The Spanish delegation extends its very warm congratulations to Sir Leslie Munro on his election. Rarely has a man of greater authority, more imbued with the true spirit of an international assembly and with a more extensive scientific and diplomatic background, served as our President. Moreover, the personal charm, earnestness and cordial good humour which accompany his ability make the Assembly's choice a particularly happy one and assure us that the result of his labours will be equally happy.
2. We offer our congratulations also to Mr. Hammarskjold on his reappointment as Secretary-General. Mr. Hammarskjold has shown true qualities of statesmanship in dealing with the most difficult world problems. The United Nations can be glad to have him as the Assembly's spokesman and the executant of its decisions.
3. The eleventh session of the General Assembly, which recently came to an end, was the first in which Spain took part. We are well satisfied with our experience. The work was momentous, at times dramatic, and in many respects completely successful. Rarely has the United Nations demonstrated greater effectiveness than in confronting one of the problems dealt with during our last session: I refer to the question of Suez, which was one of unqualified importance whose exemplary solution will, we hope, carry weight with all of us. If other endeavours to make right prevail and to establish justice have not yet met with the same final success, the tenacity with which the United Nations is pursuing this end and the headway it has made in eliciting the facts and building up strong moral pressure in the case of Hungary, lead us to hope- confident in the good sense of all who are working on it — that there also success may be achieved.
4. The world of today is not a very happy place. We have heard speeches which might fill us with anxiety and even terror. To tell the truth, we feared the dangers even before we knew them as precisely as they have been outlined here.
5. In the year 1,000 A.D., with less reason than now, many people, in Europe especially, gave way to terror and thought that the end of the world was at hand. They made ready for death; they abandoned their work. Moreover, they were assailed by plagues, by private wars — evils common enough in the history of mankind. They had black moments of despair and surrender and almost wished to bring the world to an end, against the will of its Creator. Their fears did not materialize because they had no physical foundation whatever and were only collective hallucinations.
6. But today the situation is different; today there are many more reasons for fearing the end of the world than there were in the year 1,000. Fearful inventions, the hitherto unforeseen disintegration of matter, can destroy the essential elements of life unless the moral sense of mankind prevents it. The progress of science has brought great help for our ills and has given us wonders of relief from pain; and man's desire to know and to create awakens many of his noblest qualities. But it has also brought about the diabolical apparition of technical means capable of annihilation, of destruction, beyond all imaginable limits.
7. The future does not look promising. At present these techniques are still in the hands of the great Powers, which can reach agreement among themselves. We can all work to find solutions and to avert destruction and hope has not been lost. Nevertheless we may well tremble at the prospect of the continued advance of science, which is likely to place the means of destruction within the grasp of the individual. Why not? Other secret and obscure formulae in the field of applied science finally become available to the individual.
8. Tomorrow men may be able to manipulate practically unlimited means of destruction and to employ them with their own hands. Private pharmacies and laboratories may be able to produce substances with frightful effects. Individuals will also be able to use small atomic devices. I can imagine, in dark moments, that in fifty years' time some chemist in Andorra — and I deliberately choose that peaceful and pastoral little country, nestling in the Pyrenees between France and Spain — will be able with the mixtures and devices available to him, to launch from the roof of his house waves of destruction which will wipe out Paris, London, Lisbon, Madrid, Rabat and Rome. This is not nonsensical, nor does the demented act of my imaginary Andorran chemist lie outside the diabolical possibilities of scientific progress.
9. Yet the modern world, unlike that of the year 1,000, remains calm even in the face of real dangers. A number of the speakers in this general debate have already commented on that fact, though without allowing it to reassure them. And it is true that what we must do is not to calm our apprehensions but to assess the situation with serenity.
10. Qualities deeply ingrained in the human spirit hearten us in the face of danger. The fear of destruction cannot quench the sturdy flame of the soul. Classic wisdom condemned the idea that through fear of death we should abandon the will to live. And mankind today, in this moment of peril, remains faithful to that wisdom and searches for a way out without fear and without surrender.
11. We are seeking political remedies here. Much of the work of politics consists in dispelling phantoms, analysing dark and apparently insurmountable dangers and seeking, in the process, chinks and fissures in the solid front they present. A policy of armaments is the first remedy. Today, as it happens, we are discussing disarmament. But what the world desires above all — let us say so frankly — is that the nations capable of maintaining the present moral order shall be well armed. It is somewhat paradoxical that we, who are not yet sufficiently armed, should give our opinion on the proper time and procedure for disarmament. But in doing so we are paying homage to world conscience, to which we must all be sensitive. That, too, is why we lay stress on armaments, on the need for the solid strength which will guarantee the human race a little tranquillity.
12. In many periods of history there have been dangers of invasion and violence similar to those we face at present, but never has there been the prospect of such destruction as that which modern science has made possible tin rough the invention of nuclear weapons and the hydrogen bomb.
13. Those of us who do not possess great military strength can best contribute to the balance of forces and the disarmament that balance makes possible by unreservedly co-operating with the free nations, and especially the most powerful among them, in the defence of the world. Disregarding minor points that are easily settled, Spain decided upon a policy of full co-operation with the United States in this task, and joint defence bases have been set up on our territory.
14. Great progress has been made in this direction. The joint labours of the United States and Spain in the establishment of these bases have been accompanied by sincere popular enthusiasm, equalled no doubt in other countries but surpassed in none. With a strong sense of history, in the face of clever and ill-intentioned propaganda, the Spanish people have clearly understood the decisive bearing of the American effort and the need to support it. I do not say this — I have referred to it on another occasion — without a certain embarrassment about praising the powerful, which can be almost more difficult than denouncing them.
15. The clear, concise and unadorned speech delivered in such strong tones by the United States Secretary of State in this debate [680th meeting], during which he spoke of practical solutions and specific dangers, placing them geographically, will, I am sure, be received with enthusiasm in my country. The hard, lucid reasoning of the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs of the United Kingdom likewise reassured and encouraged us. Political intelligence and the virtue of decisiveness still flourish in old Europe.
16. Does this mean that we desire violence? On the contrary. The old aphorism that only dynamic and supple strength can guarantee peace is still palpably true. Let us not lose ourselves in futile pretence; in the history of civilization force at the service of justice has always been one of the important sources of progress and freedom. We therefore believe that until broad, sincere and secure agreements are reached on the questions of disarmament and coexistence, it is essential that we should remain alert and well armed.
17. It is scarcely possible to conceive of a worse crime than that of leaving the free world defenceless without a code of international guarantees to protect it against all its enemies. Spain supports today and will always support any reasonable and serious plan of disarmament. We shall joyfully greet the day on which peoples living far apart and antagonistic races lay aside all rancour and clasp hands in the name of coexistence and peace. But until such time as this becomes something more than a project, a dream or a hope, the law of existence obliges us to keep our gates well guarded. "What is an advantage for the law-breakers is that there is no law against abuse, and that it does not call forth the condemnation and moral censure of the whole world", the Head of the Spanish State said, speaking of disarmament.
18. The Marquis of Santa Cruz, our Under-Secretary for Foreign Affairs, who is the vice-chairman of the delegation to the United Nations which I have the honour to lead, echoed those words only a few days ago at the Inter-Parliamentary Conference in London, when he said: "Unfortunately effective disarmament is not possible without prior effective international control. A system of collective security within the framework of the United Nations would represent a gigantic step forward in the solution of the problem."
19. Are there any possibilities of agreement, even initial and minimal agreement, to halt the armaments race? If so, it is our duty to take advantage of them, and Spain will do its utmost to assist. Should the United Nations initiate a broad campaign of information and education about the horrors which a new world war would bring, as the Belgian Minister for Foreign Affairs proposed from this rostrum [685th meeting]? Then let us set to work at once. Spain will not be backward in the conviction and enthusiasm it brings to this wise step. May disarmament, subject to international, inspection by the United Nations, come in due course. But let us take great care that those who disarm in good faith are in no danger of being put to the sword, like the Holy Innocents of the Gospel.
20. We certainly hear intelligent and attractive sounding proposals from the other side — from the Soviet Union — on means of agreement to halt the armaments race and establish solid safeguards through the publication by all countries of more or less complete information which would enable us to determine the state of military organization and preparation for war in each country. That is the path to follow, there is no doubt of that. Those of us who have most faith in the need for strength must hasten to follow it, heedful, of course, of the directions of those who know in detail, factory by factory and observation post by observation post, all that must be known about that vast organization, for in general all we know is that certain countries possess great armaments.
21. If confidence existed, if the world could believe the words of those who today represent what we conceive to be a threat to the form of life and civilization preferred by the immense majority of mankind — including themselves, probably, when the illusions of their experiments have been dispelled — the problem would be simple. But there is the danger of the possible Trojan horse, if a moment of distraction or of unfounded confidence leads us to falter on the hard, grim and unattractive road of resistance. Timeo Danaos et dona ferentes, the prophetess warned the besieged Trojans, The Trojans did not listen to Cassandra and Troy suffered a grim fate.
22. It is difficult to have confidence in the USSR. Firm in our resolve not to judge the internal political life of other countries, we would in no way concern ourselves with that great country if its leaders confined themselves to domestic activities. But they cross their frontiers, absorb huge peoples and implacably subjugate others who wish to be independent, without hiding their intention of extending their doctrine and their political influence to the whole world. And it is probable that the Soviet Union is ruled by that most terrible of all governmental species — a group of people who wish to experiment on living beings. There is no violence or even cruelty that those who are possessed by extreme convictions and find a way to put them into practice, without regard to frontiers or legal barriers, will stop at. As there is unfortunately little likelihood of a sudden moral transformation, only precautions and unequivocal international guarantees can put an end to the bloodless Sebastopol — to speak in terms of the Russian past — which constitutes the free world's relationship with the Soviet Union.
23. Another policy which would help to ward off the "millennium" and its horrors would be to seek a universal readjustment between the position of the peoples who have largely directed the world for the last 150 years and that of the others, who have now reached maturity and must take their places and be received there with the respect that is their due. The arrogant attitudes and the old concepts of precedence which were, in the last analysis, based on historical accidents, must disappear — and it can be said that they have disappeared or are disappearing.
24. In this matter, the Spaniard can always speak from his firm anti-racist conviction, which has been demonstrated — as I have remarked before — in the admirable racial mixtures with which we have enriched the world and its culture. Spain's creative work in new lands — which it goes against the grain to call colonization in the current meaning of the term although Mr. Trujillo, the representative of Ecuador, clearly explained the other day [691st meeting] the different shades of meaning the word can have — that work was very different, as is proved above all by the quality of the people who are descended from it, and has much that can serve as an example for the solution of the problems of the world today.
25. This in its turn places Spain, by reason of the internal moral reactions which determine its public behaviour with regard to these problems, in a special position, which is different from what it might have been if its people had remained confined within the Iberian borders for centuries instead of scattering throughout a world in which their creative activity has been so fruitful. It makes Spain a spiritual part, but free, living and articulate, of an undefined European, American and Asian whole which has the same language, culture, religion and aesthetic sense and from whose devotion to the finest principles so much may be expected,
26. More than this, there exists a Euro-American cultural community, with strong offshoots in Asia, which, by wise and timely political action, may be transformed into a decisive and practical unity of action. There is not a single principle of European civilization which does not exist in its own right on the American continent, which has as much claim to them, by inheritance, as the old world. This Euro-American community would be failing in its mission if it did not approach the Other peoples of the world in a spirit of simple humanity. We Euro-Americans cannot speak to the nations of Asia or Africa in the language of superiority. Nor can we approach these peoples, so rich in tradition and in moral background, with the picturesque curiosity of a Marco Polo or the catalogued benevolence of a health delegation. We must approach these peoples like brothers, either because our religious convictions teach us the essential equality of man, or out of habit or enlightened pragmatism.
27. Consider, for example, what is happening in the Middle East. The action recently undertaken there, which was repugnant to the conscience of modern man, was halted during our last session by the able intervention of the United Nations and, let us say so frankly, the quick and intelligent comprehension of two European nations. There we have those peoples of great moral standing, endowed with great military virtues, of infinite distinction and refinement, which we may speak of in general terms as the Middle East. To approach them with suspicion would be a serious mistake.
28. Yesterday [697th meeting] I listened to a splendid speech by the representative of Saudi Arabia. It is not necessary to endorse all his judgements and conclusions. He was speaking, with magnificent understanding, about close and urgent problems in establishing his country's relations with other nations. The rest of us see those problems from a distance and not all his views are ours. Yet it is precisely in the spirit of which I have been speaking that we sincerely hail the sense of the unity of the Arab countries which the eloquent speaker expressed and commented on in this instance — perhaps to the surprise of some people.
29. Far from encouraging the resentments and differences of these peoples, let us continue to seek universal concord in this strong and healthy spirit, and rejoice in their unity of spirit and unity of action.
30. Spain, a country for whose policy friendship with the Mediterranean countries is indispensable and for whose activities co-operative and active contact with the chief Moslem peoples is an important condition, may — and I say this with a certain lack of modesty — serve as a good example. It is because of this that we appreciate the wisdom of others. There is a significant difference between, on the one hand, violence and aggression, and, on the other, the sending of friendly ambassadors to the countries of the East to find out their needs, to seek remedies and to keep them united in friendship. Spain is hopefully observing that United States policy of contract with the Eastern peoples and wishes that it were the policy of all the Euro-American countries.
31. We Spaniards are linked to lands and peoples of the Near East by ties which have been sanctified by centuries of history and are growing stronger day by day. Between that world and the coasts of Spain there lies a common sea; and that sea suggests and even dictates principles and feelings of strong solidarity.
32. We cannot but listen gladly to certain illustrious voices from the Moslem world which are suggesting a Mediterranean confederation or community towards whose realization there would advance, pari passu, from one side the peoples of southern and southwestern Europe, or, to put it more precisely, the European peoples with a Mediterranean sea-board, and from the other side the nations of North Africa, which from the remotest periods of classical antiquity have co-operated fruitfully — as the names of Carthage, Tunis, Tripoli, Oran and Fez bear witness — in the creation and development of a well-defined culture. It is certainly not easy to explain the characteristics of Spain or of other parts of Graeco-Latin Europe without frequent allusions to Damascus, Baghdad and all the peoples of the Mediterranean coast from the Bosphorus to glorious Alexandria.
33. You can well imagine, therefore, how eager we Spaniards are that the nations of the Middle East and North Africa should have their desire for justice satisfied. They are well aware of this, and we know that they do not doubt the fraternal sympathy of Spain, which at this moment has the honour, under a friendly agreement, to provide diplomatic representation in most of the republics of Central and South America for one of our most eminent countries which has returned to normal life - Morocco.
34. Yet if all our hopes and desires are to become a fruitful reality it would be well for the Moslem nations to prepare to co-operate in the common task and to do so in the spirit of their traditions. They took their place in history under the guidance of a religious code which they zealously maintain and which keeps them aloof from the sinister subversive forces that threaten civilized society. They are called upon to share many troubles and many noble tasks with the Christian West. We should therefore be overjoyed to see them tackling and solving their problems, without rancour or spirit of revenge, always ready to discuss and negotiate, to forget the mistakes of others and to rise above the memories that injustice may have left in their hearts. The Near East must play a vital part in the policy of peace. And if it is to do so, we, the Western world as a whole, must do all that is in our power to promote its progress and its welfare.
35. The West claims to be the fountain-head of the ideas which have enabled all peoples to achieve full international authority, ideas that cannot be divorced from the body of our spiritual heritage without losing their meaning. It is only by exchanging views with others as equals — which is the essence of international life — and co-operating thoughtfully in the search for just solutions to the grave problems that beset us, that the new nations, which through all their political vicissitudes have managed to preserve a love of their own traditions and faith in their own destinies, can reach full stature.
36. The roots of Spain's community of feeling with the great civilizations of Asia and Africa reach far back into history. At the height of the Middle Ages a Spanish king was called "Sovereign of the men of the two religions". Moslems and Jews worked side by side with the Christian sovereign, and this co-operation went on for a long time. His example can now serve as a model to us all, without our sacrificing to this ideal of concord the realities that have come into being over the centuries or encouraging hasty solutions running counter to justice and to the United Nations Charter.
37. If such a policy is to be put into practice rapidly and effectively by means of conciliation, the European countries should first overcome the difficulties that still exist among themselves. I am not referring to those arising out of the violence unleashed by the communist invasion. The most flagrant case of all, and one which cannot be forgotten whenever the subject of foreign policy is raised, is the division of Germany — the scandal of Europe and the disgrace of the international life of today, compared to which all other problems are insignificant, and at the same time an indication of the intentions of those who today threaten the peace of the world. Nor can we ignore the political crime committed in Hungary, on which our attention is still concentrated. What I am now refer ring to are the other serious disputes between the European peoples themselves, united in a common cause; these problems must first be solved.
38. If we fail to put an end to the violations of international law that still persist in the old world, and if we maintain the injustice among us that breed resentment, how are we to inspire respect in others? The most noble words uttered by Europeans will sound hollow so long as flagrant injustice exists in Europe itself.
39. One last thing that is required of the peoples united in the common cause of defending civilization is mutual respect for the customs of each one. Mr. Sapena Pastor, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Paraguay, put the matter clearly and soberly when he said [681st meeting]: "Each State has its own problems which it must solve in its own way".
40. Side by side with the dogmatism of international communism, there still exist powerful pressure groups, determined to tell the world how it should govern itself, insolently trying to impose principles designed to regulate the lives of others in accordance with their own tastes, paying no attention to the requirements and historical experience of individual peoples or to the different political philosophies to which the widely different nations of the world have adjusted their political systems over the centuries. These spiritual dictatorships, with their constant insolence, poison relations between peoples and are particularly untimely at present. We must be on our guard against these too. We are not obliged to accept as dogmatic revelations announced from a burning bush what are merely the domestic political preferences of influential countries.
41. What we desire is a world in which armaments can be reduced, but in which effective vigilance is maintained against any possible Trojan horse; a world of mutual understanding and agreement; a world in which Germany is no longer divided, in which Jerusalem can be international and the Arab countries: come to a lasting agreement with their neighbours, righting the wrongs of recent eventful years; a world in which ideological propaganda directed at other countries is brought to an end and in which the identity of the great moral and religious principles of all peoples becomes more apparent.
42. A world of this kind could resist the temptation to destroy itself by using means which are as yet limited to the great Powers but which, as I pointed out before, will later be available to small countries as well. After all, for men of our faith, human nature, although bearing the stigma of original sin, can count on sufficient means of grace, determination and expiation to redeem itself. Crime is not man’s temptation. On the contrary, it is repugnant to our nature and it would indeed be a crime to unleash unlimited violence that could destroy the world.
43. Some might regard this as a mere dream and vague idealism. I cannot really speak with authority on the subject of fissionable materials. Yet perhaps these moral thoughts and aims are more practical than dry pragmatism. Only the exaltation of principles and their general acceptance can bring better days to our poor world.
44. This does not mean that the task of improving economic conditions should be abandoned. On the contrary, unless the peoples' levels of living are raised, ill-will and disputes will continue to cause unrest. Hence the need for generous and sound measures, which will bear fruit in the long run, to develop the under-developed countries. This matter has been eloquently discussed by many representatives of the Latin American countries, which shows that our race is both idealistic and practical and encourages me to continue along these lines.
45. Spain is not really an under-developed country in the strict sense of the term. There are, however, certain weak spots and defects in its agricultural and industrial development, which my Government is taking energetic steps to remedy in order to bring about a general improvement. A great deal of progress has been made along these lines, and Spain is developing a sense of solidarity concerning the country’s interests, as a result of which sacrifice is evenly distributed and those who are well off are asked to co-operate in efforts to improve the lot of the others. Social reforms which only a few years ago would have been no more than dreams have already been put into effect, as in the more developed countries of the world, and are heartening achievements. The efforts of the entire nation have been concentrated on raising the levels of living of whole provinces to that of the more advanced provinces as a matter of national importance and based on a new conception of our economy. At the same time, great efforts are being made to promote industrialization, and United States assistance, which Spain received later and in much smaller quantities than the other European countries, is playing its part in increasing our national wealth. Our country is sincerely grateful for this assistance.
46. The principles of free enterprise and individual initiative have been scrupulously observed. Spain remains faithful to these two principles, and as its national life is an open book and people from all countries come to Spain and exploit its resources, there is no need for me to enlarge upon the subject here in the General Assembly.
47. Our political philosophy does not accept the elimination of individual initiative; it endorses the idea of saving and the desire to pass on savings as a heritage; all these things lie at the basis of its economic structure. Only where individual initiative has failed does the State intervene, often in association with individuals, to fill the gap, but in every case it does so with the declared intention of handing over to private enterprise, as soon as possible, the noble national task of increasing the nation's wealth and turning it to good use.
48. Spain rejects the old and discredited dilemma of unlimited freedom or socialism. The path followed by Spain at the present stage of its development is the middle course, based on well-known Christian teachings.
49. Spain is of course following with keen interest the encouraging efforts made to achieve greater integration and co-ordination between the old national European economies. It is doing so not only for economic but also for political reasons, since it will tighten the bonds that link the members of the European community. Certain problems inevitably arise therefrom, and the complete integration of Spain into this economic structure will present difficulties in the way of adapting our economy to the proposed system, which may already be regarded as in operation. It is clear that a new spirit is alive in Europe and that we too feel its call.
50. The same reasons, which are even more compelling in the case of the Iberian peninsula, have prompted our country to examine, in co-operation with Portugal, a country to which we feel so closely linked by bonds of friendship, policy and common objectives, the co-ordination of our respective production and consumption systems. We hope that what is now a natural thing for us and the result of earlier contacts will one day form the basis for relations between our country and other countries, inspired by the same principles of rationalizing production and consumption with a view to promoting welfare and raising levels of living.
51. It is implicit in what I have said, and before concluding it will be well for me to make it quite explicit, that we are firmly resolved to co-operate Whole-heartedly in the work of the United Nations and in the concerted efforts it is making lo achieve these objectives. We are already doing so by participating in all the projects that have been approved so far, and the Secretariat files contain information submitted by Spain that may be useful in pursuing this important and noble task.
52. Throughout my statement I have referred to the political means of overcoming the dangers we face. I have left until last one of the most important of these means: the United Nations. Certain changes may be needed in our Organization and, as has been pointed out by Mr. Trujillo, of Ecuador, and Mr. Cañas, of Costa Rica, Spain associated itself with the countries of Central and South America in requesting that these changes should be made at a suitable time.
53. These proposals should be examined carefully as a means of promoting a broader measure of agreement between the peoples represented here by making effective amendments and not as a means of provoking further disputes. Yet even in its present form, the United Nations is an instrument of peace which may, without exaggeration, be described as marvellous. There must be very few who, even when their words are printed and circulated, still harbour a nostalgic yearning for the old diplomatic methods, for after all, with all their claims to wisdom, prudence and selection, they have produced nothing but heartbreaking catastrophes during the last fifty years. What some people sarcastically term market-place diplomacy today represents mankind’s greatest hope for peace.
54. It is not necessary for every problem to be completely solved — although the United Nations is doing much in this respect — in order to achieve this goal of understanding, enlightenment and human contact which is the essence of true diplomacy. Simply by bringing together in one hall, for the first time in history, men from all parts of the world, speaking with equal dignity and independence, the United Nations has realized the dream of the greatest minds which sought to improve the condition of mankind. Without even referring to a future when the United Nations will have physical strength at its disposal — on idea which Spain greatly favours — we need only consider its great vitality, its moral influence and its power to arrest evil.
55. It is said of a late and almost forgotten statesman that when the influence of His Holiness the Pope was mentioned, he asked how many divisions the Pope had at his disposal. Yet even without divisions history is made, crimes are prevented and justice is done. The moral influence of the Pope — on another, transcendental, level — is a good example by which to appraise the possibilities of the United Nations and encourage its work. Who knows but that this same peaceful and objective voice of the Head of the Roman Church may one day be heard in our midst, at the request not only of Christians but of other noble and impartial representatives of the world's conscience acting in accordance with the law of God.
56. Our delegation, convinced of the paramount importance of our work, will follow with redoubled attention the discussions of the Assembly, and, with an open mind and in accordance with its historical traditions and present conditions, will participate in these exchanges of views, which could and should bring about so much alleviation of human suffering.