55. May I, to begin with, convey to the outgoing President my delegation’s feelings of admiration and gratitude. Mr. Quaison-Sackey has had perhaps the most difficult Presidency in the history of the Organization. It is, of course, thanks to the goodwill of all, and chiefly of the countries directly concerned, that today we have emerged from a situation that was for a long time irremediable, but it is due also to the intelligence, tact and infinite patience of the President of the nineteenth session.
56. I must next convey to our new President the warm congratulations of the Dahomean delegation on his accession to the high office of President of a world Organization. Better qualified speakers than I have referred here, in terms that were often witty but always in good taste, to his gifts as a writer, diplomat and statesman. The Assembly is counting on his long experience and well-known humanity to bring to a satisfactory conclusion a session which promises to be a particularly heavy one. In greeting him, distinguished speakers have stressed the civilizing role his country has played in the world from time immemorial. For those of us who have been trained in the French school there is no dishonour, no ready acceptance of a foreign influence that has been repeatedly denounced, in publicly and honestly acknowledging the debt we owe to the Latin genius that, I would define, if I may quote Pascal, as a happy blend of subtlety and geometry.
57. Thirdly, I have the pleasant duty of welcoming to the United Nations three new Members who have come to swell the ranks of the Afro-Asian group.
One of the saddest and most regrettable events of the nineteenth session was without doubt the withdrawal of a State Member of the Organization. It is comforting for us to note today the sriple admission of the Gambia, the Maldive Islands and Singapore. The international community is thus growing day by day and we may hope that it will soon embrace the Orbis terrarum, in the words of the Roman language which is fashionable today but which is truly universal and well suited to the mission of this Assembly.
58. I feel it would be superfluous to draw attention to the special importance of the twentieth session. For reasons which we all know, the nineteenth session did not finish its agenda; in fact it was not even able to make a normal start on it. In addition to the large number of critical questions that were left in abeyance, new difficulties have appeared on the international scene and they all now require to be settled without delay. The world is a prey to increasing apprehension, for no continent is now immune from latent conflicts or open crises.
59. In Asia the recent trial of strength between India and Pakistan has brought the threat of a general conflagration in that vast area. We welcomed the armistice brought about since then as a triumph of common sense and reason and as a proof of the effectiveness of the Security Council and the efficiency of our Secretary-General. The fundamental problem, however, has not been solved and we are greatly concerned about the recent violations of the truce. The latent tension between India and its powerful neighbour, the People's Republic of China, has recently flared up again alarmingly. The dispute between Indonesia and its neighbours could at any moment degenerate into an open struggle. The Korean problem, like that of all countries divided by war, remains unsolved. The Viet-Namese conflict, if not remedied in time, carries the visible seeds of a third world war.
60. The Far East, however, is not alone in having the doubtful privilege of these dangerous confrontations. In the Middle East, in spite of the precarious armistice which has been in existence for many years, Israel and its neighbours are still in a state of veiled belligerence. The question of Oman has not yet been settled and the armed struggle in Yemen is only just coming to an end.
61. Nor is Europe, which has not yet finished dressing the wounds it received in the Second World War, exempt from these crises. Berlin and the division of Germany are a permanent source of tension and the Cyprus crisis is smouldering like a fire beneath the ashes.
62. In America, the periodic agitation in the Caribbean, aggravated by outside intervention, is a source of constant concern.
63. Lastly, Africa is experiencing similar difficulties. Here and there, taking advantage of our internal dissensions, the opposing blocs are grimly facing each other and turning our countries into a testing ground for the hot war. The remnants of an outdated colonialism determined to maintain itself by force are bathing the territories held under the Portuguese yoke in blood. In the southern part of our continent the cruel domination of a racist minority over an African majority is engendering a latent tension which could explode at any moment.
64. This, in broad outline, is a distressing picture of the world of today. Upon analysis it will be seen that, widely scattered and varied as they may be, all the conflicts by which poor mankind is shaken have a common cause: they all, without exception arise from misunderstanding and even deliberate violation, of the principles of the Charter. Each State must be imbued afresh with the concepts of the Charter and pledge itself to a stricter observance of its principles.
65. Henceforth, peaceful coexistence must be the rule of life for all nations. By the joint maintenance of international peace and security, the peaceful settlement of disputes, the recognition and exercise of the right of peoples to self-determination, the mutual tolerance of political régimes and lastly, international co-operation, we can strengthen the foundations of this peaceful coexistence.
66. Peace is still the great preoccupation of our time. In a few days, a voice that is unfamiliar at this rostrum, the voice of one of the greatest moral authorities on earth, will ring out in this Hall in a plea for peace. It will speak, I am sure, in moving terms beef use the words will spring from the depths of the spirit and the heart. But we who have the direct responsibility for keeping peace, we who have made it the centre of our thoughts and our activities, are we always equal to this heavy responsibility? The crisis from which we have only just emerged should make us doubt it. The effect on our Organization has been a lack of authority, a loss of prestige and an increasing threat of dismemberment. Unfortunately these negative factors have occurred at a time when the threats of war are becoming greater and more numerous. When we seek the true cause of this crisis, we find it in the inadaptability of the old structures to a new situation and new responsibilities. It must be admitted that today the San Francisco Charter is out of date.
67. Admittedly, when, twenty years ago, the Charter reaffirmed the principle of sovereign equality of States Members of the Organization, it profoundly altered the feudal character of the international order then reigning. Yet the aftermath of that feudal order is still to be found in the Charter. It is not really possible to speak of equality in the light of the fact that in the Security Council a single State can by its vote hold the will of the entire world community in check. This situation, which is difficult to justify today, was attributable twenty years ago to the historical context in which the Charter came into being. At that time the world have barely emerged, shocked and half paralysed, from the infernal cataclysm of the Second World War. A handful of great Powers had for several years borne all the responsibility for the military operations which had saved democracy and liberty. They then assumed the responsibility for establishing the new order.
68. Their importance in the young Organization was justified by their importance in the war. But in twenty years the world has advanced. The colonial
empires which had greatly added to the representative character of their masters have collapsed. The United Nations, which twenty years ago was composed of fifty-one nations now has 117 Member States, that is to say more than twice the original number. And although technical power is for the time being the prerogative of a few "great" Powers, new political forces have emerged which must definitely be taken into account.
69. I do not wish to be misunderstood. I am not another Spartacus raising aloft the banner of the small and underestimated nations. Nor is there any question of belittling the importance that their material means and their special peace-keeping responsibilities confer on large States. But we say that twenty years of experience have shown that the organ conceived as the principal guarantee of peace has lost much of its efficiency. Today the hopes that were placed in it in the euphoric atmosphere of the post-war period are evaporating. The subsequent discord among the great Powers and the resultant climate of mistrust have led to an abusive and paralysing use of the veto.
70. It is therefore high time to modernize this anachronistic machinery and to establish a reasonable balance between the great Powers and the other States which, when all is said and done, constitute the vast majority of the membership of this Organization. It is essential that responsibilities should be re-allocated between the Security Council and the General Assembly and we feel that the General Assembly should be the arbiter whenever the Security Council is paralysed. At the beginning of this session, one of the great Powers — and not by any means a minor one — stated here that it was in agreement with this reform. We hope that the others will soon follow suit.
71. A structural reform is not the only element required to make the Organization more effective. The United Nations should also move in the direction of universality. Accordingly, we think that the absence of the People's Republic of China from discussions on world affairs is a serious defect. An Organization such as ours cannot — without failing in its mission - go on meeting with a quarter of mankind debarred from its deliberations. We say — and events are proving that we are right — that there will be no peace in Asia and no general and complete disarmament as long as certain States which have a decisive role to play in the world are subjected to systematic ostracism. The participation of the People's Republic of China in our work cannot be delayed any longer, for peace and world stability are at stake.
72. This structural reform and this enlargement, which are required owing to the new balance of forces, will remain a dead letter if States are still equivocal in their desire for peace. This desire should be clearly expressed in the form of effective general disarmament. The atomic terror is a disease of our century, and the only cure for it is denuclearization. The partial renunciation of atomic tests is the most important step which has ever been taken in this direction. It must be followed up without delay by the prohibition of underground tests. Other measures, such as a ban on the use of atomic energy for military purposes, must be taken.
73. But the possession of atomic weapons gives rise to a constant temptation to use them; we feel that only the controlled destruction of stockpiles of atomic weapons and the vehicles to deliver them will put an end to this temptation. Some days ago one of the great Powers put forward the idea of converting the atomic industry to peaceful purposes. This idea should be pounced upon and pursued until it becomes reality. Detailed proposals, with actual figures, have been made; and they deserve very serious attention.
74. Denuclearization — to which was referring just now — is only one aspect of the vaster problem of general and complete disarmament. In this field, there has been complete failure. The hopes raised by the Geneva Conference soon faded away. The Conference has been marking time, because of the mental reservations and restrictions of the Powers concerned. It is easy to understand how this state of mind has been paralyzing the Geneva Conference up to now. The alternative solution is to convene as soon as possible a world disarmament conference with the participation of all States, great or small, for they are all interested in peace. We say “all States”, whether or not they are represented in the United Nations. This idea, which has been publicly supported by one of the major participants in the Geneva Conference, is gradually gaining ground and must in the end be adopted. Disarmament and machinery for the peaceful settlement of disputes will undoubtedly help considerably to bring about peaceful coexistence, but they will not eliminate the sources of conflict.
75. One of the major causes of tension in the world today is still the violation of the right of peoples to self-determination. Our Organization has won the respect of the young countries for the important and decisive role which it has been playing in the liberation of peoples. As a result of the attitude it has adopted and the efforts it has made, considerable progress has been made and the international community has been welcoming new Members in its ranks every year.
76. The effect of world public opinion on colonialism is such that no one would any longer dare to defend it openly. Nevertheless colonialism has by no means disappeared from the face of the earth. It is distressing to see that a considerable number of territories are still under foreign domination.
77. In Southern Rhodesia, a white minority still persists in imposing its will on the African majority and the situation there is more explosive than ever. Cases of flagrant injustice and arbitrary imprisonment are becoming ever more numerous. There has been no lack of United Nations resolutions on the subject, but they are still being ignored by the white minority Government. In the light of these 'facts, the delegation of Dahomey is amazed at the irresolute attitude displayed by the United Kingdom, which has certain responsibilities in this area and which for years past has given ample proof of its democratic and liberal tendencies. We know that the United Kingdom has the means to exert effective pressure on the Ian Smith Government to secure its agreement to a constitutional conference attended by all the political forces and all the ethnic groups concerned in the future of this territory. We conjure the United Kingdom to use these means to prevent the impending catastrophe, for which it would undoubtedly have to bear the responsibility. At all events, the Republic of Dahomey reaffirms its determination to recognize and give its unconditional support to a nationalist Rhodesian government should the white minority make a unilateral declaration of independence.
78. Portugal persists in its stubborn refusal to allow its colonies in Africa the right to self-determination and independence. The Lisbon Government has had the impudence to proclaim unilaterally that typically African territories such as Angola, Mozambique and Guinea (Bissau) are an integral part of the European State of Portugal. This is a flagrant violation of the Charter and a threat to international security. It is high time that vigorous steps were taken and sanctions effectively applied against a country which flaunts its contempt for the decisions of our Organization.
79. The unanimous disapproval of the policy of apartheid has had little effect in preventing the fascist Government of South Africa from continuing to practise racial discrimination and from refusing to honour its obligations to South West Africa. Imprisonment, torture and massacres are the order of the day in this region, in violation of human rights and the principles of the Charter. If this state of affairs is genuinely repulsive to the world's conscience, it should induce the Western countries, which profess to be friends of Africa, to make effective representations to the misguided leaders of South Africa. Their inaction is unpardonable and they will have to bear a grave responsibility for it before history.
80. In his opening statement, Mr. Fanfani felicitously described the close relationship between peace and development. Later speakers have done the same and we were glad to hear one representative say: “But while we aim for the stars, we must also employ maximum resources to promote economic and social well-being here on earth”. [1334th meeting, para. 90]. It is distressing to see enormous sums of money being swallowed up in atomic and spatial research, while the poverty of one section of mankind is being increased by the constant deterioration in the terms of trade and by the inexorable population explosion. We have already denounced the relics of political feudalism in the modern world. We must now direct our attacks against the economic feudalism that makes vassals of the under-developed countries which produce raw materials.
81. The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development held at Geneva was a welcome initiative and we are grateful to the industrialized countries which are co-operating with our delegations in an atmosphere of goodwill. The establishment of a permanent body must be consolidated and the discussions of the Conference itself must be continued until practical conclusions are reached.
82. I have tried to review the problems facing the international community today. I have mentioned the matters that are causing my country's Government concern. I have explained what are our hopes and our desires. I shall now tell you what are our beliefs.
83. Dahomey is still firmly attached to this Organisation. It reaffirms before this august Assembly its support of the ideals and objectives set forth in the Charter. It is determined to unite its efforts with yours to make our work successful. On this twentieth anniversary of the Organization, we think with gratitude of those who founded it. For twenty years our generation has been benefiting from the services provided by this community of free peoples, and future generations, too, will be grateful to us for having stilled our controversies, for having reduced our differences of opinion, for having made the sacrifices required for genuine disarmament and for having launched the world on the path of peace, harmony and progress.