Dominican Republic, 1949

Mr. HENRIQUEZ UREÑA said that if ever the United Nations General Assembly had commenced its work in an atmosphere propitious to fruitful mutual collaboration it was on that occasion, when the world political horizon was again bright with hope. The General Assembly was meeting in an atmosphere of tranquillity under the leadership of a distinguished statesman, General Romulo, who could be described as the embodiment of the spirit of human kindness.

161. The task before the Assembly was not easy, nothing was more arduous than the effort to reconcile conflicting ideologies and interests. Good will, however, had power akin to faith, which moved mountains.

162. While the Assembly agenda covered a vast number of topics, the political items, which occasioned the great differences, were not as numerous as in the past; moreover, they had all been discussed previously.

163. The question of the disposal of the former Italian colonies was of primary importance. Mr. Henriquez Ureña hoped the Assembly would find an equitable and workable solution of the problem during that session; the position of the Dominican Republic thereon had already been clearly indicated and it would remain unchanged. Any solution designed to ensure the preparation of those former colonies for self-government or independence, through an orderly process carried out under the supervision of the United Nations, would have the support of the delegation of the Dominican Republic.

164. The Dominican Republic maintained an equally firm attitude with regard to any problem involving respect for the independence and sovereignty of a State. For that reason it could not remain indifferent to another question which had already been debated in past sessions of the United Nations General Assembly, namely, the threat to the political independence and territorial integrity of Greece. Not only was the sacred principle of independence attacked by such threats but also another principle, that of non-intervention, which the American Republics had embodied in many treaties and declarations.

165. The defence of those principles assumed a special importance in the case of Greece, a country which occupied so high a place in the history of civilization through the far-reaching influence of Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, Archimedes, Aeschylus and Anacreon, and the incomparable marble beauty of the mutilated Venus of Melos or the headless Victory of Samothrace.

166. Was it unusual then if peoples whose culture had been nourished by the life-giving stream of Hellenic thought were united in their ardent desire to support and defend Greece when her independence was at stake? On the altar of that great idea Byron had laid down his life at Missolonghi, and the soul of humanity had been filled with wonder when the people of Greece, like David before Goliath, had risen up to engage in unrelenting war with the invading hosts of fascism and nazism, as if from the depths of the past the martial and harmonious strains of the Trytaean lyre had re-echoed in their ears.

167. Fortunately, it would appear that the problem of Greece was approaching solution. There was ground for hope that normal, good-neighbourly relations would soon be re-established between Greece and adjacent nations in spite of the mutual accusations arising from regrettable incidents, the responsibility for which each of the contending countries ascribed to the other. The frontier incidents, however painful they might have been, were not the essence of the problem, but only one of its consequences. The Assembly must go to the very heart of the question, and that could be done if all the parties concerned accepted the mediation of the United Nations with the greatest good will in an effort to find an amicable solution.

168. A similar procedure had been successfully employed in dealing with the Indonesian question which, although very different in substance and origin, offered a fine example of what could be accomplished by a spirit of good will. The parties concerned were discussing their problems under the aegis of the United Nations and there was a good prospect that an agreement could be reached on principles which might well be a prelude to a final solution.

169. In respect to Korea, the Government of the Dominican Republic had recognized its existence as an independent nation. The delegation of the Dominican Republic considered that for the time being the United Nations Commission on Korea, established for the purpose of co-operating in the solution of Korean problems, and in the first place the problem of the country’s unification, should not be dissolved.

170. With regard to the questions that still awaited settlement in Palestine, the delegation of the Dominican Republic expressed the firm belief that the protection of the Holy Places and free access thereto would be fully guaranteed in the Assembly by means of a definitive agreement on the subject. It likewise believed that practical solutions would soon be found for the problem of the Palestine refugees, to whose assistance the Government of the Dominican Republic had already contributed from its resources just as it had contributed, and in no small measure, to other humanitarian undertakings of the United Nations, such as the International Children's Emergency Fund.

171. The activity of the United Nations in the economic and social fields had certainly been, and continued to be, very effective, although pessimists did not realize the full extent of the enormous work the Organization was accomplishing, since they considered only the difficulties constantly arising in connexion with political questions. However, apart from the fact that the Organization had, in more than one instance, achieved complete success in the political field and had settled more than one dispute which might have endangered world peace, the technical work it had accomplished, social as well as economic, juridical as well as cultural, was of inestimable value to humanity.

172. Mr. Henriquez Ureña reviewed the achievements of the United Nations in those fields: its action to promote the development of under-developed territories and technical assistance; the establishment of regional economic Commissions for Europe, Asia, the Far East and Latin America; the establishment of vast and very useful services, such as the international statistical services; the holding of the United Nations Scientific Conference on the Conservation and Utilization of Natural Resources. The United Nations had effectively contributed to the improvement of the legal and social status of women. The General Assembly, by its resolution 217 (III) of 10 December 1948, had promulgated the first International Bill of Human Rights. By its resolution 260 A (III) of 11 December 1948 it had approved the Convention for the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, a forward step of surpassing importance in the international field. The General Assembly at its current session was to study another significant draft of vast social and juridical import, namely, the declaration of the rights and duties of States.

173. Mr. Henriquez Ureña concluded by saying that his enumeration of some of the undertakings and achievements of the United Nations was sufficient to indicate the great importance of the Organization’s work and efforts, and justified the view that it represented the last and supreme hope of mankind.