It gives me great pleasure to have the privilege of addressing this august body. At the very outset, may I avail myself of this opportunity to extend to the President my warmest felicitations on his unanimous election to this lofty position. We rejoice and feel honoured at his election because of the cultural ties existing between our countries from time immemorial.
2. Nepal, as you all know, is situated between two vast regions, India and China, where, in the course of history, many empires have risen and fallen. Even in the midst of fluid and fluctuating conditions all around it, Nepal maintained its independent existence with a degree of continuity not natural to the countries similarly located.
3. Nepal, having a history going back thousands of years, applied for membership of the United Nations as far back as 1948, but the tension between the big Powers came in its way, as it did in the way of so many others. This rightful claim of my country for membership was only recognized at the very end of the tenth session. But we could not send our delegation immediately after our admission, and this is the first time that we are able to participate in the deliberations of the Assembly. Under these circumstances, we are naturally handicapped by lack of intimate knowledge and experience of the United Nations at work. However, my delegation has come here with an open heart and has been participating in United Nations activities with all due interest and care.
4. Situated as it is between the two vast land belts of Asian civilization, Nepal represents the unity of two distinct worlds of thought and culture. Ethnologically related to the sturdy stock of the north, but more easily accessible and amenable to the civilizing and cultural influences of the south, Nepal, in the course of its long history, has evolved a pattern of national life and civilization which bears the stamp of its own genius. Its national culture is a synthesis of various influences not only from the north and south but from regions further afield, and it is a conscious product of Nepal’s success in adapting influences to its national characteristics without in any way allowing its own originality and balance to be disturbed.
5. Throughout its history, Nepal has taken a keen interest in the conduct of its foreign relations. When Western imperialism came to Asia and began to spread its tentacles over the continent, Nepal viewed this development with great concern and apprehension and felt that the solidarity of the Asian countries was the only remedy against it. It is interesting to recall how one of Nepal’s statesmen, Prime Minister Bhimsen Thapa of cherished memory, dreamed, though far ahead of time, of Asian confederation, and communicated concrete plans for achieving it to the courts of the Emperors of China and Iran and the powerful king and chieftains of India. His move to unite Asia against materialism was betrayed and foiled. In the middle of the nineteenth century, however, the administration of the country passed into the hands of a family which hermetically sealed the country from the outside world. This started a century of great decadence in the history of this land.
6. The Second World War constitutes an important landmark in the history of Asia. The war gave fresh impetus to the upsurge of nationalism and freedom in most of the countries in this part of the world and, as a result, quite a number of countries regained their freedom from the foreign yoke:
7. Because of Nepal’s geographical position, the course of events in that country has always been influenced by the happenings in China and India. The change-over in the political situation which came in the year 1951 may in some respects be viewed as an integral part of the great awakening in Asia. The signal victories by the forces of nationalism in south and in southeast Asia awakened a yearning for liberty in the hearts of the Nepalese people. As befitted a descendant of the great Prithvi Narayana Shaha, who created a unified and greater Nepal out of the conglomeration of innumerable warring city-states, King Tribhuban, of dear memory, took a bold step to usher in an era of democracy and progress in Nepal.
8. History records many instances of brave, talented and generous kings, but never had there been a king who staked his life, throne and family on the securing of democratic rights and freedom for his people. His Majesty King Mahendra Vir Bikrama Shaha, whose coronation was solemnized only last May, and who was closely associated with his father in his great act of sacrifice and shared his love of democracy, has not only pledged and dedicated himself.to the cause of. fostering democracy, but has set a definite date for a general election, the first ox its kind in the history of the Kingdom of Nepal.
9. The country of Nepal is entirely land-locked. We have no outlet to the world except across the Indian mainland and through the snowbound passes of the Himalayas. We have a 500-mile free and open border in the south with India. We have also a common frontier with the People’s Republic of China of the same length. Nepal knows that its security depends on the existence of cordiality between her great neighbours, India and China. Nepal is keenly desirous of contributing, in its own humble way, to the maintaining of friendship and goodwill between both of these neighbours without playing one against the other. We want to have the friendliest possible relations with all countries of the world. We bear ill will towards none. We want friendship and goodwill with all. We believe in the expansion of the area of our friendship.
10. We do not view with complacency the interference of one country in the internal affairs of another. We are opposed to imperialism of any kind or colour. We are opposed to the stationing of foreign troops anywhere in the world. We do not believe in armed pacts and military alliances, even as a preventive remedy against war. We are whole-heartedly in favour of disarmament because the arms race, as has been seen, has led to two devastating wars during our own lifetime. Our policy is one of non-alignment with any of the Power-blocs in so far as such alignment would commit a country to one particular side in the event of war. But whenever the choice is between good and evil, between freedom and slavery or between justice and injustice we shall always know which to choose. We shall judge every international issue on its own merits and shall act accordingly.
11. May I state that we abide by the same moral standards in assessing international events everywhere in the world — be it in the Middle East or in Eastern Europe. We deplore the invasion of Egypt by Israel, the United Kingdom and France in the same terms in which we deplore the Soviet armed intervention in Hungary. It is indeed highly unfortunate that three of the permanent members of the Security Council, which have such a great responsibility for the maintenance of international peace and security, should be found guilty of suppressing the liberties of smaller Member nations in violation of the principles of the United Nations Charter. Their actions have been contrary to the fundamental concepts of collective security and organization which inspired both the foundation and the growth of the United Nations.
12. In my humble submission, no nation, however great it may be, should be allowed on any pretext whatsoever to take unilateral decisions in any situation involving the use of armed forces. A very bad precedent has been created which, if allowed to pass unchallenged, will act as a source of temptation to other Powers in future to act in violation of the Charter, thus endangering international peace and security.
13. The attempts by the big Powers to confront the United Nations with a fait accompli by using force to gain their objectives of power politics and diplomacy must be discouraged at all costs. And there is another point to which I should like to call the attention of the Assembly. I have noticed of late a tendency on the part of the offending nations to link the issues of aggression with the permanent settlement of the Suez and Palestine problems. Everyone here recognizes the urgency of securing lasting political settlements in the Middle East. But it is a question of establishing the priorities, and first things must come first. Once the foreign troops are withdrawn from Egyptian soil a climate will have been created which is favourable for political negotiations. May I submit that negotiations for a permanent settlement should be initiated only after the passions aroused by the aggression have subsided.
14. I have an observation to make with regard to the situation in Hungary. The cause of the freedom of the smaller nations is something which has always been dear to our hearts. Nepal, in spite of being a small country, has prized freedom above everything else in the world, and has shown the same respect for the freedom of other peoples.
15. I have heard with great attention the contention of the Soviet and Hungarian delegations that the reports on the atrocities and brutalities which have appeared in large sections of the world Press have no basis in fact. If that is so, what has prevented the Soviet and the present Hungarian authorities from allowing United Nations observers to visit Hungary and investigate the situation there? Will not such an investigation help to clarify the confused accounts of events and palliate the shocked consciences of the general public? Peace and freedom have become indivisible in the world of our time. Its denial anywhere affects all of us equally.
16. I regard the creation of the United Nations Emergency Force as a very bold and great step in the direction of perfecting the world body. This Force, created as it is to supervise the cease-fire and the withdrawal of foreign troops from Egyptian territory, has strengthened the faith of the smaller nations in the efficacy of the United Nations. Their feeling is that if they find themselves in a similar situation they can count on similar assistance from this Force.
17. Before I conclude, I must make some reference to some of the achievements of the United Nations. Since the Congress of Berlin of 1878, many devices have been used, and many institutions created, to solve international disputes without recourse to war. The United Nations is the last in the series of human experiments in international co-operation, and the way it has been handling its responsibilities gives us reason to hope that this will be the successful experiment.
18. I need not recount all the achievements of the United Nations, for the list would be too long. Nevertheless, I must not omit to mention something about the Disarmament Commission, which includes atomic energy. There still remain vast areas of disagreement among the big Powers on the question of disarmament. But much ground has been covered and modi operandi are being devised to delimit the military installations of the big Powers. Once there is agreement among them regarding the question of disarmament, the danger of war will finally be at an end. Once atomic energy is exploited for peaceful uses, a new and breathtaking vista of progress and prosperity will open up before humanity. May the great day dawn soon.
19. I have just spoken about the expansion of the United Nations. Last year, the claims of sixteen countries to membership of the world body were recognized, and this year three new Members were added to the list. This substantial increase in the membership of the United Nations is really very heartening. But the deplorable fact remains that the claims of some of the deserving applicants for membership are yet to be recognized. I refer particularly to the claims of the People’s Republic of China and of Japan, two great countries that have always been in the foreground of the affairs in Asia. I press for the admission of these two countries because a just and lasting peace cannot be achieved in the Far East without their consent and co-operation. Nobody could show his love for his country by hating other people, except by a disinterested desire to conquer the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. Science is a common good. European, American, Russian, Chinese or African people have the same passion for smiles and tears. Their history is the same history of man, of his failures and achievements.
20. Asia, Europe, Africa, America and the other continents are not separate continents but one continent where the trees and flowers put forth their blossoms and fade, where the earth is laden with grain and harvested, where the rivers cheer and gladden the plain, and from where the sun, the moon and the stars are visible. There is no event which has ever happened in Asia which did not have its repercussions in Europe or America. This is what our people and our Government have borne in their minds. They have asked us to be more useful to our country by intelligently co-operating with the United Nations on a plane above the petty bickerings of politics and Power-blocs.