The twentieth century has been called the century of progress. Never before had man advanced so rapidly and so far in the fields of discovery, science, medicine and prosperity. Yet, in this century the world has been subjected to two total wars, so terrible and so destructive, as to cast doubt upon the moral aptitude of the human race to wield the implements of progress produced by its genius. With these implements, cities have been laid in ruins, peoples have been enslaved, and freedom, justice and equality have been ruthlessly trampled upon by dynasts, cynically paying copious lip-service to these time-honoured principles. Yet, in the two world wars millions of humble, freedom-loving people gave or risked their lives, in the belief that their sacrifice would create a better world for future generations, and after both wars the hope of a lasting peace shone over the world — but, alas, for all too brief a spell.
125. The League of Nations was the political expression of this hope after the First World War. I do not need to dwell upon its failure. After the Second World War, the nations were determined to try again, and the United Nations was born. It has persisted in its efforts for eleven years. It expresses the world’s will to peace. It gathers new strength, as is attested by the admission of nineteen new Member States within the last two years. And yet the clouds of war still hover over us; in certain areas the storms of war have burst. Are we to assume that the United Nations has not yet acquired the spiritual vitality, the singleness of purpose, which would enable it to discard the shackles of mutual suspicion and bureaucratic inertia?
126. However, it seems to me that the principal blame for the inadequacy of the United Nations must be attributed to conditions prevailing among the nations after the Second World War. The end of war brought neither more freedom nor more justice to the peoples who had fought with abnegation and faith. Violence, social injustice and poverty followed in the wake of war and engendered a climate of continuing crisis, political and human. The guns had stopped firing, but there was no real peace. Harsh conflicts of interest arose in the world, and its peoples, many of them against their will, found themselves divided into two camps. Sharp political rivalry gave rise to an armaments race, which drained the resources of the nations. In many lands urgent and basic needs of the people are sacrificed to preparations for war. The feeling of security, essential to progress and wellbeing, is absent from the world. The cold war is everywhere around us and sometimes erupts into hot flashes.
127. The two wars were fought against totalitarianism. It has not disappeared. On the other hand, colonialism, which is the exploitation of one nation by another, although in decline, still continues to impose its forcefully illiberal authority in many areas. In recent weeks, we have witnessed two serious cases, which nearly set the world on fire. Indeed, the danger is not altogether past, in spite of the determined efforts of the United Nations to avert it.
128. If such is the condition of the world eleven years after the war, we are led to the conclusion that the United Nations has fallen short of the hopes that were placed in it. This is a hard fact that we must face honestly. Up to the present the Organization has failed to give the world confidence in an abiding peace. In saying this, I do not wish to belittle the fine achievements of the United Nations in many spheres of action, nor do I wish to appear unduly pessimistic in regard to its main role in the future.
129. I should like to add here that there is cause for hope when we see the greatest of the Western Powers, the United States of America, consistently supporting the principles laid down in the Charter and the decisions of the United Nations, as it recently did, undeterred by the bitterness its action might arouse among friends and opponents alike. Indeed, the future belongs to the United Nations, if we will it so, and I held that it is our duty to see to it that lasting peace, which the establishment of the United Nations offered the world, speedily becomes a reality.
130. Admittedly, there is a weakness in the Organization. Where is it to be found? Not in the Charter, for that instrument admirably sets forth the values humanity has always cherished: freedom, equality, justice and peace. Of course, these values were neither created nor discovered by the authors of the Charter. They merely recorded them anew and declared that they constitute the corner-stone of the international community of the future. The weakness of the Organization lies in the inability or unwillingness of nations to enforce the principles of the Charter, owing to their own lack of confidence or selfish prevarication. Thus a climate of insincerity and unbelief has enveloped our Organization — a climate alien to that m which the Charter was framed.
131. Between the ideals of the Charter and the reality of power politics there is a vast discrepancy. Certain great Powers ignore the Charter whenever it suits their immediate interests to do so. I could cite many examples of violation of the Charter by individual Powers. I limit myself to one, which involves my country and is therefore of special interest to me as the representative of Greece.
132. Greece, in its efforts for the application of self-determination for its fellow-countrymen in Cyprus, has met with consistent lack of understanding on the part of a great Power, which was one of the original signatories of the Charter. Greece, up to the present time, has also met with considerable difficulties in its attempts to induce the United Nations to solve the Cyprus question constructively because the Organization is powerless to impose a just solution displeasing to a great Power. If Cyprus were occupied by a small country — a country the size of Greece — the United Nations would have no difficulty in solving the question. While I am on the subject of Cyprus, I think it appropriate to make the following observations.
133. No one — not even the occupying Power — contests the fact that the demand of the people of Cyprus to live in freedom is reasonable, moral and legitimate. However, those who oppose the Greek recourse have wittingly or unwittingly woven a web of confusion or misunderstanding around the issue. First, it has been said that Greece fabricated the Cyprus question. This is untrue. Over a long period of years, Greece resisted the insistent demands of the Cypriots who urged my country to bring their entirely just claims to the attention of the international community. Moreover, for a long time Greece endeavoured to arrive at a solution through amicable negotiations within the framework of traditional Anglo-Greek friendship.
134. Only when Greece became convinced by the unyielding attitude of the present Government of the United Kingdom that all attempts at compromise were futile, only when it was faced with the oft-repeated “Never” of British colonialism — only then did it consent to present the Cypriot demand to the United Nations. The Cypriot question was not raised by Greece, but by the people of Cyprus itself, which demands that the colonial yoke be raised and that the principles of the Charter be applied to it.
135. It has also been said that Greece is using the Cyprus question in a bid for territorial expansion. As the responsible representative of Greece, I categorically reject this allegation. Greece looks for no advantage whatsoever. For Greece, the Cyprus question is not an enterprise; it is a duty. The liberation of any people in bondage is the duty of every free nation. The people of Cyprus is a noble people, with a great past and a high civilization. It has a right, as much as any, freely to determine its future destiny. Freedom for the Cypriots is all that Greece seeks. Greece will recognize whatever decision is taken by the Cypriots. All other interpretations — some of which have been developed even tonight in this Assembly — are a sheer disguise of colonialist interests.
136. In some circles the complaint is voiced that the United Nations is developing revolutionary tendencies; that it threatens the foundations of long-established international order. There is nothing in the Charter that justifies such an accusation. However, it is true that in the domain of international life and international relations the United Nations is seeking to introduce a new energizing force. It endeavours to translate into positive rules of international behaviour and law, moral principles that have too long lain dormant in their abstract expression. The new element, which may be called revolutionary if you wish, is that nations today are no longer satisfied with theoretical abstractions. To them freedom, justice, and equality are real and desirable things, and they demand that principle shall be put into practice. They demand that the principles in the Charter shall become the reality of international life.
137. The question is: can this be done? I think it can, although the task is not easy. It must be done, and we must all, collectively and individually, see that it is if we are to avert the catastrophe of another total war. We are at a turning point. Either we shall follow the path leading to peace and salvation, or we shall take the road leading to war and the final destruction of civilization. There is no middle course.
138. If the United Nations is to fulfil its role and save humanity it must, without delay, take the necessary measures to impose acceptance and observance of these principles: first, all nations, large and small, are equal; second, no nation shall resort to violence in settling its differences; third, the decisions and recommendations of the United Nations shall be binding, even when they run counter to national objectives.
139. Since experience has taught us that, in pursuing our goals, we cannot rely on the good faith of individual Members, it is imperative for us to take positive collective measures, in order to enforce the principles set forth above. The following are the measures which I think we should take: (a) Progressive disarmament to be undertaken simultaneously by all nations, until total disarmament is attained; (b) Creation of a United Nations police force, capable of ensuring international order (The present Middle East experiment is a small step in the right direction); (c) Monopoly of atomic weapons to be held by the United Nations. Such a measure would also implement the beneficent efforts of the Atomic Energy Agency to divert atomic energy to peaceful uses. It may be said that these suggestions are radical and bold. But I submit that they are not utopian, unless it is utopian to propose measures intended to avert universal disaster.
140. Furthermore, I am of the opinion that measures should also be taken to ensure that all international problems, without exception, are submitted to the Organization for study and solution. In the present climate of international life, there are no longer any issues towards which the international community can afford to be indifferent. The problems of other nations are our problems too. We cannot assent to solutions by violence and to the imposition of the will of the strong upon the weak. The will of the civilized world, expressed through the United Nations, dedicated to the high principles of the Charter, must be paramount. It is our duty to make it so.
141. The fact that these conceptions have been ignored has led humanity to its present perilous crisis and has placed the Organization under a heavy strain. Out of this crisis, either disaster or salvation will emerge. Our Organization will either be plunged into complete bankruptcy, or else it will find the strength to react in a healthy manner by establishing the moral and material requirements for the fulfilment of its mission.
142. Moreover, if we realize that at this moment our Organization does not sufficiently protect the world community, and if all of us present in this Assembly are aware of the heavy responsibility we have in regard to the future, it is possible that we may be guided to adopt and implement honest and courageous decisions, which will mark the entry of a new period in the history of nations.
143. In spite of the disappointments which it has undergone in the past, Greece is determined to assist in taking all measures which will enable the United Nations to fulfil its mission of ensuring world peace.