Sudan

On behalf of the Sudan delegation, I wish to express our heartfelt congratulations to Prince Wan Waithayakon, on his election as President of the eleventh session of the General Assembly, a position which he well merited. 44. As a nation still young in the field of international (affairs, we have a great deal to learn, but we hope we also have, little as it may be, something to contribute. We were under a foreign rule for more than fifty years. Through united national efforts, constitutional development and good will, we are now free. We are free in handling our internal affairs. We also are free to handle our external affairs and participate in furthering understanding and. friendship among all nations of the world. Our presence amongst you here is a manifestation of the exercise of our full sovereignty and attainment of complete independence. 45. Our emergence from a colonial or a semi-colonial status into full independence, the peaceful and orderly attainment of our national aspirations, and the realization of our hopes after such a long time, are indeed for us the beginnings of new human and international relations. But we cannot in this context fall to note here with great regret that there are still other subject peoples in Africa and Asia which are fighting bitterly to regain their freedom. There can be no world at peace without freedom and equality for ah members of the human race. 46. The preamble to the United Nations Charter and Chapter XI of the Charter deal extensively with peace, justice, human rights and dignity and the right of peoples to exercise their fundamental right of self-determination. The delegations from different countries, year after year, have contributed to the literature of the United Nations on these subjects, and we do not intend to add to that great literature. Indeed it would not be possible to make an original contribution. But if we are serious about a change in international relations, then such words as “peace,” “equality,” “liberty,” “freedom,” “self-determination” and “justice” must be given their full intrinsic values, and not merely used to disguise motives of cupidity and selfishness. These noble principles and aims cannot be effectively implemented while paragraph 7 of Article 2 of the Charter is still capable of being interpreted to mean that the nationalists’ conflict with the colonial Powers in African and Asian possessions are matters which are essentially within the domestic jurisdiction of the colonial Powers. Paragraph 7 of Article 2 therefore calls for an immediate amendment to remove this ambiguity. 47. Small nations are far more interested in disarmament than the big Powers, which have conflicting interests of varying magnitude. It is therefore natural that my delegation supports the reduction of armaments in both the conventional and nuclear fields. We also endorse the continuation of efforts and the consideration of all proposals submitted for the peaceful utilization of atomic energy. The world will be better off if the savings and expenditure on armaments could be made available for technical assistance and economic development in the less developed areas of the world. 48. The United Nations, after ten years, seems to be finding its way towards defining the main issues facing humanity, and it is our present duty to find solutions for all outstanding issues which threaten world peace and beset the human race with dangers which may result in the destruction of the civilization and culture of our age. The United Nations will become what we want it to be — it could be an effective instrument for achieving the common purposes and common aspirations of the world community — if we are all prepared to give it the support it needs to carry out its mission. 49. In the field of technical assistance as well as in the social and economic fields, the United Nations has made tangible progress, although its efforts are being hampered by disturbances of world peace, acts of aggression and the petty jealousies of the big Powers. 50. The principal factors which contribute to the lack of security and the creation of tensions are in the main due to conflicting ideologies, which if viewed with tolerance and wisdom may on the contrary become establishing factors; conflicting interests between great Powers, which in our opinion can be transferred from the field of competition to that of co-operation; and interference of the great Powers with the sovereign rights of small nations, which if not given up will lead to serious results; the denial of the right of self-determination for small nations, and the allegation that they are part of the motherland; and, last but not least, the denial of human rights for groups of people within countries with multi-racial communities. 51. However, these efforts and achievements as well as the achievements of nations through their own efforts can be seriously jeopardized if security is lacking. It is our considered opinion that the main functions of the United Nations remain the establishment of peace and the removal of all causes of tension in all parts of the world. 52. We have just emerged from a colonial to an independent status and we are therefore well qualified to express a point of view on the rights of subject peoples. The United Nations should increase its efforts to ensure that the transition of subject peoples to full nationhood and independence is accelerated and is made possible in a peaceful and orderly manner. The threat to world peace and security can be minimized from this direction if colonial Powers, all of which are represented here, realize how futile it is to contain nationalist movements and how short-sighted it is to deny peoples the right of self-determination on the grounds that they are not ready to govern themselves. It is true that these peoples have no military power and they cannot easily Obtain their freedom by forceful means against their mighty masters; but we are here to establish peace and security and provide grounds for peaceful coexistence, and not to condone a cohabitation which is maintained at the point of the bayonet. 53. Our experience indicates that independence must precede economic and social development. However backward the people are, they must mould their own destiny. Only after independence can people be receptive of new ideas and of help and assistance, which will then be more effective and much more appreciated. My delegation submits, therefore, that it is the duty of the United Nations to assist peoples to gain their independence in the first place and then to seek ways and means of helping them to pass through the difficult phases of economic and social development. 54. We fully believe that efforts to help countries in the economic and social fields, when their hearts and minds are fully preoccupied with their independence, will be wasted. Material development can never be substituted for the spiritual and moral satisfaction which, independence and equality bestow upon people. The potential moral and intellectual powers which provide the basis of material progress can only be free and brought to bear on the problems of social and economic developments after people are assured of their right to determine their own destiny. 55. My delegation therefore appeals to the Members of the United Nations on behalf of millions of Africans and Asians and other people to search their hearts and to think again about their responsibilities to the world community and to readjust their policies to suit the evolving conditions of the world. 56. As a young nation that has just achieved independence, we are deeply perturbed by the tendency of some of the big Powers to impose their point of view on smaller nations by physical force which can never be a satisfactory means of settling disputes. There can be no better example of the utter failure in reaching a solution and settling a problem through the use of force than the manner in which the Middle Eastern problem has been handled. We purposely call it the Middle Eastern question, because the invasion of Egyptian territory by the Anglo-French forces is not a problem of Egypt done. It has affected and will go on affecting the lives and prosperity of the 50 million people of the Middle East. Their security is threatened, their independence has become precarious, and their economic and social progress will be retarded for a good many years. Instead of attending to their basic problems of social, political and economic progress, they find it imperative to devote all their energies and resources to the building up of their security and defence forces. No nation can light-heartedly disregard a threat to its very existence and attend, as we should all do in normal circumstances, to the pursuit of the happiness of the people. 57. The Suez Canal is an integral part of Egyptian territory, and subject to the sovereign control of Egypt. The Suez Canal Company, by its statute, was an Egyptian company subject to the laws and exclusive jurisdiction of Egypt. The freedom of navigation in the Canal is governed by the Constantinople Convention of 1888, and the remedies for any disputes, the way to settle such disputes, are all clearly provided for in the Convention. 58. Egypt, as a sovereign Power, has the absolute right to nationalize the Canal Company, and if the shareholders, individuals or States, are aggrieved, they can have recourse to the Egyptian courts for remedy. If there is an alleged breach of the 1888 Convention, the International Court of Justice, one of the agencies of the United Nations, has full jurisdiction to adjudicate the dispute; indeed, the Security Council and other agencies of the United Nations can satisfactorily deal with the matter. But the dispute was between two big Powers, on the one hand, and a small Power, on the other. 59. The big Powers cannot tolerate the inexpedience, as they allege, of courts of justice or the United Nations agencies. They therefore elected to take the law into their hands and invade Egypt. 60. The situation in the Middle East has been seriously aggravated by the ill-thought-out and impulsive aggression of the United Kingdom and France. The readiness with which Israel has collaborated in the grand and shameful conspiracy has underlined the Arabs’ apprehensions about Israel as a spearhead and instrument of colonialism in the Middle East. Israel has, therefore, more than ever before, become a serious and immediate threat to the security and well-being of the 50 million Arabs in the Middle East. 61. We have tangible questions to pose here, not to the United Kingdom and France alone, but to all the representatives present at this General Assembly. Has the invasion accomplished anything? Has the Middle East situation improved as a result of the invasion? Has the Suez Canal been neutralized? Have the chances of carrying out the resolutions of the Security Council on the Suez Canal been improved? We think we had better leave the members to provide their own answers. 62. Our own conclusion is that there can be no peace or security in the Middle East until certain great Powers of the world exercise patience and self-restraint and follow the path of peaceful negotiation and persuasion, however long it might be. 63. The withdrawal of British and French troops from Egypt and the withdrawal of Israel forces behind the armistice lines are not sufficient. We call upon the United Nations to see to it that Egypt is fully compensated by the United Kingdom and France for the destruction of towns and airfields and the loss of life of peaceful citizens and the retardation of its social and economic progress. 64. The conditions of the Palestinian refugees are one of the most pertinent reasons for tensions in the Middle East. Apart from being a political issue, it is a social and human problem of the first order. The main obstacles to the solution of the refugee problem, to our mind, are the absence of a solution to the Palestine question along the lines of the resolutions taken by the General Assembly in 1949 regarding compensation and repatriation of refugees, meagerness of physical resources, the attitude of the refugees and that of the Governments, which continue to be conditioned by the strong desire of refugees to return to Palestine. 65. Israel refuses the principle of repatriation, and the Arab States insist that the refugees be given the choice of repatriation or compensation. If is the duty of the United Nations to seek a solution which will restore to the Palestinians their homes, their wealth and their human dignity. 66. Peace in the Middle East is also threatened by the Algerian problem. The extent to which France has gone to repress nationalist claims, and lately the kidnapping of the Algerian leaders, must have shocked the conscience of the peoples of the world. The use of force against people seeking their basic and fundamental rights cannot be condoned by the General Assembly. My delegation therefore hopes that the condemnation by the General Assembly of the French action in North Africa will be in the strongest possible terms. 67. From this survey of events one thing is dear. The re-emergence of colonization in a new form is becoming a real and serious danger. The march towards freedom and the historical move towards independence do not only seem to be in danger of being halted and retarded, but the indications are that certain Powers are seeking to reverse the march of time. 68. The United Nations cannot, without casting away the very reason for its existence, fail to notice this and take active measures to protect all small nations whose military capacity cannot face up to the might and ruthlessness of powerful adversaries. The small nations must also note the serious significance of this attitude, and must consider as a matter of urgency what can be done about it. They must learn how to co-operate, or they will perish. 69. At the beginning of this address, we stressed the point that the Sudan had attained independence in a peaceful and orderly manner. In our experience, a set and agreed time-table for the transfer of power is an invaluable means to such an end. In our case, the Anglo-Egyptian Treaty of February 1952 had clearly defined the process of liquidation of the condominium rule and elaborately detailed the procedure for the transfer of power. 70. We believe it is the avowed intention and accepted policy of the United Nations that the administering authorities in Trust Territories should adopt a definite time-table for the realization of self-government for those Territories, but we note with regret that some of the Administering Authorities have advanced reasons for not complying with a General Assembly resolution [558 (VI)] to that effect. 71. May we assert that our experience has abundantly proved the wisdom of a definite time-table. We should never allow ourselves to be deluded by fictitious arguments that the standard of administration will drop or that the technical and social services will suffer considerably. As the report of the Secretary-General clearly points out — and if we may be allowed to comment, this is borne out by our own experience of the surging of national feeling — the fact that responsibility is given to the local people will by itself raise the standard of devotion and alertness and ipso facto engender a high standard of public service. Let us remember that the emphasis will shift and that what the Administering Authorities are convinced is the right course for development may not suit the local people. 72. In this respect, my delegation feels that political progress should march hand in hand with, if not ahead of, economic progress. It is felt that the contribution of the United Nations specialized agencies is not adequate to meet the demands of the less developed Trust Territories. Nor can it be shown that the economic help of the Administering Authorities could meet such a challenge; and even if this was forthcoming, it might in the long run result in the retention of foreign political interference in the independence and sovereignty of those States after they had become fully sovereign. We would like to see those Territories enjoying full freedom in the widest meaning of the word, and we believe that their freedom could be fortified through financial and technical grants from the United Nations and the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development. After all, these Territories are our trust, and vicarious responsibility does not end in mere supervision and advice. 73. As regards the non-political activities of the United Nations, it is gratifying to note the general recognition of the fact that economic security and social advancement are as important as political issues. It is equally gratifying to note the emphasis that is being given to the less developed countries, and the realization that the present economic and social conditions of the less developed countries is inconsistent with the Charter and can be a serious threat to world stability. 74. As the representative of one of those countries, we must express our appreciation of the readiness of the more developed and more prosperous countries to share their wealth and experience with the less fortunate countries. Various countries might have their different motives, but whether those motives are purely philanthropic or enlightened self-interest or a genuine desire to uphold the principles of the Charter, we can only hope that the volume of the aid given is stepped up and that the increase in the wealth of certain countries will be reflected in bigger contributions towards helping less developed countries. 75. In emphasizing the importance of external aid we are not unaware — indeed it has always been a cardinal principle of our economic and social policies — that the initiative must always come from within, and that the desire to develop must be matched by a will to do so and a ready willingness to save and sacrifice some immediate interests and benefits in order to increase the productive capacity of the country, which is an essential basis for raising the standards of living. 76. External help, if given on a multilateral basis, will help to dispel some of the apprehensions of small Powers that it has its price. It is for this reason that we welcome the establishment of the Special United Nations Fund for Economic Development to supplement the efforts of the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development, the International Monetary Fund, and the International Finance Corporation. 77. We do not wish to comment on the other various activities of the United Nations in the economic, social and other fields, but we would like to draw the Assembly’s attention to the need for intensifying our efforts to promote world trade and reduce the uncertainty and fluctuations of the demand for the primary commodities upon which the prosperity and well-being of the less developed countries depend. This is one of the most effective ways of helping small nations, and it is one of the best forms of help. 78. The efforts to promote the peaceful uses of atomic energy and thereby turn it from an instrument for the destruction of the human race into one of increasing its prosperity and material welfare will be one of the greatest achievements of the United Nations, and must therefore be welcomed by us. 79. I will end by asking your indulgence to reiterate that this Organization can be a new nope and promise for all people of the world if Members refrain from using it as an instrument for power politics and if it is not used to serve the ends of certain Powers or groups of them. 80. We, as a small Power, are fully aware that our responsibility in the field of international affairs is a small and limited one. We realize that the burdens of carrying out the resolutions of the General Assembly and of giving economic aid and assistance lie on the shoulders of the big Powers. Let us hope that the big Powers will face their historic responsibilities with a sense of heroic self-sacrifice and approach them from a broader, world-wide and human angle. 81. We pledge ourselves to do all we possibly can to make this institution serve the causes of humanity, justice and peace. We pledge ourselves to co-operate with all peoples of the world, irrespective of race, colour, creed or ideology.