In addressing you for the first time from this lofty rostrum, may I first of all emphasize the profound interest of all men of good will in the work of the General Assembly, a body which, thanks to its vigorous development, has become the expression of the conscience of the United Nations during the disturbing events of recent years.
3. The Charter gave this Assembly a very exalted but rather vague role, intending it to be something in the nature of one of those popular assemblies which serve primarily as a safety valve for the most impassioned impulses of the community, and which sometimes give birth to ideas which, while useful, must always be carried into effect by other organs, once these have recognized their value. I do not deny the importance of such functions, and I sincerely trust that this Assembly may continue, to act as such a body; but we are faced with the fact that by reason of its structure and truly democratic procedure — so different from that obtaining in certain other places — the Assembly has been forced, during the few years of its existence, into the role of a veritable board of directors of the United Nations.
4. The immense moral and practical weight of the Assembly’s decisions has been demonstrated time after time in all spheres Out of a thousand examples, let me mention the action of the Assembly in 1948 [resolution 200 (III)], which gave rise to the technical assistance programme, thus finally delivered from the convolutions of the Economic and Social Council and its economic committees.
5. A similar development may be observed with regard to the Trusteeship Council, over which the Assembly has asserted in practice the theoretical authority conferred upon it by the Charter. And it is thanks to this determined attitude on the part of the Assembly that the good seed which was so timorously sown at San Francisco has begun to germinate in regard to colonial and trusteeship matters.
6. It is not only in colonial, social and economic matters, however, that the Assembly has shown its authority and effectiveness, but also in a sphere which it was apparently the intention of the Charter to exclude from the Assembly’s purview: I refer to questions relating to peace and security. The international community, indeed, was not slow to realize that the machinery established for the operation of the Security Council was incapable of achieving the lofty purpose which the Preamble to the Charter had stated in such emphatic terms: “to save succeeding generations from the scourge of war . . .
7. Without indulging in exaggerated statements which might bring a smile to my listeners’ lips, I may say that, thanks to its energetic action, the General Assembly has preserved the vitality of the United Nations, which was dying in the powerless hands of the Security Council, chained as they were by the veto.
8. The first important step in this direction was the establishment [resolution 111(H)] of what was called the “Little Assembly’’, by means of which the General Assembly decided to exercise permanent vigilance over all that was happening in the political sphere. The decisive step, however, was taken by the Assembly when, in 1950 — faced with the likelihood that the Council would prove unable to act — it adopted the “Uniting for peace’’ resolution [377 (V)]. By that resolution the permanent obstacle of the veto was completely circumvented, since it provides that the General Assembly may hold emergency special sessions at the request of seven members of the Security Council or the majority of the members of the General Assembly, whenever questions arise which require a solution but where the Council, because of the lack of unanimity of the permanent members, fails to exercise its primary responsibility for the maintenance of peace and security.
9. Thus, scarcely five years after the Charier was adopted, the General Assembly was called upon to come to the defence of the Organization and ensure its effectiveness in all the most important spheres.
10. This action by the Assembly,, supported by world public opinion, shows that the noble and lofty purposes referred to in the Charter must be attained at all costs, and that consequently the Charter should not be regarded as a rigid and inflexible instrument, but as a source of practical solutions in all cases where, the peace of mankind may be endangered. It is true that the action which the Assembly can take is very limited, and we must always-bear in-mind-that-none- of its resolutions, however ideal, will solve any problem which arises unless it is followed by action. On the other hand, I may assert with some confidence that in view of the wise solutions which have been found in the Assembly for difficult problems, we may justifiably anticipate that, in preparing its recommendations, the majority will often succeed in combining idealism and realism in suitable proportions; and it may also be pointed out that in many serious .disputes it has succeeded in winning to its side those nations which have the privilege of being in a position to apply the final terms of settlement on a world-wide scale.
11. In the sombre political atmosphere which weighs on the international community, the delegation of Cuba is prepared this year to participate in the work of the General Assembly. It is convinced that this is the most appropriate arena for a fight to secure the triumph of the great ideals which animate the Cuban people and Government — the freedom, security and happiness of all. mankind — and I wish to say here and now that it will spare no effort to achieve collective action towards those ends.
12. Among the items which constitute the agenda for this Session, let me now allude to one of those problems which the Assembly will one day have to solve for itself, if a solution is not quickly found by the statutory means provided: I refer to the situation of the countries which are knocking at our door and which are entitled to take their place among us, but which are excluded from our work by the odious privilege of the veto — an institution which will always be the original mistake of this Organization, since no complete international understanding can be established save on a basis of equality. Can peoples and territories whose existence and co-operation may bring us nearer the solution of some of the most acute difficulties of the present time be capriciously deleted from the map? The international society, which the United Nations aspires to be, is a community which must not place limitations either on its will or on its thought. This society is the sum of all the countries under the sun, the union of all men who breathe the same air as we do, and it must affirm its existence by rising high above all local conventions, interests or vanities. It must be open to all peoples inspired by high ideals of international solidarity and by a profound love of peace.
13. I am well aware that in the specialized agencies of the United Nations, particularly since the last vote of the Economic and Social Council in connexion with new members of UNESCO, the situation is becoming more normal; but the General Assembly should not lag behind its subordinate organs, and it must open this hail to all peoples worthy of participating in its work. I am thinking particularly of certain countries of southern Europe whose priceless contribution to human culture I need not emphasize.
14. One of the most marked characteristics of the working of the United Nations at its present stage is the increasing importance attached in the General Assembly to questions of a colonial nature. Full recognition has now been given to the obligation to guarantee fulfilment of the provisions of Chapter XI of the Charter, in accordance with the principle that the interests of the Inhabitants of the dependent territories are paramount, and that self-government should be developed and political, social, economic and educational advancement ensured.
15. By virtue of its own diplomatic and historical traditions and the traditions of the entire American continent, Cuba cannot but stand at the side of those nations which advocate the fulfilment of all the provisions of Chapter XI of the Charter. Since 1940, Cuba has demonstrated its intention to carry out, in the geographical region to which it belongs, the mission bequeathed to it by the generations of its liberators, the mission of defending the right of peoples freely to guide their own destinies. As Minister of State of my country, and as Chief of the Cuban delegation to the second meeting of the Inter-American Caribbean Union, held in the Dominican Republic in 1940, I had the honour to submit to the meeting a draft resolution which, in the first paragraph of its operative part affirmed: “That every region of the Caribbean at present in the possession of non-American Powers has the inalienable right to take its destinies in its own hands by establishing itself as an independent State or joining others which are akin to it by customs, interests or population”.
16. I think I may affirm, not without some pride, that in this Cuban proposal was contained the seed which, within the Inter-American system, was to flower at the second meeting of the Ministers for Foreign Affairs of the American Republics, held at Havana, and at the third meeting, held at Rio de Janeiro, and which was to take shape as resolution XXXIII of the ninth International Conference of American States, held at Bogota — a text of supreme importance in which the nations of the Western Hemisphere recognized that “the historical process of the emancipation of America will not be complete so long as there remain on the continent peoples and regions subject to a colonial regime, or territories occupied by non-American countries”.
17. In view of these antecedents, Cuba will continue, under the auspices of the United Nations, to support every measure likely to lead to the peaceful emancipation of the colonies and to expedite the economic, social, educational and political development of the peoples who are still in a state of dependency. We shall therefore support the reappointment of the Committee on Information from Non-Self-Governing Terrifies, originally established in 1946 as a result of a Cuban proposal which was taken up later, in 1949, by the delegation of the United States. In this connexion, we shall also continue to uphold the view that it is essential that the international community should weigh and appraise the constitutional considerations underlying the decision of any Administering Authority to discontinue the transmission of information pursuant to Chapter XI of the Charter, and we affirm that it will always be our view that there can be no educational, social or economic autonomy in the absence of political autonomy.
18. We are also aware that, in addition to the general problems and processes to which I have referred, our agenda contains a number of very difficult specific problems relating to colonial matters. Cuba decided to support and to vote for the inclusion of those items in the agenda and their discussion by the General Assembly, because it considers that the time has come when this Assembly, as on so many occasions in the past, may perhaps provide a means for the successful ventilation of those problems. Needless to say, the delegation of Cuba, in the course of the discussions, will always regard the principle of the self-determination of peoples as its lodestar and basic principle, Nevertheless, it will keep its eyes open to the necessity of acting prudently in these matters in order not to provoke fundamental disagreements which, at a time of danger, might undermine the bulwarks of human freedom which confront an aggressive totalitarianism intent on breaking the solidarity of a front which, we are confident, will succeed in resolving such differences in the spirit of generous and complete understanding which finds expression in its democratic institutions and its support of inalienable human rights.
19. Once again the honour of participating in the work of the Economic and Social Council has fallen to Cuba. I may safely assert that the Cuban delegation endeavoured, at the fourteenth session of that body, to make the most effective possible contribution to the cause of the economic development of under-developed countries. That endeavour was not based on a narrow parochial outlook, but was made in the hope of achieving general benefits for all countries, regardless of their geographical situation, in which men suffer poverty, ignorance, ill health and under-nourishment.
20. Convinced that there can be no peace without economic stability, Cuba will contribute within the framework of the United Nations to the study and adoption of measures calculated to raise the standard of living of the peoples of the world. This policy, which guides the work of the Government of President Batista, is constantly receiving new support within our Republic. But the controls and restrictions, both commercial and financial, which are still being applied, in many cases without justification, bar our access — and that of other densely populated areas — to agricultural and industrial centres and food products. What is necessary, therefore, is not only to increase productivity but, in addition, to bring the potential consumer markets closer to the centres of production.
21. In a world that is becoming increasingly interdependent, it would be absurd to attempt to solve the serious economic problems which beset us in isolation one from the other. There is no nation or group of nations so powerful that it can turn its back on the rest of mankind, isolating itself in an illusory autarky and disregarding the needs and anxieties of others. Nor will the false prophets of anti-democratic doctrines dazzle the destitute masses with empty promises of a better world based on a regime of slavery and negation of the individual, a regime which denies the dignity of man and ignores the moral values which constitute the very reason for man’s existence. My delegation will always be in the vanguard in the search for effective solutions to put an end to the state of anxiety in which we live. A policy for action in the economic sphere must be developed which will produce tangible and immediate benefits for the most needy countries, and for that? reason our Government will give special attention to the subject of economic development, which is one of the most important items on the agenda.
22. Accordingly, Cuba is particularly interested in the development of the United Nations technical assistance programme, whereby the principal nations of the world, some of which appear to have accepted Martis aphorism that “generosity, too, produces good dividends”, have become exporters of scientific achievements and technical knowledge, thus undeniably accelerating the process of economic development in the regions which have hitherto been less favoured by history, but for which geography and geology undoubtedly reserve a brilliant future.
23. Nevertheless, we have not for one moment overlooked the consideration so firmly stressed by the General Assembly at its sixth session, which, briefly, is that, although the technical aspect of economic development is important, the financial aspect is equally- important, since without it the most marvellous plan would become a mere sheaf of printed pages of purely documentary interest.
24. Since the flow of capital from developed to underdeveloped countries is still far from sufficient, and the international credit organs at present available to us cannot cover all aspects of the financing of economic development, Cuba will continue to support, as it has already supported in this Assembly and in the Economic and Social Council, the creation of an international finance corporation which will facilitate the issue of loans to finance those development projects which the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development, owing to statutory limitations, is prevented from considering. Such a finance corporation would also stimulate the flow of private capital to our countries where, invested in productive enterprises, it would ultimately become a part of our national wealth.
25. Another proposal made by Cuba is the establishment of a special fund for subsidies and long-term loans to under-developed countries (E/L.363 and Rev.l), to help them to finance non-self-amortizing projects such as public services and transport, ports, irrigation, water-works, construction of low-cost dwellings and similar undertakings, in which the Government of the Republic of Cuba has recently developed large-scale programmes. Let, me also refer to an important aspect of the agrarian policy pursued by the present Cuban Government, under which the peasant is enabled to own the land that he cultivates, thus strengthening the system of small rural property.
26. Again, during the last session of the Economic and Social Council, we' supported the elimination of double taxation of capital, with a view to the stimulation of foreign investment in under-developed countries. In this connexion we proposed that international recognition should be given to the principle that income derived from such Investments should be taxed only in the countries where the investments are made, and should be exempt from tax in any other country.
27. In its internal economic development, Cuba is laying the groundwork for harmonious economic development, one of the bases for which is the report prepared by the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development as the result of research carried out by the mission sent by that institution to Cuba. In the pursuit of its high aims in regard to economic development, Cuba also has the support of such national organizations as the National Bank, the Cuban Bank of Agricultural and Industrial Development, and the National Economic Council, which, in spite of the recent date of their formation, are efficiently carrying out the tasks assigned to them.
28. Before concluding, I take the liberty of drawing the attention of the Assembly to the item on our agenda relating to the adoption of the Spanish language in the Economic and Social Council. The Council, accepting the proposal of Cuba and Uruguay and following the course set by the General Assembly in 1948, [resolution 247 (III)] decided to include Spanish among its working languages; it now remains for the Assembly to vote the necessary funds to carry out that decision.
29. I wish to make it clear that, for the Latin-American countries, this is not a matter of vanity, but a happy effort which will contribute greatly to the economic and social development of half a continent. I hope that the Assembly, bearing in mind the consideration I have just stressed, will not hesitate to vote for the provision of the necessary credits, which will be relatively small considering the great, benefits that will ensue.
30. The Cuban delegations is particularly happy to take its place this year in this illustrious Assembly, for it is the year which marks the first fifty years of its independence. As on other occasions, it has come to watch over and foster its traditional and historic interests; but its efforts to discharge its high Responsibility will also be governed by the practical Wisdom which every country conscious of its duty should apply in these unusual times.
31. Fifty years of freedom, achieved after a previous half-century of epic struggle, has taught us the value of moderation, of respect for our peers, of the marvellous spiritual and material blessings of international peace. Our internal difficulties have served only to strengthen our national legal institutions, based on order and justice, on the equality of all citizens, and on those memorable liberal and humane principles proclaimed by the majority of this Assembly. That is why we have taken our places in this Assembly. That is why, at the opening of this new session, upon which humanity, has based so many noble hopes, it is our fervent desire that our debates will take place in an atmosphere of broad understanding and will result in happy and beneficial peaceful agreements.