2. First of all, Mr. President, permit me to convey to you my sincere congratulations upon your election to the-presidency of the General Assembly which brings together distinguished representatives of almost all the nations of the earth. Your qualities as a statesman, writer and philosopher, and your extensive experience and service in the United Nations, especially as Chairman of the Commission on Human Rights, constitute a guarantee of the fulfilment of the functions deservedly entrusted to you.
3. The delegation of El Salvador is participating in the thirteenth session of the General Assembly in the same spirit of optimistic co-operation which the Government and people of El Salvador have always shown during the thirteen years of existence of the United Nations.
4. We belong to a regional group of countries which, since the closing years of the last century, has put into practice in international relations a system of rules and principles of which all Americans, whether of the north, centre or south of the hemisphere, are justly proud. The origin of the Organization of American States, which is composed of the twenty Latin-American republics and the United States, goes back to 1889 and 1890, when the statesmen of our countries took part in the First International Conference of American States in the city of Washington. It should be pointed out that although the purpose of that Conference was to establish a customs union and adopt uniform customs regulations for the promotion of trade relations among our countries, the first item for discussion which appeared at the head of the invitation to the Conference was to seek "measures that shall tend to preserve the peace and promote the prosperity of the several American States". The invitation also mentioned another item of the agenda, "an agreement upon and recommendation for adoption of a definite plan of arbitration, of all questions, disputes and differences that may now or hereafter exist between them, to the end that all difficulties and disputes between such nations may be peaceably settled and wars prevented".
5. It is easy to see the similarity between those purposes and those which directed the work of the world statesmen at San Francisco thirteen years ago and are now embodied in the United Nations Charter. That explains the strong support of the American States for the establishment of this world Organization and the full and constant co-operation they have given and are continuing to give to the United Nations.
6. I am not afraid that I shall be accused of boasting when I repeat that we are proud of our regional inter-American system, which has enabled the twenty- one Foreign Ministers of the American States in times of grave world anxiety to meet in family council in order to reaffirm their solidarity and close economic co-operation, and to declare, in a communique issued in Washington on 24 September 1958: "The present period of evolutionary change in the political, economic and social structure of society calls for a renewed dedication to the inter-American ideals of independence, political liberty and economic and cultural progress, and for a reaffirmation of the faith of the American nations in their capacity to proceed dynamically towards the realization of those high ideals."
7. There is also a similarity between the aims which the American statesmen sought to achieve when they met in Washington in the last quarter of the nineteenth century and those which, on a scale more modest but no less important for us, citizens of Central America, led our statesmen in 1951 to establish the Organization of Central American States, with headquarters in the capital of my country. The results during the few years of its existence have been by no means inconsiderable. Moreover, the Organization of Central American States represents the desire of five nations to restore their original unity, not only because their history, tradition and culture so dictate, but because the people of Central America are becoming more and more convinced that no one of the five small republics can develop fully unless all of them again become part of a unified Central America.
8. I think it might be appropriate for me to refer to the programme of economic integration of the five member countries of the Organization of Central American States. For the past seven years they have been carrying out an enlightened system of joint co-ordinated action for purposes of their collective economic development, and I think it only fair publicly to acknowledge the excellent technical assistance given to their programme by the Economic Commission for Latin America (ECLA) and other United Nations organs. Under the plan for the economic integration of Central America, the Higher Institute of Public Administration, with headquarters at San Jose, Costa Rica, and the Central American Institute of Research and Industrial Technology established in Guatemala City are already in operation. Of special significance is the recent conclusion of four multilateral conventions which lay the basis for a Central American common market. The door is open for Panama, which as one of the republics of the Isthmus forms part of Central America, to join our system whenever it likes. We are gratified to think that the Central American experiment, sponsored by the United Nations may serve as an example and yield profitable experience for similar efforts among other groups of States of Latin America.
9. I referred earlier to the co-operation we are getting from ECLA, and I should also like to say how grateful we are to the Technical Assistance Administration (TAA) and to the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), which are also co-operating with us consistently in the preparation and development of our programmes.
10. My Government believes it to be the duty of each and every Member of the United Nations to help strengthen and build up such organs as TAA, UNICEF and the regional economic commissions which perform such great service to humanity.
11. In this era when centripetal currents are drawing together peoples which have long remained separated, it is paradoxical that, contrary to the wishes of substantial sectors of their populations, such countries as Germany, Korea and Viet-Nam should continue to be artificially divided. It is further to be deplored that, owing to that division and to the opposition of one foreign Power, those countries have been unable to gain admission to the United Nations.
12. My Government, which maintain, excellent diplomatic, cultural and commercial relations with the Federal Republic of Germany and has relations with the Republic of Korea and the Republic of Viet-Nam, would be gratified to see their efforts for reunification prove successful and to see them admitted to the United Nations; where their contribution to the Organization's efforts for peace and prosperity would be extremely useful.
13. If is no exaggeration to say that the peoples of Central America and the nations of Latin America, generally, consider themselves privileged to be among the fortunate ones that are not in the habit of presenting the General Assembly and other United Nations organs with complicated problems or political questions which are difficult or Well-nigh impossible to solve. That is not only because of our regional organizations and systems, but because it is not the will of Providence that such disputes and questions should frequently arise among us.
14. Hence many observers and commentators on the international life of our time have rightly pointed out that the Latin American states, small or medium though they may be, exercise equally with many other countries a healthy influence as a moderating element, and their suggestions and advice have not infrequently led to a solution which others did not or could not see on account of the very situation in which they were involved.
15. Obviously, however, it is not always possible to satisfy both sides in some matters. When opposing Interests of great economic, political or military importance are involved, it is often difficult to. take any steps in a parliament such as the United Nations without some slight feeling of displeasure among some of the parties Involved. The sagacity and wisdom of thinking men teach them that it is impossible to avoid this, even when acting with the best of intentions. Faced with these conflicting interests, our peoples and Governments consistently maintain the principles of law and justice, in a constant desire that these noble values may come to prevail in human relations.
16. This session of the General Assembly has begun and is continuing in the midst of a particularly troubled world situation. There is as yet no end to the crisis in the Middle East, which led to the convening of the third emergency special session and which will be considered during the present session, and now the military conflict in the Formosa Strait is becoming more acute and even alarming and might well lead to a third world war unless the leaders of the great Powers maintain the calm and the sense of historic responsibility which are to be expected of men of their position. Though the question has not yet been placed on the agenda of the General Assembly, it is obvious that if the conversations taking place at Warsaw between the Ambassadors of the United States and of the People's Republic of China were to break down, and the same fate were to overtake any other endeavour at a peaceful settlement, the question would come before the Security Council or the General Assembly and would be a subject of deep concern for the representatives of all Member countries.
17. Such serious situations as those which now exist in tine Far East and the Middle East render it extremely difficult to consider some of the important items on the agenda of the present Assembly, such as disarmament and the peaceful use of outer space. And if it is difficult, for lack of the necessary climate of moderation, understanding and tolerance, to consider those questions, how much more difficult is it to reach positive conclusions on such important issues upon the solution of which, even if only provisional, depends in large measure any easing of the international tension that is so acute at the present time.
18. I do not mean to say that the Government of El Salvador has lost all faith in the possibility of reaching effective and efficacious agreements in connexion with disarmament, a cessation of the testing and production of atomic and hydrogen weapons, and international cooperation in the study and use of outer space. What we have in mind is the obvious difficulty of making any progress on these subjects during the present session in view of the troubled state of men's minds, It would be idle to think that in such circumstances the obstacles which in recent years have paralysed the Disarmament Commission and its Sub-Committee can be overcome.
19. Once again I am happy to state that as in previous years the delegation of El Salvador will co-operate enthusiastically and sincerely in the study of-the various items included in the agenda of the General Assembly and will always be ready to seek and support reasonable solutions, based on the Purposes and Principles of the Charter, on the preservation and strengthening of peace and on the necessity of making the best possible use, for the benefit and happiness of humanity and not for its ruin or annihilation, of the great conquests made by the human intellect in recent years.
20. The agenda includes items of all kinds ranging from vital political and military questions which are bound up with the very existence of our species and efforts to accelerate the progress of the less developed countries by means of international co-operation, to the economic, political, social and cultural progress and betterment of human groups which have not yet, reached a stage of advancement entitling them to self-government and independence.
21. It is a platitude to say that all these subjects have ceased to concern certain countries exclusively and have become questions of universal interest, and that the United Nations and the specialized agencies are a centre through which all countries co-operate in the common task and obtain assistance for the benefit of their peoples. It is clear that the fact of having reached so advanced a stage in international relations creates an obligation to preserve, perfect and make use of our wonderful Inheritance.
22. Unfortunately a terrible threat hangs over the human race in our time and minds are weighed down by anxiety, stamping them with a mark which we hope will not be characteristic of the second half of the twentieth century. We anxiously wonder to what degree the statesman of the more powerful nations understand their great responsibility — not only before history but also before the divine will that created the world — of being able to condemn innocent peoples to extermination by imposing on them the consequences of rivalries that should and must be overcome,
23. May I ask God to impart His goodness and infinite wisdom to all the representatives to this Assembly so that we will have the capacity, the courage and the will to adopt the best resolutions; may He also help to bring about an era of confidence in which true brotherhood among all peoples will become a reality.