Mr. King, after congratulating the President upon his election, said that the speeches made by members on the successes and failures of the United Nations had been punctuated by a certain amount of frankness which was often necessary to pave the way for better international understanding, good will and friendship among nations.
175. Attention had been drawn in those debates to the deteriorating effects the two great but conflicting political ideologies and concepts had had upon the most friendly and cordial relations hitherto existing between certain great nations and countries of the world.
176. The conflicts between those two political ideologies had been so sharp as to divide the world into two definite and distinct political groups, known as the East and the West, each led by powerful and great States. That clear and definite division was noticeable in every sphere of international relations between the nations comprising the respective groups. Even within the United Nations the marked division of the nations of the world was clearly discernible, and seemed to be fully understood and accepted by all. As a result, the Organization which had been primarily created to bring about a unification of all the peace-loving nations of the world, irrespective of size, colour or religion, under the one banner of world peace and international security, found itself confronted with a divided world, and what course it would pursue would no doubt be left to the wiser councils of the great nations to decide.
177. The Liberian delegation believed that the United Nations, with its lofty and noble ideals for world peace and international security as set forth in its Charter, would never fail the world when the hour for decision came. The question, however, was whether the world would fall short of the lofty ideals of the United Nations. If it did, then the responsibility for the grave consequences which would result would rest entirely upon those statesmen and leaders of the world who had counselled and advised such a course.
178. To avert such a calamity, serious and honest efforts must be made at the current session of the General Assembly to remedy the causes of the war of nerves, which seemed to be rapidly spreading its germs of fear, mistrust and hate throughout the world. But those remedies must be carefully studied and determined before being applied. The State, or groups of States, which arbitrarily refused to accept the remedies thus prescribed, should be considered as hostile to the aims and purposes of the United Nations and their action should therefore be denounced by the General Assembly and the Security Council as a serious threat to world peace and international security. The preservation of world peace and the attainment of international security should be the controlling and governing factor in world situations requiring immediate decisions and prompt actions.
179. Liberia fully recognized the veto as being originally intended as a safeguard and protection for each one of the great Powers, which otherwise might some day, by a very slim majority vote in the General Assembly or the Security Council, find itself, together with its great resources in human and material values, committed to a cause in which its people might not consider themselves immediately concerned. But the unanimity rule should not be so broadened as to apply to purely administrative matters in connexion with the functioning and operation of the General Assembly, the Security Council and other organs of the United Nations, and to matters of general interest in world affairs.
180. It was most unfortunate that the veto should have been used in connexion with applications for membership in the United Nations. The criteria for membership should be only those provided for in the Charter of the United Nations and no other conditions or standards whatsoever should be applied or considered.
181. The use of the veto by a Member State against the application of a State for membership in the United Nations, when both the vetoing State and the State which was applying for membership were on friendly terms and exchanging diplomatic representation, was completely paradoxical.
182. With regard to the disposal of the former Italian colonies, the Liberian Government continued to adhere to the views it had expressed at the second part of the third session.
183. Liberia welcomed and approved the idea advanced by the General Assembly regarding specialized technical aid and assistance for underdeveloped areas of the world. It was confident that such a programme would be practical and effective, and that it would take due account of the rights to independence of the nations concerned and the welfare of their peoples.
184. With regard to the Indonesian question, the Liberian delegation hoped that the negotiations being conducted at The Hague between the Netherlands Government and the representatives of the Indonesian Republic would terminate in such a manner as to ensure lasting peace between those two Governments as well as the happiness and prosperity of the peoples of the two countries, without any further intervention on the part of the United Nations.
185. Pious platitudes and mere wishful thinking for peace would not of themselves bring it about but more definite and positive action on the part of all the nations of the world, especially the great Powers, would lead to its early and practical realization.