1. The General Assembly is beginning its tenth session at a time when the world is cherishing firm hopes after the decade of fear and anxiety which succeeded the Second World War. As has been recognized here, these hopes are today based primarily on the possibility of an understanding between the great Powers.
2. Two events of exceptional importance took place shortly before this session — the commemoration at San Francisco of the tenth anniversary of the signing of the Charter, and the Geneva Conference between the Heads of Government of the four great Powers. It is thus scarcely three months since the Member States, meeting in San Francisco, unanimously confirmed their desire to continue using the United Nations as a centre for co-ordinating all their efforts for the achievement of the purposes laid down in the Charter. The Conference of the four great Powers in Geneva is the other happy omen to which I would like to refer. Geneva must be the starting point for the fulfilment of our hopes by the discovery of a solution for the vast problems of the world which will bring relief to anxious humanity.
3. At the last session of the General Assembly, my delegation stated [487th meeting] that if the negotiations on Korea and Indo-China had not produced the beneficial results expected of them in the way of relaxing international tension, it was perhaps because world peace depended on more powerful factors which needed to be reconciled at higher levels before any real progress could be made. My delegation added that Korea and Indo-China were but partial solutions of a much wider problem, and that tension would continue if there was no settlement of matters which were perhaps of even greater import for the attainment of the supreme ideal of peace which we all long for. The present relaxation of international tension, the causes of which are common knowledge, confirms what my delegation stated then.
4. In times of anxiety, people are inclined, in their longing for better days, to over-estimate the importance of whatever seems to them to be favourable. For example, they are now perhaps attributing an exaggerated significance to what took place at Geneva. Nevertheless, whatever their importance, the results obtained were undoubtedly favourable. The best plan, therefore, is for all of us, great, medium and small countries, to build upon this positive achievement, however small it may be, and to be guided by what is known as the "spirit of Geneva” so as not to destroy the conciliatory attitude of the great Powers which took part in those discussions. In other words, we must not let indifference, or even incredulity, prevent the seeds sown by the great Powers from bearing fruit.
5. This tenth session of the General Assembly is the forum at which the international community will submit the “spirit of Geneva” to its first test. Our agenda offers sufficient opportunities for the conciliatory words exchanged at the Geneva talks to be translated into deeds. Today the peoples are not content with mere words; they have hoped so much, despaired so much, that they have a right to something more. Naturally, if we are at all realistic, we must not hope for too much from the Assembly in this regard. Indeed, for obvious reasons, it is not yet in the General Assembly that we can settle some of the major problems on which world peace now depends; these must be settled in smaller meetings. As has often been pointed out — and we repeat it with some bitterness — this is one of the weakest points of the Organization. It is therefore the imperative task of the Assembly to mobilize all the resources it has to facilitate the task of those who will in fact have to settle these problems.
6. An agenda item which provides a unique opportunity for applying the “spirit of Geneva” is that concerning the admission of new Members. Here, may I state in passing that my delegation is extremely pleased to note that Spain has applied for membership of the Organization, and will support that application enthusiastically. The United Nations can no longer turn a deaf ear to the general demand that it should open its doors to many countries that are well qualified to enter. My delegation agrees with those who have pointed out that a State’s qualifications for joining the United Nations should be determined on the basis of the Charter alone, and that the will of one Member, enjoying the privilege of the veto, should not impede the entry of a State that possesses all the requisites laid down in the Charter.
7. For that reason, many of those who do not want a revision of the Charter would apparently agree to it provided it were limited to the abolition of the veto as applied to the admission of new Members.
8. These considerations lead my delegation to a brief reflection on another of the. most important items on the Assembly's agenda: the proposal that a general conference should be called for the purpose of reviewing the Charter. We believe that this review, so wisely provided for by the authors of the Charter, should be carried out at San Francisco, in 1945, no one could think that the Charter was going to be an immutable instrument; on the contrary, a glance at Chapter XVIII suffices to show that the authors thought that revision was not only possible but necessary. Moreover, the experience gained during the past decade has shown that the factors and circumstances which influenced the drawing up of the Charter have changed so much that revision is now essential.
9. Nevertheless, if we are to be realistic and objective, we shall have to take into account the rigid machinery which the Charter itself has established by making the veto applicable to any proposal for revision. We shall then see that this privilege will automatically paralyse any effort to amend the Charter which is not to the liking of any of the Members which can exercise it. The conclusion is obvious: the Charter cannot be amended except with the complete agreement of the five permanent members of the Security Council. And such agreement can be achieved only when international tension has relaxed to a sufficient degree, my delegation feels that the General Assembly should approve the calling of the general conference provided for in the Charter, but has some doubts about the wisdom of fixing a date for it forthwith.
10. Great hopes have been raised by the decision of the great Powers to exchange information and to place at the disposal of all peoples their resources and knowledge regarding the possibilities offered by the peaceful uses of atomic energy. Everyone is keenly interested in the breadth and importance of the knowledge already acquired in this field, and the International Conference on the Peaceful Uses of Atomic Energy, held in August 1955, was proof of the progress achieved.
11. The conclusions reached by the Conference on the use of atomic energy in medicine, hygiene and agriculture, as also on its unlimited possibilities in scientific investigation, were most encouraging. We must also recognize that the general enthusiasm did not deflect the Conference from its constructive and realistic approach, especially with regard to the possible industrial uses of atomic energy. Sir John Cockroft, the Vice-President of the Conference, gave eloquent testimony of that commendable caution when he summed up as follows some of the conclusions of the papers which had been presented: “... most of the next decade will be occupied in laying a sound basis from which nuclear power can expand rapidly to become in the end the major power source of the world. Until we have achieved satisfactory operating experience, we will not be justified in embarking on a more rapid expansion... The important point is to obtain an additional source of energy to our conventional energy resources where they are becoming overstrained” [A/2967, para. 18].
12. The goal to be sought in the industrial field is to supplement, not replace, existing sources of energy, to add one more element without decreasing the use of present resources, thus increasing the abundance of power sources on which the prosperity and the future development of humanity depend.
13. My delegation believes that the reasons for hope which have emerged in the political field, and about which so much is said, will take on a stable and lasting character only if they are backed, among other things by a clear determination on the part of States to co-operate in the economic and social fields. It is no use adopting formulae for solving political problems if we do nothing about economic and social problems.
14. In this respect there are certain encouraging signs within the United Nations. Not the least of these is the efficient work being done by the Economic and Social Council, as also by its functional and regional commissions, and the tendency in the Council for decisions on economic questions to be adopted by a large majority, and often unanimously. This shows that the idea of isolated action by States is giving way to a growing realization that desires and interests must be reconciled, and that the notion of interdependence is ceasing to be a theoretical principle and is becoming a living and vital force. All this is conducive to a happy understanding on the part of both the under-developed and the highly industrialized countries.
15. One of the tasks which the United Nations must carry out with great determination in the economic field is the full development of the potentialities of the under-developed countries. Here lies the great wealth of the future. Universal culture and material progress will be incalculably assisted when these vast regions arc fully incorporated in the process of contemporary civilization. National action and determination are of course necessary for this work of incorporation. But this national action and determination will certainly fail if they are not effectively supported by the international community.
16. Here is a wide field, with incalculable possibilities, open to the action of the highly industrialized countries. Such action, moreover, viewed in its entirety, is bound to have favourable reactions for those countries themselves.
17. The coincidence of the interests of the under developed countries with those of the highly industrialized countries is a fact which is by now fully recognized. The economic position of the under-developed countries greatly influences the economic life of the others. Their prosperity is prosperity of all.
18. The economic process achieved before the Second World War did not yield all the results that might have been expected, because a large sector of humanity was left out of the picture. One of the reasons that international trade did not expand as it should have done was that the income of many of the underdeveloped countries was always far too meagre, and their economies were virtually stagnant. The economic welfare of the under-developed countries is also the economic welfare of the highly industrialized countries To raise the standard of living in the large underdeveloped areas is to build a firm foundation for economic progress in the more highly developed countries.
19. The effective contribution of the highly industrialized countries towards the improvement of conditions in the under-developed countries cannot be underestimated. The economic policy followed by the former countries will always have favourable or unfavourable repercussions on the latter; hence the great responsibility borne by the highly industrialized countries.
20. In this connexion, the last report on the work economic situation, which the Economic and Soda Council studied at its twentieth session, states the following: “The more dominant the position of a country as an influence on international markets, the greater its responsibility. One of the phases of responsibility concerns the avoidance of policies which are harmful to the interests of other countries. A country cannot be expected to ignore its own interests, but these include promotion of a thriving world economy — in which every country benefits.”
21. It should be pointed out that it is not only the representatives of the underdeveloped countries that hold this view. Authoritative spokesmen in the highly developed countries themselves have also firmly upheld the thesis that economic power entails corresponding responsibility. It is on the universal recognition of this principle of economic responsibility and on the determination with which plans for the economic development of the underdeveloped countries are carried out that we must place our hopes for more stable foundations for future world economy.
22. Although my delegation considers that the tremendous possibilities of economic co-operation have only been partially explored, we should like to point out that, in our view, serious, and to a certain extent encouraging, efforts have been made since the end of the ninth session of the General Assembly. The recent revision of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade, in which new provisions have been inserted favouring countries in the process of development, the good progress made towards the establishment of the international Finance Corporation, the resolutions adopted by the Economic and Social Council to encourage inter-regional trade, and, on the American continent, the activities carried out by the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Inter-American economic and Social Council, the holding of the Inter- American Investment Conference in New Orleans and the approval by the United States Congress of a three-year extension of the Reciprocal Trade Act — all these how that the nations are really resolved on economic o-operation.
23. This trend must be intensified in the future. The economic prosperity made possible by the relaxation of political tensions and the use of new technological resources must be a prosperity of the open circle, from which no section of mankind is excluded.
24. Social progress is a normal concomitant of economic progress or, in other words, there is an intimate correlation and interdependence between economic and social development. Indeed, the intellectual, moral and cultural conditions of a people reach a high standard when its material conditions are improved.
25. That is how my Government sees it. And that is why, as we carry out an ambitious programme of economic development, so we are giving equal attention to social development in all its aspects — cheap housing, mass education, full protection for the worker, hygiene and nutrition. No aspect lies outside our vast progressive action. Thus, by combining economic, social and moral progress, my Government is contributing as effectively as possible to the improvement of the level of living of our people and to the creation of a dignified and vigorous nation.
26. My delegation attaches particular importance to the problem of Non-Self-Governing Territories and Trust Territories. In accordance with the Charter, we must see that through economic, social, educational and political progress they achieve full self-government. Everyone is aware of the zeal and even the obstinacy with which these problems are sometimes discussed in the United Nations, but we are confident that during the present session there will be sufficient co-operation to ensure that those territories are allowed to advance, without undue haste but without interruption, towards the attainment of their independence.
27. I should not like to end without conveying to the President my delegation’s sincere congratulations on his election. We are sure that his qualifications are such that, under his skilful direction, this Assembly will make an important contribution to international peace and security.