In this critical period of human history, it is a good omen that the sixth session of the General Assembly should meet in the beautiful city of Paris, one of the mainsprings of Western culture, where the ideas of liberty, fraternity and equality have found their most eloquent expression in modern times, and where the Universal Declaration of Human Rights was unanimously adopted by the Members of the United Nations. I have great pleasure in expressing, on behalf of my delegation, our thanks and appreciation to the French Government and people for the hospitality and welcome they have accorded to us all.
94. Humanity has long been struggling to realize the aims and ideals of the French Revolution as well as those of many other revolutions carried out in the interests of individual and national freedom and equality. Wars, both local and universal, have been waged simply because certain Powers and interests have not recognized the right of other people’s to freedom. It was to replace the destructive methods of war and revolutions by the peaceful methods of conciliation and evolution that the United Nations was established. Humanity has had enough of wars and bloodshed. It is time that we should be guided by intelligence and farsightedness instead of emotion and sentiment. It is time that the lessons of tolerance and fair play were learnt, so that the march of humanity towards its goals might be positive and progressive and not negative and destructive. Old habits of thought and action, selfishness, self-aggrandizement, domination and the exploitation of others must be effectively erased and replaced by co-operation, friendship and fair dealing. Otherwise, humanity will be crushed under the weight of the most destructive weapons which modern science can produce.
95. The lessons which wars and revolutions have taught mankind are clear. They consist of respect for the rights and freedoms of the individual as well as of nations. If the world learns these lessons, no more wars and no more revolutions will endanger peace and tranquillity. It is not enough, however, to learn these lessons, which are embodied in the Charter only in the abstract. We need to practise them and to apply them. It is in the application and practice of the principles of the Charter that we discover some difficulties and some failures in this Organization. We shall allude here only to a few of the causes of these failures.
96. In the first place, it seems that while we pay lip-service to the natural rights and freedoms of peoples, we are not always consistent in applying them. Human slavery on the individual level is universally prohibited throughout the civilized world, but a considerable part of the civilized world has not recognized the rightful aspirations of other peoples of independence and freedom; in other words, slavery is still being practised on a national level while it is prohibited on the individual level.
97. National sovereignty on the basis of equality is recognized in the Charter for all the Members of the United Nations: still we find that there exists treaties not based on the principle of equality between Members of the United Nations.
98. The sanctity of home and property and the right of every individual to live in his own country and return to it whenever he desires are guaranteed in the Charter and in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Nevertheless we find that about one million Arabs, Moslem and Christian alike, have been forcibly evicted from their homes in Palestine and prevented from returning to their country while outsiders are constantly pouring in and occupying their homes and making use of their property, thus creating difficulties which would stand in the way of their return. It seems to us that there is a grave inconsistency there. It is either that the Charter is so ambiguous that we need a new interpretation on a re-drafting of its provision, or that it is clear but we flout it in practice while claiming lo respect its fundamental principles.
99. Secondly, a very obvious cause of the paralysis of this Organization comes from the rule of unanimity of the five permanent Members of the Security Council, the so-called veto. My delegation continues to claim that the principle of the veto is not consistent with the spirit of the Charter, which is based on the principle of the equality of nations big and small, strong and weak. While this principle is for the present accepted, it has been misapplied especially in the admission of new Members to this Organization. My delegation believes in the universality of the United Nations and considers that its membership should be made broad and inclusive.
100. My delegation has always claimed that the veto is not applicable in the case of admission of new Members; for the function of the Security Council is to recommend admission and not to decide upon it. The decision for admission is a function of the General Assembly and not of the Security Council.
101. Besides, this unanimity rule itself has been circumvented and violated by the Security Council, by interpreting “abstention” to mean a concurrence of vote. If one abstains, one is not concurring in the vote either with those who say “yes” or with those who say “no”. One has to say “yes” or “no” to concur with one group or the other. To say nothing is not concurring. Still the Security Council did twist the letter of the Charter in the admission of the fifty-ninth Member to this Assembly as it did in its decision this year on the Suez Canal question when two of the permanent members of the Security Council abstained. We say: abolish the veto! But if it is kept it should be observed conscientiously. Favouritism and power politics should not be permitted to influence the decisions of the United Nations, and yet they have almost rendered this Organization impotent, thus endangering the peace of the world.
102. Thirdly, probably the greatest crisis of this Organization and of the world at large emanates from the fears and suspicions between the major Powers. These fears and suspicions are the cause of the cold war, they are at the basis of the race for armaments, and unless they are dispelled by reason, mutual confidence and common sense, humanity will face a new and devastating catastrophe.
103. My delegation listened last Thursday [335th and 336th meetings] to the distinguished representatives of the United States of America and of the Soviet Union, and tried in vain to find a common ground between the two representatives of the two conflicting camps. This is a situation which is saddening to us all. We had hoped to start this session of the General Assembly with greater readiness on the part of all concerned to show a spirit of conciliation and recognition of the fundamental truths and values of the United Nations Charter. This crisis of fear and suspicion calls for a fundamental analysis and basic treatment. For unless this psychosis is properly and sincerely treated, no proposal for disarmament — no matter how desirable — and no system of inspection of atomic or any other weapons will be possible. So long as there are fears and suspicions, mental and emotional barriers, this Organization and the whole world will suffer. One way to dispel these fears and to remove suspicions is to have free contact between the peoples concerned and to develop among them a spirit of tolerance and forbearance. It is in this spirit that my delegation, along with the delegation of Syria submitted a draft resolution at the last session calling on the five permanent members of the Security Council to meet individually or collectively with the intention of settling together the many problems that endanger world peace today. It is to the regret of all peace-loving peoples, that the Conference of the Deputy Foreign Ministers in Paris failed to work out an agenda for a future meeting. We believe that all difficulties in the way of such a meeting should be overcome. We would certainly welcome the suggestion made here by His Excellency, the President of the French Republic, to the effect that the great leaders of the major Powers might meet here in Paris. Such a move might lead to a reduction of the fears and suspicions prevailing, and eventually contribute to world peace and security. Leaving matters as they stand today with mental and material walls separating the two great camps will certainly lead to the final dissolution of this Organization and consequently to the destruction of all civilization. Were it not for these fears and suspicions, the war in Korea would have stopped at least a year ago. We still hope that wise counsel may prevail and that a cease-fire in Korea will take effect at the earliest possible date.
104. Another deadly enemy of this Organization is the existence of power politics and pressure groups. Once power politics prevail here at the expense of human rights and the clear principles of the Charter, peace and justice are in jeopardy. The worst example of this case is the tragedy of Palestine. It has now become abundantly clear that it was due to the influence of widespread propaganda of the “Zionist International” upon the Press, the cinema and the intellectual and political centres of the world that the infamous partition of Palestine was brought about. It is unbelievable that an institution designed to guard human rights and freedoms should have taken an illegal decision leading to the uprooting of one million Palestinian Arabs who were left destitute in a state of misery and suffering. This Organization cannot relinquish the responsibility for the deep wound inflicted on the Arab peoples, and the status of the refugees is a constant irritant of this wound. There is no doubt that thus far this Organization has always shown weakness before Jewish aggression, stubbornness and disregard of United Nations resolutions in foiling to yield to Arab rights in Palestine. So far it has failed to do justice to the Arabs of Palestine. It is to be noted that Jewish aggression has never ceased, and during this very year Syrian villages have been bombed from the air by Jewish planes, the Jews have illegally started to change the course of the Jordan River, thus depriving the Kingdom of Jordan of its legitimate share of its waters; they constantly attack and shoot peaceful Arabs; destroy their homes and villages and evict them from their lands.
105. It is regretted that honest and impartial United Nations officials are intimidated — one of them at least, a French official, was removed at the instance of the Jews because he would tell the whole truth. There is no doubt that the presence of the Jewish State is the greatest single factor that disturbs peace and stability in the Middle East; that, coupled with the status of the refugees, is enough to-create a serious situation of tension and hatred. Does the future look any brighter? While the decisions of this Assembly in 1948, 1949 and 1950 with regard to the right of Arab refugees to return to their homes remain completely disregarded by the Jewish State, hundreds of thousands of Jewish immigrants are pouring into Palestine to occupy the homes and farms which rightfully belongs to Arabs. Eventually this uncontrolled immigration will develop into an explosive situation which will endanger the peace of the whole area.
106. But can the United Nations, which is responsible for this state of affairs, stop the danger from growing any further? It certainly cannot do so as long as the Zionists exercise great pressure in the capital cities of the world. The debates of the World Zionist Congress in Jerusalem last August amply demonstrated the intention of the Zionist International to go on bringing pressure in world capitals at the expense of Arab lands and Arab rights. But what about peace and stability in the Middle East? Is it to be sacrificed and crushed in the grindstone of power politics and pressure groups? What is to be done is quite simple. It is incumbent on those Powers which are primarily responsible for the creation of the Jewish State to see to it that this State abides at least by the United Nations resolutions, those resolutions which have been so unfair and unjust to the Arabs. Peace in Palestine and the Middle East is a vain hope so long as Arab rights are ignored and so long as Arab honour and dignity are wounded. Any proposals by the United Nations Conciliation Commission for Palestine that water down the United Nations decisions and whittle away Arab rights are doomed to failure. It is high time that the United Nations should rid itself of power politics.
107. The Arab world, extending from Casablanca to Basrah, consists of peace-loving and freedom-loving peoples. The awakening Arab nationalism based on common language, culture, history and geography binds us all together and has created amongst us a sense of unity. The Arab nation has fought on the side of the democracies in two world wars, hoping to achieve its national aspirations of freedom and unity.
108. Notwithstanding their great sacrifices, many Arab territories still await their deliverance from foreign subjugation, It is for this Organization, if it is to function according to the spirit of the Charter, to see to it that these people achieve their political freedom, their unity, and their economic, social and educational development in a democratic world. By tradition the Arab is friendly and hospitable. Xenophobia grows under foreign domination and exploitation. Political problems and difficulties in the Arab world are due primarily to foreign influence and machinations. We believe that once power politics give way to the letter and spirit of the United Nations Charter, the Arab world will provide a good pillar of peace in this world.
109. Besides the problem of Palestine, the United Nations has been called upon to take action on two Arab questions. The first is that of Libya. We sincerely hope that Libya will become an independent State before 1 January 1952, and that at this session it will join us as the sixty-first Member of the United Nations. We sincerely hope that the decisions of this Assembly with regard to Libya will be put into effect in their true spirit. All we want in Libya is to see created a free and independent State — democratic and united, and ruled by a constitutional government supported by the true representatives of the people. Let us hope that no intrigue will be permitted to compromise the unity and territorial integrity of Libya. Libya certainly deserves all the technical and material help of the United Nations and let us hope that it will be a credit to this Organization.
110. The second question is that of Morocco. In this connexion, we wish to submit that the end of the Second World War saw a number of new countries attaining their freedom and independence. The emergence of India, Pakistan, Indonesia, Burma, Ceylon, Syria and Lebanon as independent States is no doubt a credit to the statesmanship of the leaders of both sides. Undoubtedly some inevitable struggle and friction did take place — but ultimately all was settled and friendly relations much more lasting than the former relations came into being.
111. Arab North Africa, which has been so helpful, and which has sacrificed so many of its young men for the cause of the Allies in two world wars, is not yet free. We sincerely hope that France, that great champion of freedom and democracy, will see to it that political, economic and cultural development in these countries go on at a faster pace and that Morocco will soon exercise its full independence. The United Nations Charter certainly stands for the principle of self-determination of peoples, and the people of Morocco are certainly ready for independence and self-government. They have been under French tutelage for over forty years. Last year the United Nations General Assembly decided that Somaliland should attain its independence in ten years — a period which my delegation thought to be unduly long. If ten years are adequate to provide independence for Somaliland under Italy, should not the lapse of forty years have been enough for Morocco? It was in this spirit that the Iraq Government, along with other States members of the Arab League, submitted a request proposing that the item concerning Morocco should be included in the agenda of the sixth session and we sincerely hope that the General Assembly will take up the matter at the earliest possible date in this session.
112. We are confident that France, whose friendship my country — like all other Arab countries — cherishes so much, will give due consideration to the national aspirations of the peoples of North Africa.
113. The Arab world has been suffering for generations from poverty, disease and ignorance — curses due mainly to past wars and invasions which were not followed by redress or reconstruction. Neglected and left in their present difficulties, they will always contribute to world tension and instability, and the danger of subversive activities will not be excluded.
114. Technical and economic assistance on a large scale by the United Nations is a matter of great urgency if we are to avoid unrest and political upheavals. We need not emphasize here that any economic or technical assistance should in no way compromise the political freedom of these peoples.
115. In spite of the difficulties of the United Nations, which are themselves a reflection of the ills of the world, the fact remains that the Organization is the last hope of mankind. We must either make it work according to the principles of the Charter or we must abdicate and let power politics and the law of the jungle prevail. In other words, humanity faces its greatest test today. It either rises to new heights of peace based upon truth, justice and prosperity, or falls to its final doom. Let us hope that our will to survive will prevail and that we will move along the path of mutual confidence, mutual respect and co-operation for political freedom, social and economic justice for all, individually and collectively.