Chile

The Government of Chile wishes first of all to express through its delegation to the eleventh session of the United Nations General Assembly its great satisfaction at the election of Prince Wan of Thailand to the presidency of this Assembly. Knowing as we do his great culture, his thorough understanding of international affairs and his fine sense of tact, we are certain that he will guide and direct our discussions with skill in the difficult days ahead. 123. My delegation further wishes to express to all the representatives gathered here its warmest thanks for the co-operation which they unfailingly extended to two of our compatriots in the arduous tasks which they were called upon to fulfil: I refer to Mr. Maza, President of the tenth session of the General Assembly, and Mr. Ortega, who presided over the recent emergency special sessions. 124. Those emergency special sessions transferred to the regular session of the General Assembly two extremely acute problems which have kept all peace-loving peoples in a state of alarm and anxiety, namely, the action of foreign troops in Egypt and the violent suppression by invading armies of the Hungarian people’s struggle for emancipation. Both problems received the immediate attention of the United Nations and have continued unceasingly to afford us the most serious concern. 125. Fortunately the danger that the fighting in the Suez Canal zone might spread and plunge the whole world into the abyss seems to have begun to subside. Uncertainty none the less still prevails, because fresh difficulties are constantly arising which give renewed impetus to charges and lend drama to recriminations. However, decisive statements made here in recent days by the representatives of the countries directly involved give reason to believe that the resolutions of this Assembly will be complied with in their entirety. The Secretary-General will thus be enabled to seek a settlement under which the peoples of the area can live together in harmony, and peace can be firmly established. 126. A way must be found to reconcile legitimate sovereign rights with the rights of a world that urgently needs to be able to use a vital supply line in peace and safety. We are entitled to hope that obstinacy and misunderstanding will be set aside, so that agreements which will eliminate any threat to world peace may be reached. 127. The news dispatches which arrive daily, and the reports received by the information services of Governments all over the world have been strengthening the impression, to the point of making it a certainty, that the Hungarian people, eager to throw off the foreign yoke, are being outraged, enslaved and martyred by a foreign Power as they wage their great struggle for freedom. The Assembly has reaffirmed its resolutions concerning this acute problem and has thereby demonstrated the almost unanimous conviction of the free nations that Hungary has been the victim of outside intervention and of acts of repression which constitute violation of the principles which each Member of the United Nations has pledged itself to observe and respect. 128. My country, with its genuine democratic way of life and its unsullied tradition of freedom, cannot remain indifferent in the face of an invasion by forces of tyranny which, under pretexts that cannot possibly be taken seriously and much less justified, are violating the freedom of another nation and preventing it from choosing its own government and determining its own future. We stand with those who have raised their voices in protest and indignation against an act of aggression which is a threat to the sovereignty of every State and a violation of the most elementary human rights. 129. Despite the refusal of some representatives to acknowledge the facts which the free Press records daily, and their insistence that the only truth is what their controlled Press chooses to publish, this Assembly continues to be convinced that masses of Hungarian citizens are being deported and martyred for having dared to proclaim their desire for independence. This is a shameful blot on the history of our time which can scarcely be attenuated even by the feeling of solidarity with the persecuted that has been expressed by almost all the peoples of the earth. 130. The spontaneous offers of hospitality and aid are proof of the common desire to heal the deep wound which these persecutions have inflicted upon our civilization. My country is among those which are eager, to give the victims of ruthless foreign intervention in Hungary homes and security, and it has already begun to issue the necessary authorizations for the entry of up to 1,000 Hungarian refugees. 131. Retrograde actions such as those to which I have just referred strikingly show how necessary it is that the United Nations should eventually be in a position to back up its decisions — which are acquiring such great moral force — with swift, effective and powerful action to deter territorial invasions and attempts against basic human rights. Acts such as those which we have had occasion to consider and deplore in this Assembly cannot and must not be repeated, because they carry within themselves the seeds of destruction which could generate a world catastrophe and with it the end of civilized life. 132. We are therefore in complete accord with those who have expressed here the hope that the United Nations will organize a permanent armed force ready to step in whenever its services may be required to deter aggression by any State which forgets the commitments undertaken upon its entry into this world Organization and send its troops outside its own frontiers. For the sake of preserving the peace, no State would withhold its support from such a vital Undertaking. 133. The mere presence of United Nations police forces in danger zones will deter aggression, however great and powerful the invading forces may be. We do not believe that any army would dare to challenge United Nations contingents, for such an adventure would be condemned from the outset by all the rest of mankind. 134. The creation of this small force which is being sent to guard the frontiers in the Canal zone, and to which my country has offered its effective co-operation, will demonstrate the significance, not only symbolic but also real, of the proposal put forward in this Assembly. We hope that the idea will be promptly and adequately put into practice. 135. I began by citing situations constituting a threat to peace and to the very existence of the United Nations, but other developments are full of promise, and their constructive nature encourages us to continue our zealous efforts to work out new and mere harmonious ways of living together. 136. Since the founding of the United Nations at San Francisco, the world has undergone fundamental changes. Many a nation has joined the Organization in order to take part in the noble task of improving the condition of mankind. The backwardness which prevailed at the beginning of the century is being wiped out with startling rapidity. It is the pride of our era that nations which once contended for political hegemony are today working here and everywhere, inspired by a common desire for enlightenment and progress, with other nations that are now vigorously bestirring themselves from what appeared to be a state of lethargy into which they had sunk after having been in other times in the forefront of civilization. This has been a glorious awakening of peoples and races, who are now progressing towards ever greater achievements. 137. But can we, for all that, afford to be complacent? Are there not still backward peoples who have only just begun to turn their eyes towards the horizons of culture and well-being, but as yet have not acquired the independence that would enable them to proceed of their own free will along the path of progress? Surely we cannot sit back now, but must rather keep up the fight so that all the peoples of the world may be able to make known their longing for freedom and their eagerness to overcome the primitive conditions in which they have existed until now. 138. It becomes dearer every day, as the new concept of human solidarity takes root, that the economically advanced peoples must help those who have to contend with every kind of difficulty and all the disadvantages of belated participation in the universal task, of geographical isolation from the great arteries of wealth and activity, of a barren native soil or of secular subjection which has stifled independent development. 139. For that reason I wish to draw attention here to one of the most effective and important contributions that the United Nations has made to the well-being of peoples everywhere, namely, its activity in the economic sphere. Working through numerous agencies, it has been and is now engaged in a far-reaching corrective and creative endeavour. To take up in detail this phase of the work of the United Nations would be superfluous, for we all know how much and in what way its technical missions and economic aid programmes have contributed to the development of countries with a rudimentary industrial or a primitive agricultural system. Still, even though we are fully aware of the value of this constructive endeavour, we believe that in view of the significance and the implications of the economic development of a people for the whole world, even greater emphasis and vigour could be given to this form of activity. 140. Half the human race has for centuries been uneducated and led a static existence ignorant of the concepts of freedom, justice and sovereignly, and the reason has been the material backwardness of the peoples concerned. Technological development means emancipation and the first steps along the road of progress. We therefore believe that there is still muon to be done in this field, and that the United Nations might well intensify its already highly productive endeavours. 141. We accordingly hope that our oft-expressed desire for the establishment of a special fund will be realized, because this would assist countries, which are trying, by the application of modem techniques, to diversify their agriculture and industry and thus to strengthen their economies in order to ensure their existence as independent nations and to raise the standards of living of their peoples. 142. Fortunately, statesmen of vision are beginning to recognize that there can be no assurance of world peace as long as some nations are in a state of economic backwardness. This gives us reason to be hopeful concerning the effectiveness of this effort to aid countries which are economically weak. World peace, the freedom of peoples everywhere and the dignity of mankind make such an effort imperative. 143. My own country has spared no effort to further the beneficial process of industrialization. In a few y ears, and thanks to an agency of its own making — the Corporacion de Fomento — Chile has built up its iron and steel industry to the point where not only domestic needs are supplied, but manufactured products are exported. We have, established an oil refinery which handles the output of our wells in the south; we have created a sugar-beet industry; we are building cellulose plants; and we are modernizing our factories and manufacturing methods in every branch of industrial activity. We are now drawing up plans for an alkali and a petro-chemical industry. 144. At the same time, we have had to lay great stress on electrification, for otherwise our industrial development would have been impossible. Within a few years, the State electric-power agency of Chile has been able, through its hydroelectric plants, to triple the power output. We are now building a plant at Rapel which will be the largest in the country and will increase the total power available to industry by 360,000 kW. All this has, of course, been achieved at the cost of many „ sacrifices and, in addition, during a period of currency devaluation, which, however, has fortunately been checked through the rigorous application of carefully worked out plans to curb inflation and to readjust the national economy. 145. Agriculture, too, with the generous assistance of experts of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization, is adopting new and efficient procedures which should soon make the country self-sufficient as far as its food requirements are concerned. 146. In mining, the modernization of extracting methods is also producing encouraging results. 147. All this has helped to give our people, despite the inevitable difficulties involved, a level of living fully in accord with their cultural development and far removed from what it was during the first decades of the century. 148. For that reason, we would like to see in all countries that are in the early stages of economic development a more rapid rate of progress as an essential element in their political, social and cultural advancement. 149. We have a duty towards the world of today and towards the world of tomorrow. This means that we must, through the agency of a special body, study all the possibilities which the earth, as a storehouse of wealth and sustenance, offers mankind in the face of a growing world population. Can it be denied that the pressure on populations to satisfy their vital needs has been the cause of territorial expansion, and hence of invasion and war? From the remotest times, the search for food has led to migrations and movements of whole peoples, and to aggression and invasion. The Indian hordes of Rama, for example, descended on Europe for that very reason. 150. The modern world is not, however, in a position to consent to the movement of peoples from one area to another, nor would our proud civilization be worthy of the name if it permitted the famines which, to mankind's shame, ravaged certain continents up to a few decades ago. We thus have the heavy responsibility of anticipating food shortages which, if not averted, would cause the world more harm than war and might even engulf us in chaos. We accordingly deem it essential to formulate a policy for conserving food resources — a task which could be entrusted to a body of scientists who, shunning the mirages of politics, would provide the world with rules for increasing its resources and its sources of supply. 151. My country has always been concerned over these problems. It has thus, because of the indiscriminate exploitation of the resources of the sea by private profit-making enterprises, striven for the adoption of measures to restrict such exploitation so as to conserve and increase those resources or create new ones, instead of destroying them, as is being done today. 152. To that end, Chile, in the worthy company of Peru and Ecuador and with the loyal backing of other American republics, has insistently stressed the need for revising the obsolete and inoperative concepts concerning the maritime zones which a coastal State may control with a view to safeguarding its fish stocks and preventing some species from being exploited out of existence. In this connexion, we cannot but express our disappointment at the fact that the International Law Commission, in its lucid and painstaking report on the subject of the international law of the sea [A/3159], failed to give due weight to the judicious proposals of certain States for the conservation of marine flora and fauna in a zone wide enough to allow the application of an effective and rewarding policy of conservation. 153. We must also call attention to the constructive and unflagging work of the United Nations in fostering a world conscience so that man may live with dignity in society and that his duties and rights with regard to society may be defined. The work being done by the Commission on Human Rights, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, the United Nations Children’s Fund and other bodies* such as the Commission on the Status of Women, must always be pointed to as activities which redound to the Organization’s credit. 154. The task which has been so perseveringly pursued for the purpose of inculcating a higher concept of the dignity of the human person, as embodied in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, has gradually helped to give a clear idea of the attitude that is proper in these times, and to instil everywhere the principle that human groups have the right to determine for themselves the paths they must take to scale the heights of progress. The result of all this has been to awaken the peoples and races of all regions to whom I referred earlier and to bring into the realm of international cooperation peoples who but yesterday did not know the meaning of that noble word “independence”. 155. However, in view of recent world events and of the need to buttress the political and moral principles of the Charter speedily by legal obligations, it is our earnest hope that the Covenants on Human Rights can very soon be brought into force so that they may be come, as it were, a code defining the standards on which nations will base their political and social systems, so as to ensure respect for the human person and to develop a strong spirit of solidarity in the face of misery and adversity. 156. The inclusion in the agenda of the present session of the Assembly of the item relating to the peaceful uses of atomic energy was very gratifying to Chile. It fits in with our task of charting man’s future, for atomic energy will make it possible to combat poverty and create a basis of progress for the world of tomorrow. The recent meeting attended by representatives of eighty-one nations — the widest representation since the Second World War — which adopted the Statute of the International Atomic Energy Agency that is to develop the peaceful uses of atomic energy is a welcome development, and there is every reason to think that mankind will greatly benefit as a result of this action. 157. It is not difficult to foresee that the use of atomic energy for peaceful purposes will help enormously to raise the living standards of the peoples of the world. That is why Chile attaches particular weight to these decisive steps by mankind in this most important conquest in the field of science, and why it is making preparations for the new industrial revolution that is in prospect. These preparations include the establishment of a nuclear physics laboratory at the State University and the setting-up of a radioactive minerals company for supplying uranium. 158. I began my statement by expressing our satisfaction at the admission to the United Nations of many new Member States, which will no doubt bring with them a most valuable stock of ideas that will be constructive and also beneficial to the international community. We also express the earnest hope that soon, and very soon, the United Nations will be able to benefit from the enlightened contribution of the delegations from two countries which have a high cultural standing and an exemplary capacity for work and are contributing intensively to the moral and economic guidance of the world: I refer to Germany and Japan, countries where freedom now flourishes and men work in peace. The United Nations will feel greatly invigorated once these countries make their voices heard in this Assembly. 159. I cannot conclude my remarks without expressing agreement with those who have implied or suggested here that the Charter needs revision in order that the experience of eleven years may be reduced to statutory form. I would particularly like to endorse what has been said on the rued to abolish or at least modify the veto right enjoyed by certain Powers. The great majority of countries, faithful as they are to democratic principles object to this privilege, which, moreover, often disturbs the actual functioning of the United Nations by preventing it from taking action on issues capable of threatening world peace. 160. Such revision has to come, and it is to be hoped that prompt action will be taken so that the General Assembly may as soon as possible be able to discuss a general proposal for amendments. 161. Between the extremes of hope and anguish and of enthusiasm and disillusion, the United Nations has been accomplishing a work which can be said to have been a decisive factor in bringing about a broad collective advance, material as well as moral and spiritual. It has been, for the peoples seeking to work out their own destinies, a tremendous source of encouragement and advancement. Whether that work goes forward to the point where there are no longer groups of men anywhere in the world leading a primitive existence and knowing nothing of freedom depends on the firm will of all of us here present. 162. This will, however, can only be expressed in a spirit of transparent and candid sincerity, requiring that our action be in strict accord with our principles. It is idle for us to boast of being champions of peace and of the principle of living together in freedom if our acts betray us as destroyers of another nation’s sovereignty, or if we fail to respect each other or to treat each other on a basis of equality regardless of the size or power of the States we represent. 163. If we wish the great work of the United Nations to be complete, we must banish from our midst the reticence, suspicion and misunderstanding that hamper the work of creating harmony and lead instead to mistrust and antagonism. The world has undergone a profound change, and no longer are men anywhere in need of tutelage or resigned to ideological enslavement. Why persist, therefore, in the dangerous desire to oppress or exert pressure on any group? Why strive, as has recently been the case, to divide the world into irreconcilable camps, since man’s only wish is to live without fear in order to improve his conditions of life and achieve the highest level of culture under the protection of peace? 164. May our debates give birth to a new spirit that will impel all the Governments of the world to discard the outworn tendencies to impose ideological or physical tutelage on peoples already able to go forward on their own. Let us, then, allow freedom, freedom in the truest sense of the word, to work in the mind of every man its miracles of justice, equality, tolerance and mutual respect and the urge for human betterment.