Yugoslavia

38. Mr. President, I should like first of all to congratulate you on your election to the high office of President of the General Assembly. 39. An objective survey of the development of International relations during the past few months shows that considerable efforts have been made and that some worth-while results have been obtained. In particular, these positive results Include the outcome of the third emergency special session of the General Assembly, the progress towards suspension of nuclear and thermo-nuclear weapons tests, and the agreement on further negotiations In Geneva on this subject. This shows that in spite of all the difficulties, and In spite of the unhappy Impression left by the many problems still awaiting a solution, some gradual progress can be achieved. 40. It is clear, however, that the progress achieved so far, and the combined efforts of the United Nations to stabilize peace, are in danger of being nullified by the crises which arise periodically in different parts of the world, and which have been particularly frequent during the past few months. It was hoped, after the satisfactory outcome of the third emergency special session, that tensions would relax further. But as soon as the immediate dangers of that crisis had been averted, and even before the recommendations of that session could be put into effect, the antagonisms that have long been smouldering in the Far East, and which are Important elements in the general international situation, flared up anew. 41. Such crises inflame international relations and endanger peace. They tend to nullify the good effects of any progress which is achieved, and make it more difficult to solve problems that are ripe for solution. How, for example, can we expect to make any real progress towards a sorely needed disarmament agreement, when we are continually being faced with situations which bring us to the verge of war, particularly when each of the opposing parties warns the other that it has force at its disposal and is prepared to use it? As a result of this situation, we are witnessing a marshalling and sanctioning of the most deadly weapons of mass destruction, in fact of all that the international community is exerting such efforts to outlaw. 42. It must be borne in mind that the so-called global balance of power does not provide and cannot in itself provide any real safeguard against the outbreak of war. On the contrary, it is obvious that a continuation of what is in fact a policy based on force can only increase the danger that events will take a course that will become impossible to control. Therefore joint efforts to prevent or overcome these crises — in other words the struggle for peace — must include deliberate action to discourage and reject any policy based on the use of force. 43. We cannot forever rest content with averting war at the last moment; we should also be making painstaking and unceasing efforts to eliminate the factors in the present international situation which give rise to the critical situations that beset us. This means that we must redouble our efforts to resolve the long-term problems facing the United Nations. 44. Opinions vary as to the causes of present events in the Far East, and consequently as to the best means of dealing with them. This dispute is particularly serious because it is in fact a direct clash between two great Powers, one of which is being, so to speak, forcibly excluded from the United Nations. Moreover, in View of the present state of international relations, particularly between the blocs, this dispute raises the extremely delicate question of a change in the demarcation line between the forces of the two sides. However, now that the question has been raised, I believe that no objective analysis can ignore the basic fact that Taiwan and the islands in the Taiwan Strait are an integral part of Chinese territory. We consider, as we stated earlier at the beginning of this session [754th meeting], that the seriousness of the situation in this area is greatly increased by the fact that the People’s Republic of China has been prevented from taking its rightful place in the United Nations. Nor can it be denied that, as a result of the course taken by events, this question has now become one of international interest affecting world peace, and is consequently a matter of immediate concern to the world community. Since this is so and since we are convinced that a solution must be found by peaceful means that will safeguard both peace and the legitimate rights I have mentioned, clearly it is in the general interest that a just solution should be obtained through negotiation, and the first step will have to be a satisfactory settlement of the question of the Chinese offshore islands. 45. A few weeks ago the third emergency special session of the General Assembly was concerned with the acute crisis in the Middle East. That session, which concluded with the unanimous adoption of a resolution submitted by the delegations of the Arab States [resolution 1237 (ES-II)], provides us with a heartening example which should encourage us to deal with other International problems in the same constructive manner. The session was followed by fruitful diplomatic activity, not for the first time, on the part of the Secretary-General. It is now essential that the peoples of the Middle East should be allowed to work out their own destinies freely and in peace, with such help from the United Nations as they consider necessary. To that end, the first indispensable step is to put into effect Without delay the General Assembly's unanimous recommendation on the withdrawal of foreign troops from Lebanon and Jordan. 46. The report submitted two days ago by the Secretary-General [A/3934/Rev.1], in accordance with the resolution adopted at the third emergency special session of the General Assembly, together with the letters by the Governments of the United States [A/39421 and the United Kingdom [A/39371. are therefore of special interest. We believe that the arrangements arrived at by the Secretary-General and the Middle East Governments concerned establish the conditions which, under the terms of the resolution, were to facilitate an early withdrawal of foreign troops from the territory of Lebanon and Jordan. In our view it follows that the Governments whose troops are in those two countries cannot make the withdrawal of their troops dependent on conditions which they themselves would lay down. We therefore hope that in accordance with the arrangements set forth In the Secretary-General's report and the statements contained in. the letters of the two Governments, a complete withdrawal of foreign troops from the territory of Lebanon and Jordan will be carried out as soon as possible. 47. Experience shows more and more that peace and International co-operation depend essentially on the ability of the nations of the world, first, to adapt themselves to the new political and social trends that are emerging, some quietly, some violently, indifferent parts of the world, and secondly, to recognize the legitimacy of the processes which are taking place. The underlying cause of these trends is the gradual struggle of an Increasing number of peoples that are resolved to free themselves from the condition of political and economic dependence to which they had been condemned in the past, and to become fully equal partners in the community of nations. 48. The United Nations has recently made an important contribution in this connexion. As the Secretary- General said in the introduction to his annual report on the work of the Organization [A/3844/Add.1]. several million people In Africa and in the Pacific area are looking forward to early emergence from trusteeship. That should make us oppose sill the more strongly the persistent efforts, both deplorable and futile, to halt these developments by force, which are still being made in Algeria, Cyprus and elsewhere, and make us press for agreed solutions based on the inalienable right of all peoples to self-determination and Independence. 49. During all this time there has been no abatement of the arms race, with all the dire consequences that it entails, especially in view of the present state of international tension. The remarkable advances in science and technology that have made it possible to harness hitherto undreamt of sources of energy, and have brought outer space and the depths of the ocean within the reach of mankind, are still mainly viewed as the source of new and more fearful means of destruction. Meanwhile the distinction between defensive and offensive weapons is becoming increasingly blurred, even at the technical level. 50. It is true that some progress has been made during the year in dealing with certain aspects or elements of the complex problem of disarmament. This could, and indeed should, open the way for further progress. In this connexion we are thinking more especially of the results obtained with regard to the stopping of nuclear and thermo-nuclear weapons tests. Those results were made possible in the first place try the highly important unilateral decision of the Soviet Union to discontinue test explosions, and also by the agreements reached at the Geneva Conference of Experts and the announcements by the Governments of the United States [A/3895] and the United Kingdom [A/3896, and Corr.1] that they too were prepared to suspend nuclear tests for a certain period and on certain conditions, not all of which we consider fully justified. We welcome this progress, and are convinced that there should be no further obstacle to an immediate, general and lasting cessation of nuclear tests. We therefore have the right to hope that the conference of representatives of. the Powers which have been conducting nuclear tests will arrive at an early agreement, and that those Powers will carry out the terms of that agreement as soon as possible. Mention should also be made of the agreement concerning a technical conference on the question of safeguards against surprise attacks. The Yugoslav delegation, like many others, is of the opinion that the conference on the suspension of nuclear weapons tests and the new technical conference should both be linked as closely as possible with the United Nations. We hope that the General Assembly will make the necessary recommendations to that effect. 51. It must be noted with regret that during these past twelve months United Nations activity in connexion with disarmament proper has come to a halt. Such a situation cannot be considered normal from the standpoint either of disarmament or of the role or responsibilities assigned to the United Nations by the Charter. We can hardly expect to make further and more substantial progress on disarmament unless we apply different criteria and a broader framework than those determined by the rigid requirements and interests of military alliances. In other words, the approach to the problem must guarantee fuller expression of the general interest of the international community in safeguarding and strengthening peace. Accordingly, the problem should be considered primarily within the framework of the United Nations. No one denies the special responsibility borne by the great Powers — or by the alliances of which they are the leaders — in connexion with disarmament, particularly since disagreements between those Powers are the principle cause of the regrettable situation in which we find ourselves in this regard. However, if those Powers are really ready to negotiate and to conclude an agreement, the holding of such negotiations within the framework of the United Nations, where the other countries will be able to show their interest and participate, cannot fall to contribute towards its conclusion. 52. Technical studies and preliminary work by conferences of experts have an important role to play in connexion with the solution of the disarmament problem. We are convinced, however, that the problem of disarmament is by force of circumstance essentially a political one and that efforts to solve it must therefore be made on that level. 53. We are of the opinion that a United Nations disarmament body should be established as soon as possible for that purpose. In our view, it should be a political body capable of doing effective work, with a balanced membership acceptable to all. This purpose should, it seems to us, be the easier to achieve in that the disarmament question, as several of those who preceded me on this rostrum have pointed out, is not one which can be decided by majority vote. 54. The Yugoslav Government, it will be recalled, has declared itself in favour of the idea of concluding initial partial agreements which are not dependent upon each other, because it feels that this is the most practical and effective approach. This is the method of approaching the disarmament problem which we advocated in the draft resolutions that we submitted to the Sub-Committee of the Disarmament Commission in 1956, in the memorandum addressed by the Yugoslav Government to the Sub-Committee in 1957 proposing inter alia the unilateral discontinuance of nuclear tests, and in the draft resolution that we submitted to the General Assembly at its twelfth session. 55. In this connexion we believe it might be useful for this Assembly to make recommendations to the United Nations disarmament body concerning those aspects of the disarmament problem on which there is the greatest likelihood of reaching one or more initial agreements. 56. The Yugoslav delegation will continue to favour the reduction of military budgets, which would alleviate the burden of armaments and make it possible to give more effective economic aid to under-developed countries. It has also been and will continue to be a consistent advocate of measures to prevent the use of cosmic space for other than peaceful and scientific purposes. At the appropriate time, we shall comment more fully on this and other matters in the First Committee. 57. Economic needs have a profound effect upon the course of international relations. The uneven development of the world economy is reflected in a large number of political and social situations. One problem which is being widely discussed today, that of relations between economically developed and underdeveloped countries, is becoming increasingly urgent. Inevitably, its international repercussions are considerable. It is therefore Impossible to dissociate efforts to improve international political relations from endeavours to develop economic relations, and vice versa. 58. The action taken and the new proposals made in various quarters in this connexion reflect the growing economic interdependence of the countries of the world and should contribute to the expansion of international co-operation in the economic field. The more those proposals are in harmony with the Charter and are integrated into the general framework of the activities of the United Nations, the broader will be their support. 59. Bilateral co-operation continues to predominate in international relations. In our era, and particularly since the end of the Second World War, we have witnessed the relatively rapid development of multilateral co-operation, especially regional co-operation. A new form of international economic co-operation, and one which is likewise a post-war development, is co-operation within the framework of the United Nations. It is vitally important to encourage this latter form of co-operation because the existing pattern and forms of international economic relations no longer meet the requirements of the world in which we live with all its contradictions, changes and advances. The contemporary world demands broader, more universal and more generally acceptable forms of co-operation. 60. We have no doubt that the form of co-operation which we have just mentioned will continue to develop. The past ten years are particularly significant in this respect. The rate at which this development will take place is, of course, important. Yugoslavia has always favoured co-operation of this kind, without, however, minimizing the Importance of bilateral relations and, wherever possible, regional relations. We do not think that these forms of co-operation are mutually exclusive. On the contrary, we are convinced that they complement each other. 61. In accordance with this policy we have from the outset supported the establishment of the Special United Nations Fund for Economic Development (SUNFED). We also hope that the United Nations will bring that institution into being in the near future. We feel that the establishment this year of the Special Fund confirms the need for SUNFED; that is why we are in favour of establishment of the Special Fund as a step in that direction. 62. My delegation shares the view expressed by many other delegations that stabilization of the primary commodity market is also of the greatest importance for the development of the under-developed countries. We therefore welcome the re-establishment of the Commission on International Commodity Trade, which includes this among its principal tasks. 63. In our view, the main conclusion to be drawn from all that we have said thus far is that the principal requirement, in the present stage of international relations, is to maintain and extend the use of the method of negotiation and agreed solutions. Faithful to this principle, my Government actively supports all forms of negotiation leading to the stabilization of peace and the establishment of peaceful relations among nations. We are profoundly convinced that the United Nations is particularly fitted to reconcile differing points of view and bring about agreements. This fact has been amply demonstrated by experience. 64. Any initiative along these lines should, in our opinion, be assessed in terms of the underlying realism and desire to reach agreement. The principal element of any policy directed towards the attainment of agreed solutions should be an attempt to reconcile differing points of view in accordance with the requirements for the development and social progress of mankind and on the basis of equality and non-interference. My Government has always sought to establish, within the United Nations and in its bilateral relations, close and mutually advantageous co-operation with all countries, particularly its neighbours, regardless of their social system or form of government. I think I may say, in this connexion, that we have obtained noteworthy results with all those who have displayed the same spirit. 65. It is true that the policy of active coexistence, precisely because it is the opposite of those trends in international relations which tend to widen the gulf between nations and blocs, frequently meets with incomprehension or a negative reaction on the part of those who support such trends. This is the primary cause of the difficulties which my country encounters in its relations with certain other countries. This does not mean, of course, that the policy of coexistence is mistaken. On the contrary, it emphasizes the need to redouble our efforts to make this policy prevail in international relations. 66. The views which I have endeavoured to set forth embody the essence of the policy of peaceful and active coexistence as we understand it. That policy does not reflect exclusively the requirements of a particular trend of social development or the particular interests of certain countries. Rather it represents an objective requirement of our age. The world is clearly becoming more and more aware of this requirement and I believe that that has been fully confirmed by many statements made in the general debate. The views expressed by the representatives of many countries show that the policy of coexistence is the only possible policy today and that the all too frequent crises and upheavals which occur in international relations are actually caused by lack of understanding, Ignorance and failure to apply the postulates of coexistence, which are likewise the postulates of the Charter. The representatives of a number of countries, particularly the smaller countries, both "committed" and "uncommitted", have shown themselves to be largely in agreement on this point and have clearly expressed their views in this regard. The growing importance of these ideas and of the forces expressing them is, we are convinced, the most Important development in international relations today. 67. May I say in conclusion that the Yugoslav delegation, fully aware of the importance of this session of the General Assembly for the cause of peace and international co-operation, will strive to contribute actively to the success of its work.