For the second time this year the representatives of the United Nations are meeting in the General Assembly to continue with a firm and determined step along that path of which peace-loving peoples never lost sight even in times of great peril.
We are again met together for the purpose of ensuring the slow but sure development of an international organization which was conceived on the field of battle, amid the noise of conflict and the fearful destruction wrought by total war, in the spirit of a philosophy of unity and mutual aid, of the redemption of the spiritual forces of mankind, and of sacrifice and mutual understanding between the nations.
Such an organization was definitely decided upon — even before total victory over the forces of aggression — in order to defend this philosophy and to guarantee international peace and collective security to all the peoples of the world, and in order to achieve the abolition of fear and distress and the real enjoyment of liberty, not only in the internal life of every country, but also as a noble and sacred birthright of all men.
Dumbarton Oaks, San Francisco and London marked three distinct and characteristic stages in the historic development of the United Nations. The formulation of the fundamental principles, and the extensive public debate thereon, the final drafting and entry into force of the Charter, its transformation into an effective reality by the establishment of the bodies provided for therein, and the initiation of its first activities express, in terms of work done, the significance of these three symbolic names.
Today, the name of the State of New York, which has so graciously and generously welcomed our young Organization, is added to those names as a guarantee of success, as an earnest of the co-operation and goodwill of America and of the spirit of loyalty of this friendly people, who today more than ever understand and admit the mistakes of the past and solemnly promise us, through their most authoritative representative, that they prepared to support the United Nations by all the means in their power, urbi et orbi.
The seat of the international body has been transferred from the Old Continent to the so-called New World, and that event, which was dictated by the will of the nations represented here, has a special historical connotation. It seems that destiny, after the collapse of the Treaty of Versailles, was prepared to give mankind another chance to establish peaceful relations between the peoples, and to confer on this American land the privilege of lending its atmosphere of tolerance and harmony in order that the peoples might be able to develop the activities and realize fully the essential purposes of their Organization.
The fundamental task of winning and preserving the peace for our children and for future generations as well as for ourselves confronts us. Let us then dedicate ourselves to it with fervour and optimism. Let us learn the lessons of yesterday and maintain unity and solidarity in order to achieve permanent peace, just as we did in those tragic days when events presaged the absolute suppression of law and order and the triumph of an absurd policy of aggression and universal hegemony.
Let us have faith in the exalted destinies of the human race. Let us reject the idea that war is inevitable in international relations, and let us draw on our spiritual forces to combat destructive scepticism and all other negative attitudes in every sphere of society. Let us remember that it proved possible to overcome and conquer one by one all the apparently insurmountable obstacles which stood in the way of the final triumph of the liberating armies, and let us be confident that, by the same determination and firmness of purpose, international differences, however great they may be, can be overcome, and that present and future difficulties can be solved.
To that end it will be indispensable for statesmen to proceed serenely and dispassionately to consider the interests involved, without placing their own interests before those of others, but subordinating both to the superior interests of the international community. They will have to work in an atmosphere of mutual trust, and in certain circumstances more account will have to be taken of the freely expressed wishes of their respective peoples, in order that the solutions which are reached shall have the support of those peoples as well as that of the Governments and of the United Nations.
Statements from the heads of Governments are, as we have been able to observe in the past few days, of great importance in dispelling confusion and insecurity; they contribute towards restoring lost faith and calming anguished fears of the recurrence of the terrible events of tragic violence which are still intensely alive in the hearts of all. The declarations of Marshal Stalin and Prime Minister Attlee have already had beneficial results; they have been fortified and consolidated by the categorical assertion made by President Truman in this hall to the effect that there is no danger of war and that the fears which are casting their shadow over the great work of building up the peace must be removed.
The collaboration of the press — the fourth estate of the realm — constitutes a further element of essential importance if political activities and international negotiations are to develop with a minimum of obstruction. Freedom of information and publicity of the proceedings of international conferences are indispensable, in order to avoid any policy which may tend to distort or obscure the truth.
It is also essential, however, to renounce all campaigns tending to exaggerate disagreements between the States, and to insist, on the contrary, upon the presentation of constructive news. In other words, the settlement of disputes and the achievement of positive results call for equal or even greater attention than do the friction and difficulties which still remain, pending some arrangement or procedure appropriate for their settlement. Thus a contribution will be made towards the peaceful and democratic orientation of public opinion: thus it will be possible for the peoples to form a well-founded and exact idea of the situations which may jeopardize international peace and security.
At the same time, we consider it essential that close unity be established between the great Powers, for the San Francisco Charter is undoubtedly based on that sine qua non condition. That is not sufficient in itself, however, for the triumph of our efforts towards peace and reconstruction. All nations, large or small, strong or weak, must march together and collaborate with one another, conscious of the role which it behoves them to play according to their means. A contrary course would be tantamount, as I stated on an occasion which for me is a memorable one, to provoking the revival of imperialism, of economic nationalism and of balance of power policies with all their anarchical consequences; to accepting the principle of unilateral action and the imposition of an autocratic will on the sincere wishes for real, spontaneous and effective co-operation of the majority of the peoples; to ensuring the total failure of collective security, which, as its name implies, cannot exist except within a universal organization on the basis of juridical equality; to forgetting the sacrifices of the multitudes who gave their lives for the democratic cause. In a word, such a course would be tantamount to precipitating the division of the world into two camps and the unleashing of passions and of irreconcilable hatreds, which might lead to a new apocalyptic armed conflict thereby completely destroying our civilization and our culture, and drowning in an ocean of blood the ideals of peace and of justice for which mankind is so deeply longing.
Forgive me if I continue to abuse your patience, but I cannot conclude our intervention in the general discussion without dwelling on another factor which is disturbing the smooth working of the United Nations, and is helping to prolong the uneasiness which is felt with regard to the possibilities of success. I wish to refer more precisely to the continued existence of the regime which is subjugating the Spanish people and preventing it, with its admirable legal heritage and its well-known tradition of international solidarity and cooperation, from joining the family of democratic nations.
As indicated by the Secretary-General, Mr. Trygve Lie, the Spanish question has received the attention of various organs of the United Nations, but they have not yet managed to reach a satisfactory solution of a state of affairs which should no longer exist, now that the forces of aggression which created it have been destroyed.
Therefore, our delegation, interpreting the feelings of the people and Government of Venezuela, which, a year ago, took up a definite position internationally with regard to this matter, is of the opinion that the United Nations is under an obligation to find, without delay, a way to prevent this seed of discord from growing into a dangerous neo-totalitarianism capable of threatening the international order which we propose to establish and defend.
Finally, I wish to refer to the so-called veto question. The responsibility of the permanent Members of the Security Council in relation to the exercise of the right of veto is one of the most important which they have incurred vis-a- vis the other United Nations, for by reason of circumstances and of their special position, they have been granted, in order to defend the peace and to support our Organization, a privilege which is scarcely compatible with the principle of the sovereign equality of all nations. The responsibility of the permanent members of the Security Council is all the greater since no change can be made in the Charter without a favourable vote on their part. That being so, and in view of the manner in which the Article embodying the right of veto has been applied, the alternative facing the permanent members is obvious. If they are not willing to give up that privilege because they consider that present conditions do not allow of such a step, they are under an inescapable moral obligation to reach agreement among themselves to determine the exact scope of the right of veto and obviate any abuse of its application.
For that reason the delegation of Venezuela, being convinced of the sense of duty and the sincerity of the permanent Members of the Security Council, urgently appeals to them, pending the amendment of the United Nations Charter, to take the initiative, as holders of that privilege, in formulating in a Protocol which might be called the Protocol of Flushing, the necessary rules for limiting the use of the right of veto, in the certainty that by taking this course they will render an incalculable service to the cause of peace.