74. Allow me first, Mr. President, to congratulate you on behalf of the Czechoslovak delegation upon your election as President of the twentieth session of the United Nations General Assembly, and to express the wish that, under your guidance, this jubilee session may successfully carry out its important tasks.
75. At the same time, I should like to express our gratitude to your predecessor, Mr. Quaison-Sackey, who made tremendous efforts, in particularly difficult circumstances, to restore normal working conditions in the General Assembly, and to wish him every success in his work for the prosperity of our friend, Ghana, and for the cause of peace.
76. I greet the new Members of the United Nations — the Gambia, the Maldive Islands and Singapore.
77. The Czechoslovak delegation welcomes the wise decision of the Governments of India and Pakistan, in response to the appeal of the Security Council, to cease hostilities which could have brought both sides nothing but losses and damage and might have been exploited by outside interests. We also greatly appreciate the efforts of the Security Council and of the Secretary-General, U Thant, as well as the initiative taken in the interest of peace by the USSR Government, which offered to assist the Governments of India and Pakistan and to achieve a peaceful settlement of the conflict.
78. It is with concern that we follow the alarming developments which could nullify the results achieved. We should like to believe that the common sense and wisdom which led to the cease-fire will continue to be demonstrated and will lead to a peaceful settlement of the dispute between the two great countries, with which the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic maintains and wishes further to develop friendly relations.
79. The General Assembly has convened to resume its work in the year marking the twentieth anniversary of the end of the Second World War and the founding of the United Nations.
80. Twenty years, ago, the freedom-loving peoples, taught by the frightful but victorious experience of their heroic struggle against the fascist aggressors, laid down and solemnly embodied in the United Nations Charter the noble ideals of building a world free from war and oppression, in which all peoples would be able freely to settle their own affairs and, through the development of peaceful co-operation in all spheres, to achieve economic, scientific, cultural and social progress.
81. The whole course of development since the war has been marked by the struggle for the achievement of these ideals. Their practical realization is particularly necessary in view of the existence of thermonuclear weapons, with their unprecedented destructive power. This progressive, peaceful programme has in our time a real chance of being implemented, since it is resolutely supported by such forces as the socialist countries, the new States which have emerged from the ruins of the colonial system, and peace-loving peoples in all the other countries of the world, which are continuing to work untiringly to carry it out. It is not an easy struggle, but it has already produced undeniable positive results.
82. Over the past twenty years, despite the attempts of the imperialist forces to impose the "cold war" policy on the world and to subordinate the United Nations to that policy, the principle of the peaceful coexistence of States having different social structures has been winning every wider recognition as the only proper basis of international relations at the present stage of human development, the only basis consistent with the genuine interests of the peoples.
83. Despite the obstinate resistance of the forces of colonialism, the national liberation movement has achieved historic successes in its arduous struggle for freedom and independence. This is reflected in the Declaration on the granting of independence to colonial countries and peoples, which was adopted by the United Nations General Assembly at its fifteenth session in 1960 [resolution 1514 (XV)].
84. Despite the countless manoeuvres of those who display unwillingness and lack of goodwill in the disarmament negotiations, the idea of general and complete disarmament under strict international control has met with a powerful response among the peoples and has also been endorsed by the United Nations General Assembly.
85. Despite the constant endeavours to maintain and further aggravate the inequalities in international economic and trade relations, there has been increasingly broad understanding of and support for the principles of completely equal and mutually advantageous international economic co-operation and trade among all nations, without discrimination- principles on which we have always acted and which were recognized by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development last year.
86. Despite the endeavours of foreign monopolies to maintain, or to expand their economic positions in. the newly independent countries, and thus in practice to compel those countries to continue serving as raw-materials appendages of the wealthy metropolitan countries, the developing countries are more and more vigorously paving the way to independent and planned economic development.
87. A general survey of the twenty years since the Second World War very clearly reveals a basic trend in world development marked by the strengthening of socialist positions, the rise of the national- liberation movement and the progressive movement in general, and the growth of the forces active in the struggle for the maintenance and strengthening of peace. It is precisely this development which is contributing to the recognition of progressive principles of progress and is creating the necessary conditions for the fulfilment of the purposes of the United Nations Charter.
88. However, there are forces which do not like the constructive development taking place in the world, because it runs counter to their power interests. Consequently they are opposing it in every way. This year in particular we have witnessed intensified efforts to stop and reverse the process of reducing international tension; there has been a return to the overt use of force, to aggression and armed intervention against peace-loving peoples.
89. These are not accidental phenomena, but manifestations of a global concept of the policy of strength, which is openly proclaimed and systematically applied by its authors against weaker States, in defiance of the fundamental and universally recognized principles of international law which must govern the relations between States and peoples. Under the slogan of anti-communism, they usurp the right to decide the fate of peoples throughout the world, to dictate to them how to order their political and social affairs, and to impose upon them governmental régimes headed by their own puppets.
90. The most striking manifestation of this policy is the present United States aggression in Viet-Nam, initiated and conducted by means which are universally condemned. At this very session we have heard attempts to justify that aggression. But what are the facts?
91. The United States has systematically violated the Geneva Agreements of 1954 since the time of their conclusion. Contrary to the explicit provisions of those agreements, it established and continues to establish bases for military aggression on South Viet-Namese territory, where it stations troops whose numbers at the present time exceed 130,000 men and are still growing. It prevented the holding of free elections in 1956, thereby depriving the Viet-Namese people of the opportunity to exercise their right to self-determination. In its attempt to maintain in power a mercenary and anti-popular clique, whose present representative in a statement for the Western Press has called Hitler his model, the United States is brutally suppressing the South Viet-Namese people’s struggle for national liberation. Using bombs, napalm and gas, it is killing the fighters for freedom and the defenceless civilian population. But because even by this means it is not succeeding in breaking the resistance of the South Viet-Namese people, it has embarked upon overt aggression against the peace-loving Democratic Republic of Viet-Nam. United States air attacks on the territory of the Democratic Republic of Viet-Nam are destroying the fruits of the people’s labour, factories, schools and hospitals, and are sowing death and destruction among the inhabitants.
92. At the same time, however, the United States talks even here of the defence of democracy and the freedom of the people of South Viet-Nam, and of its readiness for peace negotiations. Yet what value can such statements have, if at the same time the United States persistently increases the size and armaments of its interventionist army, intensifies its bombing raids, takes over the direction of military operations against the population of South Viet-Nam, seeks to involve other countries in those operations and is clearly heading towards a further intensification of its aggressive acts?
93. These acts are a manifestation of the arbitrary use of armed force in international affairs, which is forbidden by the Charter, and they constitute an extremely serious threat to world peace and security.
94. The cessation of United States aggression in Viet-Nam without any preconditions whatsoever is the most urgent demand at the present time. The proposals of the Government of the Democratic Republic of Viet-Nam of the National Liberation Front of South Viet-Nam, as the sole representative of the South Viet-Namese people, indicate the correct way to a peaceful settlement of the problem of Viet-Nam.
95. It is essential that the United States should cease its bombing of the Democratic Republic of Viet-Nam, fully respect and consistently observe the provisions of the 1954 Geneva agreements on Indochina, withdraw its military units and the military units of its allies from South Viet-Nam, remove its military equipment, respect the right of the Viet-Namese people to peace, independence, sovereignty, unity and territorial integrity, and recognize that South Viet-Namese affairs must be settled by the Viet-Namese people themselves.
96. The Czechoslovak people, their National Assembly and their Government resolutely condemn United States aggression and express their solidarity with the fraternal Democratic Republic of Viet-Nam by offering it the necessary assistance and support.
97. Our full support is also given to the just struggle of the Korean people for the immediate withdrawal of United States troops from the southern part of the country and for the peaceful unification of their homeland without foreign intervention.
98. Another typical example of the contemporary methods of United States foreign policy, aimed at slowing progress and preventing peoples from settling their own national affairs, is the recent military intervention of the United States in the Dominican Republic. It is not surprising that this action, undertaken under the absurd pretexts which we all know, should have encountered sharp criticism and censure throughout the world, and even in the United States itself.
99. Yet another manifestation of that policy is the continued policy of hostility towards the free and heroic people and the Revolutionary Government of the Republic of Cuba.
100. The imperial lists are continuing their flagrant intervention in the internal affairs of the Congolese people. With the help of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, they are supporting the repressive acts of the Portuguese colonizers in Angola and Mozambique and racist oppression in South Africa. They are suppressing the struggle for national liberation in other countries and regions also.
101. This policy of lawlessness and force is not only in sharp contradiction to the purposes and principles of the United Nations Charter, but it also constitutes a flagrant violation of the very bases of international law and of the principles underlying relations among sovereign States. It is therefore understandable and natural that it should be arousing increasingly widespread and resolute opposition.
102. At the present time, the security of the peoples of Europe, their peaceful co-operation and peace throughout the world are being seriously threatened by the plans for the establishment of a NATO joint nuclear force. What, exactly, is the danger?
103. It is now common knowledge that the purpose of the plans for the nuclear integration of NATO, whether in the form of so-called multilateral forces or of Atlantic nuclear forces, is to make nuclear weapons accessible to the West German militarists and revanchists, on whose consciences rests the responsibility for unleashing two world catastrophes and who have not reconciled themselves to the results of the Second World War, do not recognize the consequences of the defeat of Hitler’s fascism, are making territorial claims on other States and seeking to have frontiers changed, and thereby constitute the principal threat to peace and security in Europe.
104. The Government of the Federal Republic of Germany, far from opposing the provocative activities of these forces, directly identifies itself with them, supports the claims of the revanchist organizations and., in addition to everything else, stubbornly refuses to recognize that the criminal Munich diktat was invalid from the outset. It is significant that during the recent election campaign in the Federal Republic of Germany, the well-known chauvinistic slogans of a "greater Germany" were very much in evidence.
105. This dangerous policy is to be put into effect precisely with the help of nuclear weapons. Thai, is why the West German Government is making such efforts to obtain such weapons directly or indirectly through the NATO joint nuclear force.
106. Unfortunately, these aspirations are being sympathetically received in government circles in the United States and other countries. In reply to our warnings about the danger involved, we hear soothing assertions that the establishment of a multilateral nuclear force would help to restrain or control the eagerness of the West German militarists to gain possession of nuclear weapons. This alone shows that the authors of these plans recognize the dangerous character of Germany militarism. And recent statements by official West German representatives provide an object lesson to those who, blinded by their anti-communism, are prepared to make concessions to the German militarists. For instance, on 9 July 1965, the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Mr. Schröder, stated the following in justification of the Federal Republic's demands for access to nuclear weapons:
"If this comes about through the creation of a multilateral Atlantic deterrent force or through some equivalent solution, then, so far as its allies are concerned, Germany could renounce the acquisition of nuclear weapons of its own."
107. Obviously, the Federal Republic of Germany is seeking access to nuclear weapons and sees such access in a joint NATO nuclear force as an alternative to the acquisition of its own nuclear weapons, a possibility which it continues to hold in reserve. The danger of such a policy is becoming increasingly clear to realistically minded people even in the west.
108. Active efforts are called for to improve the situation in Europe and restore it to normal. The right course was indicated by the member States of the Warsaw Treaty Organization at a meeting of the Political Consultative Committee in January 1965. They strongly urged the States members of NATO to renounce their plans for the establishment of a multilateral nuclear force in any form, and resolutely declared that if those plans were put into effect they would be confronted with a serious threat to peace and security in Europe and would be compelled to take the necessary defensive measures to provide for their own security.
109. The fundamental prerequisite for the safeguarding of peace in Europe is a German peace settlement. A major factor in preserving peace in Europe is the inviolability of existing frontiers in Europe, including the frontiers between the two German States.
110. One of those States, the German Democratic Republic, in the spirit of its constructive, peace-loving foreign policy, has already put forward a number of practical proposals for the settlement of the German question and the problems of European security. Recently, for example, the Government of the German Democratic Republic again reaffirmed its readiness to join a denuclearized zone in Central Europe and proposed that both German States — the German Democratic Republic and the Federal Republic of Germany — should renounce the production, acquisition or use of nuclear weapons or the stationing of such weapons on their territories.
111. It would be desirable for the Federal Republic of Germany, too, to embark on a realistic policy, corresponding to the needs and requirements of peaceful development in Europe today. Such a policy would also serve the interests of the German people themselves, and would give West Germany the opportunity to develop normal relations with all European countries. Czechoslovakia has repeatedly expressed a favourable attitude towards such normalization.
112. The Czechoslovak Government has also supported and continues to support all other constructive proposals aimed at strengthening European security, especially proposals for the convening of all- European conference on European security, and is actively striving to ensure that relations between European socialist and capitalist States develop in accordance with the principles of peaceful coexistence.
113. All outstanding international problems of our day can be settled sensibly and justly only on the basis of strict observance of the main principles of the United Nations Charter. In order to ensure the uninterrupted development of peaceful international relations, it is particularly necessary to take steps to end the use or threat of force in relations between States and armed intervention in the internal affairs of other countries.
114. It is precisely aggressive and interventionist acts of this kind in various parts of the world, to which I have already referred, which are aggravating the international situation today and creating a threat to peace and security.
115. We therefore believe that the twentieth session of the General Assembly should urgently and solemnly reaffirm those principles of the Charter whose violation is increasing tension in the world, and call upon the States Members of the United Nations to refrain unconditionally from all actions contrary to those principles and to conduct their policy in accordance with the principles arising out of the Charter.
116. I have in mind, first and foremost, the inalienable right of every State and people to freedom and independence and to the & fence of their sovereignty, and the duty of States to be guided by the principles of mutual respect and non-intervention in the internal affairs of another State. The duty to observe those principles is absolutely unconditional, and cannot be evaded under any pretext whatsoever, political, ideological or economic. This serves the interests of all peace-loving countries, and of good and friendly relations among them.
117. For these reasons the Czechoslovak delegation considers the draft declaration on the inadmissibility of intervention in the domestic affairs of States and the protection of their independence and sovereignty, submitted by the USSR delegation to the present session of the General Assembly [1336th meeting], to be extremely topical and urgent. We fully support it and hope that it will be considered and adopted by the General Assembly.
118. The United Nations cannot be satisfied with the progress thus far of the disarmament negotiations, which have also been affected by the aggravation of the international situation. Two or three years ago, particularly after the signing of the Moscow Treaty, there were indications that the discussions on this question might finally lead to practical and constructive results. However, the reluctance of the Western Powers to move in that direction — expressed also in a series of clearly unacceptable proposals and demands — dashed the hopes which the peace- loving peoples had place in the disarmament talks. The situation prevailing in the Eighteen-Nation Committee provides eloquent and alarming evidence of the present wholly unsatisfactory stat° of affairs.
119. At the present time, a large number of very practical plans and proposals have been submitted; their adoption could open the way, in one sphere or another, to genuine disarmament.
120. A most urgent problem with which we should deal before all else at this session is that of concluding an agreement on the non-proliferation of nuclear weapons.
121. The spread of nuclear weapons and their transfer to other countries would inevitably lead to a still wider and more intensive race to manufacture these weapons of mass destruction and would, of course, increase the possibility of the outbreak of nuclear war. Under modern conditions, a nuclear war started in one part of the world could very quickly expand into a world-wide nuclear conflict, with all the frightful and fatal consequences which that would entail. We therefore welcome the submission by the Soviet delegation of a draft treaty on the non-proliferation of nuclear weapons [A/5976] for the consideration of the present session of the General Assembly. In that draft, principles which have already been generally accepted in previous resolutions of the General Assembly are formulated in precise terms, in the form of obligations which signatory States would assume. We have before us a draft treaty whose adoption could become a reliable guarantee that once concluded a treaty prohibiting the proliferation of nuclear weapons would leave no loop-hole for evasion.
122. In contrast to this, the draft treaty to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons recently submitted by the United States delegation to the Eighteen-Nation Committee in Geneva is clearly motivated by the desire to legitimize the plans for the establishment of a multilateral nuclear force within NATO, and possibly in other military blocs. Obviously such a draft cannot form the basis for an agreement on a genuine prohibition of the proliferation of nuclear weapons. The reaction which it encountered in the Eighteen-Nation Committee itself fully confirms that conclusion.
123. The adoption of a treaty on the non-proliferation of nuclear weapons, and the implementation of even some of the specific measures of disarmament, the proposals for which are well known, would undoubtedly help pave the way for more successful negotiations on general and complete disarmament, which remain our chief task and chief objective.
124. The adoption of a pledge not to use nuclear weapons would contribute significantly to averting the threat of a nuclear war. it could become the logical starting point of a process which would lead to the final elimination of such weapons from military arsenals, to their complete liquidation and prohibition. Another appropriate step would be the adoption of a decision to prohibit underground nuclear tests. A new proposal aimed at expediting agreement on this matter is contained in a draft submitted by the United Arab Republic to the Eighteen-Nation Committee, and is being carefully studied by our delegation.
125. Our session should also further the discussion and adoption of proposals for the dismantling of foreign military bases and the withdrawal of foreign troops from the territories of other States. The urgency of this matter is underscored by the fact that the numerous bases of certain Western Powers are being used, as we all know, as springboards for aggression against the sovereign territories of independent States and against the national liberation movement.
126. A world conference on disarmament, in which all States would take part - regardless of whether or not they were Members of the United Nations — as proposed in Cairo in 1964 by the second Conference of Non-Aligned Countries, might serve as an inspiration to further disarmament talks. We therefore support the Disarmament Commission’s recommendation of 11 June 1965 that the twentieth session of the General Assembly should examine that proposal forthwith, and we consider that such a conference should be held next year.
127. Prominent on the General Assembly’s agenda is the question of the struggle to eliminate the vestiges of colonialism and all manifestations of neo-colonialism. The Czechoslovak Socialist Republic has always spoken out resolutely in favour of the removal of all vestiges of the shameful colonial system. At this session we shall again exert every effort to bring about the speedy elimination of the last vestiges of colonialism in Africa, the Near and Middle East, Asia, the Caribbean and other regions. We shall also support an effective struggle against racism in South Africa, Rhodesia and other countries. All energies must be concentrated on overcoming the opposition and obstacles by which the colonialists and those who assist them are trying to halt the completion of decolonization. The General Assembly must take decisive measures to promote more rapid and consistent fulfilment of the requirements of the Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples.
128. One of the principal tasks of the present day is to eliminate the grievous consequences of former colonial domination of the economies of developing countries. The economic backwardness caused by the colonial Powers is the main reason for the fact that, despite all the efforts of the Governments of the developing countries, the great difference in economic levels and living standards between the industrially developed and the developing countries, far from decreasing, is becoming even greater.
129. It is therefore quite natural to demand that those who are responsible for the economic backwardness of the developing countries should contribute substantially to removing that difference. The efforts of the developing countries to achieve full exercise of their sovereignty over their internal resources, to mobilize those resources as fully as possible and to develop their economies, have our active support. To the best of our ability, we have helped, and will continue to help to accelerate their economic development.
130. At the same time, we shall continue our efforts to ensure that the United Nations performs its great tasks in this important sphere more effectively.
131. The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development should, given the good will of all States, contribute substantially to removing the distortions due to the colonial system, eliminating the economic backwardness of the developing countries and achieving an equitable international division of labour. The Conference on Trade and Development must also deal with questions concerning trade relations between countries having different social and economic systems and work to eliminate the disproportions and discrimination which still exist in the sphere of international economic and trade relations. A further prerequisite for successful work by the Conference on Trade and Development is the participation of all countries wishing to be included in its activities.
132. With the establishment of the Conference on Trade and Development it has become necessary to review the division of labour and to alter the structure and working methods of various United Nations organs in the economic and social spheres.. The expanded Economic and Social Council will have a particularly important role. The Czechoslovak Socialist Republic will endeavour to ensure that the work of the main United Nations organs and the specialized agencies in the economic and social spheres is appropriately and effectively directed towards the fulfilment of their main tasks.
133. The twenty years that the United Nations has existed have given us sufficient experience to be able realistically to evaluate its role and its potential in the modern world. We do not close our eyes to the serious mistakes that the Organization has made in the past or to the deficiencies from which it still suffers. However, we are convinced that these can and must be eliminated, so that the United Nations can accomplish the mission which it was given twenty years ago.
134. We were gratified that the sound and realistic forces in the United Nations succeeded in ending the abnormal situation in which the last session of the General Assembly was placed. We must not be content with that, however. The very history of the paralysis which gripped the nineteenth session of the General Assembly revealed the deeper causes of crisis in the United Nations, and, at the same time, demonstrated that resolute, purposeful and united action by all Member States which have a genuinely serious and sincere desire to make our Organization more effective is essential if the Charter is to be implemented consistently in its activities.
135. The United Nations has the potential to remedy its existing shortcomings. Its membership has reached 117, as against 51 at the time of its establishment. A new feature is, above all, the fact that there has been a significant increase in the influence within the Organization of countries which are pursuing a peaceful and progressive policy with every increasing persistence. The time has passed when the well-known "voting machine" held sway in the United Nations.
136. We are happy to note that amendments to the Charter have entered into force, under which the Security Council and the Economic and Social Council have been expanded and which will help to achieve more equitable representation of the new independent States of Asia and Africa in those organs.
137. Increasing the effectiveness of the United Nations presupposes and requires that the Organization finally shed all the accretions from the time of the cold war, that violations of the Charter be brought to an end and that all United Nations activities in the future be carried out in strict accordance with that fundamental document.
138. In order to help bring about a more consistent application of the fundamental principles of the Charter, the Czechoslovak delegation, at the seventeenth session of the United Nations General Assembly [1129th meeting], submitted a proposal for the preparation of a declaration on the principles of peaceful coexistence. We consider that the present session of the General Assembly should continue to work on the preparation of that declaration so that it may be formally adopted as soon as possible, in the interests of strengthening the foundations of international law, so frequently violated at the present time.
139. In the same spirit, the Czechoslovak Government last year [1294th meeting] expressed its positive approach to the solution of the problem of strengthening the means available to the United Nations for the protection of international security in accordance with the provisions of the Charter. Our basic position on this question is that the Security Council is the United Nations body which by its competence, membership and procedure, is exclusively authorized to take decisions on behalf of the Organization regarding actions to maintain or restore peace.
140. We believe that instead of inventing various artificial devices which would go beyond the framework of the Charter and violate it, we should concentrate our efforts on ensuring that in this field also the fullest possible use is made of all the resources and possibilities available under the United Nations Charter.
141. Here I have in mind, above all, the implementation of such provisions of the Charter as, for instance, Article .43, which deals with the conclusion of agreements between Members and the Security Council to make available contingents of armed forces necessary for the maintenance or restoration of international peace and security. Such an approach would spare the United Nations many of the difficulties which have occurred in the past, and would lead to the establishment of a sound and practical basis for the solution of the fundamental political and material aspects of United Nations peace-keeping operations. In this way, by consistently implementing the provisions of the Charter, the Organization would strengthen its means for the protection of the freedom and independence of all peace-loving peoples. There would be no possibility of those means being misused to the detriment of the national liberation movement or of the progressive and peaceful forces in the world.
142. The work of our Organization is greatly hampered by the fact that the legitimate rights of the People’s Republic of China, whose Government is the only lawful representative of China, have not yet been restored in the United Nations. The prestige, authority and effectiveness of the United Nations are being undermined by the present situation, in which China's seat in United Nations organs is unlawfully occupied by a representative of Chiang Kai-shek. The solution of this question can therefore not be postponed any longer.
143. In order genuinely to strengthen the United Nations and to afford it the real possibility of responding effectively to the urgent needs created by present international developments, it is absolutely essential that the Organization should consistently respect the principle of universality. The United Nations must therefore put an end to political discrimination against certain countries which are not yet Members, and proceed to a just solution of the question of their admission as full Members of the Organization. The importance of observing the principle of universality was rightly stressed by the Secretary-General in the introduction to his report on the work of the Organization this year [A/6001/Add.1].
144. I have set out the views of the delegation of the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic on the most urgent problems of the international situation today, and on the main tasks facing the United Nations at the twentieth session of its General Assembly.
145. Our views are based on the peaceful principles of the foreign policy of socialist Czechoslovakia, whose people this year celebrated the twentieth anniversary of their country's liberation from Nazi slavery by the Soviet Army, The Czech people are resolved to continue building up their country by constructive work, to live in peace and friendship with all peoples and to make their contribution to the struggle for lasting peace and progress in the world.
146. At the present session of the General Assembly, as at previous sessions, our delegation will endeavour to give effective support to such solutions of the Assembly's important tasks as would help in relaxing international tension and strengthening peace throughout the world, put an end to imperialist aggressions and interventions and enhance the freedom, independence and all-round development of peoples.