There are some repetitions which explain themselves and which we cannot easily avoid when they constitute a well-deserved tribute to fine qualities of heart and mind so rare today, to a happy raid perfect balance of political and social man. I accordingly feel great personal satisfaction in conveying to you once again, Mr. President, the Haitian delegation's congratulations on you unanimous election as President of the sixteenth session of the General Assembly.
2, The lives of all of us, men and people, are a fabric of rich and varied emotions, some of which penetrate so deeply that at certain stages of life's great journey we have a desire to re-experience those that impelled us most strongly to question ourselves and look more closely at how we live. We seek the most, these strong emotions, like old and treasured things which we keep jealously stored away but which come to life again at a gesture., a spoken word. When they do, we feel once more the same shiver, the same great wave of emotion which seizes and penetrates us and shakes our very being. There are thus some memories which do not leave us easily, just as there are others which we like to evoke because they rouse our courage and help us rally our strength and energies when difficulties and disappointments make them flag and falter.
3. For eight long years, a man remarkable for his intelligence, for his great humanitarianism I should say, for his devotion in the face of every trial—endeavouring to find a solution to the difficult problems of the hour, whether of peace or under-development or of the great socio-political drama of the Africa of my fathers—directed this institution so dear to us all, the United Nations. His life, in a way, became identified with that of the Organization. For eight years he watched develop the thorny ideological rivalry that divides men and pits economic and social systems against one another. He was present at and took part in all the great trials
of the century that have taken place m this great tribunal of free thought—this United Nations. He was also our great and tireless traveller, giving of himself wherever difficulties appeared to demand his presence. With what enthusiasm he would dc so, with what generosity he would expend himself to bring men. closer together and to serve that sacred cause to which he devoted the last years of his life—the cause of peace.
4. For a long time to come his shade will remain among us, in the Secretariat of the United Nations, in the General Assembly and, above all, in the Security Council, where his anxieties and concern could often be read in the furrows of his brow and the sadness of his gaze. We shall always seem to hear his voice whenever we discuss the great problem which absorbed him in his capacity as Secretary-General of the United Nations, which preoccupied and tormented him and for which he can be said to have given his life—the problem of peace.
5. I confess I truly had moments of profound emotion in reading over the lengthy agenda which is submitted to us again this year and to which he had devoted his customary scrupulous care, for many of these questions can be reduced to the great common denominator of peace, the ultimate preoccupation of the world,
6. Anyone who leafs through the ledger of international life and attempts to strike a balance must truly find it difficult to express satisfaction at the panorama unfolding on the horizon, for, as some would say, the hour is full of surprises and heavy with sadness. But the great meaning that has gripped this Organization and, to some extent, each one of us, for Mr. Hamharskjold was our Secretary-General, raises an important problem that we must solve-^the problem of replacing him, but worthily and most speedily.
7. The most difficult problem, as you know, is not that of choosing a man able, by his great moral authority and ability, to command universal support. Important and difficult though it undoubtedly is, this problem of choosing a man, of appointing a Secretary- General, is nevertheless kept somewhat in the background and overshadowed by another and much more thorny problem—that of the reform of the office of Secretary-General, made more urgent than ever by the sudden, tragic death of Mr. Hammarskjold.
8. Last year, through me, the Haitian delegation opposed the idea of handing over the direction, the executive power, of the United Nations to three Secretaries-General who would embody the famous policy of three blocs or tendencies—East, West and neutral. A year has elapsed and our position has not changed, since nothing has happened in the administrative conduct of this Organization to prove that this reform would serve a useful purpose. We continue, therefore, to believe that to change the office of
Secretary-General in the manner that has been proposed, replacing it by a triumvirate, would be an unfortunate innovation that would introduce more than anything else paralysis and even discord into the highest executive body.
9. In the past few months we have studied more attentively than ever before the machinery of this office and the personal activities of its incumbent. I must say that I have once again paid sincere tribute to the wisdom of those who, at San Francisco, surrounded the high office of Secretary-General with so many safeguards. Those men, who still had before their eyes the terrifying image of fascism, that modern-age survival of absolute power in the hands of one man, whether angel or genius, free of all restraints, did not wish to expose to the eternal weaknesses of human nature an international office of the greatest moral and political weight. For this reason, administratively as well as politically, the office of Secretary-General is merely that of a simple executant of the decisions made by the main organs of the United Nations. We continue to maintain, as we did last year, that the Secretary-General merely carries out the instructions that emerge from our deliberations, and we all know how freely and painstakingly those instructions are discussed. When the legislative functions as it does under this roof with that measure of objectivity which strengthens its freedom and gives authority and moral force to our discussions and our decisions, the Secretary- General, whoever he may be, cannot and will never be a man who acts as he wishes or imposes his views or those of the ideological group whose political and social beliefs he shares.
10. However, I have not merely observed the machinery of the office and the flexible and democratic operation of its administrative system. I have also, in the past few months, watched the man himself more closely and I have felt what some thinkers declare to be true—that in the life of any man who aspires to betterment there is value in objective and even vehement criticism. Piercing the Secretary- General's remarkable vigilance, one could sense in him a man who closely watched himself and his actions. We should therefore not hesitate to say that those who criticize with intent to harm are in error, for unknown to themselves they help us to do better, they teach us to observe ourselves and they do us better service than those so-called friends who lull us in idleness and indolence with their false and extravagant praise.
11. The office, then, is one of indisputable importance. It would be unfortunate if minor quarrels, creating difficulties that do our Organization no honour, were allowed to prolong this vacancy which has already existed too long.
12. I could have wished that this was the only shadow on the picture I have before me. Unfortunately, on every side the horizon is darkened by the densest clouds we have ever seen on earth. Today it is no longer merely a question of blaming this world to which We belong for the defects of an economic and
social organization which is responsible in part for the poverty, ignorance and disease that are the lot of most of mankind. An affliction psychologically more terrible than physical privation has descended upon us all like a punishment. This affliction is fear, the fear engendered by the monstrous power of destruction deliberately employed for whatever purpose—whether boundless empire or self-defence.
13. Military power, or "striking force" as it is called! in a certain parlance, and the terrifying means of destruction have failed in their purpose. They have! not given man confidence in his material power to free himself from what is the most dreadful thing of all—fear. All of us, whoever we are, whether members of the atomic club or mere possessor of arsenals of conventional weapons, live in fear. We live in mounting fear of the very weapons we have forged; we drag out our existence and engage in mutual recriminations. Yet never has mankind desired or I prayed for peace more fervently than today.
14. But, such is the irony of human affairs, for I those who do not wish to go deeply into this fear! psychosis, the ones who speak the most of peace j are always those who seem to work the hardest against! it, because it is they who arm themselves with the! most monstrous means of destruction of which they boast with many accompanying threats, but which are also a definite expression of their policy of intimidation. „
15. The arms race—far from giving man the feeling j of invincible strength or of a certain military and destructive superiority that would give him, alas, the security which he desires and hopes but which he must for ever avoid like all false mirages—is' developing in him increasingly the psychosis of fear. This is because, aware of the dreadful means of extermination which he has created and which he knows the enemy also possesses, he has reached the conclusion that in this crazed world any force which is not a monopoly loses all the protective value he had sought and thought he had found.
16. Because of this, the security which man would base on violence and the apocalyptic image of the destruction of which he is capable, but not on the firm foundation of the moral values, has disappeared entirely.
17. Surrounded by all the material attractions of modern life, he lives in anxiety and insecurity, and when, from this rostrum, he tries to wake our emotions,, it is because in a sort of semi-lucidity and an apparent awakening of his conscience the spectre of the possible destruction of this-planet by his evil genius pursues him like the eye of Cain.
18. Armaments have thus not given him the compensating factor he sought in the firm belief that the strength they personified could protect him by ensuring him a superiority that would shelter him against any possible destruction.
19. The fear in which we are living, all of us, great and small, is to be seen in the contradictory statements and attitudes of those who justify the theory of force by their terrifying threats and the resumption of nuclear tests heedless of the severity with which yesterday they condemned those who followed the bad example they had been set. And thus it is that radioactive fall-out is increasingly contaminating and poisoning the atmosphere, regardless of the motives that cause and disseminate it, whether madness, aberration or self-defence.
20. Those who act in this way can no longer delude us by trying to pose as friends or champions of mankind, despite all their grandiloquent declarations, for we all know that Hiroshima is now but a very little thing compared to the new version that is being prepared.
While man has advanced his scientific knowledge greatly, jumping boldly through outer space, one , day to reach other planets, his morality and conscience have not only not attained the same high level but seem in fact to have disappeared, victims of the saddest materialistic philosophy we have ever known.
22. Science would thus seem to have become the number one enemy of this planet if now, at last, there are some who, instead of using it exclusively to eradicate poverty and disease, dream of employing it to destroy in the twinkling of an eye the riches and treasure accumulated over the centuries through the stubborn toil of countless generations of men.
23. The profound anxiety which weighs upon the leaders of the world's great democracies and grips public opinion all over the world at the present time is undeniable proof that while armaments are undoubtedly a dangerous and terrifying bogey they have completely betrayed the hopes which the champions of the theory of terror had pinned on them as a means of achieving domination and conquest. To seek to cure the moral ills of mankind by violence and the sword is nothing more than charlatanism. If war, God forbid, were ever to engulf us, this time it would leave no one with the advantage of dictating an unconditional surrender, since it is virtually certain that we should all perish.
24. We are now standing at the crossroads. Only the other day, President Kennedy said from this rostrum that "the events and decisions of the next ten months may well decide the fate of man for the next ten thousand years". He went on to say:
"And we in this hall shall be remembered either as part of the generation that turned this planet into a flaming funeral pyre or as the generation that met its vow to 'save succeeding generations from the scourge of war5." [A/PV.1013, para. 94.]
25. When these words are spoken by the greatest Head of State of the free world, in the accents of a leader who is conscious of his heavy responsibilities but who has reflected deeply and will not retreat because the limits of what is possible have already been reached—when these words are spoken by a man who, in a gesture which should be remembered and which history will recall, made a voluntary step towards reconciliation in the search for peace by extending a fraternal hand to that other great leader, the Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, at Vienna, then, I confess, this means that we are truly, as I said just now ending at the crossroads.
26. At this dangerous crossroads of our civilization, if we sincerely desire peace,, there is one way, and only one way, open to us—that of disarmament, which could, as we all wish, be general and complete and which must submit to strict and honest international control. However, when disarmaments has been talked about for so long, we may wonder why so many resolutions, conferences and commissions have succeeded one another to no avail. When we seek the reason for this, we perceive that distrust always sabotages the machinery installed and neutralizes the good intentions. In order to banish this distrust and to heal those who have been its victims, the persons concerned must decide to accept this international control as it has been so clearly defined in this hall, for it alone can regenerate that confidence which, it must be admitted, has not always been lost without
reason but without which we can do nothing and are rushing straight to destruction.
27. My country , militarily the weakest of this continent but morally one of the strong in the hour of torment since its only weapon is its unshakable Christian faith in Providence, hopes that the joint declaration by the President of the United States and the Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the Soviet Union will open the way to successful negotiations leading to general, complete and controlled disarmament. But obviously this is only a first step—a very important one, no doubt—that will lead the participants confidently to the conference table, but it is a step that all of us, and more especially those who have no arsenals or nuclear devices, must further by acting as the connecting link between East and West.
28. Our frank and measured language will, I am sure, surprise no one, for the Republic of Haiti, guided by the leader of its choice, faithful to its Christian beliefs but above all to the principles which constitute the strength of little States, has always honoured its international undertakings, thereby asserting its faith in the moral and spiritual values which alone give man added stature.
29. For us, the charters of the great international organizations are the Bibles that must guide us safely in the dark hours of travail which befall whomever they choose.
30. The two Charters to which we are signatories—the Charter of the United Nations and that of the Organization of American States—proclaim the same principles, profess the same faith in individual freedoms, condemn the same abuses against the human person and seek the same noble end—the deliverance of men and peoples from poverty, ignorance, disease and fear.
31. However, the Organization of American States, which came into being after the signing of the San Francisco Charter, at a time when certain apprehensions were beginning to emerge, seems to have been guided by the same motives which, in the age of colonial intercourse and of the ideas of the Holy Alliance, engendered the famous doctrine which proclaimed that American affairs should be dealt with preferably by Americans.
32. The reasons which lay behind the policy of our ancestors about the year 1823 seem to be the same as those that prompted the framers of the Charter of Bogota. Since the same fears provoke the same reactions, the spirit of Bogota, like the spirit of Monroe, seeks to prevent and preclude any and all interventions, to entrust the settlement of our disputes preferably to a regional organization.
33. America can carry out its own revolution, that is, it can bring about the changes that have to be made, destroy, for example, imperialism in. whatever guise it presents itself and through whatever agent it operates, introduce a lofty social sense which does not unleash hatred or a sterile class struggle, but which, on the contrary, strengthens the cult of humanity among the sons of the same family and the same race for the sake of greater loyalty to the political testament of the fathers.
34. America, indeed, must carry out its own revolution, by which I mean that it must not import its revolution or take or, copy it from another country, but must carry it out in the context of the American scene, the better to destroy poverty, illiteracy, ignorance, slums and disease which, as president Francois Duvalier once said, are the only enemies of my people and my Government and which any responsible leader of a social and political democracy has a duty to pursue relentlessly.
'35. That is how we look at the problem in Haiti, under the realistic guidance of an executive and a legislature which constitutionally share power in dignity and mutual respect.
36. Bat it is clearly understood that America must carry out its revolution, though it must be a revolution which does not consist in changing one grief for another, one evil for another and perhaps greater evil. All that can be done without endangering American unity; indeed, it must be done if America is to be strong, prosperous and respected. Was it not to help us, the poor and less fortunate countries of the three Americas, to achieve this that President Kennedy pondered, felt and understood the urgency of the need for an Alliance for Progress? Was it not for that reason that we all met recently at the Punta del Este Conference?
37. When I speak of America, it is a little as though I were speaking of Haiti: my heart fills with emotion and I have a lump in my throat, for I ask myself continually—what does my country represent, what do Brazil, Paraguay and even the United States represent in a divided and weakened America? That is why, when difficulties arise between us, our duty is to meet together and, seated around the great family table, to find the words which will appease and Reconcile.
38. But the problem which, is especially close to our hearts is certainly not the gravest problem of the hour, the problem which most exercises the conscience of the world and increases international tension. '
39. Fear, it is often said, does not always give rise only to acts of despair; it sometimes also succeeds in depriving man of all logic, in our example, while self-determination is claimed by some, it is granted to others is disputed and denied in one of the greatest contradictions of this kind is that engendered by the Berlin crisis, and this cannot be dissociated from the German problem as a whole.
40. In this world, merit and strength, as we have often learned, are individual and collective forces which cannot conceivably be disregarded, nor can they be stifled too long,
41. For a time it is perhaps possible to retard their development and fruition, but ultimately they always assert themselves and take their place in the sun. Quite plainly, the German problem is not one to be considered lightly, with minds responsive to the spontaneous surging of sympathy. But to proceed from there and suppose that measures condemned by all the evidence of history—that history which refers us from politics to sociology—can provide the proper solutions for the problem is to err greatly and is definitely, once again, to make no contribution to the cause of peace.
42. It has often been said that Germany twice dragged the world into a great adventure. But what strong and powerful countries are there that have never made war and do not cultivate the Spirit of domination? What countries are there, when we review certain periods in the history of the colonized, occupied, annexed, unhappy and martyred countries, that have nothing to reproach themselves for, unless their conscience is elastic or in shreds? Here, perhaps, more than anywhere else, applies the saying we all know well: "He that is without sin let him first cast a stone".
43. In disregarding the past, whether recent or remote, thereby showing that we have no wish to seek out the guilty and count those responsible, what we must tell ourselves is that at this moment in the twentieth century we all want to be the architects in the reconstruction of a new world.
44. We must therefore appeal to all moral, spiritual, economic and material values which are in accord with our views and principles, as enshrined in the United Nations Charter.
45. This world that we want to be better will not be better if we cultivate bitterness, with hate-filled words for those who have committed wrongs and errors in the past, errors such as we continue, alas, to see committed by those around us. Now, more than fifteen years after the greatest defeat any nation has ever known, the time has perhaps come to let the German people themselves freely decide their future. History, that record which cannot be falsified, is there to remind us all that dismemberments, annexations, sub-divisions and corridors have always been fatal to the cause of peace.
46. We should like to extend these considerations also to all our unfortunate African brothers who, arms in hand, are waging the great struggle which we, too, have waged in the past. The drama of Algeria, among others, fighting heroically for its independence for eight years, is one of the most doleful pages in the history of contemporary colonial wars. But Algeria, we are sure, will before long be free and independent State which will make a valuable contribution to our work. What we wish, both for Algeria and for General de Gaulle who has so intelligently understood the colonial problem, and the Algerian drama in particular, is that both sides should turn the page and allow the two States to consider, in dignity and mutual respect, what their future relations are to be. We would also wish that those who cling to outworn ideas and systems should learn the lesson afforded by the collapse of all these colonial empires and bring intelligence and understanding to bear on the problems of Angola and South ,Africa, so as to find solutions for them that will accord with the resolutions which have been adopted here and to which they must submit.
47. A great date was inscribed in our annals last week when, at our 1018th meeting, we invited Sierra Leone, the youngest Member of our Organization, to take its seat among us. Africa is still the centre of honour and we of Haiti are particularly proud of this. It is this pride, added to the good wishes of the Haitian people and Government, for whom I am now speaking, that I would ask the worthy representatives of this young sister State to convey to their Government and to the people of Sierra Leone.
48. However, the interest we all have in Africa cannot be limited to mere polite words and compliments. Over the past few years our Organization has seen its membership increase by more than 40 per cent. In this the African States have made the richest contribution in numbers and quality. They are all congenial, intelligent, displaying great personality despite their youth, and their sense of values is shown by their ardent and legitimate desire to take an active part in the important work of the United Nations organs. For this reason the geographical distribution of seats ought to be expanded so as to enable them, here too, to make a constructive and vital contribution to our work. My delegation hopes that the structure of the Economic and Social Council and the Security Council may be revised as soon as possible in order to enable them to sit beside us on a basis of strict numerical equality. We would also hope that the system of the veto, the spirit of which is becoming distorted, may be re-examined at the appropriate time with a view to rescuing it once and for all from the abuse to which it is subjected and from blackmail.
49. The regular session of an Organization such as ours is undoubtedly an important period in international life and in the conscience of all who, invested with the confidence of their Governments, take part in it.
50. Like those great rendezvous in the realm of the spirit, it, too, is a sort of stage, a halting place in the progress of political man, who stops to cross- examine himself so as to do better and scans the horizon like the helmsman, tiller in hand, who knows he is responsible for many human lives. A session is thus in some manner a sort of private conversation between man and himself. It is also an opportunity for us to study men by discussing problems with them, to hear ourselves opposed and thus rid ourselves of the dogma of infallibility in which we believe so naively. For the man who thinks and reflects, for the man in the street, for young people—for them, too, a session is a great thing. That is why all eyes are onus, some anxious, some discouraged, yet others full of the great illusions of this life, but all transmitting the same prayer, imploring us to see to it that through our deliberations peace is restored to us.
51. Let us grapple with this task to the best of our ability and pray to God to help us make this sixteenth session a fruitful one; let us do our best to justify the confidence of those who sent us here to plead the cause of man, that he may be freed from hunger, disease, poverty, ignorance and fear.