80. Mr. President, when I visited Romania early this year I not only was charmed by your country but I was also impressed with the political views expressed by Romanian statesmen, especially yourself. That impression was strengthened by our subsequent discussions in the Netherlands during the month of July. Your virtually unanimous election as President of this Assembly is therefore most gratifying to me, and I extend my warm congratulations to your country and to yourself.
81. My Government, to a large degree, shares the many concerns expressed in the Annual Report of the Secretary-General [A/6701], The war in Viet-Nam in particular continues to stir our conscience. Today, more than ever before, the mass media confront us with the sufferings of a divided nation whose citizens want to live in peace and freedom, but who are torn by civil strife, terrorism and acts of war.
82. Every time a shot finds its mark, a bomb explodes on its target, or a political murder is committed, new sufferings are inflicted on that unhappy country. It is therefore imperative that honest attempts at finding a peaceful solution be earnestly studied by the party to which they are addressed instead of being scornfully and peremptorily rejected. Countless speakers before me have advocated a reconvening of the Geneva Conference, a conference which at the time proved to be a forum for constructive discussions. I join in their appeal. The Viet-Nam question calls for discussions and negotiations, In this context I was pleased to note that important Governments involved are prepared to move in that direction. I call to mind, for example, the statements made by Mr. George Brown [567th meeting], Foreign Secretary of the United Kingdom, who was one of the two Co-Chairmen of the Geneva Conference, and the expressed readiness on the part of the United States, so specifically stated by Ambassador Goldberg [562nd meeting], to sit down at the conference table and to accept a Security Council decision opening the way to a Geneva Conference. On the other hand, it is most regrettable that the other Co-Chairman of the Geneva Conference, the Soviet Union, seems as yet unwilling to co-operate towards such a procedure.
83. The people of the Netherlands are by now so deeply worried about the war in Viet-Nam that they felt the need to give a solemn expression to their apprehensions. Towards the end of August last, the Lower House of the Netherlands Parliament spent a full day debating Viet-Nam, and every one of our political parties participated. My Government shares the grave concern expressed on that occasion by our Parliament, as well as its view that the Viet-Nam question calls for a political rather than a military solution. The House adopted a motion calling, inter alia, for a cessation of the bombing of North Viet-Nam in order to increase the possibility of peace negotiations. The member of Parliament who introduced the motion explained in an oral statement that the requested cessation of the bombing should not be subject to pre-conditions.
84. My Government believes that the present situation must not be allowed to continue. It has therefore appealed to all parties to the conflict to break through the existing vicious circle and to adopt a policy leading to peace by accepting, as a first step, to go to the conference table. I now publicly reiterate this appeal on behalf of my country.
85. Much has been said in the course of this debate on the diminished ability of the United Nations to maintain world peace. Since the United Nations cannot be more than the combined aspirations of its Members, it goes without saying that what our Organization is able or unable to accomplish in the service of world peace reflects but the limits to which the Members are prepared to go for the furtherance of peace. Moreover, the United Nations is not designed to be used as an immediate court of complaint for every kind of violation against the international community.
86. The normal procedure, as laid down by the Charter, is for countries first to try and settle their own disputes directly. I can do no better than to quote verbatim the wise words in the Introduction to the Secretary-General's Annual Report when he says: "I believe it is necessary to draw attention to the urgent need for States to have wider recourse, in their relations with other States, to the various means for the pacific settlement of disputes." [A/ 6701/Add.1, para. 155.] Only when every other avenue to peace has been explored without success, and a dangerous situation develops, are we justified in calling upon the United Nations — but even then we can do so only within the terms of the Charter.
87. We know that our Organization must cope with many and varied effects of growth. One such effect is the unforeseen increase in the number of sovereign States. A gathering of more than 120 Member States functions very differently from and less effectively than an assembly comprising no more than fifty or sixty members. However much our contemporary sense of justice may have been gratified by the speedy process of decolonization, the problem of very small countries whose voice and vote are out of proportion to their position in the world is real and as yet unsolved. The Introduction to the Secretary- General's Annual Report is well worth reading on this point.
88. There are more such phenomena that seem to call for changes in our organization and procedures. Perhaps improved instruments for peace and security will lead to their better use. We might, for example, take a more critical view of certain kinds of decisions and paper resolutions that in fact do the world more harm than good because they cannot be implemented. They are wafted away on the wind of history almost as soon as they are written. Not only is it better to make no decision at all than to make one that is meaningless or unenforceable; it is also good to realize that the euphoria surrounding such resolutions and voting sometimes represents a flight from reality; the underlying problem remains unsolved.
89. A most striking example of this is the situation in the Middle East. For twenty years we have discussed the problems of this area without coming to grips with the real issues. As a result the world has just witnessed the tragedy of a war that should have been avoided. Once again, in this Assembly, the Middle East is on our agenda. The situation at issue is one which clearly threatens world peace. Therefore, we feel that the Assembly should discuss this question with restraint, because it is a problem which falls under the competence of the Security Council. Our hope is for a concerted effort by all parties to create a new and stable order in the Middle East, making possible the peaceful co-existence of countries and nations with all of whom we have age-old ties of close co-operation and friendship; nations whose civilizations, wisdom and spiritual contributions to the world have been most impressive.
90. The positions taken by the various parties to the dispute during the present debate are rigid, and understandably so. But understanding is not enough. It is conceivable that the traumatic events of last summer will bring about new patterns of thought that may bring us closer to a solution. In a part of the world where so much intellectual energy is concentrated, the creation of new structures must be possible. To continue aggravating present differences in the General Assembly seems pointless. Speaking for my Government, I recommend an early debate in the Security Council and a strengthening of the United Nations peace-keeping role in the area. We support all initiatives to this end: the appointment of a special representative of the Secretary-General, observers and — when desired and accepted by both sides — a United Nations buffer force to give extra guarantees against a new explosion.
91. All such measures will have our full support, and if necessary we are prepared to assist in guaranteeing permanent frontiers, security arrangements, and free passage through International waterways. Our views regarding the fundamentals of the question were presented in Itemized detail in my address of 28 June last, during the fifth emergency special session [1539th meeting], and remain unchanged; so I shall not repeat those seven points. I do wish, however, to point out once again, though the fact is well known to everybody, that neither a detente nor a lasting solution will be possible in the Middle East unless, in addition to the two parties, the major Powers come to mutually acceptable terms.
92. That a consensus between major Powers is possible, even when the subject matter is difficult and complex, Is evident from the near-completion of a draft non-proliferation treaty. The attention of all of us is now directed towards current efforts aimed at a speedy presentation of that treaty. My delegation earnestly hopes that the Soviet Union and the United States will be able to submit the full text of such a draft treaty before this session of the Assembly Is over and that it will cover the question of safeguards. My Government would greatly value a treaty based on effective inspection by the International Atomic Energy Agency and believes such a treaty could be implemented without being contrary to the provisions of the Euratom Treaty. On our part we will do everything to promote such fundamental agreement with respect to the as yet unwritten article on inspection.
93. We do Indeed attach very great importance to such a treaty, though we naturally realize that it would not be a panacea and that may other measures will remain necessary if we are to stop the nuclear arms race. If we fail to halt the spread of nuclear weapons to a growing number of countries, there will be little cause to hope for an early progress in arms control and disarmament. We therefore regard a non-proliferation treaty as an essential step towards a stable and secure world. As for the nuclear Powers, they should likewise exercise self-restraint and they should limit their own vertical proliferation.
94. It would be improper to discuss the question of security without mentioning the problem of stagnation in world prosperity. In a world where poverty is rampant security treaties are not enough, because poverty is just as explosive as the atom bomb. Co-operation between developed and developing countries is a problem that strongly appeals to all sectors of Dutch society. In its budget proposals for 1968, submitted to Parliament about a week ago, my Government announced a substantial increase in foreign aid as well as a greatly activated development policy. My colleague in the Netherlands Government in charge of development aid will speak more extensively on this important subject later during this Assembly.
95. Mr. President and fellow representatives, may God grant us during this Assembly the wisdom to accomplish some good for humanity.