Argentina

The Argentine delegation is attending the present session of the Assembly fully conscious of the gravity of the present world situation and of the resultant problems, which have long faced the United Nations. 39. The practical application of the Charter has brought a number of fundamental defects to light. We would not presume to attribute to these defects all the difficulties besetting international relations in these historic times. It is, however, obvious that by perfecting the instrument governing relations among peoples, we should do much to promote the understanding for which mankind is yearning, and to allay the anxiety caused by the prospect of a grim future, fraught with problems and dangers. 40. The rule of unanimity of the five great Powers, a variant of the rule of absolute unanimity formerly obtaining in the League of Nations, was instituted at the Conference of San Francisco with a view to facilitating United Nations action, but it has not yielded the results which were anticipated in 1945. To our way of thinking, it could not have been otherwise. As we have already pointed out on a number of occasions, it is doubtful whether any organization of States whose members do not all enjoy genuine equality of rights can function effectively. Any rule which establishes exceptions to this principle is not only a violation of the unalterable concept of sovereignty, it is also an attack on the harmony essential to the success of any international action. This is not the moment to elaborate upon the possibility of reforms which, to judge by the failure of the various proposals submitted at previous sessions of the Assembly, would be unlikely to meet with a favourable response, perhaps because of the pressure of certain political interests, which prevent an impartial view of the problem. We would merely recall that we shall in a relatively short time have an opportunity of implementing Article 109, paragraph 3, of the Charter, which provides for the convening of a general conference of the United Nations for the purpose of reviewing the Charter. In this connexion, I was glad to note that the representative of New Zealand, who spoke before me, holds somewhat similar views. We shall, of course, concern ourselves not only with the desirability and scope of reforms affecting vital issues, Such as the unanimity of the permanent members of the Security Council and, especially, the reform required in respect of the obstacle imposed by Article 108 of the Charter to any amendment of that instrument, an obstacle which is unacceptable to my delegation, but also with many other amendments to the Charter which experience has shown to be necessary and some of which it appears could be introduced without the same difficulty. 41. With regard to the functioning of the United Nations, I feel bound again to emphasize the deadlock which has been reached in regard to the admission of new Members. I must make the stand which the Republic of Argentina has taken since the outset quite clear and definite. On the one hand, I would again point out that we adhere to the principle of the universality of the United Nations, which means that the Organization should include all peace-loving peoples, and, on the other hand, I would stress the need, which is daily becoming more apparent, for the General Assembly, in order to defend its powers, as the sovereign body in the matter, to take whatever decisions it sees fit in regard to each applicant. 42. We consider that, as early as possible in the current session, the General Assembly should press the Security Council to submit its recommendations for the admission of all or the largest possible number of the States which have applied for admission so that the Assembly can decide each case as it thinks best. We are unable to understand why this solution, which would result in the admission of the largest possible number of States, while securing compliance with the provisions of Article 4 of the Charter in every case, has not been accepted by the majority. We believe that the failure is mainly due to political considerations, which prevent a completely objective view of the matter. Although the results which have been achieved so far have been manifestly unfavourable, we still cherish the hope that a solution of the problem will be reached at the present session of the Assembly. My delegation wishes to make it clear that it intends to continue to press for the immediate admission, as full Members, of States such as Italy, which should long since have been Members of this Organization. 43. As at the two previous sessions, the work of the Assembly at the present session is upfolding against a background of events culminating in the hostilities in progress in the Korean peninsula. While endeavouring to bring those hostilities to an end, the Assembly has sought to set in motion machinery for collective measures to repel any possible future aggression. As the Argentine delegation has said before, it considers that it is obvious from the present world situation that, while the elaboration of such machinery may, theoretically, be of value, its effectiveness depends on the determination displayed by States in repelling aggression and on the possession of the necessary means for that purpose. By reason both of the facts and of the provisions of the Charter, the prime responsibility rests with the great Powers. For that reason we again wish to call attention to the danger of technical complications and the advisability of concentrating on the root causes of the difficulties encountered in international relations in order to find a remedy. We whole-heartedly support the view that, in order to secure lasting peace in international relations, we must establish conditions conducive to economic and social stability, without which it will be impossible to dispel the dangers threatening international harmony. 44. The need for this stability is generally recognized, but we have made little progress towards its attainment. We consider that in this exceptionally important question the medium and smaller Powers can exert their influence with a view to achieving a sound solution. One of the most important factors in assuring the peace and well-being of the nations is the proper regulation of commercial and economic relations. It is for that reason that the securing of co-operation in the station of international economic and social problems is one of the basic objectives laid down in the Charter. This objective is intimately related with the other objectives, and together they constitute an organic whole, which provides a basis for the activities to be undertaken by the Organization. Its attainment is thus a prerequisite for the accomplishment of the basic objective — the maintenance of peace and international security. In line with this provision, the Organization has made great efforts to secure a solution of economic problems. Its action has. been developed through the Economic and Social Council, the many organs of that Council, and the specialized agencies, which have undertaken valuable studies and activities. We believe, however, that international co-operation is not on a scale commensurate with the urgent economic and social problems of the times. 45. Since the end of the Second World War, we have seen the highly industrialized States proclaim the desirability of reorganizing world trade on an equitable basis, while at the same time seeking to safeguard the situation which existed before the war, with many of its inequalities. This paradox has persisted throughout the post-war period, and goes to show that the great declarations of principles, sound though they were, were smoke-screens for activities definitely designed to maintain a state of affairs which is certainly not conducive to the desired spirit of co-operation and understanding. Later, in order to bring some solution to the serious problem of poverty in vast regions of the world, the great Powers announced their intention of carrying out vast programmes designed to achieve better economic development in these regions and thus to eliminate the existing differences, which constitute a serious threat to the peace and security of mankind. In substance, these programmes are designed to counteract the shortcomings of private enterprise, which is generally hesitant and cautions in its approach and does not lead to a satisfactory distribution of world savings in line with the interests of the peoples, who have been impoverished for generations by the effects of a capitalism practised without full awareness of contemporary social realities. The social function of capital can be fulfilled only if private enterprise takes the initiative in a process of self-education, weighing the material consideration of profit against the interests and the prosperity of the working masses, who form the actual backbone of production and the basis of a just and progressive society. In our view, therefore, it is essential that private enterprise should clearly understand its mission in the world of today; otherwise its very existence will be threatened by the gains which other ideologies will amass at its expense. The lack of vision in private enterprise has been manifest of late in certain cases which have in fact developed into international problems which the community of nations is now trying to solve. Private enterprise has not made sufficient response to the calls of the world of today and it is because of this failing that we have to adopt the programmes to which I referred. Nevertheless, in Spite of all these good and sincere proposals, utter poverty still prevails as an unfortunate reality in vast regions of the world. We are in fact witnessing a process whereby a large proportion of the world’s savings is being devoted to the production of war materials, to the great detriment of the programmes for economic development. 46. The most important factor for the nations known as the under-developed countries, or those which are going through the process of industrialization and are developing towards economic independence, is the question of the price of raw materials as compared to that of the Manufactured goods which these countries have to acquire for their subsistence and development. It is absolutely essential to establish fair relations in trade if these countries are to be able to build up the capital formation within their frontiers which they need for progress and economic expansion. The deterioration in the balance of trade is the result of a historic process and it will in the long run be fatal if the highly industrialized countries fail to take adequate steps to correct this trend. 47. Action in this field was taken, as regards certain specific products, through what is known as the International Materials Conference, which was set up precisely in order to control the price of raw materials, either directly or indirectly, thus preventing trade in the products within its scope from reaching the level required to promote the development of the underdeveloped countries. The declared purpose of the Conference was to regulate the world distribution of certain products, giving priority to defence requirements and subordinating economic development to war mobilization plans. It should be added that the establishment and activities of the Conference bore no relation to the known and recognized rules of international law. Nor is it enough to call attention to the Conference’s shaky constitutional position: its activities have proved unfavourable to the countries which produce raw materials and, politically, they have been discriminatory, in that they have favoured the highly industrialized Powers. Now that these results have been achieved, the International Materials Conference is in process of dissolution, and the committees dealing with products which are now in plentiful supply or whose prices are beginning to drop have been abolished. This is the case, inter alia, for wool, a textile of paramount importance in the foreign trade of many countries. 48. Prompted in the first place by a sincere desire to collaborate in such matters, Argentina accepted the invitation to take part in the work of the Conference’s Wool Committee. But whatever slight efforts we made to persuade the Committee to take some account of the position of the countries producing raw materials were blocked by the large wool-importing countries. It was simply a question of an amendment to a resolution on military purchases to the effect that countries making emergency purchases for military purposes should not suddenly withdraw from the market and thus create serious disturbances. We were led to submit this amendment by the memory of what had happened in connexion with Korea, when the announcements of large purchases for purposes of strategic stockpiling led to a wave of speculation and a marked increase in prices, an increase which was quickly checked by sudden withdrawals from the market and other similar measures. As is well known, this led to the tremendous drop in the price of wool, beginning in March 1951, to a level even lower than that prevailing before the outbreak of the Korean conflict. The same happened in the case of tin, copper, etc., although the Conference had no jurisdiction over some of these products. 49. The Argentine motion was rejected and the Argentine Republic was then obliged to enter a special reservation regarding its desire to make its position known to the public and to explain the reasons for its attitude as well as the circumstances leading to the rejection of its amendment. It was compelled to do this because the Committee's proceedings are not open to the public and are even kept secret from the other member countries which are not represented on it. This in itself is highly significant and it is for this reason that we are using this all-important international forum to inform Member States and world public opinion of the activities of this supra-national organization which has no real justification for its existence and has done serious damage to the countries producing raw materials. We believe, in all good faith, that it is necessary to situate this state of affairs within the general picture of the problem of the economic development of the under-developed countries. This Assembly will deal with the problem of financing such development and the methods of achieving greater productivity in the world, Both these problems can be solved only if the question of the balance of trade is also taken into account and settled justly and fairly so that the countries producing raw materials will be able to proceed with their economic development. 50. The present unfair situation which has developed out of a continuing process through long periods of history, and the resulting lack of capital equipment in these countries, will completely offset any programme which does not take such realities into account. This problem should therefore be thoroughly studied so that, as it becomes better known, practices such as those we have described will be abandoned. At the same time, it is essential from the outset to place economic development high on the list of questions requiring a solution in the present world economic and political situation, for otherwise we shall simply go on in the same vicious circle. The peace and security of mankind depends basically on the satisfactory solution of this problem. Whenever this question has come up, we have proclaimed the principle that the peace and prosperity of the world are indivisible and it is by virtue of this principle that we are asking Member States to collaborate in finding a solution for the critical position of the majority of the world's inhabitants. We shall express our point of view concretely by submitting a draft, resolution at the appropriate time, to the appropriate committee, so that we may help, to find a satisfactory solution which will show a way of adjusting the present situation and lead us on to progress. 51. Just and equitable prices will also enable us to achieve the social justice which is demanded by world public opinion, not only through increased investments and the growth of economic activity, but also through a fairer system of remuneration for labour. The main purpose will always be to raise the general standard of living by providing the conditions and services called for by the modern concept of social justice, through a system of fair distribution in the interests of the community. Our Government's whole policy is based on this social approach to the rights and duties of the individual in an organized community, an approach which is essential for peace in the world. 52. We have mentioned these facts in order to contribute towards the solution of economic and social problems. This Assembly could shape future events if it became the starting point for a new era of international harmony and understanding. With this end in view, we shall work earnestly to bring about an understanding of these problems and to facilitate their solution for the benefit of a suffering section of mankind which, by its very existence, as we have already pointed out, constitutes a threat to world peace.