Permit me to express to Sir Leslie Munro my hearty congratulations on his election to the presidency of the twelfth session of the General Assembly. His qualifications and experience, as well as his courtesy and genial disposition, had much to do, I believe, with his selection for the task of presiding over our meetings. I am sure that these qualities will make less difficult and less onerous that task of presiding over an Assembly composed of peoples from many lands and of many races, with differing creeds and doctrines, customs and dispositions.
2. We have watched the steady growth and expansion of this Organization, whose General Assembly is now holding its twelfth session with a membership of eighty-two nations. During these 5ears of its existence, the Organization has often been criticized, and has at times been branded as useless, helpless and ineffective in the settlement of international problems. Despite these constant attacks, the Organization has been able to carry on. It has been able to prevent major hostilities; and in cases where, despite its efforts, these hostilities have flared up, it has been able through moral pressure to localize the conflict, end the hostilities and restore order.
3. The question then arises; Why has this Organization succeeded where the old League of Nations failed so dismally? It is true that the ideas, the principles and the concept that brought the League of Nations into existence were very similar to those which formed the foundation of the United Nations. But there is a basic difference between them. The League lacked universal support. Its membership was confined to the principal nations of the First World War. It was therefore run by a few and in the interest of a few. It became a club, with an outer circle and an inner circle. Those who composed the inner circle, and were generally called the "midwives" of the organization, formulated the policies and executed them with little regard to the rights and feelings of the majority.
4. Each major Power was a law unto itself — it interpreted the laws of the organization to suit its needs and national honour, and took action when necessary in strict conformity to its national interest. The rights of the weak and defenceless were generally ignored, if not trampled upon. The ruling circle was not prepared to upset the balance of power in the interest of aiding and defending a small or weak State.
5. One of the other major weaknesses of the League was its "back door" policy, which ignored and bypassed the League itself. This policy was generally adopted by the major Powers in consideration of their interests or national honour or when it suited their convenience. Some chancellery then replaced the League, where the matter was discussed and settled by a few. This by-passing of the organization had a tendency to weaken the structure of the League itself. It thereby lost influence and respect among the smaller nations and, in the eyes of many, was considered an organization solely And exclusively run by a few powerful nations bent on maintaining the status quo of world domination.
6. Today we have the United Nations, conceived in similar circumstances but completely different in its application of the principles upon which the League of Nations was based. It is not dominated by any single Power or group of Powers. There is no inner circle restricted to a few at the expense of many. There are no hidden secrets lodged in the archives of any particular country or countries. It is true, indeed, that the Security Council may bear some resemblance to an exclusive club, but discord is more frequent than harmony. The ideological or "cold war" maintains this cleavage. It is true that this discord among the great Powers has hindered progress in some fields of the Organization and has caused stagnation, particularly in regard to disarmament and the control of nuclear weapons. It has also failed in many instances to bring a permanent peace to those areas where it has been able to stop hostilities.
7. Regrettable as this situation may be, such disharmony or disagreement has prevented any single Power or group of Powers from imposing its will on any majority or minority group in the exercise of the veto. People in the most remote regions of the world have also benefited indirectly from such discord. They have been able to air their grievances through the United Nations and, in many cases, not only have they been heard, but they have obtained a fair and just settlement of their problems. They have not been left isolated or alone in defending themselves, but have received invariably the staunch support of some of the leading Powers. Whether the aims of such Power or Powers were altruistic or selfish is difficult to say - one does not look a gift horse in the mouth.
8. Though such disagreement has caused at times stagnation in the political field, on the other hand, it has made the Organization more universal in character. Never before in history have men been able to form an association that has touched the lives of so many people in so many lands and in so many ways. It has brought succour to the needy, aid to the sick, and hope and inspiration to the depressed, regardless of race, creed or religion. There is no longer a backroom diplomacy in settling the affairs of men. What happens in Asia has its repercussions in America, Europe and Africa — and vice versa. International problems are no longer the concern of the few with vested interests, but of all mankind.
9. If the nineteenth century is recorded in history as a time when the world was carved up among the great Powers, then the twentieth century must surely go down in history as the century of nationalism — the awakening of national aspirations. No period in the history of the human race has witnessed the birth of so many new nations in such a short period of time. In this regard, our Charter is being rapidly implemented. As each new nation takes its seat in this Organization, the Organization becomes more universal, it becomes richer in the sense that however small or backward a people may be, they have something unique in their history to offer, in the social, in the cultural or in the political field.
10. We therefore welcome all new countries and extend to them the hand of friendship and co-operation, fully believing that they, like ourselves, are determined to contribute to world peace by adjusting our differences and settling our disputes in a spirit of conciliation under the aegis of this Organization.
11. We as a nation oppose all forms of domination - whether imperialistic or communistic. Our interest and our support are linked with all free countries that have the dignity and worth of the human being at heart.
12. No country, small or big, can be indifferent to the problem of world disarmament. With the discovery of nuclear weapons, any major conflict becomes global. It is now over ten or eleven years ago that this Organization set up a commission on the problem of world disarmament. It appears that, despite these long ten or eleven years, we are no nearer a solution than when we started. The same background of distrust and fear which permeated the work of the Disarmament Commission in its early stage persists up to the present. Each year we witness the discovery of new weapons of mass destruction which tend, not to lessen the work of the Disarmament Commission or to allay the suspicion of the great Powers, but rather to sharpen the differences between them and therefore make the problem of disarmament more complex and difficult.
13. It is doubtful, under such conditions, when mistrust and fear occupy the minds and control the actions of the great Powers - the possessors of such weapons of mass destruction - that a solution to world disarmament will ever be found. There might be some justification for this fear, suspicion and mistrust, as history has shown that many nations have been the victims of deceit and treachery in regard to disarmament. It is indeed true that the smaller nations do not possess such weapons of mass destruction or "know-how" of their manufacture: yet they have been allowed to discuss the problem in all its phases in the United Nations and have also been permitted to comment or to make recommendations on the various reports of the Disarmament Commission. Nevertheless, not possessing such weapons, the small nations, we believe, if given equal opportunity, might be able to devise a formula on disarmament that could be acceptable to the great Powers without the loss of national honour and prestige.
14. Often on the agenda of the United Nations have appeared questions of such an explosive nature that the least mishandling could have probably brought us to the brink of another world holocaust. Feelings at times among the contending parties have been tense and fierce. National honour seems to be at stake and therefore positions taken appear to be adamant and irrevocable. Patience and tolerance on both sides seem to have been exhausted as each side became convinced of the justice of its cause and therefore was prepared to resort to the last alternative in upholding its national prestige.
15. It is therefore a credit to the United Nations, when faced at times with such an impasse, to have adopted the attitude of patience and sober reflection. Each party to the dispute, without hindrance or restraint, has been allowed freely to put forward arguments in defence of its position. The Assembly has listened patiently to charges and counter-charges. It has heard language at times harsh, insulting and offensive, which in similar circumstances and in former organizations would have immediately led to hostile action. The only reaction to such language is the whimsical smile or the deep frown of the representatives, depending on their attitude to the question. This of itself speaks well and is a happy augury to further discussions in the Assembly.
16. After carefully listening to the lengthy and exhaustive speeches which have a tendency to allay feelings, the United Nations generally adopts a technique peculiar to itself — a technique of conciliation and adjustment. Though such a solution offers little satisfaction to either party, nevertheless it offers no offence nor seeks to impose conditions that would embarrass or affect the national honour and prestige of either party.
17. This is a problem that gravely concerns my Government and people. It is in Africa among our kith and kin that most of the dependent peoples of the world are to be found today. Living on such a continent, surrounded by people of our own race, we could not ignore or be indifferent to their national aspirations. Like them, we too have known the bitterness of injustice, the common fate of all dependent peoples. My Government therefore will at all times and in all circumstances lend its aid and support to the cause of all dependent peoples.
18. We agree and fully support the principle that all men are born equally free and independent, with a right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. This is a part of our national Constitution. We will, however, continue to seek a solution to this problem through peaceful and lawful means. Consequently, we will not be a party to any solution that calls for violence or the threat of violence in the accomplishment of these aims. Violence is not in the nature of our race.
19. Hardship, frustration and perhaps even enslavement have developed in our people a sense of humour that makes them impervious to all difficulties and hardships. Perhaps this has been an asset, otherwise they, like many other races, might have suffered extinction, not being able to match their weapons with the weapons of more advanced peoples. These sufferings and humiliations have developed in our race the virtues of patience and tolerance. We might retreat in the face of great odds, but we never lose hope and we never abandon our goal. We believe in the motto "he who fights and runs away lives to fight another day” or, as in the last war, "we retreat according to plan".
20. The African, locked up in the vastness of his continent, was unaware of the strife and treachery prevailing in the world outside his orbit. By nature he is generous and kind to all strangers. This made him welcome the coming of the foreigner to his continent. He showered the stranger with gifts, allowed him to carry on his trade, gave him lands on which to develop and make use of the natural resources of his country in the search for gold, diamonds and other minerals which others labelled as precious but which to the African had no intrinsic value. It was therefore a rude awakening to the African to find that the more he gave, the less satisfied became the receiver. He soon came to realize that nothing would satisfy his guest except the complete surrender of everything he owned and cherished.
21. Naturally, in such circumstances he attempted to resist and was at times ruthlessly crushed by superior weapons. The spear and the arrow, despite his courage, were no match for the musket and the cannon. He was forced to submit, but he never gave up hope. He soon learned the ways of the foreigner and then began to improve his economic and social position. Adopting the methods of modern sanitation, he increased in number. He was prepared, in keeping with his nature, to wait to regain his political freedom, for he realized that only through patience, tolerance and pretence of submission could he survive.
22. These virtues have not gone unrewarded. The African, like so many other people in similar circumstances, with the passing of time, is beginning to attain his national aspiration - complete freedom and independence - as is evident by the many new African States in the Assembly. It is therefore indeed gratifying and a source of hope to know that, with the passing of each year, the United Nations becomes stronger with the addition of many new States, for it is indeed true, to quote Longfellow, that "Humanity with all its fears, with all its hopes of future years, is hanging breathless on thy fate."