Mr. President, permit me to congratulate you on your election to the presidency of the General Assembly, and to associate my delegation with the mark of deep confidence tendered to you.
94. At the same time I wish to express my delegation’s high esteem for the President of the eighth session of the General Assembly, Mrs. Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit. We pay tribute to the dignity and impartiality with which Mrs. Pandit carried out her important duties as President of the General Assembly.
95., The ninth session of the General Assembly is being held in a new international atmosphere. In our opinion, it is particularly important now to reach as wide agreement as possible on the significance of this situation. This would enable us to seek in concert the most suitable ways and means of gradually settling existing difficulties and problems.
96. I think we are not entitled to neglect any phenomenon or event likely to strengthen any reasonable hope that the effects of the culminating phase of the “cold war” will at last be overcome. Consequently, any thoughtful evaluation of the international situation must be divorced from current propaganda. In the last analysis, this constitutes the safeguard and the prerequisite of any correct and realistic policy. No valid policy can be pursued if what is presented to public opinion is in permanent conflict with the analysis on which political action is based.
97. We think — and this seems to us to confirm the accuracy of the analyses we have made in the past — that the international situation as a whole has recently advanced in the direction of creating new positive opportunities for a rapprochement of views and for more fruitful international co-operation.
98. Among the most salient facts which bear out this viewpoint should be mentioned the cessation of hostilities in Korea and Indo-China. The importance of these events, by reason of their general implications, undeniably extends far beyond the frontiers of the territories in which war was fought. This fact is adequately demonstrated by the international nature of the interests involved in these “local wars”, in their development and their cessation. It is this international aspect which has always engendered the fear that these conflicts might spread.
99. It has now been shown, we feel, that a solution can be found through negotiation for any situation, even for those which are apparently the most hopeless and where the parties involved are already engaged in full-scale war.
100. Without in any way underestimating the role or the contribution of the negotiators, it seems to me that an international event of such significance could not have occurred if it had not been introduced and preceded by a general improvement in international conditions and prospects. The favourable outcome of the negotiations is at the same time a particularly important contribution to the future development of this procedure.
101. Although, as is often the case, political relations between nations have not kept pace with the objective possibilities themselves, we feel that an improvement in international relations may be expected.
102. While it is true that the international situation involves important new factors, it cannot be described, interpreted or dealt with correctly within the framework or on the basis of attitudes and formulas which are already outmoded, or by giving way to the inertia of deeply ingrained preconceived ideas and pragmatic prejudgments rooted in adverse attitudes. In fact, events have already discredited these methods as instruments for interpreting or effecting positive changes in reality.
103. From the critical period of the “cold war” the world has inherited the tendency of the parties concerned to interpret and to present every solution of international problems in terms of the defeat or the victory of one of the parties and its practical policy. This is, in our opinion, an erroneous viewpoint. For in spite of and independently of transitory judgments and political calculations, peace has been strengthened in an extremely sensitive area of the world, thanks in the last analysis to the countless efforts of the great majority of mankind.
104. The evidence that negotiation is necessary and that agreement is possible should cause us to measure the extent of the responsibilities of governments and of statesmen as regards the influence they may exert on the future course of events.
105. Is the picture of favourable opportunities that I have just sketched here not too optimistic? I do not think so, for the following reasons. First, it is time for political realism to become an active and constructive force, and for the world to lose the habit of seeing only the negative and discouraging side. Secondly, such an attitude of exaggerated optimism would fit in neither with our intentions nor our way of looking at things. For we realize full well that there is the ever-present danger that problems which have been only partially settled and other problems which are still unsolved may become more serious.
106. It is obvious that a balance has been struck in the general relationship of forces, and the efforts of the United Nations to organize collective defence against aggression have in all probability made a decisive contribution to this end. First and foremost, in our opinion, we have gained time, which is of immense importance to all of us. It seems justifiable to interpret the fact that a respite of a few years has been gained in this atomic age as meaning that war has been lastingly averted. Secondly, it is our common duty to take advantage of this relaxation of tension to maintain and prolong the trend by giving it fresh impetus, that is, by directing our principal efforts towards establishing an increasing prosperity, instead of condemning ourselves to even more burdensome expenditure on armaments.
107. The relative calm and equilibrium in which we are living today are accompanied by unprecedented instability in economic affairs. The economic disequilibrium in the world, and in particular the fact that in present circumstances the economic progress of certain countries places most of the other countries of the world in a position of economic inequality, constitutes a continuing danger, likely to provoke new conflicts. In a situation in which the immediate threat of war has decreased, and with it the justification for any unnecessary haste in the alignment of battlefronts, we must see to it that the real problems assume the prominence they deserve, while not neglecting any opportunity of promoting a relaxation of tension.
108. If the facts here cited correspond to reality, they make it incumbent upon us to adopt a fresh approach to problems and difficulties, to use new methods. We have already said that in our view it was necessary to rid ourselves of concepts and ways of thinking implanted in our minds by the bitter “cold war”. The political arsenal of the “cold war” comprises: the East-West antinomy, which is only too real in political matters, but which is actually unrealistic and unworkable; division into blocs; alignment of States according to their ideology and the like, and even to some extent the concept of peaceful coexistence, which must be understood today as armed coexistence. By resorting in practical politics to such rigid and over-simplified terms and concepts which cannot encompass the entire complexity and diversity of international relations, there is a risk that these relations will be aggravated and reduced to their most antagonistic elements, or, in other words, that the opportunities for co-operation and the constructive consideration of unsolved problems will be hampered. In this connexion, it cannot be denied that the existing military blocs, which were formed in the East immediately after the war, although they are not formally designated as such, actually constituted an association whose formation and existence played a considerable part in aggravating and even in unleashing the “cold war”.
109. Above all there was no justification for the creation of military blocs, tacit or overt, formed on ideological lines. Such an association of necessity conceals or generates tendencies towards intervention and admits the use of force as an instrument of political action.
110. With regard to passive peaceful coexistence, I think that it is not by accident that some of the speakers who have preceded me on this rostrum have demonstrated its inadequacy. Generally speaking, this coexistence has already been brought about, more or less. But coexistence cannot prevail if it is not transformed into active international co-operation.
111. Marshal Tito, President of the Federal People’s Republic of Yugoslavia, in discussing this problem in his speech of 19 September 1954, made the following statement: “I have already said that the immense majority of mankind considers the settlement of disputes by war absurd. Nevertheless, contentious problems do exist. How are they to be solved? Obviously I cannot give you a recipe, but we must perseveringly follow the road which leads towards the peaceful settlement of disputes. Moreover, I should like to emphasize that it is possible for the world as it is — socialist, communist and capitalist — to exist. There are States with different systems in the world. Must these States set out on a crusade, one against the other, and must the strongest impose its system on the others; or, on the contrary, should they collaborate in the existing circumstances? I believe that the coexistence of different systems in the world offers the only solution. It is the only means of avoiding conflicts. Such coexistence requires an end to the ideological propaganda war, which goes so far as to threaten the use of armed force. The coexistence of nations is necessary and possible; that is to say, they must collaborate in all questions which are of mutual concern. There are no two countries in the world which have no common interests which would permit mutual collaboration. Obviously this may seem utopian if we observe the present developments of events abroad. But this will cease to be utopian when people understand that it is the only way out, that it is the only possibility for coexistence, peaceful co-operation and energetic action against aggression and war. Today this is our task and that of all progressive men.”
112. In short, the battle for peace which was won in Korea, in Indo-China and elsewhere has not been won against any one political ideology, even less to the advantage of another, but solely against aggression and war as an instrument of policy. In face of the danger of relying solely on recourse to arms, a real and not an ideological danger, it is justifiable and necessary to organize collective defence under the auspices of the United Nations in order to resist the aggressor if the agression cannot be halted in time.
113. I feel that it was important to make these explanatory statements in order to avoid being misunderstood. We are not in favour of any kind of neutrality in the face of aggression. We think that two camps are more than we need. For this reason we are not in favour of a “third force”, but only in favour of a solution contrary to that implied by blocs; in other words are in favour of peaceful and constructive international collaboration. I am sure you will believe me when I say that my country and my Government will do their utmost, as they have in the past, to maintain their place in the forefront of the struggle for peace and against aggression.
114. We are firmly convinced that fresh opportunities have been or are in the process of being created to solve specific problems which have been awaiting a solution for some time. I should like to mention a few of the main questions among those on the agenda of this Assembly without wishing, of course, to minimize other items on which my Government’s views have already been repeatedly expressed.
115. My Government has always given very serious attention to the problem of disarmament and has made every effort to ensure that real progress was achieved in this matter. We have come to this session in the hope that, despite past failures, we shall be able to make progress in this problem. We feel that both general as well as special conditions have matured so that measures could be taken which would enable us to take at least the first steps. We now feel that this hope is about to be realized. This is the significance we wish to attach to the Soviet Government’s acceptance of the French and United Kingdom memorandum [DC/53, annex 9] as a point of departure for future discussions. Furthermore, the United States initiative in the matter of the use of atomic energy for peaceful purposes is working towards the same end.
116. In this sense we welcome the Franco-British memorandum. Without entering here into the substance of the memorandum, it should be emphasized that the document is imbued with a spirit of realism and compromise, and that it creates real prospects of agreement. For this reason it is today the most propitious basis for the study of the disarmament question.
117. The Soviet proposals submitted during the general debate [484th meeting] show that the Soviet Union has drawn closer to the proposals put forward in London by the French and United Kingdom representatives and supported by the United States. Consequently, there is reason to believe that at this session of the General Assembly the disarmament question will be discussed for the first time on a realistic basis without the speakers adopting diametrically opposed positions at the outset.
118. This fact is all the more significant inasmuch as the very application of the procedure provided in the memorandum of France and the United Kingdom, as well as a constructive discussion on the basis of this proposal, might lead to a situation in which the danger of war would continue to recede and humanity would be saved from the catastrophic consequences of the use of modern weapons of destruction such as the atomic and the hydrogen bomb. This would help to give a strong new impetus to the relaxation of international tension and to the improvement of conditions for the solution of all other contentious questions.
119. Many economic problems, such as the weakening of multilateral trade, the paralysis of the international flow of capital, the chronic non-convertibility of currencies, and the like, are only external manifestations of the fundamental disequilibrium in the world’s economy known to all of us as the problem of the underdeveloped countries. The Secretary-General rightly emphasized in his annual report [A/2663] that this problem should continue to be our main preoccupation. Moreover, the problem is eloquently expressed in the monstrous contradiction of a world where food surpluses in certain areas go hand in hand with tragic undernourishment and famine in other regions of the world.
120. We have the parallel problem of the unequal rate of economic development in various parts of the world. This problem is particularly serious for the peoples living in the under-developed countries. Nevertheless, it is equally fraught with crisis for the industrial countries. This was expressed with remarkable clarity by Mr. Scheyven, the representative of Belgium, when he said on 19 July in the Economic and Social Council [810th meeting] that the prosperity of some nations depended more and more on the prosperity of others and that the poverty of the latter slowed the pace of the former.
121. The activities of our Organization in this field, such as the United Nations Expanded Programme of Technical Assistance and the United Nations Children’s Fund, have so far not only enabled tis to achieve great results, but have also shown us the path to follow. The problem of an expanded United Nations programme for the under-developed countries is in truth not new; but the present situation would seem to permit and even to require that we tackle it more energetically.
122. Last year we adopted a declaration [resolution 724 A (VIII)] promising in general terms that some of the savings realized through a reduction of armaments would be allocated to the special fund for economic development. However, it is obvious that accelerated economic development of the under-developed countries must not be made conditional upon the success achieved in international disarmament. On the contrary, the existence and the functioning of such a fund could, of itself, greatly assist in creating a general atmosphere favourable to disarmament. Later, once internationally controlled disarmament has been achieved — and we believe it will be in the not-too-distant future — large additional resources could be made available to the fund, and it could thus have a decisive impact on the pace of economic development in vast areas of the world. My country has expressed its readiness to contribute at once as much as it can to such a fund.
123. The problem of the use of atomic energy is closely linked with that of the development of the underdeveloped countries and the question of disarmament. By saying that these problems are closely related, I do not mean that the solution of one of them should in any way be made conditional upon the solution of the others. On the contrary, we are convinced that the unconditional solution of each of these problems would contribute to an effective solution of the others.
124. The advent of atomic power, and the immense increase in productive forces it makes possible, has made the present framework of international relations too narrow, and calls for an infinitely greater measure of economic interdependence and co-operation. These new sources of power and prosperity do not, of course, in any way diminish the need for a much greater and more equitable use of already existing possibilities and resources. We therefore warmly welcome the initiative taken by the United States in proposing that practical possibilities for the use of atomic energy for non-military purposes should be studied within the framework of our Organization.
125. The attitude of the Government of the Federal People’s Republic of Yugoslavia towards international problems is, generally speaking, determined by its efforts for the maintenance of peace and the development of the largest possible measure of international cooperation, based on the principles of independence, equal rights and non-interference in the internal affairs of other countries.
126. It is in the light of this analysis of the international situation and of the Yugoslav Government’s policy that, in our opinion, the significance of the treaty of mutual assistance, political co-operation and alliance recently signed by Greece, Turkey and Yugoslavia should be measured. I am convinced that it is not lacking in modesty to say that the co-operation of these three countries extends beyond the frontiers of the Balkan region and is an important contribution to the consolidation of peace in Europe. We have here, in fact, not only an example of coexistence, but a living illustration of the possibility of fruitful co-operation in all fields between countries with different social systems. It is a regional organization which in essence is fully in harmony with the spirit and aims of the United Nations Charter and which encourages wider international co-operation. We feel that the latter criterion — the question whether a given regional agreement facilitates or hinders participation in broader international co-operation — is the best way of determining whether an agreement is or is not consistent with the spirit of the Charter.
127. My country’s policy in Europe is guided by the same principles. We are fully convinced that the creation of a united, democratic and peaceful Europe has become a historical necessity, irrespective of the existence of any immediate danger of aggression. That is why today, when we seem to have the necessary time at our disposal, it has become even more obvious that we cannot expect to reach lasting solutions in Europe through exclusively military co-operation, but only through cooperation between equal and independent European nations in all fields, directing our main efforts towards a lasting reduction of intra-European antagonisms. This includes, first and foremost, the settlement of differences between France and Germany.
128. In this connexion, the Yugoslav Government is convinced, as it has said repeatedly, that it is necessary for us, while continuing our efforts to achieve the unity of Germany — which, it seems, can only be attained in a far less tense international atmosphere — frankly to admit that it has become practically impossible to continue to deny Germany the right to its sovereignty and to rearmament, but partial, limited and controlled rearmament, keeping constantly in mind the fears of other nations, which were only too well justified by the tragic experiences of the past.
129. To place military preoccupations and reasons in the foreground — that is, to reduce the problem to the number of military divisions — would be to run the risk of playing into the hands of militaristic tendencies. And it is natural that the European countries should be especially sensitive to this risk.
130. However, if these essential precautionary measures are taken, what matters now is that the European nations should reach agreement of their own free will, on the basis of equality and independence, and in a spirit of co-operation and political non-exclusiveness, while respecting their common interests. It seems to us that efforts to unify Europe should be judged in accordance with these general criteria and not only in accordance with the original formulas which necessarily bear the stamp of the time when they were drafted.
131. As regards the Austrian problem, we are convinced that a satisfactory solution could have been reached had it not — to the detriment of universal peace and of the interests and rights of Austria — been made conditional, artificially, on other questions. A gradual return to normal conditions in the relations between my country and the countries of Western Europe has been evident during the past year. We note with satisfaction that the governments of those countries have realized that a return to normal conditions cannot be confined to words, but must be translated into deeds. Yugoslavia will continue, as in the past, to take an active part in the improvement of relations with those countries, on the basis of its fundamental political principles. On such a basis, our close and friendly relations with the Western nations cannot in any way be adversely affected.
132. Yugoslavia, resolved to apply these principles in order to consolidate peace, has made the maximum effort, at the greatest sacrifice, to reach a compromise solution of the Trieste question. I am glad to be able to refer in this Assembly to the agreement which was signed this very morning in London by all the Governments directly concerned and the text of which, together with the accompanying joint declaration, has just been submitted to the Security Council [S/3301]. Allow me to express here my profound conviction that this agreement will prove the starting point of fruitful and friendly relations between my country and Italy.
133. Besides our friendly relations with all the Western countries, we have very cordial relations with many Asian countries, especially India and Burma, having similar economic and social problems and a common desire to ensure peace and the development of international co-operation. It is against that background that President Tito will soon visit these two countries.
134. It is also by basing ourselves on that appraisal of the situation that we explain our attitude towards the role and responsibility of our Organization in the solution of international problems. It is precisely because we regard the United Nations as one of the main factors in the formulation of new methods in international relations that we, without feeling that we should reiterate their arguments, associate ourselves with those who have criticized in this Assembly the tendency to solve some of the most important international problems outside the United Nations, as well as the tendency to minimize or to by-pass the primary role which the United Nations should play in the maintenance of international peace and security, especially in the elimination of causes of tension.
135. In this spirit we also support the many speakers who have emphasized here that the principle of the universality of the United Nations must be fully and logically implemented. The present situation is all the more abnormal in view of the fact that the effective international role of some of the States in question has been recognized in practice when it has proved impossible to dispense any longer with their participation in certain vitally important international negotiations.
136. The Secretary-General has referred to all the problems which we have just mentioned. He has done so in a very convincing manner in the introduction to his annual report, especially where he states that in the struggle for peace the full implications of the fact of interdependence must be accepted, and when he emphasizes the bad effect of a split into different camps which has developed among the Member nations.
137. Despite the unavoidable failures and shortcomings which are apparent in the work of the United Nations, and which are primarily a reflection of the state of international relations, I feel that it is only fair to draw particular attention to the mission of our Organization, which is virtually irreplaceable as a body that personifies and guarantees the continuity of negotiations and the meeting of opinions, irrespective of the favourable or unfavourable atmosphere of international relations.
138. The great successes so far achieved by the United Nations testify to its ever greater role in international life. We are convinced that, in present conditions, that role will continue to grow, and my country is ready, as it has always been in the past, to give its full and enthusiastic support to the United Nations.