For the first time in many years the world is living through a period free from war. For the first time the world can hope that men will no longer die on battlefields or devote their energy and creative genius to works of destruction. For the first time, a General Assembly of the United Nations can proceed without its representatives feeling deep within themselves this contradiction which exists between their intentions and hopes and the cruel reality of cannons.
80. Unfortunately, fate never permitted our predecessors in the League of Nations to say, as we are entitled to do today: “We have halted aggression; we have proved that war does not pay; we have shown that an organized will for peace exists in the world which will always oppose might and oppression.”
81. Thus, in Korea we demonstrated that henceforth any act of aggression will be doomed to fail. But the fate of that country, so sorely tried and divided, compels us today to take the path of mutual understanding and agreement. Our negotiations must no longer be encompassed in a vicious circle and hedged round by notoriously impossible conditions. We simply have to refer to the evidence.
82. I wish now to make a remark which I think is important because it pays a tribute to our Organization which has too often been denied it.
83. It has been said that this year, during which a start was made towards a solution of some of the problems vital to world peace, activities were carried on outside of the United Nations and without its effective participation. Personally, I think that this manner of presentation takes a rather short-range view hisorically of the era upon which we have entered. I feel that the peace in Indo-China, obtained after patient and untiring efforts, had its roots in the realistic concept of this new era which has been brought upon us by the extraordinary progress of science, an era in which the means of destruction have assumed such inhuman forms that our very instinct for self-preservation and our reason refuse to believe that they could ever be put to use.
84. To argue that the United Nations had no part in this settlement would be to display a strange ignorance of the constant efforts it has made since its inception. It would also be tantamount to a grave disregard of the devotion and faith which we all place in our Organization.
85. Its ideal is ours. It was not merely in order to save our own sons and those of the Indo-Chinese States that we tried unceasingly during the negotiations at Geneva to reach an agreement to end a war which threatened at any moment to envelop the whole world. In striving for peace in Indo-China we were not thinking merely of our own sons and those of the States of Indo-China, of our own villages and towns We were also thinking of your children, your villages and your towns, for we knew that our failure would have as serious consequences for all of you as for ourselves.
86. Thus, we were merely following the United Nations example of resolve in the service of peace. There are no more widely used and sometimes misused words than “the spirit of the Charter” or "the spirit of the United Nations”. I think that these words will henceforth have a more tangible meaning because of the sacrifices that have been made and because it has been demonstrated that the path which humanity must follow is that of conciliation and the pursuit of a peaceful settlement of the problems which divide it. j
87. I should not, however, wish my confidence to be interpreted by you as a sign of excessive optimism or of a willingness to close my eyes to the threats which continue to beset us and the problems which we still must solve.
88. Unfortunately, the negotiators at Geneva were unable to achieve any positive results with regard to Korea. The fact remains, nevertheless, that on certain points they arrived at what I would cautiously term the beginning of a solution. In particular, it seems that the principle of free elections throughout the whole of Korea, under the supervision of an international commission and the principle of a gradual withdrawal of foreign troops were generally accepted. We may thus hope that a solution can be found to the problem of the reunification of this country which, we firmly believe, will thus discover those mornings of calm and that aura of happiness which it knew for so long.
89. We also hope that a solution can be found to the Austrian problem. In his speech of 30 September [484th meeting], Mr. Vyshinsky seemed to lay upon the Western Powers the responsibility for the delay in the conclusion of a treaty with Austria. These statements do not correspond precisely to the true facts. Without recapitulating now the history of these lengthy negotiations which have been going on for eight years, I shall merely state that, at the recent Berlin Conference, the principal, if not the deciding, factor in our failure was the new demands submitted by the Soviet Government at the last minute after the Austrian Government and the three Western Powers had entirely agreed to all the conditions previously laid down by the Soviet Government.
90. The continued occupation of Austria, like the division of Korea and of Germany, are only local manifestations of the opposing views of two worlds. But I have not mounted this rostrum to set myself up as an arbitrator, and France is still too closely associated with this problem to try to elevate itself above the fray.
91. Our country, in the words of Mr. Mendes- France, belongs to the alliance of the Western world “by reason of its mission deriving both from geographical and historical factors”. The French Government is particularly attached to this alliance because it is in no manner an aggressive alliance and its sole purpose is the defence of a concept of life and of an ideal for which my country has made the most grievous sacrifices during two world wars. It is time to realize, however, that more danger is to be found in suspicion than in trust. Today no responsible head of State is unaware that in this hydrogen-bomb age, war is a monstrosity which solves nothing and which would destroy both sides with complete impartiality. Thus, this tragic situation has arisen in which two worlds are arrayed face to face, encased in their armour, waiting for some stroke of a magic wand to save them from each other. Thus the Soviet Union seems to be waiting for heaven knows what sort of comforting vanishing act and keeps repeating to whoever is listening its favourite maxim that the Western world “will disintegrate of itself owing to its inherent contradictions”, while we of the West are anxiously scanning the Soviet world for a sign heralding some miraculous transformation. For many long years now the two blocs have been questioning each other. I think that we both are beginning to realize that we are here for some time and that if we change it will be slowly and with difficulty. This realization, or more correctly, this realism, should induce us to make every effort to dispel the fear which bedevils the solution of the real problems, the problems of hunger, of raising the standard of living, of education and health, while nations are crushed under the burden of armaments.
92. That is why, if there is one question which is the main preoccupation in France, it is certainly the question of disarmament. We are determined to do everything in our power to cure this disease of distrust which undermines the best of intentions and dooms to failure any attempts at a rapprochement between the two worlds which watch each other so anxiously.
93. So long as ideologies are so different and sources of inspiration so diverse, the mounting burden of armaments will by its very existence work against a restoration of confidence. France for its part considers that disarmament is the first necessary and inevitable step which history calls upon us to take, and this call is made in the name of human genius and its prodigious achievements in the development of atomic energy.
94. I know that hitherto our efforts have not met with success. I know that many men shrug their shoulders wearily when the work of the Disarmament Commission is mentioned. But this Assembly meets in a new atmosphere and it should approach this problem with new heart. We should not give way to pessimism or weariness on this vital point. There is no human family which does not lift its eyes to us, and from the imploring gravity of that look, we must surely muster the passionate determination to persevere in our efforts until we achieve complete success. After all, are we going to continue to transform the world into a vast military camp where the holy places themselves will finally become nothing more than strategic points and where the first thing that children will be taught in school is the way to the underground shelter? Are we going to let our age go down in history as one of the shameful eras of mankind? I do not think so.
95. My country will never cease to believe in the triumph of reason. Scientists and engineers have not only given us a terrible weapon of destruction, they have also achieved something which may very well force us to take our greatest step forward. They have given humanity a common enemy. Nuclear weapons proclaim in irrefutable terms the total solidarity of mankind. The French delegation has submitted, together with the United Kingdom delegation, a memorandum [DC/53, annex 9] which reiterated certain ideas put forward as early as the beginning of 1952 by our representative Mr. Moch and which attempts to solve the fundamental problem of the timing of a general disarmament programme.
96. In this connexion I am happy to be able to express from this rostrum the satisfaction we experienced in listening to the proposals and statements put forward by Mr. Vyshinsky in his speech on 30 September. They are worthy of all our attention. For the first time, the Soviet delegation has taken a step forward, and we welcome it all the more because attempts to bring the opposing views closer together have hitherto mainly come from us alone. This fact is important to the future of our discussions. It remains to be hoped that this effort of understanding and co-operation will be continued without mental reservations or calculations, and above all that it will be translated by us into deeds. Let us never forget that we are working for the future of mankind. Let us, who have seen the horrors of war, join forces to eliminate this scourge which must not befall our children. Let us defend a cause which will never be a lost cause; for man is not, and never will be, a lost cause.
97. I should like in this connexion to recall the generous proposal put forward by President Eisenhower on 8 December last [470th meeting] and repeated in this Assembly by Mr. Dulles [475th meeting]. We welcomed from the outset the project for the setting up of an atomic power agency whose activities are to be directed exclusively to peaceful ends, and we firmly intend to do all we can to promote its success. The European Organization for Nuclear Research was set up for these same ends. These are projects vital to the progress and well-being of mankind. It will then be possible for the United Nations to devote itself mainly to the pursuit of the economic and social objectives which it has set itself and which relate primarily to the under-developed countries.
98. As various recent resolutions of the General Assembly and of the Economic and Social Council recalled, remarkable achievements such as the Expanded Programme of Technical Assistance show what the United Nations can accomplish, and afford a glimpse of the decisive aid which it could bring to the underdeveloped countries in the way of international cooperation if the armaments race could one day be halted. As long ago as 25 July, Mr. Mendes-France stressed in the Economic and Social Council [308th meeting] the depth and sincerity of our desire for the success of the great enterprise brought before world public opinion and the United Nations. The growing support which the Programme enjoys in the recipient under-developed countries, the increasing interest with which the work of the Technical Assistance Committee is followed, and the recent accession of certain great countries such as the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, the Federal Republic of Germany, Italy and Japan, prove that the original idea was sound and that the experiment was worth continuing. France, being fully aware of the results which there is every reason to expect from this great work of international co-operation, is anxious to take an increasingly active part in this bold enterprise which is designed to ensure a livelihood for everyone.
99. The regional economic commissions, by comparing their experiences and making a systematic analysis of problems, are contributing effectively in their respective fields to strengthening the international economic co-operation without which world economy can be neither stabilized nor developed. The debates in the Assembly, in the Economic and Social Council and in the specialized agencies, and the resolutions adopted — especially in connexion with the financing of economic development — show clearly that each has become alive to the solidarity which binds it to the others and that the task with which we have been entrusted can and must be brought to a successful conclusion. In particular, we think it desirable that in such specific fields as the economic and social we should not restrict ourselves to abstract resolutions which do not give our peoples a true or fair picture of the Assembly’s work. We consider it essential — and this remark applies to other international organizations also — that we should put forward concrete resolutions. It is better to set ourselves modest objectives that are easily attained than to issue texts which are more grandiloquent than substantial and whose application will always be vague and problematical. In my view we must set a simpler pattern for our work and not neglect the practical side of our decisions, for we are here to help the peoples to live and to hope. By easing their daily lives we shall increase their hopes and justify the role which the breath of freedom inspired us to assume in 1945.
100. It is to this defence of freedom that we must devote ourselves. Free — that is how we picture man: free to think, free to work, to find truth for himself in the ideas and the religion of his choice. As far as we are concerned, I can assure you that the liberation of the human being from the toils of want and ignorance continues to be the French Government’s constant concern.
101. The very word “evolution”, however, implies the necessity of proceeding along this road with prudence if what is accomplished is to rest on a lasting foundation. As our Premier said on 17 June 1954, France intends to fulfil the promises it has made to the peoples for which it is responsible. We have promised them that we would enable them to manage their own affairs. We shall keep that promise. By having Tunisia assume sovereignty over its domestic affairs, France has shown that it is faithful to its word and to the traditions which it has so often been called upon to defend in the course of its history.
102. Responding likewise to the aspirations of the Moroccan people, France intends to call upon it gradually, but as quickly as possible, to manage its own affairs within the framework of Moroccan sovereignty. In carrying out this mission which it has set itself, France has found — and still finds — critics who draw on their passions rather than on their experience.
103. France will not share with anyone the responsibilities which it has thus assumed and which it proposes to discharge. We have assumed them because they derive from our Constitution, from treaties that have been concluded, from our traditions and from our loyalty to the spirit of the Charter. But I wish to repeat once more what all those, regardless of political party, who have had the honour to represent France on this rostrum have proclaimed: while we abide by the spirit of the Charter, we demand that this Charter should be equally respected by all.
104. Let us recognize that the United Nations has hitherto allowed too free scope to nationalist passions, and that at times it may even have seemed to encourage them without sufficient regard for the effects which such an attitude might have on the purposes for which it was set up. We have seen that happen at previous sessions. The prestige of the United Nations in our respective countries is too great and we listen too attentively to the voices from this rostrum, for us not to have weighed properly the consequences of the words that have so often been uttered within these walls.
105. If this century is to be the century of all-out nationalism, let us openly say so to our peoples, and stop beguiling them with false hopes and illusions. If, on the contrary, we are to recognize the interdependence of the nations — and that is our profound conviction — these appeals to the very nationalist passions from which at the same time we claim to be emancipating ourselves must stop. The United Nations must make its choice and refrain henceforth from absenting two faces and speaking with two voices.
106. France has clearly stated where its preference lies. We reached the age of reason long ago, and we shall proceed unswervingly in the full exercise of the rights and guarantees granted to us under the Charter. We call upon the United Nations, under the vigorous leadership of the Secretary-General — a man whose wide culture, knowledge of the problems involved and unflagging energy we appreciate — to rise once more to the level of its true tasks and to work for the elimination of this sometimes all-too-glaring discrepancy between the real purposes for which it was set up and the substitute purposes to which it sometimes addresses itself.
107. The ideal for which all of us must strive is to make the United Nations universal, and we French are among those who most deeply deplore the fact that its doors are not yet open to some countries whose history, civilization and traditions command respect. It is to be hoped that in the not-too-distant future we shall be able to welcome other countries here — all the countries which have given unmistakable evidence of their sincere desire for peace, and that in this way the regrettable but no doubt involuntary tendency which exists in some quarters to confuse the concepts of admission and of the recognition of a State will be eliminated. Although I am an obscure author, I have been quoted by name from this rostrum, and for that reason I was anxious to make this brief reference to the concepts of recognition and of admission and to stress that they are two totally distinct problems.
108. I believe that everything I have just said is evidence of the importance which my country attaches to the work of this Assembly, and of the attention with which it follows our discussions. We, who have given proof of our desire to solve all problems in the spirit of the Charter, are ready to accept whatever sacrifices may be necessary to contribute to the Assembly’s work.
109. Every year we come to this gathering with our hearts full of hope and with a will to do our best. With perseverance we shall accomplish the task we have set ourselves, to enhance the prestige and effectiveness of the United Nations, from which everything we hope for may be expected so long as it is able to recognize the faces of its true friends.