37. The President of the General Assembly at its last session was a scholar and a humanist who gave tone to our debates, and was a lesson and an example to us all. I should like to mention with respect and affection the illustrious figure of M. Malik and to pay a tribute through him to the civilized nation he represented.
38. Our President now is M. Belaúnde, and we are glad to see that he has recovered so soon and is again with us. I think it not inappropriate to repeat the tribute which my delegation addressed to him on the occasion of a debate at this session. We spoke of our pride as Spaniards in seeing a man of Mr. Belaúnde's stature and spiritual endowment presiding over this world Assembly. To listen to his words in Spanish is a pleasure which many of you must envy us. Even those who do not understand him — there are some, of course — are able to divine his thought. His eloquence and his human warmth break through even the barrier of language. He has a great deal to contribute. Although many may have gained a different impression from his hearty exuberance, the eminent professor is a man of clear and penetrating mind for whom problems are not solved simply by intuition, or opinions formed solely on emotional grounds. Those who thought so have misjudged him. They cannot be familiar with his rather terse and crystalline writings. To this quality he adds the most envied gift of all, that of eloquence, whereby words, sometimes quite ordinary words, when handled by a speaker take on a power of penetration and magnetism. It is a gift of nature to those worthy of it and a delight to those who enjoy it. All apologies are rooted to a large extent in the example and the work of men, and the distinguished figures whom the United Nations has made its leaders and the servants of its purposes are its apologia. At the same time Mr. Belaúnde is surrounded by that veneration described by Cicero in his De Senectute as the reward of men who have occupied consular posts with honour, that halo of glory which adorns them in the venerable time of their long and useful old age, full of strength and vigour. This is the case with Belaúnde. His personality, universally respected, is stamped with the seal of greatness, and my delegation bows in deep homage.
39. It has been said, anticipating events slightly and expressing what is really wishful thinking on the part of us all, that this fourteenth session of the General Assembly may indeed be the Assembly of Peace. As far as our observation goes, all the sessions of the Assembly since my country became a Member of the United Nations have been — to the honour and warm praise of this institution be it said — Assemblies of peace. All have helped to settle disputes, sometimes of alarming aspect, and by judicious action have provided an opportunity for feelings to calm down and have gradually transformed what seemed to be unfathomable gulfs into accessible terrain, where even at times paths could be seen, bordered with flowers and trees.
40. Just think of what the great shock of Suez was to the world, the feelings aroused by the danger of violence in Lebanon, and the dispute over Cyprus; such events give some idea of what the United Nations can achieve and the hopes we may place in it. Its prestige, its spiritual authority, the knowledge that there is available an immense reservoir of good will and the support of great Powers whenever the time comes for action, make the United Nations a body to be reckoned with by anyone disposed to break the law. The Secretary-General sagaciously pointed out on one occasion the great value of this body, which is designed to engage in open diplomacy and is most valuable precisely in that it works in those spheres of diplomacy which are usually, if not secret, at least not widely publicized. That is true and there is no essential paradox in it.
41. At present our task is more difficult; it is connected with the present problem of the world-division into two major blocs with different aims, a deep distrust, of each other and powerful means of enforcing two opposite conceptions of life and immediate political purposes. We hasten to say, and we are only repeating our customary opinion on behalf of the Spanish delegation, that in view of the situation in 1945, it seems to my country, to my delegation, that the existence of those two blocs is not an evil in itself, on the contrary it is one solution to the dangerous problem of the so-called "Communist bloc" and the expansion of the countries comprising that group. A glance at the figures shows that since 1945 the Soviet bloc has occupied 1,775,000 square km. of territory and brought into subjection 134,500,000 persons. And if only that were a thing of the past. But now in the last few weeks we have witnessed the atrocious attack on Tibet, overwhelming a people with an age-old history, and now while negotiation is in progress within the United Nations itself, we have the attack on Laos, with the inevitable direct and indirect influence of communism in the aggression.
42. Just think how easily the world might have perished under savage tyranny if there were not, fortunately, other nations sufficiently well armed and capable of at least partly resisting this wave of domination. The "other" bloc is providential when we think of communism and its ideology evolving as a world power. It would have been tragic if the way had been left clear to the one threatening invading bloc to pursue its designs and to go on creating so-called peoples' democracies by armed force, thereby bringing all the peoples of the earth under its domination. When we hear people talk of the existence of two blocs, while we deplore the existence of aggression, we do not regret the necessary remedy. On the contrary, the world would have been in a sorry state if there had been only one bloc!
43. Heaven forbid that we should try to put haloes round any Power or group of Powers. All have sinned and many are still in a position with respect to other countries, including those of their own group, which falls short of the demands of international justice. I speak as the representative of Spain, on whose national territory there is still a foreign enclave which has been maintained by force for 250 years. But we must learn to live with some degree of injustice and danger. The present moment admits of few shades of colour.
44. To designate the two sides as representing good and evil respectively is not an over-simplification. Even at the rate of appearing ingenuous and of not speaking the, language of our time, we shall say so and repeat it. Those peacemaking counsels where the essential distinction is lost and services rendered are forgotten, to our way of thinking and with all due respect to the opinions of others, saps the strength of ‘the champions of order’ as established and defended by those, who have been maintaining, it since 1945. With all generosity we must recognize the justice of the cause, which is our own and co-operate with it, at least by moral support if we have no other stronger means. If we have, we should place it at the service of that bloc which stands for the defence of the world — soberly, without hostility to anybody, and now, without shutting our eyes or forgetting that, as Sir Winston Churchill once said, if the western countries had not possessed the atom bomb, the whole of Europe would have been overrun by communism. And heaven only knows what the fate of other continents might be as a result of such a mass movement of forces.
45. It has been the historic destiny of the great Russian Empire, which throughout its history has possessed great spiritual virtues and has been an essential part of the story of mankind, very often to inspire fear in others. I am not speaking only of the present. I am talking of the Czarist epoch and history. The political literature of all the principal European countries affected by the problem are full of prophecies and statements, sometimes apprehensive, made by political thinkers and statesmen, referring to what was very frequently known as the Slav menace. In Spain I recall Juan Donoso Cortes, one of the outstanding authors and orators of the nineteenth century in our country, if not in the whole of Europe. He was Ambassador in Berlin and Paris at the time, and on 14 August 1834 he wrote: "With Poland has disappeared the only barrier protecting Europe from Russia, whose destiny it is to grow and become great with the spoils of the world. For Russia all roads, whether in the direction of Paris or, of Constantinople, lead to domination." And again: "If we study the origin of the strength of the Czarist Empire it is evident that it lies in the fact that, dominated by a single principle under a single will, diplomacy there has not become a power in itself, but by recognizing that will and that principle, operates always under its inspiration, and does not venture to modify even the remotest consequences."
46. Nor shall I ever forget the note made by one of the de Goncourt brothers in a book of lasting significance — their Journal — in which he set down the impressions of French life, or Parisian life, in the last part of the nineteenth century. Edmond de Goncourt relates that, one day he had been talking at dinner with a diplomat to whom a Russian, or one with connexions in Russia, had given a description of what the power of the then St. Petersburg Empire might very soon become in relation to the whole of Europe, once it; harnessed and united the strength of the teeming hardy Asian tribes which under Russian direction would be able to dominate the world. De Goncourt went away alarmed and says he was unable to sleep.
47. The world had been living like that, rendered sleepless by the threat of the Czarist Empire, against which it sometimes had to wage a war of containment, as in the Crimea. Today the world has more reason not to sleep when that vast power has been concentrated in the hands of an ideological group which after forty years has to a large extent become identified with the nation, with many helpers in distant countries who will always, as in the days of Philip of Macedon, assist it in its conquests and persecutions. Today, it has extraordinary technical achievements to its credit which enable it to rival the forces of the bloc representing the defence of the international juridical order. Any fear is understandable in the face of this social. revolutionary parallel to Gengis Khan. And the remedy for this fear — the grouping of peoples with the intention of resisting it — entails in the opinion of this delegation, which conceives and expresses it rather bluntly, a duty of vigilance, action and aid in a greater or lesser degree on the part of the Western Powers, and requires the use of all psychological or other means of action in their power.
48. Does this mean that the Spanish delegation is opposed to the aims of peace or is against the peace negotiations in progress, or is deaf to the appeals of those who are seeking grounds for agreement and at least attempting still to salvage something from this wreck — this situation of nervous disequilibrium and gigantic expenditure on preparations for war, and is at loggerheads with them? Not at all. The Head of the Spanish State said categorically to General Eisenhower, President of the United States, in a letter delivered personally only a short time ago by our Minister of Foreign Affairs who went to London to hand it over to the President, that Spain was grateful for the sacrifices and efforts he was making to help our western world and to lead us on the way of peace and concord, adding that lack of action, lethargy and a defensive attitude would quickly lead to defeat, and that in a situation like the present one before us, all contacts were of assistance in unveiling the immediate objectives of the adversaries.
49. This is no new idea for us, and the notion of a settlement of some of the more extreme divergencies between the two blocs has never been absent from Spanish policy. On 20 June 1958 Le Figaro of Paris published an interview between the well-known journalist Serge Groussard and the Head of the Spanish State. General Franco made some statements concerning the recent division of peoples into two blocs, not only in Europe, but throughout the world, which he felt could be subdivided into two different stages since the war. At one point Mr. Groussard asked General Franco whether he thought that we were going to have to stay at the bloc stage? General Franco replied that there might be a third stage: the stage of "entente" — he used the French word — "the age of world agreement".
50. Those who know the full extent and gravity of the communist danger in the world, and can refrain from smiling at the adversary, may be the best fitted — owing perhaps to their very mistrust of him — to adopt or support the realistic measures of agreement which life itself makes necessary, with the object of avoiding unnecessary effort in the futile procedure of prolonging disputes and resistance which might have terrifying results. Mutual esteem and understanding between adversaries are not requisite to the seeking of an armistice, or even of peace. Perhaps the day will come, by a process of evolution already familiar to many nations, when agreement can be reached on a common view of human interests and progress can be made, once the defensive strongholds have been well established, towards mutual understanding. But in the present atmosphere of red-hot passions, burning injustices and palpable dangers which no temporizing speeches can remove, it is still possible, in a higher interest and within the limits of strict morality, to avoid total destruction and seek some cover, albeit of reeds or damp straw, against the storm and deluge which threaten almost the entire world.
51. There are decisive moral laws which it would be very wrong of us to evade. But this higher morality must not be assimilated with the harsh needs of everyday life, provided that its spirit goes unimpaired and awaits the coming of its hour. In the last fourteen years of dispute which have done such honour to the United States and the principal Powers allied with it — countries with whom illustrious names of the living and the dead are forever associated — it has not been possible to remedy the iniquities that darken and disturb the life of Europe. It has proved impossible, for instance, to remove the cruel scandal of broken German unity, which is a challenge to the conscience of Europe and the world as a whole and enables those who seized a substantial, part of the old German empire to use this illegally acquired property as a bargaining counter and a threat in all international negotiations.
52. During the period of dispute it has, admittedly, been possible to avoid an abandonment of the legal position, an abandonment of rights, such as to create a negative precedent that we should all have ultimately regretted. It is to be hoped that at new stages reached we shall maintain those basic positions and not accept what was described in The New York Times on 29 September 1959, in reference to Tibet, as peace with dishonour. All the political systems which ensured periods of peace in the past found it necessary, not to sacrifice principles, but to make concessions to the hard facts of the moment in order to maintain stability.
53. Conservative opinion has always admired the policy of Metternich who, in the 19th century, kept the peace in Europe and the world for almost forty years, with considerable benefit to the moral life of the countries involved. Nevertheless, the Austrian Chancellor achieved his purpose only at the cost of condoning the dismemberment of Poland, as well as some arbitrary reduction of German and Italian territory for the benefit of new owners without any legal title to such new possessions — arrangements no longer extant today, but accepted at that time, by the more sensitive of consciences, as a lamentable concession to bitter necessity. In any peacemaking there maybe a similar element; but we pray to Heaven, in remembrance of the great Austrian Chancellor, his policy of expedience and his concessions thereto, that the "Metternich" element will be reduced to a minimum, and that no great principle or historical truth will be sacrificed in the future talks between the great Powers.
54. Let us not, for our part, entertain the idea of making concessions to the forces of destruction. Let us avoid premature measures, and even simple statements of theory, likely to weaken the position of the forces of order. The idea, for instance, of creating a neutral zone in Europe, corresponding mostly to German territory, from which the armaments most effective at the present time would be removed, particularly alarms us. It was realized, as soon as that suggestion was made, how dangerous it would be for the rest of Europe, including ourselves, if this vast and tempting "no man's land" were exposed to the danger of rapid invasion by those troops nearest to the potential battleground — namely, the Soviet troops. With Germany totally disarmed, even if Poland were also to be disarmed, the Russian army would reach our frontiers much sooner, for instance, than the army of the United States. That idea has always been in the mind of communist imperialism, and our acceptance or anticipation of it might have serious consequences. It took shape especially in the Rapacki Plan — named after the Polish Minister of Foreign Affairs — which no amount of soft and artful speeches could make acceptable to us.
55. The present situation is a delicate one, since this perfectly explainable move for clarification and contact between the two blocs involves, among other risks, that of awakening or restimulating a revolutionary illusion in all countries, if they derive the impression that it is being translated into reality by the mere fact of normal diplomatic conversations between representatives of the existing Powers.
56. This move may also revive the feeling, in certain eclectic thinkers, that the communist policy of pure violence and materialism is a progressive one, and that they can try once more to whitewash it and to present it as the policy of respectable associates with whom talks are not only profitable but essential, owing to similarity of principles and community of aims. No greater danger could confront humanity than this blurring of vision, against which we must all be on our guard if we are to distinguish between good and evil, between Ormazd and Ahriman, not trying to revive the past as if the essential postulates of fifteen years ago had not become extinct. Only with our conscience clear and our eyes open can we accept partial solutions in the interest of avoiding extreme calamities.
57. We lesser Powers are able to influence events by the integrity and firmness of our attitude. I have noticed in many speakers, and have myself felt a slight uneasiness in speaking of problems which in the last resort are war problems, when our means do not match our words. While the vast majority of countries, discussing the problem of relations between the two blocs — including the countries which, like my own, make to their bloc a contribution of men, bases and moral obligations — have no great armaments, we must remember that firm moral positions are of enormous influence in the present debate.
58. If responsibilities so serious as those now facing us are to be assumed, the world must be in a sound state of health. Our own health, in certain important respects, certainly seems to have improved. For instance, feeling in the Middle East seems to be better than it was at the time of previous Assemblies, and there is less bitterness there. Greater understanding between its peoples and the Western world — which God grant may some day turn into understanding between all peoples — places them, as soon as they begin to feel that the justice of many of their aspirations has been understood, on a better basis for resisting the revolutionary temptation of universal communist violence, to which they would never yield on fundamental issues, since they are peoples possessing outstanding virtues incompatible with materialism as a way of life. But for understandable reasons of expediency they might temporize with it, wounded as they have been by what they regard as insults from the Western Powers. If, as we all hope, the new language spoken by the competent authorities in regard to the problem of Algeria clears the way to understanding and perhaps to a settlement, then we shall be able to claim that one great section of the world, blessed with the necessary virtues for human progress, is recovering its stability and is entering, perhaps unawares, into the family of nations with its authority and influence increasing year by year. Our affinity and long-standing friendship with the Arab peoples, which has never been belied, finds expression in these words of encouragement and in our approval of any step towards peace and reconciliation.
59. And since we are speaking of Spanish affinities, there is none closer than the authentic relationship, rising above circumstance, which unites us with the America of Spanish origin and foundation, and indeed with all America of Iberian origin, in which the history and spirit of Portugal have played so illustrious a part. Here it is a question, not of vague and general cultural trends, but of a relationship as spare and unadorned as our own imagery. As we look upon the present predicament of the world, and remember that the American continent has protected it almost continuously since 1945, we are justly proud to think, now that 12 October is at hand, that it was the Spaniards who threw that continent open to the others. Our ships discovered it and brought our first settlers to its shores, and Spanish laws, implanted by Spanish peoples, established there a rule of law almost a century before any other people descended upon the future "Virgin of the world, innocent America" spoken of in bad verse, but with a genuine if faltering tenderness, by our poet Quintana. Of this we are now reaping the harvest.
60. The Spaniards who transplanted their spirit and culture to America have formed an impressive group of nations, already powerful but destined in the near future to exercise a still greater and more decisive influence in international disputes. The religious fervour, morality, sense of honour and nobility of soul transferred from Spain to America by the ancestors of the Latin American peoples have flourished, fusing admirably with the virtues of the original inhabitants and with their own noble creations in a new land. You, Latin Americans of Spanish origin, must know that we, the Spaniards of Spain — presumptuously perhaps, in view of our distance from America, though that distance seems less every day — take up our stand beside you, and that in our actions in this world, guided by motives higher than those provided by diplomatic treaties and agreements, we keep constantly in mind the considerations which for you must be determinative. In a few decades the Latin Americans will be a solid bloc of States, beside which the Iberian peninsula may seem small. But it will never in fact feel small if it is a member of this spiritual community. It is the unity and effort of the Latin American States, for which the Foreign Minister of Argentina [797th meeting] pleaded so eloquently, that the world needs at this crucial time. The Foreign Minister of Colombia has rightly said, speaking of the Latin American countries: "The numerical, importance of these countries enables them to play a more significant part in major international decisions. We are the greatest combination of nations linked together by the ties of a common language, united by the same religious beliefs, and defending the same spiritual and political values. "The opportunities which language, geography and history have extended to the Latin American nations are exceptional factors making for the achievement of political unity on the international plane." [800th meeting, paras. 38 and 39.]
61. The same point was made [810th meeting], with masterly precision, by the Foreign Minister of Peru.
62. Recently our association with the great Latin American bloc took the practical form of a common Spanish supranationality, with the agreement for dual nationality concluded between Spain and Chile on 28 October 1958, and with that concluded by Spain with Peru and Paraguay respectively on 16 May and 25 June 1959. Under these agreements, a Chilean, Peruvian or Paraguayan national can have Spanish nationality without losing his own; vice versa, a Spanish national can enjoy the nationality of any one of those three sister countries without losing Spanish citizenship.
63. The Iberian pact and our friendship with Portugal continue to be a basic feature of Spanish policy. This partnership, inspired by affection and common interests, has proved its worth in the most difficult days. Its present and future stake could hardly be sounder or more effective.
64. From this consideration of spiritual values, the religious factor — which for us is all-important — cannot be omitted. Much as the material poverty of the world grieves us, our deepest concern is with its moral and religious plight. We have already had occasion to deplore the Tibetan catastrophe. We must not forget that we live in an age when the 200 million Christians of the USSR have been reduced, according to the most kindly estimates, to 50 million; this process is continuing, and many of these people are being persecuted or are too old to resist pressure. In this connexion, we drew attention last year to the situation in the Holy Land, and urged observance of the United Nations agreements concerning this area, to. which so many millions of believers proceed in pilgrimage. We shall not cease to put forward this plea, in the sure knowledge that the religious peoples who are territorially responsible in the matter will see the importance of freeing the conscience of so many Christians, instead of debarring them from the performance of their supreme earthly devotion.
65. With regard to our relations with Europe, there is no need to add anything to what has been said, and further underlined by the visit to London by Spain’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, to which I referred earlier. There has never been a greater need for unity among the nations of Europe, and strange as it may seem it is through American efforts that we have joined with them in the military defence of our continent. That is due to circumstances on which we prefer not to dwell, but it does not lessen our respect for all the nations of Europe or our close friendship with many of the countries with which we are working to safeguard peace and security,
66. Spain is traditionally open to contact with all races and was a pioneer, during the period when the overseas countries were created, of the practical equality of the human race in accordance with the religious doctrine of the Council of Trent, to which we contributed very largely. Accordingly we rejoice in the achievement of nationhood by so many peoples, particularly in Africa.
67. We became a Member of the United Nations three full years ago; since then there has not been a single session of the General Assembly at which the number of Members has not been increased by at least one country from the African continent, and we have welcomed them all, one by one. We also wish to welcome in advance the territories on the threshold of nationhood which will join us in 1960 — Togoland, the Cameroons, Nigeria and Somalia — all of which will become independent next year. Their contribution to the work of the United Nations will be as valuable as that of the other African countries which are already participating in our work. Those countries, as I have said, will become independent, but there are other territories in Africa that have reached maturity and have followed a different road. Three of the countries I mentioned have been Trust Territories and are achieving independence in that way; others may achieve their political maturity in co-operation with the former metropolitan Powers, and I should be remiss if I did not pay due tribute to the admirable work those Powers have done. To give the administering Powers their due helps to establish a better spirit of understanding; the culmination of the evolutionary process can only be peaceful and successful if there is unity of purpose between the administering Powers and those who will one day take over the administration from them, and whose destinies are now closely linked with theirs.
68. The more general aspects of the problems I have mentioned should not distract our attention from immediate considerations. Human suffering is often allayed by the creative activity of work. It is not enough to weep and complain; we must face our daily task, we must divide our day into small sections appropriate to what is after all our very humble spiritual and temporal stature. The most acute and general political problems must be dealt with in concrete terms. Let us take the example of disarmament. No "concrete terms" are in sight. In recent days, there have been references, in connexion with the declarations made in this Assembly, to earlier disarmament negotiations, those undertaken by the former League of Nations in 1927 and 1932. The so-called "arms race" has been a cause of concern since the early days of the present century, but it was only after the First World War that the problem received official consideration and disarmament negotiations were undertaken in the League of Nations at Geneva. For a number of years there was no progress. Then the Second World War broke out; the United Nations was established, and the problem was taken up again, this time with better prospects of success. Despite international tension, and a succession of disputes, some hope has grown up in recent months of a better understanding and a more constructive approach. It is hardly nece 3ary to point out that the immense power of modern weapons and the fear of the havoc that they can wreak have also contributed to this welcome change of outlook.
69. The goal that was not achieved in the days when disarmament would have applied to what are known as conventional armaments now seems to be becoming the subject of negotiation. We have seen the signs of progress in this Organization. While it is true that no conclusive results were achieved at the Geneva Conference on the Discontinuance of Nuclear Weapons Tests, the fact that nuclear weapons tests have been suspended and not resumed since November 1958 is an encouraging sign. The establishment of the ten-Power committee, which is governed by the principles of "parity" in the representation of the two major military blocs, and which, so far as its composition
70. Two statements in particular have recently been made in this hall on the problem. The one so categorically made by the Head of the Soviet Government [799th meeting] does not seem to us very effective. It is not so much a disarmament plan as a demagogical appeal for the abolition of armies, the annihilation of the military virtues, and the destruction of the traditional order. It seeks to replace the army, with its discipline and significance, by popular party militias in the use of which the Communist countries have had much experience and enjoy a monopoly. “... the purpose of an army is not merely to defend the independence of a country against external aggression, but rise to maintain law and order”, the Foreign Minister of Peru rightly observed in commenting on the implications of the Soviet proposal. He also pointed out that in the American countries — and I would add not in the American countries alone — the army "has an educational role; it makes good citizens of outcasts from society; it instructs the people; and it helps to inculcate a sense of social discipline." [810th meeting, para. 74.]
71. I shall not conceal our preference for the proposal outlined by Mr. Selwyn Lloyd [798th meeting], which is more realistic and accordingly appears likely to achieve mutual acceptance. We have heard several Ministers of Foreign Affairs suggest that they might go so far as to agree with the Soviet proposals. We shall not go into the substance of the matter. It is a practical issue, but it may well encourage hopes for a solution. We are among those who think that control and inspection must precede, or at least be simultaneous with, all disarmament operations. It seems extremely obvious. Only control can banish mistrust and provide a safeguard. And that seems even more obvious to those who, like ourselves, think that negotiations should still go on, even in an atmosphere of mistrust. It is satisfactory to have heard that the incompatibility between the two theories which were until recently so diametrically opposed (disarmament preceded by control or control after disarmament has been achieved) may be removed by a new formula which provides for both simultaneously.
72. We believe that all negotiations of the "armed" Powers and their allies in the military blocs they direct must proceed in close touch with the United Nations, so that all countries may hear and receive information about them. Only on that basis can we accept the principle of parity as a realistic concession. We have already said in the debate here that the establishment of a body which could provide practical results should not be opposed on grounds of principle. For that reason, we voted for it, on the understanding that the authority of the United Nations and 'he principles of the Charter should not be impaired.
73. Our delegation considers it a matter of urgent necessity that outer space should be placed under international law. This would entail the collaboration of those countries which have hitherto not taken any active part in the work of the ad hoc Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space, set up by the last Assembly [resolution 1348 (XIII)]. It is a strange and significant fact that statements of leading scientists of a country which has recently achieved great successes in this field seem to concur with the principle recognized in that Committee’s report [A/4141] that outer space should be explored and exploited by all on a basis of equality.
74. Our delegation hopes that at the Second United Nations Conference on the Law of the Sea an international agreement may be reached on the question of the delimitation of territorial waters and similar problems. Spain attaches the greatest importance to the maintenance and respect for the traditional principle of freedom of the sea and does not agree that the limits of territorial waters can be changed by unilateral action without reference to international conferences.
75. On reading the reports we note with satisfaction the progress achieved by the United Nations in the vast economic and social field. We agree with the comment made by Mr. Luns, Netherlands Minister of Foreign Affairs [809th meeting], that the Organization’s sphere of action should be widened and that the Economic and Social Council — of which Spain is a member — should both deepen and widen its activities.
76. The programmes of technical assistance and the recently established Special Fund are both directly connected with international aid. The proposed International Development Association will provide a valuable contribution in this field. Its establishment will help in the vast problem of helping and raising the standards of the under-developed areas.
77. In recent years Spain has undertaken an agricultural, hydraulic and industrial programme which has transformed the entire country, and this, in a country with an economy which has until quite recently developed in enforced isolation. For that reason we have a better understanding of the peoples which are seeking aid and only receive it through international bodies.
78. I must mention a new and decisive step taken in Spain through our currency stabilization and trade liberalization plan, recently initiated as a consequence of our admission to membership in the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development, the International Monetary Fund and the Organisation for European Economic Co-operation (OEEC) and with the special assistance and co-operation of the last two bodies. Our membership in OEEC has brought us into the European movement. Economically speaking, Spain is not confining itself to this very important regional group but is hoping to widen its relations in this field with other countries, other continents and especially with the Spanish-American world, with which we have particularly close ties, as I have already said. We share the hope that all the countries of Spanish origin place in international economic assistance from the United Nations and the agencies connected with it.
79. We fully agree with the Argentine Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr. Taboada [797th meeting], in his chivalrous expression of gratitude to the United States for the aid which it has provided out of its own flourishing economy, and is still providing, to countries needing economic assistance to help them transform their economies and utilize their resources.
80. In conclusion, I should like to point out that these actions on our part are similar to those taken in other countries. We take pleasure in coincidence, repetition, the wholesome monotony of the words spoken by powerful human groups in connexion with progress, improvement, and the work of justice. We must not omit a reference, now we are touching on this theme, to the industrious search for the material improvement of mankind as a basis for its spiritual advancement. St. Thomas considered extreme poverty as a condition ill-adapted to the practice of virtue. On that subject we have heard not just statements, but pleas: we have been moved and impressed by the number of speakers who have appealed for action on these lines. And it is food for thought that the general debate opened with a remarkable speech [797th meeting] by the Brazilian representative inspired by a very promising plan, "Operation Pan-America" — which we might call "Operation Kubitschek" — devoted to relief of this great human need, so that the Assembly opened on an auspicious note.