77. Allow me to congratulate you, Sir, on your election to the high office of President of this Assembly. In the many years during which you have represented your country at the General Assembly, we have all been able to appreciate the intellectual, diplomatic and personal qualities which have earned you so high a place at the United Nations. Ethiopia, which has so long enjoyed relations of traditional friendship with the people of Lebanon, congratulates you and your country on this great honour. I would also, on this occasion, express the appreciation of the Ethiopian delegation for the high-minded and impartial guidance which the very distinguished representative of New Zealand, Sir Leslie Munro, brought to the deliberations of the twelfth session of this Assembly.
78. In predicting notable achievements for the thirteenth session of the General Assembly, I am mindful of the period of activity which preceded the convening of this Session. Fellow representatives will recall the historic events which transpired between the tenth and eleventh sessions, when the Assembly was called into special session. We all remember the debates on that occasion and the equally momentous decisions to establish a United Nations police force for the areas subjected to crisis. Similarly, the thirteenth session is convening on the heels, so to speak, of the special session which has, with such notable success, dealt with the recent crisis in the Middle East. It is to be hoped that the representatives at this thirteenth session will impress with their energy and intelligence the discussions, which lie before us and which are so important to the peace of the world at this time.
79. The gratifying enhancement of strength and prestige of the Organization, in the opinion of my delegation, has bum largely due to the growth in membership of the United Nations in recent years. In point of fact, during the last three years the Organization has increased in size by approximately one-third through the addition of new Members, nearly all of which were small countries, most of which had recently attained the status of independence. In other words, this Organization, during the post-war period, has worked, tirelessly for the liberation of peoples subjected before the war to foreign domination. The introduction of strong and vigorous elements representing these new peoples, profoundly imbued with a sense of national destiny and with sympathy for others in like circumstances, has added a vital and liberalizing force to the discussions and decisions of this Assembly. As a State that has long had to fight courageously for the maintenance of its independence and freedom, Ethiopia has the deepest sympathy and comradeship for these new Members of the United Nations.
80. It is also of significance that these wide-flung bonds of sympathy and, indeed, of unstated comprehension have lain at the basis of the fruitful collaboration so eloquently revealed in the unanimous acceptance of the resolution adopted less than a month ago. The Ethiopian delegation is convinced, for its part, that that unanimity constitutes a tribute to the resolve shared by these new States to bury differences of outlook and interests for the benefit of the broader purpose of furthering these principles of collective security — principles which so urgently require recognition at this time.
81. Through its courageous actions in the special sessions of 1956 and 1958 the United Nations has grown in stature and in ability to cope with crises. This, of Course, is due not only to the resolute attitudes adopted by various delegations but also to the equally courageous spirit and intelligence which have guided and inspired our distinguished Secretary-General. The fact remains, however, that we would be remiss were we to allow this progress to recede into inactivity or indifference. The problems which faced those Assemblies, although already orientated towards practical solutions, are nevertheless still before us and require the closest of attention. We must build regularly upon the structure which has been so anxiously conceived and designed during these recent dark hours of crisis. In this context, the creation of the United Nations Emergency Force would appear, in the light of subsequent events, to have been justified, and we await with deep interest the report to the thirteenth session on the Secretary-General's study of this matter. In the meantime, we note with satisfaction his statement that "It should, of course, be clear that any such Force, unless it were to be called into being by the Security Council under Chapter VII of the Charter, must constitutionally he a non-fighting force, operating on the territories of the countries concerned only with their consent and utilized only after a decision of the Security Council or the General Assembly, regarding a specific case, for those clearly international purposes relating to the pacific settlement of disputes which are authorized by the Charter. [A/3844/Add.1. p. 2]
82. What is encouraging, however, is that a new trend is now clearly discernible, of great reassurance to those who find the language of the Charter too vague and ineffectual for the purpose of assisting States which feel themselves threatened by aggression in bringing situations to the attention of the Security Council or the General Assembly. The Ethiopian delegation at the San Francisco Conference of the United Nations fought long and unsuccessfully for a more specific and reassuring language than that which has been adopted in Article 35 of the Charter. It will be recalled that this Article is merely permissive in allowing Members of the Organization to bring a dispute or situation to the attention of the Security Council or the General Assembly, without requiring that such matters, in fact, receive the attention requested. The course of events during the past decade, and particularly those which concerned the two special sessions to which I have made reference, are, therefore, most reassuring to the small States of the world which have frequent occasion to fear that they might become the object of eventual aggression.
83. It is significant that those who, two years ago, felt themselves endangered could turn with confidence to this Organization in requesting its assistance. Similarly, the Assembly has given the fullest consideration to the requests formulated by yet other States which have considered themselves the object of threats. By these remarks I do not in any way wish to reflect upon the substance of the matters which were submitted to the consideration of the special session, or to pass judgement upon the merits of the requests as formulated. What appears to my delegation to be of supreme significance, however, is the fact that a tradition is now in the delicate stage of formation, a tradition of the utmost importance to all Members of this Organization which might fear for their future security.
84. It is true that this evolution has taken place essentially in the General Assembly rather than in the Security Council, for the small States of the world have, perhaps, a keener sense of the urgency and anxiety which prompts other nations like themselves to seek recourse through the United Nations. Consequently, the supremacy of the General Assembly is alone, today, the guarantee and the assurance of the triumph of the principle of collective security.
85. In reaching its unanimous decision last month, the special session of the General Assembly wisely took into account some of the underlying factors which have led, and which could in the future lead, towards recurring crises in the Middle East. Among those factors is to be noted, in particular, the necessity of providing financial means for the nations of the Middle East to improve their lot and to share in the rapid advance of economies and societies that characterizes the present-day world. Items 28, 29 and 30 of our agenda concerning the economic development of underdeveloped countries, programmes of technical assistance and assistance to our friend, the Kingdom of Libya, should provide the framework for the discussion during the present session of this vital problem, in a still broader context, including Africa as well as the Middle East and the countries awaiting independence as well as those having already achieved it. Our Secretary-General has pertinently observed that United Nations assistance in this matter tends to avoid the political tensions and embarrassments which, too often, accompany bilateral aid programmes [A/3844'/ Add.l. p. 4]. The Ethiopian delegation, therefore, warmly recommends the extension and expansion of such aid, particularly to countries awaiting independence.
86. For its part, Ethiopia is prepared to contribute directly towards the advancement of the peoples of Africa, its brothers and neighbours. It will devote its entire energies to the attainment of this goal, a goal which can no longer remain a desired objective but which has, today, already been transformed into an imperative necessity. Ethiopia worked actively in this sense for the success of the first Conference, held this year at Accra, of Independent African States whose forthcoming conference is to be convened in Addis Ababa.
87. It is, in consequence, also a cause of particular satisfaction that Ethiopia, under the wide and far-seeing guidance of His Majesty the Emperor, has been chosen to be the seat of the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa, which will hold its first meeting in Addis Ababa in December of this year.
88. However, in Africa, as in the Middle East, economic solutions alone will, not suffice. As I had occasion to observe last year at the twelfth session of this Assembly, there is no other continent where so many nations are still subjected to colonial rule [693rd meeting para. 97]. It is a deplorable but undoubted fact that the peoples of Africa and, indeed, even the independent States of the continent, are constantly confronted with outmoded and obdurate attitudes on the part of non-African Powers, attitudes which no longer have a place in the twentieth century. It is time for a realization that Africa is no longer the place for such policies. The Governments of the independent States of Africa cannot remain indifferent towards such attitudes. The movement for the freedom and independence of the peoples of Africa must proceed unhampered. Not only must these people attain the status of independence, but they must also enjoy the benefits of freedom and pursue their own destinies without having to continue to struggle against policies designed to rehabilitate discredited Imperialistic interests. Unless there can be, at this time, a belated effort of statesmanship, the peoples of Africa, weary of the lack of understanding, will assert their inalienable rights.
89. It is here that the small nations of the world, with their common traditions of suffering and resistance against oppression and their profound and vital sympathies, can do much, in this Assembly, to contribute towards such a peaceful development in collaboration With the larger States. For this reason, the Ethiopian delegation warmly supports the item on the agenda of the thirteenth session providing for an increase in the number of members of the Security Council.
90. The same considerations apply to the increase proposed in the number of Judges in the International Court of Justice. We must never lose sight of the words of the preamble of the Charter which set forth for us all the obligation "to establish conditions under which justice and respect for the obligations arising from treaties and other sources of international law can be maintained". It is today the small States of the world which must lead the struggle in the defence of respect for treaties, in an era when that principle is honoured rather in the breach. Ethiopia, as so many of the smaller States Members of this Organization, remains convinced that peace and security can only be assured through the reign of law and undeviating respect for international obligations.
91. With this high objective in mind, the Ethiopian delegation applauds the work of the International Law Commission in its codifications in the fields of diplomatic intercourse and immunities, the law of the sea, and the juridical régime of historic waters. That Commission has, rightly, also given careful consideration to the question of arbitral procedure. The Ethiopian delegation cedes place to none in its fervent attachment to the rule of law and the settlement of international controversies through the application of juridical procedures.
92. Much has been said here in respect of the importance of achieving some success in the field of disarmament at this time. All the small States of the world view with utter horror the prospect of a world war, in which they can only be the innocent victims of forces far beyond their control. They can and must do all within their limited means to further the progress of disarmament. It is discouraging to note, however, that neither the crushing burdens of armament expenditures nor the terrible threat of physical dangers have, to date, either appreciably slowed down the armaments race or dissuaded the great Powers from the threat and show of force as recurrent arguments in present-day diplomacy. Moreover, it is an appalling fact that even the problems of the small States, which, themselves, regard hostilities with such horror, can, and do, today regularly provoke the threat of ultimate force on the part of greater Powers. It would be naive to hope for a renunciation of such methods as long as the reality exists that military force is available for use. However, the small States surely hold it in their power to avoid lending themselves to the pretext for the use or threat of force by others. This is a supreme obligation to be fulfilled until such time as disarmament and the rule of law can replace the amassing of military force as the reality of our times.
93. I would not conclude my remarks without an expression of hope that the small, but encouraging, degree of progress achieved this year at the Geneva Conference of Experts on the subject of atomic tests may point the way towards other and broader solutions in the field of disarmament.