28.Mr. President, permit me, on behalf of the Government of Finland and on my own behalf, to extend to you the most cordial congratulations on your election to your high office. We are particularly pleased that this year, when the world looks to the General Assembly with such great expectations, we should have as our President a distinguished and experienced statesman from a country which has made a great contribution to the work of the United Nations and international co-operation in general, a country with which Finland has always had the friendliest relations.
29. The resumption of the work of the General Assembly in a normal manner has been generally greeted with a sense of relief. It is true that we have not yet been able to find a solution to the issues of principle which were the cause of the paralysis of the last session. But the will to preserve and strengthen our Organization, which was created for the furtherance of peaceful relations among States and the development of international co-operation, has prevailed over these differences. This should give cause for general satisfaction.
30. Today there is indeed need for faith in the United Nations and for determination to work for it. The use of violence and force in international relations has increased in recent times. This has caused deep concern and anxiety all over the world. It is a direct challenge to the fundamental values of international relations which this Organization stands for and which we all have undertaken to respect. Foremost among these is the principle that disputes among States must be settled in a peaceful way and that nations, regardless of ideological and other differences, must live in peace as good neighbours.
31. The ability of the United Nations to face the challenge of violent events depends on the Member States themselves. As our distinguished Secretary- General has often pointed out, the United Nations is as strong as the Member States are willing to make it. The United Nations is available to its Members as an instrument for negotiation, conciliation and co-operation, and, in the last resort, as an instrument for keeping the peace. The Member States themselves must decide to what extent and in what manner they wish to make use of it.
32. An encouraging example of what the United Nations can do for the maintenance of peace is that a cease-fire between India and Pakistan has been reached through the efforts of the Security Council and the Secretary-General. The intervention of the United Nations in this conflict proved to be successful primarily because the Security Council was able to agree on the steps needed to restore peace. This has strengthened our confidence in the usefulness of the United Nations as a peace-keeping instrument as well as in the will and readiness of the members of the Council to take joint action to protect the world from the dangers of expanding conflicts. We are all aware, however, that in order to achieve a lasting peace and create good-neighbourly relations between these two countries it is necessary to tackle the underlying political problems. As important as it is to stop violence, the intervention of the United Nations must not be limited to insulating the political problem in question. This applies also to the problem of Cyprus. United Nations action in Cyprus has been successful in the sense that it has stopped the bloodshed. But we must emphasize the need for a solution of the political problem as well. A continued postponement of the political solution cannot but cause difficulties for all countries concerned, even for those which have voluntarily' placed troops at the disposal of the United Nations.
33. The Government of Finland has repeatedly proved its readiness to assist the United Nations in its peace-keeping activities through financial assistance — of which the voluntary contribution pledged by my Government in response to the Secretary-General's appeal is the most recent example — as well as by placing military forces at the disposal of the United Nations. At present there are 1,000 Finnish soldiers serving with the United Nations Force in Cyprus. Finnish officers are with the United Nations Military Observer Group in India and Pakistan, and, in response to the Secretary-General’s appeal, Finland has agreed to participate in the strengthening of this Group. Finland has also, along with the other Nordic countries, established a stand-by force, which the Government can, at short notice, put at the disposal of the United Nations for peace-keeping operations.
34. It is obvious that a neutral country like Finland, which wishes to uphold friendly relations with all nations and to stay outside conflicts between great Powers, considers it essential for the continued success of the United Nations peace-keeping activities that wide agreement be reached among the Member States on the principles and procedures to be followed in carrying out such operations. In view of the primary responsibility of the Security Council for the maintenance of international peace and security, agreement among the permanent members of the Council is naturally of decisive importance. At the same time, it is important that these activities enjoy the support and the co-operation of other Member States. So long as there is ambiguity and uncertainty about these vital questions within the United Nations, the Organization cannot effectively fulfil its peace-keeping function. One of the most important tasks for this Assembly, therefore, in our view, is to continue negotiations, on the basis of the guidelines submitted by the President of the nineteenth session and the Secretary-General, with a view to reaching agreement on generally acceptable arrangements to be followed in the carrying-out and the financing of peace-keeping operations.
35. At the same time, I do agree with the opinion expressed in their report, that the debate on these questions seems to some extent purely academic. In spite of unresolved legal and other differences, the United Nations has been able to carry out its peacekeeping task in, for instance, Cyprus and Suez. In this dynamic world we cannot, and indeed we would be ill-advised, to attempt to draw up firm and detailed plans for every conceivable situation. Instead of increasing the effectiveness of the Organization, we would only impose restrictions upon ourselves. A pragmatic approach to the peace-keeping activities of the United Nations would, it seems, best serve to improve its capacity to act.
36. In this connexion, I should like to take the opportunity of joining, in the name of the Finnish Government, in the expressions of appreciation and esteem which have been addressed to our Secretary-General. The consistent, courageous and unselfish manner in which he has worked to solve the internal difficulties of the United Nations, and for the cause of world peace and international co-operation, has significantly strengthened not only his personal prestige, but also that of the Organization as a whole.
The personal role of the Secretary-General as a conciliator and mediator is a valuable part of the United Nations peace-keeping machinery. But as he himself has recently stated, the United Nations, in order truly to be a centre for harmonizing the actions of nations in the attainment of common ends, ought to be a universal organization. As an instrument for international negotiations and co-operation, the United Nations can be effective only if it is available to all States. Otherwise the Organization might find itself dangerously by-passed by events.
37. That has been the case not only with regard to the tragic events that have taken place in South East Asia but also in regard to disarmament. There is not much hope of general and complete disarmament so long as two great Powers, both possessing nuclear arms, are not taking part in the deliberations of the Eighteen-Nation Disarmament Committee. However, this does not permit others to give up their efforts. Finland was among the countries which, during the session of the Disarmament Commission last spring, recommended that the work of the Eighteen- Nation Disarmament Committee be continued. We appreciate the fact that the Committee did meet again. The continuance of the work of the Committee constitutes in itself an important factor in the international situation even though no concrete results have been achieved at this stage. It is obvious, however, that if we do not soon find a way out of the present vicious circle in disarmament negotiations, we may well lose our last chance of halting the spread of nuclear weapons. This danger is indeed one of the central problems of our time. If, in addition to the Powers that presently possess nuclear weapons, even one more nation acquires, or can be regarded as having acquired, nuclear weapons, or indirectly achieves the status of a nuclear Power, then it will probably be too late to try to stop the further proliferation of these weapons.
38. An effective treaty to halt the proliferation of nuclear arms is no doubt a complex matter. But while we should strive with all means at our disposal towards this goal, we should, as a first step, without waiting for a total solution of the problem, without further delay, extend the ban on nuclear tests to cover underground tests. A speedy agreement on a complete test ban would in itself be extremely valuable, and it would no doubt have a positive effect on the international atmosphere. It would strengthen our confidence in the possibility of achieving progress in the field of disarmament and generally in maintaining peace.
39. In the field of international economic co-operation, the unanimous decision of the last session of the General Assembly [resolution 1995 (XIX)] to establish the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development as a permanent organ of the Assembly was undoubtedly of historic importance. We have now succeeded in establishing the necessary administrative framework for this new organ. It is obvious, however, that the economic development of the less- developed world and the related problems in world trade depend ultimately on the will of Member States to achieve positive results. Finland, for her part, is ready to do her share in this common endeavour.
40. It would be unrealistic not to recognize the difficulties that lie ahead. In searching for solutions we should above all try to avoid generalizations. We should, as objectively and realistically as possible, try to estimate the practical possibilities that each individual country possesses to contribute to the solution of the problems. We ought to bear in mind that not only among the developing countries but among the industrialized countries as well, marked variations exist in the degree and pattern of economic development. I should, in this connexion, like to mention that we have in Finland initiated a serious study of our possibilities of contributing towards the attainment of the objectives set forth for the Conference on Trade and Development. In this work we are closely co-operating with the other Nordic countries. Shortly after the conclusion of the first Trade Conference, an inter-Nordic working group was established. The group has since met regularly with a view to enabling the Nordic countries jointly to offer a constructive contribution towards the solving of the trade and development problems of the developing countries. This Nordic co-operation has already led to concrete results. For instance, a joint Nordic proposal for a more rapid reduction of tariffs on tropical products has been submitted to GATT. The Nordic countries have also jointly undertaken assistance projects in some developing countries and plans for enlarging this kind of technical co-operation are presently being studied.
41. The Finnish Government has for several consecutive years increased its contributions to the United Nations technical assistance programmes. Also this year, we propose substantially to increase our contributions.
42. In spite of the efforts of many countries, we are, however, still far from the goals we have set for ourselves in our efforts to assist the developing countries. The information available to us indicates that in spite of the efforts of the United Nations and its Member States the gap in the economic development of the industrialized and the developing countries is increasing rather than decreasing. A cause for special concern is the food situation in the world. It is still very serious; in fact, in many parts of the world it is worse than a decade ago. In the long run these problems may pose a much more serious threat to humanity than some occasional, limited political disputes in different parts of the world. If we are not able to find more effective solutions than hitherto to these development problems, then progress in other fields may well be endangered.