126. First of all, I should like to extend the very sincere congratulations of the delegation of Poland on the election of Signor Fanfani as our President. We are fortunate to have as President of the Assembly an eminent statesman, the Minister for Foreign Affairs of a country with which Poland has been linked by many bonds of friendship and by common experiences in the struggle for the independence of our nations. In a few days my country will play host to the President of Italy. The visit of Signor Giuseppe Saragat will be a visible sign of the development of Polish-Italian relations.
127. But we do regret that illness prevents Signor Fanfani from presiding over our meetings for a few days, and we join all those who have already expressed their good wishes for his speedy recovery.
128. We should also like to express our thanks to the President of the nineteenth session of the General Assembly, the Minister for Foreign Affairs of Ghana, Mr. Alex Quaison-Sackey. We highly value his efforts which were aimed at enabling our Organization to resume its normal work. May I avail myself of this opportunity to say how much we appreciate the outstanding contribution made in this respect by our Secretary-General, U Thant.
129. The year 1965, the twentieth anniversary of the signing of the Charter, the twentieth anniversary of the United Nations having come into being, was to be observed as the year of international co-operation. Regretfully, it has proved to be a year of tensions which are increasing dangerously. It seems as if we have found ourselves at the crossroads of history and that any further inconsiderate step in the wrong direction may bring about incalculable consequences.
130. First of all, as regards the situation in Viet-Nam, it does not fall within the competence of the United Nations. But it shocks the conscience of millions of people throughout the world. It gives rise to serious concern in my own country.
131. The Viet-Namese people are subjected to brutal aggression. Their sovereign right to choose the proper road for development and the way of life which suits them best is being infringed in defiance of the 1954 Geneva Agreements. The United States is interfering in the internal affairs of the Viet-Namese nation; it wants to decide Viet-Nam's fate. Moreover, it destroys all that the Viet-Namese people have built and achieved through strenuous ei~ forts and hard work after centuries of foreign domination and colonial exploitation.
132. Is it not hypocrisy to declare readiness to negotiate, while towns and villages are burnt, women and children are killed and mutilated, and bombs are dropped incessantly to enforce submission to a foreign dictate?
133. Only political negotiations and peaceful solutions can offer a settlement of the problem. They will prove possible when the basic right to independence and territorial integrity of the whole Viet-Namese people is reaffirmed in accordance with the Geneva Agreements, when an end is put to air raids and all acts of encroachment on the territory and security of the Democratic Republic of Viet-Nam and when aggression in the south is terminated. The interventionists from across the ocean should leave South Viet-Nam, and the will and the sovereignty of the Viet-Namese people and its right to peaceful unification must be respected.
134. The Polish delegation carefully follows the debates of this Assembly. I am sure the same is being done by the United States delegation. Irrespective of what arguments are adduced, wherever the emphasis may be placed, there can be no doubt whose position finds favour with the majority of States represented here. In its just struggle the Viet-Namese people stands not alone. With due .respect I say, it is in the interest of peace that this should be recognized in Washington. The sooner the better.
135. In the Dominican Republic an armed intervention by the powerful neighbour of that small country is but another symptom of evil persisting in international relations. In this case not only the provisions of the United Nations Charter were violated, but also principles and obligations of the Organization of American States.
136. Should we also mention the continuous pressure on Cuba? And the situation in the Congo?
137. We welcome therefore the timely proposal of the Soviet Union [A/5977] to the effect that the General Assembly, in a declaration on the inadmissibility of intervention in the domestic affairs of States and on the protection of their independence and sovereignty, should solemnly and categorically reaffirm one of the fundamental legal principles in relations among States.
138. Inevitable historic processes cannot be arrested by military force. No State has a right to usurp the role of an umpire on the vital interest of other nations, nor can it place itself above law, for by so doing it destroys the law. Yet only a few weeks ago, in spite of the strong reaction of world public opinion to the events in the Dominican Republic, such tendencies were embodied in a public proclamation of the parliament of the country where the United Nations has its Headquarters.
139. More than that, we are led to believe that while wars between States are waged in some regions of the world, normalization of relations and peaceful coexistence are possible in other regions. Such reasoning is erroneous. Peace is indivisible; so is the principle of peaceful coexistence. Any conflict between States, if not stopped in time, may develop a chain reaction fraught with fatal consequences for the entire world. This of course is due to the qualitatively new character of relations in the contemporary world.
140. The armed attacks against Viet-Nam have already had their repercussions beyond the region of Indo-China. They have interrupted the process of detente which was making some headway in recent years. They have become a source of. moral and political devastation deepening the contempt for human life and for the freedom of nations among those committed to a power policy of chauvinism and expansion. They increase pressure to uphold the policy from a position of strength on the part of groups profiting from armaments, from colonial and neo-colonial exploitation. Should one be surprised that in those against whom are directed actions contrary to the United Nations Charter, contrary to peaceful co-operation among States with differing political and social systems, these actions undermine belief in the possibility of carrying into effect the principles of peaceful coexistence?
141. Peaceful coexistence does not depend on the socialist countries alone. For — as we were reminded only recently by Wladyslaw Gomulka — mutual confidence and friendly co-operation are brought about not by words, but by deeds, and they are shaped by concrete facts.
142. Thus, on the twentieth anniversary of the United Nations we find ourselves still far from the full implementation of the purposes of the Charter. The Charter has no life of its own. Indeed, its life is conditioned by the substance and values we, the Members of the Organization, put into it. Of particular importance is the principle of the special responsibility of the great Powers for the maintenance of peace and security. It is intimately linked with the principle of sovereign equality of all States. The role bestowed upon the Security Council in no way diminishes the tasks the General Assembly is called upon to fulfil.
143. One can hardly agree with the view that an irreconcilable controversy between the great and the small Powers is inherent in the United Nations and that it can be solved only through renunciation of the special responsibility for peace borne by the former, or through renunciation of the rights possessed by the latter.
144. The whole history of the twenty-year existence of the United Nations has been one of two conflicting currents, two trends fighting each other, one progressive, the other retrograde. The latter has been reflected in the violation of the main principles of the Charter, in attempts to distort its provisions and to interpret them in a way which would lead to the further weakening of the Organization. Only too frequently the United Nations has been used for egoistic purposes of power policy. This has prevented it from fulfilling many of its important tasks in maintaining international peace and security.
145. The progressive current has aimed at a gradual and consistent adaptation of the United Nations activities to the great revolutionary transformation of the world of today; at the improvement of the Organization, so that it could meet the changing needs of life; at turning it into an organization of peaceful coexistence in the true sense of the word. At the same time, of course, political realities have proved, and indeed still prove, that the Organization should not have been burdened and cannot be burdened with tasks with which it is unable to cope.
146. There is no doubt that it was the progressive current which has led to results constituting the assets in the balance-sheet of these twenty years. It led to our adoption of such important resolutions as the Universal Declaration of Human Rights [resolution 217 A (III)], the resolutions on general and complete disarmament [1884 (XVIII) and 1908 (XVIII)], the Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples [resolution 1514 (XV)], the Declaration of Legal Principles Governing the Activities of States in the Exploration and Use of Outer Space [resolution 1962 (XVIII)], the United Nations Declaration on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination [resolution 1904(XVIII)], and a few others. Each of the major declarations constituted a milestone in the development of our Organization, but often we are inclined to forget these achievements.
147. United Nations bodies have been engaged in working out principles of international economic relations. The activities of regional economic commissions have paved the way towards the elaboration of constructive plans for regional economic co-operation.
148. The United Nations has become an indispensable part of modern diplomacy by providing a meeting ground for important contacts and exchanges of views. It is therefore imperative that the membership of the United Nations should embrace all States. In any case, all non-members of the Organization should already now be at least given access to its Headquarters so that, as stated by the Secretary-General in the introduction to his annual report supporting such a practice, "they may be in a position to sense the currents and cross-currents of world opinion which are so uniquely concentrated in the Organization" [A/6001/ Add.1, sect. XII],
149. Owing to the progressive current, an evolution has taken place towards the universality of the United Nations: its membership has increased from 51 to 117. Three of the Member States — the Gambia, the Maldive Islands and Singapore — were admitted at this session. May I avail myself of this opportunity cordially to greet the representatives of those States in our midst.
150. The more than two-fold growth of the membership has qualitatively changed the structure of our Organization; thus the need arose to expand its main organs so as to ensure an equitable representation of Asia and Africa.
151. Against this background, the absence from the United Nations of the representation of one of its original Member States, of the one great China, appears to be even more absurd. The Chinese People's Republic, as a great Power, has the right to a seat in the Security Council as one of its permanent members, and it is entitled to play that part which the Charter has entrusted to the five great Powers. This view has been corroborated by our present debate in a much clearer and much more convincing way than ever before. Here again one is compelled to raise the question: will this fact finally be realized by those who have for years blocked the only right decision concerning the representation of the Chinese People's Republic in the United Nations?
152. In spite of the rapid progress in decolonization during recent years, the right to independence of all the dependent territories has not, as yet, been implemented. This morning's discussion on Rhodesia demonstrated how explosive the problem still is. The conversion of small colonial possessions, many of them islands, into military bases and arsenals of the colonial Powers, has become a matter of serious concern. We cannot forget that such territories were used for imperialist intervention in the Congo and that such territories are being used in the bombing of Viet-Nam hour after hour while we are sitting here and deliberating about peace.
153. One of the important tasks of the present session is to consider and set in motion effective measures for complete decolonization, and also — may I remind members of the report of the Committee of Twenty-four [A/6000/Rev.1] — for the adequate protection of the rights of those peoples who, having been denied their independence, have to resort to arms.
154. We have stated from this rostrum more than once that the newly liberated countries cannot have their independence fully secured without sound foundations for their social and economic development. This is also a necessary requirement for the proper development of the world economy as a whole.
155. May I draw the attention of members to only one of the many critical problems now besetting the international economic situation.
156. The terms of trade between the developing countries on the one hand, and the highly developed capitalist States on the other, have again recently considerably deteriorated. After a temporary improvement in the years 1963-1964, we are witnessing a recurrent outflow of wealth from the developing to the developed countries. The gap between the rich and the poor is widening.
157. We do not share the pessimism of those who continue to question the very possibility of the poorer nations breaking the circle of their economic inertia. We believe in the creative forces of the peoples of the developing countries. We trust that they are able to overcome the obstacles standing in the way of their economic and social progress. However, it is not enough to believe that the developing countries will overcome their poverty sometime in the distant future; it is important that they do so as quickly as possible.
158. Therefore, proper conditions for their economic development should be promptly established, particularly through the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development. To our regret — I must frankly confess — the results of the last session of the Trade and Development Board have been disappointing. Whatever the reasons, the Board has not succeeded in adopting concrete decisions which would meet the most urgent problems of the developing countries. This will have to made up for expeditiously.
159. The necessary and still far too slow development of economic co-operation on a world-wide scale obviously implies adequate modifications also in the field of the flow of goods and in economic contacts between socialist and capitalist countries. Would it be too optimistic on my part to express the hope that the tendency on the part of the Western countries towards an easing of restrictions in their trade with socialist States — a tendency noticeable in recent years — could not only be maintained but would gain ever further strength?
160. When considering these questions one should, indeed, bear in mind that the proper and mutually advantageous development of economic relations has to play an important part in easing international tension. And to ease international tension one should not fail to use realistically all the avenues open to achieve this goal.
161. In the process of improving the. conditions of world trade, in the working out of new principles of economic co-operation between developing countries, highly developed capitalist countries and socialist countries, the appropriate organs of the United Nations have their tasks to fulfil.
162. When dealing with this problem, may I emphasize our conviction that the large apparatus of the United Nations could perform its useful functions at lesser cost, if better organized and more efficiently coordinated. The question of expenditure is becoming one of essence.
163. The steady growth of the budget of our Organization and of its specialized agencies places upon the Member States ever-increasing financial burdens. There is, of course, a limit to which those burdens can be borne by the developing States. It is becoming steadily a burden to my own country. We of the Polish delegation will therefore feel compelled to pose ever more frequently the fundamental question: how can we reverse the bureaucratic trend to equate the growth of activities, resulting from increased tasks, with the growth of administrative expenditures? Thus, we fully share the suggestions put forward in his thought-provoking speech [1341st meeting] by the Minister for Foreign Affairs, of France Mr. Couvede Murville, who was moved by the very same concern as ours: to achieve optimal organizational efficiency of the international service at the lowest possible cost.
164. May I now address myself to what, to our mind, is the most important and at the same time the most difficult problem, on which our particular attention and debates have been focused for years. It is that of disarmament.
165. Contrary to expectations, the partial test ban treaty concluded two years ago was not followed by further meaningful disarmament measures. The burning question of how to counter the dangers of the continuous arms race remains unsolved.
166. We are far from underestimating the Geneva disarmament discussions, though their lack of results may seem discouraging! Geneva has provided a breeding ground for many interesting ideas, including those of the non-aligned States. Proposals for partial disarmament measures, collateral measures, have been advanced also outside the Eighteen-Nation Committee on Disarmament. In this connexion the proposals of the Government of the German Democratic Republic of August last are worthy of special note and special study.
167. Poland has also followed With attention the striving of the countries of Latin America to set up a denuclearized zone in their region, a concept so close to the Polish proposals concerning Europe. We therefore followed with the greatest attention the last meeting held in Mexico on this topic. Seeing its organizers in our midst here, they should be congratulated on the efforts they have taken to approach a solution for the problem. This equally applies to the plans to make the continent of Africa free from nuclear weapons.
168. We of Poland do share the opinion that a strong and new stimulus for the elaboration of a world-wide disarmament programme could be provided by a world disarmament conference. All States, including the Chinese People's Republic, should take part in the disarmament discussions. We support the convening of such a conference at an early date.
169. Of course, my delegation will dwell on the many questions of disarmament at greater length in the Political Committee. At this stage we should like to limit our remarks to the problem of non-dissemination of nuclear weapons. An important document on the subject in the form of a draft treaty has been submitted by the Soviet delegation [A/5976]. Another draft, that of the United States, raises serious doubts on our part.
170. A treaty barring the dissemination of nuclear weapons is obviously not a substitute for complete nuclear disarmament or for the prohibition of the use of nuclear weapons — two important goals towards which the United Nations should direct its attention and endeavours over and over again. But the question of non-dissemination of nuclear weapons, when solved, is meant only to prevent the deterioration of the present situation and to further the disarmament process.
171. The aim is clear: to bar access to nuclear weapons — direct or indirect access, individual or through alliances — to States which at present do not have them. The nuclear Powers should therefore not transfer such nuclear weapons, and States not possessing nuclear weapons should not produce or acquire them or participate in nuclear strategy, or have a share in decision-making with regard to the use of those weapons. A treaty on non-dissemination must equally and without exception bind all the parties; it has to be water-tight.
172. I do not doubt that delegations assembled here are aware of my country's profound and sincere preoccupation with the need for arresting the armaments race in Central Europe. Hence our interest in the creation of a nuclear-free zone, in establishing a freeze on nuclear armaments, or at least in taking effective measures which would prevent the dissemination of nuclear weapons in that very region. Poland maintains its proposals which have become known as the Gomulka and Rapacki Plans. Thus we intend to continue the exchange of views on these plans, being ready to consider any reasonable suggestion facilitating their implementation. In doing so, we. are prompted not only by considerations of our own security.
173. Twenty years have passed since the termination of the Second World War. Yet not all the wounds inflicted by it have been healed. We cannot therefore disregard the re-emergence in West Germany of
policies which were at the root of the disaster of 1939 and as a result, almost led to the biological annihilation of our nation. Do I have to remind you that we lost 6 million people during that war as the result of such policies?
174. The German Federal Republic still refuses to recognize the inviolability of our frontiers, still refuses to recognize the undeniable existence of two German States, and, under the banner of reunification, in fact intends to annex the German Democratic Republic — which, it must be remembered, is the first German State in history which has definitely repudiated the tradition of German imperialism. At the same time, the Federal Republic stretches out its hands for nuclear weapons.
175. How illustrative in this respect were the recent months in the German Federal Republic, when exactly those trends manifested themselves clearly in the election campaign. And those trends are at the basis of the tension still persisting in Europe. Dangerous, therefore, are all attempts to allow access to nuclear weapons to the German Federal Republic, be it within the framework of a collective nuclear force or through some other partnership in the Atlantic nuclear strategy. No words can allay our apprehensions. This is not the road leading to Europe's security, security as we envisage it.
176. For, as the highly esteemed political writer, Mr. Walter Lippmann, so rightly stated in one of his recent articles:
"... few of the smaller Western European nations and none of the East European will accept a 'Europe' in which Germany backed by the military might of the United States is the dominant Power."
And Mr. Lippmann did not fail to conclude:
"... a great Power, divided as the result of defeat in one world war, must not be armed with the weapons that could be used in another world war."
177. We submit that the question of European security has matured for wider consideration and calls for greater attention than hitherto, and the primary task of European policy continues to be to ensure security to all the nations of Europe.
178. European security can be the starting point for settlement of a number of controversial problems on that continent. It constitutes a basic requirement for confidence and for the shaping of good European Inter-State relations. Only thus can tendencies which in West Germany represent the past be effectively contained, and the forces of peace which exist also in the Federal Republic of Germany be strengthened. And we do not deny the existence of such forces there. The laying of strong foundations of confidence and security on the continent of Europe would indeed facilitate the beginning of a historic process of the peaceful solution of the German problem, to which some speakers referred in this debate — some speakers who showed not a full knowledge of the subject.
179. The delegation of Poland would like to recall its suggestion, made at the last session of the General Assembly, [1301st meeting] to convene a conference to discuss the problem of security in Europe in all its aspects. We have had the opportunity to discuss our proposal with representatives of a number of European States. We are pleased to state to the Assembly that the idea provoked considerable interest. We do not exclude that such a conference, duly prepared, could also consider issues of economic and other forms of co-operation. It could thus turn into a conference for European security and co-operation.
180. Events in Europe have a serious influence upon the world situation. On the other hand, events in other parts of the world cannot fail to affect the situation in Europe. Here, then, is an illustration of the interdependence of situations in various parts of our globe, which is bound to have an impact on peaceful coexistence and its implementation. We have therefore expressed straightforwardly our concern with the situation in Viet-Nam. And we have to add our deep conviction that an early peaceful solution of the conflict between India and Pakistan is both necessary and indispensable.
181. Faithful, as we are, to the firm principle of our policy of friendship and alliance with the Soviet Union and with other socialist countries, we are set to develop and, with an open mind, extend our relations with States of all continents, with States of political and social systems different from ours.
182. Within the last several months alone, we have established new contacts and exchanged important visits with countries of Asia, Africa and Latin America. And may I be permitted at this point to extend from this rostrum my Government's best wishes for fruitful debates and successful results at the approaching Accra meeting of the Organization of African Unity.
183. Numerous, too, have been Poland's contacts in Europe. May I be permitted here to mention a few of the contacts established and visits paid.
184. The Chairman of the Council of State of the Polish People's Republic visited friendly Finland. The exchange of views which the Prime Minister of Poland had in Paris has consolidated the traditional friendship linking the peoples of France and Poland. Our Prime Minister also paid a visit to Austria, with which we have close relations. We strengthened contacts with the Scandinavian countries — our neighbours across the Baltic; we played host to the Minister for Foreign Affairs of Denmark quite recently. We have developed a dialogue with Belgium; Poland's Minister for Foreign Affairs was guest of Mr. Paul-Henri Spaak. On the eve of this session, the British Foreign Secretary, Mr. Michael Stewart, visited Warsaw. In a few days, as I have already mentioned, we shall greet the President of Italy in Warsaw.
185. We feel persuaded that such a development of bilateral relations is mutually beneficial. It leads to a better understanding and, given goodwill on both sides, it may increase mutual confidence and help ease tensions. It thus enriches and promotes cooperation not only on a bilateral but also on a broader, international scale. It constitutes a valuable contribution to peace.
186. In this world of ours, full of controversies and conflicts, in a situation which calls for a determined stand against violations of the principles of our Charter, wise and co-ordinated actions of all men of goodwill are needed; there is need for a concerted action of nations and Governments devoted, not in words but in deeds, to peace. It is for the United Nations to be a stronghold of peaceful co-existence and peaceful co-operation.
187. These are the guiding principles on the basis of which the Polish delegation pledges its full support to the constructive efforts of this General Assembly.