1. Mr. President, it gives me great pleasure to congratulate you upon your election to your high office. You have had long experience at the United Nations. You are a well known, highly respected figure. Those who have known you for many years, as I have, add affection to their respect. We admire your intellectual capacity, your gift of oratory, your integrity and your very human personality. I hope you have a very happy and successful period of office.
2. I should also like to pay a tribute to the retiring President, Mr. Malik, of the Lebanon. He was elected at a time when conditions were not easy for him but he never faltered in his duty. He has our respect and good wishes.
3. This is the annual stocktaking of the United Nations. It is the occasion on which we have to examine the year’s work against the background of world events. We have to consider the extent to which that work has been successful and how the United Nations can-be strengthened.
4. British support for the United Nations is based on the following grounds. First of all the Charter embodies the hopes of the whole human race for peace and justice among men. It sets out a pattern for the regulation of international affairs. Notwithstanding human imperfections, the Charter enshrines the great ideas which should lighten the hearts of men in anxious times.
5. But quite apart from the idealism of the Charter, there are a number of practical ways in which the United Nations can help to promote peace and stability in the world. One of its most important functions is to try to stop aggression and war, and to keep the peace. Although, owing to the use of the veto in the Security Council, the United Nations cannot always act quickly and directly, nevertheless it can make vital contributions to keeping the peace. A conspicuous example of this has been the work of the United Nations Emergency Force in the Middle East.
6. I dealt at some length in my speech in the general debate last year with the question of a United Nations force. I have always favoured this idea, but I have realized that it is a topic upon which one must carry with one a consensus of world opinion. The realities impose upon us the necessity to hasten slowly. I understand the limitations. It could not be a fighting force. It could only be put into position by a decision of the United Nations. Its deployment would depend upon the agreement of the countries concerned. I also acknowledge the practical difficulties. To contemplate such a force in permanent being would raise great problems of administration and cost. What, however, I do favour — and I hope that serious consideration will be given to it by the Governments of Member States — is the earmarking by Member States of personnel, either as individuals or in contingents, who could be quickly made available. I also favour the setting up of a small planning section in the Secretariat to work out in advance plans for dealing with the problems resulting from a decision to assemble such a force for a particular purpose. Last year I said that I thought that international public opinion by and large was ready for some initiative of this sort. I hope that during this Assembly some indication will be given of the views of other Governments upon what I have been saying.
7. There is a second way in which the United Nations has shown its capability for helping to keep the peace. That is by the introduction of what we have come to call a United Nations "presence" in a troubled area. Again I look to the Middle East for an example. The special arrangements made by the Secretary-General following the Third Emergency Special Session in August 1958, his visits and Mr. Spinelli’s work in the area have undoubtedly played a useful part in removing misunderstandings and contributing to the lessening of tension which happily has taken place since this time last year.
8. We know that lasting stability and true peace can only be brought about by the will and the efforts of the Governments and peoples of the region. It must be for them in the first instance to achieve harmony of aims amongst each other, or, at least, a reasonable working relationship.
9. It was with such hopes that we adopted in August 1958 a resolution submitted by the Arab countries [resolution 1237 (ES-IH)]. We welcome signs that the spirit of that resolution persists, and, no doubt, the Governments of the area will back up the efforts of the Secretary-General.
10. In this connexion, to mention a somewhat controversial topic, referred to by Mr. Herter, Secretary of State of the United State [797th meeting], I hope the use of the Suez Canal will form a bond to further, and not a barrier to obstruct, the peaceful trade of all the countries of the area. I have made clear on past occasions the support of Her Majesty’s Government in the United Kingdom for the principle of the free passage of ships of all nations through the Suez Canal — a principle which was embodied in the Constantinople Convention of 1888 and which has been adopted by the United Nations as its declared purpose.
11. The very fact that the United Nations has not, as a rule, been able to take speedy action to deal with particular crises, has led to these new methods and new techniques being developed. The Secretary-General has spoken of the United Nations serving a diplomacy of reconciliation, of mediation and conciliation. 1 think the United Nations representatives in the Middle East have quietly, unobtrusively and successfully sought to operate such a diplomacy.
12. We are filled with admiration for the work which the Secretary-General himself does, his journeys and his untiring efforts to find ways to iron out differences and to harmonize the relations between States. We have complete confidence in him and his work and he has our full support.
13. I have read with great interest the section of the introduction to the Secretary-General’s annual report [A/4132/Add.l] with regard to the role of the United Nations. He refers to the work of the permanent delegations and their growing diplomatic contribution outside the public meetings, often in close contact also with the Secretariat, He refers to the possibility of the organization of regular meetings of the Security Council in executive session. He also made an interesting suggestion at the Economic and Social Council this year [1074th meeting] about the possibility of short special meetings of that Council at Ministerial level. These are interesting and imaginative ideas.
14. The United Nations is also an invaluable forum for public debate. We, the United Kingdom, sometimes find ourselves at odds with other Members with regard to the inscription of items for debate. We hold certain views about the Charter and Article 2 (7), which are well known. We also think, however, that the inscription of items should be approached not just from the legalistic point of view; there also should be a practical political attitude towards the agenda. In other words, Members have to consider whether the inscription of an item, and a public debate here, is going to make a settlement more likely or less likely; whether it is going to create an atmosphere in which reasonable compromises are almost impossible, or the reverse.
15. Last year we did not oppose the inscription of the item on Cyprus. In the event the debate here was conducted with restraint and dignity; no doubt because of that fact, it contributed to creating an atmosphere in which direct talks between the Greek and Turkish Governments, and later the Greek, Turkish and British Governments and the Greek and Turkish Cypriot communities, became possible, talks which happily, resulted in complete agreement. I do not think, speaking quite frankly, that the earlier debates on Cyprus helped at all, but last year’s one was, in our view, timely and did help. It seems to me to be a matter of judgement. I cannot accept the conception, although I know it is held by many, that inscription should be automatic. I think that such an attitude involves a certain abdication of responsibility.
16. Lastly, on the question of inscription, may I just say this. Yesterday the General Committee agreed to recommend the inscription of an item on Algeria. Since then, we have read the statement of policy made in Paris yesterday by the President of France, in which he declared his intention that: ”... The men and women who live in Algeria will be in a position to decide their own destiny, once and for all, freely and in the full knowledge of what is at stake."
17. I warmly welcome President de Gaulle's statement of policy. It is clearly one of the highest importance. I hope it will be very carefully considered by all those interested, and that it will form the basis for the settlement of this problem.
18. There is one aspect of the activities of the United Nations which does not arouse any controversy and that is the work of the specialized agencies. We will continue to give our full support to those agencies. We believe in the great importance of the practical work which they do in all aspects of economic and social development, for example improving health, agriculture and technical skills throughout the world.
19. One way to show our realization of the imperative necessity for further effort along these lines is to increase the contributions to the Special Fund and the Expanded Programme for Technical Assistance.
20. The United Kingdom Government propose, provided we receive the approval of our Parliament, to give next year to the Special Fund the sterling equivalent of $5 million, as compared with $1 million this year. We also propose to give the equivalent of $3 million to the Expanded Programme of Technical Assistance. This represents an increase of over three-quarters of a million dollars upon our present contribution. The total of $8 million is well over double our present combined contribution to the programmes. This is more than just a gesture on our part it is an earnest of our confidence in the value of the programmes undertaken by Mr. Paul G. Hoffman, Director of the Special Fund, and Mr. David Owen, Executive Chairman of the Technical Assistance Board, and of our belief in the great role of the United Nations in promoting economic development.
21. But apart from technical assistance, and apart from the help which the Special Fund can give, we all recognize the urgent need of capital for development The International Bank for Reconstruction and Development and its affiliate, the International Finance Corporation, have done valuable work. We were enthusiastic participants in the recent measures for increasing the resources of the Bank and the International Monetary Fund. We hope that the Bank will be able to maintain and indeed increase the volume of its lending.
22. The Commonwealth is also playing its part in this work of providing capital. Discussions at the Commonwealth Trade and Economic Conference in Canada last year were very much to the point. One of the main purposes of the Commonwealth Economic Consultative Council, which was then set up, is to study means of mobilizing resources to finance the development of less-developed countries in the Commonwealth. The United Kingdom also announced its intention at the Conference to make Commonwealth assistance loans for this same purpose.
23. We are also giving favourable examination to proposals made at New Delhi last autumn for the formation of an international development association. We are ready to play our full part in working out plans for its establishment and contributing to its capital. We believe that such an association has a key role to play.
24. We also intend to increase next year our contribution to the United Nations Children's Fund by $280,000.
25. In my speech last year [758th meeting], I referred to the proposal for a World Refugee Year. The idea of this came from a group of young men in Britain. It received the support of the British Government, and, as you will remember, it was supported in this Assembly by an overwhelming majority I782ndmeeting].
26. In the United Kingdom the Year was launched on 1 June. Our Committee is under the patronage of Her Majesty The Queen. The target of the British Committee is £2 million to be raised by voluntary subscriptions. The Government is also making a contribution, and we have agreed to accept for admission to the United Kingdom a certain number of handicapped refugees. It is a source of great encouragement to us that some fifty-six other countries have taken up the plan with enthusiasm. It is a timely example of international co-operation for a common purpose. I earnestly hope that it will have far-reaching results in the alleviation of one of the greatest of human tragedies.
27. I should like now to say something about the British Government’s special responsibility towards the peoples of the dependent territories under British administration. We are guided by one objective, to help the peoples of these territories to advance towards self-government or independence, to become nations which can stand on their own feet in conditions of stability, prosperity and freedom.
28. In the last fifteen years there have been great changes, above all in Asia and Africa. The membership of the General Assembly is the best proof of our record in this matter. We see here today the representatives of many nations which were formerly under British rule and which have gained their independence in this period. Very soon I have no doubt that we shall welcome here another African nation, the Federation of Nigeria.
29. This task of building nations is not easy. It cannot always be quick. The problems have to be tackled step by step. But it is a great creative work in which the representatives of the territories concerned are playing an increasing part. With them, we are overcoming the many problems which stand in the way of advance, problems of under-developed natural resources, of shortages of trained personnel and, particularly in certain territories, the problems of human relationships.
30. In those territories where different races or tribes live side by side, the task is to ensure that all the people may enjoy security and freedom and the chance to contribute as individuals to the progress and well-being of these countries. We reject the idea of any inherent superiority of one race over another. Our policy therefore is non-racial; it offers a future in which Africans, Europeans, Asians, the peoples of the Pacific and others with whom we are concerned, will all play their full part as citizens in the countries where they live, and in which feelings of race will be submerged in loyalty to new nations.
31. We are greatly encouraged in this task by the sympathy of all those who are contributing in many different ways to these developments. We prize very highly the Commonwealth ideal which provides the setting and context for our efforts. From the international community as a whole, we ask for understanding of our problems, recognition of what we have done and appreciation of the efforts we are making to build for the future.
32. In this annual stocktaking, the thoughts of many of as are dominated by two sets of problems which are interrelated. First of all, East-West relations, and secondly, the problems of modern armaments. Since shortly sifter the end of the war, the world scene has been bedevilled by bad relations between the Communist bloc and the Western countries. At times there has been open, if limited, warfare. At other times there has been the cold war with its bitter propaganda and political manoeuvring. Occasionally little shafts of sunlight have come through the clouds when, for example, the State Treaty with Austria was signed in 1955 or when the Geneva agreements about Indo-China were reached in 1954. But on the whole the record has been a sad one, and when in November last year it culminated in the Soviet Note about Berlin, I think many of us had our feelings of anxiety as to exactly where the world was drifting, acutely reinforced,
33. It was because of our anxiety on this score that the British Prime Minister, Mr. Macmillan, and I went to the Soviet Union last February to see what might come of frank talks with the Soviet leaders about the state of the world. Those talks were frank. I believe that they had a measure of success in improving the atmosphere. They were followed by the acceptance by the Soviet Union of a Foreign Ministers' Conference. We, the two Governments, also agreed to take practical steps in the fields of trade, cultural relations, personal contacts and the improvement of communications in order to promote a better state of affairs in the relations between our two countries. Since our meetings in Moscow, agreements have been reached covering all those matters, agreements which I regard as a sound beginning, but only a beginning. I profoundly believe that if we know more about one another, if Governments and peoples have the opportunity of meeting and mutual understanding, nations may cease to try to tear each other apart.
34. The Foreign Ministers’ Conference at Geneva was lengthy. It did not reach positive agreements. In spite of that, I believe that it did end with the respective points of view more clearly defined and the differences narrowed. The Conference made a definite contribution to the creating of an atmosphere in which further improvement in relations between the two blocs is in my view possible.
35. The view of my Government is that this process will be assisted by a meeting between Heads of Governments. It is of course quite unrealistic to think that Heads of Governments at one single meeting can find some magic formula for solving the problems of this troubled world. We hope it will be the first of a series at which differences will be frankly discussed, and we hope that, taking the problems one by one, some progress can be made toward their solution.
36. I want, however, at this point to make one thing absolutely clear. We do not regard this as a process exclusive of the United Nations. This is not an attempt to push the United Nations on one side. In pursuing this course of reconciliation we consider that we are trying to fulfil our obligations under the Charter. The Secretary-General, in the introduction to his annual report, said some very wise words on this subject. He put exactly the right interpretation, if I may say so, upon these developments. He said that they were not only in keeping with the principles of the Charter, He reminded us that: "... the United Nations is not intended to be a substitute for normal procedures of reconciliation and mediation but rather an added instrument providing, within the limits of its competence, a further or ultimate support for the maintenance of peace and security. Viewed in this light, the various diplomatic and political activities in the course of the past year are in full harmony with the intentions expressed in the Charter. They may even be said to reflect obligations which Member nations have assumed in the Charter. [A/4132/Add. 1., p.1.] After referring to one or two matters requiring attention, the Secretary-General continued by saying that in his view: "These developments are not only in keeping with the principles of the Charter but are also free, I believe, from implications which impair the position of the Organization in principle." (Ibid.)
37. Although I have spoken encouragingly of certain aspects of East-West relations, there are other matters which cause us deep distress. These are the situations in Hungary, Tibet and Laos.
38. Over Hungary, I much regret that the Hungarian Government has refused to co-operate with the work of Sir Leslie Munro, the United Nations representative. The flagrant disregard of the recommendations of the General Assembly is a matter of deep concern to us.
39. Over Tibet, we have been greatly grieved to hear accounts of massive repression there by Communist China, of the suppression of ancient liberties, and ruthless assaults upon the historic life of a sturdy and friendly people.
40. Finally, over Laos, I have had many discussions on this topic with my fellow co-chairman of the Geneva Conference, Mr. Gromyko. We have not been able to reach agreement on a common course of action. I believe, however, that the recent action of the Security Council is having a pacifying effect. The Sub-Committee established by the Council [848th meeting] will report back in due course. I do hope that then there will be agreement on measures to alleviate the situation and to preserve the rights of a sovereign people to live their own lives in independence and security. We for our part will certainly be ready to consider at that time any proposals from any quarter designed to achieve that result.
41. The second great problem is disarmament. There are some who say that you can have no disarmament without political settlements, but others who say that you will not get political settlements while the present race in armaments continues. The truth is that if we can get political settlement it will make agreement on disarmament easier; if we can get an agreement on disarmament, I will make political settlements easier. Progress in either field will cause a correspondingly favourable reaction in the other field.
42. I myself have been concerned in most of the disarmament discussions which have taken place since November 1951. There was the work in 1951 in the Sub- Committee of the Disarmament Commission in Paris under the chairmanship of the then President of the Assembly, my colleague Mr. Padilla Nervo, whose election as chairman of the Disarmament Commission last week I warmly welcome. There was the work in London in 1954, when the Anglo-French plan was prepared. There were the debates here in New York at successive Assembly sessions. There was a consideration of the Soviet proposals of May 1955 and our amended Anglo-French proposals of 1956. There was the work in the Sub-Committee in London in 1957, when certain partial, or first stage, proposals were put forward by the Western Powers. I do not want to cross old battle-fields again today or to revive old controversies.
43. One satisfactory feature of the 1957 discussions was that a proposal, which I put forward myself, for a meeting of technical experts and scientists to discuss the possibility of controlling a ban on nuclear tests was accepted in the following year by the Soviet Union. A successful conference of experts took place in Geneva 1958, and the present conference between the Governments of the Soviet Union, the United States and the United Kingdom began in the same year. Since the Soviet tests in November 1958, no further tests have taken place and there has been steady progress in working out a treaty relating to the cessation of nuclear tests. Many articles have been agreed, and without doubt this conference has been the most realistic and sustained attempt to reach an agreement upon one aspect of armament development ever undertaken. We have learnt a lot during it about some of the problems of control. In spite of the remaining difficulties — and there are remaining difficulties — I still have high hopes of an agreement which will pave the way for wider agreements.
44. Throughout these discussions, however, I have been anxiously awaiting the moment when it would be appropriate once again to attempt progress towards an agreement on disarmament in its most comprehensive aspects. I need not remind you of the abortive attempts in 1957 to set up a disarmament commission with a new limited membership, and the failure since tie discussions in the Sub-Committee in 1957 to get anything resembling a negotiation going on these wider aspects. But Mr. Couve de Murville, Mr. Gromyko, Mr. Herter and I myself took advantage of our meetings in Geneva on certain European problems to discuss the forum in which new talks on disarmament might take place. We had also been able to exchange views individually with the Secretary-General when he visited Geneva for the opening of our conference. In the event, we reached an agreement which was announced in a "communique" from the four Governments on 7 September 1959. That agreement was at once communicated to the full Disarmament Commission, and the Commission by a resolution adopted on 10 September 1959 welcomed the resumption of negotiations announced in the "communique". The resolution recognized, as had the four-Power "communique", that the ultimate responsibility for general disarmament measures rests with the United Nations, and it welcomed the intention of the countries concerned to keep the Disarmament Commission appropriately informed of the progress of their deliberations.
45. The way is thus open for a fresh start, and I am confident that the work of the Ten-Power Committee will help the United Nations in Its future discussions and, I hope, decisions.
46. In my speech in 1957 [685th meeting] I tried to indicate certain principles which I believe have to be accepted if progress is to be made towards an agreement. The first of those principles is chat disarmament must proceed at all stages with a balance between disarmament in the nuclear and conventional fields. Secondly, control is the test of progress. Verbal agreements without control, however solemnly concluded, are more likely to add to insecurity than to security. Bearing those considerations in mind, we in Britain have been examining the lines on which it might be possible for progress now to be made.
47. Our aim is to move forward by balanced stages towards the abolition of all nuclear weapons and all weapons of mass destruction, and towards the reduction of other weapons and armed forces to levels which will rule out the possibility of aggressive war. Obviously progress must be made by stages. I will now try to indicate the way in which I think it might be made.
48. In the first stage the following matters should be dealt with.
49. Firstly, nuclear tests. If, as we very much hope, agreement is reached at the present conference between the Governments of the United States, the Soviet Union and the United Kingdom, that agreement should be endorsed by other nations. We believe that that is an important step towards dealing with the vexed question of the spread of nuclear armaments.
50. Secondly, there should be a technical conference on the feasibility of controlling what is called the "cutoff", in other words, ceasing to use fissionable material to make weapons. That is an even more important step if we are indeed to stop the spread of the manufacture of nuclear weapons.
51. Thirdly, the great Powers should agree to maximum limits for their forces. There should be the establishment of an international body charged with the task of collecting information on present levels of forces and conventional armaments. The object of this would be to try to establish some basis for limiting conventional armaments. In this context armaments are even more important than the levels of forces.
52. Fourthly, we should pursue the idea of the handing over of specific quantities of designated types of armaments to the custody of an international control organization.
53. If these other ideas are acceptable, I think we should follow up the not very successful conference of experts on measures against surprise attack with a further conference to consider the political as well as the technical aspects of this particular problem.
54. There should be a study of the problems involved in the use of outer space. It is true that some work has been done on this in the United Nations, but the Soviet Union has not taken part in that work. I hope that their attitude will change on that point and recent remarkable events make that hope not unreasonable.
55. Finally, in this stage, we should study between us the nature and functions of the international control organ which will not only have to control disarmament measures, but also will have increasing responsibilities within the framework of the United Nations to preserve world peace as purely national armaments diminish. In 1954 in the Sub-Committee we did spend considerable time studying the problems of the control organization. The United States paper submitted on that occasion might provide a basis for this further study. We have also gained considerable experience as a result of the discussions at the nuclear tests Conference in Geneva.
56. All this would be the beginning, the first stage.
57. At the second stage, or intermediate stage, the following steps should be taken: (a) There should be a progressive reduction of conventional armaments and military manpower under proper control. (b) There should be the introduction of the cut-off of production of fissionable material for weapons purposes. (c) We should begin to reduce stocks of nuclear weapons by successive transfers, under international supervision, of existing military stocks of' fissionable material, whether fabricated into weapons or not, to non-weapons uses.(d) There should be the establishment of a system of inspection against surprise attack. (e) There should be agreement on a system to ensure the use of outer space for peaceful purposes. (f) We should begin to develop the capacity of the international control organ to take measures to keep the peace.
58. That would be the second or intermediate stage, at which real progress was actually being made with real disarmament.
59. The ultimate objective, or the third stage, should be comprehensive disarmament by all Powers under effective international control, including the following matters: (a)There should be a ban on the manufacture of nuclear, chemical, biological and other weapons of mass destruction. (b) There should be abandon the use of such weapons. (c) There should be a ban on the use of outer space for military purposes. (d) There should be a re-examination of the possibility of controlling and then eliminating the remaining stocks of nuclear and other weapons of mass destruction. (e) There should be the establishment of effective international control of military budgets. (f) As progress is made in dealing with remaining stocks of nuclear weapons, there would be the final reductions of conventional armaments and military manpower to the levels required for internal security purposes only. (g) The international control organ should reach its final form and attain its full capability for keeping peace.
60. This is an outline on which I believe progress can be made if there is the will. It is comprehensive. The development of the plan would, of course, depend upon the development of the techniques of international control. Just as the nuclear tests Conference has been slowly working out a draft treaty for dealing with a cessation of nuclear tests and has reached agreement on many of those articles, so I think we should seek to work out a draft treaty embodying the proposals which I have outlined. It would mean the attainment of the objective which we all have in mind. This may seem too ambitious a plan. But once we can get started and get some mutual confidence, I believe things could go quickly.
61. I have tried to put before this meeting of the General Assembly, frankly and without bitterness, the British views upon some of the great problems confronting the statesmen of the world.
62. The British attitude can be summarized in this way: We earnestly desire peace and stability in the world. We know that peace is the common interest of all of us. Global war, whether nuclear or conventional, would be a disaster, infinitely worse in its consequences than World Wars I and II. Under modern conditions no one can be a victor in global war. Such a war would constitute a common defeat.
63. The, role of this Organization is clearly defined. The United Nations cannot be a substitute for the efforts of individual Governments. It can supplement and consummate such efforts.
64. If humanity is to survive, the great power blocs have got to learn to live in peace, one with the other. I am not at all despondent about the future. So much is at stake that I am certain that the basic wisdom of those who lead the world, reinforced by the universal instinct for survival, will lead to better and more fruitful relationships between the nations. This view may be regarded as unduly optimistic, but there are many forces working for good in the world.
65. I think all of us here are conscious of our responsibilities. Let us do everything within our power to see that the verdict of history is that we did meet the challenge of our times, that we were not found wanting, that we did make our individual contributions to the promotion of world peace and world stability, we did try to satisfy the aspirations of so many for an international Society from which there will be banished inter-racial hatred, want, ignorance and disease, the fear of war.
66. Mankind can destroy itself. Mankind has also the opportunity to achieve higher levels of spiritual and material well-being than have ever before been possible.