1. Mr. President, knowing your skill as a statesman, your experience in dealing with international questions and your complete devotion to peace, which you have tirelessly propagated in the United Nations, the Government of Colombia believes that the General Assembly could not have made a better choice than it did in electing you as its President. May I therefore extend to you and to your great country my warmest congratulations and sincere good wishes for the utmost success in your difficult and complex task in the interest of the welfare of mankind and of the prestige of this Organization.
2. At the same time, I most respectfully extend the greetings of my Government to all the representatives gathered here. I am confident that their work at this session of the Assembly will be inspired by a common desire to strengthen peace and ensure the well-being of the human race. Colombia comes to these meetings in this spirit and with the unshakable resolve that justice preside over relations between peoples.
3. I also wish to express our deep satisfaction at the admission of Guyana as a new Member of the United Nations, and I accordingly extend our hearty congratulations to its Government and people and to the delegation that represents them. This young State has come to join the ranks of the Latin American nations, and we are sure that its contribution will be consonant with our continent's traditional policy of solidarity with the rest of the world. The admission of this new Member has a very profound significance for Latin America because it conforms to the anti-colonialist spirit of its inhabitants and their desire for that part of the world to be composed of free nations, the masters of their own destinies.
4. I have had the honour of representing my country in this Organization for four years. In hope and in fear, I have lived through some of its most serious crises: on several occasions, we faced the appalling possibility of its dissolution, and on others, we noted it effectiveness in preventing catastrophies that might have been irreparable. All this has strengthened my conviction that whatever might be done by Member States to defend its existence, this is but little by comparison with what the absence of its beneficial influence on the lives of nations could mean for our own generation and even more for the generations to come. This would mean the disappearance of the principles which have been enshrined in the Charter with the aim of putting an end to the millennia of suffering endured by man since his appearance on this planet; it would, above all, deceive the hopes of the millions of human beings who are looking to the dawn of a better world free of the heavy burden of poverty and ignorance.
5. The general debate which is held in this Assembly each year is not merely an occasion for analysing the international situation and learning the views of each of the Member States; it must in addition, as in fact it does, provide an opportunity for analysing the shortcomings and possibilities of our Organization in carrying out its basic purposes. If, having reached the twenty-first session of the General Assembly, we now look back, we find that its achievements have indeed been great and positive. We have preserved world peace for more than twenty years, although vast sectors of humanity have been shaken by violence and cruelty from time to time. We have helped new States towards independence and aided them in the establishment of their institutions, and these States now act as a balance between the various blocs of nations and are a decisive factor in world decisions. We have provided economic, technical and cultural assistance to help overcome the phenomen of underdevelopment, and even military assistance to alleviate tensions which at the time might have led to a new conflagration.
6. Our Organization has been going forward and has been growing stronger despite the wide ideological and political divergencies of the great Powers, and it has gradually taken on the character of universality which it must have. But, we must admit that it has not always been as effective for the solution of world problems as it should have been. Many of its best efforts have come to nought, and this should cause us to ponder the best way of overcoming the enormous obstacles which ignorance, ambition, greed or the thirst for power have placed in the path to peace, to a better understanding among peoples and to the satisfaction of basic human needs.
7. When the crisis which paralysed the nineteenth session of the Assembly was surmounted, we felt great hopes for the future of the Organization. However, the results which we so ardently desired have not been forthcoming. The truth is that we are unable to exert any decisive influence on events which are unfolding before our eyes and which we can only watch with increasing anxiety. We are unable to stop the conflict in Asia, which is continuing with the greatest bitterness and which could lead to the outbreak of a world conflict. This in turn raises the question of whether the Organization does or does not have the means to operate effectively, at this stage of history, in order to achieve the purposes for which it was created.
8. What is more, however, those fundamental questions which have demanded the attention and concern of the United Nations during the twenty years of its existence are now in a discouraging state of paralysis. Take, for example, disarmament. Public opinion no longer expects any great progress to be made in the discussions which have been going on now for a number of years at Geneva in the
Eighteen-Nation Committee on Disarmament. Because of the obstinate refusal of the great Powers to yield in matters which could be settled if they were analysed with a real and deep desire to find intelligent solutions, general and complete disarmament now seems a more unattainable ideal than ever. The same is true of the hope that the enormous sums being devoted to a mad and criminal armaments race might be used to fight under-development and to banish backwardness from vast areas of the globe.
9. The splitting of the atom and the discovery of nuclear energy have presented the world with the gravest of threats to the very existence of the human species, and there is a universal clamour that this threat, which may one day become a reality, should be banished forever. Ever since the first atomic bomb, w*th its lethal aftermath of radioactivity, was tested, the efforts of the Governments and people of all countries have been directed towards halting the ominous production, of nuclear weapons. The Assembly has adopted innumerable resolutions urging the atomic Powers to cease their tests so that the terrifying power of destroying civilization might not be expanded or increased and that broad areas of America, Africa and Asia might be free of this peril. As a result, the treaty banning nuclear weapon tests in the atmosphere, in outer space and under water was signed in Moscow on 5 August 1963 and was welcomed with joy by the people of the entire world. Since then, however, there has been no effective progress, and it is now apparent that the tests are continuing as all people, including those whose Governments persist in carrying out the tests, look on with fear, indignation and horror.
10. The intention of our Organization as expressed in General Assembly resolution 2030 (XX) on the question of convening a world disarmament conference has so far been merely another vain hope. This was to be an opportunity for providing a universal forum where all the factors impeding the necessary understanding between the peoples of the world could be analysed with the participation of the nuclear Powers and particularly of those which are continuing to increase and perfect these weapons of destruction. It was to be an opportunity for starting a huge movement of world public opinion that could bring pressure to bear on the atomic Powers. Today, the possibility of entertaining any illusion of this kind is remote, and hence we must also admit that the United Nations is incapable of dealing with this crucial and decisive question. The nuclear tests will continue and with them the horrifying prospect that, as the number of atomic Powers increases, the third world war will become inevitable before the end of this century.
11. There are, however, other events weighing down world peace, which are extremely grave and are related to one of the basic objectives of the world Organization, the second objective after the preservation of peace. The San Francisco Charter states that the peoples of the United Nations are determined "to reaffirm faith in fundamental human rights, in the dignity and worth of the human person, in the equal rights of men and women and of nations large and small". This principle led to the drafting of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948, but today we see how the repeated, shocking and inhuman violation of this instrument constitutes still another matter with which we have been powerless to deal.
12. There seemed to be some basis for believing that the abominable practice of a privileged minority dominating large subjugated majorities who were denied the most elemental rights might be restricted to one country and gradually disappear. We are alarmed, however, to see that Governments are arising in Africa with the same abominable characteristics. The continuance of this situation in the world of today is an affront to mankind and a cause for shame and reproach on the part of all of us seated here in this Assembly. The truth is that it has not been possible to solve this problem satisfactorily in the last few years and that it has now been aggravated by the situation in Southern Rhodesia and by the problem of South West Africa. The practices of apartheid must be completely stamped out. Colombia is willing to support, and even to sponsor, measures which might prove effective against such Governments. In this respect, my Government has adopted legislation to implement the relevant recommendations of the General Assembly and the Security Council regarding Southern Rhodesia, and with respect to the question of South West Africa, allow me to reiterate the view expressed at the last session of the Assembly that this territory should be placed under the administration of the United Nations.
13. At all events, the outstanding fact, the one that we must stress before this gallery of nations, is that what has been done so far has not been sufficient to restore in certain areas the effectiveness of those essential principles for which the United Nations was created to put into practice.
14. The old yearning of the international community, arising from the inability of the former League of Nations to maintain peace or, rather, to prevent war, was taken into account by the inclusion in the San Francisco Charter of Chapter VII prescribing what action should be taken with respect to threats to the peace, breaches of the peace and acts of aggression.
15. The provisions of that Chapter regarding the re-establishment of international peace and security by means of regular United Nations forces have remained words only. We must realize that all the urgent activities of the United Nations, even if completely successful, will be entirely in vain if we fail to endow the Organization with the power to prevent war. This explains the constant endeavour of the General Assembly to overcome the paralysis of the Security Council in initiating the actions assigned to it in this regard by the Charter. It was thought that resolution 377 (V), the "Uniting for peace" resolution — so ardently defended not only by some of the great Powers but also by the smaller countries, both when it was adopted and now — might be an adequate solution. The truth is that since then we have gone through a process of confusion and complexity so bedevilled by political interests that it can be said that we have not taken a single step forward since the adoption of that resolution, which, although well conceived and motivated by the best of intentions, has proved in practice to be completely ineffective. In spite of the praiseworthy efforts of its members, the Special Committee on Peace-Keeping Operations, established under resolution 2006 (XIX), has been unabled to reach any practical or concrete conclusions. The refusal of the socialist countries to participate in the financing of these operations, the disagreement among the other Governments on the amount of the contributions that should be paid and scepticism about the possibility of reaching agreements that would guarantee the effectiveness of the system are all indications that our Organization is still very far from being able — without major financial difficulties and without having to depend on the caprice of the great Powers, on political circumstances or on what may at the moment suit purely national interests — to exercise consistently and decisively its indispensable function of eliminating the danger of war, punishing aggressors and warding off threats to peace.
16. Some of the comments which 1 have with all due respect made before this Assembly were also made by Secretary-General U Thant when he indicated his decision not to offer his services for a second term of office. The document submitted by the Secretary-General in this connexion must be a matter for deep thought on the part of the Governments and people of the world. He who in the midst of innumerable and disquieting difficulties has handled with singular skill the grave international problems that confront the world today is without doubt the person best qualified to draw the attention of the United Nations to the fact that "no decisive progress has been made by the Governments of Member States in co-operative efforts which are essential if the Organization is to serve effectively the cause of peace and to contribute significantly to the economic development of the poorer regions of the world" [A/6400].
17. I wish on behalf of my Government to pay a tribute of admiration and gratitude to the Secretary-General. As the representative of Colombia it was my privilege, at a time when the United Nations was going through one of its gravest crises, to co-operate in his felicitous appointment and to make known publicly on behalf of the Latin American group, the satisfaction felt by our Governments and our continent at his election. Today we can say that the hopes placed in his administration have been fully justified. No major error can justly be attributed to him in the discharge of his duties. Hence, the Latin American nations did what was right in expressing the desire that U Thant would agree to offer his services and endeavours to the world community once again.
18. However, it would not be fair for us to demand this of him if Member States do not intend to take positive steps to change the circumstances he mentioned when he announced a decision which we all regret and which we hope will be revoked. I think there can be no doubt within this Assembly about the serious questions that would arise if we had to elect a new Secretary-General now. May I, on behalf of Colombia, express the wish that the Secretary-General will reconsider his position and reflect on how important these additional services we are asking of him may be for the cause of peace.
19. I should now like to reaffirm various views which I stated in this Assembly on behalf of my country a few years ago and which are still fully valid today. The world cannot continue to be divided into antagonistic blocs that cling to irreconcilable positions concerning the systems of government that will make their peoples happy. Nor can nationalistic feelings be allowed to prevail over the universal interests of living together in harmony. Peace must be built on something more substantial than the cold formation of international co-operation or the illusion which the socialist countries have called peaceful coexistence. The need for understanding and brotherhood among peoples grows more imperative each day. An awareness of peace must be inculcated in youth through an immense educational effort that will banish from their sight the tinsel glitter of military apparatus which fires the early imagination of children and develops in them an admiration and worship of war heroes, whose fame far exceeds that of the artist or the scientist. Only by discarding the nationalistic concepts which today are a basic ingredient of education and supplanting them by a loftier concept of the great family of mankind, will peace one day be established on earth.
20. That, however, presupposes an unqualified acceptance of the rule of justice, for so long as inequalities between nations and men become sharper instead of disappearing and so long as economic imbalance becomes more acute, it is quite impossible for violence to disappear from human relations. Such inequalities tend to create centres of disturbance throughout the world which prevent a calm and dispassionate analysis of problems and situations. Satisfactory solutions are thus impossible to attain and will continue to be so as long as they are subordinated to purely local interests or to the ambitions of the great Powers.
21. It has thus come to be realized that the true strategy of peace is to be found in the effective and harmonious solution of the grave economic problems in the various areas of the world. Consequently, the most urgent task which our Organization must undertake is to reduce, on the international plane, the ever widening gap which separates the rich countries with a high per capita income from the developing countries, and, on the national plane, the gap between the small minorities who are well off and the large majorities who live in grinding poverty.
22. It is true that the efforts made to correct this situation have had some success, but here, just as in the situation that has already been analysed, there is a dangerous degree of stagnation, particularly as regards relations between the industrialized countries and those which make a precarious living either from basic commodities that are subject to the vagaries of the market or from fledgling industries. Thus, wealth has continued to accumulate in a few nations which represent a small part of the world's population, while in the areas with the bulk of the population a scarcity of resources and of technical and economic assistance makes ever more difficult the task of the peoples who are striving to achieve a higher level of development.
23. As can be seen, the economically under-developed countries are the victims of a world situation which does not seem likely to change very soon. Many of them are far from attaining the 5 per cent increase in national income which is one of the goals of the United Nations Development Decade. On the other hand, the coolness with which the industrialized countries received the recommendations of the first United Nations Conference on Trade and Development has been deplorable and hard to understand.
24. A further disturbing fact recently pointed out by the Secretary-General must also be borne in mind, namely, that while the national Income of the developed countries is Increasing, the proportion of that income allocated to international assistance for the developing countries is decreasing. In the case of several Powers that proportion has not yet reached the 1 per cent of net income called for by the 1964 Geneva Conference in accordance with earlier recommendations of the General Assembly. The contrast between this relative decrease in international aid and the growing urgency of the need for that aid constitutes one of the most tragic negative signs of our times.
25. In view of the need to intensify technical and economic co-operation through our Organization, more and more efforts and resources must be devoted to the United Nations Development Programme, to the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development and to the United Nations Industrial Development Organization. The final establishment of the latter, in accordance with the draft resolution prepared by the Ad Hoc Committee is, without a doubt, one of the fundamental objectives of this session.
26. It is clear from all I have said that there are grounds for optimism, particularly in the programmes of technical and economic co-operation which our Organization has fostered. But I have also mentioned certain negative factors, and an awareness of these should stimulate the developing countries to redouble their efforts towards making maximum use of their own resources and technologies, thereby overcoming the limitations of their present condition, and towards uniting with peoples in similar situations, so as to seek in economic
co-operation and the exchange of experience the path to redemption.
27. It was with this in mind that, on 16 August of this year, the so-called Declaration of Bogota was signed and issued officially by the Presidents of Chile, Ecuador, Peru, Venezuela and Colombia. It was circulated as an official document of the United Nations [A/6410] in connexion with agenda item 42, entitled "Regional development". The text of the Declaration gives expression to the fervent desire of the peoples of America to achieve, through cooperative efforts, high levels of social well-being which, we hope, will gradually eliminate the desperate backwardness and ignorance of large masses on the continent.
28. Besides the statements of a strictly political character, this Declaration, reflecting the desire to strengthen the inter-American system, to strive for the consolidation of peace, to express solidarity with the peoples struggling for their own development, and to defend representative democracy as the essential basis fox achieving liberty, progress and social justice, contains a clear, constructive programme for bringing about the integration of the Latin American nations into one great economic community. The President of Colombia, Mr. Carlos Lleras Restrepo, stated as much in words I would like to repeat before this Assembly, since they express so clearly the meaning and scope of this document, conceived according to the broadest definition of continental solidarity:
"We regard as indispensable the economic integration of Latin America and the furtherance of an international policy which will make the great markets of the world more accessible to our products. We defend the prices of the primary commodities which constitute the bulk of our exports while endeavouring to diversify these exports. We urgently need sufficient external income to acquire those valuable capital goods which are necessary for the acceleration of economic development; and we maintain that international financial assistance should be provided on a reasonable basis and in pursuance of a policy which in no way affects the independence or dignity of our countries. We want, not colonial economies — whatever semblance of prosperity they may offer — but nations which are masters of their own destinies, nations which can maintain normal economic relations with the rest of the world and ensure freedom for the movement of capital. We have therefore stressed the need for a foreign investment policy which will harmoniously and equitably combine the legitimate interests of the investor with the permanent needs of our nations, that is, with what we wish to be and must be."
29. During the last session of the General Assembly, Colombia participated in the drafting and discussion of resolution 2131 (XX) on non-intervention. This text, which, like many others, has become an historic expression of the Assembly's resolve to ensure international coexistence, must he zealously adhered to by the Members of the United Nations, for otherwise world peace will be gravely endangered. But, as is well known, frequent attempts are made to violate that lofty principle, affecting the security of our nations, and these may lead to extremes which could aggravate our present difficulties and hamper
the enormous efforts of our peoples and our Governments to conquer under-development. It is pertinent to recall the terms of that resolution, which was adopted unanimously, in order to contrast the principles embodied therein with the practices of certain countries, which unquestionably constitute open interference in the internal affairs of others. Operative paragraph 1 solemnly declares:
"No State has the right to intervene, directly or indirectly, for any reason whatever, in the internal or external affairs of any other State. Consequently, armed intervention and all other forms of interference or attempted threats against the personality of the State or against its political, economic and cultural elements, are condemned."
And the resolution continues:
"... Also, no State shall organize, assist, foment, finance, incite or tolerate subversive, terrorist or armed activities directed towards the violent overthrow of the regime of another State, or interfere in civil strife in another State."
30. Yet we have witnessed the convening of intercontinental conferences, attended by officials of the Governments concerned, whose primary objective, openly expressed, is to give moral and material support to subversive movements in various parts of the world, and particularly in Latin America. I ask you whether such support of armed subversion in other nations, directed against democratic institutions, like those in my country does not constitute an open, flagrant and totally unacceptable violation of the principles which I have just quoted.
31. Of course, the well-known attempts to penetrate our continent in order to destroy democracy and to implant totalitarian systems characterized by the brutal repression of all liberty and unconditional submission to extracontinental Powers have been unsuccessful, but have sometimes left in their wake a tragic toll of suffering and death. The international community cannot remain indifferent to these acts which contravene the resolution cited, which work against the self-determination of our peoples and which represent therefore clear-cut threats to the peace of America.
32. In making these observations — and Colombia has deliberately chosen to be utterly frank — our only purpose is to help meet one of the major needs of the present moment: the strengthening of the United Nations; for considering the difficult circumstances in which it must operate today, it lacks the influence it should wield over international events.
33. If this Organization cannot deal with the immense problems of the international community in these troubled times; if it cannot stop conflicts which might lead to the annihilation of the human race or to the destruction of the civilized world; if it cannot contribute effectively to the well-being and security of the inhabitants of this planet and to the attainment of at least moderate levels of cultural and scientific advancement in areas which today are deprived of the benefits of civilization; if, finally, it cannot achieve the goals set when it was founded, its prestige will necessarily decline, and It may well disappear eventually in a cloud of melancholy ineffectiveness.
34. This is the grim reality we face; this is what our peoples as well as our Governments must realize. We must appeal loudly and clearly to the conscience and intelligence of the world's leaders in the hope that, through acts of understanding and great deeds, they may preserve, consolidate and strengthen this Organization, and make it a true instrument of peace, a forum where the claims of the dispossessed, the complaints of those who are suffering injustices, the voice of the persecuted minorities and of the peoples who are victims of aggression will be heard and answered.
35. The greatest responsibilities, of course, still fall upon those Powers which are privileged to hold a permanent seat in the Security Council. It is they above all who must abandon their antagonistic positions and give to the rest of the world an example of constructive and harmonious coexistence. It is they who must live up to the obligations of international solidarity, provide the developing countries with technical and financial assistance, and facilitate the construction of an egalitarian and progressive society in a disarmed and peaceful world.
36. There are many obstacles along the way. The greatest of these is lack of understanding, which breeds fanaticism and intolerance. Men themselves have sown the path of life with pain and sorrow. Human actions have produced a world in which only a few receive the benefits of health and knowledge, while the majority continue to live an obscure and hopeless life. This imbalance must be corrected. The labour of all must be paid for in the same coin — that is, there must be adequate compensation. A great deal of national pride and wealth will have to be sacrificed for the benefit of the majority. It has been said that inequalities do not last for ever, or, as one great President of this Assembly, Zafrulla Khan, put it, if one part of the organism is diseased, the whole will soon he diseased.
37. Colombia wishes to be a part of this co-operative and redemptive undertaking, which should consist, not of adopting recommendations of merely literary value, but of taking measures which can lead to the solution of our difficulties. We realize that we who have here united our wills cannot ensure that the positive results we seek will actually be achieved or will lead to new trends in international conduct. But at least we can expect those whose obligations towards the Charter are greatest to live up to and implement its principles. Herein lies our hope for a less troubling future.