48. Mr. President, we have already had the welcome opportunity of associating our delegation with the expression of deep satisfaction at your election to the lofty office of President of the nineteenth session of the General Assembly, and we should like to express our gratitude to Ambassador Csatorday for being so kind, when he welcomed you in the old year, as to agree to mention the Ukraine as one of the countries on whose behalf he was speaking [1287th meeting]. Now that the General Assembly has resumed the debate in this new year, I wish to assure you that the Ukrainian delegation's congratulations are just as hearty and sincere as ever.
49. People usually bring with them into the new year all their hopes and anxieties, Ina wider sense the same is, of course, true of States and nations. The past year has left them a legacy of many unresolved matters, and these, together with the new problems which have arisen, form the substance of national and international life.
50. The problems encountered by States, however, are not all of the same character or nature. The agenda of this session of the General Assembly and the stormy meetings of the Security Council on the recent aggression by two NATO member States in the Congo reflect, as though in a mirror, their critical importance, their urgent significance and, let us add, their indissoluble link with the movement of the peoples of the world towards social and economic progress, freedom, national independence, the strengthening of peace and the prevention of thermonuclear war.
51. The United Nations is confronted with these problems in the year 1965, and it has sufficient experience and resources to consider them with the interests of broad international co-operation in mind. We do not think that the chronic inertia and creeping paralysis of which we hear so much are characteristic of this Organization. Those who value the United Nations in spite of its weaknesses and shortcomings, which they are not afraid to subject to honest criticism, are convinced that it still possesses the vitality and the dynamic force envisaged for it in its Charter. In its less than twenty years of existence, the United Nations has changed not only in size but in nature. The 115 States now represented in the United Nations are evidence of far more than a simple arithmetical increase in the Organization’s membership from the time of its initial San Francisco period. The appearance of new States on the map of this planet of ours, great tracts of which were only a short while ago still tinted with the one horrible colour of colonialism, and the break-through of these States to the banks of the East River in order to take their places in this now somewhat cramped General Assembly hall, represent one of the most vivid and impressive demonstrations of the revolutionary social and economic changes undergone by the world in this great and unique time in which we live. Although the United Nations was born when the war against Hitler was raging and nazism had just been overthrown, it is now growing up in a period marked by the unprecedented rise of national liberation movements throughout the world and the downfall of the colonial system of imperialism.
52. Each country which has become a Member of the United Nations has brought here part of the experience and the wisdom of its people. Each country understands better than any other its own national conditions and peculiarities, its internal problems, and the ways and means by which they may be solved. No country, however, can retreat into its national shell and shun or avoid activities and responsibilities of world significance.
53. The fair winds of change have brought the membership of the United Nations to a total of 115 States. Even if we forget for the moment about the objective law of the dialectics of development, this quantitative increase can hardly fail to lead to favourable qualitative changes, the outlines of which are already clear. One of the most important aspects of these changes is the rallying together in the United Nations of a new majority which has been particularly prominent in the struggle for the elimination of colonialism and was particularly active at the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development. It can now be assumed that the time of a mechanically voting majority which worked to the advantage of certain countries is past. We mention this without the slightest malicious joy, for it is inevitable that new faces should sooner or later appear among us and make themselves heard.
54. The consolidation of the unity of the new United Nations majority on the basis of respect for the principles of the United Nations Charter and the general interests of freedom and peace is both desirable and necessary. The Second Conference of Heads of State or Government of Non-Aligned Countries, held at Cairo from 5 to 10 October 1964, was an important step in this direction, and as far as the United Nations is concerned, it recognized "the necessity of enabling it to carry out the functions entrusted to it to preserve international co-operation among States" [A/5763, section IX].
55. Unfortunately, some States are deliberately attempting, now that the United Nations is arriving at the stage of maturity, to sabotage these functions. Like Zeus, they are hurling down the lightning of their indignation over the question of the so-called financial crisis of the United Nations. They themselves are to blame for this crisis, yet they would like others to share their responsibility and agree to pay for their aggressive campaigns in the Congo and the Near East.
56. Both here within our Organization and outside it, the United States is resorting to various forms of pressure in order to bring the Assembly round to its point of view, which is in flagrant conflict with the Charter of the United Nations. To be frank we were not surprised when, on Tuesday, the honourable representative of the United Kingdom, using arguments which were not fully valid, rushed to the aid of the United States of America and made it appear that the solution to the so-called crisis of the Organization Say in the hands of the Soviet Union and the other socialist States. In addition, the representative of the United Kingdom appealed to the Soviet Union to support what he described as a common effort to achieve — and here I quote from his statement: "... general agreement, to enable the United Nations to escape from its financial difficulties and go forward unencumbered to face the tasks of the future, tasks which we are so anxious to tackle without further delay" [1316th meeting, para. 30],
57. In the first place, however, the honourable representative of the United Kingdom was appealing to the wrong party, for he is well aware that the so-called financial crisis of the United Nations is not the fault of the Soviet Union and the other socialist countries but of the colonialist Powers. In the second place, if there is to be talk of sincere efforts to concentrate the attention of the United Nations on the solution of such vital problems as general and complete disarmament, the final elimination of colonialism, peaceful coexistence and broad economic co-operation among all countries, then who has insisted more firmly than the Soviet Union and a number of Asian and African countries on the need for their urgent consideration and solution?
58. The Soviet Union and other States have displayed the greatest goodwill in trying to prevent the collapse of the United Nations and to overcome the difficulties which the Organization has encountered through the fault of the Western Powers. How can the espousal of the African-Asian proposal of 30 December 1964 by the Soviet Union and the other socialist States be taken as anything but an utterly convincing and indicative example of our goodwill in this regard?
59. Is not the forebearance of the General Assembly being excessively abused by these attempts to conceal covert political motives behind synthetic legal and moral motives and criteria? There is no possible way of equating high moral criteria with the action by a particular country of making participation in technical assistance to the developing countries directly dependent on the position of those countries with regard to the so-called financial crisis of the United Nations. How, in the light of even this one fact, can there be any talk of objectivity and the absence of conditions in the granting of aid? In the present case the conditions are imposed not just on one country, but on all the developing countries together that are Members of the Organization. In the Security Council, the African representatives who unmasked the aggressive nature of the "rescue mission" of the NATO members in the Congo were given clear hints that the United States was holding out a helping hand to Africa and, as might be expected, were recommended to accept that outstretched hand. These tactics of economic and political pressure reflect the line taken by certain States in the United Nations with the aim of disrupting the solidarity and unity of the forces of freedom and peace on the principle of "divide ’and exert political influence". What is of particular importance at the present moment is not, of course, the methods themselves but, so to speak, the massive use that has been made of them at the beginning of International Co-operation Year. This can hardly be regarded as pure chance.
60. Officially, according to the resolutions adopted by the General Assembly [resolutions 1844 (XVII) and 1907 (XVIII)], International Co-operation Year began on 1 January 1965. The Ukrainian Government has devoted considerable interest and understanding to Its preparation and implementation. It has already provided the Secretary-General of the United Nations with a clear presentation of its views on International Co-operation Year, which are, in essence, that the search for ways of solving the more important international problems and of improving mutual understanding and trust between nations must be intensified. International Co-operation Year will attain its objectives if States, instead of confining themselves to general statements and good wishes, begin calmly and in a spirit of trust to cut their way through the dense forest of mistrust and tension in the world. But alas. International Co-Operation Year, which is devoted to bringing about "increased world understanding and co-operation", has not made even the feeblest step forward within the framework of the United Nations. Its feet are bound by the abnormal procedures followed in the work of the General Assembly. We are continuing with the general debate but are not considering or taking decisions on matters which in many cases constitute the very core and purpose of this Year.
61. It is perfectly obvious that only the immediate application of the established normal procedures of the General Assembly will provide a basis for the customary discussion of the items on the agenda which are not yet resolved and are consequently of vital importance for International Co-operation Year.
62. Several of these problems have already been touched upon in the course of the general debate with due regard to, and in the light of, the "realities of the atomic era". It is impossible to go beyond or to ignore these realities in seeking out ways and means of preserving peace and preventing nuclear war. Experience, if it is not to be like the stern lights of a ship illuminating only the path already travelled, but is to form a guide for future action, will confirm that an improvement in the international atmosphere can be achieved both on the basis of a policy of mutual example and at the conference table. There are examples to prove this point, and they are well known.
63. One such example is the Treaty banning nuclear weapon tests in the atmosphere, in outer space and under water, which, in addition to other important results, has sharply reduced the pollution of the atmosphere from radioactive fall-out. I am able to report that, according to data supplied by Ukrainian scientific institutions, the amounts of the radioactive isotopes iodine-131, barium-140 and a number of other short-lived nuclear fission products in the atmosphere have fallen off since the cessation of testing and are not now having any effect on the human organism.
64. Another example is the agreement between the Soviet Union, the United States of America and the United Kingdom to discontinue the production of fissionable material for military purposes. We are not, however, among those optimists who live in the world of their own imagination. The real truth is that although the international situation does not show signs of deteriorating to the point of extreme danger, it cannot for the present be termed satisfactory. The relaxation of tension is proceeding slowly, too slowly and, in some cases, is even going in a reverse direction. Thunderclouds hang over several areas of the world, and in South Viet- Nam, for example, a dirty, undeclared war is at present raging in which the worst terrorist methods of colonialism are being used.
65. The Geneva Agreements of 1954 restoring peace in Indo-China were based on the undertaking of the parties to respect the independence and sovereignty, the unity and territorial integrity of Cambodia, Laos and Viet-Nam, and to refrain from any interference in their internal affairs. As far as Viet-Nam is concerned, it was provided that the seventeenth parallel was a military demarcation line which was provisional and should not in any way be interpreted as constituting a political or territorial boundary, and that in 1956 Viet-Nam was to be reunified on the basis of free elections to be held throughout the country. The Geneva Agreements prohibited "the introduction into Viet-Nam of foreign troops and military personnel as well as all kinds of arms and munitions", and also provided that "no military base under the control of a foreign State may be established in the regrouping zones of the two parties, the latter having the obligation to see that the zones allotted to them shall not constitute part of any military alliance and shall not be utilized for the resumption of hostilities or in the service of an aggressive policy".
66. Although the United States solemnly declared that it would observe the Geneva Agreements, it began to violate them as soon as the Geneva Conference was over. The aggressive SEATO military bloc was immediately set up, and South Viet-Nam, Cambodia and Laos were declared, in the national interests of the United States of America, to be a defence area.
67. The only foreign armed forces — and this is the literal truth — which are in Indo-China are the United States armed forces. The United States military headquarters set up at Saigon has at its disposal over 30,000 advisers and soldiers. Those who are present here today know very well that the United States special forces in South Viet-Nam are not there to kill mosquitoes in the jungle. Those forces are planning and supervising the conduct of the so-called "special war" to perpetuate the division of Viet-Nam, to prevent the self-determination of its people, and to crush the patriotic forces in South Viet-Nam.
68. As can be seen from recent happenings, the severest provocations of the United States militarists are being directed against the Democratic Republic of Viet-Nam. This is amply demonstrated by the piratical raids on the territory of that country and the sending of ships of the Seventh Fleet into the Gulf of Tonkin.
69. The people of Viet-Nam and the Government of the Democratic Republic of Viet-Nam want peace and national reunification. They have consistently respected and scrupulously observed the 1954 Geneva Agreements on Indo-China and ask that the other countries concerned should do the same. The supreme and most urgent objective, as the Government of the Democratic Republic of Viet-Nam has stated on more than one occasion, is the peaceful reunification of the country on a basis of independence and democracy. That this has not yet taken place is entirely the fault of the United States of America and the reactionary forces in South Viet-Nam and of the Saigon puppet governments which have taken each other’s place one after another just like the changing scenes in a Hollywood hit.
70. United States intervention also extends to the countries adjoining South Viet-Nam, such as Cambodia, whose territory has been subjected to air raids. The United States is trying to blackmail and terrorize Cambodia into renouncing its policy of peace and neutrality. The subversive activities and intrigues of the United States also constitute serious obstacles to any solution of the Laotian problem by peaceful means.
71. To judge from certain statements by United States officials that the United States does not exclude the possibility of extending the war to North Viet-Nam, United States military circles are already planning and carrying out further interference in the internal affairs of Laos and the use of that country for an expansion of the war in South Viet-Nam and military provocations directed against the Democratic Republic of Viet-Nam.
72. This policy of slipping down the precipitous path of military violence is fraught with the most dangerous consequences for the cause of peace. The Ukraine and its people condemn military adventures, interference in the affairs of other countries and peoples, and violations of their sovereignty, independence, unity and territorial integrity as incompatible with the Charter of the United Nations.
73. Those who are supporting and furthering the extension of aggression on the Indo-Chinese peninsula should not cherish any illusions that the socialist countries will remain indifferent to the fate of their brothers of the Democratic Republic of Viet-Nam,
74. Interference in internal affairs, infringement of sovereignty and denial of the right of self- determination are also being directed against countries other than South Viet-Nam; they constitute a threat to the independence of a number of countries. The Congo is one of the most striking examples of such a threat by the forces of colonialism and neocolonialism against the countries of Africa, for in the Congolese tragedy, which is lit by the glow of the national liberation struggle, the face of collective colonialism has been unmasked in all its nakedness. It is perfectly clear that the so-called "rescue mission" in the Stanleyville area was carried out on a collective and concerted basis. The Security Council, when meeting in December, was able to establish that this so-called "rescue mission" had cost the lives of many Africans. The latest facts show that the annihilation of national liberation fighters and patriots in the Congo has reached truly monstrous proportions. For those responsible for such military intervention, however, this is just another page in the book of colonialist punitive expeditions.
75. The military intervention in the Congo leaves no room for doubt that the colonial Powers are acting in accordance with a previously prepared plan. In addition to extracting enormous profits from the Congo, they would like to turn that country into a base from which it would not be difficult, at the right time, to exert pressure on the north, that is to say, on liberated Africa, while at the same time protecting from the north the southern part of Africa, where, as everyone knows, the strongholds of racism and oppression — the Republic of South Africa, Mozambique and Angola and other Portuguese colonial territories, and Southern Rhodesia — are situated.
76. The solution of the Congolese question must be sought in the provision of true safeguards for the sovereign rights of the Congolese people in conformity with the principles enunciated by the Organization of African Unity, which confirm the right of peoples to self-determination and the right to decide their own fate. These rights include resort to just and lawful struggle, and even the taking up of arms by the people, whenever colonial regimes attempt, either separately or together, to crush the national liberation movement and the struggle for independence.
77. In the words of the Declaration on the granting of independence to colonial countries and peoples adopted by the General Assembly in 1960 [resolution 1514 (XV)], any attempt aimed at the partial or total disruption of the national unity and the territorial integrity of a country liberating itself from colonialism is incompatible with the Purposes and Principles of the Charter of the United Nations.
78. One of the methods by which colonialist and neocolonialist policies are carried out is the imposition of inequitable treaties such as have been forced on a number of young States at various times. The collapse of the political system of colonialism must be accompanied by the complete eradication of all inequalities between nations, including the elimination of inequitable treaties. As far back as the seventeenth session of the General Assembly, the Ukrainian delegation unmasked inequitable treaties for what they really were: that is to say, a reserve position established by the colonialists with the aim of preserving their imperialist domination and economic enslavement of peoples [1177th meeting, para. 110]. We are ready now, as we were then, to consider and support any recommendation by the General Assembly for the revision and abrogation of inequitable treaties and of agreements made under duress.
79. Both within the United Nations and outside it, the Ukraine will work with other States to strengthen the anti-colonialist front and the unity of the forces striving for the complete and final elimination of colonialism in all its forms and manifestations.
80. Another serious source of international tension is the Caribbean region. Having chosen socialism as the path for its national development, Cuba is now being subjected to foreign pressure and interference designed to restore the regime of economic exploitation and political oppression which was overthrown by the Cuban people.
81. Although according to the official statements of the United States that country, is devoting its efforts to "the search for better understanding among all peoples", in respect of Cuba there is not only no sign of this "search for a better mutual understanding", but, on the contrary, everything points in the very opposite direction, in the direction of hostility, threats and provocations. How great are the efforts, for example that have been made and are being made to squeeze Cuba in the vise of an economic blockade for the obvious purpose of holding up its economic growth and hampering its transition to a state of industrial development. And how many are the deliberate provocations carried out from the Guantanamo base, situated in Cuban territory usurped by its northern neighbour.
82. Furthermore, in an effort to base its international relations on the discriminatory concept of the inequality of rights of large and small States the United States is acting in accord with this policy in the Organization of American States. At the Ninth Meeting of Consultation of Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the OAS, the well-known resolution threatening Cuba with the use of collective armed force was adopted even though the representatives of a number of Latin American countries in the United Nations have often spoken heatedly in defence of the principle of non-interference.
83. Cuba, a small and peace-loving country, has repeatedly confirmed its desire for normalization of the situation in the Caribbean by means of peaceful negotiations, in accordance with the principles of international law upon which the coexistence of States and international co-operation are based.
84. The Cairo Conference took note of this "readiness of the Cuban Government to settle its difference with the United States on an equal footing" [A/5763, section V], that is, in conformity with the principles of peaceful coexistence, international co-operation and respect for the national sovereignty of countries with different political and social systems. The Conference called on the Government of the United States to lift the economic blockade, thereby expressing its solidarity with and support for Cuba and the Cuban people in their struggle to consolidate the achievements of the Cuban revolution, which even its avowed ill-wishers cannot now fail to see and admit. Cuba is indeed an inspiring example for those countries which, as Newsweek put it. are beset by poverty, corruption, feudalism and plutocratic exploitation. There are those who, in respect of Cuba, would like to turn back the clock, but this operation would be very risky. The time of great social and political advances in the world cannot be arrested by turning back the clock. The United Nations must not lose sight of the threat hanging over the people of Cuba. The General Assembly cannot condone the misuse of force to which the United States is resorting, thus creating an atmosphere of tension in the Caribbean area.
85. The complete disappearance of colonialism and neo-colonialism from the face of the earth would herald, and be one of the prerequisites for, the accelerated economic, social and cultural development of many peoples. The nations of Asia, Africa and Latin America have come into sharp conflict with the economic backwardness of their countries and with such pernicious consequences of their colonial and semi-colonial past as poverty, hunger, disease and mass illiteracy.
86. The importance of the first United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, in which the Ukraine took an active part, lay, in particular, in the fact that it helped to disclose the. true nature of the economic and trade policies of colonialism and neocolonialism. The essence of those policies in the dependent countries and colonies was and is the seizure and exploitation of natural resources and the profound distortion of the colonial economic? and their adaptation to the economic interests of the metropolitan countries. The Conference on Trade and Development expressed itself in favour of creating a new system of economic Inter-State relations. These should be based on the principles of sovereign equality, of political and economic independence and of the inalienable right of every people to have full control over the fruits of their toil and their natural resources. The Geneva forum recognized as abnormal the situation which has arisen in international trade, and also in trade in relation to development.
87. The Ukrainian Government hopes that the ideas of co-operation in the fields of trade and development among States with different social and economic systems will be embodied in a universal international trade organization and, above all, in the elimination of the barriers and discriminatory practices of various kinds in international trade. It can hardly be denied that the renunciation of discriminatory measures and restrictions in international trade in general, and in trade between the socialist and capitalist countries in particular, will be to the advantage of the developing countries, which are striving, with the utmost speed, to overcome their inequality and to remedy a world social situation eaten away by social ulcers and human suffering. Indeed, over half the world's population is hungry or suffering from malnutrition. Many millions of men and women are illiterate and thus cannot participate in the world of knowledge. Many millions of people are stricken by disease.
88. Epidemics against which science already has effective weapons continue to rage, strewing the earth with graves.
89. Again, some people, when thinking aloud about the social programmes of the developing countries, find them too daring and difficult of realization, since their resources have been depleted and plundered over the years of colonial rule. Others, dominated by a business-cycle mentality, are ready to discredit the efforts of peoples to attain material and social well-being. However, the ideal of the United Nations is to promote the economic and social advancement of all the people of the world and to achieve the best possible results in that direction.
90. There are countries which, like the Ukraine, have, in the lifetime of a single generation and in the course of building socialism, made the great transition from flagrant social inequality to the level of the States which are economically, socially and culturally the most advanced. These countries — and my country among them — are firmly convinced that it has now become feasible to ensure progress and to eradicate such evils as economic backwardness, poverty, social inequality, unemployment, disease and mass illiteracy. The problem is to make these objective possibilities realities.
91. The Ukrainian delegation is pleased to note, in particular, that such matters as the eradication of illiteracy throughout the world [resolution 1937 (XVII)], United Nations action to promote the training of national technical personnel for the accelerated industrialization of the developing countries, and the planning of their economic development, which at one time or another have been raised by us in the United Nations, are now becoming the subject of practical action by the United Nations, its organs and the specialized agencies.
92. The countries of Asia and Africa are carrying out various kinds of regional action in the fight against illiteracy. At its most recent session, the UNESCO General Conference adopted useful recommendations for launching a universal attack against this social evil as being one of the most serious obstacles to the social and economic advancement of the developing countries. In this connexion, we note with satisfaction the proposal made by the Government of Iran, and referred to by Mr. Aram, the distinguished Minister for Foreign Affairs of Iran, in his statement [1292nd meeting. para. 160], that a world congress of Ministers of Education of the States Members of the United Nations should be convened at Tehran with a view to supplementing and uniting national efforts by means of measures on the international level.
93. In the changing world of today, the value of the human personality and respect for its dignity, rights and freedoms is acquiring particular importance. That is why at the seventeenth session of the General Assembly our delegation deemed it necessary to submit a draft resolution concerning measures to hasten the application of human rights and freedoms. One of the most important of such measures would be to complete the drafting of the Covenants on human rights and put them into effect.
94. The acceleration of economic and social advancement is being considerably impeded by the arms race. Although disarmament offers the best guarantee of security and the maintenance of peace, the Western Powers are in fact seeking, not to achieve disarmament, but to preserve a balance of military power and the present structure of the armed forces and to preserve and expand their stockpiles of nuclear weapons. As soon as they are forced to deal with the substance of the Soviet proposals and reply to them, it is their custom to drag out again to the conference table the rusty concept of military balance.
95. We have not yet forgotten that German militarism seized on this very same concept after Hitler came to power, demanding "equality" in armaments and under that guise proceeding to carry out a monstrous buildup of armaments. The result was the invasion of European States. The result was a war which took millions of human lives. The balance of power game should be rejected as incompatible with disarmament and opposed to the easing of international tension and the elimination of the threat of nuclear war.
96. There are now many people who are fond of calculating that, in the event of war, there would be at least 60 million dead in the space of less than an hour, and that there are now enough missiles to destroy this, or that country several times over. The statisticians of the military agencies have obviously also calculated the extent of the profits in the pockets of the military industrialists who have manufactured the weapons to destroy these obscure 60 million people. It would be useful to acquaint the American and other people with these calculations, for they might perhaps then better realize to whose advantage the arms race is working and what forces are opposed to disarmament.
97. I must say immediately that there are no such forces In the Ukraine. There are no such forces in the Soviet Union. They are unknown in any of the other socialist countries. If we assert the need for general and complete disarmament, for the elimination of the material means of waging war — on conditions, of course, ensuring full equality of security to all peoples — we do so honestly and sincerely and not merely in the interests of the socialist countries. We must not of course underestimate the difficulties along the road to an agreement on disarmament, or fail to take into account the influence of militarist thinking in certain circles. But the struggle for disarmament under strict international control is not useless; it is indispensable, and an agreement on an acceptable basis consistent with the purposes of the United Nations is possible.
98. In expressing its support for a radical solution to the problem of disarmament, the Ukrainian Government has never opposed such a solution to measures of partial disarmament, striving towards one as well as the other. It is in agreement with the measures for the further relaxation of international tension and limitation of the arms race set out in the memorandum of the Government of the Soviet Union, which has been submitted to the General Assembly for its consideration [A/5827], For instance, States could agree, here and now, to prohibit the use of nuclear weapons, and such an action would have far-reaching consequences in terms of limiting the scope of the arms race. Measures to prevent the further dissemination of nuclear weapons as well as to halt underground nuclear testing and to establish nuclear-free zones in various parts of the world are urgently required and fully ripe for decision. We wish to express in the clearest possible manner our support for the conclusion of a nonaggression pact between the NATO States and the Warsaw Treaty States.
99. We also give vigorous support to the proposal, submitted at this session of the General Assembly by the delegation of Poland [1301st meeting], for convening an international conference to discuss the problem of European security, with the participation of all European States and of the United States of America.
100. Of the various partial measures for prohibiting nuclear weapons and preventing their further dissemination, the proposal by the Government of the Polish People’s Republic on the question of freezing nuclear and thermonuclear armaments in central Europe also seems to us extremely urgent. This is not because the Ukraine is more keenly aware than other countries of the quickening tempo of military preparations in Europe, but rather because the measures to which we have referred would, while there is yet time, defuse the time-bomb with which the creators of the so-called NATO multilateral nuclear force would jeopardize the security of many countries.
101. The arguments going on among various NATO member States regarding the form of the multilateral force, whether it is to be that proposed by the United States or somewhat amended by the United Kingdom, are of no material importance to the Bundeswehr. The main thing is that one way or another it is going to get hold of nuclear weapons, with all the consequences that entails.
102. Those who are engaged in constructing the NATO nuclear machine assure us that West Germany's acquisition of nuclear weapons under the cover of a multilateral force will change nothing, because, they say, real control over the nuclear weapons will remain with the principal architect — the United States of America. They tell us, furthermore, that by satisfying West Germany's unbridled craving for "atomic” self-determination", the rulers of NATO's destinies will prevent the West Germans from making their own weapons.
103. In Bonn, of course, such conclusions are a source of amusement. It is Bonn's dream, as Mr. Schroeder, the Minister for Foreign Affairs, has unambiguously hinted, that West Germany's participation in a NATO multilateral force will be merely "a beginning in the development of events". It is not difficult to guess what Bonn has in mind. The Federal Republic of Germany is the only European country which does not recognize the existing frontiers; it is making far-reaching territorial claims on other States, torpedoing a peaceful settlement for Germany and conducting a policy of militarism and revenge. If West Germany should gain control over the nuclear potential of its allies through some form of NATO multilateral force, peace would be placed in grave danger. This, gentlemen, is not an academic disputation as to which is the more dangerous, a snakebite or a scorpion sting. It is a question of what direction the situation in Central Europe will take: whether it will move towards a relaxation of tension, towards the search for a peaceful settlement for Germany and towards the gradual disarmament of Germany, or whether it will move towards the sharpening of international tension, the further dissemination of nuclear weapons, the fanning of hostility between the two German States and the pursuit of a revenge-seeking policy by West Germany against other States.
104. Can it be supposed that a development of events which could give West Germany a voice in decisions on what use to make of the means of mass destruction will simplify the attainment of a disarmament agreement?
105. Such an assumption would be naive. The leaders of West Germany are now seeking to mobilize efforts in regard to the unification of Germany. But can it be seriously supposed that the NATO multilateral nuclear force will facilitate the cause of German unification? On the contrary, to enable West Germany in any way to gain access to nuclear weapons will represent a serious obstacle to the unification of Germany.
106. Some statesmen are suggesting to the West Germans that they have never accomplished anything important in the national or international sphere without the participation of the military factor. A better encouragement to Bonn's militarist and revenge seeking aspirations could hardly be conceived. In this connexion, one can imagine a Bundeswehr — splendidly equipped and having access to nuclear weapons — as a force called upon to accomplish the "mission", the "special mission", of West Germany in Europe, and also in colonial wars. The people of Europe are, from past experience, well aware of what lies behind this "mission" of German militarism. They have not yet forgotten the horrors of war, the crimes of Hitler's generals or the crimes of the war criminals, to whom; incidentally, due punishment has not been meted out. Each of them, it is said, has received no more than ten minutes — I repeat, no more than ten minutes — of prison for each person tortured in the death camps, for each person burned in the gas ovens of Auschwitz. This is perhaps not entirely accurate, however, because many of them have not been brought to trial and, apparently, are not going to be.
107. The Government of the Federal Republic of Germany has already announced its decision to halt any further legal action against Nazi war criminals as from May 1965 on the grounds that the "statute of limitations" in respect of their crimes will have expired.
108. This act by the Federal Republic of Germany is illegal and runs counter to international agreements which provide for no statute of limitations on legal action in respect of crimes perpetrated by the followers of Hitler. It is, for example, contrary to the "Resolution by Allied Governments condemning German terror and demanding retribution", which was proclaimed by the States of the anti-Hitler coalition on 13 January 1942. It is contrary to the Declaration of 1943 and to the well-known General Assembly resolution of 14 February 1946 [resolution 3 (I)].
109. “The conscience of the Ukrainian people” — thus reads a declaration by the Government of the Ukraine — "like that of all peace-loving peoples, cannot tolerate a situation in which criminals who have committed the most monstrous crimes against peace and mankind should, on some pretext, remain unpunished". This quite obviously also applies to those war criminals now in the Federal Republic of Germany who were among the betrayers of the Ukrainian people, to those true and faithful servants of fascism who committed the most heinous crimes in the territory of the Ukraine.
110. The Government of the Federal Republic of Germany is, by its decision, encouraging those who seek to expand their revenge-seeking activities and to strengthen the German military machine — this time equipped with atomic weapons — which they have created and which is directed against peace, against the people of Europe and against people outside Europe.
111. We say that it is not too late to return to the path of reason, to normalize relations between the German Democratic Republic and the Federal Republic of Germany on the basis of recognition of the existence of the free, sovereign German Democratic Republic. The Government of the German Democratic Republic has, it will be recalled, repeatedly taken the initiative of proposing a peaceful settlement for Germany so that Germany might become a factor for peace, and it is still not too late to remove the hand of German militarism from the nuclear firing button and to dispel the thunderclouds of atomic war in the skies of Germany and Europe.
112. A distinguishing feature of the foreign policy of the Soviet Union is that, based on the unshakable principles of peaceful coexistence, It advances and actively advocates a concrete programme to counter the threat of war. It must be clearly understood that the Soviet Union, the Ukraine and other States are fully aware of the danger of atomic armaments in West German hands and will naturally not stand by as passive spectators.
113. The objectives of the foreign policy of the Ukraine are to ensure peaceful conditions for the building of socialism and communism, and to strengthen the unity and solidarity and the friendship and brotherhood of the socialist countries. It is a policy which supports the national liberation movements and which in every possible way fosters solidarity and cooperation with the countries of Asia, Africa and Latin America. It is an affirmation of the principles of peaceful coexistence between countries with different social systems, and the deliverance of mankind from the threat of world war. It is in the light of this policy, too, that we assess the present situation in the United Nations.
114. The provisions of the United Nations Charter cannot be applied in different ways by particular states or in different parts of the world to serve the interests of the moment or in accordance with special political criteria congenial to this or that country. Yet, guided by its own special subjective criteria, the United States of America is trying to change the provisions of the United Nations Charter governing the apportionment of responsibility for the maintenance of peace between the Security Council and the General Assembly. Under cover of the so-called financial crisis, the United States is impairing and undermining the Charter of the United Nations and has provoked political paralysis in the work of the General Assembly. In the country where the Headquarters of the United Nations is situated, this international Organization is subjected to the attacks and insults of "madmen" and the "lunatic fringe". The bazooka shot fired on the United Nations building was evidently a first practice shot by political neurasthenics who have reached a state of frenzy.
115. The provisions of the Charter are also being flouted, in flagrant disregard for the purposes of the United Nations, in the question of the restoration of the lawful rights of the People's Republic of China in the United Nations, the Organization having been compelled for many years to tolerate the presence, in the Security Council and in the General Assembly, of persons who represent no one.
116. This policy of subjective standards and criteria makes nonsense of the fine words about peace, the spirit of friendship, the desire for mutual understanding and the readiness to live with all as good neighbours which we often hear in the speeches of the leading statesmen of the United States of America, which reach us from the banks of the Potomac.
117. Having been here among the States Members of the United Nations since the Charter was signed at San Francisco, the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic today regards the United Nations as a collective instrument for the maintenance of peace. We have never compromised and never will with those who violate the Charter, with those who, seeing no possibility of directing its activity into political channels advantageous to themselves, have brought about a serious crisis in the United Nations. All who cherish the United Nations, all who wish to see its activity and authority enhanced, should unite in rebuffing political manoeuvres and schemes directed against the very basis of the Organization's existence.