142. A short time ago [1138th meeting] the General Assembly rightly honoured the impressive speech by the Minister for Foreign Affairs of Belgium with enthusiastic applause. After that masterly expose, anything I could say to endeavour to explain the position of the Netherlands as an active partner in the European Common Market would necessarily sound like an anti-climax. Let me therefore mention only that our position in that organization, and our attitude towards its implications for Europe, as well as for the rest of the world, are the same as those of Belgium — as is, of course, to be expected within the unity of Benelux.
143. In vivid and inspiring words and with convincing arguments, Mr. Spaak indicated the true meaning, political as well as economic, of the building of an integrated Europe. In doing so he answered the criticisms of those, who genuinely feel that the new unity and prosperity we are creating might become detrimental to their own legitimate aspirations. I trust that he was even able to open up for them the prospect of better times coming and to free them from some of their fears and worries. Such sincere apprehensions and misgivings are of earnest concern to us. As to the darts of disparagement flung at the Common Market by the envious and the mischievous, we recognize them for what they are.
144. In this general debate, there are two subjects on which my delegation has something to say to the Assembly. They are, firstly, some of the consequences of the increase in membership of the United Nations, and, secondly, the demands to be made from all of us all the nineteen-sixties are really to become a development decade.
145. We welcome the steady growth of the United Nations, reflecting, as it does, the vigour of our era that is bringing so many new countries to the status of sovereign equality. And I take this opportunity to give a friendly salute to our most recent Members — Rwanda, Burundi, Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago, and Algeria. We in the Netherlands particularly rejoice in the coming of age of the two countries in the Western Hemisphere, which have many good relations with the two parts of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in their vicinity, Suriname and the Netherlands Antilles. With Algeria, of course, our relations date back many centuries.
146. But our welcome would be lacking in sincerity if we did not take care that our Organization, now that it comprises more than one hundred Members, should be at least as good, and preferably a better, instrument for peace and progress for all, than it was when there were only half that number of Members.
147. One long overdue measure that would contribute towards the attainment of this end — and one which my delegation has been advocating since 1958 — is the enlargement of the Security Council and, in particular, of the Economic and Social Council. In the latter we possess the one body in the world entrusted with the awesome responsibility of facing up to the problem of insufficient progress in the improvement of the human condition of all peoples beset by poverty and disease; and, as we all know, ,it is being seriously hampered in its work because it still has to make do with the same membership of eighteen, devised for the bygone conditions of 1945. That the efforts of this supremely important body should be frustrated by the refusal to give it adequate size and scope is shameful. It is hard to understand why the Soviet Union, by coupling the question of the expansion of the Economic and Social Council to the totally unconnected question of Chinese representation, insists on blocking the simple amendment of one word of the Charter, whereby the Economic and Social Council would become the central, significant, administrative body it should be, and needs to be.
148. To declare this a matter of cold war is a poor excuse. It is not the interests of the Western Powers that are at stake; the poor and needy countries are the sufferers from this communist intransigence. Another consequence of the increase in the size of the United Nations is the need for revision of our procedure. To the former President of the Assembly, Mr. Mongi Slim, great praise is due for having taken the initiative in raising this question [A/5123] which,’ having become item 86 on our agenda, will, we hope, be fully and seriously discussed.
149. It is the Netherlands view that, to make the United Nations more efficient and more capable of exerting the authority that is its due, a new working system is required. One of the proposals deserving of thorough consideration is the suggestion that the General Assembly should remain permanently in session, which would make it possible to spread out its activities over the whole year. Under such a scheme we could have a general debate, like the one in which we are now engaged, lasting for three or four weeks, during which time the Heads of State, Prime Ministers and Ministers for Foreign Affairs could meet here in the manner they do at present. After that there would be an opportunity to make arrangements for dealing with the various classes of subjects in such a manner that all of them would get due attention. Might we not, for instance, contemplate having the economic debate take place, say, in the month of January and letting the Second Committee meet at that time and be reinforced by the presence of Ministers of Economics and Finance? Then, in March, for instance, the Fourth Committee could meet to discuss questions concerning Non-Self-Governing and Trust Territories, and it might be efficient to convene the Committee of Seventeen at approximately the same date. Other periods could be assigned to the treatment of political questions in the First and Special Committees, social subjects in the Third Committee, legal items in the Sixth Committee and so on.
150. Such a modus procedendi would, of course, be more demanding for the permanent missions, but representatives ad hoc could be sent from the capitals, and it would seem that it would be much easier to provide good national experts for short terms of three or four weeks than to take them away from their work at home for the full period of three months, which is the minimum duration of the General Assembly session under the present procedure.
151. If one were to take all the speeches at face value, the impression would be gained that, apart from this question of procedure, the future and the growing strength of our Organization are assured. Still, it is sometimes difficult to know what intentions lie behind some of these statements. To my delegation it appears clear that when someone says that he wishes to strengthen the United Nations and then, in the same breath, goes on to advocate a "troika” build-up for the Secretariat, then the real intent can be no other than to destroy it by putting a stop to its effectiveness.
152. Now, this would be a really serious matter if the countries that have been announcing these contradictory aims played a significant part in the all-important work of the United Nations for the development of the less developed lands. As it is, we know that they do not. The Soviet Union regards the aid given to less developed countries as a means of infiltration and for that reason it prefers to give the aid bilaterally, and outside the control of the United Nations, and to skimp on its multilateral efforts. This is not just a loose statement; let me give you a few figures. Take, for instance, the contribution of the Soviet Union to the Special Fund. That contribution is only a fraction of what countries like Sweden and the Netherlands pay. Sweden's annual contribution amounts to $5 million, that of the Netherlands to $2.6 million. And how much does the great Soviet Union pay? Ono, million dollars! If the Soviet Union were to pay according to the scale of regular United Nations contributions, its annual share would have to be about $15 million; if it paid at a rate equal to that applied by my country, its annual share would mount up to $23 million.
153. For technical assistance the Soviet contribution is equally below par. If the communist countries wish to give convincing proof of the concern they express for the well-being of the less developed countries, then they will have to do a great deal more.
154. In spite of this indifference on the part of some Members, the work of the United Nations and of its specialized agencies in the field of assistance to less developed countries remains the most successful part of all United Nations activities, and the one that will have the greatest impact on the future. It is in the United Nations that the representatives of the more and of the less developed countries meet, discuss, exchange ideas and fashion policies on that vital problem of ensuring development and increasing its speed. My delegation regards, the United Nations Development Decade as perhaps the most important item on our present agenda.
155. We are glad to note, during the debate, that we are. not the only ones to hold this view. Some speakers, however, while stressing the importance of the subject, gave, in our opinion, too much emphasis to the great efforts made by the developed countries in the past, and to the duty of the less-developed countries, in the future, to do something about their own problems. Now, it is obvious that a great upsurge in prosperity in the less-developed countries cannot be achieved without sacrifices from the inhabitants of these countries themselves. Of course, they will need more economic prudence and ability, better planning, social reforms in some cases, and more savings. Naturally, they cannot solve their problems unless they become aware of the necessity for attracting investments of foreign private capital, investments which, like tourists, will come only If they are well treated and given adequate guarantees for their safety.
156. All these things are needed; but if they were the only aim, the organization of a Development Decade would really not be necessary. We must hope and trust that these improvements will come, but their importance is only slight in comparison to the special efforts and the special sacrifices which this decade will demand from the more-privileged peoples of the globe. I think we should try to see the various requirements in true perspective. In the picture we then behold, the dominant feature is the necessity for an increasing flow of knowledge and capital towards the less developed parts of the world — a flow which, needless to say, should leave their sovereign rights intact. I say knowledge as well as capital, because money alone will not satisfy the needs of the under-developed countries. The slogan "knowledge is power" is really applicable in this field, and knowledge gives a power that is more valuable than the famed "power of money". We are quickly gaining insight into the fact that training for human skills must play an essential part in the development programme. Without devoted, skilful and knowledgeable men and women to guide their peoples and run the economic machinery of their countries, the money the less-developed countries receive will not be put to the best use.
157. The Netherlands regards this Development Decade as an incentive to the more-developed countries tries to do more than they have been doing so far. With this in mind and as an initial effort, my Government has decided, subject to parliamentary approval, to increase the Netherlands contribution to the Special Fund, as from 1963, by 50 per cent; that is, from $2.6 million, which I mentioned before, to about $4 million; It has also decided to raise our contribution to the Expanded Programme for Technical Assistance by 20 per cent; that is, from $1.5 million to $1.8 million. Furthermore, it has decided to contribute to the World Food Fund of the United Nations and to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) an amount of $1.5 million for the first period of three years.
158. Finally, the Netherlands Government has decided to make available to the Secretary-General a gift of $1 million. This amount is intended to be used by the Secretary-General, as a trustee, for the establishment of an international institute. The task of this institute will be to undertake intensive scientific research, during a period of five years, in a field where our present knowledge is still sadly deficient. The point is that so far, the science of development has been unable to gather knowledge about the criteria to be applied in deciding on plans for social development, and about the interrelation of the economic and social aspects of the development process. Here is a field for fundamental research which has remained unexplored but from which the essential data must be extracted as soon as possible, because without the knowledge of these data, improvement of the economic infrastructure based on responsible social planning is impossible. If a concentrated scientific effort is made, the required knowledge can be gained in five years. It is for this reason that we envisage that this scientific institute should operate for five years. The Netherlands contribution is sufficient to keep the institute in operation for more than half of that period. Agreement has been reached with the Secretary-General about the method of achieving the establishment of the institute, and I understand, that he will inform the General Assembly of the steps contemplated.
159. It is by these means that the Netherlands Government has endeavoured to give expression to its conviction that the Development Decade should be more than a statement of good intentions. My Government and the people of the Netherlands consider that the world cannot afford to lose one single year in its global attack on the worst and most threatening phenomenon of our century: the lack of progress and prosperity in the lands of many hundreds of millions of people. If we can give to all of them the benefit of a healthy environment in which they can make full use of their natural gifts and abilities, the political problems of our world will become more easily amenable to reasonable settlement.