On behalf of the Netherlands delegation, I should like first of all to offer the President our sincere congratulations upon his election to his high office. It has been a matter of great satisfaction to my delegation that the General Assembly has unanimously elected him to preside over our discussions, the more so as this session is likely to be one of the most important in our history.
108. In the second place, I wish to associate myself with the preceding speakers who have welcomed the new Members. My delegation sincerely hopes that their contribution to our work will strengthen the Organization.
109. In this connexion, however, it is fitting to note — and I do this with sincere regret — that, due to the indefensible attitude of one of the members, and a permanent member, of the Security Council, one application is still pending. My delegation hopes — indeed it urges — that the question of the membership of Japan will at the earliest possible moment be favourably reconsidered.
110. The agenda of this eleventh session contains a large number of subjects. My delegation will take part with the same zeal as in previous years in the discussions of the Fifth Committee on budgetary and administrative matters. We feel the time has come carefully to examine the functioning of the machinery of the Secretariat as well as that of the regional and functional commissions. The lively discussions held last summer in the Co-ordination Committee of the Economic and Social Council on the streamlining of the United Nations system point out the road to be followed. The rapid growth of the United Nations machinery requires a critical attitude with regard to its various branches, in order that less essential activities may be replaced by more necessary undertakings. The administrative organs of the United Nations should decide on the degree of urgency and on priorities.
111. I may emphasize that the preceding remarks, which, naturally, apply also to the work of the specialized agencies, should not be taken as indicating a desire to slow down or to restrict our activities. Neither do I want to suggest a lack of understanding on the part of the Secretariat of the problem I have raised. But, in view of the enormous task of our Organization, our human and material possibilities are limited. These limited resources should, therefore, be used for the most urgent functions, especially in the social and economic field, and a sustained critical examination of the question how the most constructive contributions can be made to the well-being of the family of nations is necessary.
112. The report of the Economic and Social Council [A/3154] contains an interesting survey of this question. It will require a consistent national policy, national co-ordination of the activities of the various governmental bodies and, consequently, co-ordination of the instructions to the national delegations to international conferences to achieve the necessary efficiency of our programme. The matter was again dealt with by the Economic and Social Council, and the results of the Council’s deliberations will have my delegation’s fullest attention.
113. The items of our agenda which have been referred to the Sixth Committee embody the important contribution of the United Nations to the development and codification of international law. Although these studies, by their very nature, can progress but slowly, they deepen and widen the impact of the law of nations on the international community.
114. The Fourth Committee will deal with subjects of importance. As such I consider, in particular, the discussion concerning the plebiscite under United Nations auspices in Togoland, and the independence of that country.
115. The agendas of the Second and Third Committees demonstrate the tremendous task as well as the inspiring possibilities for our Organization in the economic and social fields. One may wonder to what extent the repercussions of recent international events will adversely affect the clarity of vision of the delegations during the debates in those two Committees.
116. In my opinion, it would be unwise not to see that it is necessary to recognize the reality of these repercussions, and my delegation, for one, finds it difficult to look forward with any confidence to holding serious discussions on the subject of human rights with the participation of the representatives of a country which, at this moment in Hungary, shows such appalling disregard for human rights and human values. The Netherlands representatives in the Third Committee feel that they could use their time to a better and more profitable purpose, for instance by organizing relief for the tens of thousands of Hungarians who have been forced to flee their country.
117. It is my sincere hope that the Second Committee will be able to direct its attention not to the difficult present but to the important problems of the future. It will be clear that I am referring to the question of raising the standard of living: in the less-developed areas. To recognize the importance of this problem and to study ways and means to solve it is the crucial task of our generation. The technical assistance programmes and the significant achievements of this work during the last five years form only the beginning. The major part of our work still has to be done. We would fail in our historic mission if we did not make, at the earliest possible moment, a decisive and large-scale effort to finance the economic and social infrastructure of the less-developed areas.
118. My Government holds the view that this challenge should be met on a multilateral basis and in equal partnership between, on the one hand, the countries which extend assistance and, on the other, those which receive it. My Government considers, furthermore, that the progress towards the establishment of a development mechanism should not be deflected by such events as, for instance, Egypt’s seizure of the Suez Canal or Indonesia’s violation of its international obligations. Nevertheless, the efforts of the contributing countries will be of no avail unless they meet with co-operation from the recipient countries.
119. In his clear and eloquent address last week [589th meeting], the French Minister for Foreign Affairs, Mr. Pineau, mentioned three conditions for the effectiveness of any plan of assistance to the less-developed countries, and, because of their clarity and logic, I should like to quote them. The three conditions laid down by Mr. Pineau were: first, acceptance of the principle of interdependence between nations; secondly, scrupulous respect for one’s commitments; and thirdly, maintenance of order in the countries benefiting from the plan.
120. These conditions, without which no effective aid is practicable, are no doctrinaire counsels of perfection invented by a theorist; they are the result of practical experience; and their disregard, as several instances in the past have proved, renders effective aid impossible.
121. I am thinking in particular of Indonesia, a country which has repeatedly stressed its great and urgent needs. Yet that same country has, especially in its relations with the Netherlands, acted in a manner contrary to the conditions just mentioned.
122. Indonesia, earlier this year, unilaterally tore up all the agreements signed with my country at the Round Table Conference at The Hague in 1949, agreements entered into under the auspices of the United Nations and sanctioned by the United Nations Commission for Indonesia; it has, further, repudiated its debts to the Netherlands, the amount of which was fixed in consultation with the United Nations and freely agreed to; finally, it has subjected a number of Netherlands nationals to persecution by trumped-up lawsuits and maltreatment and torture by the police.
123. The subjects I have mentioned thus far are all related to essential purposes of the United Nations: respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms, development of dependent territories to free nations, and creation of economic and social conditions in accordance with the requirements of human dignity. Still, there is another matter which surpasses them in importance, namely, the fundamental function for which the United Nations was created: the upholding of justice and the preservation of peace.
124. Before commenting on the political problems requiring our attention during the present session, I wish first of all to testify in behalf of the Netherlands people to their deep-rooted desire for peace. This implies that the Netherlands people still pin their hope on the United Nations as the best instrument for working out just solutions and effective guarantees for peace.
125. The question seems justified whether the United Nations fulfils these hopes. During the last two weeks I have listened to a number of eloquent speeches expressing the opinion that the present crisis has considerably increased the prestige of the Organization. Whether this is true in my opinion cannot yet be assessed. An answer can only be given in the light of future developments, proving that the United Nations has indeed strengthened international security in conformity with the purposes of the Charter.
126. I must confess that at this moment I do not feel that, objectively speaking, we have much reason to be too optimistic. The Charter is surely an instrument of international law, but it is at the same time the expression of an attitude of mind. Those who during many years have denied the essential value of the Charter have lost the right to invoke it and to use it as a sort of juke-box to be put in motion by inserting a nickel in the slot. One cannot invoke the Charter after announcing publicly for many years one’s intention to annihilate a neighbouring State. One cannot invoke the Charter after upsetting the international legal order, which the United States Secretary of State, Mr. Dulles, called “the international fabric”. One cannot invoke the Charter against Anglo-French action in the Middle East at the same moment that one is oneself suppressing pitilessly and with ruthless force a people’s struggle for freedom.
127. During the first emergency special session, the Netherlands delegation voted with many other delegations in favour of the establishment of a United Nations Force. Our vote was cast on the assumption that the establishment of this international police force in the area of conflict would at the same time lead to the solution of the three basic problems responsible for the present crisis; that is, the Arab-Israel tension, the question of the Arab refugees, and the status of the Suez Canal.
128. I feel bound to voice the grave misgivings of my delegation should this assumption prove to be groundless. If developments result in a return to the status quo ante in the Middle East and the three basic problems remain unresolved, I greatly fear that in future years men will judge that we missed a golden opportunity and that we were responsible for a major failure of the United Nations in the cause of world peace.
129. These fears and misgivings lest the United Nations fail in its task and miss the opportunities of the moment are shared by many who are the staunchest defenders of the rules of law among nations. The representative of Norway voiced the same concern when he affirmed that “the restoration of peace would mean that but half the mission had been accomplished. The second half of the mission is for this Assembly to see that justice is done” [566th meeting, para. 52]. I entirely agree with these views.
130. It is unfortunate that the political discussions in the United Nations show increasing signs of a lack of intellectual consistency. People in my country are profoundly shocked by the fact that a number of delegations were less anxious to make the tragedy of Hungary a subject for concerted action than to meet the developments in the Middle East. The Netherlands people are experiencing doubts concerning the moral level of our debates after learning that, when the first resolution on Hungary was voted upon, no fewer than fifteen delegations felt justified in abstaining.
131. More than ever before, I have been struck during the present session by the lack of willingness to take into account arguments brought forward during our debates. Sometimes I even wonder whether there still is a desire for discussion, or whether it is preferred to proceed to a vote without any discussion at all. I need hardly say that this tendency, if left unchecked, would mean the end of the United Nations.
132. I have noted the artificial creation of conflicting opinions. I have noted the lightheartedness with which a country like mine is accused of so-called colonialism. Let me state quite clearly that in the Netherlands there is no single political party or any popular group which seeks to restore the past, or which bases its political aims on a nostalgic and reactionary desire to revive the nineteenth century. Of course, every other delegation here has the fullest right to differ with the opinions of my delegation and to oppose those opinions. However, this right can only be exercised in fairness and good faith if such a delegation is prepared to listen to, and objectively to examine, our views.
133. The Netherlands has signed the Charter of the United Nations and is determined to abide by it. We understand and we endorse the contents of Chapter XI of the Charter and, consequently, we are fully aware of our obligations. We know that we are acting in accordance with the letter and the spirit of this chapter with regard to the territory of Netherlands New Guinea and its inhabitants. We shall continue to do so.
134. Finally, a word about our membership of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. My country attaches such great value to its membership of that organization because we realize that it is essential to the preservation of our freedom. Self-defence must always be founded on the idea that there is something which deserves to be fought for. The defensive nature of NATO, within the purposes of the Charter, is unimpeachable for every unbiased observer. The fact that not only Communist countries, but sometimes even so-called non-committed nations, call NATO an instrument of aggression is yet another example of negation of facts. We shall, however continue our NATO policy, and we shall likewise continue, in the Council of Europe, in the Western European Union, and in our increasingly strong Benelux partnership, to follow a policy aimed at strengthening the Charter.
135. In ending my statement, I wish to stress once again, on behalf of the Netherlands people, our faith that the United Nations will overcome the difficulties of the present and that, by the exercise of wisdom, objectivity and strength, it will proceed towards the realization of its lofty aims and thereby become the effective means for the preservation of peace with justice.
136. Above all, however, we are convinced that, for the fulfilment of this purpose, we shall need the help of Almighty God.