May I congratulate the President, on his election to the Presidency of the fifteenth General Assembly? As far as his outstanding qualifications are concerned, there is little I can add to the laudatory remarks of the speakers who preceded me; however, I may be permitted to affirm them, and to say that it is a source of special gratification to my country, which is bound to his by close and lasting ties, that Mr. Boland has been chosen to guide us through this historic session.
146. Never before in the history of the United Nations have so many heads of State and of Government addressed a General Assembly; as has been pointed out before, this fact has undoubtedly lent special significance to this year’s Assembly,
147. It would be a most damaging self-delusion, however, if we were to attempt either to ignore or to minimize the basic contradictions which have so far been revealed in the debate. In the recent past, it was the process of polarization which overshadowed all other developments. However, there has been evidence for some time of another, simultaneous process, which, in a period of relative stability and peaceful progress, might soon occupy the centre of the political stage; it is the crystallization of several political and ideological centres which may well be destined to supplant the former clear-cut pattern of East versus West. Matters would then have progressed beyond the stage where we could simply regard those who do not always agree with us as belonging to the other camp.
148. Although the experience of a colonial past may have induced resentment against the Western world among the emerging nations, it does not necessarily follow that they therefore must subscribe to the political aims of the East. And it is equally true that one’s dedication to the principles of Western thought need not be impaired if one does not always accept Western political practice. Clearly, one must no longer overlook the fact that the political problems besetting the world today cannot be exclusively seen in terms of oversimplified alternatives. There is no doubt that several fundamentally contradictory views have been advanced at this year’s General Assembly and not, as has often been held, only two.
149. The United Nations and, more specifically, the General Assembly, cannot consider it its task merely to register conflicting opinions. It must also provide an opportunity to establish the extent to which the various views might lend themselves to conciliation.
150. For example, at this session of the General Assembly the leaders of the two great Powers Mr. Eisenhower (868th meeting] and Mr. Khrushchev (869th meeting], have both subscribed to the view that the era of colonialism is at an end, and that the new nations which are now emerging into a new Phase of their history must be given aid and support by tangible evidence of international solidarity,
151. The United States has on previous occasions succoured many European nations which might have perished without such aid. And President Eisenhower has now again given expression to the magnanimous spirit of his nation. He proposed that we join forces in order to carry out a great programme which, it should be stressed, envisages measures designed not only to fight hunger and epidemics but, in equal measure, to render a contribution towards the utilisation of the great intellectual resources of the new nations. There are no differences of opinion on this, the most fateful question of our era. On the contrary, the two great Powers are determined to contribute to its solution.
152. This has been, up to now, the outstanding result of the fifteenth Session of the General Assembly.
153. The recent turn of historic events has brought about a substantial increase in United Nations membership. Consequently, the world Organization has come even closer to the realization of the principle of universality on which it is founded.
154. This development, which attests to the change of the political structure of Asia and Africa, has been a source of great satisfaction to all of us. It is the consummation of a development which began some time ago and which has already brought us new Member from among the Asian and African States without whose collaboration our Organization would be immeasurably poorer.
155. In this context, however, we must also take note of the regrettable fact that Germany is not yet a member of the United Nations and that the question of the representation of China has not been solved in a manner satisfactory to all Member States.
156. The precipitate increase in the number of independent nations should be accompanied by a process of assimilation based on the principles of equality and mutual co-operation. The Foreign Secretary of the United Kingdom has described this essential development in the following terms: "from dependence to independence to interdependence."
157. However, it is not only the political structure of Asia and Africa — and, incidentally, of Latin America — which have undergone a fundamental change. There has been a peaceful evolution in Europe the importance of which should not, I submit, be underestimated. And there is a growing conviction among the democratic European nations — nearly 300 million people — that a programme of mutual co-operation, transcending frontiers, should be initiated with the aim of combining the spiritual and material resources of that part of the continent. I would ask you to consider that the concepts of social welfare and social justice originated in Europe and that it is in Europe that they have reached maturity.
158. At present the European nations have embarked upon a venture of economic integration. I should like to avail myself of this opportunity to state before this international forum that in so doing we do not propose to serve only our own ends; it is no less our purpose to contribute an increasing share of our national income to the economic development of other nations. European economic integration, whatever its final shape, has been conceived to serve peace and nothing else.
159. In the wider international arena it is the United Nations, its specialized agencies, committees and funds winch provide the framework for the co-operation of all nations in all fields of human endeavour. Therefore, in spite of the great financial obligations assumed by Austria in the past years, we are determined substantially to increase our contribution to the Special Fund and to the Technical Assistance Programme.
160. To us, the small countries, the United Nations is not merely a clearing-house of political opinions. The difficulties which beset the world Organization are of the utmost concern to us. It is our view, therefore, that the organizational structure of the United Nations should not be subjected to an additional strain which could not but increase these difficulties.
161. It is hardly conceivable that many of the small nations could subscribe to a concept exposing the office of the Secretary-General to the risk of immobilization which, unfortunately, other organs of the United Nations have incurred in the past. The opposite should be our aim; we should assist the United Nations in solving the problems which confront it and we should support the Secretary-General, whose activity we have had occasion to observe with increasing admiration during the past weeks.
162. It is often held to be the cause of the present political impasse that the protracted disarmament negotiations have yielded few results. It would be futile to ponder the Question whether the disarmament talks have been stalemated as a result of present political tensions or whether the break-down of disarmament negotiations has itself caused the situation to deteriorate, What we should consider, however, is the fact that a fair measure of agreement has been reached on matters of principle as well as of detail.
163. It is widely held that in order to overcome the present impasse, some measure of confidence should be established between the great Powers. Yet time and again such confidence has been destroyed by mere incidents which have wiped out the patient efforts of many years. We will escape this vicious circle only if we can gain some significant, tangible success by solving one of the outstanding problems. This would mean much more than any exposition of one’s own views — however thorough — which, after all, would convince only those who have been convinced in advance.
164. It appears, therefore, that a new attempt should be made to achieve at least preliminary results; to be quite, specific, nuclear test control is one of the most vital aspects of this vast and intricate problem, and here again it should be noted that agreement has been s reached on several points. I would therefore suggest that the United Nations and affiliated bodies pursue this subject with the utmost vigour.
165. I should now like to comment on the problem of the Austrian minority in Italy. Permit me first to express my gratitude to the members of the General Committee who, in compliance with the Austrian request, have voted for the inclusion of this item on the agenda.
166. Originally it had not been my intention to deal I with the merits of this problem in the general debate. Yesterday, however, the Italian Foreign Minister, Mr. Segni, gave his views [876th meeting] on the problem of the South Tyrol — one which, I hardly need to say, is I of crucial importance to Austria. I feel, therefore, that I should make a few remarks on the substance of this problem.
167. Article 14 of the Charter of the United Nations specifically states that the General Assembly may recommend measures for the peaceful adjustment of any situation which it deems likely to impair friendly relations among nations. And, indeed, relations between Austria and Italy have been seriously impaired by the unsettled problem of the South Tyrol. It follows then that the General Assembly is the proper authority to deal with this question.
168. As the Charter indicates, the founders of the United Nations were guided by three basic purposes; to bring about world-wide co-operation, to prevent conflicts from breaking out, and to promote the principle of self-determination and self-government.
169. With these aims in view, the problem of South Tyrol could be speedily brought to a satisfactory solution if only the demand of the Austrian minority for autonomy, raised on 4 February 1958 by the freely elected South Tyrolean representatives in the Italian Parliament, were complied with.
170. The Austrian delegation will therefore submit proposals designed to secure such autonomy to the Committee dealing with this question.
171. We live in an era in which the right to self-determination and to self-government has been accorded universal recognition. It has been solemnly reaffirmed by the admission of many new States into the United Nations. Should we expect the South Tyroleans to understand why they — and apparently only they — must forego the right to self-government?
172. For some years now we have patiently endeavoured to solve this problem in the course of bilateral negotiations which have finally ended in a deadlock. The Foreign Minister of Italy drew attention yesterday to correspondence he and his successor as Prime Minister, Mr. Tambroni, have conducted with Chancellor Baab. Mr. Segni stated that the Austrian Government rejected an invitation to talks at the heads-of-government level. Allow me to say that the Austrian Chancellor, in his letter of 26 January 1960, agreed to such talks provided that they dealt with the question of autonomy for the province of Bozen. Clearly this was a most reasonable stipulation; yet Italy rejected it.
173. I believe that this might well demonstrate that it was not Austria which dramatized this issue. The, facts — and not any action that Austria might have taken — have contributed to this dramatization,
174. These facts are simply that the South Tyroleans, I a population of a quarter of a million people, have so far been denied the very rights which have been granted to much smaller populations elsewhere in the world.
175, Let me express the hope that the United Nations will bring this question closer to a solution which would affirm the right of the South Tyroleans to self-administration and self-government; it might thus contribute towards a renewed concord between the two neighbouring States.