Sweden, 1969

1. Madam President, let me begin by congratulating you on your election

to the high position of President of the General Assembly. Africa, your

own country and you yourself are being rightly honoured by this election.

We wish you well in your important assignment and we look forward with

great expectation to working under your inspiring leadership.

2. When the General Assembly meets this year for its

twenty-fourth session we have to recognize that no solution

has yet been reached of the many acute problems which pit

nation against nation and national group against national

group in armed conflict. Violence is a terrifying reality.

Justice does not prevail. Individuals and whole peoples are

denied liberty and human rights. The ideals of peaceful

co-operation which we have all pledged ourselves to follow

in accordance with the Charter are violated or ignored in

the practical policy of States.

3. If we want to be realistic, we can hardly expect our

debates here in the Assembly, or the efforts which are

deployed by the Security Council and the Secretary-General,

to result directly in settlements of current conflicts.

We must admit that States have not yet wanted to

limit their sovereignty to the extent necessary to make the

United Nations an efficient instrument for peace. The

principal role of the United Nations as far as current

conflicts are concerned is, therefore, for the present, to

serve as a centre for the expression and formation of

international opinion, to encourage and facilitate co-operation

and agreement between the States concerned and to

offer the formal framework for such co-operation and

agreement.

4. A sober analysis of this kind should not lead to

pessimism about the future of the United Nations. There

are many examples which show that Member States, both

big and small, find the United Nations to be the suitable,

sometimes the only possible, place for co-operation and for

agreement aiming at a peaceful solution of current conflicts.

This attitude is not due to any conventional faith in

the United Nations. It is based on firm experiences from

the history of our Organization, now a quarter of a century

old. These experiences reveal failures—that is true—but also

successes. Let us learn from both. We can then see more

clearly where the United Nations has its limitations and its

possibilities. We can then more easily choose methods to

expand the possibilities.

5. In Viet-Nam the war continues. The bombing of North

Viet-Nam has ceased, but in the South the war rages with

undiminished intensity. The severely afflicted people of

South Viet-Nam are exposed to terrible personal sufferings

and to heavy material destruction. Earlier costly experience

has shown that the conflict cannot be settled by military

means, It would now appear that the parties have come to

realize this.

6. At an earlier stage of the war we expressed the hope

that the United States, as being the party vastly superior in

strength and in view of its responsibility as a world Power,

should take the first step which could lead to negotiations

aiming at a cessation of the war. It is gratifying that, as

Secretary-General U Thant foresaw at the time, the cessation

of the bombing of North Viet-Nam did lead to negotiations

between the parties. Unfortunately these negotiations have not,

as far as is known, led to any results as yet. Let us hope that

the will to peace expressed by the parties will make it possible

for them to reach agreement on a way leading to a goal which they

have both announced: to bring the tragic conflict to an end and to

give the people of South Viet-Nam the possibility to determine

their own destiny.

7. In our opinion, the key to success will be found in military

de-escalation by all parties. We believe, however, that also in

this situation a special responsibility rests with the stronger

party to take the first steps. It is therefore gratifying to note

that President Nixon has now decided on further withdrawal of

American troops.

8. Irrespective of when the conflict is in fact terminated, it

is important to begin planning even now for the reconstruction

of Viet-Nam. People all over the world have followed the war with

strong emotional and moral engagement. This should be taken as a

commitment to help the Viet-Namese to restore their war-ravaged

country once hostilities have ceased. Therefore, conditions seem to

be present for a massive international relief programme as a powerful

manifestation of international solidarity. The Nordic countries, for

their part, have already begun to plan their contributions.

9. It is deeply regrettable that it has not yet been possible

to implement the resolution adopted by the Security Council on

22 November 1967 on the crisis in the Middle East [resolution 242(1967)].

The peoples in the area continue to live in a condition of political

tension, military actions and counter-actions, entailing the risk of

serious repercussions outside the area as well. This is possibly the

risk which has made the four great Powers conduct negotiations on a

method of implementing the resolution of the Security Council and in this

way to facilitate the task of the Special Representative of the

Secretary-General. The day the four great Powers reach agreement on such

a method, the parties must take it fully into account. The efforts of

the four Powers deserve our support.

10. A tragic facet of the world situation is the continued

civil war in Nigeria. The efforts which have been made by

African and other-statesmen to achieve peace have so far,

been without result. The civilian population on both sides

of the front is being subjected to severe suffering. An .

international relief action has begun to which the Swedish

Government, with the support of a strong public opinion,

has allocated relatively large funds. We deplore the continuing

difficulties in making that relief action effective. We have also

expressed our earnest expectation that the parties will be able

to initiate contacts for a peaceful solution. The African States

consider that their own Organization of African Unity has a special

responsibility and a special possibility of contributing to a solution.

We find that approach reasonable and realistic.

11. We shall elaborate on the problems of southern Africa

later in the session. The Swedish Government regards

colonial domination and racial oppression as detestable and

illegitimate residues of prejudices and power positions of

old times. Their continued existence constitutes a serious

threat to the stability and welfare of the African continent.

All efficient measures which the international community

represented in the United Nations can agree upon must be,

taken to remove that threat. An absolute minimum demand

is that the resolutions of the Security Council calling upon

Member States to apply an arms embargo on South Africa

should be scrupulously and consistently observed. Moreover,

we consider that measures should be taken to increase

the efficiency of the Organization in following and supervising

the application of the mandatory sanctions against

Southern Rhodesia, It is deplorable, and highly disgraceful

for the countries concerned, that individual States should

ignore the decisions on sanctions and thereby jeopardize

the authority of the United Nations.

12. in this connexion I should like to mention an

international problem of a serious nature. What I have in

mind is that military conflicts both within and between

States are to a large extent fought with war material which

has been procured from abroad as gifts or purchases. I do

not wish, of course, to question the right of States to

acquire war material necessary for self-defence. Indeed, the

right of self-defence is laid down in our Charter. I only wish

to draw attention to the problems inherent in uncontrolled

arms traffic.

13. It would undoubtedly be a step in the interest of

peace if it should be possible, within the framework of the

United Nations, to agree on certain principles in this field.

The principal aim should be to endeavour to prevent such

trade in war materials as can obstruct a satisfactory solution

of a conflict or hinder the localization of such a conflict.

14. When Czechoslovakia was invaded last summer by

troops belonging to members of the Warsaw Pact, this gave

rise to a wave of indignation and disappointment. There

had been the hope that the evolution in the right direction

towards a more humane type of communism which had

begun in the country should be allowed to continue

without any outside interference. There had also been the

hope that the leading State of the Warsaw Pact should not

interpret that development as a threat against its own

security or that of its allies. Those hopes were frustrated.

What we have witnessed during the past year has been a

return to a policy whereby the freedom and the rights of

the individual are gradually curtailed. This policy is

conducted under the name of “normalization”. We doubt

whether the Czechoslovak people consider that description

correct.

15. In addition to other conflicts there is now the

increasing tension between the two communist great

Powers, the Soviet Union and China. There is a risk of

increasing violence. One conclusion which we consider

self-evident, is that an energetic endeavour must now be

made to engage the People’s Republic of China in international

co-operation by finally giving its Government the possibility

of taking China’s seat in all the organs of the United Nations.

16. Even if in the major current disputes the United

Nations can only exercise a limited influence, the Swedish

Government is convinced that the Organization has

acquired increased importance as a forum for long-term

peaceful co-operation. This applies in the first instance to

the disarmament efforts.

17. There has been very little success so far this year in the

field of disarmament. The hopes of considerable progress

towards nuclear disarmament which were raised last year at

the time of the conclusion of the Treaty on the Non-

Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons [resolution 2373 (XXII)]

have not been fulfilled. This can be partly explained by the

fact that the coming into force of that treaty has been

delayed. Only when its principal originators, the Soviet

Union and the United States, have ratified the treaty, will

we come closer to this goal.

18. The world also waits with growing impatience for the

two great nuclear Powers to begin their bilateral talks on

the limitation of missile systems. We hope that those

negotiations will take place soon.

19. If little or no progress can be registered in the field of

nuclear disarmament, the situation appears to be somewhat

more hopeful with regard to other weapons of mass

destruction, that is, the means for biological and chemical

warfare. The Conference of the Committee on Disarmament in

Geneva has made great efforts this year to find a

solution to the problems which those terrible weapons

create. Our hope is that additional tangible steps in the

direction towards common sense will be taken during this

session of the General Assembly. Valuable guidance has

recently been provided in the Secretary-General’s report on

the effects of the possible use of biological and chemical

weapons. In the introduction to that document the

Secretary-General has indicated towards which goals those

continued efforts should be directed. In our opinion it is

important that all States adhere to the Geneva Protocol for

the Prohibition of the Use in War of Asphyxiating

Poisonous or other Gases and of Bacteriological Methods

of Warfare of 1925. It is also important to have a uniform

interpretation of this prohibition which, in our view, i

total and categorical.

20. It has been obvious for a long time that the interdependence

of all peoples on our earth, both in war and in peace, is

constantly increasing. An expression thereof is the

increasingly strong pressure which is exerted by the

increasing population of the world on the limited supplies

of our planet, in the way of raw materials, water and air.

Two essential demands make themselves felt: on the one

hand, the supplies must be utilized rationally, efficiently

and with the greatest possible economy. The world cannot

afford unplanned exploitation of its scarce resources. On

the other hand, they must be distributed with more justice

than at present. It has become a matter of urgent

importance to diminish the differences in economic and

social development among the peoples of the world, a

matter which also basically affects the maintenance of

peace. In our time of increasing interdependence, poverty,

ignorance and hunger far from the borders of one’s own

country are conditions as unacceptable as if they were to

occur within that country itself.

21. In this perspective it is necessary that the work on

co-ordinated efficient strategy for the Second United

Nations Development Decade be pushed forward. The

objective must be the sustained improvement of the living

conditions of the individual. An increase of agricultural and

industrial production must therefore be integrated with

measures to achieve a fair distribution of income, better

dwellings and a sound environment with greater possibilities

for man to live his life in freedom and dignity. I am happy

to note that this view of the development process is shared

by an increasing number of people. In this connexion I wish

to draw attention to the international meeting of expert

on social policy and planning held in Stockholm from 1-10

September 1969 in co-operation between the United

Nations and the Swedish Government.

22. Economic and social development in our time is

characterized more than ever by progress made in the field

of science and technology. At a pace that could not be

imagined only a few decades ago, new discoveries, inventions

and industrial products come forth which radically

change the environment in which we live. The time interval

between an invention and its industrial exploitation is

constantly diminishing. The telephone was invented in

1820 but did not come into general use until half a century

later. It took more than 15 years from the time of the

invention of radar before it came into practical use. Now

the situation has radically changed. Research has become

incorporated into the actual economic process and its

results are immediately utilized in the production. Of

decisive importance is the question of according to what

laws and for what purpose this unprecedented expansion

takes place. It is often determined by accidental factors. In

other cases, developments are decided by individuals or

groups whose interests do not always coincide with those of

the vast majority.

23. In our times the need is acutely felt for a more

conscious and more rational guidance of these processes,

with regard both to research and to the technical and

industrial utilization of the results of research. It is

characteristic that most Governments, irrespective of the

political system they represent, have found it necessary to

create consultative scientific and technological organs, and

that they seek to work out certain guidelines for research

and development work in their respective countries. At the

same time, we have to keep in mind that theoretical

research is already a teamwork of mankind, and that

applied science and technological development work should

become so. The national policies of the various countries

must be co-ordinated on the international level, whilst

retaining the free and open channels which are the

necessary condition for the work of the international

scientific community.

24. A special problem is the transfer of science and

technology to developing countries in order to accelerate

their economic and social development. This problem is

part of the task of reducing the gap between countries

having different levels of development. This has been

discussed in different United Nations organs: for example,

in connexion with the planning of the Second Development

Decade. It deserves systematic discussion during the years

to come.

25. The investments of funds and personnel required

nowadays for research and technical development work are

so enormous that only a few of the highly developed

countries can make advanced contributions in this important

field. Thus there is a risk that the prominent economic

and politico-military positions of those countries will be

still further strengthened in relation to the rest of the

world. In the case of certain research work, they can come

to hold virtual monopoly positions. Such a development

would in the long run lead to a lack of balance in the

international system and could increase frictions between

the technologically superior Powers and other States.

26. The conclusion must be that the new role of science

and technology in the development of society and in

international co-operation must be the subject of exhaustive

debate in the different organs of the United Nations.

We also believe the time has come to make a general survey

of the institutional apparatus for dealing with the relevant

problems. There is thus reason to undertake a comprehensive

study of such questions as the tasks of the General Assembly

and the Economic and Social Council in this field, the organization

of the United Nations Secretariat, the role of the specialized

agencies, etc. Our hope is that the idea of such a study will meet

with general approval by many Governments and result in more efficient

international measures adapted to the new perspective which I

have just outlined.

27. The landing of the American astronauts on the moon

was a triumph for modern science and technology. Admiration

is felt for the men who accomplished that bold mission

and for those who planned it. That latest achievement in

the field of outer space technology should logically mean a

strong push forward for international co-operation. The

space Powers have now shown what they are able to achieve

in competition with each other, motivated to some extent

by political and military prestige. Would they not now

stand to gain if the suspicious competition were replaced by

open co-operation involving a rational distribution of the

work on the continued exploration of outer space? And

would they themselves not benefit from involving other

countries more fully in this venture, utilizing their assets

and letting space research, with its vast possibilities for

scientific and industrial progress, become a matter for the

whole human race?

28. Co-operation under the auspices of the United Nations

has already begun. I recall that the General Assembly last

year decided to instruct a special working group to study

the social, legal and economic implications of satellite

broadcasts to individual receivers [resolution 2453 B

(XXIII)]. In the Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer

Space there is also discussion of such questions as increased

technical assistance in the field of space research. Let us

hope that these efforts are only the modest beginnings of

increasingly fruitful co-operation in the future.

29. The unprecedented possibilities of modern science and

technology can also be used to improve the quality of the

human environment. The importance and urgency of this

problem are increasingly felt all over the world. The

General Assembly decided last year to take up the

environmental question and to convene a United Nations

Conference on the Human Environment in 1972

[resolution 2398 (XXIII)]. It did so with the consideration

in mind that modern technology can help man to improve

his physical and social environment and to prevent its

degradation caused by the uncontrolled application of

certain types of technology. We hope that the General

Assembly will this year decide on preparations for the

conference which will assure the fulfilment of its basic

objective. That objective is to work out, and to make

available to Governments and international organizations,

guidelines for practical action designed to save and to

improve the human environment in the whole world.

30. Let me conclude by emphasizing once again the

demand for universal solidarity among human beings and

among nations. This is a demand which we must obey if the

new military technology is not to destroy us all. In an

epoch when man can observe his own planet from another

celestial body, many differences and conflicts appear as

minor local quarrels. Solidarity implies a struggle against

economic and social injustices, a struggle against abuse of

power, and a struggle against the oppression of man’s

natural aspirations to a life in freedom and dignity.

Ultimately, the outcome of that struggle will determine the

question of war and peace and, indeed, the continued

existence of mankind.