I should like first, Mr. President, to congratulate you upon your election to the office of President of this Assembly. Your election is a tribute to the merits of one who is well known and respected in the United Nations. We are certain that in discharging your duties as President you will display the impartiality and moderation which are so much a part of your personality.
133. Since the beginning of this year, the international situation — which appeared to be easing somewhat — has become considerably worse. In many respects the cold war is now more intense than ever before. This has created justified alarm throughout the world and intensified the fear of "war by miscalculation" as a result of the nervousness that dominates the international scene.
134. This year's experience fully demonstrates the inadequacy of "direct diplomacy" on the international level and underlines the necessity of using international institutions as the centres for negotiations. In particular, it demonstrates the imperative need to use the machinery of the United Nations. Recourse to the United Nations has the advantage of providing the parties to a dispute with the opportunity of utilizing legal procedures of conciliation which do not exist in direct negotiations.
135. It is undeniable that war and peace depend, in the last analysis, on the intentions of the countries whose military strength places them in a position to choose one or the other alternative. But this does not mean that nations with lesser capacity for making war cannot and should not exercise a restraining influence on the principal actors and exert every effort to discover ways and means of enabling the major groups into which mankind is divided to live together in peace.
136. The middle-sized and small Powers are assuming an importance which they did not possess recently and their voice is being heard more and more forcefully on the international scene. The primary reason for this is the entry of new States into the international community and the fact that a nuclear war would be equally disastrous for all peoples, belligerents and non-belligerents alike.
137. In that connexion the outstanding role played by those Powers in this year's meetings of the Security Council is to be viewed as an auspicious sign. The co-ordination of effort between their representatives in the Council has been a decisive factor in the revitalization of the Security Council after a long period of lethargy.
138. It should be made perfectly clear that the fact that the middle-sized and small Powers play the role of moderator does not necessarily imply that they should take a position midway between the two conflicting ideologies. As far as my own country is concerned, we wish to reaffirm our solidarity with the West, to which we belong by origin and of which we are a part spiritually and geographically. We reaffirm our rejection of the attempts of one ideological bloc to extend its system to all countries of the world by means of subversion or force. We affirm our unshakable faith in the superiority of Christian moral values over atheistic and materialistic systems. We maintain that the struggle for a fairer distribution of wealth between peoples and classes of society is compatible with political freedom and respect for the inviolable dignity of the human person.
139. Accordingly, we see no contradiction between taking sides openly and sincerely between the conflicting ideologies and the exercise of the peacemaking role which falls to the middle-sized and small Powers by reason of their limited military strength. Our great objective is to assist without abandoning our firmly held positions in maintaining peace and in thus ensuring the survival of man on earth.
140. The United Nations has an outstanding part to play in this mission of goodwill. I have already mentioned the failure of "direct diplomacy" and the need to have recourse to international institutions in settling disputes. We believe that the United Nations, in view of the inefficiency of other procedures, has become the last objective recourse available to States — and particularly to the great Powers — for the solution of the differences between them. If this recourse were to fail, it is impossible to Imagine how negotiations could be resumed.
141. In this connexion, we should note the decidedly positive outcome of the work of the United Nations in the year since the opening of the last Assembly. The Security Council has once again become an active body and has satisfactorily dealt with the most serious problems that have troubled international life. In that year, under specific mandate from the Council, the United Nations has carried out — in the Congo operation — the most momentous undertaking in its history. This should be emphasized because the action of the United Nations in the Congo crisis categorically refutes the charges of ineffectiveness so frequently levelled at the world Organization.
142. Argentina, as a member of the Security Council, supported the United Nations action and contributed to it by making available the military pilots and aviation technicians requested of it. My country hopes that in future this type of problem can be solved strictly at the regional level thus precluding attempt at Interference alien to the legitimate interests of the African continent.
143. In paying tribute to the work accomplished by the United Nations this year, it would be unfair to overlook the essential role played by the Secretary-General. Few people in the whole world are now unaware of the exceptional qualities which Mr. Hammarskjold has shown in the most difficult circumstances and the impartiality, wisdom and firmness with which he has coped with them. For all those reasons, the Secretary-General can rely on our continued confidence and has earned the gratitude of all Members of the United Nations.
144. In the year just ended, we have seen an unprecedented acceleration in the evolution of the non-self-governing peoples towards self-government. No less than fifteen countries will become Members of the United Nations this year and many other territories are on the way to achieving full independence. The colonial system can now be regarded as a thing of the past. In view of our unceasing support for the principle of self-determination of peoples, you can legitimately view with deep satisfaction the completion of this process, and we offer fraternal greetings to the States newly admitted to membership.
145. Frequently the emergence of a new country into independence or its admission to membership in the United Nations is used as an opportunity to launch a violent diatribe against the colonial system generally or against the former metropolitan Power of the country concerned, in particular. We cannot share in the spirit which sometimes underlines such attacks. When the transition from colonialism to independence is made with no opposition from the former colonial Powers or even with their close co-operation, such vituperation is unwarranted. Moreover, in the interests of the economic and technical development of the newly independent country it is often necessary that the friendly ties with the former metropolitan country should be maintained.
146. It is also worth noting that independence is the culmination and not the beginning of a process of social maturation of which the political act is merely the outward formality. Thus independence does not merely imply the acquisition of rights; it also entails the assumption of heavy responsibilities. We are therefore certain that the new States will co-operate fully in the peace-making and constructive role we must expect of them.
147. In the Declaration of San José, Costa Rica, of 28 August 1960 we once again reaffirmed the principle of non-intervention because we think we should make it clear that our condemnation of outside interference does not imply any restriction on the right of every people to establish institutions in keeping with its character and traditions. Non-intervention further implies that no American State will seek to extend its internal regime to any other by means of subversion or violence.
148. But our determination to strengthen the juridical principles on which the regional system is based does not relieve us of the duty to draw attention to the great economic vacuum existing in Latin America. The economic backwardness in which more than 200 million Latin Americans are living is the major cause of that continent's political instability which is liable to deteriorate to an extent that cannot be foreseen.
149. At the Seventh Meeting of Consultation of Ministers of Foreign Affairs held from 22 August to 29 August 1960 at San José, Costa Rica, the Argentine Government, aware of the dangers inherent in this emergency, raised the question of the need for a vigorous programme of international cooperation for Latin America similar to that organized for reconstruction of the nations of Europe when they were faced with the same dangers.
150. Latin America is making an immense effort to preserve the fundamental institutions of the Western way of life with which it is inextricably bound. Our civilization rests on a political and economic system whose functional interdependence is becoming increasingly marked and whose preservation depends now as never before on the reciprocity with which each member country is treated within the community.
151. This reciprocity is being undermined to an Increasing extent as a result of the unceasing progress of the industrialized countries as compared with the relative stagnation of the economically underdeveloped nations. It introduces an unjustifiable discrimination between countries which are working equally hard to preserve a way of life common to them all.
152. We cannot, however, disregard the progress made on the continent of Latin America in understanding the problem. The Act of Bogota, adopted at the recent meeting of the Special Committee of the Council of the Organization of American States to Study the Formulation of New Measures for Economic Cooperation (Committee of 21) which took place in September, 1960 is a major milestone in inter-American co-operation. At that meeting, we welcomed the initiative of President Eisenhower and the United States Congress in launching a broad programme of social improvement in Latin America by providing additional funds and technical assistance. We also welcomed the change in the attitude of the United States Government, which has decided to join with the other countries of America in envisaging the reorganization of financial and trade relations with the European nations associated in the Organization for European Economic Co-operation, the European Economic Community and the European Free Trade Association. We also welcomed the recognition by the United States Government, when it endorsed the Act of Bogota, that an exceptional programme of international economic co-operation must be applied in Latin America. This programme must include financial aid, public and private, from the capital-exporting countries of the Americas, of Western Europe and international financing agencies.
153. Nevertheless, we would point out that Latin America has not yet found, in actual practice, the combination of financial resources and instruments of international co-operation which would enable it to cast off the fetters in economic under-development, in order to meet the needs of the modern world. The frustration of those objectives is the source of many potential dangers in Latin America and leads to the temptation to apply political and economic methods inconsistent with our way of life.
154. Again in the realm of inter-American relations, my Government announces, with deep satisfaction the conclusion of a number of agreements with Chile for a permanent settlement, through arbitration, of the boundary disputes between our two countries. The agreements signed are a guarantee that our differences have been successfully resolved and they will strengthen relations between two peoples bound by history, geography and the awareness of their common destiny.
155. The Antarctic Treaty, signed on 1 December 1959 between twelve countries with special interests in the Antarctic to which Argentina is a party and which has been ratified by the Argentine Senate is a triumph of the spirit of international conciliation and cooperation. Its most distinctive feature is perhaps that it prohibits the use of the Antarctic region for nuclear experiments, thus laying down a rule which we should like to see extended to the other parts of the world. It should be made clear that the Treaty does not affect the rights of countries with sovereign rights in that territory.
156. Economic development is still the most important of the economic questions before the Assembly. This Assembly can provide an opportunity for a thorough and honest appraisal of this problem. The presence in this forum of the highly industrialized countries and the under-developed countries of the world may lead to recognition of the urgent need to use every available means to transform the latter's economic structure. In our own case, all the countries of Latin America have already embarked upon the path of industrial development to which they are irrevocably committed. They are firmly convinced that social betterment depends on economic development, in particular, industrial development, and that this is the only way to achieve the high levels of living which they should be able to enjoy in view of their resources and the efforts which they are making to preserve political institutions consistent with the dignity of man. However, this last objection may have to be sacrificed in face of the need to eliminate hunger, poverty and ignorance.
157. The advanced nations must understand the necessity of removing these dangers, not only in the interest of the less developed countries but also in their own interest. To achieve this end every effort must be made to establish new industries in the under-developed countries — particularly basic industries, which are the foundation of economic stability. The advanced countries agree to the re-establishment of the principle of reciprocity in trade on the world market so that the under-developed countries can recover and increase their former levels of foreign earnings, since this is the soundest and the normal means of financing their development.
158. If the highly developed countries fail in the near future to increase their public and private investments in our countries in order to strengthen our economic development, especially in the basic sectors of our economies and do not provide conditions in which our primary commodities can be freely traded on a stable basis in the world market, cold war incidents will become increasingly wide-spread in the world.
159. Some of the topics that will be considered in examining the report of the Economic and Social Council and of the question of economic development deserve special attention. Thus the studies made by the Commission on International Commodity Trade bring out some of the most serious difficulties encountered by the under-developed countries in their development plans, which should be taken into account in any policy it may be decided to apply for the benefit of these countries.
160. My Government supports any measure to increase the freedom of trade and to reduce the barriers that restrict it. In this spirit it has become a participant in the Latin American Free Trade Association establishing a Free Trade Area. We are certain that this important step towards the creation of the Latin American common market will lead to an increase in trade with other regions of the world as well as in regional trade.
161. This conviction has led us to express our interest in the efforts to establish a new European organization for economic co-operation. We believe that in view of the traditional direction of our export trade we are an interested party in any attempt to plan the agrarian and commercial policy of the countries of Western Europe.
162. The problem of economic development is particularly acute in the newly independent countries. The Secretary-General's suggestion that there should be a special programme of assistance to these countries recognizes this fact. In conformity with its policy on colonial matters, my country views with sympathy any aid granted to the new members of the community of free nations. Nevertheless, in this particular instance having regard to the fact that the majority of those countries belong to a single continent, it cannot but point out the difficulties of reconciling this step with the principle of the equitable geographical distribution of United Nations assistance in accordance with the Charter. In the interests of all, therefore, it would be advisable to seek a formula which will make it possible to solve the problem through voluntary contributions.
163. The scale of the problems inherent in the financing of economic development, the inadequacy of private capital and the increasing number of agencies and programmes with similar aims dealing with the question bring into new perspective the much discussed subject of the need to establish a United Nations capital development fund. We trust that these new circumstances will enable us to overcome differences and to find a way to constructive solutions.
164. The conviction that it is a fundamental obligation of Member States fully to implement the Universal Declaration of Human Rights has determined my country's attitude towards cases of racial discrimination brought to the Organization's attention. For Argentina, as we have stated in the Security Council [854th meeting], racial prejudices are an aberration which we have difficulty in understanding. Having been brought up — like the peoples of the other Latin American countries — in the belief that all human beings are equal because they are all children of the same God, we have based our public and private life on the absolute equality of all races. We gratefully acknowledge that this spirit of brotherhood, transcending differences of colour, is one of the most valuable legacies of our Hispanic heritage.
165. We therefore earnestly hope that the few cases in which Governments make racism an integral part of their national policy will cease to exist through respect for the dignity of the human person. At the same time, we would point out that any discrimination against the white population in newly independent countries would be as objectionable and inacceptable to us as discrimination against coloured people has been in the past.
166. In the International protection of human rights national characteristics must be taken into account so that doctrines opposed to the fundamental beliefs of the contracting States are not imposed through treaties. In this connexion, my Government feels that it should draw attention to the importance of respecting in the forthcoming declaration on religious freedom the arrangements governing relations between the State and the various religious denominations in Individual countries.
167. As regards the family, we maintain that United Nations declarations on the subject should not affect the principles of the stability of marriage and the right of parents to choose the type of education which they wish their children to have in accordance with their own beliefs. We strongly oppose any measures at the International level designed either directly or indirectly, to spread the practice of birth control. We are convinced that the problems of the "population explosion" can be solved by economic measures and not by biological methods which are repugnant to the deeply rooted convictions of many Member States.
168. This Assembly will probably prove to be a decisive point in the history of the period following the Second World War. International tensions have become so great that we may well be unable to escape choosing between a nuclear war and the achievement of stability that will enable the peoples to live together in peace. For that reason the continuation of the cold war as a normal way of life no longer seems possible.
169. This gives the measure of the responsibility that devolves on each and every member of this Assembly. Our common efforts will determine whether the nations will be able to face the future with greater confidence or will have to admit the possibility of destruction so unthinkable that until yesterday it seemed no more than a figment of the novelists' imagination.
170. Beyond doubt our most urgent task is to find formulas that will make it possible to take the first steps towards effective disarmament under international control; but, as we have maintained on other occasions, in ensuring peace military disarmament is more an effect than a cause. What is essential is to establish mutual trust, since without It there will never be real peace.
171. A prerequisite for such truth is the certainty that no one will endeavour to impose his ideological system and way of life on others. Armed aggression is of course to be condemned, but so too are subversive penetration and attempts to establish in other countries systems which are contrary to their national characteristics and traditions.
172. We are in favour of peaceful coexistence based upon mutual respect and good faith in dealings between States. If under the auspices of the United Nations and by carrying out the principles laid down in the Charter we succeed in charting a course that will lead to a relaxation of the tension which keeps the world in a constant state of anxiety, we shall have proved ourselves worthy of the trust that the peoples place in this distinguished Assembly.