generated in the ledgling Republic of the Congo have put the United Nations in a very bad light in the eyes of the African peoples. One cannot disregard the fact that the implementation of the Security Council's resolutions on the Congo has revealed serious deficiencies, thereby demonstrating the weakness of United Nations representatives, or their complicity with the enemies of Congolese independence and unity. Whether we like it or not, nothing can justify so-called "neutrality" in the conflict between the Government of Mr. Lumumba and the colonialist forces of division, exploitation and disturbance. Whether or not it is voiced, African opinion condemns the ambiguous position of the United Nations representatives who have deliberately and illegally disowned the Central Government of the Congo and encouraged secessionist movements and the chaos desired by the Belgian aggressors. 31. The Government of the Republic of Guinea has often stated that it is less appreciative of intentions, whether they be good or bad, than of reality and of the impact of deeds as they relate to the specific interests of our peoples. It has also said that, in its view, intentions have never made history and can change nothing in this world unless they are translated into the corresponding deeds. 32. In the present case, we are compelled to recognize that up to now the action taken in the Republic of the Congo has tended rather to discredit the authority of the Congolese people and Government than to offer them disinterested assistance with a view to ensuring respect for Congolese institutions. When we study these acts, the conditions which have favoured them and their motivation,, we cannot but place on the United Nations the main burden of responsibility for the confusion created and cleverly sustained in world Opinion in order to disguise the nefarious action of the worst enemies of Congolese freedom and sovereignty. 33. In order to simplify the Congo problem to make it understandable to the moral conscience and the political sense of men of goodwill of all countries and races, I would ask the members of the General Assembly to assume for a moment that, at the time of the Belgian aggression, the Government of the Congo had been in a position to defend its national patrimony as the Government of the United States or the Government of the USSR could have done. If that had been the case, it would not have appealed for help to any State or to the United Nations. It would have used its own means, on its own responsibility, to defend the legitimate right of its people to resist the aggressor. 34. Unfortunately, this assumption does not correspond to the real situation in the Congo, where the Government which had been democratically elected still had no effective military means to defend the Congolese people. In view of the legitimacy of the cause it had to defend and of the inadequacy — let us remember that — of the military means at its disposal, it therefore confidently appealed for assistance to the United Nations, the supreme arbiter of independent peoples, which was created in order to guarantee to every national entity respect for its institutions and protection of its freedom and legitimate interests. 35. It should be emphasized from the outset that the United Nations is not an end in itself, but an instrument of international stability based on justice and law, an instrument of fraternal co-operation between Peoples, an instrument of political safeguards for every nation, an instrument which must obviously be available for all just causes, especially those concerned with maintaining and strengthening the best relations between human societies. By its intervention in the Congolese conflict, the United Nations took a stand for justice against arbitrary action, for law against brute force, and, by so doing, placed itself at the disposal of the Congolese people so that they might be able to achieve their objective of living in peace despite the efforts of those who had taken the heavy responsibility of attacking them. How then could the United Nations assert that it "could not take sides in the internal affairs of the Congo", since an appraisal of those internal affairs, characterized by foreign aggression, was the very justification for its intervention in the Congo? 36. Before the Congolese people became independent, national institutions had been established in accordance with the provisions of the Fundamental Law of the Republic of the Congo. The drafting of that Law, and the definition of the functions of the various institutions had been the subject of joint discussions, in which representatives of all parties in the Congo and of the Belgian Government had taken part. That constitutional law, which was accepted by all parties in the Congo, clearly defined the powers of the various institutions of the young State. 37. A national assembly and a Senate had been elected on a basis of universal suffrage in democratic elections. In accordance with the same democratic procedure, the Congolese Parliament, comprising the Chamber of Representatives and the Senate in joint session, designates the Chief of the Congolese State and invests the head of the Congolese Government. 38. Resolution No. 4, adopted by the Round Table Conference and concerning the competence of the first Government of the Congo, states that as from 30 June 1960 that Government is to succeed the Belgian Government and thus exercise on behalf of the Congolese people all the powers previously reserved to the Belgian Government. 39. The principal powers include foreign relations, the army and the national police force, national finances, customs, higher education, shipping, river, traffic and air traffic, the security of the State and general economic policy. At the provincial level, in accordance with a policy of administrative decentralization, each of the six provinces has a provincial council and a provincial government. Provincial powers are exercised only within the indivisible and unitary framework of the State, represented and directed by the Central Government of the Republic of the Congo. 40. Those who are unfamiliar with the legal structure of the Congo often find it difficult to determine whether the Chief of State or the Congolese Government is the legitimate spokesman where foreign States and international organizations are concerned. As a result, international opinion is now divided, some regarding Mr. Kasa-Vubu's actions as legal and valid, while others take the same view of the actions decided upon by the Congolese Government in the Council of Ministers. 41. The preamble of the Constitution of the Republic of the Congo provides the answer. This is not a Kasa-Vubu-Lumumba problem, but a problem of law, of international law and national legality, and our Assembly can only exercise authority in so far as its action is the authentic expression of the wishes of a nation, or of the community of nations. 42. I quote from the preamble to the Constitution: "The problem of the Chief of State involves a choice of considerable political importance, A new State in process of formation must decide between various systems. Is the Chief of State to be without responsibility and distinct from the Government, or is he to be responsible and form an integral part of the Government? If the Chief of State does have responsibility, is he to be responsible directly to the people or, together with the ministers, to the elected Assemblies? "The Round-Table Conference adopted the system of a Chief of State who, on the European model, does not have responsibility". I emphasize the phrase: "The system of a Chief of State who does not have responsibility." "Before 30 June 1960, the two Congolese Chambers shall convene in joint session to take a decision on the designation of a Chief of State, whose acts shall have no effect unless they are countersigned by a minister of the Congolese Government, which alone is responsible". Here again, I emphasize: "The Congolese Government, which alone is responsible. This system will continue until the Constitution" (i.e., the definitive Constitution) "enters into force." "If no agreement can be reached on this appointment, the function of Chief of State will be assumed provisionally by the President of the Senate or the President of the Chamber of Representatives or by the representative from either Chamber who is senior in age. 43. The preamble goes on to say: "A Chief of State without responsibility was thus the system which in the end was adopted unanimously and without debate at the Round-Table plenary meeting." It thus becomes perfectly clear that, in accordance with Congolese law, the sole responsibility for the Congolese people's destiny rests with the Government of Mr. Lumumba, which was elected in due form by the Parliament and continues to enjoy its confidence. 44. The United Nations intervention can accordingly be justified only by the fact that it was requested by a responsible Government, the Government of Mr. Patrice Lumumba. How, then, can the object of this intervention be defined apart from the will of the Congolese Government on Congolese soil? Can we enter a man's room, with the avowed intention of offering him help against a bandit, an aggressor, and then claim the right to act in that room in complete disregard of the occupant's will and the conditions set by him? It often happens that the means becomes the end, but in this case we must frankly admit that might is stronger than law and justice. 45. That is why we consider this the proper time to address an appeal to all nations of the world in order that their combined efforts may restore to the international organ its proper role as dispenser of justice for all peoples, regardless of their material and military power. We well know that divergent interests weaken the action of the United Nations. To be convinced of this, one has only to recall the profound contempt with which some nations, more aware of their military strength than of the justice of the causes they are defending, threaten to make the United Nations weak and ineffectual. 46. For our part, we know that the United Nations has an important historic role to play and that it must retain the power of crystallizing all positive energies and human virtues, whose union will hasten the disintegration of the negative forces still hindering the evolution and full development of societies. 47. We do not regard the United Nations as a tutelary power whose decrees we fear or whose favour we court; we consider It as the crucible of the universal conscience of societies. But for that to be so, it must so conduct itself as always to favour the forces of human progress, national independence and world peace. It must become a real instrument and centre of international co-operation which will further the destiny of all mankind in a positive and worthy manner. 48. Our concern is that the cause of every people, regardless of race, religion, or nationality, should triumph, but regardless of our wish that mankind should attain this high degree of awareness of its common interests, we must carefully bear in mind the painful realities we are now witnessing in the Congo (Leopoldville), Algeria, the Union of South Africa and elsewhere. Some Members of the United Nations have been criticized for their unwearying denunciation of the evils of imperialism and colonialism, but if a man cries "Fire! " when he sees his neighbour's house burning, no one but an arsonist would dare reproach him for sounding the alarm. Who can ask us to remain aloof from what is happening in the Congo except those who cherish the vain hope of turning the footsteps of our brethren in the Congo backward by placing the Congo under the Trusteeship System? 49. While we realize that the mere denunciation of the colonialist system will not enable us to destroy it and to wipe it from the face of the earth, it is by combating colonialism wherever it exists and wherever it works against the people's freedom that we can hasten its total disappearance. There are two ways to protect oneself against theft: the first is to take out theft insurance and let the thieves do their worst; the second Is to denounce the spirit of theft, and unmask and resist the thieves. The latter course is ours, because we know that our people's freedom will really be achieved and consolidated only when all those who have the evil intention of usurping it have been blacklisted, denounced and rendered harmless. 50. We do not and never shall remain aloof from what is happening around us. We intend on the contrary to participate in every action on behalf of the freedom of all peoples, the independence of all nations, and international co-operation and world peace, 51. We know that although the weaknesses and faults of man are destructive, we must devote ourselves to his virtues and good qualities if we are to make our contribution toward building a better world in which the resources of human genius will be used exclusively for the happiness of mankind without any kind of discrimination. That is why, so long as colonialism works against the happiness of mankind we must fight alongside all those who are striving to usher In an era of progress, brotherhood and peace. 52. The Congo must no longer serve as a subject for dissertations, or as a proving ground for foreign enterprises. Let us regard the Congo as a part of the life of our human race and consider the fate reserved for millions of men, women and children. Let there be less discussion of Mr. Lumumba, Mr. Kasa-Vubu, Mr. Mobutu, Mr. Ileo and others, and let there be serious efforts to find this problem a just solution which will serve the cause of people who desire only well-being, peace and progress. 53. It is illogical to defend an unjust reactionary policy by the device of arbitrarily assigning a particular colour to a man's or a people's political and Ideological concepts. Each people has a perfect right to hold any concept it pleases, provided its actual conduct threatens neither the liberty nor the Interests of another people. Were it not for these rules, brute force would prevail over moral force, Injustice over justice, and savagery over civilization. 54. Those who are presented to us as the protagonists in the Congolese contest are actually, for the most part, mere tools manipulated for selfish purposes. Corruption — that degrading instrument of imperialism — has, as we know, played its destructive, debasing role. We also know that the most inconsistent pretexts have been bandied about in an effort to obscure the real Congolese problem, the solution of which demands that a decisive choice be made between the freedom and sovereignty of the Congolese people and the freedom of their exploiters. We know how the rejection of the conditions which it was sought to Impose on the Congolese Government for the establishment of a so-called national bank — a bank that was national in name only — precipitated the incidents in the Congo from the beginning of September 1960 onward. We all know what occurred after 2 September; we know of all the aid that was given to the various sides in order to intensify the disorder and the struggle for influence among the Congolese leaders and thus to justify the anti-Congolese plan that had been prepared. 55. At this point in our speech, we do not feel called upon to make public all the overwhelming documentary evidence that we possess on the Congo situation. We want to co-operate in a constructive endeavour even with those who have made mistakes, in so far as their moral and political conscience is capable of appreciating the situation, and we want to start them on the pathway of respect for law, legality and Congolese interests. In so doing, we hope that all the disguised actors in the Congolese drama will alter their position and spare us the need of putting them publicly to confusion. 56. It Is pointless to congratulate our peoples on their accession to independence when the congratulations go hand in hand with subtle manoeuvres designed to hinder the normal exercise of their national sovereignty. The freedom dearest to our hearts Is the freedom of exercising our independence; it Is (I say it at the risk of repeating myself) the freedom of exercising our independence freely, the freedom which promotes and does not hinder the normal conditions for exercising the functions of national sovereignty. 57. We appeal to the sentiments of justice of all nations, urging them to undertake the effective defence of Congolese legality. The men who are in the Congo will pass from the scene; the Congolese people and the Republic of the Congo will remain. We must not commit an act which will go down in history as a source of reproach on the part of future generations in the Congo and elsewhere towards those who today are responsible for international life. 58. The United Nations should engage in no discussions with the usurpers of power; the United Nations is responsible for promoting and safeguarding the regular functioning of the Congolese Parliament. Instead of encouraging the usurpers of power, in the pay of the colonialists, the United Nations should recognize and deal with the Congolese Government only. 59. We urgently request that the seat of the Republic of the Congo in the United Nations should be occupied by the representatives accredited by the Central Government as invested and supported by the Congolese Parliament. No valid objection can be levelled at the qualifications of the persons accredited as representatives by Mr. Lumumba’s Government, for that Government will remain the legitimate one so long as no other Central Government is invested by the Parliament, which is the repository of the Congolese peopled sovereignty. 60. The problem before us continues in short, to be a moral problem, a problem of law and a problem of justice. All those present here have over the years seen changes in the composition of the Governments of their countries and nations. The practice, however, of international bodies such as the United Nations has been that delegations continue to sit in these bodies so long as the regularly constituted government if the States which they represent has not, under regular conditions, altered the character of its representation. To be more specific, we have been witness during the past three months to changes in the leadership of various States. Let us take Laos. We are informed that the composition of that country’s Government has been changed; we learn a week later that it has been, changed again. Nevertheless, the delegation of Laos has an unquestioned right to sit here until such time as another regularly constituted Government, recognized by the country’s Parliament, informs the United Nations that it has appointed a different delegation. I shall cite another instance. In the African country of Morocco, a change took place in the composition of the Government. Nevertheless, the Moroccan delegation was not prevented from sitting in international bodies. The new Government that wag? invested by His Majesty King Mohammed V has confirmed the credentials of the former delegation which was present here. 61. Unless we wish to make ourselves ridiculous in the eyes of the world, how can we refuse to allow a delegation, duly accredited by a Government lawfully invested by an existing Parliament, to occupy the seat to which it is clearly entitled? 62. I should like, not only on behalf of the Republic of Guinea, but on behalf of all men, whatever their country, colour or religion, who envisage their role not as trampling upon the justice and law of say country, but as respecting all institutions, regimes and laws in so far as these are the democratic and legitimate expression of the aspirations of a people — I should like, I repeat, on behalf of these men, to submit a draft resolution asking the General Assembly to do nothing more than decide tills single point of law: can or cannot the representatives of the Congo occupy the seat to which they are entitled here? This draft resolution, [A/L.319] reads as follows: "The General Assembly, "Considering its resolution 1480 (XV) of 20 September 1960 admitting the Republic of the Congo (Leopoldville) to membership in the United Nations, "Considering rule 29 of the rules of procedure of the General Assembly which stipulates that any representative to whose admission a Member has made objection shall be seated provisionally with the same rights as other representatives, until the Credentials Committee has reported and the General Assembly has given its decision?, "Decides to seat the representatives of the Central Government of the Republic of the Congo (Leopoldville) immediately." 63. Certain parties, being obsessed by their preoccupation with the cold war and incapable of understanding the true nature of Africa, go so far as to reproach the Africans for their relations with the other half of the world. The colonialists, to be sure, prefer to be the only ones in Africa, a situation which would facilitate their policy of exploitation. They are unwilling to see a free Africa establish international relations with the countries of its choice and without discrimination. For them, Africa should continue to be their private preserve. There is no need to announce that they will not succeed in that cause, for no free people can allow its conduct to be dictated to it or its sovereignty to be curtailed. Only a slave can be subjected to physical and other restrictions. To attempt, however, to impose an economic law, a specific doctrine or an arbitrary judgement on a sovereign country, and thus restrict its need for development, is regarded by the independent States of Africa as an insult to their dignity. That is why we have unceasingly affirmed that the two blocs should, in their own interest, endeavour to understand the real needs and the objectives of the movement of progress in Africa. We shall vigorously oppose any attempt, under the guise of economic assistance, to place our newly sovereign States under trusteeship, and shall in particular oppose the recolonization of the Republic of the Congo. Certain Powers are running the risk of permanently and completely alienating all their friends in Africa if they persist in judging events in Africa outside the African context. 64. The force with which the self-consciousness and will of our States have been expressed during the past few years cannot be ignored. The echoes are still reverberating from the Conference which was held at Tunis — at the very doors of martyred Algeria- at the beginning of the year and which succeeded in mobilizing the political and trade union organizations of Africa in their entirety. Despite the manoeuvres of those who resolutely decided to continue their old practices, the voice of the new Africa resounded at that vast gathering with a vigour matched only by its clarity. 65. In the course of that historic assemblage in the Tunisian capital, all the delegations unanimously demanded the immediate and unconditional independence of all African peoples and the complete evacuation of all foreign forces of aggression and oppression stationed in Africa. They vigorously denounced the policy of racial discrimination practised by the colonialists and racist minorities in the Union of South Africa and in eastern and central Africa. They demanded the withdrawal from Algeria of the tens of thousands of soldiers from "black" Africa who were recruited by France for this abominable tragedy that has been inflicted upon their brethren, victims of the same domination. At Tunis, the establishment of a corps of African volunteers for the war of independence in Algeria was openly mooted, and an urgent appeal was made to the United Nations for the restoration of peace and the recognition of Algerian independence. 66. At the same time, the second session of the Economic Commission for Africa — that body which has marked a decisive step in the search for the most effective means to establish an African economy and an African common market in keeping with the accelerated development of the continent — was being held at the second gateway to Algeria, namely, Tangier in the Kingdom of Morocco. 67. Several months later, the Second Afro-Asian Peoples' Solidarity Conference was held at Conakry and achieved a resounding success despite the conspiracy of silence that the Press of certain Powers saw fit to organize in order to conceal the immense scope of this gathering of more than seventy democratic organizations of Africa and Asia, representing fifty-five countries that comprise more than half the world’s population. 68. After hailing the glorious and growing struggle of the peoples of Asia and Africa for the complete liquidation of imperialism and colonialism, and after applauding the countries that have regained their independence and those that are courageously combating the final efforts of the imperialists, the second Afro-Asian Peoples' Solidarity Conference laid the new foundations for the solidarity of the under-developed peoples in their common fight. The solidarity and unity of the African-Asian peoples are in truth playing an increasingly preponderant role in the fight against imperialism and under-development and their tragic consequences. The fundamental unity of the peoples of these two continents in the struggle against imperialism and colonialism has been transformed into a mighty force for world freedom and peace. 69. The Conference of Conakry denounced the military treaties, as well as bases for aggression in African and Asian territories and the stationing of foreign troops there. As at Tunis, the liquidation of military bases and treaties was considered urgently necessary. 70. In its resolution V on peaceful coexistence and disarmament, the Conference of Conakry reaffirmed the loyalty of the Asian and African peoples to the ten principles of the historic Bandung Conference. At the same time it expressed the conviction that neither universal peace nor understanding among peoples and States could be attained so long as colonial domination and its consequences endured and so long as the sovereignty of all peoples, as well as the integrity and unity of their territories, were not safeguarded and respected. 71. The representatives of Asia and Africa at that Conference unanimously recognized that colonial wars and continuing domination and exploitation were a stumbling block in the way of a relaxation of international tension, a source of conflict, and a constant threat to the security of peoples and world peace. 72. As regards co-operation with the industrialized countries, the Conference declared itself in favour of trade on a basis of strict equality, mutual profit, noninterference in the affairs of others, and determined opposition to any attempt to utilize economic and technical cooperation for political or strategic ends. 73. After the conferences of Tunis and Tangier in January and February, 1960, and of Conakry in April, another conference was held in June at Addis Ababa. This was attended by the Ministers for Foreign Affairs of the independent States of Africa and dealt with the same questions — namely those relating to political, social and economic changes in Africa and to peace and international relations — with the same unanimity and forcefulness, thus confirming the headlong surge of the peoples of Asia and Africa towards freedom. 74. This growing awareness on the part of the people and the victorious march of Africa, in the wake of Asia, towards independence end unity so alarmed the imperialists that, feeling themselves dangerously shaken, they went over to the counter-attack in the Congo. The facts are known, and they reveal the cynicism with which imperialism distorts the facts and converts its most crudely materialistic concerns, as well as its most aggressive acts, into innocent activities of allegedly humanitarian defence. It is difficult, however, to forget the monstrous profits that a certain mining company extracted each year from the milch cow represented by the Belgian Congo. An annual net profit of some hundreds of millions of dollars is not so easy to give up, and this was only one of the companies that had divided the wealth of the Congo among themselves. Out of false modesty, people will not say that they put these extraordinary profits before all else. It is easier to make indignant statements about the fratricidal conflicts among the savage Congo tribes, such as were written in a certain Press. Among the casualties in these tribal wars between black Africans, there are sometimes found Belgian parachutists, their faces smeared with tar, who, like true heroes in a lost cause, instigate these tribal conflicts, so necessary in order to deceive public opinion and reassure good consciences. 75. To those who continue to distort the spirit and the letter of the Security Council's resolutions, to those who believe that they can use the United Nations as a tool for the domination of Africa, we say, categorically, that the liquidation of the colonial system in the Congo is inevitable. Even with the support of the United Nations, a retrograde policy in the Congo, or elsewhere in Africa, or in Asia or any part of the world cannot be maintained because of the intelligence and the awareness of the people who everywhere are demanding freedom, sovereignty and peace. The resistance of the Congolese people and the concerted and vigorous reaction of all the colonized and all the independent peoples of Africa, Asia and elsewhere will deliver a decisive counter-blow to any policy for the reconquest of the Congo that may be concocted by the colonial Powers, whether or not under the cloak of the United Nations. What is actually at stake in the Congo is the moral standing of the United Nations, which must choose between the paramount interests of Africa and the interests of the colonialist exploiters. 76. The independence of the Congo will be preserved, whether or not it is agreeable to the enemies of African emancipation and unity. It will be preserved because truth, justice and law are on the side of the people against the lies and brute force of its enemies. It will be saved because the political awareness, the sense of dignity and the desire for justice of the people - of all the people in the world- will serve to safeguard the territorial integrity and the sovereignty of the young Congolese nation, 77. Today, the United Nations must give Africa the position to which it is entitled. This is so because of the importance of the African continent in international affairs and because of the radical change in its role, whereby it has become an active participant in international affairs and no longer a spectator and an object of greed. If is obvious that the present African representation is far from what it should be. When the United Nations was established, Africa, with the exception of the three States of Ethiopia, Liberia and Egypt, was represented only by those who were ruling it by force. Now, in 1960, it is represented by twenty-seven members, who make up more than a quarter of the General Assembly. The situation is therefore fundamentally different from what it was fifteen years ago, and it is no longer conceivable that the present structure of the United Nations should be retained. 78. Apart from the ideals proclaimed by the Charter, the purpose and principles- of which give full satisfaction, the peoples of Africa consider the structure of the United Nations somewhat out of date. This gives rise to real difficulties in making the United Nations effective and in safeguarding its universal character. The procedure for the revision of the Charter, for example, clearly reveals a concern for compromise between East and West, while entirely disregarding every other force and in particular the uncommitted countries of Africa and Asia and the former colonies which have become independent since 1945. The structure of the international institutions must be modified and must be made to conform more closely to the world political situation of today. 79. Everyone now recognizes that all the young nations which have just gained their independence not only increase the size of the United Nations but also make a genuine contribution to the maintenance of peace and the harmonious development of international relations on a basis of respect and equality among nations. In order to take into account the principle of equitable geographical distribution, the African continent must be more widely represented in the important bodies of the United Nations, namely the Security Council, the Trusteeship Council (which should disappear as soon as possible, with the imperialist concepts of colonialism and trusteeship), the Economic and Social Council, the Secretariat and other subsidiary organs, 80. As regards the office of the Secretary-General, we should like to make a suggestion which seems to us to go a long way towards meeting the concern of the Soviet Union, while retaining a desirable harmony at the highest executive level of the United Nations. For us, there can be no question of three Secretaries-General but only of one. What we suggest is the establishment of three posts of Assistant Secretary-General to be filled in accordance with the proposals made by the countries representing the three main political trends in the United Nations. In this way, the implementation of General Assembly resolutions would be more in keeping with political realities, since each Assistant Secretary-General, working in direct association with the Secretary-General, whose function is co-ordination, would be responsible for the geographical area which proposed him. My delegation will revert to this important question at a later stage. 81. As we are anxious that the colonial system should be brought quickly to an end, there can be no question of the former colonizers of Africa being represented any longer on the Economic Commission for Africa. The Economic Commission for Africa must be composed solely of representatives of the independent African countries as full members, to the exclusion of all Powers having so-called responsibilities in Africa. We are convinced that a revision of the structure of the United Nations will result not only in greater efficiency but also in a wider measure of co-operation among the Members of the United Nations in accordance with the purposes and principles of the United Nations. Loyal co-operation and a joint effort on the part of Member States are a vital necessity if the United Nations is to avoid the sad fate of the League of Nations and is to play Its part in saving mankind from the scourge of war and in making effective preparations for the coming of a new world. All States, large and small, must, for the achievement of this common aim., be able to express their views in full confidence and freedom. The maintenance of peace does not permit of automatic majorities devoid of a moral basis which bring conflicts of interest into play and exploit the weakness of certain States. 82. At this point we ask whether, in the light of genuine co-operation for the maintenance of peace and the peaceful settlement of disputes, the United Nations will continue to deprive the People’s Republic of China of its rightful place in the international community? It is time for this grave injustice to be remedied. It is impossible to speak of peace and international co-operation, while refusing legitimate representation to the People’s Republic of China. There is no more direct way of undermining the foundations of the United Nations than by making of it an Organization in which there is much talk of equality and peace while at the same time one part of the world is refused admission and is denied justice. The Preamble of the Charter clearly states that the peoples of the United Nations are determined to unite their strength to maintain international peace and security and to reaffirm faith in fundamental human rights, in the dignity and worth of the human person and in the equal rights of men and women and of nations large and small. 83. I come now to the important question of disarmament. The General Assembly, by its unanimous adoption on 20 November 1959 of resolution1378 (XIV) on disarmament, gave expression to the peaceful feelings and the great desire for peace of millions of human beings in all continents. Disarmament is of primary concern to the African continent. Our young and undeveloped States most urgently need peace in order to cope with the many problems which beset them. We have the burdensome legacy of several centuries of colonization to eradicate. We are obliged to do this by mobilizing all our resources under urgent pressure from our people, who crave more than ever for freedom and who legitimately aspire to a better life. Having, moreover, suffered from foreign domination, our peoples do not even conceive of the possibility of coveting the national territory and wealth of others. 84. We are convinced that, for the development of our natural resources, we need international assistance and co-operation of a kind that excludes any warlike aims. This leads us naturally to condemn war as belonging to an age which is past and as being incompatible with a sound conception of human dignity. 85. The fourteenth session therefore raised great hopes, which, unfortunately, were frustrated by the failure of the Summit Conference in Paris and of the Ten-Nation Committee on Disarmament at Geneva. Our desire for peace is no less strong because of this. 86. We are as resolutely opposed to generalized wars as to wars of colonial extermination, because both, in the final analysis, have the same causes and effects. In such circumstances why should we not support every genuine proposal for general disarmament with all our strength? 87. The defence of peace is an indivisible task; it is the responsibility of all peace-loving peoples. We cannot but deplore the crushing war budgets and the colossal sums which continue to be spent for the manufacture of weapons of mass destruction. The numerous military bases in foreign, territories, far from affording effective protection to anyone, unnecessarily increase the danger of war and imperil the existence of civilian populations. The danger has reached such proportions that the ever present possibility of a simple error of calculation or a technical failure could set fire to the gunpowder. 88. The atomic tests which have recently been resumed in the Sahara despite the great opposition of the peoples of the entire world are openly contrary to any desire for disarmament. Is there any need for me to point out that Corsica, which is a department of France, has refused to allow the French Government to carry out such tests there? Certainly there has never been so spontaneous and unanimous a reaction as that against the French nuclear tests in the Sahara, and it is in defiance of the strong opposition of world opinion and the General Assembly’s condemnation that the French Government continues its nuclear tests in the very heart of Africa. While it is obvious that the Reggane explosions have not changed the power relationship in the world, these bombs have done irreparable damage to the prestige of those who set them off, and have also demonstrated that imperialism is a major obstacle to any genuine efforts towards disarmament. The war-mongers have common interests, which are the reverse of those of the people. If, therefore, international disagreements are not settled in accordance with the spirit and letter of the Charter of the United Nations, if the ten Bandung principles are not recognized and respected, and if United Nations decisions continue to be flouted by Member States, all efforts towards disarmament will be doomed to failure. 89. It is difficult to remain unaware of the serious situation created by the French Government's obstinacy in continuing the war in Algeria, when the United Nations has already recognized both the injustice and unreasonableness of that war. We know that the responsibility for the Algerian massacres does not lie with France alone. The delegation of the Republic of Guinea believes that a just and effective solution to the Algerian tragedy must be found by the United Nations in order to end the murderous war which the Algerian people have been enduring for the past five years. The United Nations, will have to guarantee free elections and the establishment of a democratic government. It goes without saying that the Republic of Guinea will give its unqualified support to any resolutions acceptable to the Provisional Government of the Algerian Republic for the solution of this tragedy which has lasted all too long. The United Nations cannot admit its failure in this conflict and simply endorse the unconcealed intention of France to take no account of its decisions. 90. The concept of assistance to the under-developed countries of Asia and Africa is making more and more headway. Even those who are continuing to exploit the under-developed part of the world are today proclaiming the need to fight against poverty and hunger in the very countries where they have had full responsibility for decades, and indeed for centuries. 91. As a result of the collapse of the colonial system and the growth of independence movements, the slogan “aid and technical assistance" has, since the Second World War, replaced the old slogan "civilizing missions” in the imperialist phraseology. Imperialism, the essential purpose of which has been to extract from the colonial countries the maximum profit with the minimum investment and in the shortest possible time, is now trying to adapt itself to the new situation by employing new methods and a new vocabulary. For Some, the liberation of vast areas in Africa and the creation of independent States represent an opportunity to extend their plan to gain control of our resources. The young African States are being offered economic agreements which in point of fact are nothing but revised colonial agreements. Very recently, the Ministers for Foreign Affairs of certain Western countries arranged meetings in order to emphasize the absolute necessity of not giving up former colonial practices, but of devising a new approach, for the exploitation of the newly liberated territories. While maintaining that they are assisting Africa and Asia, they will take the utmost care, when working out their economic plan, to disregard the views of the parties directly concerned. The explanation of the new projects for Africa lies in the need for the moneyed interests to win the new African markets by taking advantage of the difficulties which certain colonial Powers are experiencing. We have already emphatically stated that Africa is not deceived; it knows how to distinguish between disinterested aid and an attempt at disguised exploitation. 92. Certain nations which today claim to be generous are simply forgetting that they became wealthy at the expense of our countries and peoples. Some of the humanitarian statements which we have heard have aroused our indignation because of their patronizing attitude towards our countries and their disregard for the dignity of our people. 93. It is hard for Africa? to believe that its problems will be solved by making surplus cereal production availably to it, as certain countries are suggesting to us. Despite the poverty and under-developed state of our countries, we know that our human and material resources are sufficient to ensure a higher level of living for our masses. The African States have never refused foreign assistance in any form, provided only that no political or commercial ulterior motive was involved. 94. We can no longer accept investment which impoverishes the country and interferes with its political and social stability. If, on the other hand, capital and investment can be fitted into our scheme of things and help in the development of our economy, we are very willing to accept them wherever they come from, for that is co-operation, and not charity. We prefer understanding, friendship and co-operation to charity. Paternalism has had its day. Regardless of the intentions of the monopolies and their attempts to overcome the conflicts that threaten them, our peoples remain firm in their determination to break all their political and economic shackles. The aim of the neo-colonialists is already well known to the masses of the African peoples: it is to grant all the outward pomp and show of sovereignly, while retaining economic control and even control over national defence as in the past. To achieve this aim, the colonial Powers will secure the co-operation of corrupt leaders. Such leaders are doomed to be quickly unmasked, because there is such a clear contradiction between the will of the masters of yesterday to dominate and the will of the peoples they represent to achieve complete liberation. 95. The real path for Africa, today and tomorrow, is a path of freedom and dignity, a path of peace. That is why, less than a year after its birth, the independent Republic of Guinea has instructed us to bring to the whole world — to America, Europe, Asia and the Far East — the same message of peace and sincere friendship and of the desire to co-operate on a basis of mutual esteem, absolute equality and respect for the sovereignly of each country. We are animated by the same desire today, and we wish to proclaim that the choices we have to make are the clearer because the aims we are seeking to attain are legitimate. We feel that at every historic stage of human development, like the present one, there are a number of fundamental imperatives, the exact knowledge and proper application of which enable nations and peoples to work for the progress of mankind. Our present task impels us to fight resolutely against the imperialists and colonialists, but we do not and never shall confuse them with the peoples in whose name they have exercised their domination. Our present task impels us to denounce uncompromisingly the cruelty and illegitimacy of imperialism and colonialism, their deplorable effects upon mankind and their real threat to peace. 96, The peace which the people long for will not be possible or lasting except in so far as the colonial Powers abandon the practice of domination. Freedom and peace are interdependent. The right of self-determination must not only be recognized under the Charter but actually be exercised by all the peoples of the world. 97, This is no propaganda trick. Freed from suspicion and fear and filled with goodwill, the nations should practice tolerance and live together in peace as good neighbours. Once peace is assured, a true and harmonious solution will be found for all the problems which now trouble humanity. It will then be possible to cope with under-development and to banish poverty, disease and illiteracy, particularly in Africa and Asia. 98. Our countries are still fighting against the inherited ills of colonialism. They are asking for help in their noble task, but they are not begging for charity. I should like to stress one aspect of assistance to newly independent countries which is often passed over when the question is discussed. It is a well-known fact that the sympathy of the colonial Powers for the young States evaporates just as soon as the Governments of those States begin to move towards real political and economic freedom. The colonial Powers brandish such weapons as threats and economic blackmail and try to incite the peoples to disorder. Intimidation and economic pressure are not infrequent, but that is not the worst, for the imperialists are still resorting to bare-faced aggression. The most recent example is the Congo (Leopoldville), and we feel bound to denounce such methods as constituting both flagrant interference in the affairs of other countries and a serious threat to world peace. 99. This aggressiveness of the colonial Powers sometimes leads small States to play the ungracious role of go-between or money-changers for the imperialists, so that they are prevented from continuing with their paramount task of decolonization and are thus forced into betraying the real interests of their peoples. They then become a real threat because, for the sake of a few miserable hand-outs which enable them just to keep alive, they are willing to break the national independence front. Such States hot only apply a policy dictated by the colonialists, but to their shame, they champion their masters' most despicable actions, 100. The United Nations should give the small States enough guarantees to prevent them from degrading themselves by thus setting their peoples' feet on the path of compliance. Courage and honesty in the face of imperialist ambitions are never without risk, but there is no other solution, particularly for the under-developed countries of Africa and Asia, which the imperialists have divided as they wished. This all brings me to the example — if I may mention it — -of our country, the Republic of Guinea, which has chosen the courageous path of progress based first and foremost on the loyalty and the untiring activity of its people. 101. Faced with the Guinean people's firm determination to have done with their colonial past and to build a nation in accordance with their deepest aspirations, the imperialists did not fail to organize a vast plot for the obvious purpose of recolonizing the Republic of Guinea, nothing less. 102. Everything was done to ensure that this plot should deal a death blow to all incipient desires for independence and non-alignment in Africa. Some of the embassies at Conakry gave all the support in their power to the internal organization of this criminal plot. A few disloyal and ambitious Guineans were to proclaim a so-called free government outside the country and urge the people to revolt. Hundreds of cases of munitions were unloaded secretly all along our frontiers with Senegal and the Ivory Coast, The imperialists and their accomplices sowed distrust between the Republic of Guinea and its neighbours by accusing us of preparing a war of conquest against the friendly neighbouring States. "Agents provocateurs", who had been hurriedly trained in terrorist tactics in the neighbouring countries of the Ivory Coast and Senegal without the knowledge of the Governments of those countries, were to fly to the help of the so-called "Guinean liberation movement" when the time came. 102. Aircraft were ready to flood the country with pamphlets calling on the people to revolt. Landing manoeuvres were observed on our coasts near the frontier with Guinea under Portuguese domination. Unfortunately for the imperialist plotters and the handful of traitors who were their accomplices in their criminal designs, the Guinean people were not duped. What is more, they reacted immediately and vigorously, so that, within forty-eight hours, the plotters tad been rendered harmless. Complete calm continued to reign throughout the country. 104. Weapons of the most deadly types, as well as munitions and explosives, were placed on exhibition at the headquarters of our Party for a period of over two weeks, and the entire diplomatic corps was invited to view them. Inquiries conducted simultaneously by the Government of Senegal and the Guinean Security Department into the origin of these weapons revealed that some French officers stationed at Dakar were responsible. The use that was to be made of the foreign military bases in Africa was not lost upon world opinion, which was fully informed of the plot. The imperialists are wasting their time by trying to break the unity or to check impetus of the Guinean people, who, more than ever before, are an impassable barrier to all attacks from whatever direction they may come. The Guinean people will continue with unshaken confidence and determination enthusiastically to build a new country. 105. We know perfectly well that in so-called Portuguese Guinea colonialists who have not yet learnt the lesson of history are feverishly building up a military machine. Our people have something better to do — they want to complete their first economic and social development plan before the target date. 106. Having proved its ability to govern itself and to maintain law and order inside the country despite provocation, the Republic of Guinea has decided to devote the major part off its activities to building its national economy on a new basis. 107. The administrative machinery of the country has been completely cleansed of its colonial features and readapted to the new requirements of our development. Ever since the first days of Guinean independence, we have had real democracy, the democracy which comes from the people and is exercised for the people in complete freedom. The country’s 4,200 villages have been transformed into communes under assemblies elected on a basis of universal suffrage. The country’s twenty-eight regions have each been given a regional Parliament, also elected on a basis of universal suffrage. The National Assembly, the highest legislative body in the country, is elected on the basis of national lists, so that no deputy can claim to represent any given electoral region or ethnic group. In all these Assemblies, women have the same rights and share the same responsibilities as men, without discrimination, the only criteria for selection being the qualifications of the candidate and the people’s confidence in him or her. 108. The racial, ethnic and religious problems which were fostered by the old regime for its own ends have completely disappeared from present-day Guinea. 109. The rights of women, who were formerly the victims both of political and of traditional exploitation, have been affirmed in the Constitution and are protected by the State. 110. The Republic of Guinea, in accordance with the principle of direct action by the people, has a strictly unitary Government and Assembly which function under the auspices of the single national party. Unity is the key to all success in Africa. Where it does not exist, colonialism is strengthened and independence becomes precarious. 111. Producers’ and marketing co-operatives and mutual development societies have been formed at the village level and are operating to the satisfaction of all. It is only because they are blind to these facts that the colonialists could believe that it was possible to create chaos in Guinea. It is time they realized once and for all that the only possibility now in the Republic of Guinea is progress for the good of the people within the framework of African unity and a struggle for world peace. 112. In two years, the Government of the Republic of Guinea has doubled the figure for school attendance, which, as is well known, is ludicrously low in the colonies, 113. Where social conditions are concerned, there have been radical changes in regard to marriage. Forced marriage, which was a common practice under the colonial regime, is prohibited by law. A marriage may now be solemnized in Guinea only if the girl is over seventeen years of age and gives her full consent before the mayor of her commune. 114. In the sphere of higher education, thanks to strenuous efforts by the Government and assistance from friendly countries, the number of Guinean scholarship holders pursuing advanced studies abroad is now three times greater than at the time of our accession to independence. Under the three-year plan, a polytechnic school is to be established at Conakry for 1,500 students, who will study the various branches of engineering, and a university faculty is also envisaged; 1,500 new classrooms will be built by the Government within three years — that is, about one and a half classrooms a day — without taking account of the innumerable schools which will be built by the people themselves through the contribution of their own labour. 115. In the field of agriculture, the three-year plan will enable Guinea, which has all the necessary resources, to stop importing rice and to develop export crops, such as coffee, bananas and oil-yielding plants, A vast programme for the systematic prospecting of the Guinean subsoil, which is among the richest in Africa, will make possible a rational exploitation of our reserves of iron ore, bauxite, diamonds, gold and other rare metals. Stock-farming, which is one of the basic concerns of our State, will also be developed. 116. Vast progress will be made in the development of our infrastructure of roads, ports and airfields. The Conakry-Kankan railway, which during the period of colonialism showed a chronic operating deficit and was technically ill-equipped, is now paying its way, and the plan provides for its complete reconstruction within two years. 117. These are the main features of a plan which will ensure an increase in national production in every area, and will give the people the opportunity of utilizing their enthusiasm and their freedom to end the indifferent conditions inherited from the colonial system. 118. Thanks to assistance from friendly countries, the independent Republic of Guinea will, in a period of three years, be able to invest capital equivalent to sixty years’ investment under the colonial regime. The French plan for capital investment in the colonies, which had been applied in Guinea only from 1948 to 1958, involved the investment of merely 6,000 million Guinean francs, or $24,000,000, whereas independent Guinea's first three-year plan provides for an investment of 45,000 million Guinean francs, or $180,000,000 — twenty-five times as large a sum per year. In order to be entirely in control of its economic development, the Republic of Guinea, on 1 March 1960, established a national currency and a special currency area, thereby placing itself out of reach of all foreign financial influence or control in this is field. That is why we are certain that we are on the right path. The people are working in liberty and joy despite their scanty resources; what matters to them is to make daily progress, to take a new step towards prosperity everyday. 119. I turn now to a specific proposal to which I attach special importance and whose urgency cannot be disputed by anyone. I refer to the necessity for the General Assembly to make an unequivocal declaration at its fifteenth session in favour of the immediate and complete abolition of colonialism in all its forms. I would remind the Assembly that my delegation raised the question of a time-limit for the proclamation of the independence of all colonial peoples, whether administered directly or under Trusteeship, in the Fourth Committee [905th meeting] at the fourteenth session. 120. In a draft resolution [see A/4343, para.60], my delegation proposed that a time-limit should be set, for all the colonial Powers and those Powers administering United Nations Trust Territories, for the proclamation of the independence of the countries they administer. We have often affirmed that all peoples, at all times, are capable of governing themselves and that the only peoples incapable of administering their own affairs are colonized peoples, as long as that colonial status lasts. Hence, there can be no reason for the General Assembly not to give consideration to the proposal submitted by Guinea at the fourteenth session and taken up this year by the Soviet Union [see A/4502 and Corr.1]. 121. Those who wish to avoid such a discussion must acknowledge that they are not yet willing to renounce the fallacious theory of the incapacity of some peoples for self-government. They must also admit that they are more concerned with their own selfish interests than with international peace and security. All formerly colonized or peace-loving peoples will support such a proposal. If it is propaganda, who can condemn propaganda in support of human equality and justice? 122. Many questions included in the agenda of the fifteenth session call for practical solutions. The Government of the Republic of Guinea, confident in the future of its people and convinced that it is expressing the sentiments of all peoples, has some suggestions to make on particular items of the Assembly’s work. (1) We are in favour of general and complete disarmament, an essential condition for stability and peace. In our opinion, the question of control cannot be regarded as having greater importance than the basic issue, which is to reach agreement on a disarmament plan, (2) We are in favour of a solemn declaration regarding the immediate abolition of the colonial system and the Trusteeship System. The proclamation at this session of the independence of all peoples still under colonial rule would be a real contribution to human progress. (3) In accordance with the draft resolution [ A/L.319] which I have had the honour to submit, we request that the delegation appointed by the Government of the Republic of the Congo (Leopoldville), led by Mr. Patrice Lumumba, should be immediately authorized to take a seat in the General Assembly. (4) We support President Nkrumah’s proposal regarding an increase in the responsibilities of the African-Asian group in connexion with the United Nations military and civilian action in the Congo. (5) We ask the international Organization genuinely and honestly to assist the legitimate Government of the Congo to maintain the integrity and independence of that Republic and to enable the national institutions established democratically before 1 July 1969 to function normally. (6) We request that, in Algeria, there should be a referendum followed by democratic elections under United Nations supervision. (7) We ask that the People's Republic of China should be given the seat which belongs to it in the United Nations. (8) In order to end the present deadlock on the Palestine problem, we ask that the United Nations should give de facto recognition to the legitimate rights of the Arab people of Palestine and should take all the necessary measures to ensure that the resolutions already adopted on this problem are strictly implemented. (9) Finally, we request equitable representation in the United Nations for the countries of Africa and Asia by means of a modification of the structure of the international Organization such as will enable these countries to play their full part in the quest for solutions to problems affecting the future of mankind. 123. For the sake of friendship and co-operation between peoples, for the sake of world security and peace, justice and progress, we must all act in such a way as to preserve and strengthen the United Nations.