34. Almost exactly a year ago, in opening my statement in the general debate at the ninth session of the Assembly I said: “We meet... in the shadow of the hydrogen bomb, a shadow which grows in size with every month that passes. Man has at last mastered the secret of his own extinction. This is the most significant development in the entire history of mankind, and one which calls for a new set of values and a new way of thinking.” [485th meeting, para. 12]
35. Little did I realize it, but it seems that even as I was speaking the world was already edging towards new sets of values and new ways of thinking. For it was the ninth session of the General Assembly which produced something which had become a rarity in the annals of the United Nations: unanimity among the 60 Members assembled here on two of the fundamental issues of our day — disarmament and the peaceful applications of atomic energy.
36. It is true that the agreements reached were only in regard to the methods of approaching these problems. But even that was significant, because, for the first time in many long years, such limited agreement seemed to open up the possibility of the birth of a new spirit in international, relations, even though this was no more than a willingness to try to work together.
37. Subsequent events, including the Bandung Conference and culminating in the Geneva “summit” meeting, have confirmed the emergence of this new spirit. And we see in the current talks at ambassadorial level between the United States and the People’s Republic of China yet a further projection of the same spirit.
38. The change which has come over the world was described most eloquently by the leader of the Canadian delegation when, in his speech of 26 September he said: “Confronted by the appalling spectre of disaster, the world has sobered up in the nick of time” [523rd meeting, para. 7]. That, I believe, is an accurate description of what has actually happened. It has brought with it a relaxation, though not an elimination, of tension. The tension will not be eliminated until solutions are found to those problems which have divided the world. The need of the hour is to make the most of this new spirit and atmosphere in order to move towards solutions of these problems. For it is certain that this new spirit and atmosphere will not last unless it is sustained by progress in the further elimination of tension. This does not mean that it is not real, not live. We have only to cast our minds back to the situation which prevailed in the world less than two years ago to realize that there is indeed a new spirit abroad in the world today. But, like all things of the spirit, it cannot be taken for granted or regarded as an end unto itself without being gradually dissipated.
39. If we can utilize the improved international atmosphere to move towards solutions of our major differences — I deliberately say “move towards solutions” because it is obvious that it is going to be a long time before final solutions can be reached — each step forward would bring about a further improvement in the inter- national climate, and tins in its turn would make it easier for the next step forward to be taken. That is the process as we visualize it. It is going to require great patience, perseverance and determination. The starting point of this process, as we see it, is the spirit of Geneva. Yet there are those who, putting the cart before the horse, say that the Geneva spirit is unreal and mere wishful thinking because it has no foundation in concrete progress. In our view, those who spread this view do a great disservice to humanity, for, if their view prevailed, it would be impossible for the world to find its way out of the deadly dilemma in which it finds itself. Admittedly this new spirit is a matter of faith, but it is faith based on the very strongest of human instincts, the will to survive.
40. I think it will be generally agreed that the improvement in the international climate has been reflected in the speeches which we have heard so far in the general debate. No one can expect that solutions will suddenly be found during the tenth session to problems which have defied solution for nearly a decade. But we have been heartened to see on the part of all delegations a willingness to review positions taken in the past. And this gives us hope that this session may turn out to be more fruitful than any of its predecessors.
41. One of the most important issues facing the United Nations, and one of the very few on which the new spirit might possibly be able to have an immediate impact, is that of the admission of new members. We believe that the Assembly as a whole is moving towards a less legalistic and more realistic attitude towards this problem, and we are greatly heartened by this development. We ourselves have always stood for universality of membership. We would favour the admission of all those States that have applied for membership, under any formula which may be generally acceptable, except the States which are now divided. Our objection to the admission of the divided States rests solely on the fact that the admission of each divided part to separate membership of the United Nations would only tend to put a seal of United Nations approval on the division of the country, and so add considerably to the difficulties of eventual unification.
42. My delegation sincerely hopes that this tenth session of the General Assembly will be able to chalk up progress with regard to this question. In our view, the admission of the new members is long overdue. With the improvement in the international atmosphere, the role which the United Nations may be expected to play in world affairs would become enlarged. To enable it to carry out its enlarged responsibilities fully, the Organization will need all the authority and prestige which it is in our collective power to confer on it. The most effective way of doing this is to make the United Nations a world organization both in fact and in name. Let us therefore make one supreme effort to break this dead-lock before we come to the close of this session.
43. I said earlier that the speeches which we had heard in the general debate had reflected the new spirit. It is consequently with regret that I have to point to one matter which has already been considered and disposed of by the Assembly, and which in our view was disposed of in a manner which failed to reflect the new spirit I refer to the seating of China in the United Nations.
44. However much my delegation may wish to see the People's Republic of China occupy its rightful place in this Organization, we were not so unrealistic as to believe that this event could take place in this session. Nevertheless, the use this year of exactly the same device and formula as was used in past years to postpone the consideration of the question came as a disappointment to my delegation. While my delegation would not have been able to support any formula which sought to postpone consideration of the question, we cannot help but wonder whether the Assembly was wise in adopting exactly the same device and formula as had been employed in recent years to deal with the same question in a somewhat different context. As the representative of a Government which has worked, along with others, to bring about an easement of tensions in the Far East, I cannot help but deplore what might be regarded as a display of undue rigidity on the part of the Assembly. After all, the improvement in the international climate is not confined to any one part of the globe. It has been general, and we feel that it might have been wiser to make its reflection also general.
45. Indeed, my delegation wonders how much longer the United Nations can afford to continue to keep the door locked to the People’s Republic of China without doing itself serious, and perhaps irreparable injury. Those- of us who had the privilege of attending the Bandung Conference could not help but be impressed with the high degree of understanding, goodwill and co-operation displayed by the Chinese delegation, and particularly with the great respect which they showed towards the United Nations Charter and the United Nations as an institution, a remarkable performance for a country which, year , after year, has been denied the seat to which it is entitled in our Organization. If ever proof were needed that the Central People's Government of China is fully qualified to take its place in the United Nations, Bandung furnished it. My delegation trusts therefore that it has seen for the last time the perennial procedural device which so far has succeeded in keeping the door bolted and barred to the legitimate representatives of the Chinese people.
46. It seems indisputable that the most important single problem which faces the world today is that of disarmament. This is so because really meaningful disarmament would mean not only the removal of the threat of war, but also that more of the world’s population would be able to get more of the good things of life. At least, that is the hope of those of us who represent the underdeveloped countries of the world.
47. But we have no illusions about the complexities and difficulties which lie astride the path leading towards disarmament. It is clear that it will be a long time before any comprehensive agreements can be reached. This would make all the more desirable broad interim agreements of the kind referred to by the Chairman of the Yugoslav delegation in his statement of 26 September 1955. If, as Mr. Popovic suggested, it could at least be agreed that there should be no increase in expenditure on armaments and armed forces while the negotiations on disarmament continue, its psychological impact could be considerable. And perhaps similar interim agreements could cover other areas. For instance, both sides might agree to stop all further atomic and nuclear explosion tests. As I said in my statement last year [485th meeting, para. 21], the fact that all such explosions can be detected should serve as a guarantee that any such agreement would be honoured. Such interim agreements would not only be useful in themselves, but they would generate a better atmosphere for reaching comprehensive Agreements.
48. On the main question of disarmament, we have encouraged and heartened by what we have read seen since the unanimous adoption of the resolution 808 IX on disarmament during the ninth session. We have watched with appreciation the initiatives taken by the major Powers. The road will be long and often bumpy, but we feel that a promising start has been made and that, given goodwill and understanding on all sides, it should not be long before we begin to get some results.
49. Any discussion of disarmament inevitably brings to mind the peaceful uses of atomic energy, since in a sense it is the other side of the same coin. The phenomenal success of the Conference on the Peaceful Uses of Atomic Energy was a tribute alike to the United Nations and to the United States Government, which took the initiative in bringing the matter before the United Nations.
50. Progress in this field seems to be so rapid that it would be desirable to hold such conferences frequently so as to enable the world to keep abreast of developments. We were glad to hear, therefore, that the United States will again propose a similar conference to be held in three years or earlier if the increasing development of peaceful uses of atomic energy will so warrant.
51. A matter which will come up for consideration soon is the establishment of the international atomic energy agency. My delegation sincerely trusts that the countries of Africa, Asia and Latin America will be given an adequate voice in the running of this agency. As I stated when this matter was being discussed last year, these are the countries which were passed over by the industrial revolution. Now that the world seems to be on the verge of the atomic revolution, they would naturally be anxious to ensure that they are not passed over again.
52. From the peaceful uses of atomic energy to economic development is but a short step. This is a matter with which I have dealt year after year, so I do not propose to dwell on it. All I need to say is that the problem of raising the living standards of the people of the under-developed countries still faces us in all its stark reality. Much has been done, through the Colombo Plan in our part of the world, through the various United Nations bodies and agencies and the United States bilateral programmes on a world-wide scale. For the help which we have received, we are grateful. But year in and year out the same conclusions are finally forced upon us. These are that a much greater effort is called for if a real impact is to be made on the extremely low standards in which two thirds of the world’s population is now compelled to live. Now that the improvement in the international climate enables the more fortunate countries to begin to think in terms of cutting back expenditures on armaments, we trust that they will keep the urgency of this crying need in mind. We urge this as much in their interest as in ours:
53. A word now about Charter revision. Our view is that the time is not yet ripe for an attempt to be made to revise the Charter. We would therefore be opposed to any suggestion that a Charter revision conference should be held at this time, or even at any foreseeable date in the future. We would not object to a decision in principle being taken at this session that there shall be a Charter review conference provided that the date on which the conference is to be held is left open for future determination.
54. A brief reference to colonial and trusteeship matters, and I will have finished. Burma’s attitude towards all colonial questions is well known. A country which only recently emerged from colonial rule itself, it is but natural that we should be joined by the strongest bonds of sympathy with those who still unfortunately are compelled to live under colonial domination. That is why we, in common with the other members of the Afro-Asian group, have sponsored the inclusion in our agenda of the items relating to Algeria, Morocco, and West Irian.
55. The old and familiar argument put forward by those who oppose inclusion is that these questions come within the purview of Article 2, paragraph 7, of the Charter. This is an argument which has been debated threadbare and rejected by the majority of members at past General Assemblies, so I do not propose to dwell on it.
56. But now a new argument is being introduced against inclusion. It is that the discussion of a question would not be “timely”. Now it will be readily conceded, I think, that this matter of timing is strictly one of opinion. To the colonial Powers, United Nations discussion of such issues will never be timely. To the subject peoples, such discussion will always be timely. Those who are not directly involved will fall somewhere in between these two extremes. Countries like mine will naturally tend to be closer to the point of view of the subject peoples. Other countries may not be as close, but unless they are colonial Powers themselves, their sympathies would, I am sure, be more with the subject peoples than with the colonial Powers. This would be particularly true of those countries which themselves were colonies at one time or other. So far as inclusion is concerned, therefore, we would expect the balance of sympathy on all colonial issues generally to be with the subject peoples, that is, in favour of the view that discussion would be timely rather than untimely. But when the request for inclusion is based also on the fact that there has been violence and bloodshed and repression, then I submit that there is far less ground for denial of the discussion on the ground that it is untimely. Common humanitarianism would call for the adoption of a more liberal rather than a more restrictive attitude. I would appeal to all delegations to ‘take this into account when they come to decide on the votes which have still to be cast.
57. Burma has all along held to the position that all the peoples of the Trust and Non-Self-Governing Territories should be led to full and complete self-government as early as possible. Its record of activities in the Fourth Committee and on the Committee on Information speaks for itself. With this experience behind us, we feel that we are well qualified to play a constructive and useful part in the work of the Trusteeship Council.
58. To conclude, Mr. President, may I offer you the sincere congratulations of my delegation on your well- deserved election to the Presidency of this Assembly. May this Assembly, under your wise guidance, usher in a period of peaceful change and truly constructive effort.