150. The great confidence that the General Assembly has placed in Mr. Belaúnde in electing him to his present office and in placing upon his shoulders the responsibility of guiding our debates should be interpreted by him as a proper and just recognition of his qualities as an experienced parliamentarian and statesman. It may perhaps be regarded also as a tribute to his great efforts to ensure the constant application of the principles of the Charter. Without undervaluing his Peruvian origin, I would say that the granting of these powers to Mr. Belaúnde has given him a continental stature, making him a true credit to our America.
151. The present session of the Assembly has commenced its work in an atmosphere of harmony and relative confidence, as though we had agreed in advance upon an intellectual disarmament, which is as necessary for carrying out any useful work as is the other form of disarmament if nations are to live together in peace and devote their combined efforts to the development of progress and culture, thus enabling all peoples to enjoy the gifts which are at present reserved solely for certain sectors of this planet. In order to put an end to this painful contrast between the prosperous and happy peoples and those suffering dreadful poverty under the yoke of economic slavery, in order to make life more human and to fertilize the land, not with the blood shed on the battlefields but with the sweat of fruitful labour, it would seem that the prediction made by Mr. Belaúnde in his opening address [795th meeting], when he said that this session of the Assembly would go down in history as the "Assembly of peace", is beginning to come true.
152. The 1958 General Assembly — the first I had the honour of attending — took place in different circumstances. The atmosphere at that time was highly charged and everything seemed to point to the destruction of civilization. By all indications, the. world was moving towards, its ruin. The least that we can say today is that the atmosphere has completely changed. To a certain extent, confidence has replaced fear. Faith in the rules and principles of peaceful coexistence proclaimed and supported by the United Nations is gaining ground and bringing to our hearts a message of peace.
153. Vague expressions of good intentions and abstract proposals for universal disarmament do not fill us with optimism but we consider them to be indicative of a change of mental attitude which may help to bring about honourable agreements. Such an attitude of mind is always encouraging at times when international tension has reached a dangerous level.
154. During the period between the end of the 1958 Assembly and the opening of the present session, vital developments have taken place on the international scene, which the United States Secretary of State Mr. Herter outlined in his statement [797th meeting]. As Latin Americans, we are particularly interested in those which have occurred in our continent.
155. Possibly the revolution in Cuba, which overthrew a threatening tyranny and established democracy on its ruins, was the event which had the greatest repercussions in our hemisphere. The Cuban people following the example of the Venezuelan people, who had already performed a similar feat earlier in annihilating an absolutist and corrupt regime and replacing it by representative government — began to draw up, in the Sierra Maestra, in a spirit of idealism, a programme that, when the movement triumphed, acquired full reality in the cities. These two victories of American democracy, whose impact is felt far beyond our continent, have opened the road to human redemption and have given the classes which have been living in misery and material and moral want the conviction that blood shed for worthy causes is converted, by some unexplainable magic, into a source that nourishes the tree of freedom and gives stature and dignity to the human race. I should like to believe that those two revolutions are destined to alter in some way the course of Latin American life. A chapter of oppression in the life of the hispanic peoples is closing and a new chapter of devotion to freedom and democracy is opening.
156. To the Latin American peoples who, since achieving independence, have organized themselves under democratic and representative governments, nothing is more precious than freedom in its various forms. For that reason, whenever misguided rulers have temporarily quenched the light of freedom, the forces of the people have thrown the money changers out of the temple to which only those who govern in an honest and responsible manner should be allowed access. This has been the cause of our constant internal struggles. Fortunately we have now passed that tragic phase of our history and a new conscience is enabling us to consolidate our democratic institutions and our Governments which are the outcome of free elections. Then came the situation in the Caribbean region, which was described as explosive: attempted invasions of the Dominican Republic and of Cuba led to the belief that the continental mainland would become the scene of warlike operations. Fortunately we have a regional body called the Organization of American States which renders war between the countries of America practically impossible. The Santiago Conference not only succeeded in warding off the danger of a threat to peace but also drew up new principles of American coexistence and strengthened the democratic and representative system in a statement referred to as the "Declaration of Santiago". The Eleventh Inter-American Congress, which is to meet in Quito, the capital of the Republic of Ecuador, in February 1960, will have to give concrete egression to those principles and thus help to strengthen American international law.
157. Most of the American States have been faced with a financial crisis caused by a drop in the price of their basic export commodities on the world market. Inflation has weakened their economies and brought many of them to the verge of ruin. Thanks to the assistance of IMF, of IBRD and of private American institutions, this dangerous situation has been overcome and some degree of stability has been achieved in the price of exportable raw materials.
158. Something long desired in Latin America appears at last to be becoming a reality. We refer to the establishment of the Pan-American Bank, which, with the firm support of the Government of the United States, will soon become a financial institution with the specific role of assisting in the development of the economically under-developed countries.
159. We fully realize, however, that the Pan-American Bank cannot perform the miracle of solving our economic problems. The countries concerned will themselves have to solve those problems through diversification of production and expansion of their new industries.
160. In referring to the economic problems affecting the structure of the countries of Latin America and to the efforts being mad- to solve them, we cannot fail to pay a deserved tribute to the vision and wisdom shown by Mr. Juscelino Kubitschek, the President of Brazil, in drawing up the continental economic programme known as "Operation Pan-America" which is designed to give new vigour to the economies of the Latin American countries, to promote their development and to ensure a higher level of living for them all. "Operation Pan-America" reflects the general preoccupation and concern but, most important of all, it contains proposals for action.
161. The preoccupation is to see Latin America "share actively in world problems, in a manner commensurate with the magnitude of its contribution and the responsibility it bears in the solution of world conflicts". As President Kubitschek stated: "I note that in Brazil — raid I believe in other countries of the continent — there is a growing realization that we must no longer remain simply a chorus, a characterless rearguard, a mere background."
162. The concern is with the problem of "underdevelopment", the very serious problem of developing the countries which have only rudimentary economies, Operation Pan-America" places on this aspect the full emphasis required if we are to tackle these difficult but not insoluble problems.
163. The basic proposal is that there should be joint and concerted action by the countries of America to promote their individual national development, to protect the prices of Latin American products on the world market, to conclude agreements on mutual economic assistance and, above all, to raise the spiritual and material level of the people of Latin America through mutual co-operation and a continuous exchange of goods between all our nations. The aim, in brief, is the economic salvation of the nations of this continent. Impelled by these noble aims, "Operation Pan-America" had come to life and can even be said to have become a motto for Latin America.
164. On another occasion the President of Brazil said: "The struggle against under-development, without excluding justice and moral law 'which inexorably condemn the coexistence of poverty and excess of riches, represents a long-term investment in the defence of America, with assured returns."
165. "Operation Pan-America" is not designed, like the Marshall Plan, to rebuild but is a purely creative endeavour, for its aims include investment for the development of backward areas, intensification of technical assistance, the search for measures to provide protection against fluctuations in the prices of raw materials and products, and the prevention of inflation.
166. In its broadest terms, "Operation Pan-America" implies a revision of Pan-Americanism, which has so far manifested itself only in inter-American conferences and meetings. It represents a noble ideal designed to serve, actively and positively, the vital interests of our America. It is the expression of a new and positive attitude.
167. The nobility, sincerity, disinterestedness and impartiality of this goal were such that President Kubitschek, in order to avoid any possible suspicion, saw fit to make the following statement: "One of the factors that augur most favourably for the success of this programme — which is not my own idea nor that of my country, but that of all the peoples of America — is that we are not engaged in any competition for prestige." He seeks no honour for himself or for his country, nor does he claim any priority or exclusive rights. His sincere wish is that this plan shall seem to spring from the very heart of America.
168. The peace which the American continent has enjoyed for several years has been due, in large measure, to the fact that the peoples have heeded the principles of international law, that they have shown respect for legal solutions of conflicts between nations and that they have complied faithfully with the decisions of conciliation bodies.
169. At the present juncture my country and Its sister republic of Nicaragua have submitted to the International Court of Justice, for a decision, their differences regarding the validity — which Honduras recognizes and Nicaragua denies — of the award on our border dispute rendered by the King of Spain in 1906. By this civilized procedure our two countries will eliminate a source of conflict and misunderstanding that has more than once brought us to the threshold of war. The judgement of the International Court will be effective, because the two Governments have so agreed and there now exists regional American machinery designed to ensure the execution of decisions handed down by international tribunals. It should be noted that the Council of the Organization of American States played a conspicuous part in the negotiating of the agreement to bring the dispute before the International Court of Justice.
170. Turning our attention from the American to the international scene, we would commend the efforts which the great Powers have made to remove the dangers of the chaotic situations which have menaced mankind with a nuclear war. Perhaps the very fear of seeing the entire edifice that civilized man has constructed over centuries of effort destroyed in a single moment has moved the Powers which control the destiny of mankind to hold the harrowing possibility of war in check.
171. We cannot be enthusiastic about any disarmament proposal when we recall, with deep concern, that Geneva Conferences on the suspension of nuclear tests and on the prevention of surprise attack have made very little progress after months of discussion, and when with equal concern we remember that another, the Four Power Foreign Ministers Conference, produced, after weeks of deliberation, no more than a declaration of mutual desire to continue the talks on another occasion — which Heaven grant may be more propitious.
172. The fact is that disarmament is still a Utopian dream. But if, as Lamartine eloquently said, "Utopia is the ideal seen from afar", there would be reason to believe that this distant ideal could become reality, if account were taken of the laws of nature and history which are those that govern realizable ideals.
173. Each year we listen, on the subject of disarmament, to eloquent speeches and expressions of good will in which disarmament is described as the touchstone of world peace. It must be recognized, however, that armaments are not the cause of war but are simply the instruments which nations use in order to wage war.
174. Armaments are, in reality, an effect and not a cause. Nations are arming because of the mistrust and fear which have reigned since the last world tragedy. We believe that, even if armaments were reduced or abolished, the causes capable of unleashing war would remain. But we also believe that by reducing armaments we should take a step towards eliminating the so-called cold war, which is simply the international tension that might, in certain circumstances, lead to a hot war.
175. We do not wish to minimize the importance of disarmament, or indeed of a reduction of armaments. On the contrary, the countries which would benefit most as a result would be the less-developed ones — for, as has been repeatedly said in this Assembly, the resources which are now employed on the production of nuclear weapons, and of armaments in general, would be used to promote the development of the under-developed countries.
176. The armaments race must cease, for it has led nations to go beyond the earth into outer space in an insane effort to test the range and destructive power of nuclear devices.
177. It must be said that mankind has not enjoyed real peace since the end of the Second World War. The ferment of war has envenomed international relations. The treaties which the victors impose on the vanquished may put an end to open hostilities, but they do not create conditions for a stable peace throughout the world.
178. Peace can be based only on the elements fundamental to it; these, in the view of one author, are: first, the right to a national personality, issuing from the self-determination of peoples, recognized and respected by all nations; secondly, the freedom of nations to develop their powers in full autonomy; and thirdly, the existence of rules of law which, by their universal nature shall apply equally to all countries.
179. Peace cannot be the result of negative steps, such as disarmament. Nor can it be achieved by means of armies, alliances, or a balance of power. Peace must be constructed out of positive factors. It can only become the normal state of nations when the causes of war are eliminated, when international law is scrupulously observed by all countries, when methods for the peaceful settlement of international disputes have been so perfected that they cannot be dispensed with, when confidence reigns, when fear disappears, and when aspirations to world domination are held in check — in a word, when brotherly love again prevails.
180. International peace must be ensured for all nations through respect for their rights. It was a wise saying of Cicero:s that "Justice lies in giving to each his due". Stable world peace could be attained if the rulers who decide the destinies of the world united their intellects and their wills. Peace must result from an education of the peoples, from a progressive evolution in the public conscience. A peace not based on these processes will necessarily be temporary and unstable.
181. Experience has shown that the use of arms for the settlement of international disputes can never create conditions for a lasting peace, since the vanquished will never accept their defeat but will constantly watch for the hour when revenge will be possible.
182. Personally, I reject colonialism in all its forms and manifestations, since I regard it as incompatible with human dignity. I condemn the oppression of nations which, though they possess a well-defined international personality, are unable to project it or act with complete freedom because they are subjected to the force and intimidation of foreign Powers. At the stage which Christian civilization has now reached, any system is an anachronism which fails to recognize and respect the human rights that, even in the remote times of Solon, were safeguarded in the Constitution of Athens.
183. Colonialism is a concept which belongs to the distant past; and which, therefore, should by now have been discarded. Colonialism, in my view means the merciless exploitation of territories which by natural right belong to their inhabitants. It means, moreover, physical, moral and intellectual slavery — every form of slavery, and degradation, to which man can be subjected. It means poverty for the exploited and riches for the exploiters.
184. Although in thus speaking of colonialism I have, as I indicated, been expressing purely personal views, these views are in line with the attitude which my Government adopted when it signed, together with the other Governments of Central America, the "Declaración de la Antigua Guatemala" at the first Conference of Ministers of Foreign Affairs of Central America — a document which contains a categorical pronouncement against the survival of colonialism in America.
185. We regard the recent occurrences iii Tibet as an affront to civilization, involving genocide in its most brutal forms.
186. Giving credence to what has been printed in the Press, we condemn the acts of aggression perpetrated by Communist China against India — a country which since its independence, has devoted its efforts to developing itself, moulding its future destiny and constituting itself a promoter of international cooperation.
187. The thoughts of all peoples are united in their clamour for freedom, social justice, international cooperation, and the welfare and security of all, in a world devoid either of oppressor or of oppressed nations. By reading the history of mankind — by studying the past — we can prepare ourselves better for the future. Innovation is part of the law of progress, and the lessons we must learn in order to accomplish our civilizing task are to be found in the heritage of the ages, even though we may sometimes feel that history is moving backwards.
188. There exists in the world today a dangerous situation which can jeopardize international peace if the right measures are not taken. We have in mind the situation in the Middle East. In that disturbed area, there are people who live with rifles at their side. Provocation, challenge and menace are common currency. Aerial incidents succeed one another with alarming frequency, and certain ships are denied the right of passage through international waterways which should, in normal times, be open to the maritime traffic of all nations.
189. Peace, in the Middle East, is certainly precarious. This is shown by the simple fact that the United Nations is compelled to maintain an emergency force there. The Middle East, in fact, is an area of potential conflict. That is the picture painted for us by certain Arab representatives in this Assembly.
190. When people live in fear of aggression or of surprise attack, the prospect of peace fades and the monster of war rears its head. The United Nations must recognize this harsh reality and exert every effort to the end that provocation, maritime discrimination, provocative acts and threats of extermination shall cease.
191. The basic task of the United Nations is to maintain permanent peace throughout the world. But this can be accomplished only if all the Member States which have undertaken to respect the principles of the Charter provide the United Nations with their resolute and effective co-operation, if they abide by the decisions of its organs, and if all States, great and small, strive by concerted and well-directed effort, to preserve rather than destroy the achievements of civilization, and the law of nations.