First of all, Mr. President, I should like to congratulate you on your election as President of the General Assembly of the United Nations.
2. Your profound knowledge of international law and politics, your long experience in this Organization and in the handling of the serious problems that beset the world, and your qualities as a man and a jurist, are a guarantee that this Assembly is in good hands.
3. The delegation of Guatemala is attending this regular session of the General Assembly with its, old and unchanging attitude of support and respect for the purposes and principles of the United Nations and with unshakable faith in the dignity and worth of the human person and in the equal rights of men and women, and of nations large and small.
4. My delegation trusts that understanding, respect and tolerance will gain ground, in this Assembly, in order that the grave problems of a world in turmoil may find the just and adequate solution that peace, security and justice require for the well-being of mankind.
5. It is terrible to think of the results of another war, considering the tremendous advances that have been made in means of destruction. It would be the ruin of all material and spiritual values and of the cultural treasury that mankind has garnered through generations and centuries.
6. It is disquieting to observe the dizzy speed of one armaments race after another, ultimately producing nothing but economic and every other type of disaster. The immense sums spent on armaments are absolutely unproductive, while the great problems of mankind remain, poverty, undernourishment and ignorance. Today the advances of science have made the solution of the problem imperative and vital.
7. This, therefore, is one of mankind's most pressing problems and we ask ourselves: in whose hands does the solution lie? It is logical to reply that it is the responsibility of the United Nations as an international forum, to direct the matter along the right lines, hedging it about with enough security and confidence to ensure that its solution will be viable. In the final analysis, however, the answer should come from those States whose economic capacity and scientific advancement have made them the repositories or large-scale possessors of destructive weapons; consequently, the responsibility lies with the Governments of the great Powers.
8. The first step in disarmament should be the effective, radical and drastic prohibition of the use of nuclear and thermo-nuclear weapons and of nuclear tests. That would be followed, as a logical and natural result, by disarmament, which would be carried out by degrees and under careful supervision. This is precisely the task of the United Nations. In accomplishing it, the United Nations would fulfill one of its highest and most cherished purposes and earn the eternal gratitude of mankind. In this regard, we find the plan referred to in the statement made by the head of the United States delegation on 20 September [1125th meeting] encouraging.
9. Once atomic weapons have been banned, it will be possible to place greater emphasis on the use of nuclear energy for peaceful purposes. In this way, the prospects science offers for the benefit of mankind are unlimited.
10. The Berlin wall: This term, or the more graphic expression "the wall of shame" used by the free world, refers to the cruel and dreadful separation of the two Germanics by means of barbed wire and an actual physical wall which prevent any communication between the Germans on either side. As though this were not enough, bayonets, bullets and death itself are used to prevent the inextinguishable yearning for-freedom from manifesting itself in flight. Nevertheless, the exodus, cannot be contained. It is an avalanche of desperate men who, forced to live in darkness, dramatically seek the light. Day after day, hundreds of persons, embarking on the most daring expeditions, manage to evade the stern vigilance of their gaolers and day after day, we near of the murder of those unfortunates who fail in the attempt.
11. It is common knowledge that since the end of the war there has been a constant flight of persons from the Soviet-occupied zone of Germany to the free West. Lack of freedom and the juridical insecurity that characterize the communist dictatorship, the total interference of the State and the political organizations in the, private affairs of the individual, hostility to religion, and the measures of collectivization in all fields endanger the personal safety of the people and create an atmosphere which has rendered life in Eastern Germany unbearable. Despite the natural increase in the birthrate, mass emigration has made Eastern Germany the only country in the world with a constantly decreasing population.
12. What are - the causes of this dramatic German exodus? It is easy to explain: the Soviet zone in Germany is a totalitarian communist territory under a police regime; it is a Soviet military satellite; it is a Soviet political satellite; lastly, the sovietization, to which the German people are not resigned, has been carried out by force in all parts of the nation.
13. The Berlin wall; therefore, is the most eloquent demonstration of the failure of a system. It is also the most perfect demonstration of the fact that man is free by nature and cannot resign himself to a life in slavery.
14. Unfortunately, the phenomenon is not confined to this sector o| mankind but appears in an equally dramatic form in other regions, where the exodus of the unfortunate beings who seek freedom in the face of countless penalties and incredible journeys is constant, vast and irrepressible.
15, The delegation of Guatemala can add but little to what has been said on previous occasions with regard to the tragic situation of its brother-nation of Cuba, now totally subjugated by the Soviet system; that beautiful island, a symbol of liberty, has become a hapless satellite. Of course, all this has been done under the pretext of liberating it from so-called United States economic imperialism, with the result that it is now subjected to the totalitarian and merciless imperialism of the Soviet Union. The situation of the Cubans is similar to the painful reality, which we have just described in connexion with the East Germans, and in Cuba as in Eastern Germany every day sees a mass escape of citizens who, by any means that, come to hand, seek to flee the slavery to which their country is subjected. It is monstrous that Cuba should have, gone to the length of bargaining politically with the freedom of the Cuban prisoners and, with inordinate cynicism, placing a price on human lives.
16. Guatemala warned the American continent about what was happening and what would happen next, in an endeavour to prevent the tragedy which today looms over the Cuban people. It did so clearly and categorically; without mincing0 matters, at the time9 of the Seventh Meeting of Ministers for Foreign Affairs, held at San José, Costa Rica, in August 1960. It has been doing so; ever since, and indeed it had done so long before that, when it saw that in its own land the aggressive Soviet system was interfering through its Cuban pawn. It repeated its warning sharply and clearly at Punta del Este, Uruguay, at the Eighth Meeting of Consultation of American Ministers of Foreign Affairs and it is again repeating today. Our Words turned out to be prophetic, for today we are faced with an intolerable situation fraught with danger for the American Continent.
17. The delegation Guatemala is well aware that, these words will call forth fresh insults from the Castro communists, within and outside this, hall, hurled at my country's Government. But this does not disturb us in the least, because Castro himself no longer counts in Cuba and it is not he who commands in that unfortunate island. The real masters there now are the occupation forces of the Soviet Union who, disguised as technicians, advisers and even sugarcane cutters, have disembarked during the past few months with their implements of war for the. twofold purpose of repeating their Hungarian exploits if need be and of threatening the freedom of the American continent.
18. It gives us the greatest satisfaction to see that the assiduous work of the United Nations against the colonial systems has in a short time resulted in the emergence of new independent States, more and more of Whose representatives are now participating in this General Assembly. Congratulations are due to the Organization, to the peoples of those countries and to the Administering Powers, which, in one way or another, have come to understand that the colonial system is an anachronism and is in defensible and have co-operated in helping those people along the path to emancipation.
19. Nevertheless, it is regrettable that in some cases the independence attained does not meet all the requirements of sovereignty which the concept implies and can be used to disguise a new form of colonialism, with its consequent foreign subjugation, domination and exploitation.
20. In speaking of neo-colonialism — the disguised subjection of peoples — we cannot omit to mention its other aspect, which is even more sombre, more gloomy, more ominous and more brutal. I refer to the unfortunate peoples who groan beneath another kind of Imperialism, having been thrown into servitude through the treachery of those who surrendered their countries to the Soviet subjugation. Peoples of illustrious cultural traditions have succumbed to force and are today galley slaves on a terrible ship of duress and desolation, 0where every attempt at rebellion and every hope of freedom, is drowned in blood.
21. One of the finest and most forceful decisions of the United Nations aimed at the liquidation of the last vestiges of colonialism is resolution 1514 (XV), adopted at the fifteenth session of the Assembly, in which the world Organization, "Recognizing the passionate yearning for freedom in all dependent peoples" and "Mindful of the determination proclaimed by the peoples of the world in the Charter. . .to reaffirm faith in fundamental human rights, in the dignity ... of the human person" and in equal rights, considered that there was sufficient cause for recognizing that "the continued existence of colonialism. . . impedes the … development of dependent peoples", preventing them from freely disposing "of their natural wealth and resources". It further declared that "the subjection of peoples to alien subjugation, domination and exploitation constitutes a denial of fundamental human rights", and that they must therefore be granted independence "without any conditions or reservations".
22. In connexion with Guatemala's unequivocal anti- colonialist stand which we have just outlined, we cannot fail to mention, as we have long done, the thorn in the flesh of the Guatemalan people, namely, Belize.
23. It is well known that our rights to that territory are indisputable and that the only relatively valid legal element In the United Kingdom's claim disappeared when the Convention relative to the Boundary of British Honduras of 1859 became inoperative owing to the failure of One of the parties, the United Kingdom, to comply with its compensatory clause. While recognizing the indisputable character of Guatemala's rights over Belize, our civilized people, ardent supporters of the principles and purposes of the United Nations, have still agreed to full, frank and open discussion of the question, as witness the bipartite talks held at San Juan, Puerto Rico, in April 1962, which marked the beginning of the union, with Guatemala of another Guatemalan population forcibly cut off from the main stream of Central American national life.
24. The Government of Guatemala is adamant in its position: it categorically rejected the unjust and degrading policy of apartheid imposed by the Government of the Republic of South Africa in its own territory and in the Mandated Territory of South West Africa to the detriment of the negro race and others of different origins. The Guatemalan people, having abolished slavery at the dawn of their independence, reject all discriminatory and enslaving practices.
25. My Government is also concerned about the plight of that Mandated Territory, and fully agrees with the recommendations contained in a recent report ; of the Committee on South West Africa, particularly with its highly important finding that the South African Government, was unfit to continue to administer the Territory and that: . . . the best interest of all concerned and of international peace and security demand as 3 a matter of great urgency that the General Assembly should undertake a study of the ways and means by which to terminate South African administration over the Mandated Territory of South West Africa and to have the administration assumed directly or indirectly by the United Nations so as to ensure the institution of the rule of law and such democratic processes, reforms and programmes of assistance as will enable the Mandated Territory to assume the full responsibilities of sovereignty and independence within the shortest possible time”
26. As this evidently means that the Mandate should be revoked, at its sixteenth session the General Assembly adopted resolution 1702 (XVI) indicating the legal bases and procedures for United Nations action in this direction. Guatemala is willing to support such action by our world Organization.
27. Guatemala, a country which has been unable fully to enjoy its economic resources, is keenly interested in the efforts of, the United Nations to promote economic and social development in the underdeveloped countries through international co-operation.
28. Accordingly, Guatemala and its sister-republics of Central America have made every effort and explored every possibility with a view to achieving the economic integration of their peoples and creating a Central American Common market as one of the principal bases for the region's economic development.
29. Very satisfactory advances along these lines have been made in preparing joint legislation designed to govern free trade, the equalization of import duties and gorges and the standardization of tax incentives to industrial development, with very heartening results.
30. These Central American economic integration and free trade programmes are linked to efforts being carried out on a continental scale, including the Alliance for Progress.
31. Apart from their strictly economic activities, the republics of Central America have made notable advances towards integrating the Central American Isthmus, for example, by standardizing basic education and the practice of the liberal professions.
32. The legislative bodies and supreme courts of justice of our republics are co-operating in order to standardize legislation and legal practice in our countries.
33. Besides these aspects of integration political efforts are being made to fulfil the fervent hope that Central America will become united. In January 1960, the Government of Guatemala submitted to the peoples and Governments of Central America for their consideration the draft of a new Charter of the Organization of Central American States based on historical, reality and the greatest aspiration of the Central American people. This draft not only provides for a regional organization but also constitutes an effective instrument for the reconstitution of the Republic of Central America.
34. I am pleased to announce that the Central American Ministers for (Foreign Affairs will meet at Panama in November to draw up and sign the instrument which will enable us to restore our Unity and to lay the foundations for the new Central American Nation long desired by our peoples,
35. Mr. President, it remains for me only to express the fervent hope of the delegation of Guatemala that the work of the seventeenth regular session Of the United Nations General Assembly will be carried out in an atmosphere conducive to the fulfilment of its aims and principles so that it may be possible to, maintain international peace and Security, justice and respect, faith and the dignity of man in a broader concept of freedom. May the lost confidence among men and nations be restored and enable us to bring a ray of hope to suffering and anguished mankind.