The General Assembly has begun its work, as always, by holding a general debate, in which it is customary to draw up the balance of the activities of the United Nations during the preceding year and to outline new problems and the methods of solving them. The general debate gives every delegation an opportunity to express its views on the questions which interest the Assembly and to state its position with regard to the proposals and plans submitted to the Assembly. Such an exchange of views promotes better understanding among the delegations and aids in the preparation of measures to enable us to join forces to put into effect agreed decisions.
95. However, the representatives of a number of delegations have taken a different course in the statements they have made today. For example, the United States Secretary of State did not hesitate in his speech to attack the Soviet Union in the rudest terms, in an attempt to steer the General Assembly away from the grave problems facing it, problems which are especially grave in view of the current international situation, in which both words and deeds should be weighed with particular care.
96. The Soviet Union delegation, however, will not follow the course along which the United States delegation has tried today to steer the General Assembly in order to divert it from the solution of those really vital problems which it is our duty to solve in the interest of all peace-loving nations and of all progressive men and women. The USSR delegation will not follow this course, since it is not the way to peace. We shall have occasion later to comment on the crude outbursts against the Soviet Union which Mr. Acheson permitted himself to make from this rostrum. For the moment I think it more necessary and important to speak of our main purpose, a matter which is directly and intimately connected with the answer to the question of what should be done, in the present international situation, by the General Assembly and by all those who honestly and sincerely want to do their duty and to respond clearly and firmly to the urgent appeal of the conscience of millions of human beings who hate war and long for peace.
97. If we recall the preceding sessions of the General Assembly, we shall see that, in spite of all the obstacles which beset the path of the United Nations, a number of important resolutions were adopted to strengthen international peace and security. Among them, we might recall the important resolution 1 (I), adopted unanimously by the General Assembly in 1946, which recognized the need to prohibit the use of atomic energy for military purposes and to set up international control to that end; another, resolution 41 (I), adopted by the General Assembly in the same year on “principles governing the general regulation and reduction of armaments”, in which the General Assembly recommended that the Security Council should formulate practical measures providing for the general regulation and reduction of armaments and armed forces; a third, resolution 110 (II), adopted by the General Assembly in 1947, during its second session, on “measures to be taken against propaganda and the inciters of a new war”; and a number of other decisions on questions concerning the maintenance of peace and other important problems of international co-operation.
98. At the present moment the problems with which the United Nations is faced — averting the menace of a new war, strengthening co-operation among nations and ensuring international peace and security — have become even more acute.
99. When the United Nations was created, it was held essential to heed the grave lessons of the past, the lessons of the late lamented League of Nations, so that its errors and weaknesses might not be repeated.
100. The United Nations was created, as the Charier puts it, “to be a centre for harmonizing the actions of nations in the attainment of . . . common ends”. It was based on the principles of the sovereign equality of all its Members, respect for the political independence and territorial integrity of every State, and concurring and unified action in the Security Council by the great Powers which bear the chief responsibility for the maintenance of international peace and security.
101. The Soviet Union has always attached great importance to the United Nations. The head of the USSR Government, J. V. Stalin, commented on the value of the United Nations as early as 1946, at the very outset of its existence, saying that it was “an important instrument for the preservation of peace and international security”. “The strength of this international Organization”, he said on that occasion, “lies in the fact that it is based on the principle that States have equal rights, and not on the principle of domination of some States by others. If the United Nations succeeds in the future in maintaining this principle of equal rights, it will undoubtedly play an important and constructive part in the cause of ensuring general peace and security,”
102. That is the position of the USSR Government with regard to the United Nations. It is from this standpoint, too, that the Soviet Union evaluates its tasks at the present session.
103. The USSR Government holds that, given a sincere desire for co-operation, the United Nations, in spite of all the difficulties besetting it, can and must discharge its obligation to all progressive men and women, who have combined in a mighty movement against the menace of a new war and for the peace and welfare of the nations.
104. The role of the Security Council within the framework of the United Nations is well known: it bears the chief responsibility for the maintenance of peace. We know too that it is the duty of the five great Powers which are the permanent members of the Security Council — the United States, the United Kingdom, France, China and the USSR — to act in a spirit of unanimity and harmony, failing which the Council cannot take decisions on questions of international peace and security. For its decisions on such questions are considered adopted only when the concurring votes of all the permanent members of the Council are among the required seven affirmative votes cast.
105. I need not explain why the situation in the Security Council cannot be regarded as normal when even one of its permanent members is not represented, or when a person claiming to be a representative has not been accredited by the government in power in the State concerned. That, however, is the situation in the Security Council and in the United Nations in general with regard to China, whose seat is occupied by a person who in no way represents China and has not been accredited by the only lawful government — the Central People’s Government of the People’s Republic of China.
106. The United States delegation in the Security Council and the delegations of some other States which support it are brutally violating the sovereign rights of the Chinese people by their stubborn refusal to satisfy the demands of the People’s Republic of China that the representatives of the remnants of the reactionary Kuomintang clique should be expelled from the Security Council, and by preventing the recognition of the only accredited representative of China, Mr. Chang Wen-tien, whom the Central People’s Government has appointed as its representative to the United Nations.
107. Furthermore, by its illegal acts, the United States is infringing the territorial inviolability and integrity of the People’s Republic of China. That is evidenced by its action in respect of Taiwan, which is an inalienable part of China, as was recognized in the Cairo agreement of 1943 between the United States, the United Kingdom and China. It is evidenced as well by such acts as the violation by the United States Air Force of the Chinese frontiers.
108. With regard to the situation in Korea, I must point out that the United States delegation in the Security Council, together with some other delegations supporting it, have, as we know, adopted a number of illegal and unjust decisions on the Korean question. Those decisions were intended to camouflage the armed intervention in Korea which, as we know, was begun even before the Security Council had adopted its resolution of 27 June 1950.
109. The USSR delegation will deal with these important questions at greater length in the course of this session.
110. The delegation of the Soviet Union considers it necessary, however, to state at this time that the General Assembly will have failed in its duty if it does not exert all its influence and authority to ensure the peaceful settlement of the Korean question in accordance with principles of justice and international law.
111. While those countries which form part of the North Atlantic alliance are engaged in a mad armaments race, have unleashed a propaganda campaign for another war, and are doing their utmost to foment war hysteria, the USSR is doing peaceful, productive and creative work, and all its efforts are directed towards the further development of the national economy and the increased well-being and material standard of living of the Soviet people.
112. It is common knowledge that the budget of a State reflects in a way its life, plans and aspirations. If we examine the budget of the United States from such an angle, we are struck by the tremendous increase in the military appropriations of that country as compared with the pre-war period. Whereas in the 1938-1939 budget the United States military appropriations amounted to 1,077 million dollars, in 1948-1949 they amounted to 11,913 million dollars, and in 1949-1950 to 13,148 million dollars. In other words, the military appropriations in 1949-1950 were more than twelve times as high as those of the pre-war period.
113. I should like to point out that the above figures apply only to direct military appropriations. It should be borne in mind, however, that the United States budget also includes considerable appropriations for arming other countries which are parties to the North Atlantic alliance. Appropriations for that purpose amounted, in 1949-1950, to 1,359 million dollars.
114. United States military appropriations have particularly increased in connexion with the Korean events. The budget for 1950-1951 recently approved by the United States Congress provides for an additional 16,000 million dollars for direct military appropriations of the United States and for the armaments of other countries, not counting all the further appropriations which the President of the United States asked for after the Congress had examined the proposed budget.
115. It must be noted in this connexion that the United States is using its economic and political influence in every possible way to induce the United Kingdom, France and some other countries to increase their own military appropriations.
116. The foreign policy of the USSR has always been to strengthen friendly relations and co-operation with all peoples pursuing the same ends and consistently opposing military ventures and threats to international peace and security.
117. The Soviet State, from its very inception, has been steadfastly pursuing a policy of averting the threat of war and of strengthening peace. The Soviet people rightly feels that the great aims of socialist construction, of economic prosperity and cultural development for many years to come, can best be achieved under conditions of peace. The military ambitions and expansionist plans which have very often motivated the actions of influential circles in capitalist countries are alien to the Soviet people.
118. The Soviet Union, in its fight for peace, has consistently sought to secure the adoption of a number of important measures which could ensure the success of that fight and help to strengthen confidence in international relations and avert the threat of a new war. Among the most important measures of that kind which the USSR has been and is proposing are the reduction of armaments, the condemnation and prevention of war propaganda, the unconditional prohibition of the atomic weapon and the establishment of strict international control to make sure that the prohibition is observed.
119. The important task of reducing armaments and armed forces is one with which all the peace-loving countries have long been faced. Four years ago, in 1946, the General Assembly adopted resolution 41 (I), in which it recognized the necessity of the earliest possible reduction of armaments and armed forces, and formulated practical measures to that end designed to ensure that the reduction of armaments applied to the major weapons of modern warfare and not merely to the minor weapons. At the same time the General Assembly recognized that it was essential to expedite the consideration of a convention for the prohibition of the atomic weapon and for the establishment of international control and inspection, so as to ensure the use of atomic energy only for peaceful purposes.
120. Need we go on to stress the vital importance of these measures for the strengthening of peace and of international security? These decisions represented a serious blow to the expansionist aspirations of those groups which had not learned all the necessary lessons from the failure of the aggressive plans of those who instigated the Second World War.
121. The reduction of armaments is in the interest of strengthening peace and meets the vital need of the peoples for the lightening of the heavy economic burden of ever-increasing expenditures caused by a frenzied armaments race.
122. The main responsibility for the reduction of armaments rests with the great Powers. That is why the USSR Government is bringing up the important question of the necessity for the great Powers of reducing their present armed forces — land forces, air forces of all kinds, and navy — by one-third in 1950, it being understood that the question of a further reduction of armed forces would be considered later, at one of the forthcoming sessions of the General Assembly.
123. To remove the threat of war and strengthen peace, it is of vital importance to renounce the use of atomic weapons and to establish the strict international control required. The USSR Government’s proposals for the unconditional prohibition of atomic weapons and the establishment of strict international control are enthusiastically supported by hundreds of millions of partisans of peace in all countries, for the conscience of the peoples cannot tolerate the threat of the use of the atomic weapon, which is a weapon of aggression and an inhuman instrument for mass destruction and the slaughter of peaceful populations.
124. The USSR Government has always stood and stands for the unconditional prohibition of atomic weapons and the strict and effective international control which will ensure that atomic energy is not used for military purposes.
125. The discovery of atomic energy, which is one of the greatest scientific discoveries of our age and has created tremendous possibilities for increasing the forces of production and raising the standard of living of peoples, must not be used for destruction and slaughter. Atomic energy must be used wholly and exclusively for peaceful, constructive work.
126. It is the duty of the United Nations to put an end to the atomic weapon and the other major weapons of mass slaughter of populations. This is what millions and millions of people are demanding.
127. The Government of the Soviet Union deems it essential that the General Assembly should take all the steps in its power to implement the measures it has itself already approved in this matter, in order to achieve the unconditional prohibition of the atomic weapon and the condemnation as a war criminal of any government which is first to use the atomic weapon against another country.
128. The opponents of the idea of prohibiting the atomic weapon and of reducing armaments are those who are creating a war psychosis, making propaganda in favour of another war and preparing plans for such a war, all under the cover of insincere talk about “defence” and slander about the policy of the Soviet Union, which aims at peace.
129. For a long time, already a feverish campaign has been conducted in the countries of the North Atlantic bloc to win over world public opinion to the idea of another war. This propaganda is not only not diminishing but is becoming more and more widespread under the most varied pretexts, which all have one and the same aim — to justify a mad race for armaments, including the atomic weapon.
130. The USSR Government assailed this propaganda as early as 1947, and again in 1948 and 1949.
131. As a result, the General Assembly adopted resolution 110 (II) condemning propaganda for another war and recommending to the governments of all States Members of the United Nations to take steps to encourage propaganda in favour of peace so as to strengthen and develop friendly relations among all nations.
132. At that time the most ardent war-mongers were mentioned by name, and they — Churchill, John Foster Dulles and a number of others — have still not desisted and are continuing their intrigues against the cause of peace. New war-mongers have joined their ranks, openly advertising their predatory plans. These propagandists of a new war include a number of responsible United States politicians and statesmen, as, for example, General Bradley, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, former Secretary of Defense Johnson, Secretary of the Navy Matthews, General MacArthur, and others,
133. Some idea of their propaganda may be gathered from MacArthur’s letter to the Veterans of Foreign Wars, in which he sets forth his expansionist plans concerning China and the entire area of the Pacific. Further evidence may be seen in the recent statement of the Secretary of the Navy, Matthews, who in the name, of peace shamelessly advocated a war of aggression. The former Secretary of Defense, Johnson, in a series of statements, has also openly advocated war, with the use of any weapons, even atomic and bacteriological.
134. The prohibition of war propaganda is in accordance with the vital interests of the peoples of the entire world. The USSR Government urges the General Assembly to take further steps to put an end to such propaganda, which is directed against peaceful cooperation among the peoples and which is sapping the very foundations of the United Nations. Such propaganda should not go unpunished and those guilty of it should be made to answer for their actions.
135. The USSR Government’s peace proposals have in all cases been based on the premise that peace can be secured and strengthened by the combined efforts of all nations, great and small. At the same time, the Government of the Soviet Union bears in mind the special responsibility of the great Powers, which are most able to influence the course and development of international relations and are best equipped to prevent wars and strengthen peace. My Government therefore deems it vitally important that five Powers — the United States, the United Kingdom, France, China and the Soviet Union — should unite their efforts towards peace and conclude among themselves a covenant for the strengthening of peace. Such a covenant, supported by all peace-loving peoples, would be able to strengthen mutual confidence and, at the same time, the general resolve, to remove the threat of a new war and to ensure international security.
136. The past year has been marked by events of international importance. The North Atlantic bloc and its military staffs have, intensified their aggressive activity. A frenzied armaments race is in progress in the United States and a number of western European countries and propaganda in favour of a new war is being conducted and has been intensified of late. Continued efforts are being made to arm western Germany and Japan and to turn those countries into strategic bases for future aggression. A war is being waged in Korea, imposed by foreign interventionists upon the Korean people who are fighting for their independence and national unity. Europe, has still not healed the wounds inflicted upon it during the last war, yet already the threat of a new war hangs over it.
137. In these circumstances the Government of the Soviet Union is continuing and intensifying its determined fight against the threat of a new war, and is firmly and consistently pressing its policy of peace and friendship among nations.
138. In order to strengthen peace and security among nations and to avert the threat of war, the USSR Government has instructed its delegation to submit to the General Assembly for its consideration the following declaration [A/1376]: “Declaration on the removal of the threat of a, new war and the strengthening of peace and security among the Nations “The General Assembly, “Considering that the most important task of the United Nations is to maintain international peace and security, and to strengthen and develop friendly relations among nations and co-operation between them in solving international problems, “Expressing its firm determination to avert the threat of a new war and sharing the nations’ inflexible will to peace as expressed by the hundreds of millions of signatures appended to the Stockholm appeal, “Regarding the use of the atomic weapon and other means of the mass destruction of human beings as a most heinous international crime against humanity, and basing this attitude on the unanimously adopted General Assembly resolution of 1946 on the need for prohibiting the use of atomic energy for military purposes, “Noting that the events at present taking place in Korea and other areas of the Pacific ocean emphasize with added force the extreme importance and urgency, from the point of view of international peace and security, of unifying for this purpose the efforts of the five Powers which are permanent members of the Security Council and bear special responsibility for the maintenance of international peace, “Decides to adopt the following declaration: “1, The General Assembly condemns the propaganda in favour of a new war now being conducted in a number of countries and urges all States to prohibit such propaganda in their countries and call those responsible to account. “2. The General Assembly, recognizing that the use of the atomic weapon as a weapon of aggression and the mass destruction of human beings is contradictory to international conscience and honour and incompatible with membership of the United Nations, declares that the use of the atomic weapon shall be unconditionally prohibited and that a strict system of international control shall be instituted to ensure the exact and unconditional observance of this prohibition. “The General Assembly also declares that the first government to use the atomic weapon or any other means for the mass destruction of human beings against any country will thereby commit a crime against humanity and be regarded as a war criminal. “3. The General Assembly, acting in recognition of the need for strengthening peace, and taking into account the special responsibilities of the permanent members of the Security Council for ensuring peace, unanimously expresses the desire: “(a) That the United States of America, the United Kingdom, France, China and the Soviet Union should combine their efforts for peace and conclude among themselves a pact for the strengthening of peace; “(b) That these great Powers should reduce their present armed forces (land forces, military air forces of all kinds, naval forces) by one-third during 1950, and that the question of a further reduction of armed forces should be brought up for consideration at one of the forthcoming sessions of the General Assembly.”
139. This is the path which the Soviet Union calls upon the nations to take in these grievous times. The General Assembly must take this path and go boldly forward along it. Such is our programme, a programme of struggle for peace, a programme to strengthen peace and co-operation between nations and to remove the threat of a new war.