The United Nations meets today in this General Assembly, under the able guidance of our President, at a critical moment of world tension. We have before us a series of grave problems which we must face with a high sense of responsibility; and if we are to justify the trust and faith placed in us by those in the world who love peace, freedom, justice and democracy, we must find a solution consistent with the precepts and principles proclaimed in the Charter. The Panamanian delegation does not propose to repeat outworn clichés or to recite polite phrases for mere form’s sake. We wish to express our fervent hopes and to reiterate, without euphemism, our faith in lofty ideals.
2. Before the sinister outbreak of barbaric oppression now ripe in Hungary, and before the disgraceful outrage, practised on certain small countries, there were many gloomy prophets who maintained that the United Nations was anaemic and powerless to translate into practical action the principles which are its guiding spirit, its very essence and purpose. Yet those who think and speak in this manner evidently do not realize that institutions dedicated to lofty ideals are invulnerable to the calculating brutality of those who still believe in the sinister rule of the whip and the shot-gun.
3. The United Nations is faced with a severe test; but just as bitter trials tend to strengthen the resolve of fine men, in the same way crises act like a spiritual tonic on the keepers of the international peace.
4. The resolutions of the General Assembly, the most authoritative voice of world opinion, undoubtedly carry great moral force; it is essential, however, that at crucial moments, as happened in the Suez Canal case, the Assembly should also possess and utilize the necessary coercive force to guarantee due compliance with measures designed to preserve peace and international order and security.
5. The Members of this great Assembly cannot afford to maintain cordial relations with States which use or are prepared to use threats, force or aggression as a means of solving international problems; otherwise the efficacy and even the very existence of the United Nations will be jeopardized. We should always bear in mind the lessons of the defunct League of Nations, whose downfall was due to a lack of determination and courage on the part of its members in meeting the challenge of aggressor States and calling for appropriate sanctions by the international community.
6. This is why the delegation of Panama, of which I have the honour to be the Chairman, has supported and will support all measures designed to alleviate the tragic situation of the Hungarians, and why we supported the proposal that that question be given priority in the General Assembly. There is no room whatever for temporizing in the face of the brutal and merciless aggression by the Soviet Union against the Hungarian people, who are now shedding their blood in defence of their freedom and the sacred right of self-determination.
7. States which love justice and democracy, as do the great majority of those in the United Nations, cannot become accomplices of the puppet government of Hungary. Trustworthy cabled reports and the personal accounts of thousands of refugees speak with moving eloquence of the Odyssey of a people striving to throw off a shameful yoke. The flood of falsehoods and sophisms designed to convince us that the situation in Hungary is normal has fallen on deaf ears. What of the Soviet troops there, spreading horror and death in places which only yesterday were scenes of peaceful activity? What of the Hungarians who prefer to die rather than live under the hammer of oppression and the freedom-lopping sickle? What of the trucks moving off to foreign parts, loaded with patriots whose only prospects are torture and death?
8. The United Nations could not remain indifferent to the tragedy now being enacted in Hungary as a result of Soviet intervention. Had we done so, it would have been tantamount to conniving at the violation of the fundamental principles of the Charter and condoning genocide, a crime against mankind defined and condemned by the United Nations itself, on the proposal of the delegations of Panama, Cuba and India.
9. On this question of foreign intervention, I should stress that the Latin American peoples have always been extremely jealous of their sovereignty and territorial integrity. Throughout their history, they have opposed any attempt at any kind of intervention, however ostensibly well-intentioned; for the results are always disastrous for the State concerned.
10. Consequently, just as we condemn the unjustified and barbarous aggression by the Soviet Union, we also denounce no less sincerely and strongly the aggression committed by France, the United Kingdom and Israel against Egypt, though it must be pointed out that these Powers are prepared to discuss the problem in this world forum of the United Nations.
11. As regards the situation in the Near East and with respect to the status of the Suez Canal, the Republic of Panama, faithful to its traditions and consistent in its support for international law, wishes to repeat that it condemns the use of force as a means of solving conflicts between States, and will support any measures designed to ensure peace in that region, with due regard for the dignity and sovereignty of the Egyptian nation.
12. As we stated from this rostrum last week [591st meeting], the question of Suez is of special importance to the Panamanian delegation for four reasons: first, because our own territory is also cut by an artificial waterway which reduces distances and brings together the peoples of the world; secondly because of the similarities between the Panama Canal and the Suez Canal; thirdly, because the mercantile marine of Panama is the sixth largest in the world; and fourthly, because the regulations regarding the neutralization and use of the Suez Canal set forth in the Constantinople Convention of 1888 apply also to Panama. In Suez, the territorial sovereignty is vested in Egypt; in the Panama Canal zone, it is vested in the Republic of Panama.
13. The sovereignty of Panama over the Canal zone is a concrete, positive fact. The Isthmus Convention of 1903, when our contractual relationship with the United States began, corroborates this. Despite the shortcomings of that instrument, attributable largely to the exigencies of the time and to adverse factors which I do not propose to analyse now, the founders of the State of Panama took special care to ensure that the United States should possess in the Canal zone only such rights, powers and authority as are necessary for the operation, maintenance, repair and defence of the Canal; in all other fields not related to those specific ends, all rights, power and authority are in the hands of the Republic of Panama.
14. The Isthmus Convention of 1903 contained harsh conditions hurtful to our national pride, and hence the Republic of Panama, which has always respected its international obligations and the principles of international law, has been negotiating an amicable settlement of its differences direct with the other party, the United States, through periodic revisions of the Treaty of 1903.
15. The first revision, in 1926, was unsuccessful; the second, in 1936, contained important improvements for Panama; the third, in 1942, took place as a result of the Second World War; and the last revision was made in the Treaty of Mutual Understanding and Cooperation between the United States of America and the Republic of Panama and the Memorandum of Understandings concluded in 1955. To make these two agreements completely effective, supplementary laws will be enacted by the United States Congress.
16. The First of these laws concerns equality of opportunity, wages and pensions for Panamanian and North American workers in the Canal zone; the second concerns the return to Panama of certain land and property not needed in connexion with the Canal; and the last concerns the financing of a bridge over the Canal. On the strength of the principle of equal pay for equal work, which has been internationally recognized and specifically embodied in the contractual arrangements in force between the Republic of Panama and the United States, the Government of Panama considers that any attempt to establish in the Canal zone wage rates on the basis of “contractual geographical areas” would mean a new type of discrimination based on the worker’s “locality,” or point of origin, that would, in practice, be as harmful and reprehensible as the old types of discrimination. The only salary differential we regard as being equitable and non-discriminatory is that based on the difference in workers’ skill or experience for any particular post.
17. Although the aforesaid agreements leave many Panamanian ambitions unfulfilled, they do represent a step towards the solution of our problems with the United States. Panama is confident that future negotiations will make it possible to arrive at fair and amicable understandings and arrangements which will reflect the true spirit of justice embodied in the agreements.
18. The treaties in force between Panama and the United States repeatedly make it clear that both countries have joint and vital interests in the operation of the Canal and in maintaining a real, stable and inviolable peace and sincere friendship between the Republic of Panama and the United States and between their citizens.
19. Now that we are discussing the problem of the Suez Canal, it will be of interest for Members of this Organization to have some information, however brief, on the operations of the Canal which, though built for the benefit of the world, has cut the territory of the Republic of Panama in two.
20. The construction of the Panama Canal, begun by the great French builder of the Suez Canal, Ferdinand de Lesseps, was brought to a successful conclusion by the United States Government. This engineering marvel, the outcome of a titanic struggle against nature and tropical disease, was inaugurated in 1914, at a total cost of $325,311,966.
21. On the basis of the figures given in the report of the Governor of the Panama Canal zone, Mr. William E. Potter, The New York Times of 11 November stated that the Panama Canal, after payment of the costs of the Government of the zone, amounting to $51,151,557, and the interest on the investment, amounting to $41,611,824, has shown a net profit of $17,733,724 over the past five years. For these five years, the payment to Panama of the yearly rent amounted to $2,150,000.
22. While from the economic point of view the Canal has proved a great success for its builders, from the strategic point of view it has increased the naval power of the United States by 40 to 60 per cent.
23. Panama is pleased to give these statistics on the Canal, even though we feel that we do not receive all the benefits rightfully due to us as partners in an undertaking in which, together with the United States, we have a mutual and vital interest.
24. The Canal has been a vital artery for the defence of the continent in two world wars. We are proud to state that not a single Panamanian has ever been found guilty of acts likely to endanger the security of the Canal. The United States and the rest of the democratic world have always found in Panama a staunch collaborator, a loyal friend, and a nation respectful of its international commitments.
25. As representatives to this Assembly know, the Republic of Panama is an isthmus which links the two Americas. It covers an area of 28,600 square miles and has a population of over a million inhabitants. The progressive administration of Mr. Ernesto de la Guardia, inaugurated recently, is endeavouring with all the capacities and good will at its command to increase the cultivation of the soil and to create new sources of wealth in the country. The President of Panama feels that through the scientific development of our resources, with Government action directed towards the attainment of diversified production, it will be possible for us to transform the country in a way which will bring greater well-being for Panamanian citizens.
26. Because of obvious financial limitations, and equipment that does not always meet the requirements of our time, Panama today has to put forth herculean efforts to ensure that its farmers have agricultural implements, that its workers find employment to occupy diem physically and mentally, that disease and the mortality rates are reduced, and that the people have hygienic and decent housing. Panama is having to exert tremendous efforts in 1956 to cope with the ravages of endemic diseases, to provide properly trained teachers for the growing school population, and to reduce the illiteracy figures.
27. In the United Nations, countries are not measured by the area of their territory or the numerical strength of their inhabitants, but rather by their integrity of purpose and honesty of conduct. Panama therefore hopes that the specialized agencies of the United Nations; will make the benefits of their technical assistance programmes available in a more effective way. We consider that, as a sincere ally of the democratic world, our country is entitled to expect from an Organization which has received its loyal support a little more assistance in raising the standard of living of its people. This is neither a cry of despair nor a presumptuous request, but a bold and straightforward appeal to the spirit of the United Nations.
28. Panama professes and practices the principle that respect must govern relations both between Governments as well as individual human relations. The eminent lawyer, Mr. Ricardo J. Alfaro, by his distinguished contribution to the drafting of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, crystallized what for Panamanians is a credo of political philosophy which, if it were practised, would undoubtedly provide a most effective code for curtailing abuse, enhancing human dignity, and setting ethical standards for society.
29. As to the other specific items on the agenda of this Assembly, Panama wishes to state beforehand that it will support any steps designed to bring to the peoples of the world at present living under colonial regimes a system of government in keeping with their wishes and their capacity for self-government.
30. Panama will also unswervingly condemn any type of racial discrimination, and will support any measures which will make it possible permanently to eradicate such discrimination.
31. My country also wishes to state that it will vote in favour of increasing the number of members of the Security Council, the Economic and Social Council and the International Law Commission, so that these organs may genuinely represent the United Nations now that its membership has been considerably increased.
32. My delegation comes to this eleventh session of the General Assembly prepared to exert every effort to maintain the noble ideals of the United Nations intact. We are here to judge severely the international conduct of peoples who put democratic ideals on one side, and we shall not go away satisfied until we have obtained for Panama the victories which rightfully belong to a small nation constantly striving forward.
33. The delegation of Panama comes here with an open heart and an alert mind, prepared to do everything in its power to see that justice, tolerance, democracy and respect are not mere words, but concepts endowed with true meaning.