22. Late though I am in taking part in this debate, l am happy and privileged to join in congratulating both the Assembly and yourself upon your election to preside over our deliberations. The high esteem and the affection which we all have for you, Mr. Belaúnde, together with our hearty wishes for your success and that of the Assembly will accompany you.
23. With the steady growth in the membership of this Organization, and the consequent prospect of fourscore or more opening speeches, it has become almost an act of daring to venture forth to this rostrum during the general debate. I shall try to be brief. If I succeed, much of the credit for it will be due to the representatives who have spoken before me and spared me the need for saying what would be a mere recapitulation of what they have stated.
24. From Cairo we have been, as usual, looking at the world and watching closely the trends and the course of its affairs; and we assume that the world has been looking a little at us too. The prospects of world peace at present seem to be generally better. We welcome the recent meetings between many of the leaders of various States, including those between some of the leaders of the two main rival blocs. We Shall value these and similar meetings still more if and when they prove actually to have inaugurated an era of closer consultations, increased mutual understanding, less mutual suspicion, and more righteousness and positiveness in relation to the building up of the structure of international peace.
25. We shall feel more convinced and reassured when armaments will be regulated, when the tests of nuclear and thermo-nuclear bombs will be excluded from the scene and when, among other things, the Government of France will forego its project, for so-called reasons of prestige and of position, to imitate some others by carrying out its own nuclear tests in the African Sahara. It is by now admitted as an indisputable fact that, once they are exploded, those bombs unleash tremendous and uncontrollable forces of destruction within and without the borders of the State which is responsible for them.
26. We are not aware of there being, in the laws of nations or in the good norms of human behaviour, any warrant for actions of that nature. Nor is the International Law Commission or any other qualified body aware of the existence of such a warrant. What all are particularly aware of is the ever more intense feeling of resentment and of horror generated in this connexion throughout the world.
27. It is the considered opinion of my Government that the General Assembly should promptly make an injunction — we can call it a recommendation if we have to — against any further tests of nuclear or thermonuclear bombs, be it by France in the African Sahara or anywhere else by any other Power.
28. No short-sighted political opportunism, no devious legalistics should deter us from accomplishing this sacred duty. This Organization is not, and should never be, a helpless viewer of events. It can greatly help in shaping events. This Organization is not, either, a mere interpreter, or, worse Still, a distorter of the laws. It can, in a sense, legislate, by common agreement and by the communion of its Members with high ideals and worthy objectives.
29. In San Francisco in 1945 the Members of the United Nations agreed that plans should be formulated for the establishment of a system for the regulation of armaments, in order, as it is stated in Article 26 of the Charter "to promote the establishment and maintenance of international peace and security with the least diversion for armaments of the world’s human and economic resources".
30. The final communique of the Asian-African Conference held at Bandung, in 1955, stated: “2. The Asian-African Conference having considered the dangerous situation of international tension existing and the risks confronting the whole human race from the outbreak of global war in which the destructive power of all types of armaments, including nuclear and thermo-nuclear weapons, would be employed, invited the attention of all nations to the terrible consequences that would follow if such a war were to break out. "The Conference considered that disarmament and the prohibition of the production, experimentation and use of nuclear and thermo-nuclear weapons of war are imperative to save mankind and civilization from the fear and prospect of wholesale destruction. It considered that the nations of Asia and Africa assembled here have a duty towards humanity and civilization to proclaim their support for disarmament and for the prohibition of these weapons and to appeal to nations principally concerned and to world opinion, to bring about such disarmament and prohibition. "The Conference considered that effective international control should be established and maintained to implement such prohibition and that speedy and determined efforts should be made to this end. Pending the total prohibition of the manufacture of nuclear and thermo-nuclear weapons, the Conference appealed to all the powers concerned to reach agreement to suspend experiments with such weapons. "The Conference declared that universal disarmament Is an absolute necessity for the preservation of peace and requested the United Nations to continue its efforts and appealed to all concerned speedily to bring about the regulation, limitation, control and reduction of all armed forces and armaments, including the prohibition of the production, experimentation and use of all weapons of mass destruction, and to establish effective international control to this end." Thus spoke in Bandung the representatives of nearly two-thirds of our human race.
31. The Conference of Independent African States, meeting in Accra from 15 to 20 April 1958 adopted the following text: "The Conference ... "1. Calls upon the great Powers to discontinue the production of nuclear and thermo-nuclear weapons and to suspend all such tests not only in the interest of world peace but as a symbol of their avowed devotion to the rights of man; "2. Views with grave alarm and strongly condemns all atomic tests in any part of the world, and in particular the intention to carry out such tests in the Sahara; "3, Appeals to the great Powers to use atomic, nuclear and thermo-nuclear energy exclusively for peaceful purposes; “4. Affirms the view that the reduction of conventional armaments is essential in the interest of international peace and security and appeals to the great Powers to make every possible effort to reach a settlement of this important matter.
32. The Conference of Independent African States, meeting at Monrovia, Liberia from 4 to 8 August 1959 adopted in its resolution II the following: "Noting with deep concern the decision of the French Government to carry out nuclear tests in the Sahara, "Recalling the resolution of the Accra Conference of Independent African States which viewed with grave alarm and strongly condemned all atomic tests in any part of the world and in particular the intention to carry out such tests in the Sahara, "Considering the grave dangers these nuclear tests will hold for the people of Africa in general and in particular those living in the Sahara and the adjacent territories, "1. "Denounces vigorously and with profound indignation, the decision of any Government to carry out nuclear tests in the Sahara or in any other part of Africa, "2. "Appeals to the conscience of the world to condemn this threat to the lives and security of the African people, and “3. “Recommends to the Governments and peoples of Africa to protest in the most energetic and formal manner to the French Government to desist from carrying out the proposed tests in the Sahara."
33. There is no reason why we should not, and every reason why we should, take at present as firm and clear a stand in this regard as those taken unanimously by the Conferences of San Francisco, Bandung, Accra and Monrovia; nay, the only stand which can today genuinely represent and express in relation to this vital matter the feelings, the convictions and the instinct of survival of mankind.
34. The Assembly will of course, and with due care, study the various relevant and important proposals which the Soviet Premier, Mr. Khrushchev [799th meeting], and several other distinguished leaders have presented to it and those they will present to it.
35. That the regulation of armaments and the reduction to a minimum of the appalling burden of military expenses is the objective has been agreed with virtual unanimity since the San Francisco Conference, or even before. But the obstacles besetting the road to the attainment of that objective have been and are Still almost staggeringly big. This is one reason why we consider the key sentence in the explanatory memorandum [A/4218] accompanying the item presented by the delegation of the Soviet Union to be the one which "expresses the hope that the United Nations, and every Member State, will do its utmost to obtain a practical solution to the problem of general and complete disarmament”. In point of fact the two words "practical solution” sum up the whole difficulty standing in the way of agreement on disarmament.
36. It has been said, and rightly, that no practical Solution could be had as long as the crisis of confidence persists. But merely saying this does not help progress towards our goal. Further exploration must be made in order to find and establish and organize the elements of mutual confidence: in other words, to Set up and activate the mechanics of a reliable system of fact-finding and of control. This is going to be extremely difficult; but we are not supposed to reach only for easy things.
37. Luckily, there is no other choice than to overcome whatever difficulties there might remain between us and our goal of disarmament and of diverting the world’s human and economic resources to peaceful purposes; and luckily, too, the opinions of mankind are now so alerted regarding this matter, and so alive to its insuperably great .implications, that no delay and no laxity in connexion with it will for long be tolerated.
38. We therefore commend the efforts made in this connexion by the United Nations as a whole, and by some of its Members. We wish success to their imminent meetings, resuming talks on the cessation of nuclear and thermo-nuclear tests and on disarmament.
39. Another aspect of disarmament is one regarding which my delegation has submitted, on various previous occasions, my Government’s views. It is the use, or rather abuse, by some Powers of their position as arms-producing countries to tempt, or to exert pressure on, other countries in need of arms.
40. The Conference meeting in Accra last year referred to this aspect in the following terms: "The Conference … “5. Condemns the policy of using the sale of arms as a means of exerting pressure on Governments and interfering in the internal affairs of other countries. "The re-channelling of the world’s resources into determined endeavours for human advancement is admittedly overdue.
41. it is true that there have been, that there still are, factors and events distracting attention away from constructiveness. It is true too, however, that the urge and action for the rehabilitation of the peoples of the world are steadily and rapidly gaining momentum.
42. The area from which I come is an expressive illustration of the prospects and the difficulties accompanying the work of development and progress in many an area all over the globe. Besides the importance of its geographical position, its human and natural resources, its present and, infinitely more, its potential ability to contribute to international peace and security and to humanity’s prosperity and happiness, are really immense.
43. Yet how can these advantages be fully and properly realized in the presence of such factors and events as the fighting and the sad happenings in Algeria, Buraimi, Oman, the southern parts of the Arabian peninsula, and as the tragic plight and unredeemed rights of the Arab nation of Palestine?
44. The document submitted by the Secretary-General dated 15 June 1959 [A/4121 and Corr.1] entitled "Proposals for the Continuation of United Nations Assistance to Palestine Refugees” has naturally been the subject of careful study and thought. The crux of it, especially as accurately measured by relevance, is a sentence of only six words in which the Secretary-General says, “I recommend the continuation of UNRWA”. To this we readily agree, pending the definitive and equitable solution of the question of Palestine. We have all often agreed with Mr. Hammarskjold. But when to some of us he Seemed to cast, I am sure involuntarily, a shadow on the undimmable and inalienable rights of the Palestinian Arab Nation, they could not help entertaining a feeling of concern. They have therefore especially welcomed the statements which the Secretary-General made later and in which, as was to be expected, he reaffirmed his respect for the rights of the refugees and the resolutions of the United Nations regarding them. The concern which had been felt and expressed by some of us on this occasion was clearly a measure of the depth of the convictions and emotions in this respect embedded in every Arab mind and heart and in the minds and hearts of many others.
45. Similar convictions and emotions prevail in relation to several other big questions of our time, particularly the question of Algeria. Talk has recently been going around of a new French plan for resolving this question. On 16 September 1959 the President of the French Republic made a declaration outlining the plan. My Government has carefully examined this declaration. It did so with all possible detachment and objectivity and it has at least its initial views concerning it. It will naturally be for the Algerians, and for them alone, to form their own opinion and make their own decisions.
46. We note and register the recognition by the Government of France of the right of the Algerians to self-determination; and we note and register the constructiveness and the sense of balance which permeate the statement made by the Provisional Government of Algeria of its position regarding the declaration announcing that recognition. We wish to trust that the proper atmosphere and adequate guarantees will be provided for the free exercise, by the Algerians, of self-determination — atmosphere and guarantees regarding which we are in full accord with our Algerian brothers. We wish to trust, furthermore, that the Government of France will not indefinitely entrench itself in the untenable position of not wanting to negotiate with the obvious and real representatives of the people, and that it will promptly discard the thought of dealing with those who are not leading, who are not fighting and who are not in possession of even as little as a toy gun.
47. The stand of my Government and people by the Government and people of Algeria in their struggle for independence, for the redeeming and preservation of all their rights and for the territorial integrity of all of their country, shall be maintained, as steadfast and as determined as ever. Let us hope that, in spite of many discouraging factors, the moment is near when Algeria will cease to be so recklessly martyred and will take its well deserved place of dignity and of honour as an independent nation, willing and able to contribute generously to general prosperity and international peace.
48. What has been happening for years in, and in relation to, Algeria, is sadly typical of the distracting and disrupting factors and events which hamper or slow down the prevalence of peace and progress in many parts of the world. This becomes more painfully conspicuous every time we cast another look at the possibilities of good, of good for all, which can readily follow a new, a genuinely civilized and up-to-date approach to the problems which face us.
49. With peace and co-operation, oil has, in great profusion, flowed from our area into the industries, shipping and aviation of Europe and other parts of the world. With peace and co-operation, this oil of our area can be confidently expected to meet the steady increase in the need for it. Without peace and cooperation, its flow was hampered and interrupted in 1956, and the resulting damage to Europe and other parts is sorrowfully remembered until today. Without peace and co-operation, the Suez Canal was, in 1956, impeded from playing its great role, with results so harmful that many, when they think of them, still feel as they do when they remember a very bad dream. With the return of peaceful conditions and with cooperation, the Suez Canal has resumed completely its active position as a principal link of trade and of goodwill among the nations of the earth.
50. Referring to what he terms "questions raised by present policies regarding the Suez Canal”, the Secretary-General, in his introduction to his annual report on the work of the Organization, stated: "The issue has important legal aspects which may be considered as meriting further clarification but it is also part of the general Palestine problem [A/4132/Add.1, p,5.]." We have, and we are entitled to have, our own views regarding this issue which is obviously of vital importance to us. In point of fact, this issue has arisen exclusively as an outgrowth and an extension of the question of Palestine. It could not conceivably exist were the rights of the Palestinian Arabs recognized fully and actually. It will not persist, but will, as a matter of course, melt away automatically and disappear as soon as such recognition takes place.
51. Some — shall we call them political Zionists or Zionizing politicians? — have tried recently to disfigure the splendid record of accomplishment and steady improvement which has been established by the Arab management of the Canal. They tried to manufacture a new situation where nothing was really new, and to force into it a heap of irrelevancies and artificialities regarding which we shall not be drawn into empty polemics. And, for example, when Mrs. Golda Meir and Mr. Selwyn Lloyd preach to us on the virtues of freedom of navigation, when they thus seem to forget the 1956 canal-wrecking misadventure of the three raving musketeers, we do not even bother to wonder whether we should commiserate with them for their loss of memory. Nor would we risk the hope that they will choose to remind the Assembly that the present practice regarding navigation in the Suez Canal is not new, and that the original sin is in the plunder of Palestine from the Arabs. We could hardly expect them, either, to put forth for our perusal the very long list of United Nations resolutions, warnings, rebukes and agreements, which Israel has Ignored completely until today, including the General Armistice Agreement between Egypt and Israel, "which is violated systematically and even pronounced dead by Israel, and on which was based the Security Council resolution of 1 September 1951 [558th meeting] that Israel tries, nevertheless, to separate from its context and to single out for implementation.
52. Least of all could we expect to hear from these quarters a single word or even a faint whisper about the martyrdom of the Arabs of Palestine, about their rights and the raw daylight robbery of which they have been the victims. No, of course, they would not even lightly touch upon these, to them, cumbersome topics. They would rather hasten to accuse others of imaginary aggressive intentions before others array again, for the Assembly to remember, the many red aggressions committed by Israel and recognized and deplored as such by the United Nations. And they would include in their accusation a synthetic problem exclusively made in Israel and presented as a problem of the freedom of navigation through the Suez Canal. I shall submit facts and figures demonstrating, at least in part, the immense contribution of the Canal, under Arab management, to international navigation and trade, a contribution far greater than any previously made. These facts and figures are self-explanatory. The traffic and progress they represent are not imaginary, but are as real as anything can be. Navigation in the Suez Canal is in perfect health. Let not world political Zionism fool anybody away from this reality; let it not sell to us, out of a clear sky, an artificial storm Which does not exist. There are, God knows, enough storms in the world beyond the little cups with which world political Zionism and Israel are playing.
53. Facts, not fiction, demonstrate how loyal we have been to the principles embedded in the 1888 Constantinople Convention which, as will be recalled, have been reaffirmed in a declaration made on 24 April 1957 by my Government, This was followed, on 18 July 1957, by a further declaration that was communicated by the Foreign Minister of Egypt to the Secretary-General by which the Government of Egypt accepted the compulsory jurisdiction of the International Court of Justice, in accordance with Article 36, paragraph 2, of the Statute of the Court.
54. The record of the Canal since the Arab management took over speaks for itself. In 1955, which was the last complete year before aggression, and in which the highest mark until then was reached, the number of transits through the Canal was less than 15,000, with a tonnage of less than 116 million. In 1958, which was the first complete post-aggression year, the number of transits was nearly 18,000, as compared to the less than 15,000 in 1955; and the tonnage was more than 154 million, as compared to the 1955 tonnage of less than 116 million. During the first nine months of 1959 the number of transits was well over 13,000 with a tonnage of-nearly 121 millions; and it is reasonably expected that the total traffic of this year will be around 18,000 in number of transits and 160 millions in tonnage, which will mark an increase of about 33 per cent over and above the figures reached in the pre-aggression record year of 1955.
55. It gives me added pleasure to be able to point out at the same time the fact that the relations of cooperation and of mutual understanding between the Suez Canal Authority and all the shipping circles dealing with it are at their best. These circles are watching with admiration accompanied by enlightened self-interest the steadiness, the accuracy and the progressive spirit which mark all the aspects of the huge work done by the present management of the Canal. This admiration takes on even stronger tones when the tremendous difficulties are recalled, including outside sabotage, standing, especially at the beginning, in the way of the new management, which had, after all, very little experience, if any, in running such a canal. Improvements in the Canal and its services and facilities are carried out in bold and imaginative strokes, and the Canal Authority is looking forward to coping with a volume of trade which will be several times bigger than the present record.
56. We have promised that the Canal shall always be in good shape and adequate for the requirements of modern navigation, in full freedom and perfect goodwill. I submit that we are keeping and are determined to keep our word.
57. The huge and still expanding oil production in the Arab countries and the prosperous and rapidly growing navigation in the Suez Canal, for the good of all within and beyond the immediate area of these two great pillars of world peace and prosperity, are illustrations of what many areas will be able to do, much more than at present, for their own and humanity's happiness, peace and security, if only we are all given a breathing spell in which constructiveness can have definitely the upper hard and in which common sense can finally prevail. Even if some feign to ignore it, we are all folly aware of the fact that for everybody's prosperity and honour it is far better that peaceful co-operation be the common denominator in international relationships rather than domination and exploitation. We are all equally aware that a sane and up-to-date approach to these relationships would not be one which recklessly divides nations into big, less big and small, in order to form an opinion as to who can destroy whom, but an approach solidly based on the wonderful and impelling realities of our times in which, fortunately, the only safe competition between us, if we are to survive, would be in terms of usefulness of each of us to himself and to the rest of the world.
58. With this understanding and in this spirit, and along with many oilier countries, the United Arab Republic is working hard and assiduously to improve the health, the education and the standard of living of its people. It is making the Suez Canal increasingly adequate for the requirements of modern navigation. It has already started to build the High Dam on the Nile, which is expected to add about one-third to the cultivable area in the southern region. It is redoubling its efforts towards a more effective use of rain and sub-soil water and a better harnessing of rivers, in order to further extend the cultivable area in the north, as well as in the south. It is expanding substantially its oil, mining and other industries. Thus it keeps a firm grip on itself, gains momentum for its progress, and, in all humility and steadfast resolve, it is, out of self-interest and realistic idealism, working for peace and for peace alone.