Malawi

122. Mr. President, I would like to join the many other delegates who have congratulated you on your elevation to your high office. We in Malawi cannot claim to have been a colony of Rome except perhaps as a second generation one. You must have taught Britain a good lesson on how to build an empire, but Britain does not seem to have learned from her own experience that, colonized people have the tendency to demand their independence, and to get it, too. But there is one common feature that encourages us; this is that just as Britain gets on well with you, we get on well with Britain. Perhaps Britain learned this lesson from Rome. It is our pleasure that we are on very friendly terms with your country, and it is our hope that the wisdom which has made you a man of distinction in your own country will be of much greater use in guiding the deliberations of the nations of the world. 123. I should also at this juncture sincerely congratulate my brother, Alex Quaison-Sackey, who has just been relieved of the heavy burden of the strenuous nineteenth session of the General Assembly. The able manner in which he handled the delicate issues is a credit to Africa as well as to Ghana. I would venture to say Alex Quaison-Sackey has earned for himself a place in the history not only of this Organization but also of the world. We are proud of him, Ghana is proud of him, Africa is proud of him, and I am certain the world is equally proud of him. 124. May I also take this opportunity to associate myself with the warm tributes and sincere congratulations that have been paid to Gambia, the Maldive Islands and Singapore on their admission to this Organization. In wishing the Governments and peoples of these three sovereign States every success in the future, may I also express the hope that this world Organization will be all the more richer by the adding of three distinguished representatives from these States. 125. It is a great honour for me to be present here today in this august Assembly, in which are represented nearly all the nations of the free and peace-loving world, to represent my country and my Prime Minister, Mr. Kamuzu Banda. My pleasure and that of my colleagues in the Malawi delegation is only marred by the fact that it has proved impossible for my Prime Minister to be here in person. It has been a great disappointment to him that the pressure of Government business in Malawi at the present time is such that it has proved impossible for him to get away and once more lead the Malawi delegation and deliver to you personally his address on the occasion of the opening of the twentieth session of this Assembly, and he has asked me to convey to you his apologies for his unavoidable absence. He has also entrusted to me the important task of delivering to you, Mr. President, and Members of this Assembly the message which he had hoped to be able to deliver in person. I trust therefore, Mr. President, that you and the Members of the Assembly will grant me, as a very unworthy substitute for my Prime Minister, your indulgence. 126. In these circumstances, Mr. President, my Prime Minister wishes me to deliver to you and to Members of this Assembly the following message on his behalf: "Mr. President, "It is with deep regret that I have not been able on this occasion to enjoy both the honour and the pleasure of leading my country's delegation to the twentieth session of the General Assembly of the United Nations this year. When, however, a ship of state is a small one and the crew thereof few in number, it is difficult for the captain to leave his bridge for any length of time, especially when there are difficult waters to be navigated. I, as captain of the ship of state of Malawi, find myself in just such a position and much as I should have liked to have done, I regret that it has proved impossible for me to leave Malawi and come to New York in person at this time. "Nevertheless, Mr. President, I would like on this occasion to place before you and Members of this august Assembly the views of my Government on some of the issues of importance which face the world today and which I am sure will form the subjects of deliberation in this Assembly during its present sitting. I have therefore chosen my honourable and trusted Minister of Health, the Hon. A, M. Nyasulu, M.P., to represent me personally on this occasion and to deliver to you on my behalf a message touching upon these matters. "I therefore, Mr. President, crave the indulgence of yourself and of all Members of this Assembly on account of my absence, and ask you to receive Mr. Nyasulu as my personal representative and to grant him hearing as you would to myself. "One of the reasons, Mr. President, why I am particularly sad that I cannot address these remarks to you in person is because this year marks the twentieth anniversary of the coming into being of the United Nations, and I would have liked personally to say a few words of congratulations to you and to the body over which you preside on such an occasion. Malawi is but in its second year of membership of the United Nations, or perhaps to be more accurate I should say only in its first year of membership because, although this is the second General Assembly at which my country has had the honour to be represented, it is still not twelve months since we were admitted to membership of the United Nations. That, however, does not in any way diminish the pride that I and my Government feel in being a Member of an Organization in which we have the utmost faith, whose aims and ideals we support whole-heartedly, and whose future we will do everything in our power to assure. There are some, I know, who think that the United Nations is outmoded, that it no longer has a really useful role to play, and that it should be replaced by some new world organization which is as yet no more than the figment of someone's imagination. With that view, Malawi entirely disagrees. We should not devote our energies to the destruction of an edifice which it has taken twenty years to build to even its present size and eminence, and upon which there is much still to be built. We should not seek to discard like a worn-out piece of machinery an Organization which has taken so long to build and perfect and which, throughout more than twenty years, has been such a strong and salutary influence in the struggle to attain harmony amongst the peace-loving nations of the world and which has stood, buffeted perhaps on occasions, but firm and solid throughout, as a champion of peace amongst all peace-loving peoples of the world. Even to contemplate starting again from the beginning to build up a new Organization in place of, or even, as I have heard it suggested, in opposition to, the United Nations, is in the view of my Government sheer madness. "Rather, we should devote our energies to repairing that edifice where it needs repair, to bolstering up the structure where it need bolstering up, and to enabling the United Nations to go forward in strength rather than succumb to weakness. My Government will not, therefore, support any movement aimed at weakening or bringing about the destruction of the United Nations. "I know that one of the root causes behind certain suggestion that the United Nations has become outmoded and should be replaced by an organization more in keeping with the times, was a feeling of frustration during the last General Assembly, which stemmed from the fact that the normal business of the Assembly was somewhat disrupted owing to certain unfortunate disagreements in principle over the interpretation of Article 19 of the United Nations Charter. I am happy, however, to see that those difficulties appear to have been resolved, so that the Assembly can now proceed with its important work in the normal manner, and Malawi would like to pay tribute to those whose diplomatic generosity has made this possible. "This year, in addition to being one in which the twentieth anniversary of the birth of the United Nations has been celebrated, has also been dedicated as International Co-operation Year. The concept of international co-operation is one in which Malawi, in common, I would like to believe, with every Member of the United Nations, whole-heartedly believes. Yet, unhappily, we see around us all too many indications that there are some who think that such co-operation need only be confined to material things, to co-operation in the field of science and technology and the exchange of learning, forgetting that there can be no true cooperation between the nations of the world unless there is real co-operation in the political and humanitarian field evinced by a genuine desire to settle disputes and iron out differences in a peaceful manner. "The existence today of so much armed conflict in the world should be a matter of grave concern to every nation which is a Member of the United Nations; every such nation must search its own conscience and satisfy itself — whether it be a mere onlooker or an unhappy participant in some armed struggle — that it has done everything in its power to avoid the outbreak of armed conflict in the world. Any nation which cannot do this has no right to be a Member of the United Nations and, similarly, any nation not yet a Member of the United Nations who cannot do this has no right to aspire to such membership. Membership of the United Nations is a privilege and with that privilege go responsibilities to uphold the ideals and principles for which the United Nations stands. No nation which encourages warlike intervention in the affairs of other countries or which is not prepared to settle its differences with others otherwise than by the use of armed force has any right to claim membership of that Organization. Malawi will support fully and wholeheartedly the condemnation of the use of force as a means of settlement of any disputes between nations of whatever nature — however just or unjust the cause of either side. "In the address which I was privileged to be allowed to make to the General Assembly at its nineteenth session, I referred to my country's attitude towards the problem of divided or disputed sovereignty over China, and on that occasion I said, to quote my own words: " Justice and fair play demand that the Government in Peking, presided over by Mao Tse-tung, be recognized as the legal and rightful Government of China. " I should like to go further. In my view, the Government in Peking — that is, the Government of Mao Tse-tung — should be recognized by the United Nations, by this Assembly, by the Security Council, as the legal government of China now.’ [1268th meeting, paras. 81 and 82.] "The People's Republic of China is still not a Member of the United Nations, and I know that the question of its membership will come under close debate during the present session of the General Assembly. I must therefore make clear my country's attitude towards this important issue. "In the course of my remarks last year, to which I have just referred, I said that a country consisting of 4.3 million square miles and a population of over 700 million people cannot be denied a voice in world affairs: they have a right to be represented and to be heard in the councils of the world, of which the United Nations is the most important. Malawi therefore would not oppose in principle the admission of the People's Republic of China to membership of the United Nations on the same terms as any other nation. "Having said that, however, I must add certain important qualifications: Admission to the United Nations is like admission to membership of any other club; there are rules for the admission of members and there are rules which, after admission, members must observe and which, before admission, prospective members must demonstrate convincingly to the existing members who have the say regarding their admission that they have a genuine intention to observe if they are admitted. "Article 18 of the United Nations Charter lays it down quite clearly and mandatorily that decisions of the General Assembly on important questions shall — I repeat, shall — be made by a two-thirds majority of the Members present and voting, and goes on to define those questions as including 'the admission of new Members to the United Nations'. In the view of the Malawi Government, the past record of the People's Republic of China is not such as to warrant any attempt to waive that rule in its favour so as to allow admission on a simple majority vote, and therefore it should be applied in full when we come to vote upon the matter. Indeed, the past record of the People’s Republic of China is such — in respect of its attitude towards armed combat, its open interference in the affairs of other nations, and its outspoken antipathy to the United Nations Organization itself — that we feel that before any nation votes in favour of its admission to the United Nations there should be demanded of it some concrete evidence of a change of heart in these matters and a genuine willingness, if admitted, to respect and abide by the basic principles of the United Nations. "It has also been suggested, in some circles, that if the People's Republic of China were admitted to the United Nations, then the expulsion therefrom of the Republic of China, which for so many years now has been a founder Member of the United Nations, should follow as a matter of course. With this view Malawi entirely disagrees; to expel a nation which was one of the founder nation Members of the Organization, and which for twenty year s has faithfully upheld the principles of the United Nations and worked untiringly for its success as an instrument of maintaining world peace would be utterly inequitable. Furthermore, to deny to a people whose population exceeds 10 million souls a right to be represented in this Assembly when many smaller nations, such as Malawi itself, have been accorded that right, would be equally inequitable. Under no circumstances, therefore, would Malawi vote in favour of the expulsion of the Republic of China from the United Nations. Let us not forget, also, that if a motion to expel the Republic of China should come to the vote, under the terms of Article 18 of the United Nations Charter, the expulsion of Members is also defined as an important question requiring a two-thirds majority of the Members and there is no more reason why the terms of that Article should be waived in order to facilitate the expulsion of the Republic of China than it should be to facilitate the admission of the People’s Republic of China. "In this same connexion, I must also make clear the Government of Malawi's views on any proposal that there may be for the admission of the so-called German Democratic Republic as a Member of the United Nations in its own right. At the last session of this Assembly, I made it quite clear that Malawi recognized only the Government in Bonn, the Government of the Federal Republic of Germany, as the legal Government of Germany, and did not recognize either the Government of the German Democratic Republic, or the Democratic Republic of Germany as being a State in its own right. Article 4 of the United Nations Charter lays it down that membership of the United Nations is open to all peace-loving States. Malawi does not recognize the German Democratic Republic as a State and, consequently, will not lend its support to any measure designed to result in the admission of the German Democratic Republic to membership in its own right. "I am well aware that this would exclude from representation in the United Nations some 20 million people living in what is known as East Germany, and this may sound inconsistent with my previous remarks about the rights of over 10 million people in the Republic of China to be represented in this Assembly, but we must remember that in the case of Germany there are several distinctions. First of all, unlike Taiwan, the so-called German Democratic Republic has never had the distinction of being a founder Member of the United Nations and therefore has no similar prescriptive right to membership. Furthermore, the German Democratic Republic is something of an artificial creation which has come about not through the free will of the people living there but as the result of the actions of a certain great Power. These are both important considerations, but perhaps the most important consideration of all is that in the case of Germany there is a remedy — the remedy of bringing about unification of all Germany into a single State, with all its people enjoying equally the right of self-determination. When that day comes, there will no longer be a problem of East and West Germany and the people of East Germany will automatically find their voice in the deliberations of this Assembly without having to seek membership. "I also made clear last December in this Assembly the determination of Malawi to stand firm behind this struggle to eradicate from Africa all traces of colonialism, and on this occasion I should only like to reiterate and endorse the remarks which I made then. Malawi's attitude towards this question remains unchanged, and I say once again that the view of the Government of Malawi is that colonialism must be got rid of from Rhodesia, from South Africa and from Mozambique and, indeed, from every corner of Africa where vestiges of it still remain. "But it is the view of Malawi that the use of armed force to this end must not be resorted to until all other means of achieving this objective have been explored; there are other ways and means of achieving one's object in this field than by the use of arms and the needless shedding of blood, and failure to realize this only indicated ignorance and lack of imagination. Malawi will fight for the eradication of colonialism as vigorously as any other nation in Africa, but it will do so by peaceful means and not by the use of force unless, in the long run, there should prove to be.no other alternative. "At this juncture I must also say a few words on the subject of interference by one country in the affairs of another. I am convinced that at the root of much of the unrest and bloodshed in the world today lies the fact that some certain countries are tempted to interfere in the domestic affairs of other countries. There are many instances of this to be seen, especially in Asia and Africa; indeed, Malawi itself has become during the last year a victim of this tendency. The principle of non-interference in the domestic affairs of others is a basic concept of both the United Nations Charter and the charter of the Organization of African Unity. Malawi respects and supports that concept and has no intention whatsoever of either interfering itself in the affairs of any other nation or of lending its support to any other nation that may be tempted so to do. In return, all Malawi asks is that it itself will be left in peace, without outside interference, to get on with the task of solving its own domestic problems in the financial, economic and political fields. "During the past year I have come to know a great deal more about the workings of the United Nations itself, and of its associated organizations, than I did before, and I am still learning. One thing that has struck me on a number of occasions, however, is a tendency which I regard as a most regrettable one. I refer to the tendency of the technical, scientific and professional specialized agencies of the United Nations, such as the World Health Organization, the International Civil Aviation Organization, the Food and Agriculture Organization, and so on, to waste their time debating political matters when they should be getting on with the specialized work which properly falls within their sphere. Hardly a meeting of any of these bodies has taken place during this past year without someone raising a political motion suggesting the expulsion or penalization of some country or another because of disagreement with the political policies of that country. This tendency, though easily understandable, is to be deprecated; the task of these specialized agencies is, as their designation implies, to deal with specialized matters and not to waste their time and energy debating political issues. Political issues are for the General Assembly to debate, and the question of the expulsion or penalization of any country on political grounds is a matter for either the General Assembly or such other bodies as may be charged specifically with the function of considering political issues to decide. "I wish to give notice, therefore, that on all such, occasions when purely political issues are introduced into the deliberations of these specialized agencies, the view of Malawi will be that the discussion of such matters does not fall within the purview of such agencies and that it is inappropriate for such matters to be discussed otherwise than in the United Nations General Assembly itself. If this principle were more widely respected, the specialized agencies themselves, and through them Member Nations represented here today, would benefit greatly from the greater opportunities there would then be for the devotion of thought and energy to the specialized matters under consideration, and I wish to appeal to all Member Nations to support me in this concept. "It would not be fitting for me to end my message to you, Mr. President, and to the Honourable Members of the Assembly, without a word of thanks on two important matters. In the first place, as an African leader, I would like to express my appreciation to all Member States who gave support to recent proposals for the expansion of the size of the Security Council in order to allow a wider and more generous representation of African nations therein. I feel sure that I speak for all nations of Africa when I say how greatly we appreciate the confidence in the nations of Africa and the part that we can play in world affairs which is shown by this support, and when some of us come to play our part in the vital deliberations of the Security Council, I hope any pray that none of us will betray that trust. "Secondly, on behalf of my own country I would like to pay tribute to the United Nations Technical Assistance Board, to UNESCO and to the many other specialized agencies for their continuing help to my country in the field of technical assistance. I am deeply conscious of the many calls upon the limited resources of these agencies and am truly grateful not only for their continued help to my country Which is so freely given, but also for the manner in which the volume and scope of that assistance continues to expand." 127. That, Mr. President, is the message which my Prime Minister has asked me to convey to you and to the Members of this Assembly. It only remains for me to thank you for listening to me and sparing me so much of your valuable time.