75. This general debate in the Assembly has been accepted as the appropriate occasion for the various delegations to state their views on the great problems facing mankind, to lay down general policy, and to put forward ideas that may facilitate the taking of decisions favouring the maintenance of international peace, while ensuring absolute respect for the sovereignty of peoples and States.
76. To the delegation of Cuba the pre-eminent problem today is that of the maintenance of peace. It is with no wish to figure as a Cassandra or to show exaggerated pessimism that I observe that the immediate prospects offer little hope that the principal aim of the United Nations will be achieved.
77. For more than three years, the United Nations has fought a bloody war in the defence of a small State which was the object of the most treacherous and unjustified aggression. South Korea has been utterly destroyed and, although aggression has been repelled and the noble and valiant South Korean people saved from the subjugation which has overtaken so many others, it cannot be denied that so far there does not seem to be any possibility whatsoever of attaining the desired goal, the unification of Korea under a government freely elected by its citizens, as was long ago decided by our General Assembly [resolution 376 (V)).
78. The picture presented by the world does not justify optimism. Germany continues divided despite its people’s protests. East Germany is under the domination of the Soviet Union. We have observed with grief and indignation the extreme cruelty used to suppress the German people’s protests against the communist regime which has been thrust upon them, which not only enslaves them and strips them of the barest civil and political rights but also condemns them to hunger, poverty and despair. Communist aggression continues in Indo-China. War is being waged without quarter, inspired and directed beyond any doubt by the Soviet Union which, as in Korea, does not send into battle a single one of its own soldiers but instead uses as cannon-fodder its fanatical supporters from other countries. The same applies in Malaya, the Philippines and many parts of the world where bloody civil wars are being waged, provoked and supported in every case by national and international communists. This means that, at the direction of the Moscow Government, wars have been unleashed on an extraordinary scale, making it impossible to preserve any illusions of an immediate future of peace and respect for the sovereignty of peoples and their lawful governments.
79. The fact that it has not been possible to sign the peace treaty with Austria — a nation which in reality was never at war since, as everyone knows, it was under the occupation of Hitler Germany, and the thousands upon thousands of German, Italian, Japanese and Spanish prisoners whom the Soviet Union, in violation of the basic rules of international law, has failed to return, confirm our view that it would be rash folly to think in terms of an imminent state of lasting peace. To accept the idea that the danger of aggression is over, and to proceed with unilateral disarmament as the Soviet Union and its more or less overt supporters advocate, would pave their way to world domination, the old ambition which Russia has maintained without interruption since czarist times.
80. While this spectacle faces the peoples and governments of' the world, the USSR Government has launched what has come to be called, in our opinion unjustifiably, a peace offensive. But what kind of peace does the Soviet Union offer? The only kind of which it admits the possibility: that of absolute submission to its own aspirations. It wants all the democratic peoples of the world to become its satellites in the same way as Czechoslovakia, Poland, Romania, Bulgaria, Hungary, Albania and North Korea. In this forum, the truth must be stated with all the frankness the circumstances demand. There can be no talk of permanent peace while these unjustified aggressions continue. None can believe the Moscow Government’s promises until it calls a halt to the wars it inspires and maintains, for we are convinced that the Soviet Union, and the Soviet Union alone, has for its own ends made itself the source and centre of that world disorder which prevents the peoples from living together in peace.
81. It is plain that if the Soviet Union’s so-called peace offensive prospers, it will precipitate war instead of averting it. It is — and I cannot understand how any of the statesmen governing the democratic States can fail to see it for what it is — a clumsy manoeuvre to separate the United States from its natural allies, from allies which it must have if there is to be a logical balance of power. It is obvious that as soon as the United States was isolated, the Soviet Union would decide on war; and, should it be victorious, no special knowledge of these matters is needed to predict that, in due course, the other nations and peoples which naively believe in the possibility of a neutrality we regard as impossible under present conditions would fall under its sway, one by one or all together.
82. The official announcements of the USSR Government, reported at length in the international Press, on recent atomic and hydrogen bomb tests in that country, and Mr. Malenkov’s speech, in which he said that the Soviet Union too had atomic and hydrogen bombs, are all part of what we may call a peace offensive for war. They are intended to frighten the peoples of Western Europe and the rest of the noncommunist world. It is an attempt to convince them that their neutrality will save them from destruction, so that later they can be dealt with in the same way as their neighbours, whose fate so plainly foreshadows what would happen if the United States, the world’s chief bastion of democracy and liberty, were to be overthrown.
83. In my delegation’s view, the world situation is plain. What more could the people and Government of Cuba — a country with a small population, lacking great military potential- — desire than the achievement of a state of permanent peace? We would never desist from striving for this ideal, which is indeed the raison d’être of the United Nations itself, but We maintain with absolute conviction that the only way to keep the present precarious state of peace is to unite all the free and democratic peoples of the world to convince the Soviet Union of the impossibility of victory, should it unleash its war of aggression. Thus, and only thus, can the peace be kept. Obviously the ideal solution would be different, but that does not depend on us. Only the Government of the Soviet Union can put it into effect. One significant fact cannot have escaped anyone. The men who control the destinies of the Soviet Union have spoken a few half-friendly phrases; but where are the tangible facts to prove their words sincere? All we can say so far without fear of contradiction is that, on any territory over which their flag of conquest has flown, on any territory they have annexed in defiance of all reason and justice, they have never loosed their hold. East Germany, Austria, the satellite countries, are examples which even the most wilfully blind, cannot ignore.
84. The Korean question is another example of the results of the Soviet Union’s peace offensive. The General Assembly, exercising its lawful right, nominated [resolution 711 A (VII)] the Member States which are to take part, on behalf of the nations which placed armed forces at the disposal of the Unified Command, in response to the appeal of the United Nations, in the political conference that is to seek to achieve a stable peace in that unhappy peninsula. The Soviet Union, as no representative can deny, tried by every means to obstruct agreement in the First Committee and the General Assembly, just as it obstructed the Armistice Agreement which circumstances forced the aggressors to accept.
85. Recently, we read with concern the reply, dated 13 September 1953, of the Minister for Foreign Affairs of communist China [A/2469], which repeats, word for word, the arguments used by the Soviet delegation in the First Committee. In Mr. Chou En-lai’s reply there are assertions which cannot be read without indignation. Let us look at two of them, which are a bitter mockery of world public opinion. The first is this: “It must be noted that the Soviet Union is not a belligerent nation, but is a neutral nation outside the two belligerent sides. Moreover, the Soviet Union has consistently been taking initiatives in giving support to, and striving for, the peaceful settlement of the Korean question.” Further on, Mr. Chou En-lai states: “The whole world knows that India, like the Soviet Union, is a neutral nation outside of the two belligerent sides in Korea.”
86. We have to make a few slight comments on this fantastic assertion by the Minister for Foreign Affairs of communist China. It is our duty to do so because we Latin-American States, Cuba among others, were referred to directly by the Indian Prime Minister, Mr. Nehru, in a recent speech in his country’s Parliament. The Indian Prime Minister accused the Latin- American countries of having prevented India, by their votes, from taking part in the political conference, and said that our position was incomprehensible, since we were not really directly concerned in Asian problems.
87. With all due respect, we must pit our view against that of the great Indian statesman. With the same earnestness as India, the Latin-American States long for peace and fulfil the obligation imposed by the Charter on the Member States of the United Nations by voting as our consciences dictate. We consider that peace is indivisible, and consequently that all problems touching peace affect us; and we cannot renounce our rights as Members of the United Nations.
88. With equal firmness we reject the lying assertion of Mr. Chou En-lai that India has been as neutral as the Soviet Union in the Korean conflict. That assertion is an insult to the truth. So far as Cuba is concerned, we can add only that, just as we voted to include the Soviet Union in the political conference because its belligerency on the aggressors’ side was plain to be seen, so did we oppose the invitation to India precisely because we were in no doubt as to its neutrality. Indeed, it was because of its neutrality, that India was appointed as presiding member of the Neutral Nations Repatriation Commission. We frankly admit that, had we agreed with Mr. Chou En-lai’s statements, we should have voted in favour of the invitation to India on the same grounds as we voted for the invitation to the Soviet Union.
89. The Cuban delegation considers that it is neither prudent nor reasonable to resume discussion at this point on the question of the composition of the political conference, a question on which the aggressor side goes so far as to claim the right to tell us who is to represent us. If the political conference does not take place, international public opinion will be able to fix the responsibility, not on the United Nations, which has proposed a time and place for it and has appointed its representatives, but on the aggressor side, which seeks by every means to obstruct the achievement of an agreement leading to a lasting peace in Korea.
90. Following the procedure adopted by the speakers who have preceded me, both at earlier meetings and today, I shall now make some observations on the chief problems which confront the Assembly of the present session.
91. We consider that item 67 of the agenda, dealing with an initiative of great humanitarian significance taken by our Economic and Social Council, is of primary importance. It is an appeal to the Member and non-member States to ratify or accede to the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, to take measures designed to ensure the widest possible diffusion of the nature, contents and purposes of the Convention, and to see to it that the Convention is strictly observed.
92. The Government of Cuba has always felt very proud to have submitted, in 1946, together with Panama and India, the draft resolution which served as a basis for the draft convention which was unanimously adopted in 1948 [resolution 260 A (III)]. Later, in 1949, the Cuban delegation, together with the delegations of Australia and the Philippines, proposed that Member States should be asked to ratify the Convention as soon as possible and that nonmembers should be invited to accede to it. We are gratified to note that the peoples and governments have correctly understood the importance of the Convention. Forty-one States, including eleven non-members, have already ratified this most humanitarian of all conventions.
93. The encouraging response of non-member States, is evidence of the importance of the Convention on Genocide. We regard the accession of South Korea, and Italy as particularly significant. The courageous people of South Korea, men, women and children, suffered heavily from the acts of genocide committed against them during the North Korean occupation; the Government of South Korea acted with prophetic insight when it appealed in 1950 to all governments to ratify the Convention. We also attach great importance to Italy’s accession to the Conventions for we cannot forget that Rome is the cradle of international law. Nevertheless, only half the Member States of the , United Nations have ratified the Convention; it is for that reason that the Economic and Social Council appeals to States that have not ratified the Convention to do so.
94. Genocide is a new word, but the thing itself is unfortunately as old as mankind. In this century more than 20 million — let us confess it with shame — more than 20 million human beings have been victims of genocide. How many more millions have still to die before we finally decide to insist upon the full application of the Convention?
95. Cuba’s contribution to the development of international law has been substantial despite the fact that we are not and do not claim to be a great Power; it is perhaps for this reason that our aim is always , the pacific settlement of disputes through the application of the rules if international law. The Latin-American States will remember that the code of private international law accepted in the great majority of the American countries bears the illustrious name of Antonio Sanchez de Bustamante, who was for many years a judge of the Permanent Court of International Justice. It is for this reason that Cuba has proposed to the Assembly at the present session that one of Bustamante’s most distinguished pupils should be elected as a member of the International Law Commission. We consider that that body, like all United Nations bodies, should be composed in such a way as to permit representatives of all the Member States to contribute to its work in orderly and fair rotation.
96. Cuba wishes in this way to make its contribution to the fulfilment of Article 13 of the Charter, which provides that: “The General Assembly shall initiate studies and make recommendations for the purpose of: “a. Promoting international co-operation in the political field and encouraging the progressive development of international law and its codification...”
97. The budget estimates of the United Nations and of eight of its specialized agencies for 1954 amount to a total of $83,953,239, an increase of $1,380,715 over the estimates for 1953. The increase is due to seven of the specialized agencies, not to the United Nations itself, whose budget estimates for 1954 are $204,300 less than those for 1953. In addition to the contributions which Member States are bound to make, there are voluntary and extra-budgetary contributions and contributions to other regional organizations, so that it is understandable that some Member States, Cuba among them, should be deeply alarmed by the steady increase in international expenditure, and call, as we have been doing for some years, for a policy of moderation and reduction of the budget to a minimum consistent with the proper functioning of the Organization.
98. With reference to the United Nations in particular, it should be pointed out that, during the period of expansion, in which inflation was a factor, its expenditure was increased annually from an initial figure of approximately $19 million in 1946, to over $50 million in 1952. Since then, the ordinary expenditures have been stabilized to some extent and have even tended slightly to fall, as the 1953 budget and the estimates for 1954 show. Nevertheless, we feel that it is necessary to make bigger economies in the expenditure of the United Nations by examining future programmes of work and reorganizing the administrative services. This was recognized by the General Assembly last year. In this connexion, my Government and the delegation of which I am Chairman repose every confidence in the new Secretary-General, who on various occasions has stated his intention to study the reorganization of the Secretariat from the points of view of efficiency and economy.
99. With regard to economic problems, we note with satisfaction that the agenda of the eighth session includes such important items as the establishment of an international finance corporation and a special fund. In our view, these items are of the highest importance. My delegation has warmly defended the proposals at previous sessions of the Assembly and of the Economic and Social Council, and is therefore gratified that they are included in the agenda of the present session. It was indeed, as will be generally remembered, the Cuban delegation which called at the last session for their inclusion in the agenda of this session, because we believe that the domestic resources available to the under-developed countries are insufficient to permit the successful completion of their economic development programmes.
100. For the Government of President Batista, the past year has not been one of waiting or inaction. On the contrary, the country’s technical bodies have been actively engaged in devising ways and means of accelerating our economic development.
101. New bodies, such as the National Executive Commission of Local and Rural Boards, have been set up and are working successfully to expand our network of local roads so that our remotest farming areas can be linked with our centres of consumption. Within the last few weeks, hundreds of kilometres of local roads have been opened in the most isolated parts of the island. In urban works, the State is matching the contributions of individuals and municipalities. In addition, the commission for the improvement of rural housing has carried out a large-scale building and improvement programme ensuring that, at the present rate of progress, a few years will see the most far- reaching change in our history in the living conditions of the Cuban peasant.
102. A new Transport Act, adapted to modern requirements and our development needs, has already been approved and will soon enter into force. As a corollary to this programme for the expansion and mechanization of our transport system, the keystone of our development plans, the Government of President Batista recently bought the Cuban United Railways, which serve half the island, from their British owners, for a sum corresponding to their real value.
103. The Government of Cuba has also recently established the National Finance Corporation, an autonomous credit agency with the special function of promoting economic development by facilitating the financing, in whole or in part, of production works of public interest. The corporation supplements the economic work of the National Bank, the National Economic Council, and the Agricultural and Industrial Development Bank. All these measures and many others initiated by the National Development Commission and the Ministry of Public Works, which I do not think it appropriate to list in detail here, form part of the Government’s two-year plan designed to accelerate the industrial and agricultural development of Cuba.
104. The execution of this whole programme for the economic advancement of the neediest elements of the population is greatly assisted by a number of social organizations. Among the most important of the bodies recently set up, I may mention the National Children’s Clinics Organization, whose services now cover a large part of the national territory; the emergency board for the assistance of hurricane and storm victims, which was of great service to the inhabitants of the parts of the island damaged by recent storms; the national organization for the rehabilitation of persons crippled from birth, by accident or by poliomyelitis, whose useful, humanitarian work enables crippled persons to take up employment; and, finally, the board for the assistance of children, the aged and the destitute.
105. The Government of Cuba, anticipating the argument frequently used in the Second Committee that the government of each of the under-developed countries must play its part, has not, as can be seen, been idle during the eleven months that have passed since the Assembly last discussed economic affairs. We have worked with a will and we shall not slacken our efforts. But everyone knows, since the situation is the same in all the under-developed countries, that our efforts, great as they are, are insufficient for the development and industrialization of our countries. The steady growth of the population largely cancels out the improvements and advances made. The shortage of domestic capital hampers, retards or restricts our plans for intensive development. In addition, in the specific case of Cuba, we are carrying out this work at a difficult time when we have been compelled to reduce our sugar production by 2 million tons a year; in other words, when the position of the international sugar market has imposed a loss on our economy of over $150 million a year, with inevitable repercussions on domestic savings, on the capital available for other enterprises and on the welfare of our working classes.
106. For all these reasons, my country has always favoured the establishment of the bodies for the assistance of under-developed countries referred to in our agenda. These bodies are complementary to our own individual efforts and necessary to our future development and to the present well-being of our working classes. For that reason we look forward to their establishment in the common interest of the under-developed areas and of the highly industrialized countries with the available capital.
107. We have faith in the United Nations. We know the goodwill that animates all the delegations present. We accordingly hope that, by reconciling the interests of all, this Assembly will find ways and means of setting up machinery that can reduce many difficulties and promote the economic development and well-being of the under-developed countries, for economic development and well-being are, in the words of the Charter, necessary for peaceful and friendly relations among nations. Herein lies the interest of all and we appeal to all, so that we may together find a solution that will in the long run benefit all peoples alike.